I do not mean to sound selfish or dramatic, I promise!!! (Well, maybe a little dramatic) The following experience was a personal eye-opener, in all honesty.
It was the day Ribz and I got offered to go to the remote village of Siparuta, about an hour-long boat ride from the Orealla stelling. (For a different set of personal experiences from that same service day, check out my favorite Guyana "white bai" Josh's post on http://nutso42.blogspot.com/2015/11/kingdom-proclaimer-vii.html ).
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| The faces of pure non-innocence... |
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| The token non-Mexican Mexican |
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| Gino and Dowlan, our trusty guides! |
When we arrived onshore, our group of six got split up into three pairs, resulting in my getting teamed up with the fantastic Br. Dowlan France to scour the territory for interested ones.
*cue time jump to nearly the end of our service day there*
At this point, Dowlan and I were walking towards the string of houses by the Correntyne's waterside. It was one of those service days that felt like everything was right in the world; magazine placements through the roof, Bible studies started at each door, receptive people, it was PERFECT. We made our way to a call of his, an older gentleman with his daughter-in-law and grandchild. While Dowlan stayed outside with the man, I went in to "gaff" with the girl. I do not remember her name at the moment. However, I do remember that her little girl's name was Fenisha.
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| I was highly tempted to keep her but alas... I love my Guyanese babies!!! |
She was a young thing, only about 19 years old. Immediately inviting me into their humble home, I sat on the floor and proceeded to start a study with her while holding her infant. Midway through the conversation, she mentions how hard it is to obtain goods in Orealla or Siparuta. This is quite true, seeing as the coast is the 5-6 hour boat ride and costs $1000 GYD, PLUS shipping to Guyana is difficult period, that fact does not surprise me one bit. My brother (who had visited them only a few minutes before we arrived) had gifted her his charcoal-filter water bottle for the baby since she had asked for it. Knowing this did not stop me from feeling internally shocked when she eyed my Bible and asked upfront, "Can I have it?"
To explain my position a little better, the Bible in my possession was the mini revised edition we received on October 4th, 2014 at Annual Meeting. I was not able to be present at that particular Meeting due to work, but a Bethel friend had procured one for me the day of so that way I could enjoy it. I had my name in my best cursive with the date and location and everything on the inner cover. I had brought new Bibles on the trip in order to give to the local friends but had not planned on my own being placed. When I looked at the tiny Bible in my hands and back up at into the girl's big honest eyes, how could I refuse? She was in need, I had the power to give her something far more beneficial than any material gift, who was I to be selfish? I started handing it to her and she responded "Can you sign it for me? Write my name in it?"
The intense joy I felt immediately replaced my prior inhibition. Here I am, citizen of the cushiest material country in the world, practically neighbors to a Bethel facility. I can drive and within minutes pick up any literature at my ease, no problem. Jehovah knows exactly who is longing in heart and searching for truth, and He will find a way of getting His Word out to them. If in this case, Jehovah saw fit to give this woman a Bible by any means possible, I wanted to be like Isaiah and respond "Here I am, send me!"
After signing her book, she gave me the biggest hug and with tears in her eyes whispered a grateful thanks. We left her house shortly afterwards and joined the rest of our group to go back to Orealla. There was just such a sense of satisfaction and sense of accomplishment among our group that impregnated the air and spread contagiously from one happy face to the other.
If there is a moral to this story, I suppose it is just...just give. To quote Colossians 3:23, "Whatever you are doing, work at it whole-souled as for Jehovah and not for men." Keep your hands wide open and your heart even more so, and watch how Jehovah blesses in overabundance. Even if it is something dear to you, just keep displaying the spirit of generosity, imitating the fine examples laid out in the Bible for us.
That's all for tonight folks! Hope you enjoyed, and stay tuned for the next post!
Love,
The Adventurous A.
