ANOTHER FIRST FOR LINDEN, GUYANA

GIRL'S CAMP

On Tuesday, August 11th, we took 10 girls and their leader to Summerville Camp where we met the rest of the girls from various branches in the Georgetown District.
Check out those smiling faces.

Sister Juliet Culpepper in pink on the far right volunteered to be our girls' leader for the 4 days and nights they would be at camp.
Of the 10 girls in the picture, 5 of them are her family members.
One is her daughter, one is her granddaughter, and three are her neices.
Sister Juliet was baptized in May but as yet, no one in her family has been baptized.
None of her 5 girls have been baptized as yet but I think that will change soon.
All the girls had such an amazing spiritual experience and her 5 girls were especially touched. Each of the girls who went, including the 5 who aren't members, bore their testimony in church the following Sunday.

Doesn't this look like a refreshing way to spend a summer afternoon?

This is our group of girls catching up on camp gossip under the shade of a big tree.

Experience the Light

Our deepest fears concern the unknown.
Some of us walk in darkness not knowing the power of light.
There are those of us who fail to search, to stretch or reach for their destiny when it is within their grasp.
Those not willing to find the height to which they can rise will fall short of their greatest aspirations.
Light overcomes fear,
experience overcomes doubt,
knowledge overcomes the unknown.

by Elder Truman Leishman

Have you ever see a more picturesque spot for a baptism?
The water is actually called 'blackwater'. It's not dirty water, it's water that has been darkened by minerals and from the dyes in the leaves and bark of trees in the rainforest where the water starts. It's like a mirror the way it reflects the blue and white from the sky and clouds.

This is a closer picture of the man who is in the first picture. Elder Leishman just baptized him last Sunday, Aug. 1, 2009. His name is Lee Almond Darrel.

On the weekend of the July 17th & 18th, we had a big SPLASH! There were 16 new members of the church added to the Linden church group (soon to become a branch).
In the picture above is a family of seven. This baptism was held on July 17th.

This picture is of the baptism held on Sunday, July 18th.
Six people were baptized members of the church. So the grand total for the weekend was 16. Now comes the job of keeping them active and working in the church.

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MIB or MISSIONARIES?
They're handsome enough and smart enough to be MIB but they are, of course, hard-working missionaries - 24/7.
Missionaries in the West Indies are not required to wear a suit coat. They were wearing theirs to attend a funeral of a member of our church group.
L to R: Elder Tupou, Elder Babbel, Elder Harris, Elder Packer.

Wedding in Linden

Make a Smilebox photobook

4th of July in Linden

We had 3 baptisms on the 4th of July.
I wore a red blouse and Elder Leishman wore a red tie in honor
of the birthday of our great country.

Four children of the sister in the middle of the picture were baptized two months ago. Sister Holder had just had a new baby so she wasn't able to get baptized until now.


I love this shot of Elder Clark taken just as he dunked Nathaniel Giddings in the water.
(We just got a new camera and it takes amazing pictures.)

With the start of the last transfer on June 24th
we now have 4 missionaries working on the northern side of the Demerara River and
4 missionaries working on the southern side.

The southern side is where almost all of our members are right now.
Because the chapel we are using on the southern side is more than full to capacity
and because of travel time and expense for people living on the northern side of the river,
we are now having sacrament meeting in the elder's apartment for all of their investigators.

They now have two new members, both young men, in their little church group.

This is Elder Vance, Nathaniel, and Elder Clark.
Nathaniel was their first baptism in Linden and
is the first Priesthood holder for their group.


Saturday, July 11th, Elder Houchens, who arrived as a 'greenie' at the start of this transfer, had his first baptism since coming into the mission field.
He and his companion, Elder Brenkmann, found and taught Carl Arthur.

Elder Houchens baptized Carl in a beautiful little cove in a blackwater creek that feeds into the Demerara River.

Carl was confirmed the next day and ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood. He is 20 years old and will eventually be the first Melchizedek Priesthood holder in the new Linden church group.
This group of people who attended Carl's baptism are some of his family and friends.

The young girl on the far right is being taught by Elders Brenkmann and Houchens
and plans to be baptized this coming Saturday.

Because her brother is a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood, he will be able to perform the baptism.

Elder Packer is just getting ready to dunk Edwin Gordon in the Demerara on July 4th.
Edwin was confirmed the next day and ordained with the Aaronic priesthood.
He now has been interviewed by District President Goodluck and
was ordained Sunday, July 12th, to the Melchizedek priesthood.
He is the 3rd Elder in the original church group.
The man in the slide show on this site, Ian Greene, was the 2nd Elder in Linden .
Here are men HARD at work - the best work of all, the Lord's work!
Elder Harris, President Mark Rodney, Elder Packer, Elder Tupou, and Elder Babbel.
President Rodney, 19 years old, was just baptized in June, was the first Elder ordained in Linden since it opened in February, and was called and set apart to be the 2nd counselor to President Simmons in the Diamond Branch Presidency.

His assignment is the Linden church group. Because it is an hour and fifteen minute drive from our home branch of Diamond, Guyana, the Linden group was formed.

We now have a Guyanese member as its leader instead of the missionaries who will now start taking more of a shadow leadership role.

This is Elder Babbel with his first baptism.
He is also a 'greenie'; he came from the MTC with Elder Houchens in June.

He baptized Sabrina Bethune on July 11th in the Demerara River.


Since our last email to family and friends many of you have asked about
Brother Davenand Ramdeholl.

This picture was taken last week. He is still in the hospital. He has had some rough days during his recovery. Unfortunately some of it was caused by medical practices in Guyana.
He is on the mend now.

What you see on his abdomen is a halo of metal rods connected and tighten to keep his pelvis immobile while the bones heal. He has to wear that for another month. When it is removed, he will then be able to have surgery to repair the damage done to his bladder.
It's been over a month since his accident.

Brother and Sister Ramdeholl joined the church in Georgetown 14 years ago but have since moved to a small village 25 miles away from Linden called Anarika. He and his son, Ryan, are Elders. Ryan is preparing his papers to go on a mission.

Be Baptized and Live

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A New Creature in Christ

This poem was written by a recent convert. She shared it with Elder Leishman and I at church today. I wanted to share it with you.

Shattered by the long, lonely days of darkness,
A soul that wandered away from the glory of God,

Knowing not who or where to turn

or rest my weary bones.

I lingered day and night near the book of

Truth, Prosperity, and Love.

I felt like a locked box inside a cave with no escape -

for all have come short of the glory of God.

Faith has brought me thus far.

As I read the book of hope for many days,

turning page by page,

Pondering upon what is being read,

I learned the facts of being wise,

and obtaining wisdom,

and understanding in Christ.

I felt the confidence of hope

that a broken heart and a new soul was seen in Heaven's eyes.

Heaven rejoices over one sinner that repents.

Touched by an angel,

Delivered from the enemies concave,

Cleansed by the Holy Spirit,

Putting on the whole armour of God -

Yeah! I can rejoice!

For I am clean, washed in the blood

and sheltered under the golden branches of love, peace, and joy,

and, most of all, covered under God's wings.

I am blessed, sanctified, and purified by God's hands.

I have become a new creature in Christ.

(2nd Cor. 5:17)

God save me.

written by Shevonne Canzius

THE NEW LINDEN BAND OF BROTHERS

We started a new 6 week transfer on June 24th. The Linden Zone that was created last transfer grew by one set of elders. We now have 4 sets of elders in Linden and one set that works in the Diamond/Grove area. Two work on the west side of the Demerara River and two work on the east side. Elder Harris, the bald one in the middle is the only elder from last transfer to stay here. He had a bit of trouble with the clippers and ended up with no hair. Elder Harris is our District Leader. His new companion is to the left of him behind Elder Leishman. His name is Elder Babbel, he is straight from the MTC, and he is from Corvalis, Oregon. Behind Sister Leishman is Elder Damm who was one of our elders in Trinidad. He worked in Couva Branch. To the right of Elder Harris' head is Elder Vance who was also one of our elders in Trinidad. He worked in West Chaguanas. Behind Elder Damm is Elder Clark who was transferred from another area in Guyana. Elder Vance and Elder Clark are now companions working in East Linden. Opposite Elder Clark is Elder Tupou, a Tongan from Australia. He was one of the elders who opened Linden in February. He left us for one transfer but is now back. He is our Zone Leader. His companion, Elder Packer, is standing right behind him. To the right of Elder Tupou is Elder Brenkmann who also was transferred from another area of Guyana. To the right of him is Elder Houchens who is also straight from the MTC. He is from the Green Valley area of Henderson, Nevada. Elder Houchens and Elder Brenkmann are companions. Elder Nielson just arrived from Trinidad to serve with Elder Damm in the Diamond/Grove. We've got a good-looking, hard-working bunch of elders to continue finding souls to bring unto Christ.