Merry Christmas

We have been here long enough to have gained an understanding of Christmas in Guyana. Last year we gave the Guyanese a curious stare. This year, we see. They celebrate the birth of the Savior and what it means to them.
Major house cleaning – once a year – is begun about the first or second week of December. I thought it was crazy to do cleaning for Christmas because at home, I was too busy shopping and baking cookies and writing Christmas cards. Here they wash walls and ceilings and scour floors. Furniture is piled in heap, rugs are taken outside and washed and hung over balconies to dry. The outsides of the buildings, homes and stores alike are either power washed or painted. After the flurry of cleaning, the Christmas decorations go up. Then the cooking and baking begin. Christmas Day is spent visiting friends and eating the goodies. Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) is spent visiting family. Gift exchanges are not common. Only the wealthy would do that. Thirty percent of the people are Hindu and they don’t celebrate Christmas at all.
Everyone celebrates Old Year’s Night. Georgetown First and Second Branches are getting together to have a church service at 7. Family fun will begin at 8:30 and then food as the New Year comes in.
We appreciate you and all of your messages. We are grateful to be serving here in Guyana. The people need much, but we are learning much. Have a joyous Christmas.
Elder and Sister Langford

Another Mission

We can't complain - Our Lady of Victory Mission looks a little sad.

Elder Langford's Birthday

What birthday would be complete without the Tanners. The coconuts were wonderful, but What's in the bag? A ship!!! Now Elder Langford doesn't have to be jealous of Sister Langford's ship. His is much more masculine - no birds flying in the sails and a big gun on the front. Besides, his clock works. Oh joy!

Coconuts

What are we going to do without our friends, the Tanners. They brought Elder Langford these wonderful coconuts for his birthday.

City Mall

This is City Mall in Georgetown. The mall has been decorated with a big Christmas tree. It has everything a mall in the U.S. has, only not as much.

Christmas in Georgetown

Christmas is an important holiday. As Ronetta says, "We make a big fuss about it." Houses are cleaned inside and out. New paint is applied (even if it is raining). Streets are repaired and repainted and decorations go up. It is a time of family and friends gathering. The gift giving is minimal. Some of the children only get one gift and that is what they receive at the branch Christmas party. Last year, the boys got plastic trucks and the girls got a small doll in Demerara Branch.

Seminary

This is Sister Marcia Gaspar's class in the Diamond Branch. Diamond is in the suburbs of Georgetown. It is on the way to the airport and there are new housing "schemes". A housing scheme is a housing tract. Sister Gaspar accepted the calling to be a seminary teacher after being a member only 7 months. She said she didn't know if she could do it but she would try. She is an example of humility. She has absorbed everything we have taught her and with her love of teenagers and ability to relate to them, she is one of our strongest seminary teachers. Pictured from left: Bartolomew, who is quiet and shy, Annie, who is 17 and almost ready for institute, Michelle, Marcia's sister, Yvonne, who is always there first, and Junior, who is the spark plug in the class. This picture was taken on a rainy day; there are usually four more students. It is a great class.

Zone Conference - December 3, 2008

Here is the whole group of good looking elders. The couples are from left, the Langfords (us) the Larsens, President and Sister Robison, the Tanners and the Evans'. We had a wonderful spiritual day studying Lehi's dream of the tree of life. We wanted our picture with a tree, but alas, the building is brand new and there isn't even a weed that tall.

Traffic

How many lanes do you see painted on the road? Do you think the bus on the far left wants to turn left? All he wants to do is get ahead of the other bus. Guyanese do not like to wait in line while they are driving.

House

We have been watching a woman build a house along a very busy street. She started with a cardboard box and has been adding to it. The rainy season is coming. When it rains, it pours buckets - thunder, lightening and wind. We wonder how long this will last.

Training

President Gamiette came to Guyana. His purpose was to help the Banch Presidents see what their duty was in relation to seminary and institute. Elder Boyd K. Packer says, "Doctrine if fully understood has the power to change behavior better than the study of behavior has to change behavior". So President Gamiette put the Branch Presidents and the Seminary and Institute teachers into groups and had them teach themselves. By the end of the training meeting, when the Branch Presidents reported on what they learned, they gave the talk that he would have given, had he given a talk.


We went to the Canje District and repeated the training. It was magical to see the Branch Presidents learn how to enroll new members who have just been baptized. The baptismal rate here is one of the highest in the world. One of the big problems we face is keeping up with the structure to retain all of the new members who are coming into the church.

Seminary

Scripture Mastery - These students in Vreed en Hoop are sharing their projects to help us remember a scripture. The Elders drop into class from time to time. They challenge new teen-age converts to meet them at seminary. Bless them, they do so much good.

Movie Night

The Young Adults had a movie night. How much equipment does it take to show a movie? And how many elders does it take to hook it all up. The rejoicing over a picture was premature. There was no sound. They ended up using the DVD player with the monitor. They put away the computer and the projector and the microphone sound system. It was fun. There were about 25 young adults. They served channa (garbanzo beans) and something else afterwards. My idea to have popcorn went over like a lead balloon.

After School

The children are all heading home. Notice the different colored uniforms in this picture. Every school has its own colors and combinations.