• Guyana
    2005 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses

    • Plying the Rivers in Kingdom Proclaimers

      In the early years, the brothers took advantage of whatever boats and canoes were available to get to the settlements along the rivers. Later, they acquired their own boats, named Kingdom Proclaimer I, Kingdom Proclaimer II, and so on, up to Kingdom Proclaimer V. (The first two are now out of action.)

      Frederick McAlman relates: “Paddling with the tide, we would preach down the east bank of the Pomeroon River until we got to Hackney, seven miles [11 km] from the mouth. There we would get a good night’s sleep at the home of Sister DeCambra, the midwife serving the area at that time. Early the next morning, we would continue down to the mouth of the river before crossing over to the west bank. Then we would work our way back 21 miles [34 km] to Charity.” For five years, the brothers rowed up and down the Pomeroon before they got a used, six-horsepower outboard motor.

      Navigating the waterways usually presented no hazards, but the brothers had to be careful, for there was other traffic. And Kingdom Proclaimer I and II were rowboats, so they were not fast. Says Frederick: “When I was on my way home from witnessing on the Pomeroon River one Saturday afternoon, a large cargo boat cruising at full speed collided with me. The captain and crew were not paying attention because of a rum-drinking spree. I was knocked out of Kingdom Proclaimer I, into the river, and under their boat. I went down, fighting for dear life in the darkness, continually bumping my head on the bottom of their boat, just a few inches from the powerful propeller. Seeing my plight, a young man on the boat plunged into the river and rescued me. For several weeks I was in constant pain because of injuries, but I was grateful to be alive!”

      That misadventure did not deter Frederick. “I was determined to keep on,” he explains, “because of the interest in the Bible shown by people along the river. Seven miles [11 km] from Charity at Sirikie was a Congregation Book Study, and they depended on me.”