How's it going? We are doing good. We are headed off to a village named Orealla today. We go to Skeldon, then take a 6 hour boat ride up a river into the interior of Guyana. On the boat ride you hang your hammocks and lay in them. Now, I hear it is important to arrive early so you can hang your hammock high. You don't want any one above you. Why? How can I put this nicely, hammocks don't mask the odor when someone passes gas. I have heard stories of friends who went to Orealla and had a low hammock and the array of smells they endured.
Last Sunday was our zone visit. You see, all the branches of of Jehovah's Witnesses in the world get a visit every year to encourage us. All the congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses were invited. There are a little over 2,500 Witnesses in Guyana. But, at the Zone visit we had over 5,000, including 60 deaf. We learned that there are 11 deaf publishers and 6 baptized deaf in Guyana. The visit was held out a outdoor cricket stadium. It only has some areas covered with an overhang. Now, before going, my concern was how hot it would be with the sun beating down on us, I didn't even think about the possibility of rain until the night before. Guess what? It rained on us. No one left. Some moved and stood up top under the canopy, but everyone stayed. You could feel the air turn cool and see the rain approaching. As it got close, everyone opened their umbrellas. It was a sea of umbrellas, opening and closing, almost on tune. Sometimes, we couldn't see anything, but still could hear. Of course still got a little wet, but had a great time. We saw some old friends we had not seen in 3 years. On the way home, a quick stop at KFC for some ice cream, then on the road again. 
Its pretty funny how often people think we trying to meet deaf people to perform a miracle. As we search, time and again people say, "You are trying to meet deaf people, why? You going to heal them?" You see, "miracle healings", are a big thing in Guyana. Many people claim they have been miraculously cured of a hodgepodge of ailments. You see Churchs advertising "miracle services." People even leave Hinduism and Islam because a Christian Church healed them of something. So when they ask, I should start telling them, "For us to teach someone the Bible who has no language, and at the same time teach them a language, that will take a miracle."
Guyanese word of the day: See picture.
Love,
G&J
