Driving in Georgetown

This is Christopher. He is in the backseat of our car. What is he doing? He is looking out the rear window to try to see the stop light so that he can tell us when it turns green. Many of the stop lights are placed where you can't see them. Makes driving a little difficult. Our usual technique is to wait until someone honks. The only problem is, they honk long before the light turns green.

Pineapples

This is Montaine John. He is 82 and grows pineapples on his farm and brings them to the Bourda Market to sell. He has a degree in agriculture and a certificate in education. He worked as a teacher all of his career and finished up as head-master of a secondary school. Teachers aren't paid enough, so he grows pineapples. Retired teachers don't get enough, so he grows pineapples. These pineapples are the sweetest ones we have ever tasted. They are not acidic (no canker sores) and we make it a habit to visit him once a week.

 

This is another family we visited because they weren't coming to church. Dad works on Sunday but says the job is finally finished and they will be there for sure next Sunday. The daughters always go shopping on Sunday. Dad gets paid Saturday afternoon and they go to the market on Sunday. We tried to teach about the blessings of keeping the Sabbath. We'll have to wait and see if they got it.

 

This is Sister Judy. She has 5 children of her own and her sister died. The rest of the children are nieces and nephews. They are sitting with Elder Sturdevant and Elder Homestead. We went to visit because they aren't coming to church. They can't afford two taxis to get them there. Elder Homestead asked the children what they spent their money on. They replied "peanut punch". It seems a man down the street makes peanut punch and it is very popular. Elder Sturdevant said he could make peanut punch and if they could learn how, they wouldn't have to spend their money down the street and could afford a taxi. The peanut punch is about 3 big spoonfuls of crunchy peanut butter, sweetened condensed milk, regular milk, and sugar whirred up in a blender. I tasted it and it was too sweet for me. They didn't make it to church again. We went back. Randy slipped on a wet floor and cut his cheek open. They had to take him to the hospital for stitches. Satan just gets in the way. They will try to come again next Sunday.

Farewell Whites

 

This is a farewell Family Home Evening for the Whites. We love them. They have served a proselyting/Guyana office mission. Their replacements came early so they were transferred to St. Vincent for the remainder of their time. They've earned a vacation. They have worked hard doing double-duty. From left, the Whites, the Langfords, the Larsens (proselyting), the Evans (proselyting/Guyana office), the Tanners (Humanitarian Aid and our upstairs neighbors), and the Owens (proselyting and he is serving as a Patriarch here)

 

 

Mother and baby. This is right outside the gate to the Preshad Nagar Building.

Used car lot?

 

This is pretty funny. Zone Conference was held at the new West Coast Demerara Building. The senior couples arrived and parked in a row. This is me and Christopher Jordan, our S&I Supervisor.

Rosignol

Rosignol is the village where the ferry takes us to Canje. Our impressions of Rosignol have been that it is filthy dirty and we don't like being there. The road to the ferry stelling is littered with garbage. It goes past the city dump which stinks. When you have to wait in line, you have numerous beggars coming to the car asking for money. If you go on Saturday, the Rosignol Market is in full swing and it is difficult to get down the road because of the people, busses, taxis and bicycles. The main road into Rosignol is very congested with shops, bars people and trash.

We needed a seminary teacher for the Rosignol Branch and went to find her. It turns out she does not live in Rosignol but way out in the country side. We were told to turn right on the dam road after the bridge. (Typical directions for Guyana) We found the small bridge but couldn't find the road. We wandered up and down the highway for a while and Sister Pamela found us. She came up to the road and waved as we went by. It turns out the dam road is next to a canal and is actually a cow path. It was very muddy that day and we couldn't navigate it. Sister Pamela got into the car and showed us how to get in the back way. We still were a long way from the house. The house is no more than a hovel. She lives there with her in-laws. Grandmother tends her three children and her three nieces. Grandmother and Grandfather are building a house on the property. They will probably all move in.

Saskia

We met Saskia at her Institute class. She is the granddaughter of one of our seminary teachers. She was bright but not feeling well. We took her home that night because she was too ill to walk to Sheriff Street and catch a bus. It is an eight block walk, nothing for a Guyanese. Two weeks later, her Branch President asked Elder Langford to go with him to the hospital to give her a blessing. We did not recognize her. Her face was swollen and red with a terrible rash. The rash was on her arms and chest. The doctors thought it might be an allergy. Her aunt was with her. Saskia’s mother died when Saskia was six and she was raised by her two grandmothers. She was living with the non-member grandmother, her mother’s mother. She was given a blessing and as the weeks went by, her grandmother reported that she was better and then not; in the hospital and then out. Two weeks ago, they diagnosed lupus but it was too late.

One wonders why a beautiful young girl would die a week before her 20th birthday. I am reminded of one of my favorite scriptures. The Lord gives the Prophet Nephi a big vision of things to come and then asks if he understands what he saw. Nephi replies, … “I know that he (God) loveth his children: nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.” (1 Nephi 11:17) We don’t know why things happen, but we do need to know that God loves each of us. He knows us by name and cares about us. The Savior suffered every one of the sufferings we go through in Gethsemane. That is more than suffering for our sins, he suffered all of it, the bloody knees, the broken hearts, the panic, the anxiety, all of it. Alma teaches “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.” (Alma 7:11 See also Isaiah 53:3-5)

Saskia Nurse

In memory of Saskia Nurse
July 8, 1989 - July 1, 2008