Day 15: Oh, Hello There!
Well I think I (Alex) owe all of you faithful readers and prayers an apology. When I said that the blogs would be much less frequent I did not anticipate or intend for them to be nonexistent, but here we are. I wasn’t joking when I said that after I hit send on the last post the campers would be here.
Each day has been jam packed with kids, chores, games, activities, meals, and chapels. Each day has also been jam packed with God’s goodness, provision, patience, kindness, truth, and wisdom. It has been stretching muscles some of us have never used before both spiritually and physically. It would also appear the sun throws a different punch here then back home. I could sit here and attempt to list all the things that have gone on around the camp, but I won’t. More importantly, I can’t detail what has been going on the hearts and minds of the campers, counselors, champs, and staff. So when we get home, reach out to someone who has been on the trip. Invite them for dinner, coffee, or tea and see what the Lord has done and is doing. Ask them about their favorite dish or how many hammocks naps were they able to take.
Please don’t stop praying for the camp either. For us Americans, it is hard not to look past the coming days because we can see home on the horizon, but God has placed us here with this set of teens this week to help point them to Christ. It is no coincidence Pray for focus and presence. Pray for wisdom, words, and boldness to speak or listen to each person’s story. Pray that God can do the work that only he can, the changing of hearts, among the kids from last week and the teens here at camp this week. Pray that they would let Jesus take over and be the leader of their lives!
Thanks for your continued prayers and we can’t wait to see you all soon 🙂
Day 6: Crikey!
Welcome to Summer Speaker Series: Guyana Edition! In the morning we had a couple different people teaching across a few churches in the area. Todd preached from Romans 5 at Fyrish Bible Church. John preached from Joshua and Matthew at Alness Bible Church. Ken preached from Matthew 6 at #19 Bible Church and Alex preached from John 13 at Tain Bible Church. The rest of the team was split between the churches and given the opportunity to share what God has been teaching them or to share their testimonies. Some of the team was also able to spend time with kids in Sunday School and teach some of the classics like TNRPLA and Peace Like A River.
Then the evening came…
We did our best Crocodile Hunter impressions (though it was alligators) and hopped in the back of a pickup to go hunt some gators. Only half of our team was able to go last night, the other half will be on the hunt another night. We drove around with flashlight looking in the canals for little marble eyes to glint back at us. We were able to catch a couple gators, as you can see above, and enjoy beautiful night under the Guyana night sky.
It was a fun adventure and now our main adventure begins. The kids arrive right after I hit post on this blog. This is where the blog will become much less frequent. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for you continued prayers and please continue to pray for the camp this coming week. We know the Lord is doing a great work and we are so thankful to be apart of it.
Day 5: The Kids Are Coming
I promise this isn’t just a work week, the kids will be coming at some point despite what the updates might seem. Above is a short video with some clips from the past couple days of what we got up to. Hopefully it helps paint a nice picture of our time so far in Guyana!
Day 4: No Camp Without Champs
The preparations for camp keep coming and they don’t stop coming. While the counselors continued normal prep work, our Champs spent majority of their day training and learning their day to responsibilities for camp the next two weeks. Now many of you may be asking, what are these “Champs” you speak of. Champs are a combination of Americans and Guyanese that are essentially the backbone of this camp. They will be doing laundry, cleaning up, serving, setting up activities, skits, refilling water to drink and to shower, waking up veryyyyy early… I could keep going, but literally it is everything and more.
We all took turns learning how to make lanyards (which was a real test for me, Alex) and we were even able to spend some time in the pool!
Our Guyanese brothers and sisters once again joined us for dinner and for another evening of training. We leaned about choking hazards and how to deal with them, pool safety, fire safety, and closed our evening learning the games we will be playing with the counselors in the coming weeks.
Please be praying for us all, but especially those that are Champs for the coming weeks. It is indeed a practice in servanthood. Pray that they would grow in understanding of the ultimate servant by serving so faithfully in these coming weeks.
Day 3: Red Up The Camp
After some much needed rest it was time to “red up the camp” for the incoming campers. We kicked off our morning with both physical food and spiritual food. Brother Ryan led us in a short devotional in Ephesians 4:1-7, reminding all of us to be faithful to the calling to be here in Guyana. We shared prayer requests and praises and launched into the rest of the day.
We spent the morning doing a laundry list of tasks to get this place ready for the upcoming weeks of camps. Many hands were put to work cleaning, organizing, tidying, creating, maintaining, etc. In the afternoon, some rested, some prepared for messages, and the champs began practicing their skits that they will perform for the campers.
In the evening, we were joined by the Guyanese counselors for dinner and for trainings. We learned how to administer an epipen, how to “Stop the Bleed”, and how to perform CPR/AED on both children and adults.
Thank you for your continued prayers for us and for the camps coming up!
Day 2: Welcome to Alness Bible Camp!
We have arrived safely at the camp. We had a smooth 5 hour flight from JFK to Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Guyana. Traveling with 19 people is definitely a different beast than your normal trip, but thank the Lord for making the process go as smooth as could be. Once we moved swiftly through immigration and customs we were were greeted by our next sweet chariot…
This bus ride was a tad more packed and slightly more sweaty, but it is all a part of the experience, right? After about 5 hours and one pitstop for a cold soda, we cheerfully clapped at the sight of the “Welcome to Alness” sign. We finally got to meet in-person a number of faces we had only spoken to through zoom. We settled in to our cabins and quickly tested the waters of the swimming pool.
We ate some lovely Guyanese cuisine for dinner (sorry ate it before I could take a picture) and took care of a couple housekeeping items. Now we are all off to get some much needed sleep!
Please continue to pray for our team as for a number of us this is our first time out of the country. Pray that the Lord would grant us unexplainable peace in the midst of the unknowns that only comes from Him. Praise the Lord for our travels and for our great first evening at Alness!
Day 1: Let The Journey Begin!
Our trip to Guyana has officially begun! Our crew of 19, troves of loved ones, and luggage in abundance gathered at New Danville Pike to kickstart the journey. We circled up in the lobby for a time of reading Psalm 121 and for a time of prayer for the team and for our time in Guyana. We loaded up the bus, took this lovely picture, and set off on our nighttime voyage to JFK Airport. As I write this it is 3 AM and we are patiently waiting for our 5 AM flight. There are many sleepy faces, but the time is being filled with card games and conversations…
Please pray for rest and endurance as it we take on a long travel day. Pray that we might be able to find pockets of sleep and when we get tired that we would continue to be patient and kind to our teammates and others. Most importantly, continue to pray for the Lord to go before us and prepare hearts, minds, and souls to hear and receive the Gospel!
*We cannot guarantee there will be daily updates, but we will try to our best to keep you all as up to date as possible throughout the trip!*