Anguillian businessman and ordained Baptist Pastor, Quincy Gumbs, has told a human interest story about God’s providence – and his own faith and resilience that helped him to mitigate a recurring illness, and protected him from being infected by the coronavirus while receiving treatment in Miami.
He was recently discharged from quarantine following his return to Anguilla. On Sunday, August 23, he appeared at the Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, at George Hill, where he received a big welcome from the congregation, several visitors and family members, led by his brother and longstanding Minister and Founder, Pastor John Gumbs.
Mr. Quincy Gumbs, who occasionally preaches at the Church, had earlier extended a WhatsApp invitation to a number of friends which read: “I was glad when they said unto me let us go unto the House of the Lord. My precious friend, you are invited to join me…at the Sovereign Baptist Church…as I go to give God thanks for eliminating the second cancer attack on my life in five years; and keeping me safe in a Covid-infested environment for two months. Your presence would mean so much to me.”
Mr. Gumbs had not been on the pulpit for many months now. On this occasion, he took his sermon from Psalms 100 which begins: ‘Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands’. In a triumphant voice he told his listeners: “I have come this morning to enter into the historical record what the Lord has done for me. The Word declares: ‘Let the redeemed of the Lord say so’ and a victory is not something to hide. It is something to rejoice in and to share. I have entered this victory with the full knowledge that my God is on my side. He is the same yesterday, today and forever…”
His moving story told about two setbacks when he left Anguilla: firstly, in December 2019, when a 6.5 earthquake in Puerto Rico, impacted the main electricity system and forced him back to Anguilla. Secondly, in March 2020, he again had to return home following a regional lockdown of medical and health facilities as a result of the Covid-19. “At this time, I drew on my theology and said God is in control and his providence will work it out because I knew that there was a certain inherent danger in that delay,” he stated.
Mr. Gumbs told about his eventual treatment at the University of Miami Cancer Centre, with providential assistance from NAGICO Insurance; and a kind person who unconditionally took him to stay at her home, thus avoiding an Airbnb monthly rental of US$4,000. He also spoke about the high-class oncology treatment he received and the hope that, in due course, such facilities and treatment may one day be made available to Anguilla. He is willing to share the details of his human interest story to anyone, and has expressed heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all for their concern and good wishes.
Meanwhile, Mr. Gumbs, whose daughter, Mrs. Quincia Gumbs-Marie, is now the Parliamentary Secretary in the Government of Anguilla, said that while in Miami he had missed a lot of interesting matters including the general elections. And while he was fully aware that he was required to enter a Covid-19 quarantine facility, on his return to Anguilla, he regretted that during that time he had missed the birth of his granddaughter.
An astute businessman, he supports the Government’s recent decision that quarantined persons should pay in full, or in part, the costs associated with the services they are provided at the facilities. “I just felt that, at this point, in Anguilla’s history and our financial situation, that the burden is too much for the country to bear,” he told The Anguillian newspaper. “I don’t think that at the House of Assembly meeting, last Friday, the true cost of the quarantine was borne out. As an international traveller, I calculated it to be in the region of US$7,000 per person. I think only the accommodation cost was calculated. But when you have nursing, food and security, those things are costly.”
Mr. Gumbs again used the opportunity to express his personal thanks and praise to all.
