The next morning the Bohnes picked us up and we went to the airport. The Bairds, Haakes, O'Dairs joined us, the Bohnes and Thackerys there. It was wonderful to have the President and his wife join us because they rarely get any time off to relax and enjoy an outing. We all got in a twelve seater, one engine plane and took off! It was so cool to look down at the beautiful country of Guyana! After a while we were completely engulfed in the clouds and you could see nothing but white. It was kind of unsettling to know the pilot's view was as obstructed as ours but yet he continued flying having only instruments to guide him. We all had to have faith that our pilot knew exactly what he was doing, have faith that he was well trained and capable of getting us where we wanted to go safely....Hey, that just reminded me of a Hymn. "Jesus Savior, Pilot me" I really appreciate and understand that much more now from having that experience. We all have to have faith that Jesus knows what He's doing, that he truly accomplished living a perfect life in order to qualify to pay for all of our sins, and that He did indeed suffer and die and performed His mighty Atonement for all mankind to take us safely to where we want to go. We needn't be alarmed or worried when we can't see the way clearly in our view. We just need to get on the plane (make covenants) with the Savior as our pilot and stay securely buckled in (keep our covenants) and we will get to our desired destination (Eternal life). Very cool! Don't you just love it when life testifies of Christ!
We did land safely. Our tour guide walked us into the forest. It was raining and very cloudy. We were told we didn't have a guarantee that we would be able to even see the falls when we got there. The first view was so cloudy that we could only hear them and at some moments, see a faint glimpse of them. We were disappointed but there were other views to try, so we walked some more deeper into the forest. By the time we got to the second spot the sky was beginning to clear and the midst would roll in and out. At some time it would be totally clear and we got some great views of these magnificent water falls. They were discovered in 1870 and have a drop of 741 feet or five times the height of Niagara Falls. We walked to a couple more view sites and then walked back out to the plane.
We then got back in the plane, the pilot flew over the falls and then circled back and flew over them again so we could see them now that the sky was clear. It was so amazing! Then we were flown to another set of falls, Orinduik Falls. We went from a rain forest to a desert, the hinterland, where the Amerindian people live and borders Brazil. Really it was way out in nowhere and we didn't see any villages until we were up in the air. The Orinduik Falls flow over solid jasper and we were able to walk...well, I crawled over to them because it was so slippery. It was a lovely day and it was so nice to spend time with some of our senior companions here in Guyana.
We spent the night with the Whittakers because Zone Conference was the next day.
Zone Conference is always such a treat! We get taught by some pretty amazing elders and of course President and Sister Baird. We always come away with something we want to work on to be better disciples of Jesus Christ. I wondered if this would be our last zone conference with this group since we have our Tobago visas now... The Thackerys will be going home on March 10th. They do so much! I don't know how things will get done without them. Elder Thackery is the Area Auditor as well as in the Georgetown district Presidency, and Sister Thackery has been managing all of the missionary apartments in Guyana! We may get to see them again since they live in Utah!
Thursday and Friday we were back in Linden with our regular schedule of Seminary, then Saturday, after a baptism, it was back to GT for a YSA Valentines dance. Valentines day came without us even remembering it. I mean as far as getting cards etc. for each other. It's interesting how when you don't live with a T.V. and don't really have a lot of leisure time to walk the malls or go shopping, how commercial events don't even enter your mind. Being on a mission really changes how you think about what is going on around you and what is and isn't essential to this life experience. I know it will be different when we return home but it's really a fascinating thing to go through here.
We got a hotel in GT so we wouldn't have to drive back to Linden in the dark after the dance. It has a swimming pool! It felt great to have my whole body submerged in water. I am an avid bath taker and have not been able to have a bath for three months so it felt wonderful. We just floated in the water for about 30 minutes then got ready for the dance.
Infrequently, Dave will get hiccups that just about kill him. He got them just before the dance. We aren't sure why they start but when they do the pain and intensity of the spasms nearly bring him to tears. He was a really good sport and still danced and tried to stay as long as he could. They wear him out physically because he'll get several in a fast sequence which keeps him from being able to catch his breath as well as enduring the vice like grip on his diaphragm. Hiccups can be cute and funny but these are brutal! We had fun dancing and mingling with all the YSA but went back to the hotel so Dave could try to get them to stop. The only thing we had to try was my cough medicine. He took that and was able to get to sleep a little. We had to wake up early to get to our 9 am church in Linden because some of our seminary young women were speaking. Dave was still hiccuping and drove the hour through the really bad traffic then I took over and drove the last hour back to Linden. I am surprised really how well I do driving on the other side of the road with watching for cars, bikes, people and animals. I do have to say, I am proud of myself! I got us home and Dave went to bed and I went to church. I had turned Primary over to a sister in the branch but she wasn't there today so I taught primary and then hung around after cause we were supposed to have branch counsel. After 45 minutes I found out it was cancelled because many of the leaders weren't there. We regularly take people to their homes after church because they live so far. I was asked if I would do that. I was nervous cause Dave always drives but I did and we all survived. It's a very long, bumpy red dirt road but the kids in the back trunk kept saying "up........down.......up........down" as we'd go over the hills, which made it fun! I made it back to my apartment safely and found Dave asleep and not hiccuping! Hopefully, they will go away and not come back anytime soon!
For the record: We now have usable water 24/7 Praise the Lord!
Boarding our little plane
I was right behind the pilot. President Baird is to my right.
The other senior couples
At the trail head to the falls
We think this is the plant that loofah sponges are made out of
The group. The falls were roaring just a few feet away but we couldn't see them
This is a tiny Golden frog. It's about a half an inch long
The miracle of a macro lens
A handsome, wonderful man walking in the rain forest
bird of paradise
The mist cleared!
This is a view of the Potaro river, a tributary of the Essequibo below the falls
Here you can see how the mist would roll in and then open up our view.
This is the view from the plane
These are the Orinduik Falls
Getting my money's worth with Sister Haake
I look like I've fallen but I was just getting soaked for fun
Some of the Amerindian children that come to the falls to sell their crafts
This is a panorama of the Kaieteur Falls. So grateful we got to go and see this part of Guyana!
Zone Conference
Brother Mortimer McClean two from the left
