SUBJECT: Families Gates and Burgdorff moved to Kaikan

DATE: November 17, 1996

AUTHOR: Betsy Burgdorf, her husband Ted, and three girls - Heidi, Kristen, and Kara, work with her sister Becky Gates and family in Guyana.

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Sunday, November 17, was a very exciting day! Becky and David, Lina, Heidi, Carlos and Kris went on the first flight with as much luggage as they could pack into the C-206. Ted and I, along with Kristen, Katrina, and Kara, stayed behind and cleaned up the apartment, then waited impatiently for the plane to come back. They had left around 9:00 AM. At about 11:45 Winston came to take us to the airport. This is not the international airport that we flew into from the States but a smaller one. They weighed us along with all our baggage.

Flying to Kaikan

We could take 1200 lbs. which had to include our weight. We took as much as possible but still have 2 duffle bags and a box to come later. Becky and David also have a lot of stuff to come later.

They took out the co-pilot's seat and packed the heaviest things there. We were really packed in tightly! Ted sat behind the pilot with Kara on his lap. Katrina was behind him. I was on the other side behind all the luggage, and Kristen was behind me. I had one kitten, Kristen had one, and Katrina had her dog Twinkie. Our puppy went on the first flight. Then behind us more luggage was packed into the tail section.

The plane finally took off at 1:38 PM. We were so happy to be leaving Georgetown. There were lots of big clouds that we had to go around. Soon we were flying over mile after mile of solid jungle. Reminded me of Peru. Then we began going over mountains with white cliffs, rivers with rapids and waterfalls. It was beautiful! After 2 hours (about 3:40 PM) we caught sight of Kaikan. What a thrill! Then we were landing on the tiny airstrip. It looked like the whole village was there to meet us, along with Becky and David and the kids.

Part of our Welcoming Committee

It was so exciting to finally be in Kaikan, after months of dreaming and planning. It was wonderful seeing all the people there. The pilot wanted to leave right away, because the weather was looking threatening, so we quickly shot the rest of our pictures so we could send the roll with David, who was going back with that flight. Before he left, David introduced us to a few people, and then he was off.

The church is right next to the runway, surrounded by white sand. We could see it from the air before we landed. The people had lined the trail from the runway to the church with poles which were decorated with leaves, flowers and fruits. Everyone helped carry our things to the church, then they

Our Local Church

ushered us in. As we walked in, everyone in the church stood and sang, "I have the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart," while waving their arms in the air. They had the 5 of us go sit on the platform. They had a whole program planned for us, complete with speeches, songs, etc. They had done this whole program with the first group that arrived, then David said, "There are more coming," so they repeated the program for us too.

It was so sweet and so touching, I couldn't keep back the tears. In fact, the tears are coming again just thinking about it. Five people came and stood in front of us and placed something around our necks, hand-woven by one of the ladies here, while they told us how happy they were that we had come. There was special music by a group of children, and also by the choir. Several people gave speeches. They told us how happy and delighted they were that we had come, how privileged and blessed they were, how this was a dream come true for them, an answer to their prayers. They had Ted stand up and give a speech. The lay pastor, who was in charge of the program, said he couldn't quite get over his jealousy that we had picked Kaikan instead of his village! (He goes around to all the villages, and he left the next day.) When the people applauded, they all clapped in unison. We have never gone anywhere in our lives where we were given such a welcome. It was truly amazing, something I will never forget as long as I live.

At this point I was regretting that I had finished off the roll of film in my camera, because the rest of my film was at the bottom of a dufflebag somewhere. As soon as the program was over, all the villagers helped carry things down the trail to the house. The five of us had to go to the police station to sign in. The police officer was a black man from Georgetown. He was very nice, but he said Kaikan was the worst place he had ever lived. Nothing ever happened here, is was so boring! He couldn't wait till his time would be up and he could go back to Georgetown. He had solar panels and a radio, but no light. Ted had some extras, so he said he'd give him one, which made him very happy.

A View of our houses from the Hill

The church, school, health center, airstrip, soccer field, and some of the houses are on top of the hill, where there is lots of white sand. Then the trail goes down the hill to the river, and a lot of the houses, including ours, are long the river. One man walking with me said he felt very bad that they weren't able to complete the second house before we arrived. I said, "That's OK. We're just happy to be here." The house is 21' X 16' divided into 4 rooms. A little crowded for 10 people, but we're doing fine. There were 2 single beds in 2 of the rooms. In the main room were 2 small tables, 1 chair, and one small bench.

We began unpacking some things, trying to figure out who would sleep where. Ted immediately began setting up a wire and light hooked up to the deep-cycle battery (we brought 2) which was good, because by 5:30 it was getting dark. By 6:00 or so he got the light on. Becky and I managed to find the stove, a pot, and some rice, and so we cooked supper. Everyone was starved by then.

At 7:30 PM we had just finished supper when our first patient arrived - a 38-year-old lady who had been bitten by a yellow-tailed labaria, a very poisonous snake they said. Oh, boy! We didn't come prepared for this! We did bring a first aid kit along, so we got it out along with our copy of Where There is no Doctor. We applied the suction cups and wrapped the leg with an ace wrap. Since no antivenom is available (in all Guyana, we found out the next day!) we applied charcoal to the site and gave her Ibuprofen for the pain. Then we laid her on our bed to rest, and told her she should stay the night for observation. So Ted and I slept on the floor in the "kitchen." We were wall-to-wall people that night! There was some swelling of the foot and leg the next morning, but she seemed OK, so we sent her home, with a prayer. I haven't heard back from her so hope she's doing alright.

It's almost time for the weekly scheduled plane to arrive, so I must finish this letter to send it out to civilization. I'll just say the people have been so kind to us. They've been working hard on the other house, which is between this house and the river. Every day people bring us food: Oranges, tangerines, bananas, yams, yuca, edo, tomatoes, green beans, okra, and things I've never seen nor heard of before. The kids have been going to the school, and I'm trying hard to learn names. I talked to Ramo last night about starting a Pathfinder Club. He said they used to have one here, but now they are one of the few villages without a club. Hopefully that will change soon.

We appreciate so much the prayers of support of all of you back home. We miss you all.

Love, Betsy

You may write to Betsy at: gates@andrews.edu

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Last Updated: March 10, 1997