Emergency!

As some of you may or may not have heard, I (Crystal) recently had to undergo an emergency appendectomy for acute appendicitis. In other words, they removed my appendix. It was my worst fear about coming to another country: that one of us would face a serious medical issue while we were here. Since Guyana has a reputation for having a less than stellar medical care system, we had been happy that so far, we had not had to seek any kind of medical help.
Well, my experience started this past Wednesday. We were out in the ministry, walking quite a far distance, when I began to have pains in my side. Thinking it was just gas, I kept walking until the pain became so intense, we decided to take a taxi the rest of the way to our meeting place for lunch. I figured if I could just sit and have something to drink, I might begin to feel better. Instead, the pain became worse. I was fortunate enough to make it to the bathroom before I "tossed my cookies". Scott called a friend of ours who lives in the area that happens to have a car to see if he could drive me home. Once there, to "cookie tossing" continued and the pain continued to increase. My temperature spiked to 102 and I eventually became so dehydrated that by around 2:30 the next morning, Scott decided to take me to New Amsterdam Public Hospital. Yes, picture us in the middle of the night motorscootering to the Hospital about 3 miles away! Actually, the cool night breeze brought some temporary relief from the heat of my fever. Upon arrival, I was given a brief medical exam (sort of) and diagnosed with a stomach flu and vaginal infection. They gave me an IV of saline solution and some anti-nausea medication and sent me home. The next day, I actually did seem to feel somewhat better, I was able to eat a little bit and keep it down, but the pain was not subsiding. When my temp again spiked to 102 that night, we decided it was time to go to a local private hospital that had been recommended to us by a missionary couple living nearby. I was pleasantly surprised to find brand new facilities with a friendly staff. After another examination and some blood work, it was determined that I had acute appendicitis and would need surgery. It turns out the doctor that examined me also happens to be their general surgeon, and he had performed over 1,000 appendectomies over the years.  We decided to go ahead with the surgery, since there really is no other option other than waiting for your appendix to rupture. I was scheduled for surgery later that day and moved to  a private room. I was truly impressed by the cleanliness of the hospital and the friendliness of the staff. More relief came when a brother from the Hospital Liaison Committee entered my room and informed me that not only does he work at that hospital, but that he would be part of my surgical team! Since this is a brother I have known previously, it put my mind at ease that he would make sure I would be taken care of. Jehovah knew my fears and put me at ease.  The surgery was a success, and the doctor said had I waited another day or two it probably would have ruptured. Whew! Just in the nick of time. 
Here are some pictures from my experience (don't worry, I left the gross ones out):

Me getting prepped for surgery

My room-they let Scott sleep in the other bed

Dr. Bob and his assistant

My surgical team (that's brother Samson in the dark blue scrubs)

 

Finishing touch.

Me ready to go home!

Scott helping me in the car. You can see the hospital behind him.

 

 

 

I was so grateful that everything went smoothly and this turned out to be a good experience for us. It just goes to show that Jehovah does take care of His people. Now, I am home recovering, moving around a little more each day. I seem to be healing up nicely. I go back Friday for my checkup and to get my stitches removed. Will keep you posted on any new developments. For those of you aware of the situation, thanks for your thoughts and prayers! 

Great land of Guyana

Great land of Guayan, diverse though our strains.
We are born of their sacrifice, heirs of their pains.
And ours is the glory, their eyes did not see.
Our land of six peoples, united and free.

Those words are part of the national anthem of Guyana.  Since we have been here we have seen how diverse and strained the history and future of this country is and will be.  Presently many of the native people are seeking ways to leave because they do not feel, "united and free".  And whatever glory may come it will never equal the sacrifice and pain that so many for so long have had to endure. 

In our travels we have seen villages and communities that are in want of the most basic of human needs, such as clean water, electricity, and proper ways of disposing of their waste material.  Many of the primary roads are in desperate need of repair and for the most part laws and regulations are simply ignored or negotiated until mutual demands are meet for the sake financial gain.

I've recently been in the largest city of Guyana and saw structures that seemed to indicate that this was at one time a society that had pride and order, yet now what I saw was only rot and decay.  I regrettably found that my business dealings with the government agency's, which should have been the tip of the spear, felt more like the blunt end of a spoon.  Many of the workers had little if any zeal or professionalism in their efforts to assist me in my request. 

I see around me everyday things that are so morally wrong that it make me angry, heart-broken and quite frankly depressed.  Yet with all those realities ever present I find myself slowly falling in love with this dirty, corrupt and queer place.  In the evenings when I'm cycling home in the calm of the night I feel safe.  When I enter into someones home that I've never meet before, I feel at ease.  Or when I'm playing soccer/football with the friends I feel like I'm a kid again.  Those feelings give me the motivation to embrace Guyana, not as the "Great land" but as a place where I can do great things and feel a sense of liberation that I had not felt in a long time in my home land.  

So, (if your still reading at this point) I know blogs are all about pictures and not to bore us with personal ramblings, but for those of you who know me and want to know what's bouncing around in my head and get a view of the world as seen through my eyes, then there you have it. 
Thanks for taking the time to see this thing to the end and for your reward, here are some pictures.



Bus heading to assembly, everyone on the bus is deaf except for me and Crystal, (and the driver)
 

At a get together, all in the picture are deaf. The young brother in the front is Stephen, he is my bible study who just got baptized at the Circuit assembly....pretty cool!

These cars are for sale.  You can buy one for around 1.2 million GYD or about 7,000.00US.



Interpreters at Circuit Assembly


Crystal and I are doing good, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.  Stay safe and keep in touch. Till next time.


 

Pioneer School

Well, once again, we have been busy, busy, busy. Two weeks after the District Convention in our last post, myself (Crystal) and six other pioneers from Guyana boarded a plane and flew off to Trinidad for two weeks of pioneer school in sign language. For those of you that have never been, pioneer school is two weeks of intensive study and training. Class is from 9am to 4pm, and the rest of the evening is spent studying for the next day of class. Not really what I would call a vacation, but it was a ton of fun getting to know the other pioneers from Trinidad that made up the rest of the class. Here are some pics:

Our host, Tallia, sacrificed her air conditioned bedroom for us and slept on an air mattress with a fan.

 

My "roomie" Raedona, also from Guyana

 

The class was set up in semi-circle so we could all see each other's comments.



 

A large whiteboard and projector were key tools for teaching.

 

 

Our class included two married couples...

 

A set of twins...

 

and seven people from Guyana...

 

We all studied hard and everyone participated each day. We had one deaf and one hard of hearing sister there, but my picture of them did not turn out very well, sorry.

 

I would be remiss if I did not mention the FOOD! I think we all gained a few pounds, as the Trinidadian brothers and sisters are so overwhelmingly hospitable.

 

 

As you can see, this congregation even dressed up in matching outfits to serve us.

 

 

Yes, this was our last day of pioneer school. We were all a little broken hearted that it was ending. We gave gifts to our instructors...

 

 

Our host congregation gave each of us gifts...

(By the way, the other girl in this picture is also named Crystal, so our gift boxes were marked Crystal White and Crystal Brown to differentiate--we thought this was hilarious.)

 

And we were quite shocked to find out our fellow students from Trinidad also bought all of us visiting from Guyana each a gift!

 

Although we were sad, we hid it well. We convinced everyone we were ready to cut loose...

 

We celebrated with homemade coconut ice cream, cake, and some seriously deep conversation.

 

One brother even showed up with a cooler full of soda, beer and wine coolers. Brother Ward, one of our instructors, almost seemed a little too happy about this...

 

 

We did some other fun stuff while there, but I wanted to make this blog just about pioneer school, so I could let everyone know how awesome it is!

 

Two weeks after I arrived back home we jumped right into the Circuit Assembly "Safeguard Your Mind" I think we are among the first to have this information, since it just started with the new service year in September. We we so proud that once again, two deaf from our group were baptized, Stephen and Tineshea.

 

Stephen is 14 years old, and Tineshea is 16. It is so beautiful to see these young ones take a stand for Jehovah.

 

Thanks for keeping up with the blog. I think I'll let Scott write the next one!

Living the busy life...

Well I just realized it has been two months since our last post, and boy has it flown by! By way of explanation, the reason we have not posted in so long is because we have been having issues with our internet connection for the last month and a half. As anyone who has tried to skype us during that time will tell you, it's been very frustrating. As of today, it is still not fixed, but since I have taken the whole day off, I think I might have the patience to upload some pictures.
Where to start? Well, we just had our 18 year anniversary and this is what Scott got me...

That's right, a new motorbike! In the states we would call this a scooter, but here everything with two wheels is called a motorbike. I must say, I have thoroughly enjoyed learning how to ride this 125cc monster!

Here is Scott doing what he does best...cleaning it. Yes, my dear friends, he is just as obsessive about this bike as he was about the car back home.

On another note, we just recently had our District Convention, which lasts three days. We were so excited to have two deaf from our group get baptized. Both of them have been studying for more than six years, so they were proud to have finally progressed to this point.

Our two candidates sitting in the sign language section so that the questions can be interpreted for them.
                                                    This is Sonronjinay ready to go in..

                                                             And Trevor just coming out...

This is the total group of newly baptized brothers and sisters. The boy in the middle, Jonathan Loo, is also with our sign language group.

We had a lot of fun at the convention as you can see from the following photos:

Some of our deaf that attended

Notice the comedian in the background, yeah, he thinks he's funny.

Scott giving some direction during the lunch break

Everyone crowds around to catch a glimpse of the baptism.

Chillin with Raeshanna.

So cute! This little puppy decided our stage area for the interpreters was a perfect place in the shade to "have a sleep" , nobody chased him off, so he just slept there most of the day.




After the last day of the convention, all of the "need greaters" and those in special full time service here in the eastern part of Guyana gather at a local brother and sister's house for a little "after party."

                                    We all pitch in for Chinese food and hang out and play games.

OK, I can see that the blog is getting a little long, so I'll just publish what I have for now and save my other pictures of the ministry for later. Until then, we miss everybody!

Stickin'round

Greetings to all.  Since our last posting we've been busy, for example we traveled to some new areas in Guyana and even stepped over into the country of Suriname.  We visited a popular swimming area, finally saw the inside of our local hospital, purchased a motorbike and got our visa for the next three months, so it looks like we're going to be stickin'round.

To begin, we had the opportunity to go with some friends to a place about 3 hours from where we live to enjoy a day of rest and relaxation, the name of the place, "Splashmins".  Basically it's a water resort where you can swim, paddle boat, play volleyball and have cook outs. It does have a little beach but no one actually lays out and tans, everyone is there for the swimming.  Here are some pictures of our day in the sun and the sand.

For some time we have been wanting to visit the area of Linden which is to the southwest of New Amsterdam about a six hour car/bus ride.  The congregation in that area was having their Circuit Overseer visit and was hoping for some help with the interpreting, so Crystal and I finally got our chance to go.  After a long day of traveling, which began by catching a car to Georgetown, upon arrival at GT you are overtaking by bus drivers trying to persuade you to get in there bus, if you are a first timer or a timid person this experience can be frightening to say the least.  Once you commit to a bus then you sit on the bus (no A/C) and wait till they fill the bus which may take five minutes to an hour or more.  Here is what you see when your waiting....

But once we finally got on the rode and arrived at Linden around 4:30, it was easy going after that.  The congregation was very warm and friendly and the area of Linden was refreshingly clean and quite.  They have a big Bauxite mining company in this area and some of the locals are Amerindian descent so it was neat to see the ethic diversity.  The town sits on the edge of the Demerara river and has a small fleet of boats ferrying people to and fro across the river, on the Linden side you can feast upon the deliciousness of Churchs chicken and Marios pizza, which of course we did...twice.  Here is a picture of Crystal near the boats.

As many of you know for foreigners you have to leave the country ever three months to renew your visa so this time we decided to visit Surniame.  We left early Saturday morning for the Stellen (boat dock) to catch the ferry to Surniame.  All went well and soon we were under way....

We traveled with some sisters who had never been to Surniame before, so the four of us stayed in a guesthouse near the Kingdom Hall in the town of Nickerie.  There we enjoyed some shopping, eating and just laying around.  We were hoping to travel into the capital, about a three hour road trip, but things did not quite work out so next time we hope to plan better and see more of the country.  By the way if your planning on traveling to Suriname be sure to have U.S. currency instead of Guyanese, the exchange rate is much better and also remember when arriving in Suriname from Guyana the time is one hour ahead.  One thing I appreciated about the area we were visiting was the overall cleanliness, in Guyana most of the waterways are filled with trash and the water itself is disgusting but here as you can see, it was just the opposite.   Also check out the restaurant we ate at, somebody took a long time painting the walls every wall was painted like this.

As for visiting the local hospital, a number of people we know have had to go to the hospital for various reasons and we went to visit with them.  The hospital here is farely new but it looks like it's 100 years old. You have these "wards" that are just large rooms with about 50 beds with only a curtain to separate the patients.  There is absolutely no privacy and your business becomes known to the community within hours of your being checked-in.  No major medical care is provided and your really at the mercy of these Cuban doctors who are just passing through for there intership.  Even though the services are free you truly get what you pay for!

Times have been good for us lately and our little world is spinning along just fine, but so many around us are in desparate need.  Our neighbor recently ask for some assitance becauser they had no food in the house.  We helped out best we could and the little boy who lives there was soon trying his best to make his own food contribution.  The video below shows what he was able to do and it also provides you a glimpse of our place.  Enjoy!

Yes, I did mention that we bought a motorbike.  It's just a 125cc so we won't be winning any races but we feel it will help us to get around better and ease the physical demands put on our bodies.  Some of the brothers and sisters are not very supportive of our decision because of the risk and possible injuries that could result in riding in this area but we are going to do our best to be safe.  I hope that all will go well and Jehovah willing we'll keep stickin'round.  We send our greetings to all. 

Scott & Crystal