Heather spent a week on a team that ran a medical and dental clinic each day on the other side of Georgetown, the capital. The team slept onboard the ship but went out each day and provided the dental treatment and health check-ups but also prayed with every patient and ministered to all those that came.
Because of her experience with the first team, Heather joined the second medical/dental team that went to a town an hours drive away, to help set everything up. On Sunday,she took Liam and Kara along as well for the experience.
They loved meeting all the children there and had a great time while Heather worked - again providing medical and dental treatment to those that came to the outreach - located at a YWAM base in Parika. They only stayed one night because the kids got virtually no sleep due to all the noises over night - dogs, cockerels etc.
On Wednesday, Heather went back to Parika with Liam for another day and in the evening, they both went on a crocodile hunt! This may sound like a fairly dangerous activity - going up the river in a small boat, looking for crocodiles, but actually the ones in the large rivers are very small and can even be picked up when caught.
While Heather and the kids were in Parika, I headed off for my own "challenge team."
10 of us went 50 miles up the river Essequibo from Parika to a small place called Goshen, a collection of houses set between the jungle and the river with no roads or cars. We stayed in the Goshen Baptist church working with Pastor Singh. Over the week we completely decorated the inside of the church building and replaced the roof on another building. We spent the first day just building the scaffolding to get up to the rafters, using all sorts of bits of wood.
Every afternoon, the local youngsters came and played football on the playing field behind the church and basketball in front. Some of us joined in with the games. Every night we put on a programme for the kids from 7 - 9pm. As the week went by the numbers grew from around 20 to over 65 kids and teenagers. Later in the week we split them up between the younger children and the teenagers so we could communicate more on their levels.
On Friday we got a day off the practical work and went on a guided hike through the jungle which was amazing. It was incredible to go swimming in the creeks and get a boat ride through the narrow creeks where we had to duck under branches as we passed.
Saturday we went to another church building up the river that was planted by Pastor Singh a few years ago.
There we worked with a good number of the Goshen church members to paint the building inside and out. Seems like a great idea for a Sunday School Outing - paint your church!!
Looking back over the week, it was amazing how we were able to connect with so many of the kids and young people, mainly Amerindians. We also were greatly blessed by the fellowship and hospitality of the church members.
Washing in the river, being woken by a cockerel or the screeching of parrots, having snakes,frogs and tarantulas share our living area, travelling everywhere by boat - what a memorable experience.
Overall, Guayana was very different from what we expected. 180 of the crew went out on 21 teams and everyone was greatly encouraged by their experiences.
So now it is just a week to Christmas. As the UK has it's first snow of the winter, we are heading to a little bay where we will be able to swim off the quayside. What a contrast to last Christmas.
I will try and get in another blog before Christmas but in case I don't I wish you all a very happy Christmas.
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