August 2011

Dear Praying Friends,

What a precious promise we are able to claim from the inspired Word of God through Isaiah the prophet! Our great God does not grow tired, He is always wide awake, ever able and ready to hear the petitions of His weary ones. Yes, we too grow weary, but are grateful for those of you who uphold us in your prayers as together we partner for the glory of God in reaching Guyanese for Christ. Our physical bodies need to be ”refueled” after a busy season of ministry, and somehow that season of ministry seems to have been a bit longer than normal lately. But praise God for his mercy and grace, as we continue to hope in the Lord, he continues to renew our strength! For a couple of days this week we are able to take a break and find “peace and quiet” in Crabwood Creek.

This is where pastor Vishal and his family live and work, but they allow us to come and take over their “bottom house” and just recoup when needed. This is also where we tape the “Final Revelation” weekly broadcast. Andy sets up all the lights, pulls down the large “greenscreen”, turns on the camera and monitor, and teaches half hour programs. Usually this happens in marathon sessions, with several tapings being done at one time, which are then carried to our home in Bath to be edited and sent off to the tv station. In other words, we don’t get to Crabwood Creek very often, but when we do we return to Bath rested, refreshed, and ready to go again. The month of July was “full up” as we say here. Our annual Day of Prayer was held at the Hampshire Bible Church, which is now being pastored by Rajen Latcha. There are four new pastors in training attending Hampshire, now under the leadership and mentorship of Rajen and his wife Annie. Please pray for this ministry, as there have been major changes in the past few months due to unforseen circumstances. The elders need prayer for wisdom and direction as they work together to grow the ministry and reach the community for Christ. The Fyrish Bible Church is now an independent body, supporting their own pastor, Martin Ramjaiwan. Please pray that the Hampshire Bible Church will soon be able to again function as an independent body, Lord willing, that may happen this year also. We were blessed by our co-workers during the Day of Prayer meeting, as they surprised us with special gifts of appreciation as well as a birthday party for Kathleen. It is indeed a privilege and joy to lead the Association of Bible Churches and to have a unified team of ministry leaders working together for the glory of God.

A team of 14 men and women from Second Baptist Church of Griffin, Georgia, travelled to our village of Bath this past month, to assist in VBS and nightly evangelistic crusades. Praise God, there were over 250 children the last day of VBS, with 32 decisions for salvation, and 22 decisions for salvation during the crusades. Several new believers were in church the following Sunday. Pray for Andy, Willow, and the visitation team as they do follow up and discipleship of these new believers. Our house in Bath was a busy place, as we enjoyed ”close fellowship” during that week. (team members stay with us) Kathleen is grateful for the extra help in the kitchen and laundry departments, her special helpers included pastor Willow’s wife Evelyn, sister Sherrie from the Bath church, and Molly. We mention Molly here, as it is time to let you all in on a little secret. Molly is our 16 year old neighbor, she comes from a difficult home situation, very little education, and years of malnutrition. She trusted Christ as her Savior during the first VBS at Bath 3 summers ago. Since then, she has grown in her faith, has become Kathleen’s “right hand” in caring for teams, and in a sense has become part of our family. We dearly love our little Molly. It is a joy to watch her mature in her walk with God, to teach her to read her Bible, and to pray with her for a godly husband. You see, in this culture, it is not uncommon for desperate families to marry off their daughters at a very young age.

We have determined not to let that happen with Molly, but to give her every opportunity to become the woman God designed her to be…and then see her marry one of our pastors in training someday, Lord willing! The once a year special ABC Ladies Rally is looked forward to with great anticipation by the member churches, each year hosted in a different location. This year one of our own pastors wives, Morzeina Manpowan is the speaker on July 30 at the Overwinning Bible Church. The theme is “Women of Prayer”. Morzeina is a graduate of the Berbice Bible Institute and a gifted Bible teacher.

Please pray with us for these upcoming events:

• August 14-22: Optometry team coming to Bath village, will set up the free eye clinic inside the Bath Bible Church. Our own Jennie (Girwarnauth) Clevenger and her husband Ryan are coming to assist in the nursing and evangelistic side of the clinic as well.
• August 27: Annual ABC-wide youth rally, hosted by the pastors in training, to be held at the Crabwood Creek Bible Church.
• September 3-11: Dr. Rick Gregory and wife Pat , visiting professor from Grace Bible Church in CA. Teaching on the subject of Biblical Leadership.
• Sept. 15-16: Pastors wives retreat in Georgetown, with sessions on Isa. 40: 28-31, in addition to some good food, fun, and fellowship! (12 of us) We don’t do this every year, so we are very excited.
• Sept. 19-26: Pastor Richard Glenny from Northwest Bible Church, MN, comes to meet with the pastors, teach a special seminar/retreat for the pastors, see first hand the annualABC Youth Quiz Off to be held at the Overwinning Bible Church on Saturday, Sept. 24.
• Sept. 29: Annual Day of Prayer to be held at the Fyrish Bible Church.

THANK YOU for taking time to read this rather lengthy report, and most of all for your prayers and support. We are blessed to have so many faithful partners in the ministry of church planting. It is a great encouragement to us.

In His strength,

Andy and Kathleen Girwarnauth