Travel by Edwin Davidson

Our GAMAS airplane was in Georgetown again with a maintenance issue. It was time for our flight back to the states. Now there are a couple of ways to get back to Georgetown when our plane is not available. The first is a village flight direct from Paruima. This flight is on an as needed basis and not  regularly scheduled. The Second is to catch the local “taxi”, a large dugout canoe with an outboard motor that will take us 3 hours downriver to a falls then we would have to hike around the falls for an hour then get in another dugout canoe“taxi” for another two hour ride to the village of Kamarong. Once there, try to catch the daily village flight from there to Georgetown. At church the Sabbath before we left Paruima, we found out that this year the Seventh Day Adventist church is celebrating 130 years of Adventism in Guyana. A large group would be traveling from Paruima to Georgetown for the celebrations. The Aracuna choir had prepared a song to sing for the president of Guyana.

The First Sabbath of the 130th Celebration Week in Georgetown

All of the flights leaving Kamarong were booked solid through to that Friday. We needed to get out to Georgetown by Thursday. “Well Lord what do you have in mind?” We prayed. Sometime Monday we heard from Steven that there miiiiiight be a flight into Paruima on Thursday and we could maaayyybe get a ride out then. Tuesday I drove the Jailing 125 motorbike into the village to meet with the gentleman that was arranging for the incoming flight to bring food goods and other supplies to the village shops. He said that he had our names on the list but, that he needed confirmation by Wednesday morning because there were plenty more people that wanted a ride out. James Ash had told us that there was a slim possibility that our GAMAS plane might be ready in time. The man agreed to let me check with James on the radio that night and verify whether our plane was coming or not. That night I spoke with James and the plane was not yet ready to fly since the parts that were on order from the USA had not arrived in time for a flight on Thursday. Wednesday morning, I quickly jumped on the motor bike and rode to the man’s house to confirm. Once all was confirmed for Thursday, I headed back to campus. I stopped by a friend’s house to inform him that we would indeed be leaving the next day and would be missing them, then headed on to the school. We needed to hurry and get the house packed up and everything stored to keep the bugs out until we can get back. With Laura being almost 32 weeks along in her pregnancy, she needed my help. Riding straight to the tractor shed where the motor bike is parked I shut down the engine and hopped off just as Steven bellowed from the second floor window of the ad building in a no nonsense tone that I have never heard from him, “Edwin get up here now!!!”

Now what do you suppose went through my mind??? Uh Oh… what did I do, or not do?? I ran, then bounded up the stairs as Steven pointed into their bedroom. “We have a problem” there was Alice leaning over a young girl in student uniform. “She was stung twice by a marabunta (which seems to be any number of flying stinging insect) just over her left ear about 10 minutes ago on her way to school this morning and now she is having a hard time breathing” Alice informed, “we have already radioed the clinic. They are out of Epinephrine and Adrenaline”. I tried to raise the clinic again on the radio. Joy Ash answered from the clinic in Kaikan. Meanwhile, Steven hopped on the motorbike, heading to the clinic to try to find someone with a 4-wheeler to be able to transport her to the clinic. Joy gave us some suggestions for alternatives, none of which we could find. “Lord help us now to save her life” we kept praying. Alice found an antihistamine. It‘s a start!!! The girl needed to use the restroom. Then she passed out. Alice and I carried her back to the bed. “Lord Help!” was all I could think. I went back to the medicine cupboard hoping to find something, anything that might work. “Wait…what’s that” I thought as I scanned the top shelf again, “there… in the back… is it?? Yes!!! Children’s liquid Benadryl”. “Thank you Lord” I breathed then hollered to Alice what I had found. I quickly read the concentration and dosed it out in a medicine cup. Alice put it in the girl’s cheek hoping enough would absorb that way. Then we sat back, praying “Lord, help it to work.”

Steven soon arrived with someone on the 4-wheeler, as she had started to come around and was trying to sit up. With Steven and I supporting her, she walked to the 4-wheeler. We went along to help keep her on the back while we rode to the clinic.

“Well, now I think I would like to stop for breakfast and calm my nerves….AND PRAISE GOD”

Cards made by the Students

The rest of the day was spent in packing and repacking suitcases and backpacks making sure we had what we needed and nothing that we didn’t need. We put our stuff out of the way in case others needed to stay there in our absence. We were grateful for Steven's help. At last everything was ready and we went to sleep.

Next morning Steven came down the hill to inform us that he had received confirmation that the plane would be here about 1:30 pm. We took the time to go up to the ad-building to have morning worship with the students. We were surprised and overcome with the outpouring of love, handmade cards, and well wishes that they

Airport Parking

Lumber for House and Hanger

showered on us. "Please come back soon!" they begged us. About 12:30 pm we loaded in the boat and Steven drove us down river to the airstrip. Alice and Grant came too. Since we arrived at the runway a good while early, Laura wanted to go and look at the building site at the far end of the runway that has been cleared for a hanger and house. There is a large pile of lumber there ready to go up as soon as all is ready. It was a nice little walk up to the end of the runway (though Laura, at almost 32 weeks pregnant, says is was not "nice", it was long and hot!) I kept an ear tuned to hear the plane coming, knowing that the Cessna Grand Caravan is fairly quiet on final approach. We didn’t want to miss it or get caught in the middle of the run way with a plane on final.

After we looked the site over and took some pictures we hurried back to the landing by the river bank. We found some good seating in the shade of a tree and waited with the others. They were waiting for the plane either because they had goods coming in or they had a ride out. We waited… and waaiiiittted. The Williams had to get back to the school to attend to their duties there, so we bid them farewell. We continued to wait. Finally, somebody came over from the clinic and told us that the plane had not even left Georgetown yet! Then about 45 minutes later they reported that they had heard on the radio that the plane was headed out to the runway for takeoff. It would take an hour from the time it took off until it would get to us. It came around 4:30. There was a rush to get the plane emptied of its cargo and then for us to load up and go.  

Introduction to the G1000 systems

The pilot was already aware that there was going to be a pilot and his family on the return trip. When I approached he asked if I was the pilot that would be riding back, I affirmed and asked if I might ride the controls with him. “Sure” he said. We loaded and took off. I was a little disappointed in what it means to ride the controls of a Cessna Grand Caravan.

The autopilot does it all, so I just sat back and watched while he made small adjustments with the autopilot. We arrived in Georgetown in good time. We got settled in to a small inn for the weekend. Sabbath we enjoyed the beginnings of the 130 year celebrations that were to continue for a week. James and Chris Eno were able to get one of our GAMAS planes in the air on Friday evening for some flight testing, and James made a run on Sunday. We did some nosing around in some shops on Monday and helped James get a load together. “Smokey” a taxi driver who has been very helpful to GAMAS came by about 1:30 Tuesday morning and drove us to the Cheddi Jaggan international airport about an hour drive South of Georgetown. We boarded the plane for a 5:35 am departure to Trinidad then on to Miami FL.

We are already missing Guyana and the friends we have made there. We are planning, Lord willing, to return as soon as we have the appropriate papers to travel with the new little one.

Is that Florida?