What God meant them to be

A river runs through the jungle. The locals call this one a creek because it is slightly smaller than the others. But it is certainly big enough for alligators. A boat bounces across the water, loaded with timber cut to size. The wood is being transported to an island.

Without any electricity, Priest Hilton Smith and his son, Priest Joel Smith, as well as some brothers and sisters, took bags of concrete, mixed it locally, poured it, and smoothed it, and cut joints in the wood so that everything would fit together, and finally nailed everything together. They were building a church for the congregation of Wakapau (Guyana) in the centre of the island, slightly elevated on a hill so that it can be easily seen from any point on the island.

How the church came to the jungle

Guyana is known as the “land of many waters”, a reference to the many rivers. The country’s economy is based on agriculture and mining. The discovery of oil in 2015 brought the country strong economic growth. Most Guyanese live in the cities near the coast, only a few, mainly the indigenous peoples, live in the vast remote interior. There are no roads, no power lines, and only rarely a cell tower. The people get around by boat or they walk through the jungle.

The New Apostolic Church has been established in Guyana for some time, mainly near the coast. There are nine congregations in the country today, seven of which are concrete structures with electricity. Thanks to the Richards and Smith families, the New Apostolic faith has also penetrated into the interior of the country since 1993. A church building was erected for the congregation of Akawini in 2008 and in Wakapau in 2018. Previously, Priest Hilton Smith had to walk more than two hours through the dangerous bush for each service.

Support from the USA

The only thing still missing in the Wakapau church are louvred windows. “When it rains, and it often does, the people get soaked in the church,” Apostle Robert Ferguson from the USA says. He is responsible for the Church in Guyana. He had a look at it at the beginning of May this year and is seeing about getting the problem fixed.

Although the building supplies were paid for by the New Apostolic Church USA, the two churches in Wakapau and Akawini were built by the local people, on their own initiative. While the foundation of the church building in Wakapau is cast in concrete, the church building in Akawini was built on stilts, because Priest Joel Smith could not find a level surface.

Naturally, the members are proud of their church. This can also be seen in their festive attire at the divine service with the Apostle. There is only one thing that is still a mystery to Apostle Robert Ferguson: how the Priest’s shirt could be so crisp and white in the middle of the jungle and without electricity. It looked dry cleaned, but there are no dry cleaners.

Lead singer and teacher

Priest Joel Smith, the son, uses the boat that the Church bought him to travel to and between the two congregations. With two other ministers from Guyana, who regularly accompany him, it takes him two hours to get to Wakapau and Akawini. He runs the motorised boat at full speed. Priest Smith has multiple canisters of gas in the back and keeps refilling.

Many of the brothers and sisters are not able to read. There is a school, but few teachers. It is the task of the ministers to explain the Bible and the faith to the people. “The ministers do a lot more than just preaching the word,” the Apostle says. “They really teach and educate everyone who may not receive an education.” The people learn everything by listening, also singing. “To be a good minister, you must be able to sing loudly because everyone is listening to you to learn the melody and the words.”

Humble, grateful, happy

The effects of climate change are also being felt here in the form of a drought. In many places, the river levels have fallen sharply, resulting in muddy areas. It impacts fishing. In the past, you could almost drive the boat right into where the church is, but with the water levels down the villagers have laid some planks over the muddy ground so that you can walk up to the village on dry ground.

Most men go off for three or four months at a time to earn money. There is foresting and mining. “Life is hard, and yet they are happy people,” is how their Apostle describes it. “They are thankful for our faith. They are faithful, humble, and pure. Although they don’t have much, they are happy and grateful to the Lord. And this is what God meant human beings to be.”