Memorial, Special Assembly Day, and the Simmons (Not in that order)

Well, chalk up another busy month in Guyana. In our last blog, Scott wrote about a visit from Kevin and Liz. We thoroughly enjoyed their visit. The day they flew out, another couple flew in to "spy out the land." Some of our friends may know Wayne and Cheryl Simmons, formerly of the Florida Sign Language Circuit. They recently moved back to their native home of Trinidad after living  30some years in the U.S. After reading articles and listening to talks encouraging those who can to move back to their home country, they decided to take the plunge. Well, after spending some time in Trinidad, they found that the Branch Office in Trinidad is encouraging friends who wish to expand their ministry to "step on over" into Guyana, so they decided to check it out for two weeks. We ended up getting to know them a lot better and making new friends!

Wayne and Cheryl Simmons

(hoping and praying these guys come back real soon!)

 

 

 

While they were here we had to do a quick trip to Suriname for our visa renewal. Wayne and Cheryl went with us. We stayed at a hotel on the river, the view was great!

Wish we could have said the same for the rooms, but sadly, this was not the case. They did, however, have a decent swimming pool...

 





...so it was almost worth the money we paid!

 

 

Just a few days after returning from our trip, we had our Special Assembly Day. This takes a lot of preparation and cleaning the day before, which sadly, I forgot to bring my camera, so no pics.

One of my Bible students did take the step of baptism at this assembly, though, and I did remember my camera for that!

 

Rosie sitting with the baptismal candidates. (She's the one in pink looking at the camera)

 

Rosie "taking the dip"

 

Rosie's mom came to the afternoon session to see her get baptized! Although the home is religiously divided (mom is Hindu, dad is Christian) it was nice to see they were so supportive of Rosie's decision. Dad said he would have come if he didn't have to work.

 

Altogether, 14 were baptized.

 

Proud of my student. She is also signed up to auxiliary pioneer for the month of April.

 

 

 

Just three days after the SAD, we had to prepare another venue for the Memorial of Christ's death. Most of you know this is our biggest day of the year for Jehovah's Witnesses. Our sign language group has so many that attend that we can't possibly meet together with the English congregation as we normally would do, so we had to have our Memorial celebration at the New Amsterdam Town Hall. More cleaning and setting up! We also have to arrange for bus transportation for the Deaf that live in various far flung corners of our territory. I was responsible for one of the three buses, while Scott prepared to give the talk in American Sign Language.

 

Our bus had a total of 15 people. Two other buses went to other areas.

 

The picture is a little blurry, but, these were some of the ladies that attended.

 

 

Some of the guys. I think this year the men outnumbered the women for the first time ever. There was a total of 58 in attendance, 38 of whom are Deaf.

     A few more of the deaf.

Our attendance was a little lower than last year. I think this was partly due to the fact that it fell so closely to our SAD. Some of the Deaf had to choose one or the other, and went on Saturday to the Assembly. Also, the very next day was the Hindu holiday of Pagwah, so some from Hindu families were not allowed to attend, as they wanted them home to help cook and clean to get ready for family visiting on the holiday. Knowing that some of the Deaf who did come had to take a stand with their families to be there made it all the more special, despite the lower numbers.

 

The last thing that has been keeping Scott busy (but sane!) is tending to his little flower garden.

It seems the butterflies love it as much as we do! Whew, now that flurry of activity is over, and in two more weeks we get ready for our Circuit Overseer's visit. It just keeps coming....

Missing and loving everyone back home!

                                         

"What We Do"

       In our recent blogs I feel like I have not said enough about what we've been doing in the ministry here so I want to dedicate this blog to talking about "what we do".

Much of what we do here is appreciated by the deaf and their family.  For example I have a regular study with a man who lives with his parents and other family members. He works around the house taking care of maintenance issues and caring for the family live stock.  Every Wednesday I go there for our study, and then I'll spend some time conversing with his parents. They are always happy to see me and like clock-work they will bring out cookies and a drink during the study.  Then, when I'm ready to leave, his father faithfully approaches me with a clinched fist full of money that he'll slide into my hand as he's firmly shaking it, I've stopped trying to refuse the money it only upsets him.  I'd like you to meet Sanjay (study), father Sonny and his mom Doreen.

At present Crystal and I conduct almost 20 deaf bible studies not to mention the studies and return visits we have with hearing individuals.  Our Sign Language group has seen steady growth with a total of 21 publishers, (9 deaf publishers) and 7 pioneers.  Last month our group spent over 790 hours in the ministry and conducted 59 progressive bible studies.  We're hoping this year our Memorial for the Deaf will hit the 100 mark, we're anxious to start the Memorial invitation campaign. Recently, we've enjoyed the company of  some brothers and sisters who were willing to come and experience the unique ministry and culture of Guyana.  Kevin and Liz Lipman from Wisconsin came for an entire month and preached in the rain and heat.  It was really nice having a brother to accompany me in the preaching work, often times I'm flying solo.  We hope they will be willing to brave the elements and come back again...soon!

 

Kevin and Liz outside the KH

 

 

Us hangin'out

Then we had a sister from Tampa, Cassandra Gregg, come and stay for 9 days.  She was a real trooper when it came to dealing with the discomforts, the spiders and bugs.  She's had the opportunity to visit other developing countries but stated that Guyana has been the most challenging to cope with but hopefully she'll take good memories home with her and encourage others to take that step over into Guyana.

 

Cassandra with our deaf sisters.

 

 

Which is cuter the baby donkey or....

 

 

Crystal and Cassandra getting ready to chow into some chowmein.

 

Here are just some pictures of us out in the ministry.

 

 

Crystal getting ready to cross...the bridge?

 

Me on my "hog"

 

Myself, Liz, Rosie (left), and Mary-Ann trying to figure out where do we go from here.

 

 

 

Our Saturday service meeting. It's very common here for the brothers and sisters to be late for almost everything.  So what you see here are those who came on time but by the time the group went out into the territory we had 7 more people show up.  It's a work in progress, patience is essential here.

We're going to continue to do our best to cover our territory, help our studies to make advancement and just keep on smiling.  Again, much of what we do here is truly appreciated and that helps us to put our hearts into what we're doing.  Throughout this year we'll have more people who come and spend time in the ministry with us and I'm certain once they've experienced it they'll leave us with that same special feeling.  We send our greetings and love to all. 

Scott & Crystal

 

"tree" months please

 

     Some will call it a vacation, some will see it as an opportunity to visit another country and some will dread the day it comes, the mandatory renewal of your visa.  As non-nationals (as referred to by the customs officers) you only get to bask in the warm glow of Guyana sunshine for three months then it's time to pack your satchel and sun-screen and head for the border.  For us it requires the following:

1) Up by 5:30 am to catch a bus to the stellon (boat dock).  Please know that when you step aboard the bus you have just increased your chance of dying by 78.3%.  So, just hang on and keep your eyes on the horizon.

2) Upon arrival at the stellon, your attacked by men vying for your business, be it money changers, taxi drivers or some guy wearing a burlap bag as pants and holding a jar of his own urine.  (actually that last guy we saw at the market but I just felt it needed to be mentioned.)

3) Your then instructed to go stand in line, the problem is that the line has no shape or form, it's not by definition a line, it's more of a grouping.  As you stand there for 20 minutes or so you begin to realize your not making any forward progress and others are just blatantly ignoring the grouping-line etiquette.  It then just turns into a "stand your ground" and push ahead mentality.  Eventually you arrive at the window and pay for your ticket to board the ferry as well as provide them with your passport which you will not see again until you've survived another grouping experience, which usually entails a large woman with little regard for your personal space.

4) Once you've gone through the "grouping" ordeal, you move into the next phase of the trip that can be summed up in one phrase, "just now".  That phrase in Guyana means, "wait till I'm ready".  At this point you now sit and wait, even though you can see the boat sitting right there and the men are just "gaffing" (talking amongst themselves).  But, once they feel sufficiently motivated, then with godlike powers they waive their hands which sends the waiting throng into motion, "let the boarding begin!".  The boat ride itself is not so bad, it can though be interesting at times because upon boarding your given some paperwork that needs to be filled out, however some of the passengers are not able to fill out the forms because they don't know how to read.  So what happens is they will ask you, (whitey or also referred to as uncle) to fill it out for them which means your having to ask them personal questions about there visit and how long they will be staying, when were they born, how old are you, etc.  After about the fifth person your now feeling like an employee and wondering when your shift is over.

5) After about an hour on the boat you arrive in Suriname.  From there you board another bus and head toward the city of Paramaribo which is about 3 hours away.  So by the end of the day you've been on a death ride, molested, forced to wait on the gods, then forced to do the work of the gods, capped with another white knuckle road trip.  Finally, after about 9 hours, we've arrived!

Here are some pictures we saw along the way.

 

 

 

For us leaving to get our passport renewed is usually not something we look forward to, however this time we opted to go to the city of Paramaribo in Suriname.  We had heard from others that it's a nice place to visit and it will give us a chance to enjoy some things we haven't had in a while such as:



McDonalds...Crystal prayed for a long time.

As we toured around the city we came across this old fort and it was there that I reconnected with my roots.  The name of the fort is Zeelandia.

 

A cobblers work bench.  In Dutch they were called Schoenmakers.

Some other interesting buildings we saw along the way.

A big'ole wooden catholic church getting repainted

The Presidential Palace



 a Hugh mosque


But the place we enjoyed the most and basically had all to ourselves was the zoo.  For 10.00srd (about $4.00 US) you can spend the day and hang out with the animals.

 



A Harpy eagle.

 



Crystal's favorite animal.

We also spent some time visiting the Suriname branch office.  Funny thing happened, we called a taxi to take us to the branch but he ended up going to the wrong street, so we called the branch to let them know we would not make the 11:00 tour but would like to be added to the 1:00.  Upon our arrival around 11:45 they had already made arrangements for us to have lunch with the bethelites. After lunch we had the chance to sit and visit with a couple till the next tour, guess how many were in the 1:00 tour? 2, us.  We got our own special tour of the facilities, very nice!  Here is us having lunch with family, the brother said the prayer in Dutch, we just said amen when everyone else did.

So, after 3 days of sight-seeing and sleeping in a/c, we start the 9 hour journey all over again. Once we arrived at the Guyana entry point we approached the customs officer and he says, "how long you want to stay"?  Our reply is, "tree months please."  Here they don't pronounce the "h" so that's what it sounds like.

 Now you have an idea of what we get to do every three months, so in March we get to do it again.  Our advice is this, please enjoy the simple things, don't be in a rush, stay far away from men wearing burlap and lines in the shape of a Q.  Stay safe.

Scott & Crystal

Surgery Update

Sorry, no pictures for you this time. Life has been a little boring just lying around recovering from my surgery. By the way, hope the last blog didn't confuse anybody, our trip to Georgetown was just before my big medical emergency. Anyway, I went to the Doctor this past Wednesday and he removed my stitches and gave me a clean bill of health. No infection, and so far, the surgery seems to have been a success. Thanks to all of you that had me in your thoughts and prayers during this time, I really appreciate it. The congregation here has really taken good care of me, bringing me meals, running errands for me, and calling and visiting to check on me. One sister that lives nearby was even coming by and helping clean my incision! I'm so grateful to Jehovah that he has taken care of me during this time. Now I'm ready to slowly get back into my normal routine and start living life again. Thanks again for all the support I have received! -Crystal

To town we go..Georgetown that is

So your thinking about visiting the city of Georgetown in Guyana, this is what you could expect to see. 

This is a College, supported by one of the churches.  If you look close at the center above the door you'll notice a statue of a saint. 

One of many Angelican churches that exist in the city.  These buildings may appear to be in good condition but trust me they are a handyman's nightmare.  Some are in such disrepair that they can't be used for fear of collapse.

 

This is a snapshot of the downtown market. The place is packed with people during the day and then becomes a vagrants haven after hours.

This iconic clock has been broke since we've arrive.  Often times Guyana is advertised as a tourist location using this structure as a beacon of capitalism and progress but upon closer inspection you find yourself searching for the first cap going in the opposite direction.

 

Back in the day (under British rule) these buildings probably stood as proud structures filled with faithful patrons, however now they just creek in the wind, straining to stand erect in the face of neglect and apathy.

No, this is not the Magic Kingdom, it's City Hall.  This is my favorite building in GT and I can only imagine what it must have looked like in it's prime.  Again, another sad tale of wear and tear and it leaves you shedding a tear. 

And here we find ourselves standing before the High Court of Guyana.  I was at once impressed with the craftsmanship and time it must have taken to build, yet once more my eyes begin to move beyond the scroll work to the rotten planks and blatant lack of effort to keep this important facility looking it's best.  Case in point, could you enlarge the statue of Queen Elizabeth you would see that her nose has been broken off and one of her arms is missing, then to top it off someone left clothes at the base of the statue and it appears they have been there for a LONG time. 

Now our tour brings us to the one place in GT that is well-kept and gives evidence of pride, the Presidential Headquarters.  Donald Romatar is the president of Guyana and he has at least ensured that his place of dwelling is taken care of, go figure.

Granted not all of the city is crowded and buzzing with activity but you should be prepared to move quickly when needed, the traffic is to say the least controlled kious.  So, if you are planning on come to see the city settled on the coast then bring your patience but leave your high expectations for another day and antoher city.

Till next time.....Scott & Crystal

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!