As the title of this post alludes to, we received new arrivals in the form of 2 sisters from Indiana today. But more on them in a minute… I have to backtrack to where I left off, as there is always something crazy or so mundane that it’s to the point of being crazy. I don’t want to deprive you all of it one bit.
After the girls returned to G-town on Monday night, I felt I was being a bit quiet and down…so our evening was farely low key, as most of our nights seem to be. But there comes a point where Meg and I, being such good friends, settle into a comfortable silence, when in reality, a little conversation might be up building or encouraging. So we discussed that Monday morning as we waited for the ferry to cross into Rosignol for our morning of bible studies. We want to be more of a support to one another, but it’s quite hard when you have your own stresses such as homesickness, illness, and uncomfortable situations, and so on to deal with. You want to have something left over to give to the other person, but sometimes you just don’t. But we both decided we need to make a concerted effort to have more fun, laugh, and try to be more supportive to each other. I especially feel guilt as I am leaving before her, and it really makes me feel like I’m abandoning her. Even though I know that ultimately that is not the case. In any event, we had a lovely morning of studies that we had never been on before. Ryan and Angelique were in Georgetown with Ramon and Kali (who are leaving for 7 weeks to work and visit home before returning). So it’s always a challenge to go into a home and study with a deaf person we have never met before. But thankfully, we have had nothing but a warm reception from the families and students.
Our first study was with a middle aged woman named Loreen. (her own sister didn’t know how to spell her name when I tried to work on her alphabet with her). She had to go get a registration card to show me! Loreen is very eager to learn ASL but it’s a bit difficult because she is a copier. You are not sure what she understands and what she doesn’t because she copies EVERY sign that we do and nods her head yes when we ask her if she understands. So finding the right kind of exercises to elicit a response from her on her own was a challenge at first, but with pictures and repetition of the signs, she started to remember things on her own. We do very simple things like drawing a picture of a mother, father, sister and brother. Then we show the signs and actually draw pictures of the hand shapes used to create the sign. Then we quiz her by pointing to the pictures. In 30 minutes she remembered the whole family, how to spell her name, and a few other signs used in the God’s Friend DVD. The study was observed by her blind grandmother, Enid who listened intently, but sadly it was all in ASL so at least the Holy Spirit was there with us, and hopefully she was encouraged simply by our visit. Her sister Emily was so kind and thankful. It’s so touching to see these humble ones, tossed aside by the rest of the world, finding themselves under such loving care by Jehovah and his earthly organization.
For our next study, we hopped back on our bikes (yep it was an off-road biking day for meg and I ) and onto the next study. A 9 year old boy named Urijah. He was very hard to draw out, but after some maniacal acting and signing he finally started to open up and smile a tiny bit. His family is Rastafarain and very loving. All the children were so polite. At the end of the study, a man who I am guessing is his father was playing with a parrot that looked like it has molted recently. (or had a horrific disease) In any event it’s the first parrot we’ve seen close up here, so Meg asked if we could take a picture with it. He hopped on my finger and I talked to him while Meg took pictures. Urijah got a kick out of this. Then Meg dared his claws and asked to hold him as well, never holding such a bird before. It was funny to think we are on a bible study, in South America, holding parrots! The family was so warm and as we left, the father called out to us, “The Rasta’s Love You!”
We saw some really dark thunderheads on the horizon so we high-tailed it back to the ferry just in time for the downpour. Back in New Amsterdam we stopped for lunch at Demico (our official hangout) and enjoyed the AC with some mormons that totally ignored our polite hellos. ( I mean, we weren’t trying to make conversation but they were sitting right next to us) I wonder if they wonder what we are doing here. It’s not like we blend in!
So because Meg and I had the house to ourselves, we decided to have a relaxing afternoon preparing for the arrival of the new sisters on Tuesday. In alignment with our “more fun” policy, we had dinner at a restaurant in Palmyra, Caribbean Cuisine. We were the only patrons in this beautiful establishment. There were twinkle lights, lit up fountains, a disco ball, and a dj booth playing Bryan Adams, Backstreet Boys, and of course, Guyana’s favourite, Celine Dion. We had the BEST meal. Normal, boneless chicken breast, in a yummy sweet and sour sauce. It was a little tough but we were so happy to have chicken off the bone! Accompanying our meal were good drinks, and cheap! Meg had a “long island iced tea” which consisted only of Coca Cola and Rum. I had a mixed drink called “international incident”. I figured the name was appropriate for our current state. It was quite a yummy concoction, more like a dessert drink with crème de’ cacao. We laughed, talked, took pictures and thoroughly enjoyed our night out.
The thing about palmyra is that it’s not the main town here. So cabs were few and far between. Finally a minibus picked us up on the dark road leading out of town. Amazing how brave and comfortable we have gotten. We used to never wander out at night. Don’t get me wrong, we are careful… but also learning to be more balanced in our fears. J People are used to seeing us now… Meg recently learned that we’ve even been the talk of the town! When we got home from dinner, the party didn’t end there; since we had the house to ourselves we stayed up late and watched “Footloose”! Believe it or not I’d never seen it.
With Ramon and Kali’s departure, we also got a new addition to our family, Joshua the Kitty. I wasn’t terribly fond of him before, but I must say he has grown on me and now we are inseparable. During the movie and then again during our family study, he climbs up on my lap or wherever I am and just rolls around, purring, before falling asleep. The best is when I am on skype with my family, talking on the headset. He climbs behind me on the couch and has batting practice with my head. He is a crack head cat, but I’m happy he’s here. He is also the master at catching and cornering the nephilim cockroaches we have here. Last night alone he aided us in the capture and annihilation of 5! For that we are grateful. Meg was worried at first about her allergies, but I think he is benefiting us all, being all crazy and playful. And we keep things mostly open so as long as he stays out of our room and off her lap, it’s bearable.
So the new sisters I spoke of, Trisha and Brittany, arrived in New Amsterdam with Ryan and Angie. They are in their early 20’s, and going to assist the Palmyra English Congregation. They also have an interest in learning and assisting in ASL if they can. They shared with us their Starbucks Mocha Chocolate bars so we are cool. They can stay. J
It was my cook night but I opted to buy Chinese food for everyone. Meg came with, and on our way there, I noticed 2 white men walking on the opposite side of the road. They were dressed in casual clothes, so they weren’t mormons, and they looked at us and smiled very friendly as we passed. I have to say they were good looking… it was shocking just to see them in town. Like I said, we don’t exactly blend in with the crowd. It’s a “one of these things is not like the other” situation. We wondered what they could be doing here but didn’t stop to chat, and continued on to the Chinese place. On our way back, we ran into them on the street (the same side this time) and they asked what we were doing here, and vice versa. They are dentists here doing dental work I suppose with a government aide program. I then noticed the scrub pants they were wearing. They seem to be in their mid 20’s, from Arkansas and Tennessee. They told us about deaf they had met on the plane, and other Jehovah’s Witnesses they had met in Georgia and Mexico that were involved in ASL groups there. They inquired how long we were here for (They are only here 1 week) and where we are staying. (They were impressed we were living as the locals do and not holed up in the local hotel) It was at this point that they invited Meg and I to dinner at their hotel, which we graciously declined.
When we went our separate ways, Meg and I had to laugh at the irony of getting asked out to dinner by two gorgeous southern dentists… in GUYANA! I have to admit, we feel so ugly here most of the time. I mean, we aren’t going to win any beauty contests… so it was a nice little self esteem boost. And good to be able to give a witness as well. (don’t worry Dad, we won’t be going on any dates!!!)
After our family study, where we listen to a talk and in this particular case we all tried to interpret it into ASL… (The new girls were fascinated or scared, not sure which!) we stayed up and chatted with everyone for a while. Then there was a couple surprise guests. 2 young girls that come to the kingdom hall. They are half sisters, and the older one just qualified as an unbaptized publisher. I don’t think ive mentioned them before, but when Audrian was here they started getting a little clingy with us, showing up at our home uninvited at odd times and following us around after the meeting and on our way home. Normally, the attention from the kids here would be adorable and flattering, but there is something wrong with these girls. They have made countless superstitious comments in our presence and have openly had conversations with their worldly friends on the phone stating about us: “they aren’t demons, they are Jehovah’s witnesses!” Kind of scary. After a barrage of similar strange spiritistic comments we spoke to both Ramon and Ryan about it. So when the girls showed up last night, Meg immediately grabbed a watchtower article that she had found on spiritism, and instead of playing games and chatting, we sat down and studied. The one girl, was very resistant and said some shocking things. We are very very concerned. The other girl, who is an unbaptized publisher says all the right things, but is still involved in certain rituals and practices which are obviously spiritistic. We are going to alert the elders of the situation, and are not really comfortable having the one girl into our home anymore, unless she agrees to study. You want to help but at the same time, they have to want to change, and want the help. Apparently the Amerindians practices are steeped in spiritism. They said they grew up with it and learned it, stating it is “a part of who they are”.
We hope that they will accept the study and learn about Jehovah’s views on the matter, but we are also proceeding with caution. Just another interesting day in New Amsterdam! J
The power is currently out as I’m finishing my email on Wednesday morning. After my 10 am study with En-Cosie, we are heading to Georgetown to stay one night with Chantel and Jenni from Ohio. Then Thursday is Kaieteur Falls!!!! We can’t wait. (Well meg is decidedly unsure about the 12 seater plane and swimming in the water…parasite fears, you know you’ve seen those horror story shows) I am trying not to think about that part.
In other news, my Maw Maw is now off the ventilator and mostly breathing on her own, only with assistance from a mask now and then. They are taking her for an MRI as she is unresponsive on her left side of her face and arm. They feel she may have had a small stroke during the surgery and will need physical therapy to correct it, but they don’t seem too worried. (Easier said than done for ME!) However, she is gaining more alertness and the family is very encouraged by her progress. Slow and steady wins the race!
Well time to get up and cook breakfast…
Love to you all!
Simone
After the girls returned to G-town on Monday night, I felt I was being a bit quiet and down…so our evening was farely low key, as most of our nights seem to be. But there comes a point where Meg and I, being such good friends, settle into a comfortable silence, when in reality, a little conversation might be up building or encouraging. So we discussed that Monday morning as we waited for the ferry to cross into Rosignol for our morning of bible studies. We want to be more of a support to one another, but it’s quite hard when you have your own stresses such as homesickness, illness, and uncomfortable situations, and so on to deal with. You want to have something left over to give to the other person, but sometimes you just don’t. But we both decided we need to make a concerted effort to have more fun, laugh, and try to be more supportive to each other. I especially feel guilt as I am leaving before her, and it really makes me feel like I’m abandoning her. Even though I know that ultimately that is not the case. In any event, we had a lovely morning of studies that we had never been on before. Ryan and Angelique were in Georgetown with Ramon and Kali (who are leaving for 7 weeks to work and visit home before returning). So it’s always a challenge to go into a home and study with a deaf person we have never met before. But thankfully, we have had nothing but a warm reception from the families and students.
Our first study was with a middle aged woman named Loreen. (her own sister didn’t know how to spell her name when I tried to work on her alphabet with her). She had to go get a registration card to show me! Loreen is very eager to learn ASL but it’s a bit difficult because she is a copier. You are not sure what she understands and what she doesn’t because she copies EVERY sign that we do and nods her head yes when we ask her if she understands. So finding the right kind of exercises to elicit a response from her on her own was a challenge at first, but with pictures and repetition of the signs, she started to remember things on her own. We do very simple things like drawing a picture of a mother, father, sister and brother. Then we show the signs and actually draw pictures of the hand shapes used to create the sign. Then we quiz her by pointing to the pictures. In 30 minutes she remembered the whole family, how to spell her name, and a few other signs used in the God’s Friend DVD. The study was observed by her blind grandmother, Enid who listened intently, but sadly it was all in ASL so at least the Holy Spirit was there with us, and hopefully she was encouraged simply by our visit. Her sister Emily was so kind and thankful. It’s so touching to see these humble ones, tossed aside by the rest of the world, finding themselves under such loving care by Jehovah and his earthly organization.
For our next study, we hopped back on our bikes (yep it was an off-road biking day for meg and I ) and onto the next study. A 9 year old boy named Urijah. He was very hard to draw out, but after some maniacal acting and signing he finally started to open up and smile a tiny bit. His family is Rastafarain and very loving. All the children were so polite. At the end of the study, a man who I am guessing is his father was playing with a parrot that looked like it has molted recently. (or had a horrific disease) In any event it’s the first parrot we’ve seen close up here, so Meg asked if we could take a picture with it. He hopped on my finger and I talked to him while Meg took pictures. Urijah got a kick out of this. Then Meg dared his claws and asked to hold him as well, never holding such a bird before. It was funny to think we are on a bible study, in South America, holding parrots! The family was so warm and as we left, the father called out to us, “The Rasta’s Love You!”
We saw some really dark thunderheads on the horizon so we high-tailed it back to the ferry just in time for the downpour. Back in New Amsterdam we stopped for lunch at Demico (our official hangout) and enjoyed the AC with some mormons that totally ignored our polite hellos. ( I mean, we weren’t trying to make conversation but they were sitting right next to us) I wonder if they wonder what we are doing here. It’s not like we blend in!
So because Meg and I had the house to ourselves, we decided to have a relaxing afternoon preparing for the arrival of the new sisters on Tuesday. In alignment with our “more fun” policy, we had dinner at a restaurant in Palmyra, Caribbean Cuisine. We were the only patrons in this beautiful establishment. There were twinkle lights, lit up fountains, a disco ball, and a dj booth playing Bryan Adams, Backstreet Boys, and of course, Guyana’s favourite, Celine Dion. We had the BEST meal. Normal, boneless chicken breast, in a yummy sweet and sour sauce. It was a little tough but we were so happy to have chicken off the bone! Accompanying our meal were good drinks, and cheap! Meg had a “long island iced tea” which consisted only of Coca Cola and Rum. I had a mixed drink called “international incident”. I figured the name was appropriate for our current state. It was quite a yummy concoction, more like a dessert drink with crème de’ cacao. We laughed, talked, took pictures and thoroughly enjoyed our night out.
The thing about palmyra is that it’s not the main town here. So cabs were few and far between. Finally a minibus picked us up on the dark road leading out of town. Amazing how brave and comfortable we have gotten. We used to never wander out at night. Don’t get me wrong, we are careful… but also learning to be more balanced in our fears. J People are used to seeing us now… Meg recently learned that we’ve even been the talk of the town! When we got home from dinner, the party didn’t end there; since we had the house to ourselves we stayed up late and watched “Footloose”! Believe it or not I’d never seen it.
With Ramon and Kali’s departure, we also got a new addition to our family, Joshua the Kitty. I wasn’t terribly fond of him before, but I must say he has grown on me and now we are inseparable. During the movie and then again during our family study, he climbs up on my lap or wherever I am and just rolls around, purring, before falling asleep. The best is when I am on skype with my family, talking on the headset. He climbs behind me on the couch and has batting practice with my head. He is a crack head cat, but I’m happy he’s here. He is also the master at catching and cornering the nephilim cockroaches we have here. Last night alone he aided us in the capture and annihilation of 5! For that we are grateful. Meg was worried at first about her allergies, but I think he is benefiting us all, being all crazy and playful. And we keep things mostly open so as long as he stays out of our room and off her lap, it’s bearable.
So the new sisters I spoke of, Trisha and Brittany, arrived in New Amsterdam with Ryan and Angie. They are in their early 20’s, and going to assist the Palmyra English Congregation. They also have an interest in learning and assisting in ASL if they can. They shared with us their Starbucks Mocha Chocolate bars so we are cool. They can stay. J
It was my cook night but I opted to buy Chinese food for everyone. Meg came with, and on our way there, I noticed 2 white men walking on the opposite side of the road. They were dressed in casual clothes, so they weren’t mormons, and they looked at us and smiled very friendly as we passed. I have to say they were good looking… it was shocking just to see them in town. Like I said, we don’t exactly blend in with the crowd. It’s a “one of these things is not like the other” situation. We wondered what they could be doing here but didn’t stop to chat, and continued on to the Chinese place. On our way back, we ran into them on the street (the same side this time) and they asked what we were doing here, and vice versa. They are dentists here doing dental work I suppose with a government aide program. I then noticed the scrub pants they were wearing. They seem to be in their mid 20’s, from Arkansas and Tennessee. They told us about deaf they had met on the plane, and other Jehovah’s Witnesses they had met in Georgia and Mexico that were involved in ASL groups there. They inquired how long we were here for (They are only here 1 week) and where we are staying. (They were impressed we were living as the locals do and not holed up in the local hotel) It was at this point that they invited Meg and I to dinner at their hotel, which we graciously declined.
When we went our separate ways, Meg and I had to laugh at the irony of getting asked out to dinner by two gorgeous southern dentists… in GUYANA! I have to admit, we feel so ugly here most of the time. I mean, we aren’t going to win any beauty contests… so it was a nice little self esteem boost. And good to be able to give a witness as well. (don’t worry Dad, we won’t be going on any dates!!!)
After our family study, where we listen to a talk and in this particular case we all tried to interpret it into ASL… (The new girls were fascinated or scared, not sure which!) we stayed up and chatted with everyone for a while. Then there was a couple surprise guests. 2 young girls that come to the kingdom hall. They are half sisters, and the older one just qualified as an unbaptized publisher. I don’t think ive mentioned them before, but when Audrian was here they started getting a little clingy with us, showing up at our home uninvited at odd times and following us around after the meeting and on our way home. Normally, the attention from the kids here would be adorable and flattering, but there is something wrong with these girls. They have made countless superstitious comments in our presence and have openly had conversations with their worldly friends on the phone stating about us: “they aren’t demons, they are Jehovah’s witnesses!” Kind of scary. After a barrage of similar strange spiritistic comments we spoke to both Ramon and Ryan about it. So when the girls showed up last night, Meg immediately grabbed a watchtower article that she had found on spiritism, and instead of playing games and chatting, we sat down and studied. The one girl, was very resistant and said some shocking things. We are very very concerned. The other girl, who is an unbaptized publisher says all the right things, but is still involved in certain rituals and practices which are obviously spiritistic. We are going to alert the elders of the situation, and are not really comfortable having the one girl into our home anymore, unless she agrees to study. You want to help but at the same time, they have to want to change, and want the help. Apparently the Amerindians practices are steeped in spiritism. They said they grew up with it and learned it, stating it is “a part of who they are”.
We hope that they will accept the study and learn about Jehovah’s views on the matter, but we are also proceeding with caution. Just another interesting day in New Amsterdam! J
The power is currently out as I’m finishing my email on Wednesday morning. After my 10 am study with En-Cosie, we are heading to Georgetown to stay one night with Chantel and Jenni from Ohio. Then Thursday is Kaieteur Falls!!!! We can’t wait. (Well meg is decidedly unsure about the 12 seater plane and swimming in the water…parasite fears, you know you’ve seen those horror story shows) I am trying not to think about that part.
In other news, my Maw Maw is now off the ventilator and mostly breathing on her own, only with assistance from a mask now and then. They are taking her for an MRI as she is unresponsive on her left side of her face and arm. They feel she may have had a small stroke during the surgery and will need physical therapy to correct it, but they don’t seem too worried. (Easier said than done for ME!) However, she is gaining more alertness and the family is very encouraged by her progress. Slow and steady wins the race!
Well time to get up and cook breakfast…
Love to you all!
Simone
p.s. the picture of my hand is an example of the interesting bites i wake up with...i was some mosquito's midnight snack!!
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