I’m listening to Jack Johnson on my ipod, all snug in my bed and netting. The song is talking about how the world can overwhelm you, asking ourselves if we are strong enough, are there things we are too proud of? Do we dare to remove pre-conceived notions and ideas and allow for new thought to take root? Or do we cling to our old ideals of how things should be?
Those are all things I ponder down here. Am I being open-minded enough? Am I opening my heart enough to let these experiences in? I guess all we can give is our best. All we can do is what we know how. As someone recently wrote me, all we can know is hope and optimism in certain situations. And that is the viewpoint I try to think in, and write in. It helps give me perspective on what I am experiencing, and after you put in down on paper (or Microsoft word) you revisit the stories later and remember the good, not the bad. I want to remember the good. Not to say I look at things entirely through rose colored glasses, but sometimes a little tint doesn’t hurt.
Enough of my introspective ramblings… so our sweet Audrian is gone. And I miss her so much! No one to scream at the suicidal dogs, or swerve her bike into traffic at the sight of a goat! Although with Audrian gone from Guyana, the children are once again safe to cycle the streets! :P We talk about her in some form or another every day. I know there will be a reunion in our future!
So after Audrian left in the middle of the night on Thursday, Meg and I spent a leisurely morning at the Ellis home, getting in a good hot shower before we headed to Oasis to have lunch and meet up with Chantel and Jenni. They are 2 sisters from Ohio that have been here almost 2 months. We met them last time we visited G-Town and made plans for them to come visit us in Berbice.
They experienced their first minibus ride to Rosignol. And it delivered all that we had promised. Speed, high flying adventure, strange smells, loud music, and random stops, ensuring that we miss half the meeting. Also an added bonus was the small naked baby on his parents’ laps next to me that constantly was pooping or puking. The smell was a lovely combination, wafting my way every few seconds.
At one point, we hit a huge bump and immediately a foul smell of dead animal filled the bus. Sadly, the girls had seen that we hit a dog that had recently been hit. Double whammy. I didn’t need to know that detail, but if I know it, I have to share it with you.
We board the ferry at Rosignol and are bombared with the usual kids (Child labor law posters line the ferry dock) selling us “chips chips..drink drink..cold drink, guiness, banks”. They approach every 2 seconds. We get people begging us to “paternize” them. I think they mean patronize? Ha! It was a beautiful crossing, even though it took forever and we were an hour late for our meeting.
In talking to Chantel and Jenni, it is refreshing to know that we aren’t alone in our difficulties with adjusting to the country. It has been so nice to have them here. We got out and explored Main Street a little more, trying a few new places. (ok 2 places…it’s not like there’s a lot to choose from) We have managed to find all the air conditioned places around. We discovered a hotel restaurant that is decorated like a small town redneck wedding reception. (in a bad tacky way, not a beautiful quaint way) But they have ice cold banks beers and the best French fries I’ve had here! We sat several hours and enjoyed sharing our stories and impressions. It was one of the most normal nights I’ve had. That definitely felt good. They are hilarious girls. We will be going with them to Kaieteur Falls this Thursday. We will go to Georgetown, and then take a small plane into the interior of Guyana. (Google map it!!) The falls are the tallest single drop waterfall in the WORLD! Pretty sweet! It is the same height as the Seattle space needle and we get to hike up to it, and approach it, no fences or security guards or crazy tourists. This is straight up National Geographic stuff here! Then we will go to a 2nd waterfall where we will be able to swim. I am SO thrilled about this. Considering all I want to do here is shower. To feel cool... Continuously! I hope to be able to take some amazing pictures there.
Thursday night after meeting, we headed to Demico for dinner (Meg’s cook night) and upon leaving that Air Conditioned place- o-fun we saw billowing red smoke coming from Pitt Street and Backdam road. Of course, as the nosy Americans we are, we all walked closer and closer to the fire. We were only one block away and took some great pictures! The whole town was literally clogging backdam road for blocks to do some rubbernecking at the blaze. Apparently, town gossip says that the woman’s house went up in a blaze because she had a Nintendo store on the first level and either the machines overheated, or she was stealing current and the way she had the current box (electricity) rigged, it overheated and started a fire. Those are the 2 versions. The next day we rode by to check out the wreckage and thankfully no other houses were affected even though they are all so close together. Only the neighbor’s water tank had melted down.
In other interesting news, Meg discovered a huge cockroach in her bed saturday morning. I will definitely be paranoid about that tonight. So far we haven’t had anything like that in our beds. Hopefully, like the mosquitoes, they will not be attracted to me. I tell Meg its because she’s sweeter. J I try to make her feel better about it, but poor thing she is BIT UP. I think the count is up to 93 bites? I woke up Sunday morning with little red bites all up and down my arm. Reminds me of when I had bed bugs in NYC! EEK! Jonny was afraid to touch my hand because it looks like I have the plague.
We had our pioneer meeting with the CO on Saturday. Very encouraging, from what I could hear. The Guyanese in our congregation speak very low. I have a hard time distinguishing what they are saying, between the accent and the lack of volume. But it seems to be only the witnesses because there are people outside on the street at all times of the night that have plenty of volume to spare! Anyway, the CO shared some very encouraging points, about relying on Jah to sustain us in our full time ministry. He then asked me personally to enlist others in the states to come down and support the growth in Guyana. I said I would certainly do that. Just forget all the stuff I said about the bugs, and home invasions, and what not!!
But seriously, there is a lot of help needed. And a lot of blessings to be had. The friends, especially the young ones are so encouraged by the need greaters that come here. It’s amazing to feel so loved by the children. I’ve not had so many hugs and kisses and kids falling all over me. It’s a great feeling to know that your presence lets them know how Jehovah’s love doesn’t just apply in one area, but is a worldwide affection. What a valuable lesson that some don’t learn until much later in life, but they are developing at a vital age.
Speaking of the babies, the 4 of us girls got home around 6:30pm (Saturday) after trying a new place to eat, the Little Rock Hotel. We had prawns and fries. Pretty good, but the prawns were fried, and they were orange. It was definitely odd. Goes along with the pink rice! We had a nice meal and enjoyed a few ice cold banks. Our new favorite brew. Nothing cools you down quicker!
So when we returned home, there were wall to wall kids!! Okay, only 4 but they are so hyper! Their grandmother, Sister Valerie brings them all (when she can manage) to the meeting. 3 of them are in the ASL group. The eldest of the 3, Steven, is deaf and literally comments about 20 times in the watchtower. His little brother and sister are prolific commenter’s as well and so affectionate. We played in the hammocks, had tickle fights, and took a ton of crazy pictures. It was a great night, playing with the local babies and eating G’nip.
We ended the day with a good movie, and a cold shower, as always.
Also, my Maw Maw is progressing well. The last update I received was this morning and she was still on the ventilator but her breathing was improving and they are slowing taking her off the morphine. She should be able to breathe on her own tonight or tomorrow, but everyone’s bodies re-adjust differently. I’m so happy the family is all there surrounding her. I can’t wait to be by her side before too long. Thank you for keeping her in your prayers.
It’s now Sunday and I’m getting to the point in the afternoon where all I want to do is sleep! The reggae music is playing loudly through our windows and I’ve taken my afternoon shower that keeps the insane amounts of sweat at bay.
I could sure use a cold banks right about now!!
Love
Monie
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