Beautiful Guyana

Sunday, the 10th, after church we headed to Georgetown. We had tickets to go see Kaieteur Falls. There is a Latter Day Saint couple, Curt and Mary Whittaker who are american diplomats that live  by the mission office in Georgetown who we met and they invited us to stay with them when we came back to GT. So we did. They invited all the other senior couples for dinner and we had a lovely evening. We slept very well without roosters and dogs and with heavenly hot water for showers.
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

 Of course, pictures never do anything this huge, justice but there you have it. Amerindian legend of The Patamona tribe has it that Kai, one of the tribe's chiefs (whom the falls are named) committed self sacrifice by canoeing himself over the falls to save the tribe from being destroyed by the savage Caribishi tribe.

 Here you can see how the mist would roll in and then open up our view.

 This is the rarely seen (so they say) Guiana Cock-of-the-rock. He/she is looking straight at you. We were excited to spot him in the forest.

 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

Are we having fun? Yes!

Monday was one of the best days ever! Our cute little seminary students suggested that they teach us how to make Roti. We thought it was a great idea. So, we had a shortish lesson and then they proceeded to teach us how to make roti.  You pour almost a whole pound of flour in a bowl and add some baking powder and enough water to make a dough. It takes quite a bit of kneading but we got that all done. Then you make tennis ball size lumps of dough and you roll them out quite thin, add more flour if they start sticking. Then when you get them thin enough you split them down the middle and rip them apart, leaving the last inch connected, then you start at one end and roll them up together as one continuous strip. Then you tuck each end in at the top and bottom and roll them in your hands to make beautifully formed balls. Then you push in the middle on both ends so they look like really fat bagels and set aside to rest. After 10 or 15 minutes you rolled them out again into perfect circles that look like tortillas and cook them on a pan that is just a round heavy metal disk (it has a name but I forgot what it was) that you put on the burner of the stove. You turn them and rub oil on each side and turn them again until they are golden brown. Now comes the really fun part. You take them off the pan and fold them in quarters and then you "clap" them. Meaning you clap them between your hands until they are falling apart! Then you fold them up again and you have a roti! You eat them with some kind of stew or bean mixture, so Dave brought some of his chili and we ate it with that. You put a serving of chili on your plate and then you tear pieces of the roti off and scoop up the chili with your hands. It was so delicious and so fun to do with these kids. They raved about Dave's chili which made him very happy. It was a great time!
Tuesday we had a very wonderful district meeting with our amazing missionaries! I am so impressed with these young men and their devotion to our Heavenly Father and Savior. They work hard and love much! After that, the Relief Society Presidency met and we talked about ministering. We have around 147 sisters on the rolls with 110 unassigned ministering sisters, and maybe 20 come to church on a semi regular basis, so there is lots of work to do. We talked about how we could use the strong sisters to reach out and hopefully love other sisters back into activity. We talked about how important it was for the Presidency to try to visit each sister to let her know she is missed and loved. They made plans to go out visiting and contact at least 7 sisters each month. It's a huge undertaking with the large number of less active sisters, the distance of the branch area and the lack of resources to travel etc. They are strong women with strong testimonies and I know they are up for the challenge and I know that our Heavenly Father with help them succeed. After that we had seminary. We sang " I know that My Redeemer Lives" when we finished the hymn, my cute Sunita said very reverently "that was so tender. I can really feel the Spirit" and Renese said she could feel it too. I was so grateful for that sweet moment and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost testifying of our Savior. We had a great discussion as well. It's kind of sad that it takes some time before you feel like you are making a connection with people and then you have to go. But I told them I would be watching them on Facebook and we will be forever friends!
Wednesday, we went to Hanif and Molly's to talk about going to the temple and what we needed to do to get them there. The church has an amazing program to help get people to the temple that would never be able to do it with the resources they have available to them. I am so grateful for all the members of this church that give so generously so programs like this can bless so many people's lives. We got everything lined up with the paper work and now we need to go to Georgetown..(oh the terror!) to get the passports submitted. (I'm writing this on Thursday, so I will continue the story tomorrow, if we make it there and back without dying! I know I'm always bemoaning and complaining about driving but the struggle is REAL!)
We stayed at home until we had to teach seminary today and we have had water from 6 am until now as I'm writing this at 9:30 pm! I had to keep going over to the sink and turning the handle just to see if water came out. I am in shock actually. I'm not sure if I can believe it but it has been SO nice to turn on the tap and water runs out of the faucet! I can't tell you what that does to my emotional sense of well being. If it's not a fluke and is now as it should be, I'll be able to take a shower, do my dishes, do my laundry, wash my hands and flush the toilet when ever I want and not have to time it with when we have water. Maybe we can even only have one bottle of water in the fridge instead of twelve and no more containers by the toilet. I think I can hear a chorus of angels singing Hallelujah! Maybe I passed a test....I told Dave we wouldn't leave Guyana until I could be grateful and pleasant with all of the inconveniences, which I feel I have accomplished to a certain degree. I'm sorry to say we would never leave if I have to change how I feel about the roads and the driving! Although, I can say my level of astonishment and outrage has lessened and my level of acceptance has improved. So perhaps that's a passing of a test as well. (No water at 9:45 but I am still feeling joyful!)
Friday we took off for Georgetown at 8 am and arrived at the immigration office at 10:30 and waited in one of the many lines we would wait in during the day. By 2:30 we were done! I'm not sure if I can explain to you the process but unbeknownst to us, Haniff and Molly both had previous passports which makes the procedure a little different. So after waiting in one line for a time and having Dave sign that he witnessed these people were who they said they were, we were told we then had to go and find a Justice of the Peace to write an affidavit that they had lost their long expired passports.
Finding somewhere in Guyana is a unique experience. We were given the name of the Justice of the Peace and told we could walk there from the immigration office. Go down a ways, turn left and then another left and you can ask anybody you see and they will tell you. So, we set out. We walked a ways and then turned left and walked some more. We got to the corner where we were to turn left again and started to ask people that were outside of buildings. " We're looking for a Justice of the Peace, do you know where he is?"  the responses we got were "no" or  "you have to go down a little more and ask,"or I think it's in this area" finally  we found someone that actually knew where he was and gave us pretty good directions. We had to go to a completely different street several blocks away and ask again and we were then told to go down this long alley and we saw the sign "Justice of the Peace"  They went through all the questions about the lost passports, we paid them a fee and we were on our way again back to immigration to wait in another line. We were at last called back and paid the fee and then were told that Dave shouldn't have signed on the place as a witness that Haniff was who he said he was, it needed to be another Guyanese native. So, now Haniff has to come back to Georgetown after he has had our branch President sign as a witness on a paper before he will receive his passport. I was going to put an explanation point behind all that but even as we were waiting and wandering down streets and waiting some more and then being told the paper they told Dave to sign should not have been signed, even with all of that, there was not a feeling of exasperation or impatience. We knew we were on the Lord's errand and you don't feel frustration when that is the purpose. It really was a remarkable feeling and experience. We love this family deeply and really would do anything we could to help them.
We get home around 4:30 and discovered that our AC is broken and we have no internet! If you remember about the internet, it was too long of a process to get internet connected to the apartment and so we were having to go 20 minutes to the church for internet. Dave had the brilliant idea ( I"m not being sarcastic, it was brilliant) to ask our downstairs neighbors if we could pay them to piggy back on their internet. So it has worked wonderfully for Dec. and Jan. We just paid her for Feb on the 1st. When we didn't see her site pop up on available addresses, Dave went down to ask her about it and found out from another neighbor that she had moved out! We always ask before we paid her if she was planning on staying the whole month, which she said she was. We were just a wee bit upset!! There you see a few explanation points!!  I called our landlord to see if we could get her number to (give her a piece of my mind) to talk with her and he mentioned that she did ask him to pay us out of her deposit. I thought that was very good of her and repented of my unkind thoughts about her. So, until we can figure out another way to get internet for the few more weeks we are here, we are back at the church which has a pretty good internet and AC.
Hilariously though, the power just went off at the church.....no AC and no internet......I am chuckling!  not sure for how long I'll chuckle....it will depend on how long there is no power.
Another lovely thing (I am being sarcastic) when we got up this morning the water was on but it was chocolate brown! Yes, another exclamation point! Dave was in the shower and well you can imagine the sense of unpleasantness of having muddy water flowing over your body as you are trying to get clean. I'm thankful for the beautiful day that we had semi clean water flowing into our home for almost 15 hours.
Being in Guyana has taught us that we can adapt and adjust to unexpected things and still function as productive human beings and members of the Church. I have had to give up trying to look beautiful with my hair done, make-up on, fancy clothes or shoes. I just concentrate on trying to stay clean and not sticky. Perhaps if I wasn't a missionary and if I lived here for awhile longer I may find a way to do that because the people here most often look very lovely, hair, make-up and fancy clothes and shoes.
 I felt like I wanted a hair cut so I found a hair salon and walked in. I asked if she could cut my hair. I was super nervous. I sat down and she combed my hair all straight down with out wetting it and then she proceeded to cut anything that was sticking out....after a few cuts I said "I think that should be fine" paid her and then went home to check out the damage. My vanity is pretty much gone and I'll just smile and try to be as lovely as I can without my usual pampering opportunities.

As far as chocolate water, no AC and no internet, We will soldier on!!!

The power just came on at the church. It was only an hour without it!

I'm excited for the plans we have for next week! We are going to go to the Kaiteur Falls with some of the other senior couples!

Our darling seminary students! from left: Sunita, Esha, Sasha, Renese, Me and Rocklee in the back.

Rolling out the dough. We didn't have a rolling pin so luckily there was a roll of plastic wrap at the church and a bottle of water to use to roll them out. Adapting and adjusting. Look at that beautiful rolled roti on the plate. Mine never did end up looking like that.

The one I rolled is the far right one. You can see the difference. I need way more practice.

Dave made one and it turned out beautiful! 

We made 11 roti balls! starting left: Me, Sasha, Sunita, Esha, Renese, Rocklee, Dave

Cooking the roti on the pan....wish I could remember the name.

Darling Sunita and a golden brown roti

Poor Rocklee got the hot job of clapping fresh off the pan rotis. He did a great job!

Enjoying the fruits of our labor!

Had to get Dave in the moment too!

Most of the people here do not own cars so one of the ways they transport things is on their bikes. This man is carrying three sheets of this aluminum sheeting! They carry 20 lbs bags of rice, large containers of water, we see bikes with sometimes three people on them. They work so hard and are so creative with solving problems.

This is the alley that we finally found the Justice of the Peace.

We woke up to this....

and this....

and this....

Another week gone in Guyana

This has been an eventful week for us here in Guyana. We have been wanting to drive over to Berbice to visit another senior couple, the Haakes since we got here in Linden, so Tuesday we just decided to take off. We called them and asked if we could come that day and they said "of course" and we were on our way.  It's a three hour drive and you have to go through a bit of Georgetown which is always a leap of faith. It was so much fun!!! It was a much needed break from some of the stress we were feeling. We played games and talked and they showed us around their neck of the woods. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Thanks so much to Elder and Sister Haake for giving us some much needed nurturing.

Friday, we took Pamela and Joel to Georgetown to get married! We left at 6 am and got there at 8:30 am and signed in. We were #2 that day to get married. So at 9:30 they call us in to the room. The officiator had them stand and he said "do you Joel take Pamela to be your wife?" and then "do you Pamela take Joel to be your husband?" then he had them sign the registry and then we signed it as the witnesses. then he said " I now pronounce you husband and wife. you may kiss the bride" It was short and sweet and it brought tears to my eyes to finally see this couple who have been together for such a long time be married. Now, they are right with God and can be baptized! I wasn't sure if Joel was ready to be baptized but on the way there he said that he used to smoke and drink but he would not do that anymore when he was baptized. I am excited for that day!
When we came down the stairs after the marriage, Joel's mother and sister were there waiting for them! It was so wonderful to meet them! We all enjoyed a lovely Chinese meal and then we put Granny in our car with the Maksyhungs and headed home. We had told Pamela we would drive out to see her mom in Wales which is on the way back from Georgetown, so we did. We visited with Joel's oldest daughter there and then visited with Pamela's mother. We took the Maksyhungs to their home and their children were so excited to see Granny!
We are always so hammered whenever we go to Georgetown so we just rested at home Friday night. Saturday at 11 am we had the baptism of Shane Jordan down at the river at Brother John's home. It was great! While the newly baptized members and the person who baptized are changing their clothes, the elders teach on baptism and the Holy Ghost. When I was listening to them teach the same things we always teach on baptism and the Holy Ghost, I felt the Spirit testify to me that what I was hearing was true. It was so tender to know that even though I have been taught these principles and truths my whole life and have heard and said these words hundreds of times, the Spirit still testified and confirmed to me of their truthfulness! I love that so much! I am so grateful to know that my friend the Holy Ghost will always speak and testify truth to me as long as I keep a good place for Him to do that.
After the baptism we prepared for the wedding reception for Pamela and Joel at 2 pm. We had asked some sisters in the branch to make some food and drink and we made two cakes. Then we went to the church to make sure it was clean and set up the chairs. Shaquelle, a good member of the church was cleaning and setting up so we went to go pick up the Maksyhung family.  We arrived at 1:30 and pretty much no one was ready...oh no that's not right. Romeo was mostly ready and Ra-ella and Granny were all ready. The other five members of the family were not. We walked into their home and two sweet neighbor ladies were helping Pamela with her dress and hair. She looked absolutely stunning! So we waited....it got to be close to 2pm and we knew we couldn't take everyone in our car so Pres. Ramdeholl ordered a cab for the men to go in and we would take the women. So, Joel and we thought, his three sons left in the cab. Well, only one son went with his dad and the other two ended up going with us loaded in the back trunk. We arrived a little after 2 and then Joel tells us he forgot his jacket and his sister was bringing it. The "chapel" was filled with people, which I was so glad to see. At 3pm the jacket arrives and we can begin. It was a nice ceremony and we had plenty of good food. We took lots of pictures and I think everyone had a nice time. I'm happy we got to be a part of this event and I'm happy it turned out well.
We have received our visas for Trinidad. This is bitter sweet. We love these people very much and are very invested in their welfare. We knew we wouldn't be here permanently but we didn't hold back on our love or our efforts to serve. We hope we have been helpful and hope these dear people know of our lasting love for them. We will be going to Trinidad on the 21st and then to Tobago to look for an apartment to live in. We aren't sure when we will be leaving for good yet. We will know more after we return from Tobago. Even as I write this, it isn't sinking in and I don't think I will really believe it until it actually happens. So, for now, I will soak in Guyana, even the things that are unpleasant but mostly soak in the people, soak in this experience and try to make sense of the things that I've learned or been given the opportunity to learn and be grateful for all of it!

 Elder and Sister Haake. We love them!

 They actually live in Palmyra, Berbice, Guyana

 Many of the roads look like this in Berbice. so nice!

 The houses are farther apart and have lovely yards

 A man bicycling with his bird

 More road art. It makes you wonder how long this has been there.

 There are lots of wide open areas on the way to Berbice. It's a very peaceful feeling to drive through. In our part of Guyana, the forest is so dense and the population so crowded, it can feel a bit oppressive.

 This is one of those pretty birds in a rice field. They also grow sugar cane in this area too. Interesting thing about sugar cane, they let it grow into tall stocks and then they burn the field to concentrate the sugar and then cut it down.

 Pamela and Joel signing the registry

 Just Married!

 Awwwww!

 Pamela, Joel, his mother and sister

 Pamela's mother. I think they look like twins!

 Joel's eldest daughter and his grandson. He rarely gets to see them because they live in Wales.

 Baptism of Shane Michael Jordan

 Pamela asked Dave to walk her down the aisle. He was thrilled to do so.

 Some friends and family of Pamela and Joel. They dress up so beautifully on these occasions.

 The Maksyhungs. starting left: Romeo, Renese, Pamela, Ra-ella, Joel, Romario, Ronaldo

The Maksyhungs and Us.

 These are tin cans on this plant because they have razor sharp fronds on them.

 We caught a double rainbow!

 Many houses get started and then they are left to the elements because they don't have the funds to finish them. This one is cool because of the double stairway. It makes me sad it didn't get finished, but maybe it will someday.

The handsome man is Andy Anderson. 

He has been the branch President and is now serving as YSA leader. 

This is a sign at the entrance of a housing area and that is the Guyanese flag.