Seven Times a Winner April 2012

It is May 30th, 2012 and as I am sitting here at my desk, looking out my window, I reflect back to my 2010 trip to Guyana. That was a marathon. I was in country from August 25th through September 14th. I was wide open the whole time. I had the flu for the first half of the trip and a severe chest and head cold for the second half. I was by myself, so I didn't have any restriction on what I did or where I went. I visited people in Georgetown. North Sophia, Kuru Kururu, Charity, Berbice and several remote villages in the interior of Guyana. The experiences that I had and the people that I met will always be a warm spot in my heart. I got to spend several days at the Bright Horizons Family Home in Kuru Kururu, visiting my "adopted" children. That is always the high light to my South American visits. I was taken on a ten day boat trip into the beautiful interior section of the country by Pastor Orpah Singh of Charity. The adventures were real and the trip was a blessing to me. I met so many different people and it was an eye opener to how the river people lived. My sixth story tells all about that wonderful trip. As soon as I got back into the U.S., I started to plan my return trip for the following April. I had big plans for what I would be doing and who I would see. But, the planned trip for April, 2011 wasn't to be. Sometimes I fail to remember that it's not the plans I make, but it's the plans that God has for me. His plans were different than mine. I will tell of that in a short while but to keep the story in a time order, I would like to tell about a fascinating lady from North Sophia in Georgetown Guyana. That lady is Pastor/Sister Marjorie Doobay. She has been the pastor since the church was built in 2005 by Pastor Randal Aldred and his helpers. This Pentecostal Holiness church was built under very adverse conditions in a very poor part of Georgetown. Sister Doobay was the pastor from the beginning until her death in December 2010. This lady was well organized in all she did and she put everything she had into her work with the church. She was a disciplined, but well loved lady. I visited her for the last time in August 2010 while she was conducting a vacation bible school. She had over two hundred children attending. Under her guidance and the help of her congregation a very successful bible school was held. I was very impressed by her love and compassion that she held for everyone. She was a devoted child of God who took her commitment very seriously. I was saddened to hear of her passing. Her church is moving on, but it's not seeing her smiling face that makes it different. She was a wonderful lady and she is missed by all who knew her. The church is under new leadership. Our prayers go out for the success of North Sophia Pentecostal Holiness Church. LaVerne, my wife, scheduled a physical for me for January 6th 2011 with Dr. Phillip Shou. It had been awhile since my last physical and Verne wanted me to be checked out by a doctor before I went to Guyana in April of that year. She is a very wonderful protective wife. I had a complete physical and everything so far looked good. The doctor had given me a small kit to take a feces sample. I wasn't going to do the test, but something told me to go ahead and take the sample in to the doctor. I did this and the doctor called me in a couple of days and said that he wanted to see me in his office. I went to see him and he told me that a trace of blood was in the feces sample. He said that he had no idea from where the blood was coming and he would recommend me to Dr. Jarath. He would take over from there. Dr. Jarath scheduled me for and upper and lower G.I. on January 26th. Dr. Jarath called me on February 1st and told me that the blood trace showed up on the upper G.I. and that I would be sent to Johnson Willis Hospital on February 8th for an ultra sound and some other test to see where the blood was coming from. I was then scheduled for a CT scan and some other scan on February 14th. I was then sent to see Dr. Michael Rose, a cancer specialist, at the Johnson Willis complex on February 16th. My brother, Dickie, and my wife and I went together to see Dr. Rose. We knew something severe was up and we wanted to be together to hear what news Dr. Rose would have concerning me. Dr. Rose told us that I had a small spot where my esophagus and stomach joined. He said that it was malignant and my entire esophagus had to be removed. He explained that an incision had to be made from just under my chin to about four or five inches down and I would have to be opened up from my rib cage to my abdomen in order to get in and remove the esophagus. He said that this was a very major operation. Surprisingly I was not shook up by the news. On December 23rd 2001, I gave my heart, soul and body to Jesus Christ to use as He saw fit. I knew that this entire part of my life was in His hands and I had no worries at all. Before December 23rd 2001, I would have been petrified at the word cancer. But now, I had the total peace that only Christ can give. [1]

In order for the operation to take place, Dr. Rose had to send me to a heart specialist and a couple other doctors to see if my body was strong enough to cope with the operation I needed that would allow me to continue to live. On February 18th, I had the heart specialist check me out thoroughly. He put me on a treadmill to see if I could walk at a fast pace for five minutes. Then he would see if I could run for one minute. I asked him to skip the walk test and go directly to the run test. I told him that I lived in the outdoors and felt that I was in pretty good shape. He said he would put me on the run test and to let him know when to stop the machine. He stopped the machine fifteen minutes later and told me that my heart would take the upcoming operation and that I had his stamp of approval. I was then sent on February 21st for a PET scan and a pulmonary exam. I was then sent back to Dr. Rose and he explained how the esophagus would be removed and how the stomach would be realigned and hooked back up to the very short piece of esophagus that would remain. He told of all the hardships that I would go through and how my voice and eating habits would be affected by this operation. I thanked him for being so straight with me and I knew that he was put in my path by God to perform this operation and we set up an operation date of February 28th. I had one week to get things in order. On Wednesday February 23rd, I went to Richmond International Airport to pick up my friend Peter Kanhai. Peter was coming in at 7:10 pm from Georgetown, Guyana, South America and I was to meet him at the exit of the terminal area. I was there thirty minutes early. I watched as the plane unloaded its passengers, but I didn't see Peter in the group. I tried to find out if he had been on the flight. I couldn't get an answer. At 8:15 Peter called me on the cell phone and asked me if I was going to pick him up, that he was on the ground floor at the airport and had been there for an hour and half. Somehow Peter had got by me undetected. I told him that I would be right there. I found him sitting in a chair with his head hanging down like he was napping. When I spoke to him, he raised his head and looked at me and said it was good to see me. Something was wrong. I asked Peter what was happening and he said he was sick and his chest was hurting him. I didn't delay a second, I told an airport employee that a man was having serious heart problems and I wanted an EMT there now. Their response was instantaneous and medical help was there in less than three minutes. They diagnosed Peter as having a heart attack. An ambulance was called and Peter was rushed to Regency Memorial Hospital. I stayed at the hospital until 4 am. The doctor came out and told me to go home and rest and come by after six hours. Peter had been heavily sedated and would sleep for a long time. They said that Peter was doing well and that the critical period had passed and he was getting some much needed rest. I didn't know it then but Peter would be there for almost a month. Peter had serious heart and kidney problems. The hospital was taking great care of him. I visited him as much as I could in the week prior to me going into the hospital for my surgery. I didn't realize it then, but I would only see Peter one more time and that would be for a brief time when Peter came to Johnson Willis Hospital before he would head back to Guyana. The week before my scheduled operation on February 28th, I did everything around the house that I could to get things in order so that my wife wouldn't have any trouble during the week that I was supposed to be in the hospital. I knew that the recovery time would be at least a month and I just wanted to be ahead of schedule on house chores. I figured by early April, I would be resuming a half way normal life. This again was not to be as I planned. LaVerne, Dickie and I, arrived at 6 am on Monday February 28th at Johnson Willis Cancer Center for my operation. There were several wonderful people there to stay with Verne while I was being worked on by Dr. Rose. It was so important to Verne and me to have friends by our side at this time. At 5:45 am. I was taken to pre-op and prepared for the operation. I was in the operating room from 7 am until 5:30 pm. To briefly describe my operation procedures, I had a four inch cut from below my chin and I was opened up from my rib cage to my abdomen. All my lower plumbing was removed from my body and laid neatly beside me on the table. The way I understand it, Dr. Rose went through the cut in my neck and cut my esophagus, he them removed the esophagus down to where my stomach starts. He then reconfigured my stomach and attached it somehow, back to the short piece of esophagus that was left. It is truly a work of art that Dr. Rose performed. I wanted to save the removed esophagus, but I guess Dr. Rose forgot and got rid of it. It would have made great catfish bait because a fish couldn't have taken it off the hook. I could have used it over and over. I should have been in the hospital for maybe five or six days, but due to me catching a staph infection and also pneumonia, the stay lasted thirty seven days. I don't remember much of the time in the hospital because I was so sick. I will say one thing for sure and that is the nurses, doctors and attendants were so special. Their care and professional attitude made the stay as comfortable as possible. I had days that were good and days that were bad. Due to the heavy drugs I was given, I had some terrible dreams. I told Dr. Rose to take me off

[2] of drugs. I had rather put up with some pain than the bad dreams. The food was the high light of my day. The nurse would come in with a bag and hook me up. That was my meal. I couldn't even think of eating by mouth. She or he would come in and say today we're having steak, pizza, or some other delicious food and she would hook up the bag. No matter how hard I tried, the "food" always tasted the same. Near the end of my stay I did get some milk, coke and some ice cream. They tasted wonderful. I was blessed with a constant stream of visitors. Verne was up there every night but a couple. My day was made when she would show up. It's a long way from our house to the hospital, but she always came through. She would bring me little gag gifts to brighten my day. She is so special in every way. I still have those little gifts. People from church, work, neighborhood and out-of town would show up every day. My special friend, Bill Bryant, came regularly and would shave me. He brought twenty five custom made candy Easter eggs and I gave them out to the people in the hospital. The thing that hurt me the most was that it was March and the big bass were going crazy at Buggs Island Lake and I was stuck in a hospital bed watching golf on T.V., and I can't stand golf. One night the drugs got to me and I decided to go home. Only problem was that I had I.V.s, drain tubes in my chest, a catheter, feeding tube and all other kinds of hook ups. No big deal. I removed all of them. I pulled out everything. The nurse came in and saw what I had done and freaked out. The only thing I remember is seeing a nurse come in with a shot and said it was time for me to calm down. It was two days before I could function again. For the most part, the ordeal was as good as could have been expected. Like I said the people in the hospital were super, Dr. Rose would come around about 6 am and would talk for awhile. I have the greatest respect for this man. He is not only a great doctor, but he is also a caring friend. Thanks so much Dr. Rose. There were a couple of incidents that happened that really bothered me. Those problems were solved by Dr. Rose. So there are not bad feelings. I negotiated a release date with Dr. Rose and I got to come home on April 5th. Unless you have been there, you can't possible imagine how good it feels to be home. I literally had a new lease on life and a new outlook. I was so weak, because of being on my back for thirty five days, that I had to be almost carried by my brother Dickie and my buddy Glen into the house. I would stay hooked up to a feeding tube for a week. I had a home nurse and a therapist visit daily for a couple of weeks. It was so hard to do even the simplest exercises. I pushed myself way past what I was supposed to do. I knew my limits and I reached them every day. The harder you push, the quick the results. My goal was to be in decent shape by the time I planned to go to Guyana, South America in April 2012. One week after I got out of the hospital, I drove to the Appomattox River and tried to catch some shad. It was an ordeal to get down and back up that river bank. I only made about ten casts before I had to quit. That was O.K. because I could tell them that everything was going to be fine. On June 9th 2011, Pastor Joe Alford called me and told me that my good friend Peter Kanhai of Georgetown Guyana had passed away. Joe was really shook up because he was also a friend of Peter. Joe had been to Georgetown and stayed at Peter's house. The news really blasted me. The last time I had seen Peter was when he came to Johnson-Willis Hospital to see me before he headed back to Guyana. After Peter went back home, he called me four different times and would just pray for me over the phone. I fully expected to see him again in April 2012. I wanted to go to the funeral, but the Dr. said no way. He did not want me to go because my resistance to diseases had not built back up. I talked to Anne, Peter's wife, and she understood. I loved Peter. He was a different kind of guy. He worked very hard for the Lord and for the different things he wanted. He was the pastor of Holiness Tabernacle and of the Excellency Center in Georgetown. He was blessed with a wonderful family. Anne was his wife, Evie, Julia and Serenity were his daughters and Joseph and Emanuel were his sons. Peter started the business of Kanhai's Electrical Company. It was a very successful business and now his wife and son Joseph are running the store. Peter liked to stay at my house. He said I was the only one who could keep him warm. I would tour Peter around and he would tell everyone that I was his chauffer. I called him Uncle Peter and he called me Frankie doodle. It won't be long before I see Peter again and that will be a great reunion. Peter will always have a special place in my heart. The Kanhais are special people and I love all of them. I tell of lots of adventures with Peter in my last six stores of my trips to Guyana. It was now June 27th 2012 and I am sitting in my front porch in my custom made swing writing this story. I feel so blessed to have made the progress with my health. My eating habits have greatly improved and my speech is almost back to normal. I did get to make my April 2012 trip to Guyana and this is how it went. For the last three or four years, LaVerne and I have been talking about her going with me to South America. She had already acquired her passport and had taken her needed shots so that was behind her. Now the only thing was for her to make up her mind to go. I explained to her that I really wanted her to go in April. She is

[3] the vice-president of our S.C.C. charter for Bright Horizons Family Home Inc. and I felt she needed firsthand knowledge of how the "Home" ran its business of providing a home for homeless children. She had a few reservations about a third world country visit. She is a gamer and I knew that she could handle the trip. It would be different, but she would do just fine. She was all for the trip. My cousin, Dr. James Callan of Silver Spring, Maryland had told me last year that he would like to go on the spring trip to Kuru Kururu, South America. I called him and told him the time frame I had in mind for the visit. We agreed on April 10th through April 19th as our trip dates. Jim's wife, Jeanie, found us a deal on airline tickets and took care of that for us. Bless her for that. This would be Jim's and LaVerne's first trip to Guyana. I had been in constant communications with my friends in Georgetown, Kuru Kururu and Charity. I explained my plans to them and everyone worked with us. I knew what to expect because this was my seventh trip to Guyana. I explained the best I could to Jim and LaVerne the things to expect such as different living conditions, food, travel, heat, toilet facilities, bugs and drinking water hazards. I wanted to do whatever I could to make this trip as pleasant as possible. Before I get into the daily details of our trip, I just want to say that every person in South America went out of their way to please us. Everyone was so considerate and unselfish in making our stays at the different places very comfortable and we were a part of each family we stayed with. I had a lot of running around to get things to take to the "Home". Several people donated funds to Verne and me to help finance the trip. We did not ask for any help, but several good guys helped us out. I appreciate them so much because I pay for my trips and they are expensive. Thank you very much friends. I had to get my first and second hepatitis B shots, because I failed to get a follow up booster when I got the shots the first time. I am due the third shot in September, and I won't forget this one. Two series of shots for one disease is enough. As far as packing my personal clothes, that was done in one hour. I was ready to go see my kids again. Verne and I left Colonial Heights, Virginia at 8:30 am on Tuesday, April 10th headed for Jim's house in Silver Spring, Maryland. I stopped by Dr. Ferry, my dentist, on the way up to get a cap fixed that had come loose. He couldn't handle me in the time frame. I had to make sure I didn't lose the tooth while in Guyana. We reached Jim's at 11:30 am. Jeanie made up a good lunch and then took us to the airport in Washington D.C. at 3:30 pm. Our American Airlines flight 3633 would leave at 5:30 pm so we needed to check bags get our passes and find our gate. Everything went smooth and we left on time and arrived at Kennedy around 7:10 pm. Our Caribbean Airlines flight wouldn't be leaving New York until 12:50 am on Wednesday Morning. So we had about 5 hours or so to kill. We ate a meal at the Wok N' Roll restaurant and just took it easy. We had a good flight and arrived in Trinidad, Port of Spain. There we had a two hour layover while the plane was cleared and refueled. We had to sit on the plane during this time. We left Trinidad at 7:10 am and arrived at the Timehri airport in Guyana at 8:30 am. It took about half an hour to get through customs and pick up our luggage. Both of my ears were hurting because of the flight. This lasted two days. It always happens to me when I fly. My friend, Emanuel Kanhai was waiting at the airport and gave us a ride in his pickup truck to Peter and Anne's house in Georgetown. The airport is about one hour from Georgetown. Timehri is the only airport in Guyana. Seems like it would be near the capital instead of our in the boonies. The truck ride was enlightening to Verne and Jim. They drive on the left side of the road and everyone thinks that they have the right of way. Jim questioned Manny on things in Guyana and Manny answered all very accurately. He is a smart and knowledgeable you man. He is also a cool dude. First we went by the Kanhai Electrical Company where we saw Joseph Kanhai, Anne's oldest son, and exchanged our money for theirs. The exchange rate is 200 Guyanese dollars for on American dollar. So we had a wad of one thousand dollar bills. We visited with Joseph and then Manny took us to 160 Duncan Street where we would stay for a short while. Anne (Peter's wife) and Serenity (Their youngest daughter) live there. All of the other kids have places of their own. It was good to be back there. It was different without Peter and all the kids, but Anne is such a sweetheart and just being with her was wonderful. She is a super hostess and friend. Molly, Anne's friend and housekeeper, met us at the door. I had explained to Jim and LaVerne about the Guyana custom of taking off your shoes before entering someone's house. By taking off your shoes, you honor the family and, also the house floors stay clean. It's not a bad idea. We had barely got to the second story living area before Julia showed up. If you have read any of my previous stories, you know that Julia is the middle kid in the Kanhai clan. Julia is a sweetheart. She is always ready to help out on anything and she does it with a cheerful heart. She is my main connection when I am in Georgetown.

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I was really blown away by the changes that had been made to the house since I had last been there. The house had been redecorated from front to back. The living room and the entrance hall had all new brightly covered furniture. The layout was different and everything looked great. Where the dining area used to be was now a neat place to watch their big screen television. The kitchen had been completely renovated. A main wall had been taken out and the old kitchen and Evie's old bedroom were combined to make a dining area and kitchen space across the entire back of the house. Anne had new dark stained cabinets installed along with new appliances and new table and chairs. It is hard to describe its deep beauty. She did a super job on everything. Anne prepared a delicious meal lunch of Chinese vegetables, pineapple, spaghetti, salad, oranges and a fruit drink. It was so good to be back in South America and enjoy the types of food that is served there. After we ate, Anne and LaVerne sat and talked while Jim did the dishes. Me, I went up to the third floor Virginia Room balcony and just absorbed the views on Duncan Street. I wasn't feeling too well because it had been about eight hours since I had eaten. Because of my operation, I need to eat a little bit every three house to prevent the semi-sick feeling I get when I don't eat. But that's OK. We have to sometimes make adjustments to carry on with life. At 1:45 pm, Manny and I rode over to see Mr. Leon Davis, who is the director of Food for the Poor. I had scheduled a 2 pm appointment because I wanted to personally thank Leon for all of the help that he had directed toward fixing up the home at the Bright Horizons Family Home in Kuru Kururu. I had appealed to him and his staff to help out the orphanage. He sent a team, led by Andrea Benjamin, and assessed what the needs were and how they could help. They went far beyond my expectations. A little later on in this story, I will tell of what part was played by Mr. Davis and Food for the Poor. They were given an A+ for their love and concern shown to those homeless children. I can't praise Food for the Poor enough. They are held in high esteem by everyone and it's because of their leadership. When we got there, Manny stayed in the truck and I went to see Mr. Davis. I told the gate guard that I had a 2 pm appointment to see Mr. Davis and the guard told me that he believed that Mr. Davis had left earlier. I asked him to set me up to see Leon's receptionist, Miss Andrea Benjamin, if I could. He called Andrea and she said that Leon had gone home with the flu but that I could come up and talk to her. I was ushered by a guard to the second floor waiting room. I was hoping Miss Benjamin would remember me. When she came into the room, she walked over to me and gave me a big hug and said, "It's so good to see you again." I knew we could talk. She is so nice and professional in her work. She is a plus on Leon's team. We talked and discussed the "Home" and some of its needs. She said she would talk to Leon about checking on bulk food that could be sent to the "Home" to help them out that way. The "Home" now has about thirty five people and the monthly food supply is at a minimal. I am working hard on this end to build sponsors to help out monthly with money donations for food and some of the money expenses that face the "Home". Any in-country food supplies that can be donated will be greatly accepted and appreciated. After all, it's about the children. I thanked Andrea for her time and concern, got another big hug, and went back to hook up with Manny. After leaving Food for the Poor, Manny took me into Georgetown to look for an amplifier mixer for Pastor Burton Simon's Church, which is located next to the "Home" in Kuru Kururu. We went to a couple different places and got some prices. I wanted to get something of good quality. I don't believe in going way overboard, but I do spend the extra to get something that will last. The bit of extra up front will pay for itself in the long run. We came home and I laid down for a short nap. I only rested for thirty minutes; I didn't come to Guyana to sleep. After my nap, Julia took us to the sea wall to watch the sunset. It was neat to see the colors appear first over land then over the Atlantic Ocean. We left there and went to the Night Cap Cafe for coffee before heading back home. Anne fixed us a good dinner of Chinese vegetables, mashed sweet potatoes, cheese, roti and drink. We talked for a while and then went to bed. We were tired! Thursday morning up at 6:30 am, took a cold shower and spent time in the "Virginia Room" reading my bible and just watching the world come alive. It was cool early in the morning, but that wouldn't last long. The day would turn out very hot and humid. I was in Guyana! The early morning show of migrating parrots and other birds was great as usual. There were several multi colored humming birds flying around the balcony. The sunrise colors were briefly brilliantly red, but rain was soon to follow. The rain only lasted one hour which is typical of a tropical morning. Jim came up around 8 am and we just watched the day unfold. It was so good to have Jim and LaVerne with me on this trip. Anne called us down to enjoy a breakfast of oranges, oatmeal, wheat toast, peanut butter, fried eggs and chicken sausage.

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Julia told us she would be at the house at 9 am to take us into the business area of town to do some shopping for souvenirs and such. She showed up at 10:30 am, I forgot that we were on real time and she was on Guyanese time. The four of us got the tour of the different craft shops. I don't know what Jim picked up, but LaVerne had fun picking out several different types of leather, handmade sandals and some other things to give away. I bought three real old bottles from a street vendor and some hand carved calabash shells from Daniel. He hand cares designs on calabash shells using a flattened nail. He is a wonder to watch. He is truly an artist at his work. I also bought a dozen very small handmade baskets to give to different ones at home. Jim and LaVerne were amazed at the city traffic. It is a wonder that they can maneuver around like they do and not wreck. The drivers use a language of different horn beeps to express their intent of what they are going to do next. We see a lot of fist shaking and use of choice words, but nothing serious. We were taken on a tour of the Georgetown museum. We were not allowed to take any pictures, chew gum or wear a hat while on the tour. The museum was very interesting, covering everything from early settlement to all of the different animals and fish found in Guyana. We went back home, LaVerne was given a complete pedicure by Anne’s friend, Bonita. This took about an hour and was a gift to LaVerne by Julia Bonita’s two children Jonathan and Jaya were with her. They are two cool kids. It was good to see them again. Oh yeah, Verne sure had some pretty toe nails! We rested for a couple hours and then a group of us, including Anne, Verne, Jim, Joseph, Angel, Serenity, Manny, Evie, Miguel, Miguel’s mom and aunt and I went to “Buddys” for dinner. We were served about seven main courses of all kinds of great food. We socialized and just had a great time. We left at 10:30 pm went home and hit the sack. We were all worn out. Friday morning, up at 6:30 am, read my bible in the Virginia room and just sat and reminisced about all the good times we had shared in this special place. Jim joined me and we talked about our upcoming plans for the day. After breakfast of corned beef hash, eggs, bananas, toast, oatmeal, and coffee, Anne and the three of us walked the three blocks to the Survival Market where we did some grocery shopping for items to take to the “Home” later that day. Survival Market is an experience that you must see to appreciate. The store is not that large but every available inch of space is used for merchandise. They have just about anything you would want. I asked the owner if I could take some pictures. He was very reluctant at first, but after explaining my reason for the pictures, he said go ahead. You must ask permission from everyone if you want to take a picture with them in it. This I try to respect. Sometimes I act like I am just carrying the camera, but I can get some pretty good pictures like that without anyone knowing any better. We then went back to Anne’s and packed our gear for the upcoming week and loaded it in the car and headed out. Manny was our chauffer and Serenity came along for the ride to the “Home” in Kuru Kururu. We went by City Market to pick up a couple more items. We stopped by an ice cream store and Anne treated us to a big ice cream cone and because of the heat, we had to eat it fast. It took longer than usual to get to the “Home” because of lots of road construction. They were still working on small bridges that they had been working on for two years. These people are super slow with their construction projects. That’s O.K. I was finally headed to see the Livans and our kids. When we finally got to Kuru Kururu, it took us a couple of tries to get on the right dirt/sand road that led to the “Home”. We saw the bright yellow house and we knew where we were. The yard was full of happy, smiling, waving and jumping children. There had been a big turnover of kinds since my 2010 visit. There were about ten children that have been there since I first started coming in 2007. My "regulars" were all so happy to see us. The new kids that didn't know us were reserved. That would all change. As soon as we got to know each other, everything changed. All of the children are beautiful to behold. They all can tell very sad stories of their past and all they want is someone to love them and not exploit them. They just want to have someone of their own that they can trust and look to as a real family. First to reach me were Patina, Reema, Genna, and one little guy that I had not met. He acted like I was his long lost daddy. It was so good to be back with my family in Guyana. The "old house" was now a "new house". Mr. Leon Davis and his Food for the Poor family had completely renovated the Livans' home and had turned it into a female facility. It had started in 2010 but now was complete. They did a great job. The front of the building had been finished and new steps installed. There were flowers and trees planted across the entire front yard. The home is painted a fresh light yellow with white trim. The inside has several rooms to house the girls and a bedroom for Joseph and Doreen. The kitchen and dining area is large and efficient, very well set up. There is an outside balcony that overlooks Pastor Burton's

[6] house and his new church. Hardwood floors accent the beauty of the upper floor. Down stairs still remain a kitchen and dining room and some larger rooms for school, storage and whatever else that they may be needed. The Food for the Poor Corporation has done a wonderful job for the orphanage. The house project is not the only thing that Mr. Davis' group has provided. They have helped with food, clothes, chickens and lots of other things that are needed to make the "Home" work. Mr. Davis has done a great justice to these children and all of us here in the States take our hats off to him and his staff. Thank you very much for your unselfish love towards others. As I said before, most of the children were new to me and I was just another stranger to them. Some were very friendly and we bonded instantly, but some were very leery of who I was and why I was there. It took a couple of days, but finally every one of them came around. By the time we left, we had all been accepted by all of the kids. We have wonderful family in Kuru Kururu. There are at present, sixteen boys and ten girls. They range from age one to sixteen years old. I did interviews on all of them. I got their names, ages, medical and family back grounds, their likes and dislikes and any other information that I could use to get to really know them. Most didn't want to talk about their past because it hurt too much and they didn't want to relive their past. I took each kid aside and made friends with them and after I had gained their confidence, I would gradually ask them personal questions about their feelings for the "Home", the Livans, their desires when they grow up and if they like church. I explained to them that the conversation was just between them and me. I want to be sure that the children are happy and what their wants and expectations are. To the question, "Do you like or dislike the "Home" and why"? Each child loved the "Home" and the Livans. Their answers were that they loved being there because they had food to eat, a place to sleep in a bed, good clothes and they could go to school and church. All of them loved Joseph and Doreen and called them "Mommie" and dad. They said that strictness to rules was enforced, but they understood and said that they liked most of the rules. These are super little children that just need someone to love them and care for them. I wish every one of you could meet these extraordinary little ones. For dinner we were served corn beef hash, salad, roti and boiled potatoes. It was very good and we certainly ate our share. After super we went to a service at Pastor Burton Simons church which is located on the property. Joseph and Doreen gave Pastor Burton and his wife Joycelyn enough property to build a house and a church. Pastor Burton built both with outside help and did a great job. The church is built with cinder blocks and a tin roof. The church is in service and the congregation is trying to come up with the funds for glass windows, curtains for the front, tile floor and other needed items. The Simon's faith is great and these things will be provided for by God. The service was good and the Spirit was definitely present on this Friday night. The singing was great and Brother Joe sang the loudest of all. After service was over, we went back to the "Home" and socialized for an hour and then hit the sack. We were still suffering from jet lag and the good night rest was welcomed. Jim's room was next to ours. They were small rooms with nice fans, two twin beds with mosquito nets covering each bed. Our room was just like Jim's. I gave Verne her pick of what bed she wanted. She picked the one by the wall that didn't have a window. She didn't want any unexpected visitors to come through the open window at night. That's the one I wanted anyway because I was quite used to sleeping in the "open” and the little creatures that come in at night don't bother me. I just let them crawl around and explore what they have found. Sleep came easy. We were still tired, but we were catching up on our rest. Saturday morning, up at 7 am, took my shower and prepared for the upcoming day. Kuru Kururu is such a beautiful place. It is on the edge of the jungle and the vast amount of different birds, butterflies and foliage make it a wonderland. The mornings are cool and the wind mostly blows from east to west. If you try hard, you can occasionally get the smell of the ocean that is thirty miles to the east. Today would be a full day. Very early in the morning Sister Doreen, Reema, Shana, Genna and a few others females would leave by bus for Georgetown and an annual women's conference. They would be gone most of the day. LaVerne was invited, but because she wanted to get to know the children she declined. Our breakfast consisted of fried eggs, toast, cheese, fruit, jelly, toast and coffee. The food is different from ours. It is a better diet than I eat here. We spent a couple hours talking with Brother Joe and others about what is happening at the "Home" and what future plans were in the making. I am happy Jim was there because his questions were different from mine and a lot of new aspects of "what's happening" were brought out. The "Home" still needs lots of items to make it complete. I will try to add what is needed as I go through this seventh trip story.

[7]

After our morning discussion, we three were taken on a grand tour of the immediate area, led by David Deochand. David is a very smart fifteen year old that has it all together. David wants to be an airline pilot, and I think that he will make it. Our tour started at the "Home" and we were shown the two gardens, the different fruit trees, the chicken pen and the various plants. David took it upon himself to plant a large garden, and it is really a nice project. I was very impressed on what he had planted and how he had done it. He used different ideas and made it a truly unique garden. Good job, David! We toured the new boy's dormitory that the country's welfare department has built. The new building has been built to house at least forty boys. It has several large bedrooms, big kitchen and dining area, medical room, laundry room, living room and a large wash room that consist of six toilet stalls, four sinks and a nice shower room. This area of the "Home" is where much help is needed. Just to mention some of the things needed are kitchen utensils of all types, couches and chairs for the living room, bunk beds, mattresses and bed coverings, ceiling fans, curtains, dressers, floor rugs and clothes racks for the bedrooms, medical supplies are almost non-existent. Laundry room equipment needs updating and several more items are needed. We are always making a pleas to everyone to help us out. This is a big time project and we are trusting God and praying daily for intervention on the children's behalf. After leaving the boys dorm, we were shown where pineapples, water melons, papaya, mangoes, bananas, cocoanuts and red cashews were growing in the wild. It is amazing but God has put all kinds of fruit trees and plants all around the property. Are they there by accident? I don't think so. We were shown the small house of the children that have grown up at the "Home" and started lives of their own. We were then showed some of the area of Kuru Kururu. There were a few very small businesses that sold some groceries and other needed household items. These little shops were like ten foot by ten foot spaces. People do everything they can to just feed their families. A man walked past us carrying two buckets of nuts and balanced three feet high on his head was fruit wrapped in burlap type bags. As we came back from our two hour tour, David pointed out a giant wood ant's nest on the side of a tree. All you had to do was touch it and many angry ants emerged to protect their home. This was neat to see. David knocked down some pink lady cashews from a tree in the yard. I thought that they would be like the cashew nut but they were a pink plum like fruit that had a different refreshing taste. I was surprised at their good taste. David was a great tour guide. During the tour, I had several of the kids around me. I love these kids and the feeling is mutual. After our excursion, we were treated to a great lunch of chopped greens, macaroni salad, chicken and gravy, bake (homemade rolls) and mango and pineapple juice. After lunch, I interviewed most of the kids. There was a lot that I wanted to know about them. Interviews were written down and a number was given each child. They hold this number in front of themselves when I take their picture, so I will be able to identify them later. We had lots of laughs during the interview session. I like pictures of kids smiling, but some of the boys and girls would only have a very serious look and no smiles. I would give them a few minutes then I would ask them if they were in college, or if they were married or if they ever saw a green donkey with yellow pajamas on, and all eventually would break out laughing and all pictures had smiling faces! While I was doing the interviews Jim and Verne would be playing around with different children. Jim loves children very much and it shows. It was a real blessing to me to see him "perform". He kept the kids in constant laughter. All the kids affectionately called him Dr. Jim or Uncle Jim. He would play with them for hours and every night he would have to tell a bedtime story before they would go to bed. Anna and Genna would use Jim as a model for their hair dressing practice. They did quite a job on him. He turned out quite beautiful! Verne also loves all children. She was adored by the little girls. Verne would hold the teething baby, the sad little ones and the one that just needed holding. She was always there when one of the kids would say, "Ms. LaVerne". She was a blessing to them and is a blessing to me Me, I seemed to associate with the older boys. They would ask for advice on how to do things and they were fascinated by me telling them about hunting and fishing adventures and that we have drag cars that will run three hundred and thirty miles per hour in 4.5 seconds from a stand still. They had never heard of an aircraft carrier or an airplane that flies four times the speed of sound. I had taken a lot of pictures with me to show them what I was telling them. They loved it. I enjoy being their buddy, grandfather, brother, pastor or whatever they wanted me to be. I was there for them.

[8]

Around six that evening, the ladies arrived back home from their conference in Georgetown. They were tired but were excited about what they had learned that day. During the three months before we made our trip. LaVerne had been purchasing the stretch blouses that fit size very small to very large people. They are brightly colored and it amazes me that they fit everyone. Hold them in your hand they look like doll clothes but whoever puts one on, it fits! Anyway, after dinner all of the females at the "Home" got together and Verne gave out the blouses. There were about thirty and all of them were different colors and designs. In order to be fair as possible in handing out the blouses, there were thirty numbers put in a bag and everyone from the youngest up reached in the bag and pulled out a number. Then in turn starting with number one, everyone got their pick when their number came up. Everyone had fun with that. The children traded with others and everyone was happy. Later on that night, I went out to the porch and updated my daily journal. If I don't write a note on my pad during the day, I will forget some of our activities. We, the adults, spent a couple hours around the big table drinking coffee and just socializing. It was a good time. We finally realized the time and everyone went to their rooms for the night. None of the rooms have walls all the way to the ceiling. There is about a three foot space between the top of the wall and the ceiling. I thought this was odd until Brother Joe told me that a light was in the middle of the top floor and by turning on that light at night, just a small flow of light would be in every room. Instead of having night lights the one light served each room. After I saw the results I was impressed by the idea. I then saw the light! Anyway enough of my corny jokes. As I stated before, there were two small twin beds in our room. Each bed had a mosquito net to keep critters out. LaVerne had the bed away from the window. She felt more secure there. It was about 1 am and I was sleeping soundly ...until all of a sudden, I was being punched in the ribs and pushed over against the wall by Verne. Up came the mosquito net and Verne mashed me up against the wall. She told me to move over because she was sleeping with me. I told her that the little bed was not big enough for two people. She said that it didn't matter and that she was sleeping in my bed and she wasn't leaving. I said, "What's the matter?" She told me that a giant bug had crawled over her and she wasn't going back to that bed. So I spent the rest of the night awake and pushed up against the wall. I didn't mind and every time I thought about her, I had to laugh. She had met one of the many things that crawl around Guyana in the dark. The next morning, I check out her bed and did find a large wood roach and disposed of it. From then on I had the bed against the wall and she had the bed by the window. Everyone got a good laugh out of the incident. Sunday, up at 6:30 am, took a shower and read my bible until breakfast time. Breakfast consisted of chicken hot dogs, eggs, mangos, toast and cheese and coffee. The meal didn't sit exactly right and I felt sick for about one hour. After that brief spell, I felt great. We dressed for church and as a group we walked to Pastor Burton Simon’s church. It was only about 100 yards from the "Home". Pastor Burton is a very tall man. To me he looks about eight feet tall but in all reality, he is probably about 6' 10". He is a super nice person who has fully dedicated his life to God. He is always on the go doing something. His wife, Joycelyn, is a sweetheart. She is always by his side. Brother Burton is a very good preacher. He knows and preaches the Word in a way that all understand him. He and his wife are a blessing to the village. His service started at 10 am and lasted until about 1:30 pm. When these people go to church, they don't play around. That day was a guest speaker from Haiti and a guest from South Carolina. They did missions work together and were a good team. The singing and praise lasted 1½ hours, and the preaching and altar call lasted 2 hours. The service was good, but those wooden benches were hard. Next time I am going to carry me a pillow. About thirty minutes after the service started, I was joined by my good friend, from Golden Grove Village, Pastor Michael McPherson. I met Pastor Mike in 2007 at the grand opening for Peter Kanhai's church in Georgetown. We have been friends ever since. Pastor Mike spent a few days in Virginia with Verne and me. It was so good to see him that morning. During the church service, Pastor Burton introduced Verne, Jim and me to the congregation. We all stood up and Pastor Burton asked me to say a few words. I’m not much in front of people. I told the people about how glad we were to be here and that everyone had been super nice. As I was standing besides Pastor Burton, I felt like a referee at a pro football game. Here he was a big tall man and I am a short guy, I felt a bit intimidated. So to break the ice, I explained to the congregation that actually I was Pastor Burton’s personal body guard. Somehow the congregation didn’t believe me, until I explained that they had never seen anyone

[9] mess with Pastor Burton while I was with him. That brought a huge laugh from the people. It was all in fun and I loved the service. I did notice cousin Jim nod off a couple of times, but that’s cool too! After service was over, we mingled with the people for awhile and then headed back home. Our meal was about 3 pm and it served as both lunch and dinner. The ladies had cooked curry and rice, chicken, different vegetables, bake, salad and fruit juice. The meal was great and no one needed anything else to eat the rest of the day. lunch was over and everyone had a short nap, I met with Sister Doreen and Brother Joe and my friend Tony. Tony is a young man that was raised at the "Home” and is dedicated to the “Home”, the children and the Livans. He is a good man, very smart and very friendly. For two hours we discussed the situation at the “Home”. There are many things needed, but one of the main things needed is a 16 passenger bus. Right now the only transportation is a beat up Toyota pickup truck. A bus would be an ideal method of taking kids to school, make medical runs and going into Georgetown to pick up supplies and food. Currently public transportation has to be relied on for all activities. If a bus is purchased the “Home” can charge half price the no normal fare and take extra children to school. This would save the villagers money and would provide gas and extras needed to operate the bus. The bus we are trying to get will be a completely refurbished bus that is in like new condition. This bus costs approximately $15,000 U.S. or 3 million Guyanese dollars. We would work through the welfare department and Food for the Poor to get the very best deal on a bus. We desperately need help on raising the funds for this vehicle. Please consider helping us on this project. Make all checks out to Bright Horizons Family Home Inc. Everyone who donates and helps these children will be put in our newsletter (The Home News) mailing list. Please contact me for any further information on this. It was now midnight and everyone hit the sack. Monday morning up at daylight and ready for the day. I had to wait my turn to use the shower. The children that go to school were all scurrying around to get ready. These kids really love to go to school. The color uniforms that they wear depict which school they go to. Some wear light green blouses or shirts and dark green skirts or pants of yellow and brown. They really look neat in their school colors. The girl will be primping and getting each others’ hair just right and making sure that they look their best. The boys, well, they don’t seem to take as much time to get ready. The children have to walk quite a distance to meet their rides to school. Some go to school in the village but others have to be taken on the long ride into Georgetown. The bus fare is about $3 a day for each kid. That gets costly. kids make a colorful parade as they head down the dirt road. They are usually skipping and singing and looking forward to what they will learn during the day. They will get back home between 3:30 pm and 4:30 pm full of stories about the day’s events. Our breakfast that morning was fried eggs, cheese toast, jelly and coffee. Feeding all the people and getting the kids off to school each morning is a full time job. Jim, Verne and I had packed a bag the night before for the trip to Charity, up on the Pomeroon River, to spend a couple days with Sister Orpah Singh and Helen. We would meet Sister Orpah in Georgetown. We were supposed to have a car pick us up a 7 am at the “Home” but it never showed up. We then took our gear and walked out to the main road where we flagged down a bus headed for Georgetown. It cost 300 Guyanese dollars or $1.50 to ride the thirty miles to town. It was quite a ride. There were twenty three people on an eleven passenger bus. We were packed to say the least. Well, that’s just life in Guyana. After arriving at the bus stop in Georgetown, we took a taxi to Kanhai’s Electrical on Charlotte Street. We talked with Joseph, Julia and Anne for a couple hours before Sister Orpah showed up to take us to Charity. While the group was waiting for Sister Orpah to arrive at the shop, Tony and I took a cab to a music store to buy a mixer/amplifier for Pastor Burton Simons church. This was a gift to his church from Verne and me. Tony selected the one he needed and I purchased it. It cost a couple hundred dollars more than I expected, but it never pays to buy cheap gear, especially where music is concerned. Tony took the mixer and headed back; to Kuru Kururu and I went back to Kanhai’s Electrical to meet Sister Orpah. Sister Orpah arrived at 12 noon and the four of us headed out for her home up on the Pomeroon River. After a quick stop at KFC for a batch of fried chicken and a typical cab ride, we reached the stelling at Parika. Sister Orpah selected a water taxi and after paying the fare, we made the long trip, through the islands, to Supenaam. The crossing of the mighty Essequibo River is always interesting to say the least. If we had not had the big plastic tarp that we used to cover ourselves, we would have got soaked. The water was rough and the big homemade wooden boat made the trip with no problem. Like I said, the Essequibo crossing is always a big adventure in itself. The crossing covers 13 miles of open water.

[10]

Sister Orpah got with the many cab drivers and picked one for the price she thought fair. It’s about a forty mile trip from Supenaam to Charity. The ride takes up through many small villages. All are different and all are interesting. The ride cost five thousand Guyana dollars or about twenty five dollars American. That’s a good deal to carry four people forty miles. We reached Charity at 2:45 pm and were greeted by Sister Helen and Edon. Sister Helen is a co- worker beside Sister Orpah in their work for the Lord. Sister Helen makes most of the trips into the interior with Pastor Orpah. Sister Helen is a natural with children because of her love for them and her understanding of their thoughts. I would love for her to come to our church in Virginia and give us some tips on how to improve our children’s ministry. Edon is my best special friend. He was brought out of the Black Water Savannah, in the far interior of Guyana, in 2010 by Sister Orpah. Edon is a very special person with a very big heart. He was born with no legs and only half arms. He doesn’t see himself as handicapped at all. This young man (8 years old) does many amazing things. More about Edon later. LaVerne, Jim and I were shown to our rooms and after we freshened up a bit, we came down stairs and we were served a delicious pumpkin cake and fruit drink for a mid-evening snack. After our snack, we walked the half mile to the market place at the wharf on the Pomeroon River. While walking to the market, Jim casually asked Sister Orpah how long she had been in Chastity. I then explained to Jim that she lived in Charity, not Chastity. That brought a big laugh from all. Jim got red faced, but it's all in fun. The market place is something else. The small booths and stores that make up the market sell just about anything you might want. It's amazing what one can find there. We walked around for over an hour mostly just looking. On our way home, we stopped by a small booth and bought ice cream. We had to hurry home because, even though the ice cream was wrapped in several brown bags, the ice cream started melting as soon as it was taken from the freezer box. As soon as we got home, the ice cream was put into a freezer to get in back into its original state. We then sat down and Edon put in one of his favorite CD movies and everyone watched Robots. It is amazing to watch Edon get up into a chair and insert the CD and then work the remote to get the movie started. Every time we would get to an exciting part of the movie, Edon would stop the movie and act like something was wrong with the player. He would wait about a minute and then break into a big laugh and then say that he saw what the trouble was and restarted the movie. He thought that was the funniest thing he had ever seen. We all had a good time and joking with each other came easy. Sister Orpah and Sister Helen made a great meal of rice cookup, chicken, macaroni and vegetables, bread, salad and tropical fruit drink. The meal was right on time. After dinner we watched Toy story # 3 and Alvin and the Chipmunks and played ball with Edon. Edon danced (yes, I said danced) sang and preached to us. Edon even climbed the stairs to get a special toy. Can you even imagine someone with no legs at all, negotiating up and down a long set of stairs unassisted! It's something to see. We had a wonderful evening. In bed at 8:30 pm. I was having the start of a bad cold. Despite the way I felt, I go a decent nights sleep. Tuesday morning, up at 6:30 am. I know that the oncoming cold would be a rough one. Got my shave and shower and went down for a breakfast of "butter flap", pineapple, cheese, bananas and coffee. Mealtime is always a social event that everyone enjoys. That's a time when everyone is together and many things are discussed. After breakfast dishes were washed, everyone went into the living room and was entertained by Edon. He played ball with Jim. It was something else to see that boy get around. He nicknamed Jim as "Big Man". Jim showed Edon how to use a ruler and gave him some reading lessons. Jim measured Edon. Edon is 24" tall. Those two kids had a great time. Around 10 am, my friend, Freddie Bashier showed up at the house to take us on a trip up the Pomeroon River. Freddie was our boat man on the trip into the interior in 2010. It was good to see him again. He is an excellent captain. I introduced Freddie to Jim. Freddie then told me his real name is Edward Albert. I don't know how he went from Freddie Bashier to Edward Albert, but whatever his name is, he's a cool guy. We walked to the wharf at 9 am and met Freddie. We bought some bottled water and peanuts and headed up the river. This was Jim's and LaVerne's first trip on a river on the edge of civilization. They were very impressed by the small huts along the river. At each place where a small creek entered the river, there was a dwelling of some type. The homes varied from small huts with grass roof to some nice homes of the rich few that lived on the Pomeroon. We stopped at a small church at Abrams Creek and visited briefly. The church was in poor condition. The long pier needed repairs and there were two men cleaning the brush with machetes. Sister Orpah had told

[11] them that the church was in unsatisfactory shape and they needed to do something about it. Sister Orpah has a lot of pull in her area. The church members were working to make improvements. We left Abrams Creek and went several miles upriver to the village of Kabakaburi. This village is 400 years old. It was really a cool place. There was not a single piece of trash anywhere. We were given a tour of the village by one of the village elders. It was a very efficient village with an excellent school system. Every grade from the nursery to the primary grade was class one. The children were very polite and you could tell at once that no matter what age they were, they were well educated for their level of school. There were 600 students from the village and from several other villages. Some traveled two hours each way by boat to school every day. There were 300 families living in the village. Dr. Jim counseled the village deputy on the after effects of his gall bladder operation. We bought some goodies from their small store and one lady gave us a bag of white lady cashews. This red fruit with a white inside tastes very good. They have a slight taste of a good pear and the consistency of an apple. We left the impressive village and then went to the boat works at the mouth of Dredge Creek. This place was fascinating to say the least. The boat craftsmen make the neatest wooden boats that I have ever seen. These are the river boats with the high bow. The wood on the side and bottom of the boats is 2" thick. The ribs and the stern and the other braces are much thicker. These are some of the best built boats that I have ever seen. I'm really into boats so I appreciated and realize what goes into the custom made boats. I asked the owner how much it would cost me if they built me a custom 22' boat with all the trimmings. I was shocked when he told me that $1500 American would get me a new boat. If I ever move to Guyana, I will have one of these boats. Every piece of wood on these boats are hand crafted and they do not leak one drop of water. A boat made like that in the U.S. would cost ten times that amount. We were impressed by the craftsmanship that went into each boat. It takes six weeks to complete one boat. We left the boat works and turned up into Dredge Creek to do some visiting. Dredge Creek is narrow with vegetation growing across it in many places. We passed the small Pentecostal Holiness Church that was built by Randall Aldred and his crew back in 2005. We stopped by my friend Stubbie's house, but he wasn't home. Stubbie is a game warden in the interior. He has a very dangerous job. He is not home a lot. We left there and went further up the creek and met up with Pastor Allen Sandy. He is the pastor of the little P.H. Church on Dredge creek. We had a good visit with him. We then made our way back out of the creek and returned to the wharf at Charity. Back at Sister Orpah's by 1:30 pm. Lunch had already been prepared and we feasted on pumpkin, chicken, rice, fruit, bread and a variety of soft drinks. After lunch Jim, Verne and I sat around and enjoyed an evening playing with Edon. Edon would do all kinds of tricks. He likes to entertain and he’s good at it. We watched repeats of his favorite CDs and tossed the ball around. Sister Orpah and Sister Helen were in the kitchen making pepper. Pepper is a red hot sauce made from several different ingredients but mostly the hottest peppers in the world. Be very careful that you only put a tiny amount on your food. One quarter of a teaspoon will make a whole lot of food very hot. Every table in Guyana has a jar of this pepper. We had dinner at 6:30 pm and it was super. The two ladies had prepared mashed potatoes, French fried plantain, salad, fish and bake (bread) fruit and a banana drink. As stated before, the people there eat healthy. Sister Orpah told of how she wanted to improve her home. She wants to tile the entire bottom floor, change some painting and get the side yard cemented. She has a big house and it’s very nice. You have to walk over a wooden bridge that crosses a marshy creek. We can stand on the bridge and be quiet for awhile and Cayman (alligators) will come out and we can watch them. There are some very big Cayman in her front yard. After supper, another rerun of “Robots” with Edon and we just sat around enjoying each other’s company on this last evening in Charity. Everyone went to bed early. It had been a busy day. We got up at 5:30 am and we went outside and watched the Cayman play. There were many baby Cayman and they scooted around like little kids playing a game. After our showers and some devotion time, we had breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, toast, jelly, fruit, cheese, pineapple juice and coffee. After breakfast Edon put on a CD of “Ice Age” then went over by himself and wouldn’t talk to anyone. He was crying. I went over and hugged him and asked what was wrong. He was crying because he didn’t want me to leave. I told him I had to go, but he didn’t want to hear that. I loved on him awhile and explained our situation with our schedule and he finally came around. We said our goodbyes to Sister Orpah but I couldn’t find Edon. Then, from the side yard I heard him calling me. We went outside and he had somehow climbed into a wheel chair and was going across the yard headed to the street. He said he was sad and was going to

[12] run away. It again took some time to console him. I promised him that I would see him again as soon as possible. He was O.K. with that. We were picked up by the same taxi driver and we enjoyed the forty-give minute ride through the many tiny towns to the wharf at Supenaam. The long crossing of the Essequibo River took forty five minutes. It was much rougher than when we came over. I was even glad when we reached the stelling at Parika. There we met the same taxi driver that we had a couple days before. If the driver was good on the first trip, he would be called for the return trip. Everyone has their favorite taxi driver. That works out in favor of both parties. After returning back to Kanhai’s Electrical Company, we were taken out to lunch at a small chinese restaurant. We had a fine meal and the treat was on Anne. She’s so sweet. After leaving the restaurant, we stopped by the “Emporium” where Jim bough a box full of tools to give to the “Home”. They had a very limited supply of tools, but Jim remedied that. Jim is one of the most considerate people I’ve ever known. We then went back to Anne’s house, where we gave each other goodbye hugs, picked up our luggage, and headed for the “Home” in Kuru Kururu. We arrived there at 3:30 pm. It was our last evening in Guyana and it had a bitter sweet effect on me. I would miss the people very much, but on other hand, there’s no place like home. We packed our bags and got ready for our early departure next morning. Supper at 6 pm was chicken, macaroni and cheese, salad, bread and drink. These people always feed us their best food available and it’s greatly appreciated. I felt bad after supper and I laid down for awhile. Because of the past surgery, if I eat just a bit too much, I get sick for about an hour. I had several visitors come that evening. My friend, Pastor Michael McPherson, brought several jars of different spices and pepper for us to take home. He had spent the entire day before cooking these up. He is a very thoughtful person. I am hoping to have him spend some time with me in Virginia. Brian Bollers, a longtime friend who worked with Peter Kanhai, also came by to visit. Brian and I had some good times together. Pastor Burton Simons and his wife Joycelyn came over for a visit and we discussed, with Doreen and Joseph, things concerning the "Home" and what we could do as a group to improve different things. Pastor Burton and Joycelyn are a blessing to all of us. I had several phone calls and each of them wished us the best and I got to pray with most of them. It's really powerful when several men of God get together in sincere prayer. I was very humbled by the many people that came from far distances to visit me. We had cake and coffee and hit the sack at 10 pm. Thursday morning, we were up at 3:30 am in order to get a quick bite to eat and be at the Timehri Airport by 5 am. Most everyone was up when we left. Some of the children cried a bit, so did I! Our taxi arrived, and after hugging everyone, we headed for the airport. Shannon and David escorted us there. They wouldn't let us go by ourselves. We started our check in procedure and it took a while. We had to pay customs 4000 Guyanese dollars or $20 American each before we could leave. I don't know what this is for. We are Americans so we got checked out to the max. We were the last ones to get on the plane. We arrived in Trinidad at 7:20 am and had to spend two hours on the plane before heading out to New York. It was a good flight on the Caribbean Air Lines. This airline seems to go out of their way to make travelers comfortable. They served us a good meal of spiced fish on a yeast roll (very good) banana chips, Kit Kat bar and a drink of your choice. The food was good, but the movie was terrible. It was an old Sherlock Holmes movie and that was the airlines only bad experience. Maybe I cry too much! When we arrived in New York, we had to wait 1½ hours until we finally could pick up our luggage. We then went to the Au Bon Pain restaurant where we grabbed some American food. Jim and Vern had turkey subs and I had macaroni and cheese and a drink. We finally got on a small plane and headed for the airport in Washington D.C. The short flight was uneventful. During the trip from New York to Washington, LaVerne got real sick from something she had eaten. The plane actually waited ½ hour to see if she would be able to fly. They offered us a later flight if necessary. Verne told them to take off for Washington that she was ready to go home. She was sick on the trip to D.C. and also most of the ride to Colonial Heights. Jeanie picked us up at the airport and we rode back to Jim’s place. Jeanie is such a gracious host and just a plain good ol’ girl. Verne and I appreciate them very much. Jim and Jeanie tried to get us to spend the night, but we were ready to head out. Verne called the shot. She said she wanted to go home. We arrived in Colonial Heights around 1:30 am. Verne’s sister Jeanie had

[13] stayed at our place while we were in South America. She was up when we got there. I think she had spent the week cleaning the house, and it was spotless. She and our dog, greeted us at the door. It was so good to be back in our own house. My thoughts on the trip was that it was a success and a gratifying experience. I was so “home sick” to see the children and the different people that I have grown to love so much. I felt that I was fully joined with the “Home” and its future plans. The children, the ones that have been there and the new ones are all super kids. I was blessed by their acceptance and their love. It was good to see the progress made to the “Home” by the Livans, Pastor Burton and Joycelyn, the welfare department and Mr. Leon Davis and Food for the Poor. These people are setting an example to the outside world of what can be done with some generous funding and lots of real love. I thank Sister Anne, Joseph, Emanuel, Julia (our guide) Evie and Serenity for being there to help us out anyway they could. The hospitality provided by the “Home” are greatly appreciated. We love all of you guys. A special thank you to Pastor/Sister Orpah Singh and Sister Helen and Mr. Edon for a wonderful stay at their place. It is always a bright spot in my trip. Sister Orpah visits the U.S. about once a year and I am hoping that Sister Helen will get a chance to come to our church in Virginia and share some of her gifted ideas on conducting a children’s church. I thank the many people that contacted me during the trip for their desire to do what they can to help out the children of Bright Horizons Family Home. God willing, I want to return to Guyana in April for a couple weeks. I am sincerely looking for monthly or one time donors to help out these people. Every cent sent their way will go there. I pay my own way each year for my trip to South America. There are individuals that help me with my expenses, but I do not use any of the funds sent to the “Home”. We need your help and your prayers. As stated before, we have started a Bright Horizons Family Home Corporation. We send out donation statements at the end of the year and they are tax deductible. Please contact me at Frank Ashe 207 Marvin Avenue, Colonial Heights, VA, 23834 or by email at [email protected] or by phone (804)520-2686. Please consider helping us out to help these children. Please make all check out to Bright Horizons Family Home, Inc. I send out a bi-monthly news letter and if you would like, I will gladly put you on our mailing list. Please feel free to ask any questions. I thank each and every person that helps these children. It is not easy to dedicate your lives fully to raising orphaned children, but that is what Doreen and Joseph Livan of Kuru Kururu, South America have done. If you would like a couple pictures of some of the children, just ask and I will send them your way. Since this story has been written, it has been passed to me that Sister Doreen has throat cancer. I did not know this when I was there. She didn’t want to worry us. She went to Barbados and was operated on. She will be going through chemo and radiation treatments. Please pray for this wonderful lady to be completely healed. Also, pray for Brother Joe, he has advanced glaucoma and has very poor eyesight. There are several people helping out at the “Home” at the present. There is a good backup plan when the time comes that Doreen and Joseph have to pass on the baton to others. God is wonderful and He will not let down the children. Well, this is the end of story number seven. I am planning on trip number eight to be even better. I thank each and every special person that is part of our family. God bless each and everyone and we thank you so much for your prayers and donations. Please help these kids out if you are able to do so.

Sincerely & Respectfully. Frankie

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