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Thursday, April 26, 2007

Dear Friends,
Greetings from Guyana, South America! We have been busy in this corner of the Vineyard and want to take this opportunity to connect with you and especially to report on what we have been doing with the many generous contributions which we have received in the last few months. Thank you so much everyone. You should know that in this tropical climate, anything that is not used right away will surely rust, rot, or otherwise disintegrate. With this in mind we move fast to implement projects for which we have received donations, not allowing money to sit around.

Along with construction projects in all four congregations, special activities in each have kept spirits high and interest alive. So this newsletter will give you an update on our parish since our last newsletter in November 2006.

I have contacted my official sponsoring churches concerning my semi-annual Home Assignment which will find me travelling and speaking in the States about my work in Guyana during this coming August and September. I will be compiling your responses and communicating with you soon.

Epiphany, Albouystown (ward), Georgetown

Construction of a new fence at Epiphany has been completed except for painting. The new fence was needed for security and aesthetic reasons. It discourages thieves and keeps out cows, goats, sheep, and donkeys, all of which roam around freely in this part of the city. It also is quite good looking and the members are very proud of how it makes their church look from the road. Recently at an All-Church Clean-Up Day, members brought palms and other flower plants that they had started at home to plant in the church yard. They hadn’t bothered with this before because the animals would have eaten them down.

The fence was constructed out of concrete on the back and one side of the lot and out of wire mesh on the front and other side. Here you can see two workmen working on the concrete portion.

This picture shows the completed fence, including two sets of new gates which we had built. The congregation is now working on fundraising to paint the whole fence white. On the steps are Pastor Judy McGuire, ELCA Missionary to Guyana, Mr. Paul Naughton, a member of Epiphany, and my mother, who was here for a visit in February.

The women of Epiphany have recently decided that they want to revive their LCW (Lutheran Church Women). Plans are underway for a reorganisation tea and social. The pastor is very interested in trying to have VBS (Vacation Bible School) at Epiphany this summer, which has not happened for “years”.

This picture was taken after Palm Sunday service at Epiphany. Palm trees are still a very exotic sight for me, having been born and raised in northern North America. We have no trouble getting palm branches in Guyana and I think everyone had fun with them along with me.

Ascension, West Ruimveldt (ward), Georgetown

Ascension is the church next to where I live. You might remember me writing that it is the parish church with the largest building but the smallest congregation. We have been working on that!

Six young boys and two small children were recently baptised at Ascension. The congregation had been preparing for this event for a month, in part by learning to sing “Take Me To The Water” from This Far By Faith and “Children of the Heavenly Father” which is in our Lutheran Hymnal here but unknown to this congregation. While the boys were holding their baptismal candles we all sang together “This Little Light of Mine.” After the service we had a fellowship time with coffee, hot chocolate and sandwiches. The coffee service had been purchased through a special gift. Other gifts have allowed us to begin some larger projects: a new roof and the installation of running water and toilet facilities.
Ascension has a Guyana Scout Association Troop that meets on Tuesdays and a hand-chime choir which also practices weekly. Sunday School meets after church on alternate Sundays.

The old roof at Ascension dated from the construction of the church in the ‘60s and was made of asbestos. It leaked badly but could not be repaired because of health hazard. It had to be removed, buried, and replaced with corrugated metal sheets, called “zinc” in Guyana. The next picture shows the entire roof having been replaced and plastic gutters installed.

These workmen are attaching the gutter pipes to a black plastic 450 gallon water tank which has been placed on top of a wooden trestle. Water will flow by gravity in pipes through the back wall of the building to give us a flush toilet, hand washing sink, and mop bucket faucet. Before, water had to be carried from the parsonage by hand.

King of Glory, Belle Vue, West Bank Demerara

This congregation had been closed for at least five years before 2005. Initially there was significant excitement to have the church back. Now we have entered a period which I might call “community making.” Even people who live closely together and have known each other for years need to figure out how they will ‘be’ together in church.
This is a very active and, dear to the heart of any pastor, self-activating church. It has a Sunday School and a weekly Bible Study on Friday nights at 7 in the evening. The session usually begins with a song session and concludes with community concerns and prayer. A youth group meets on Sunday afternoon. Visitation in the community is done by the pastor and by the members in his absence.

This is a picture of the Sunday School Christmas Party at King of Glory. Normally the Sunday School is not this large, but the whole village is canvassed and invited to this event.

King of Glory has a new bathroom facility which was badly needed. See the old “out house” in the back. The land on which the church is built is below sea level. Therefore the toilet has to be raised about four feet off the ground so that there can be flow to an above the ground septic tank before passing out to sea. Oh the mundane technicalities of being a pastor.

Mount Zion, Sand Hills, Demerara River

The big news at Mt. Zion is the complete renovation of the church. The building had been condemned for “years” and the congregation was worshipping in the nearby school. Various “experts” had been of the opinion that the building needed to be torn down and a new concrete structure built. Luckily, we located a builder who had an idea how to straighten the old building and put a new foundation under it so that the church could be rebuilt from the support beams up. We received a big boost from a construction team headed by Fellowship Lutheran Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Many of your donations, too, have gone to this project.

Mt. Zion Church majestically sits overlooking the Demerara River about twenty miles above Georgetown and is accessible only by boat (or trail). It is a landmark well known to all river travellers. The new bell tower lifts the cross even higher than it was before and proclaims the hope and joy of the risen Lord to all passers-by.

Coastal Guyana, where 90% of the population of the country live, is so flat that just walking up a hill is a unique experience for many visitors to Sand Hills. As you can see, it is a long hill, and during our construction every board, nail, sack of cement and even bathing water had to be carried up from the river. The renovation is not quite complete, as we still need to paint and putty the floors and construct new pews. We are hoping that the work will all be finished and allow us to celebrate in June with a rededication service.
Easter Monday is a National Holiday in Guyana and Mt. Zion invited the whole parish to come up the river for an outing. Here you see the first boat load of excited “townies” packing a boat designed to carry 35 passengers with at least 50 people. There were no accidents!

Nearly 100 were present at the Easter Monday Fun Day at Mt. Zion. In the far background there is an intra-parish cricket tournament underway. In the shed on the left, Mt. Zion LCW are selling homemade snacks and meals, raising money for their new pews. The Sand Hills Primary School is on the right, once a Lutheran School but now run by the Ministry of Education. In the left foreground there is a cashew tree which is blooming, one of many that surround the compound. In the right foreground is a mango tree and the tree providing shade for cricket spectators is a jamoon, a species brought to Guyana from India and which bears a cherry-sized edible purple fruit

I feel like saying, “And that’s all the news from Lake Wobegon.” In truth there are many other pictures and happenings that I could show and talk about, but this is enough for now. Again, thanks to all of you who have sent up prayers and sent down funds, we have enjoyed the benefits of both to the maximum. I look forward to seeing many of you this coming fall during my time on Home Assignment.

Peace and Blessings,
Pastor Young