What Price Glory?

Sunday saw Tony and me head over to the West Bank [across the Demerara River on a bridge that American engineers built and was only supposed to last ... well, it was some time a few decades ago!] to King of Glory Lutheran Church in Bel Vue... a small sugar cane village that supplies the mill at Wales [which you can find on a map].   It was for their 50th Anniversary.   They have had a long hard struggle at the edges of the old Lutheran "empire".  In fact less than a decade ago, the building was in in shambles and Lutherans were on their way to extinction...  And then, a number of things happened, including Pastor Dick Young being appointed pastor; and, a few people in the community decided to have it "return" to its glory.   And in some ways it has and has become a sign to others that it is possible.  The building has been repaired and painted, a community hall has been built, the yard has been leveled and raised [though the waters flooded the whole yard, so they need some more sand to raise it again.]   The older people in the community like to walk there because there is zero chance of getting hit by a car... unlike walking on the roads, where just this week an older [I didn't ask her age in case they said 64!] woman was knocked down by a car while she was walking.

The joint was packed, as opposed to a regular Sunday.  Lutherans from all over Guyana came to worship there.  The President of the Guyana Lutherans, Rev. Paul Moonu, was the preacher - and Tony thought he did very well - even if not Baptist.   Dick played on the keyboard and local Deacons presided at the liturgy.

 There was a lunch following the service, and the hall had a display of pictures over the years... There were some pictures of my daughter, Kristin and her friend Jeanette, plus the Wyoming Women who I took out against Mother Kidner's advice on an minibus that flew to get across the bridge before it opened, i.e., opened to water traffic.  I usually bring volunteers there as it is "the country"...  When I introduce them, I say, "I need to bring visitors here because you haven't seen Guyana until you have been to Kaieteur Falls and King of Glory."   Strange to see yourself a part of history.   There have been others who are part of the history there like the volunteers from the Florida Synod who came down on a construction project.

I cannot mention King of Glory without mentioning its silent patron... Julie [I won't use her last name and then she'll kind of remain anonymous].  She has been a continuous donor for the community centre there... She supplied the sewing machines for their sewing classes which I think are run by Peace Corp Volunteers... as well as the swings - which remain the only public swings on that part of the West Bank... and several other projects.   As well, she has her Sunday School send greetings and prayer wishes to the girls at St. Ann's and the boys at John Bosco.   Its wonderful to see thes people as part of the history.  Thanks Julie...

And of course, there is the non-silent patron... Tony.   It was here that last year he taught trigonometry to three young women so they could go to University of Guyana .. and this year he packed up a dozen or so computers and printers - all numbered everywhere in his charming obsessive style - wrapped them up in used clothes from Value Village and had them shipped down here through the good graces and support of Guyana Christian Charities Canada.    He is now involved in teaching a computer science course there for community youth.

As with almost everything in Guyana, the existence of the church is fragile.   Not only are dollars scarce - human resources are even harder to maintain.   If one or two leaders step aside, it may die, as there is usually no one to step up...  Please continue to pray for them... and when in Guyana - visit King of Glory right after Kaieteur!

I sometimes think that my blogs tend to be too much about money  … however, money or the lack thereof is always in the foreground here.   One of the “benefits” of being seen as a pastor is that I "must have money" and will be an easy touch.   So I have a parade of people who seem to show up in the time it takes me to lock or unlock the gate…  I do give some (my supporters make this possible) and usually to a “good story”…  The other day I was getting somewhat overwhelmed with the frequency, when…  I was visiting a small photo finisher that also sells artificial flowers and is not rolling in dollars… As I was leaving from picking up my pictures there was a poor man waiting for me and I heard myself say, “Ugh not another one!” [see a previous blog], when the older woman who owns the store came around from behind me with a large box of crackers and gave a big handful to the man and then to the one or two others who were just passing.  As it goes… some sermons are better done than spoken.

Odds and Sods

• I brought 4 newly released movies, including Robin Hood with Russell Crowe, for less than 50 cents US each.   Do you think that they are pirated, maybe? 
• Some mornings my electric alarm clock has gained almost 30 minutes.  I can’t understand why the Guyanese are late for almost everything – unless they don’t use electric clocks.   Or maybe I should bring it back to Canada and have our trusted Philip look at it!
• It is no secret that I forget things… However, this year I haven’t drunk the tap water by mistake, as some thoughtful person has added a green algae that floats around in it.  Very helpful.
• Brought my pictures to my usual One Hour shop in the afternoon and returned the next morning… and they weren’t ready.  I must have picked the wrong hour.
• “Default_11G” is still kind enough to keep his wireless router somewhere where I can get on…  We are developing a strange relationship.  I do worry that something has happened to him when he is “late” turning it on.  After a blackout, I am tempted to yell out my kitchen window, “Yo! Default_11G, reboot your modem.”   When I see the quality of our relationship in print it does seem pretty selfish; maybe he could just leave it on all the time?
• While I have not reached the heights of plantation ownership, I do employ a person who does my laundry and cleans up after me.  Each year I seem to lose more and more of the “roughing it” quality required to suck money out of donors… At this rate, I soon will have to pay people to read this blog…..
• Everything here gets “soggy” if open to the air…  so the most practical of all are the cookie manufacturers who pack just four cookies in a sealed package…  Now if I could just not eat four or five packages… for breakfast.  I do need something with all my cups of coffee, and this year I'm not at the hospital for breakfast so have to choose and buy my own.   Good thing that I don’t teach nutrition… But on the other hand I am a preacher… Imagine if a preacher had to actually do everything they preached about!... Some short sermons coming up, eh?

Enough for now…  The pictures in the Slide Show [above] are from King of Glory last Sunday.

Take Care,

John

Finally, a Guest Paragraph from Anne which she wrote to a friend in Nova Scotia:

"Your question / suggestion about John’s leaving annually for Guyana stimulated some thoughts.  I believe it’s not so much that he needs to leave this physical place, but that he needs regularly to leave our comfortable, easy, pleasant life, and even more the sense of being retired from work.  He took early retirement in 2002, when he was only 55, and although he needed to leave that particular situation, he knew he was too young to stop what he’d probably call “trying to make a difference in the world”.  Not that it can only be done away from home, but he’s found that particular situations of poverty, life-threatening illness, social hopelessness, anguish of various kinds, are what call forth his best efforts.  Teaching in the nursing school in Guyana provides a kind of recognized framework for some less formal addressing of human needs.  Doing it totally on a volunteer basis lets him feel free in a way he couldn’t be if it were a “job”.  (I’ll copy this to him so he can correct my perceptions as necessary.")                                      No corrections required .... John.