It was a tempting invitation and had the kids been out of school and on their own we might have taken it up. Larry & Winnie Wattell were visiting the Houston area from Georgetown, Guyana. They were very warm, compassionate, simple people, very devoted to God, Jesus Christ and the people of Guyana. They were collecting whatever supplies they could to ship back to Guyana to help them start a Children’s Hospital; through The Jesus Rescue Mission that Larry had founded after moving to Guyana in 1970.

He wore a worn out old knit cap pulled over his ears and she wore washed out dark colored clothing much too large for her that may have come from donations. While in Houston they stayed at The Star of Hope Mission and would come to The Salvation Army ARC during the day; picking over what they might be able to use and afford to ship back to Georgetown. During this time they shared much of their ministry in Guyana. Gene has a Masters Degree in Public Health and Larry wanted him to move us to Georgetown to help build and run the Children’s Hospital they were to build.

We had known that they were coming and Gene had begun to collect whatever medical supplies he could to send back with them. He also sent a bale of clothing and some dry goods, including about 400 pounds of lentils, with the understanding that none of it was to be sold only distributed to the people of Guyana.

During their stay, Winnie confided in us that she had been on the Catholic Church Board when Jim Jones came to Guyana seeking to establish his ill founded “Jonestown”. The government had asked the Catholic Church whether they approved of Jones coming to Guyana. The board had voted to allow them to come, but shortly afterwards began to see that it was the wrong decision. Winnie had served on that board and she talked about the guilt she was carrying for what had happened there.

Recently Gene found an old letter to us from the Wattells, dated July 8, 1990. I think was the last time we had contact from them. In it, Larry shared his thanks for all the things they were able to bring back to their people and a little about themselves. In the letter, he confided that his second wife Winnie had been the headmistress of a school she had founded but that in 1976 the government of Guyana had taken over all the private schools.

Looking online, I found Larry’s obituary* and was amazed at the accomplishments of his life. He was an accomplished musician and a building contractor in California. In 1963 Larry, helped start The Santa Rosa Rescue Mission (now known as The Redwood Gospel Mission.

In 1965 following his lifelong dream of becoming a missionary, he established The Richmond Rescue Mission (now known as the Bay Area Rescue Mission).

In 1970 he began his missionary work in Guyana, developing fiberglass prosthetics plus distributing hundreds of pairs of eyeglasses to the needy. It was then he founded The Jesus Rescue Mission and began transporting tons of food, clothing and building materials from the U.S. As lifelong member of The Gideon’s, Larry had distributed thousands of Gideon testaments.

Meeting and knowing the Wattells was truly an honor and experience that I would never have imagined in my life. Their true love of God, people and life is one thing that I will never forget nor will their memory ever fade. They truly were a model of unwavering Christianity and humility. What wonderful, Fallible Human Beings….

*Lawrence V. Wattell founder of the Jesus Rescue Mission & Children’s Hospital Georgetown, Guyana, South America. Born March 12, 1913 & passed away at age 96 on December 3, 2009.