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

The Heat is ON!

Man is it HOT!  The temperature is rising to a boiling point, my nose has been sunburned so many times that it's in a constant state of peeling.  One young Guyanese sister asked me if all white people have red noses, as I looked around at all the other white need greaters the answered appeared to be, yes!  Crystal bought herself a new sun hat to offer some protection and I must say the chair that it is hanging on has not burned yet, (she always forgets to put it on when we go out).  One nice thing about getting tanner, it makes your teeth seem that much whiter....

So much has been going on here, we recently had our C/O visit which went by to fast.  Shannon Rainey and his wife Rosailia have been serving our circuit since 2008.  They are very supportive and excited about the prospect of forming the first Sign language congregation in the country so when they visit we get alot of attention.  The sign language group extended hospitality to them one evening at our house, about 25 attended and Crystal made spaghetti, it was gone in about 20 minutes.  Here are some pictures of the "party".

Another thing that recently happened here was the annual celebration of Jesus resurrection, (kinda like Easter), however they represent his resurrection using kites.  So on that day the Savannah near our house was overtaken by hundreds of people who came and set up food booths and speakers to play "very" loud music.  Then around 1:00 they began to fly the kites, it was to be honest pretty cool to see.  All kinds of home-made kites filled the sky, all different shapes and colors, it made for a good photo-op.  I took some pictures but they really don't capture the color's or amount of kites that were in the air. 

You also have to appreciate that the Savannah truly belongs to the animals and some were not willing to leave for some pagan ritual.

Also we have of course been busy with our ministry and all things theocratic.  Not to long ago we had our Special Assembly Day and had the opportunity to be in the company those whom we don't get to see that often, for example one missionary couple who have been out of country for awhile but have recently returned, Brian & Shannon Geraghty.  Here is a picture of Brian and I, (some say we look alike)

...then there is the big boat ride to preach in an area called Rosignol.

One of my favorite places to visit durning the week is the orphanage.  Crystal has one study there and I have a young boy that I visit and try to encourage but he is so full of energy he rarely sticks around long enough for me to really get to know him.  However the other perk in going is that you have a chance to spend some time with these beautiful children who have become a victim of this system of things, here are a few glimpses of what we get a chance to see.

Not to long ago we had a chance to visit back home and see family and friends.  Crystal and I both want to say it was very encouraging to be with all our "family" and feel it a blessing to have so much support and love from so many.  We thank everyone for taking the time out for us and keeping us in your prayers. Below is a picture of my daughter who lives in Vero Beach, FL. Her name is Tessa.  Our moving away was not easy for her and obviously our time together has been dramatically reduced but she has always been supportive of our efforts even when it meant a sacrifice for her.  We love ya Tess, thanks for making this possible for us.

So, yes the heat is on and will not doubt continue to beat down upon us but with enough sun tan lotion, hats and shady spots along the way we'll keep on going in spite of it.  Please stay safe out there we are living in "critical times hard to deal with".  Hope to be blogging again soon, till then take care.

Scott & Crystal

Memorial

Well, after a long lapse from our blog, we are finally back on track. We took a trip back to the U.S. in the month of February and got to see a lot of family and friends. We didn't get to see everybody we had hoped, but we did have a good time. Since then, we have returned to Guyana and hit the ground running. In less than a month since our return, we have made preparations for the Special Assembly Day, hosted our Circuit Overseer and his wife for a week, had a deaf friend from Linden visit for a week, and made preparations for the annual Memorial of Christs' death. Whew! No wonder we didn't have time to update our blog.
Our Memorial was held last night at Town Hall. They were generous enough to allow us to use their facility for free, and the staff were very helpful to us. We had 91 in attendance, 52 of which were actually deaf. Here are some pictures from our Memorial-

We started out with buses, three of them to be exact, all going out to different areas of our territory to pick up the deaf. The bus I went with had 16 deaf on it, and as you can see from the picture, they all had a good time associating. I couldn't get them to stop signing long enough to smile for a picture, so this was the best I could do.

We spent most of the morning cleaning and decorating the town hall. A big shout out to sister Lorraine Giles, since she did all the decorating with random hand me downs from other Kingdom Halls. I thought it looked pretty good when we finished.

The song is usually a moving experience when you have almost 100 people signing in unison.

Everyone had a good time associating after the program.

                                                               The Skeldon bus
This group comes the farthest. It is about an hour bus ride away from here to Skeldon. There is isolated interpreting at their meetings, but they are not an official sign language group yet, so they technically are part of our territory. We have a meeting together once a month, and meet together for most special occasions. We are always glad to see the friends from so far away.

The Coryntine bus

                                                     

            

Some of the deaf before the Memorial started. The Hall we were in is open air on one side, so it was nice and breezy.

Well, that's it for now. We actually had the circuit assembly before the Memorial. I will try to include pictures of that for the next blog and fill in some of the blanks from our long absence from the blog. Until next time....

Baby Animals!

First of all, let me apologize for the time lapse since our last post. Things have been a bit hectic this last few weeks, trying to make all of our arrangements for our return...for those of you who don't know, we will be back home in Pensacola from Feb. 1-18. Yay! Can't wait to eat lasagna and pizza again ( and of course see all of our friends and family.)
Here in Guyana, it seems to be the season for baby animals. We are seeing them everywhere, and let me tell you, not a day goes by that you don't hear "AWWW it's sooo cuuutte" come out of my mouth (this is Crystal, by the way, for those of you imagining Scott uttering that phrase.) Here are some pictures that help you see why....

Mom's nothing to look at, but the puppies are cute!

I think they were posing for this picture :)

Goats and sheep are all over this place.

Piggies! Actually saw some smaller and cuter than this, but didn't have my camera at the time.

Not sure who's cuter here...me or the puppies. Ok, Ok, the puppies win!

Look at those eyes

He's so fluffy!! Couldn't help but enlarge this picture, this baby donkey is just two days old.





Well that's it for now, looking forward to seeing everyone next week- I can't wait!

Tree's & Me

Since we first arrived in Guyana I have been amazed, confused, intrigued and delighted with the various trees that live amongst us.  It would be a monumental task to learn all the names, family groups, native or imported species, which fruit trees are edible which are medicinal, the effort to do so would certainly steal away precious time from our primary reason for being here but to better know them and gain greater appreciation for their history is something I hope to do more of in the future.  Shown below are just a "few" of the trees you would see while out and about.  The first is call an Almond tree, it produces a large red fruit with an almond nut inside. 

When we first arrived in Guyana we stayed in Georgetown, while there we visited the Zoo & Botanical Gardens.  As we entered in the gardens I saw this palm tree and was awe-struck with the shape of the frons, take not also of  the cars parked below, it give you sense of the size.

Next, this palm has a unique feature about it, the picture doesn't truly capture the transition, but you'll notice that the body and majority of the trunk is rough and what you would expect from a palm but as you get closer to the top, about 15 feet from the crest it becomes very smooth and a dark green color.  The palm's themselves also seem to be darker in color, this is one of my favorite trees in our area because they are not as abundant and alway grow taller then those trees around them.  

 

I love this next tree.  When I see it I think of fall, but this is it's year round color.  The locals love and hate this tree, they love it for it's shade but hate it because it sheds it's leaves and they not big on doing yard work here.  Actually the preferred yard is one consisting of either dirt or concrete, grass is viewed as a nuissance.

The tree shown below is one that "confuse's" me.  It looks like some kind of pine tree but I have not researched it to say for certain.  The needles are soft and as you can see it grows with spacious gaps in between it's limps and most are usually in this shape.  I really like it because it is so different from most of the tropical trees and stands out as distinct in any grouping.  For some reason when I see this tree it makes my smile, it's just a cool tree.

This one is truly a feast for the eyes when in bloom.  Again the picture does not do it justice, I wish they were more common but most who have this tree growing on their property trim them back (like a Crape Mrytle) but they typically cut it back so much it takes a long time for it to grow to this size.  This is a wild tree and throws off shots, which again makes it a tree many would rather cut then carefore. 

And here is the most popluar tree in our area, it is the coconut palm tree.  This tree provides food and drink for both income and sustanance.  They are normally very tall but some types are short and have larger trunks.  I've recently planted one in our yard and hope to be here long enough to see it's first yield.

And last of all, here is a picture to give you a sense of what the dense jungle, what the Guyanese call the "bush", looks like.  We hope to get a closer look at the interior soon and I look forward to being further impressed with these beautiful products of creation around us, my friends the trees.

Hope you enjoyed this stroll through our neighborhood.  Crystal and I send our love and greetings to all and hope that you can find the time to enjoy the trees in your neck of the woods.  Until our next blog, take care.

A very Hopeful country...

As Scott notified you all in our last posting, the national elections for a new president were held last week. It was a tense time, as there has been violence in the past during election time. Elections were held on Monday, but the announcement of the final results was delayed until Friday. All week people were warning us to be careful and to stay indoors as much as possible, but we didn't notice anything major. When it was finally announced that the same political party that has been in office for the last ten years had won, there were some peaceful protests, mostly in the capitol, but everything now is pretty much back to normal.

As the title of this posting suggests, many people here are very hopeful that a new president will bring about positive changes for the country. We find that a lot of people here tend to have a very hopeful attitude in general, as is reflected in some of the town names in the nearby area. First of all there is Hope, Hopetown, Hopewell, Good Hope, Mary's Hope, Present Hope, Pleasing Hope and, not to be outdone by the others...Better Hope. Some of the other settlement names that don't include the word hope, but still reflect a very positive view are  Land of Plenty, New Found Out, Overwinning, Good Intent, Free and Easy, Now or Never,  Success, Good Success, Better Success, and again outdoing the others this town settled for the name The Best. Personally, I think the most fitting name for this country is a nearby village named Heatburn, but that's just my personal opinion.

Some of you may be aware that Guyana was under British rule until the 1960's when the local people gained independence. You can still see evidence of the British presence here, since many of the homes are British style architecture that was left behind. Here are a few examples...

Most aspire to live in the new concrete homes that are being built. Some of them are quite beautiful as you can see..

Others (like us) live in simple small flat concrete houses...

Or modest wooden structures like these....

  







Some still live a in the simplest of wooden houses....

Some who live in these simple wooden houses live with no electricity and/or no running water. Many cook outside or underneath the house (for those on stilts) on a stove like this...





This stove is made from a mixture of clay and cow dung. That's right-cow poo to cook your food on! Actually I've tried some of the food cooked this way and some of it is pretty good.




The funny thing is, you would think the nice new houses would be together in the same neighborhoods, but usually you see a nice new concrete house in amongst the smallest of shacks or vice versa, since most people here got their tracts of land divided out to them or their families when Independence was gained. Most people don't sell their property, they just build new or add on to existing buildings and stay put, no matter what their neighbors do.

 I hope this posting has given you some idea of what we see in the area on a day to day basis as we go out into these hopeful villages to share what we think is....well...a "Better Hope" for the Deaf!