Timehri Pastor talks about youths, community and unity.
OLD Hyde Park Timehri is a little community with a twist. Comprised almost entirely of one family, Circuit Area, as it is also called, is as close-knit as could be.
It also had the most humble beginnings, with its origins coming from the wake of tragedy. Not many communities could have taken root and grown like Circuit Area did. Today, the little village that housed a single family has blossomed into a well-established community. A major part of the community is Apostle Paul Anderson. As the resident religious leader of Circuit Area, Paul has made it his mission to help the people of his community.

His story is similar to that of the community’s. Growing up was not easy for Paul, and in a life full of challenges, Paul said the only things that saved him were a few good decisions. Although adversities persisted, so did the resilience of Paul and his family. His story began rough beginnings that led to bad places. He described his youth and memories of losing many classmates to substance abuse and many other issues. And it seemed like he, too, was destined to go a similar path. But Paul found his saving grace in his faith and the experiences that changed him. As he shared, “That experience that I had with Jesus Christ had totally revolutionised my life and changed me completely. Because in this community, many of my peers died very young because most of them were into weed, cocaine, and all different types of drugs and the abuse of drugs. And I too was following on that very path until my encounter with the Lord at the age of fourteen.”

Despite the challenges, Paul remembers the beautiful moments of his childhood and early life. He found solace from the noise of the world in the forest that surrounded Hyde Park, and very soon, the long travels to school became a way of connecting to all that was around him. As Paul shared, “If you’re a person that loves nature and loves bonding with nature, this is the place to be. I have been schooled at Hauraruni All-Age School, which is now a secondary school there on the highway. It is about ten miles away from here. And so my upbringing here has been a wonderful one.”

Over the last two decades, Paul has taken up the religious mantle and has made significant steps towards developing his community. As he shared, “Presently, I am functioning here as the resident pastor in this community. And we are doing wonderful work here in the community. We have a feeding programme that we do monthly. We cater to the youth, and we do so many different charitable works here. In addition to that, I travel the length and breadth of the Caribbean, taking the message of Christ.”

Apart from the Gospel, Paul preaches the importance of good choices regardless of the situation and the importance of not letting your surroundings shape who you are. “I tell people we are generally a product of our environment, whether we like it or not. But the decisions we make will determine who you are.”

Although he is a religious individual himself, Paul stated that not everybody has to make the choice he did. But speaking to youths specifically, his message is to find something good that interests you and keep at it. As he shared, “They can make a simple decision as pursuing something that they enjoy, sports for example. Some sports that they love, cricket, there’s football, there’s boxing, there’re so many different sports that one can pursue.” A product of his close-knit community, Paul is also an activist for unity.

With his emphasis on the nation’s young people, Paul also urges others to see the role unity plays in development. As he shared, “What I want to say to this nation is that our motto clearly states that we are one people, one nation, one destiny. If we’re going to become all that God has called us to be as a nation, and we are going to maximise our abilities, we have got to truly unite.”

He further exemplified that together is truly the only way to move forward, stating, “And as our motto says, ‘one people, one nation, one destiny.’ Truth be told, divided we fall, but united we stand.” Paul’s message to Guyana is simple: unite. Coming from a little community where togetherness was the only way forward, Paul firmly believes in the words he preaches. “My message to this nation is to unite, let us work cohesively, that we might accomplish a common goal. And I believe that all of us want to live in a Guyana that is free from violence. All of us want to live in a Guyana that is progressive, that we can call home, and that we can be comfortable in. And if we are going to do that, then we must unite. So I want to say to Guyana, unite!”