MISSION TO GUYANA UPDATE

Greetings friends and prayer partners,
This morning we had a meeting to discuss details of the upcoming October Mission trip to Guyana. We began our meeting with a Guyanese breakfast of "Curry beef, curried fish, dall, chicken chow main, fried pumpkin, fried eggplant, rotie, rice and washed it all down with Mississauga's best Chai tea". Wow! Thank you Suliman for this introduction to some Guyanese staples.

Suliman reported to us how God has provided for the DVD's and we were each given a copy to take with us. This DVD has the Guyana flag on the back jacket along with the contact information and name of the Pastors of eight churches we will be working with. This DVD is in English along with the local Guyanese Creole, Caribbean Carib and a number of other languages. Over 30,000 have already been shipped and one more shipment of DVD's and bibles is leaving soon. Also over 150,000 tracts have been shipped, plastic door hanger bags, New Testaments and full bibles, along with solar powered MP3's with the Bible and testimonies on them for those who cannot read, and Galcom solar powered radios preset to Trans World Radio from Bonair, which is an island just off the coast of Guyana. These solar powered preset radios will be given to people living in remote jungles who will be visited by local believers. We want to do our best to get the gospel to every home in Guyana. We will also be visiting schools and the University in Georgetown. We will be saturating two provinces on this trip and next year doing more remote areas and isolated jungle villages. What an exciting venture for Christ.

The cost of the trip has been reduced to about $1200 for flight, food and lodging. When the Pastor's heard we were going to stay in hotels they suggested that would be too expensive for us so they have rented a large house and will provide cooks and security for us. We will of course pay for the use of the house and labor and food but this will reduce our living costs to less than $500 each and with the flight being less than $700 return the financial costs in terms of what we will be accomplishing is well worth it. If you want to come along we are leaving from Toronto on October 9th and returning on October 24th. The team is about a dozen strong at the moment.

The local Pastors and churches are very excited about our coming and look forward to joining with us on the distributions. I am looking forward to fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Guyana and to hearing their stories and seeing their love for God. I have already been told to be ready to preach so that is another way you can pray for me as you pray for this trip and for the people of Guyana.

Lastly with regard to my personal faith goals for this mission trip to Guyana. I personally committed to raising $5,000 toward distribution supplies and shipping and to 4 to 5 people to come with me. So far $4,030 has been raised from the Niagara area toward the $5,000 goal and $217 toward the cost of the magnetic flags which was $306. Some have made pledges but I will not add those pledges to the total until I receive those pledges. So by the end of July I am looking to God to supply $970 more toward distribution supplies and $89 to cover costs of the flags. I also have 3 who have committed to join me in Guyana and am looking to God for at least one more person to join us. Will you come? If you know of anyone who might be interested in giving to this mission trip or coming on this mission trip who has not yet heard please forward this blog to them and have them contact me.

I want to thank all the individuals who have committed to pray and want to encourage you to continue to pray at least for the next year for Guyana. Will you do that? I want to thank those individuals who have given to provide for the distribution supplies and the cost of the flags. I want to especially thank Pastor Rene and Pastor John who have encouraged me and their churches in this project. I am looking for a rich blessing for God's kingdom and for God's glory in Guyana. All who participate can especially rejoice in the part they have played. ron

MISSION TO GUYANA

I last wrote to you almost 6 months ago on my return from Chad. I spent the best part of a month on my return recovering from my time in Chad and then tried working at a call center but that was not for me. I have applied for other jobs and in the meantime am doing some repairs at home and planning for a short term mission trip to Guyana. Let me share that exciting news with you.

Suliman is a converted Muslim from Guyana who leads the Mississauga prayer group (MSG). This group goes out every Saturday, passing out Jesus DVD's and literature, and during the week goes to schools to give out Bibles to students after school, and goes to parades and festivals. The group has covered every home in Mississauga and is reaching into other cities. Suliman also leads a mobile ministry in Pakistan that hands out Jesus DVD's to Muslims.
Suliman still has family in Guyana. Earlier this year Suliman's brother in Guyana had a heart attack and Suliman made an emergency trip to Guyana. While there he realized that many Muslims and Hindus were coming to Christ. A vision was born. Why not bring a Jesus DVD and literature to every home in Guyana? So that is what Suliman and his team are planning to do in two trips; two weeks this October and two weeks next year. Suliman made a second trip to Guyana to arrange for this mission trip and to connect with local churches. They are excited about this vision as well. I want to invite you to share in this exciting vision of bringing the Gospel to every home in the country of Guyana by 2016.

Guyana is English speaking, about 10% Muslim, 30% Hindu and 50% Christian but not all born again and evangelical. The evangelical local churches need Bibles and we will be taking some with us. We have a large amount of children's tracts to give out to schools while we are there. The cost of purchasing and shipping the DVD's and literature is in the range of $35,000.

Here is how you can get involved.
1) Prayer - Jesus DVD's and literature on their own will do little apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. Pray for God to move on the hearts of many people in Guyana to receive Christ and to grow in Christ as a result of this distribution. I have some magnetic flags of Guyana with "Pray for Guyana" on them. If you would like one please let me know. Also pray for God to provide the funds needed for this project.

2) Giving - The cost for this first distribution is about $35,000. I have set a goal to raise $5,000 toward this cost and now have about $1,000. I am looking to God and the saints of God to see the value of this strategic mission project and support this worthy project. One of my efforts is to ask for a $10 or more donation for one of the above flags. I am also trying to visit churches and to share this vision to raise support for the trip. Later on I will have to raise my personal support for the trip but for now I want to help with the distribution costs.

3) Coming on the trip - Some of you may be able to join us on this two week trip to Guyana leaving around October 9th and returning around 24th. The total cost is $1600 for flight and room and board. We will be having a meeting to work out details on June 27th so let me know if you would like to attend.

I hope you catch the vision of reaching a whole country and multiple generations with the message of the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ. Submitting all our small efforts to God will produce a large impact for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Guyana. Be part of that impact. ron