Twenty-six Americans worked in Guyana, South America, under the direction of Partners In Progress, conducting a medical clinic for 4 days at Canal Number Two with the assistance of members of the Clay Brick Road Church of Christ. Six hundred twenty-six patients were examined and treated. Most patients were taught the Gospel and given religious literature, including many Bibles. A preaching service was simultaneously conducted at Sophia Church of Christ. The maximum attendance at the nightly preaching and teaching services was 162. Twenty-two people became new Christians at the two villages.

A detailed account of this mission follows:

Our 19th annual Guyana medical mission team included 17 members of the West-Ark Church of Christ. We assembled at the Fort Smith airport at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, 6 June 2009. Our American Airlines flight departed for Dallas shortly before 6 a.m. Five additional team members (from Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas) joined us in Dallas. We had a 2-hour layover before boarding the flight to Miami.

We had a 3-hour layover at the Miami airport. A nurse from Indiana joined us in Miami. Because of the weather, four men on our team from Houston missed their connecting flight in Miami. At 8 p.m. we arrived in Trinidad, where we disembarked, cleared airport security, and got on our fourth and final flight toward our destination. We arrived in Guyana on time at 10:45 p.m.

We were pleased that all personal luggage and our 13 bags of supplies arrived with us. The 23 of us who made it to Guyana were met at the airport by Steve DeLoach, director of Operation Guyana. We were transported to our hotel, the Grand Coastal Inn, just beyond Georgetown, the capital city. The hotel provided refreshments and snacks while we heard a very brief orientation from Steve DeLoach. By 1:30 a.m. most of our team members were in their hotel rooms fast asleep, exhausted from a long day of travel.

On Sunday morning our team met for breakfast at 7 a.m. Ten of us left the hotel at 8 a.m. for a 35-minute ride to Canal Number Two. There we met with the Christians at Clay Brick Road Church of Christ.

Rusty Wilson and Jeannie Cole helped with Sunday school for the local children. We had planned for two men from Houston to teach adult Bible class and preach, but their flight delay forced us to find unprepared substitutes. The decision was made on Saturday night after our arrival in country that Jim Hardin would teach and Michael Cole would preach. Everything went smoothly in spite of so little preparation time. Five men responded after the sermon, asking for prayers.

The other 13 team members departed the hotel at 9 a.m. They met with the Church of Christ in Sophia (pronounced so-FIE-uh). Roy Dunavin taught the adult Bible class and preached the sermon.

Both groups arrived back at the hotel shortly after noon. After a nice lunch we had some time for rest and a nap. We met again at 3 p.m. to count and package pills for use in the medical clinic this week. This took till 6:30.

We ate our evening meal, had a detailed orientation by Steve DeLoach, then divided into medical and non-medical groups for further discussion. We were finished by 9 p.m.

On Monday, 8 June 2009, we were pleased that the 3 men who arrived late Sunday night joined our group for breakfast. (At this point we did not know why the fourth man did not come.) After a devotional led by Jim Hardin, we all left for Canal Number Two at 10:30.

At 11:15 our two minibuses and supply truck arrived at what would become our clinic. By 12:30 the Clay Brick Road church building was tranformed into our medical and eyeglass clinic and we began seeing patients.

While we were setting up, in a corner of the building Jeannie Cole
taught a Bible lesson for several of the local Christian ladies.

We closed the clinic shortly before 5:30. The physicians had examined and treated 57 patients. Our eye clinic examined 52 people and gave away many eyeglasses. All people who came to the clinic were offered Bible studies. Before the day was over, we witnessed 4 people being baptized.

At 5:30 twelve of our people were transported for 40 minutes to Sophia. After about 30 minutes of singing led by Guyanese brothers, Roy preached a sermon for half an hour about God's plan for redemption. Forty people attended. After the service a teenage girl was baptized. The Americans who met in Sophia returned to the hotel about 7:45.

The regular preacher for Sophia Church of Christ is Narine Khublall. Our 1994 Guyana medical mission was with the Leonora Church of Christ on the West Coast of the Demerara River. The Leonora Christians recognized Narine's potential to become a preacher. West-Ark Church of Christ provided his full financial support to attend the preacher training school in Georgetown (Guyana) during 1995-96. In June 1997 Narine helped to establish the church at Sophia. Having more than one preacher on our team in 2009 allowed us for the first time to serve the Sophia church while simultaneously working in a separate village.

Fourteen team members stayed for the evening "crusade" at Canal Number Two. Several members of our team taught Bible lessons to the children while Jessie Harris and Dolton Duplechan did the preaching. The children's classes were presented outside the building under a portable awning. At 8:40 the van load of tired Americans from Canal Two arrived back at the hotel for supper.

On Tuesday we were ready to begin seeing patients at 12 noon. We treated 161 patients. Bible studies resulted in 4 baptisms.

We sent 12 people to Sophia at 5:45. After Roy's sermon there were 3 baptisms.

The 14 who remained at Clay Brick Road church finished tranforming the building back into a place of worship. Then several on the team played Red Rover in front of the building with several of the Guyanese children. None of the Guyanese knew this game. Everyone had lots of laughs.

Twenty-nine children were taught Bible lessons while J. D. Harris preached to 53 adults. Four people responded for prayer and 1 man was baptized.

Both groups arrived at our hotel about 8 p.m. Our evening meal was served. We had a good night's rest following this grand day of service.

We arrived on Wednesday morning at our clinic site by 11:30. The clinic was ready to see patients at 11:50. The temperature reached 89°F. There was little breeze. No rain fell to cool off the village.

Boyo Omrow is the preacher for Clay Brick Road. To support his family he has a secular job. He met with the church each evening, but his employer would not permit him to work daily with our team. Other men in the congregation as well as several Christian ladies and teenagers worked alongside our team to keep things flowing smoothly.

The patients were next sent to a nurse.

Those who needed eye care were divided from those needing to see a physician. Vital signs and chief complaints were recorded before patients were seen by the doctor. Lastly, patients eyes were checked and free eyeglasses distributed, or they went to our pharmacy for free medications ordered by Dr. Cole or Dr. Younger.

A Bible lesson was taught on Wednesday afternoon to eighty 12-year-olds at a different public school in the village.

The church building at Sophia is about one third the size of the Clay Brick Road building. We were not able to provide children's Bible classes at Sophia. We were impressed at how well the children behaved during the singing and preaching service.

On Thursday we enjoyed a detour through downtown Georgetown where we saw the 19th century architecture of many government buildings, churches, and the market. We arrived at the clinic about an hour after we left our hotel. Everything was set up and ready for patient care at 11:50.

It was another hot day which even the local residents complained about. The expected, brief afternoon tropical shower that would cool the air did not happen. Nevertheless, our team and local support performed their duties honorably and cheerfully. We were able to see 161 patients before closing the clinic one half hour early.

We began packing up at 4:30. The truck was loaded and returned to the hotel. As always happens on the last day, someone who wanted medical attention had to be turned away because they arrived a few minutes too late.

After saying their goodbyes, half the team departed for Sophia. Those on the team who remained at Clay Brick Road enjoyed the time of fellowship with the Guyanese adults and children who were waiting for the evening service to begin. Once again the kids especially enjoyed playing Red Rover with some of our American team members.

A vacation Bible school (VBS) lesson was provided for the children at Clay Brick Road. The portable awning used previously had been returned on the truck with our other supplies. We were pleased that it did not rain. Portable lights were helpful for the children's Bible lessons and songs. On Thursday evening Nick Dalton and Treva Hill led VBS, allowing Jeannie Cole to go to Sophia.

The services at both locations began each evening about dark with singing inside the church buildings. (In the tropics it gets dark about 6:30 p.m., year round.) Roy preached at Sophia and J. D. Harris preached at Clay Brick Road. Guyanese at each location gave speeches of appreciation at the close of the last night.

Because it was Lesley Russell's birthday, he was given very special attention. While singing "Happy Birthday," every adult and teenager at Clay Brick Road church gave him a big hug. It a very touching occasion.

As always, it was difficult to leave our new friends on the final night of our campaign. Emotional goodbyes were exchanged, the vans were loaded, and our team reassembled for supper at the hotel. We had chocolate cake to celebrate the birthday.

Tired from the hard work at the clinic site, everyone went to their hotel rooms to pack for departure.

On Friday we left our hotel at 3 a.m. for the hour-long drive to the airport. Check-in was uneventful. We walked through a gentle rain to board the Caribbean Airlines plane to Trinidad. A muffin and a drink were served as a "refreshment" on the hour-long flight.

In Trinidad we were once again "screened" for swine flu. (As a physician, I think the process is meaningless since it depends entirely on the health authority's acceptance of a self-assessment of whether a traveler chooses to truthfully report symptoms on a check-off form.)

We passed through security and boarded the flight for Miami shortly before 8 a.m. Both jets this morning were Boeing 737's. Breakfast consisted of a chicken croissant sandwich, a granola bar, a bag of tortilla chips, and a beverage served by the flight attendants. Most of our team napped on the 4-hour flight.

We reclaimed our 34 pieces of luggage in Miami. After clearing customs, we moved all suitcases to American Airlines. With less than one third of the team left to check in for our flight to Freeport, Bahama, an American Airlines agent discovered that the computer indicated no one was allowed entry to that country who had visited Guyana or Trinidad within a week of travel. The only exception was for passengers who had been immunized for yellow fever. It took much arguing and many phone calls for half an hour before the team was granted permission to continue on our journey.

The plane taking us to Freeport was behind schedule about 1½ hours. Probably because of our delayed arrival, our bus to the hotel was not waiting for us at the airport. It finally arrived and we rode about 10 minutes to Pelican Bay at Lucaya. We were in our hotel rooms shortly after 7 p.m.

As is common at the end of a mission project, the team had a "free day" to rest and recharge on Saturday. Swimming, touring, shopping, eating, birdwatching, and napping were among the activities we enjoyed.

On Sunday morning the team gathered at 9:30 for a very meaningful Communion service. Shortly before 10 o'clock we were on our way to the airport. Our bags were checked all the way to Fort Smith. U.S. immigration and customs clearance occurred before departure. Our flight to Miami departed at 1:30 p.m., 1½ hour late. The flights to Dallas and Fort Smith were uneventful. The crowd of friends and family welcoming us home at the Fort Smith airport was a delightful end to a busy schedule.