Antigua

There Are only three sisters in Antigua, no brothers, and they meet weekly to break bread. Unlike us, they have no Bible Schools, no gatherings, very few, if any, study days, a few midweek meetings when possible.

While at our meetings back home, where there are enough brothers to preside, exhort, lecture and generally organize our affairs, they must plan their meetings and see to necessary administrative matters themselves. We can therefore appreciate their welcome to brethren who visit from time to time — mainly Bro. David Andrews from Nevis, Bro. Othniel Mathias from Wales, who spends a fair amount of time, and a few others who visit the island. Bro. Clive & Sis. Daphne Solomon from New York and Sis. Lorraine Mitchell from Guyana are regulars, who have been supporting this meeting from its inception.

Faithful sisters

Considering their position, one has to be quite strong to survive, especially where most of the churches have large memberships, with pastors. They are often asked by the people on the island about their church which does not even have one male preacher. But they tell us they overcome their feelings of discouragement with constant prayers.

Our visit was surely an eye-opener, as we saw our sisters’ faith. They are very organized in running the meetings. And they extended to us such warmth, love, thoughtfulness, hospitality and great appreciation for our visit that we were overwhelmed. We saw the reality of the Lord’s response to the apostle Paul when he told him, “My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Our Heavenly Father has obviously used the isolated situation to develop in our sisters a strength that one may not have thought possible under the circumstances. May they continue to respond positively, becoming a firm base for a strong ecclesia on the island, with the Lord’s help.

Our program for the week was considering preparation for our Master’s return. We had a very enjoyable fraternal, spending an entire day around the word of God, at the same time bonding with each other and the children. The study stressed maintaining a vision of God’s plan and purpose, using this as a driving force to diligently pursue the kingdom.

We were also very happy to meet with Bro. Othniel Mathias, Sis. Jacqueline Webb and Bro. Dick Fenn, all from the U.K. Othniel and Jackie are no strangers, as we have been working together in St. Lucia for a few years. This was Dick’s first visit to the region and he was obviously finding his experience enjoyable.

Help is greatly appreciated

Ideal help would come from retired couples who could spend a reasonably long time on the island. Also helpful are visits from those on vacation who can provide companionship, support and assistance at the meeting.

We stayed in the adequately furnished quarters at the rear of the hall, but accommodation could also be acquired at Sis. Iris Shaw’s, who has available a self contained, furnished flat on the lower floor of her home. For further information, including costs of lodging and other related services, please contact Sis. Iris at (268) 460-6777, and or ctishaw@hotmail.com