Hello Everyone,
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| Our house |
How are you all doing? We are so sorry for the month long delay. It's sad but true, this is our last post. We are now back in the States. To be honest it feels like forever since we were in Guyana. Life is so different here.
The Sunday before we left the friends in our Congregation threw us "surprise" going away party. I say "surprise" because they did their best to give away the surprise. Plus, they threw the party at our house. Normally, every Sunday night we have a sign language class at our house. Here's what happened. Some of the friends start showing up that are learning sign language. Then they go outside. A couple of sisters stay in the house with us. Jaide asks, "where is everyone going?" A sisters responds, "don't worry." Then a brother shows up that is not learning sign language, comes upstairs and asks, "Is the gathering upstairs or downstairs?" I respond, "What gathering? We have sign language class, is that what you mean?" (We had figured out they were throwing us a party already, but we went along with it.) Finally, they revealed the "surprise." We had a great time! In true Guyana fashion, the friends went around and said what they like about us. Some of the friends cried in expressing themselves, and what they appreciate about us. Then, it was my turn. I stood up and began explaining how much they all mean to us and how much they have helped us. In a matter of seconds, the tears came a flowing. Yup, I cried like a little girl. Two of our deaf Bible students were there, and we interpreted all the speeches. That is awkward. Interpreting praise about yourself. I felt like I was bragging. I did it for a little bit then made Jaide do it. After, the speeches and tears, we ate and then danced the night away. As usual, we had a black out. But, thankfully, Imran, our Bible student was there with his car that has a serious stereo system. He pumped up the Indian jams and we danced some more. It was great fun.
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| Market |
One last funny story. In Guyana there are animals roaming everywhere. Horses, donkeys, goats, cows, sheep and chickens. Sometimes these animals leave you "presents", aka droppings. Well, a cow decided to leave us a present right in the middle of our drive way. I waited a few days to let it dry out. Once dry I went out to sweep it away. As I was sweeping I noticed an older woman staring at me. I said, "Hi." She asked, "Where's your mistress?(wife)" I said, "Upstairs." She didn't understand what I said, so she asked, "You not married?" I answered, "No, I am married." She replied in shock, "You sweep! What is your wife doing?" You see, most men there do not do any housework. She was so shocked to see me sweeping. Plus, she thought Jaide must be a lazy wife, forcing me to do woman's work.
In conclusion, our ten months in Guyana were truly amazing. We had some rough patches, but we made it
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| Last meeting (5 deaf) |
through them. We feel we have become better people. It has helped us develop our Christian qualites. The things we learned will be with us forever. As will the friends we made while we were there. When you reach out and do more in service for Jehovah, you truly see his hand supporting you. The love that Jesus said would be the identifing mark of true Christians is so evident in Jehovah's organization. We feel this is seen more so when you go to another country, or go where the need it great. You may feel alone, thousands of miles from friends and family. But, then you meet your brothers and sisters wherever you are. They are wonderful people that you can trust and that show love to you instantly. Amazing! If you are thinking about going to another country and helping out, I would strongly recommend it. You will face challenges, its not all roses. You need to be realistic in your expectations. As some Missionaries explain it, your experience will be like a U, highs and lows. But in the end, the benefits far our way the challenges.
We hope you have enjoyed the experiences we shared. Thanks for reading.
Love,
G&J
