Off the Grid

Guyana: Communion

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: OTG

Program Code: OTG000007


00:53 Today is a very special day for our missionaries
00:55 in the Jungles of Guyana;
00:57 today they will be traveling to the village of
00:59 Blackwater, to hold the very first communion service
01:02 for the Amerindian People.
01:04 The team will not be using their usual means
01:06 of transportation, their aircrafts,
01:09 but instead, they will be traveling by water.
01:11 Since the missionaries do not live on the water, they load
01:15 and climb into the only vehicles they have, an arctic cat buggy,
01:19 and dirt bikes and ride across town to the Mabaruma boat docks.
01:23 The missionaries must take everything they will need
01:25 with them today, and this is no small feat.
01:28 The church they are going to attend today is completely empty
01:32 and they must supply everything including: food, water, dishes,
01:36 instruments, crafts, books, Bibles, and life jackets,
01:41 just to name a few items.
01:43 Thankfully, the missionaries have their very own boat
01:45 that they use to travel the water ways.
01:47 The mission was blessed with a boat several years ago
01:50 and they are very thankful to have it.
01:52 It's so nice to be able to travel, because you travel
01:56 sometimes three - four hours on the river,
02:00 and to be able to sit out in the sun, even in the rain.
02:04 You drive along, it is just raining, just pouring down.
02:10 Put the sides on, to stay dry.
02:13 Once all the cargo is loaded, today's team
02:15 can climb aboard the vessel.
02:17 There will be 10 members traveling to Blackwater today.
02:21 Each person has a specific task for today that combined,
02:25 will bring a blessing to the remote Blackwater congregation.
02:29 However with all the extra gear, it seems to be a tight fit
02:33 so they will have to take another boat as well
02:35 that they acquired from the marina.
02:37 Once both boats are loaded, they begin to head up river.
02:41 OK, we are all loaded up here, we are going up river
02:44 to a village called Blackwater.
02:47 They have a small gathering there, that we been going to
02:50 every month, or so for the last almost 5 years.
02:53 Today is kind of a big event, we have the pastor 2 pastors coming
02:57 pastor Rick and pastor Andrea we'll have Communion Service
03:00 for the first time, I think maybe ever up there.
03:02 So we got 2 boatloads of people going up
03:04 to take care of the service.
03:06 We look forward to taking care of the people there.
03:10 I think we can expect probably 30 children, 30 maybe
03:13 40 children even, and probably 20- 25 adults, or so.
03:19 It will be about a 2 hour ride from Mabaruma to Blackwater.
03:23 And it looks as if today they will be blessed
03:25 with good weather, and clear water conditions.
03:28 But just to be safe, they offer up a word of prayer
03:31 before they begin their journey.
03:33 Jah, would you pray for us? Sure, let's pray!
03:36 Heavenly Father, we thank You Lord for the opportunity today
03:38 to go to Blackwater. God we are just so thankful for the people
03:41 there coming to church. We pray that the Holy Spirit will be
03:43 with us. Help us Lord today to share Your message,
03:46 that we may learn much from the Communion Service today,
03:48 and we may learn to love each other, in Jesus' name Amen!
03:55 Guyana is known as the country of many waters.
03:58 It is appropriately named this, since 60% of it is made up
04:01 of river ways that wind through the jungle.
04:04 70% of the Guyanese population lives in the remote jungle,
04:08 so having a boat to access them is crucial.
04:11 Our region that we are working here is covered with rivers
04:14 and jungle. Very difficult to get to. Aviation is part of the
04:18 picture. We certainly do provide the transportation into the
04:22 airstrips of this region, but also we have a boat.
04:24 And our boat provides access to the rivers. I would say
04:28 the majority of the people in this region live along a river.
04:30 But through all of that the ultimate goal is to share the
04:34 love of Christ through these experiences, because you know
04:36 The way they look at it is, they try to understand why would
04:39 you come from America to here. Because all of them are trying
04:43 to leave Guyana to go to America And that's when we can tell them
04:46 about the love of God. And how He has changed our lives to want
04:48 to do something like this.
04:50 Pastor Andre will be accompanying the team
04:52 to Blackwater today. He is the local pastor for region 1
04:56 in Guyana and he oversees 8 separate churches
04:59 scattered along the area.
05:01 The AWA team is very instrumental in providing him
05:04 with transportation, so he can visit his congregations.
05:07 However since he has so many, he is only able to visit each
05:11 congregation every other month, equally 6 times a year.
05:16 But if it were not for the AWA team providing him with
05:19 transportation, his visits would be even more infrequent
05:23 as some of his villages would take him many days to travel to.
05:26 Not only does the plain fly, but we have a boat that requires
05:32 family will come up to this exact church Blackwater
05:35 Every second Sabbath and they will have service.
05:38 Apart from that the AWA will take me from various areas
05:45 to various areas to conduct ministry to some churches
05:49 that will take 2 days to get to, The plane will help me to get
05:52 there by 20 minutes, 30 minutes the most. And I am very proud
05:56 that the Adventist World Aviation has helped us a lot.
06:03 The Wickwire family make it a regular part of their schedule
06:06 to visit Blackwater bi-weekly, since their official pastor
06:10 can't be there every week.
06:12 Jud wants to involve his whole family
06:14 in their ministry in Guyana.
06:16 He teaches his eldest boy Jake, how to drive the boat.
06:19 Usually, every other week, we'll go up to Blackwater and we have
06:22 church service there with them. And every once in a while we'll
06:25 have a health fair, or we'll all get together in a different
06:29 village and do health seminars, or stuff like that.
06:34 Jake is very pleased with the opportunity
06:37 and eagerly takes on the mission.
06:39 As they near their destination,
06:41 they pull into a new construction site.
06:43 This is the new building for the Blackwater church.
06:46 They rent the building they are currently in, and are finally
06:49 able to construct their very own church.
06:52 They are only able to build as funds allow, so for right now
06:57 the church sits empty as it awaits for the
06:59 remainder of the construction costs to be raised.
07:07 Just a few minutes more up river is the current Blackwater church
07:11 They approach the well worn dock and prepare for today's events.
07:15 They have a busy day ahead of them.
07:17 The missionaries are always the first to arrive at the church.
07:20 Since they travel from so far away, and so many variables can
07:25 cause them to delay, time is usually
07:27 just an estimate in the jungle.
07:29 But this gives the team the time to unload,
07:33 and set up for today's special service.
07:40 Today we are on the Barima river at the Blackwater Seventh-day
07:45 Adventist church. It takes about an hour and a half to come up
07:49 the river to get to the church here each Sabbath.
07:52 This is a church, that Adventist World Aviation wins
07:55 for humanity. Helped to establish it and at least
07:58 continue to grow. So today we are here to have their first
08:02 Communion and we'll worship with them today and bring them some
08:07 of the great sunshine of our Lord Jesus.
08:09 Well, it's been really cool to be part of getting the
08:11 Blackwater church going.
08:13 When we first went there, there was about 7 or 8 members.
08:18 But it's amazing because like 30 people would come out,
08:21 or 40 people would come out, and we just assumed, that they are
08:24 all Adventist, and then when you eventually realized that
08:27 they are not. They are just kind of there, because there is an
08:29 activity going on for the day. And then we developed a kid's
08:33 program a bit more that way, So you get like 30 kids out,
08:37 or more every Sabbath we go there to do crafts. It is kind
08:42 of intimidating, because we are not Bible workers from home.
08:45 So they come here and go out, it is just nice to go out
08:47 and spend the day with the people there. Just help people.
08:52 when you think they have been baptized, than just king of left
08:54 on their own to keep going. It is really cool that we can be
08:59 there and help facilitate getting people there to preach
09:02 to them and teach them things.
09:03 And getting the pastor out there too.
09:06 The people in this community, when ever there is a church
09:10 come out in numbers, there is no doubt about it.
09:13 Rain or shine, they come. They just come.
09:17 Brother Jud comes, they come, even if I come alone,
09:20 ones, twice I was up here, right and the people just come out
09:25 They are anxious to learn about Jesus and His love.
09:31 Once they arrive, they have a unique way to "ring the church
09:35 Bells" to let everyone know church is about to begin.
09:39 The church bells, that we have is an air horn on the boat.
09:43 So the boys fight over, who is going to blast it off
09:46 when we get there. And then the people start showing up
09:49 for church.
09:51 As soon as the air horn rings across the jungle,
09:53 people immediately start showing up in their boats.
09:56 Small canoes, larger boats, all full of people
10:01 ready for today's church service.
10:03 Whole families come together to church. The ages range from
10:08 grandparents all the way to new born babies. They all pile out
10:12 of their boats to worship together today,
10:15 here in Blackwater in their meager, current church building.
10:20 It's not anything fancy, but the disrepair doesn't stop the
10:24 people from assembling together to worship God.
10:27 Their church is literally comprised of a roof,
10:30 4 walls, a table and 16 wooden benches.
10:35 However, they are grateful and joyously file in.
10:42 We are here today at the Blackwater Seventh-day Adventist
10:44 church. It is about maybe and hour and a half up the river
10:48 from our compound, and the Wickwire family as well as
10:52 others have helped to build this congregation up.
10:55 They are meeting in this sanctuary here.
10:59 As you can see this is... it is like an old shack, but yet it is
11:04 a church that they are renting, and it is very run down.
11:07 Maybe you can take a look at some of the hazards that...
11:10 as the children walk up, you can see some of the hazards.
11:13 The boards are very rotten and it is very hazardous walking
11:18 the planks from the boat dock to get to the church.
11:23 to get to the bathrooms is even more hazardous. The bathrooms
11:27 are over here, but they have been worshipping here
11:29 for quite some time in this churchless corner.
11:32 let's quickly take a look around.
11:34 As you can see in the sanctuary here they've made some benches
11:39 It is kind of fun to watch as you'll see, they say when people
11:44 were sitting in them... But they are very blessed to be
11:47 in this church, and we are proud of Adventist World Aviation
11:49 for the helping and supporting them here.
11:51 While it's just a humble shanty, this church building fills up
11:55 rather quickly with Guyanese natives.
11:57 Within just 15 minutes from blowing the air horn,
12:01 the church is almost at full capacity.
12:08 Karen begins by welcoming everyone
12:11 followed by Zack reading the scripture verse.
12:14 The younger mission team members then treat the
12:16 Blackwater congregation with a special song
12:19 they have been practicing in music class.
12:30 To begin Sabbath school, the church divides into two.
12:34 The adults move to the forward right, while the children move
12:38 towards the back left and both Sabbath schools are conducted
12:41 in the same small space.
12:43 When we go to Blackwater, we help with the crafts and stuff.
12:48 Anika reads a story from a Bible story book to the attentive
12:51 children. They sit still and quietly listen to the story.
12:57 The adults also are captivate with the message
13:00 that Bill Labore is presenting.
13:02 There are no restless kids here. Each of them is glued
13:05 to the story that is unfolding before them.
13:08 Many of them have never heard these stories before
13:10 and are mesmerized.
13:12 The entire church soaks in the gospel message.
13:26 We are always holding VBS and children's Sabbath Schools
13:29 and children's programs and most children here don't even own
13:34 crayons. In fact when we first started to go to Blackwater
13:37 we had to teach them how to color. They didn't even know
13:40 how to color. And so it's been a fun thing,
13:45 to be able to have crafts and show kids how to do that.
13:48 and see them grow as we do crafts every week.
13:50 And they learn how to do things. Simple things like coloring.
13:54 We're not just there for short term, we live there,
13:56 we been there for 5 years now and we've gotten to know
13:58 a lot of people, we've built a lot of relationships...
14:02 There are many people there, that have been impacted very
14:05 positively, both for medical reasons, as well as just purely
14:09 from a relationship standpoint. In knowing this as a Seventh-day
14:14 Adventist. As I mentioned earlier, that Adventism had
14:16 kind of a negative name when we first came to Guyana and
14:20 I think we really been able to remove a lot of that stigma.
14:23 A lot of people come to church, who would never have come
14:25 to church before.
14:26 And I think seeing us involved in the community, going to
14:31 some of the events and participating even on boards.
14:35 I was involved in the board of directors situation
14:38 for one of the schools here.
14:39 Built a lot of relationships that way. It just really has
14:43 broken down lot of barriers that existed before and we believe
14:46 that will leave the seeds for God's Kingdom.
14:49 It takes forming a relationship, with people, that is genuine.
14:52 Not just a handout Gospel, here we give you this,
14:55 you come to church, then we baptize you and we get to talk
14:58 about numbers back home.
15:01 It is about really loving the people and living with them.
15:05 Treating them equally as Christian brothers and sisters.
15:12 After Sabbath school is over, Pastor Andre begins
15:16 the anxiously awaited communion service.
15:19 None of these people have even experienced or seen
15:21 anything like this, so he gives a slight precursor.
15:25 He then invites Pastor Rick to give a brief message
15:29 and to help him lead in the sacred service.
15:32 Pastor Rick tries to break it down in a very simple way
15:35 so everyone can understand the significance
15:37 of this foreign activity.
15:39 ... Sometimes we just enter into sins of things that we shouldn't
15:42 be thinking about.
15:44 Man, I struggle with sin every day, I don't know about you.
15:47 There're times, when I feel like I need to wash my feet often.
15:51 And that is when we get on our hands and knees and say
15:53 Lord Jesus cleanse me! But from time to time
15:55 we physically do the representation of what
15:58 Jesus Christ did.
16:00 Right there with His disciples we wash our feet.
16:02 But here for the first time I am honored to participate
16:05 in the Communion service.
16:06 And before we commune with one another, we want to be
16:08 washed clean! Can you say Amen to that?
16:10 So let's wash ourselves clean this morning...
16:13 After he explains why they need to wash each other's feet,
16:16 Zack Wickwire springs into action to prepare the water.
16:21 He has fetched rain water from the collection tank and now
16:24 begins to fill each bowl.
16:26 Even though he is of a young age Zack proves that anyone anywhere
16:31 can be a missionary, regardless of how young they are.
16:34 He faithfully fulfills a need and serves where he can.
16:38 As the service proceeds, the mission team members humbly wash
16:43 each of the church member's feet.
16:46 Many of them are unsure about this strange custom, but they
16:49 But they allow their feet to be washed.
16:51 One by one each foot is washed as race,
16:55 and language barriers disappear.
16:58 Here, they are all God's children coming together
17:02 to serve one another.
17:09 Well, that was a really kind of a unique experience.
17:12 Because Communion, I mean there aren't really any other
17:19 parallels. In other cultures you have to explain about Jesus
17:23 being a servant. And it just kind of backwards sort of thing,
17:27 that the last will be first.
17:30 And so, we got to go and do that with them and I don't...
17:35 I tried to explain as I was doing it and show them that
17:38 I was willing to care and to wash their feet.
17:44 I don't know what they thought of it.
17:46 If they just thought it was weird, that we did that?
17:49 Or if they got a picture of Jesus?
17:52 I hope they did!
17:54 Putting other people first...
17:56 We put other people first, we gain the blessing.
17:59 It is an absolute joy.
18:01 I pray for everyone out there, to have that kind of experience.
18:04 Serving other people is what God is all about, to begin with!
18:10 Everything He does, has to do with service.
18:12 and encouraging and helping people.
18:19 I think being a servant means, that you'll be able to put aside
18:23 what you want, and do what God wants you to do,
18:25 to help other people.
18:28 To me the word servant hood means
18:32 remembering that life isn't all about me.
18:36 Being a missionary, you can't be a Christian
18:39 without being a missionary.
18:40 After the foot washings, the service continues
18:43 with the story of the last supper.
18:45 So they set up this table and Jesus explained the bread.
18:49 He explained the wine. It was described in the Old Testament
18:53 The bread and the wine
18:56 And Jesus said, when you eat this, you are remembering
18:59 that I had to die for you.
19:01 So Jesus' body had to die that we might what?
19:05 We might live.
19:06 We are not eating living flesh. We are not eating dead flesh
19:09 for that matter. It doesn't become Jesus.
19:11 It is a symbol of Jesus Christ.
19:16 ... take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you.
19:21 this do in remembrance of me.
19:29 With grateful hearts we have come to Thee
19:32 at Your table to sup with You.
19:35 After prayer, Bill serves the bread to the congregation
19:39 As he passes the plate of the unleavened bread,
19:43 the church members eagerly accept and take a piece.
19:47 They now have a better understanding of the
19:49 significance of the service.
19:51 and are happy to be participating
19:53 in this reverent act of faith.
20:00 They read a scripture and pray over the wine
20:03 before it is passed out to the people.
20:12 Again Bill takes the tray of grape juice
20:14 from person to person and offers it to them.
20:18 Some are still not sure of the proper protocol and they look to
20:22 each other to try to decipher what they need to do next.
20:40 Many of the folks here for the very first time,
20:43 for the very first time, washing feet and eating the bread
20:49 drinking the wine. It was a sight to see them look to see
20:54 ohh, I put the bread first in the mouth and I am waiting
20:57 for instruction to eat the bread and drink the wine.
21:00 It was a blessing and honor the total was good today
21:03 We had over 40 something persons drinking, Communion
21:06 for the first time after 6 years. And that is a blessing
21:12 More than that, we had over 5 to 6 persons,
21:15 who came from overseas to fellowship with us here today.
21:19 I want to take this opportunity to thank them for coming.
21:21 May God continue to bless them! And grant them safe journey back
21:25 to the United States.
21:26 After church, the people are again fed.
21:29 The missionaries prepare a meal to bring for fellowship potluck.
21:33 They prepared all this food earlier and brought it with them
21:37 up the river.
21:38 Once again, the missionaries serve the local church members.
21:41 They pass out the food and do the dishes with a cheerful heart
21:46 After a long day at church,
21:48 the team packs up and heads back down river.
21:51 Despite the immense amount of work, all can agree, that today
21:55 was an incredibly special day as they shared the first communion
22:00 service with those at the Blackwater church.
22:06 Well, I love Jesus' council in the Bible, when He talks about
22:11 how the last shall be first and the first shall be last.
22:13 I understood it in concept, but I never really understood
22:17 what it meant in reality until I came down to Guyana.
22:21 One of the amazing things is let's say that you add a...
22:26 We have church potluck in our church here in Mabaruma.
22:29 And right away, because I am a missionary and I am from the
22:32 United States,
22:33 they think for some reason I got to be first in line.
22:35 I always tell them, I don't want to be first, I want everybody
22:37 to go through first and I'll take the last plate.
22:40 And it is no big deal, but it is just amazing,
22:42 the look on their faces, because they just can't understand
22:44 why you wouldn't want to be first.
22:45 But it is just an example, but it shows that if
22:49 we put other people first, we find that we are truly blessed.
22:53 We gain a blessing when we see other people served before us.
22:56 You know, we are fighting the fights against Satan, basically.
23:01 And what we need most is prayers from people.
23:05 We see attacks all the time, and here even he attacks in a more
23:11 real way, than in the States. In the States it is more subtle.
23:15 But here we see... you know there are children getting
23:18 possessed at school a lot. And we just see him fight
23:21 even with us too.
23:23 And so what we need the most, are prayers! Just people,
23:27 who are prayer warriors to be on their knees praying for us.
23:30 Praying for protection, praying that we will continue to do
23:34 God's will and fight the good fight!
23:37 One of the most important thing to understand is
23:39 that even though Adventist World Aviation is about aviation,
23:42 Aviation is only a background item, honestly.
23:45 The whole idea is leading souls to Jesus Christ.
23:49 There have been people, who have come and begged us to build
23:51 churches in their communities. And we can't, because you are
23:55 not going to build a church and not have anybody there
23:57 to support it and to shepherd the people.
23:58 So that is the greatest need. And it is frustrating,
24:02 so frustrating, because there is such need for Bible studies.
24:06 People are just coming all the time and there is not enough of
24:10 us to meet all the needs, we can't be everywhere all at once.
24:12 We really, really need people to come!
24:14 One of the challenges we face, in the mission field in Guyana
24:17 is that we live here, we see all the work that needs to be done.
24:22 So many places that, literal if I had a 100 people, who wanted
24:25 to come down and work full time, we could probably find a
24:27 position for them and send them to work.?
24:29 But it is a challenge finding people, who catch the vision
24:33 of the last days. Jesus is coming again soon
24:35 and to put all, everything on the table for the Lord.
24:39 The harvest is very ripe for the gospel work here.
24:42 The reception of the people in the community
24:44 in the homes sharing tracts and the Bible is wonderful.
24:49 Jesus said in the great Gospel Commission in Matthew 28:19-20
24:52 that we are to go into all the world!
24:55 Well, Adventist World Aviation is dedicated to doing just that!
24:58 There are between six and a half and seven billion people
25:02 now living on planet earth. And two billion of them have
25:05 never heard of Jesus.
25:07 Of the two billion, eight hundred million of them
25:10 can only be reached like means like aircraft.
25:13 or through aviation support.
25:15 We go into the un-reached areas of the world.
25:18 What we find when we go in there
25:20 we find death and disease and despair.
25:24 What we bring them is hope, health and life.
25:28 And a great Gospel message that Jesus loves them.
25:30 That there is somebody out there, who does care.
25:33 They often ask, why do you do this?
25:36 We say, because Jesus loves you!
25:39 And so the message that we bring them is absolute hope.
25:43 Since it's inception, 1995, AWA, or Adventist World Aviation
25:47 has been able to relieve over thirty five epidemics.
25:50 We've literally flown millions of missionary miles.
25:54 We are relieving the pain and suffering of those who live
25:56 in these remote parts of the world. Helping them.
25:59 Will you pray for us! We need prayer more than anything else!
26:02 If you like more information please contact this station
26:06 3 Angels Broadcasting Network, or call the number on the screen
26:10 Thanks for watching!


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Revised 2014-12-17