To reach Saint-Élie, a village established by 19th-century explorers in search of gold, requires a seven-hour canoe trip from the coast on the Sinnamary River through the center of the country. This is followed by a two-day, 20-mile [30 km] walk through the jungle with a heavy bag on one’s back. Any who witness there have to bring enough food for three days and a good supply of literature. At night they need a fire to keep animals away and, likely, a hammock to sleep in. But what a pleasure it was for two missionaries sent from France, Eric Couzinet and Michel Bouquet, to make that trip and give a thorough witness to the 150 inhabitants. Twenty persons attended the slide talk that was given during their stay.

Kaw, Ouanary, and Favar, in the eastern part of the country, are other communities that were first reached by the missionaries. Brother Couzinet well recalls his first preaching tour to those places in 1987 along with some local Witnesses. They took a ferry and then drove along a 25-mile [40-km] red dirt road to arrive at a swamp. When they stopped the car, they heard frightening roars. He thought that it must be jaguars ready to attack. But the brothers traveling with Brother Couzinet assured him that it was just a group of howler monkeys disturbed by their arrival.