[Guyana-Mission-Report] I smell something burning!

The acrid smell of burning rubber is a very distinct smell - regardless of the context of which you smell it.  But when you smell it in-flight at 7,500 feet with nothing but raw jungle and rivers below you, it takes on a whole new significance! Yesterday I was returning to Georgetown to do some maintenance on the airplane and prepare for our next big push - flying bible workers back to their home villages. We were maintaining 7,500 feet above sea level, and I had pulled the power and propeller control back so as to get the best fuel economy.  45 Miles from the international airport I detected a strong smell of burning rubber.  It was so strong that my front seat passenger turned to me and said "I smell something burning!"  Immediately I kicked into action.  Hit the "Nearest" button on your GPS to see where the nearest airport is - should the situation escalate into an emergency.  The nearest airport was Linden about 20 nautical miles away.  Instantly I got on the radio and requested ATC for a right deviation, and a descent.  Then I started trouble shooting.  Engine Instruments - All Indicating normal Felt under dash - No abnormal heat Circuit breakers - Nothing noticeably popped Smell - Burning rubber but nothing particularly electrical After 20-30 seconds the smell went away.  The closer I got to Linden the more I debated what to do.  I could land and try and find out the problem, but the airstrip didn't provide anything in the way of repair facilities.  It was just a strip out in the middle of virually nowhere.  The situation appeared to have stabilized somewhat (i.e. the smell was gone), so I decided to split the difference between Linden and Timehri (international airport) and if everything went well I would continue on to Timehri.  Airplane continued to perform like normal, and I was just about to Timehri Airport and considering making a run for Ogle (our final destination), when the smell came back stronger than ever.   It was clear that something was very wrong, so I took a deep breath, keyed the mike and told the tower that we were experiencing some electrical problems and needed to land.  Two weeks earlier a Carribean Airlines Flight to New York had ingested a couple birds soon after takeoff and had to circle back for an emergency landing.  I think this was fresh in the controllers mind, when I told him about my situation because he immediately cleared me to land on either of the two runways. After landing I taxied over to the Texaco Refueling Area and cut the power.  My passengers and I sat for a few minutes and debrief on what everyone smelled.  After climbing out of the aircraft, I opened the little hatch to the oil dipstick and immediately saw the problem.  The pully on the alternator was missing a belt.  Ahhhhh!  It all made perfect sence now! I handed a screw driver to one of the other guys and we proceeded to take the cowl off to have a better look.  Somehow the belt had loosened up and started slipping and eventually it torqued completely off and was laying on the inside of the bottom cowling.  We buttoned the airplane back up and flew back to Ogle using our battery for the radio.  I praise the Lord that it was a simple solution.  Now we have to locate another belt to keep going.  The work has been nothing short of a flood and we've probably flown 60 hours in the last three weeks. Starting this next Sunday we plan to make four to five flights to transport bible workers back to their home village. As things slow down a little I'll look at traveling back to the US to take a little break. Thank you for your prayers in our behalf.  Flying over the jungles of Guyana always carries a certain amount of risk, but in order to get the gospel into these remote areas we must assume that risk.  Rest assured, we do our best to keep our aircraft in top flying condition, but airplanes are made by fallible humans, and can break on occasion.  This is why your prayers are such a big encouragement to us.  We know that we're not just flying on wings of a Cessna - but also wings of angels. Sincerely, James James & Joy Ash 121 Durban Backlands Georgetown, Guyana 011-592-629-5141 http://guyanaaviationevangelism.blogspot.com/ James & Joy Ash Gospel Ministries International Project Name: Guyana Aviation Evangelism 874 South McDonald SW McDonald, TN 37353 1 (423) 473-1841 or 1 (423) 473-1842

[Guyana-Mission-Report] Aircraft down

Dear Family and Friends   As some of you may have already heard.  The other pilot in our organization had an accident with his aircraft in Paruima Village.  From the reports it sounds like Gary was hoping to get three students out of Paruima Village, but was uncertain whether to take two or three.  So he wisely decided to take two in order to assess how the airplane would perform.  He took off just fine, but when he turned around and landed down-wind to pick up the third student, the wind caught the airplane at the wrong moment.  He tried to stop the plane, but the grass was extremely slick and the aircraft skidded off the end of the runway down an embankment and into some small brush-like trees.  All three occupants were able to get out of the airplane with not a scratch on them.  By the next day the villagers had pulled the plane which was partially submerged out of the Kamarang river and set it up on the river bank.   What does this mean for the GAMAS flight program?  Good question.  At this point there are many variables in the works and it remains to be seen what the final outcome will be. Without a doubt, the flight program has experienced a serious setback, and at this moment we're the only remaining GAMAS airplane flying in Guyana.  This increases the burden on my shoulders as I seek to cover the entire region with the Cessna 182 the Lord has provided us. Gary Lewis is tentatively making plans to travel back to the States to prepare another airplane to bring down.  How long this will take is also another key variable.  Let's hope for the sake of the work that it is quick. The good news in all of this is that Davis Indian Industrial College has closed early.  This last Monday I flew into Paruima to evacuate the remaining four teachers.   For the immediate moment we're not making plans to move anywhere.  Shea's new health worker is back in the village, but she's pretty new and will need a lot of training and coaxing to break out of her shell.  She's very young and quiet.  So the reality is that Joy needs to stay on at Shea longer to effectively wrap up the project.   This is accident reminds me again how quickly a situation can develop.  One unguarded moment can spell disaster for the airplane and others lives.  That's why I'm moving very cautiously, taking extra precautions.  I'm so grateful for the army of people who are standing shoulder to shoulder with us in their prayers.  I know that it may seem to you that your petitions disappear into the blue atmosphere, never to be seen again.  But a number of times I've felt God's guiding hand reach down and intervene in my behalf.   Thank you from the bottom of my heart.                                                                                                                                                   James James & Joy Ash 121 Durban Backlands Georgetown, Guyana 011-592-629-5141 http://guyanaaviationevangelism.blogspot.com/ James & Joy Ash Gospel Ministries International Project Name: Guyana Aviation Evangelism 874 South McDonald SW McDonald, TN 37353 1 (423) 473-1841 or 1 (423) 473-1842

[Guyana-Mission-Report] Fast Forward

PICTURED - Our bible workers in at the secondary school in Paramakatoi Village Joy's medical work in Shea Village is wrapping up.  I just saw Bernice (the newly trained health worker for Shea) and she told me that she's supposed to travel back to Shea Village in two weeks.  We're not sure yet where our next assignment will be, but until that time we're stuck on "fast forward".  Last Thursday I met together with the couple in Maururinau Village (Fred and Kateri).  It was a vigorous 30 minutes mountain bike ride, ending with a steep climb up the hill to their house.  We spent an hour and a half together studying the bible with a series of lessons from Amazing Facts. I also talked with them about doing some training so that they can form a branch Sabbath School in their village.  This is ground breaking since most religious groups have been flatly denied access to work in the village. Praise the Lord.  We now have about 10 different bible studies going in our village.  God is truly blessing the outreach efforts. Some of our friends and family have inquired about the Church of Christ group in Shea, and what is happening with them.  They are continuing to meet together, but strangely their bible worker isn't coming.  Joy and I are continuing our studies with them.  Gregory (our bible worker in Aishalton Village), just arrived back from his trip to Bolivia.  We had sent him to Bolivia to record some programs in the local Wapishana dialect.   He spent three weeks preparing, and recording 10 sermons, but as an added bonus, he also did 24 bible stories in Wapishana as well.  Now the media team is taking the raw footage and in a couple weeks we'll be able to replicate these messages and share them out.  It's like multiplying our bible worker many times over! We also have plans to replicate select programs off 3ABN and use them for evangelism and edification of the churches. There are other exciting developments happening.  The district pastor just told me yesterday of a village in the North Savanna of Region 9 that is located in a mountainous region.  Since they are so remote few religious organizations have been able to visit them.  But Pastor Garnett reports that he's traveled there several times already, and the people are so happy that any church would be willing to come teach them from the bible, that they are seriously considering deeding their local Anglican church (which isn't in use) to the Adventists if they will continue to come!  It sounds like we must put a bible worker in there immediately who can nurture these people.  Reports are coming from several other villages where the people are crying out for more knowledge.  We've got to train, equip and send more bible workers.  If you would be interested in sponsoring an Amerindian bible worker (only $150USD a month), we would personally train, equip them, and send them to places like I just mentioned. Please contact me and I can give you the details of how this would work.  ashjam7@yahoo.com James James & Joy Ash 121 Durban Backlands Georgetown, Guyana 011-592-629-5141 http://guyanaaviationevangelism.blogspot.com/ James & Joy Ash Gospel Ministries International Project Name: Guyana Aviation Evangelism 874 South McDonald SW McDonald, TN 37353 1 (423) 473-1841 or 1 (423) 473-1842

[Guyana-Mission-Report] Exciting Events

A big thank you goes to everyone who has been praying for the fledgling bible study group that is wanting to start up a new Sabbath Service in Marurinau village which is only 5 miles away from us.  The village has been very closed to any sort of gospel outreach, going so far as to give some visiting church members 30 minutes to get out of their village. About 6 weeks ago one of our Shea church members who is from that village decided on his own that he wanted to start a small bible study group in his home.  He wrote a letter of request to the village council stating in very clear terms what he was wanting to do.  The council responded back to him, saying that they would "consider the matter and inform him of their decision".  When Fred told me what he written in his letter, I cringed a little, wondering whether the council would accept something so boldly stated.  But I just heard that they've given him permission to go ahead with the bible study in his home, but he can't do anything public.  Whether this allows him to study with multiple people in his home or only one at a time, I'm not quite sure.  I'll have to find out more details.  But we're praising the Lord for this breakthrough.  Again we sense that this is partly due to the aircraft ministry.  They're secretly hoping that we'll move close to Marurinau after our tenure in Shea is complete. The same member from Marurinau got married this last Sunday.  It was actually a double wedding with another couple wanting to tie the knot.  On Friday I flew all the way up to Region #7 to get the pastor.  Joy agreed to make some wedding cakes for the reception.  Come Saturday night she realized that she needed an additional 14lbs. of flour and 32 eggs!  Since there were no eggs in the village and flour was also short, we sent a guy on a motorbike over to Marurinau to see if he could get the items.  He came back some time around midnight and said that they didn't have either.  So all our cakes were the egg-less variety.  The flavor was perfect, but getting them out of the pan was a bit tricky.  Joy started baking at 2am and continued straight up until the wedding at 10am.  The service went really well but as soon as it was over we has to hurriedly pack up our stuff and departed in order to get the pastor back to Kamarang Village before sunset. As we were winging our way back to Shea the following day, Joy turned to me and asked whether we could stop in a Paramakatoi and pick up our high chair.  If you remember, about 6 weeks ago we were traveling from Georgetown to Shea when we got an urgent call to airlift a snakebite victim out of Paramakatoi.  Since we didn't have enough room in the cabin for the passengers and our stuff, the high chair got left behind with our bible worker.  Joy was wanting to get the chair back, so we diverted a little and stopped in at PK.  We had a long talk with the Gudges who are doing bible work there at PK.  They are the deans for 300+ secondary students from Region 8.  We had given them some Amazing Facts Bible Study Lessons about a year ago, and they've already used these up.  Not too long ago 15 people were baptized into their church group.  The church has about 32 - 50 persons in attendance, and its growing. They are desperate for more of those colorful Amazing Facts Lessons.  They are studying with the kids in the mornings.  Many of these kids are interested in studying bible, and at the end of this year they will be scattering to every village in Region 8.  I challenged the Gudges to consider training these young people to be evangelists to take the message to their villages.  Winston smiled and replied, "I was just thinking about this a couple days ago.  But we need bible study materials." I asked him how many sets he could use.  His response, "As many as you can send."  Oooookay!!!  Truly this is an opportunity like few others, and we're trying to get this done so that when the students leave for the summer, they will be trained and equipped to plant gospel seeds all over Region 8. While I was flying the pastor in the airplane from Paruima to Shea, we had a chance to talk about bible work in the Rupununi.  We are going to be working on a major bible worker training initiative that will train, equip, and launch new bible worker couples into fields that are inquiring about the Advent Message.  I'll give more details as it unfolds. There's so much more to write about, but I must go.  Thank you so very much for your prayers.  Daily we're seeing God's direct intervention in our lives.  To someone who doesn't believe in divine appointments, our lives look a little disconnected, but as we glance backward at the events in our lives, we see a masterful tapestry of how God has led us. God is truly answering your prayers, and we're so grateful for this.  Sincerely  James and Joy Ash   James & Joy Ash 121 Durban Backlands Georgetown, Guyana 011-592-629-5141 http://guyanaaviationevangelism.blogspot.com/ James & Joy Ash Gospel Ministries International Project Name: Guyana Aviation Evangelism 874 South McDonald SW McDonald, TN 37353 1 (423) 473-1841 or 1 (423) 473-1842

[Guyana-Mission-Report] Missionary Snippets

I'm stuck in Georgetown...  Sort of. Let me catch you up on some bits and pieces of what is happening. Yesterday I flew up from Region 9 with our bible worker so that he can go to Bolivia.  We're sending him to Bolivia to professionally record him preaching some sermons in his native Wapishana dialect.  The GMI team in Bolivia will shoot the footage on a special set that they are building just for him, and then will do post production so that it can be put on DVD's.  Once we get these DVD's we plan to replicate them like the leaves of autumn, and distribute them throughout the villages.  Those who don't have DVD players will get an audio version.  Tomorrow I'll fuel up the airplane and fly back to Shea.  The well diggers have finished the well in our front yard.  They're only 14 feet down, but have 2 1/2 feet of water.  This is a huge blessing because we've been without water for 3+ weeks and I've been hauling it in five gallon buckets three times a day.  My arms could sure use a rest.  Like they aren't long enough already! A couple days ago I went out visiting.  I've determined that I need to turn up the intensity and start doing more house to house outreach. We've been doing all sorts of missionary related stuff, but I've determined that the key is is home visits.  At the first house I went to I sat on the grass and just talked with them.  I've taken a simple formula.  1.  Talk to them - every day conversation.  2.  Listen to them - Listen for felt needs.  3. Share the Word - Share bible texts that address their needs.  4.  Pray for them - And allow the Holy Spirit to touch their hearts.  As I was saying goodbye, and turning away to walk to the next house, the lady throws a  bombshell my way.  "Pastor, when are you going to come teach us the bible?" Wow!  What a question...  I looked thoughful for a moment and then asked, "When would you like me to come?"  "Next Sunday" she replied. "I'd be glad to come and I'll bring a nice set of bible lessons for you to keep." She looked really pleased at the though.  As I walked away, I couldn't help but wonder.  "How long had she been asking herself this burning question, 'When is he going to come and teach me the bible?'" This question quickly sparked another thought - "I wonder how many more people in our village have this same question burning in their hearts?" There are thousands, yes millions of people around the world who look wistfully toward heaven longing for a better understanding of truth.  We must go, because they rarely will come. Please pray, not just for us, but that God would guide you to someone that you can TALK-LISTEN-SHARE-PRAY with.  God bless, JamesGuy   James & Joy Ash 121 Durban Backlands Georgetown, Guyana 011-592-629-5141 http://guyanaaviationevangelism.blogspot.com/ James & Joy Ash Gospel Ministries International Project Name: Guyana Aviation Evangelism 874 South McDonald SW McDonald, TN 37353 1 (423) 473-1841 or 1 (423) 473-1842

[Guyana-Mission-Report] Grave Top Ministry

New Years was a sad day in Shea Village.  A young man in his early thirties who had been partying all night, came home, beat up his wife and then took his hammock rope and hung himself on a cashew tree behind his house.  This is the second suicide for the year, and 6-7 unsuccessful tries were made. The sad part is that the church which he belongs to was unwilling to help the family dig a grave.  Everyone was recovering from the nights revelry and few people wanted to get out in the hot sun and pick out a proper hole.  I was informed that a few elderly people dug a foot and a half down with a hoe and buried the body.  I was alarmed when I heard this, envisioning some dogs digging up the remains.  So I talked another church member into helping me give the guy a proper burial.  At first we weren't quite sure what to do.  We didn't want to dig the body back up after 36 hours.  We had an extra bag of cement at the church that needed to be used up, and so we spent a couple hours and cast a 2 inch slab over the top of the body.  Just enough to keep the dogs from exhuming the corpse.  A bunch of kids and youth showed up to watch what was happening.  After I finished troweling the top of the slab and inscribing the name and date with a nail, I took off my hat and we had a little grave side service.  I looked them each in the eye and appealed to them that they never ever even consider the idea of taking their lives.  It leaves so many hurting people behind.  I also had prayer with the family who weren't at the grave side service.  The father in law of the deceased man has opposed the building of the church, and has gone so far as to call our church members snakes.  I hope and pray that this little gesture will help to break down prejudice and maybe open their hearts to the gospel. One of our church members also had a close call.  He had been imbibing some alcohol, and came back to his house in the early morning and promptly got into an argument with his wife.  I don't know all the details but he nearly choked his wife to death, and then in a complete reverse of emotion he tried unsuccessfully to drink poison and kill himself.  Somehow the mother in law and wife were able to wrestle the bottle out of his hand and pour it on the ground.  I paid a pastoral visit to him the next day when he was sober and we had some pretty straight words about what happened and the terrible effects of alcohol.  When they drink their local Para Cari drink it makes them almost demonic in nature. There is good news!  After catching our breath a little on the building project, we're hard at it again.  This time we have both bible workers out in the field, cutting boards for the benches, doors, and pulpit.  We'll need to get windows installed as well. It's now time to finish what we've begun.  We're so thankful for everyone who has helped us with this project.  We'll continue to send pictures as things progress. God bless, James James & Joy Ash 121 Durban Backlands Georgetown, Guyana 011-592-629-5141 http://guyanaaviationevangelism.blogspot.com/ James & Joy Ash Gospel Ministries International Project Name: Guyana Aviation Evangelism 874 South McDonald SW McDonald, TN 37353 1 (423) 473-1841 or 1 (423) 473-1842

[Guyana-Mission-Report] Called from the Pulpit

Yesterday I was preaching a message at the new little Adventist Church in Shea when a young lady appeared at the back of the church and started waiving her hands animatedly.  It was the wife of my translator, so he quietly excused himself to go see what was the matter.  I tried to continue my sermon without translation, but by this time my train of thought was pretty well derailed.  A minute or two later he whispered in my ear, "There's a medical emergency in Marurinau and they need the airplane to fly the patient to the hospital".  Question to you - What would you do in this situation?  Do you continue preaching and finish your sermon hoping the patient doesn't die on you?  Or do you leave your audience hanging mid-sentence and race out the door?  I tried to strike a happy medium, closing off the message in a few well placed sentences, and with a closing prayer.  I must admit that it wasn't the smoothest conclusion, but it worked - and people understood The young girl who came to inform us had run the 5 miles from Marurinau to Shea.  Fortunately and the kids with her didn't have to run back because we covered the 5 miles in 2 1/2 minutes. The man was elderly (late 60's), had lost a fair amount of blood, had bloody saliva, and was feeling cold in his lower extremities (possible shock).  Joy sent me off with some IV supplies to start an IV, because someone had said that a nurse might be at the airstrip.  As it turned out she didn't show up.  Looking around at the villagers I could see the tense look in the faces of people who came to see the patient off.  They were deeply concerned that he might not make it.  One of the villagers turned to me and said, "We're sorry to bother you on your Sabbath".  I looked him in the eye and as convincing as I could be said, "Hey... That's why we're here...  We're here to serve.  It doesn't matter what day it is".  After the patient and his wife were strapped in, I debated what to do.  I couldn't raise either of the two hospitals on the HF radio.  So I decided to go to the field hospital in Aishalton since they could get an IV going and monitor his condition.  The only problem is how to alert them I'm coming? I decided to fly over the hospital and circle it until someone decided to come out.  Othere than a couple construction/maintenance workers who were milling around, it looked pretty desolate.  A couple minutes after I landed, the Medex showed up on his motorbike to find out what was going on.  I told him about the patient, and after assessing him he decided to keep him for the night.  Today we transported the same patient out to Lethem to the main hospital.  Please pray for Valentine P. Not too long ago I had another interesting experience.  Here in Guyana, the air regulations state that in order to be able to fly into an airstrip in the interior, you must first fly into the airstrip with another experienced pilot who has been there before.  Every time our chief pilot Gary Roberts comes to Guyana we try to train on new airstrips so that we can increase the reach of our ministry.  Anyway, not long ago I was getting a new airstrip checkouts to Achwib and Sowariwau.   The airstrips weren't particularly difficult, and we finished the checkout back in Shea.  That evening Joy and I packed up our stuff and flew to Lethem. The next morning my cell phone began to ring.  It was the Lethem hospital stating that there was an emergency in Achwib Village.  A young man had gotten his face sliced open in a drunken fight, and was needing to be flown out. Immediately we responded by flying to the field hospital in Aishalton to pick up the field doctor before flying the 15 minutes to Achwib.  The boy had a huge gash on his left jaw, nearly down to the bone.  By the time we landed a huge number of people were standing around watching.  The doctor immediately started an IV on him and started doing an assessment of the injury.  Fortunately the knife hadn't cut any nerves or tendons.  It was basically a stich job.  So back to the hospital we went where the boy would be sutured up.  The next day the doctor told me that the wound had sutured up nice, and the boy would only have a thin little line to remind him of what had happened that night.   We don't know when the call might come.  But God does, and its experiences like this that serve as reminders that the Lord is only but a step in front of us. Must fly some boxes of medications to Aishalton, and then back to Shea. God bless, James James & Joy Ash 121 Durban Backlands Georgetown, Guyana 011-592-629-5141 http://guyanaaviationevangelism.blogspot.com/ James & Joy Ash Gospel Ministries International Project Name: Guyana Aviation Evangelism 874 South McDonald SW McDonald, TN 37353 1 (423) 473-1841 or 1 (423) 473-1842