Guyana Georgetown

GUYANA

While we were in Trinidad at the airport waiting for our flight to Guyana

we met a wonderful couple from Guyana that were members of the Church.  

She has been a member for 15 years and her husband just joined in February and is already

in the Branch presidency.  We are always impressed with such faithful people!!  I love 

that our "tags" identify us so that they immediately come up and introduce themselves. 

Otherwise we may never have met them.  At home I have also taken for granted the terms "Brother and Sister" that we use in the church but it has taken on a whole new meaning for me here.  I have always known that we do it because when we Join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we become His Children and so we are all Brothers and Sisters because of Christ.  But here they often will shake your hand or give you a hug and a kiss on the cheek and say, "my Brother, or my Sister" which feels so personal.  All races, all cultures..... I love it so much.  Total strangers immediately embrace me and make me feel so at home.  Which is how it should be in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Family of God.  

Beautiful View out the window of our our Hotel.  This is such a beautiful Country.  It is so Green and full of tremendous natural resources.  

Because of the heavy rains, the mud flows down the rivers and into the ocean.  At different times of the day you can actually see the brown and blue waters mix...

There is a lot of garbage along the beaches.  It looks like it washes up along the shores. 

One of the Buildings in Guyana.
Elder Bigler, President Baird, Elder Allen

Elder Allen & Elder Bigler


These are the Special Teaching Assistants
 in Guyana
They drove us around.
 Elder Bigler said, "Sister Baird, have I
Given you a heart attack yet?"
 I said "No, I'm just closing
my eyes."
 The driving is a little crazy here....😜

So our excitement this day was, after the interviews, we headed out and reached the intersection just past the church.  A car came speeding through the intersection with a car right behind them.  The car behind had a man hanging out the side window, shooting this big army rifle at the car in front of him.  I was so shocked I didn't know what to say.  The Elders were too.  We sat there stunned for a moment just wondering if we really just witnessed that happening.  The back car was a police vehicle but I didn't notice that until it was past us...  The Elders looked back at me and said, "Sister Baird, this NEVER happens here.  We promise we have never seen anything like this before"  That made me feel better because I felt like I had just taken part in an Indiana Jones Stunt show.  It seemed so unreal. Glad to know it's not an everyday occurrence. 

Elder Norton, Elder Gibson

Elder Straddeck, Elder Thackery

Sister Thackery

Elder Andrews, Elder Sanchez

Elder Leitch, Elder Andrews



Elder Andrews is so quiet.  I asked him if he ever says anything.   He smiled and said.  "I listen"....  Then one of the other Elders said, "But when he does say something, We listen."  I loved that.  You can tell these Elders are humble and learn a lot from each other.  

Guyana Continued.......

This day you could really see the blue/brown separation in the water.... 

 From above when you are flying in you can see a strip of brown with

blue on both sides so you can see where the river water is flowing

into the ocean.  

At Zone conferences we introduced a Mission Theme of “LIFT”, to encourage missionaries and members alike to always “lift where they stand” and leave each place they serve a little better than it was when they came.

* L – Live the law (Keep covenants)

* I – Integrity always (honest & upright)

* F – Faith in the promise (know that the Lord will keep his promises)

* T – Teach and testify (testify of what you know)

Georgetown East Coast Zone

Back Row:  President Baird, Me, Elder Bigler, Elder Norton, Elder Gibson, Elder Straddeck, Elder Allen, Elder Thackery
Elder & Sister Williams, Sister Thackery
Front Row:  Elder Sanchez,  Elder Richards, Elder Leitch, Elder Dapat, Elder Andrews

Elder Straddeck

President Baird & Elder Dapat

Elder Leitch & Elder Straddeck

Elder Dapat, Elder Richards

Baptism for BiBi -  A Beautiful 15-year old girl.  She has such a powerful Testimony!  I sat with her right before the baptism and asked her to tell me a little about her conversion story.  She told me about how she was raised Muslim but then converted to Christianity.   She had always been praying for the Lord to guide her to the truth.  She said that she attended many churches but would just feel confused and as she read the Bible she felt like it had been "changed" and there was something missing.  (Pretty powerful for someone so young)  She said that when the missionaries told her to pray and ask God if the things they were telling her were true she knew immediately that they were sent by God because she always knew that this is the way the Lord would want her to find out....for herself.  Not anyone else telling her to believe just because they said so.  She said when she studies the Book of Mormon she finds what was missing in the Bible and she is learning more about Jesus Christ, who He was, and who He is, and what He wants her to be.  (Wow!!  I was completely blown away....truly one of the Lord's elect!!)

So glad we were able to be there for BiBi's Baptism!! 

What an honor to meet such a remarkable young woman. 

The Church Building in Diamond Guyana.

   There are 6 branches in Guyana

While in Guyana (or anywhere we go) we tried to meet as many of the members as possible.  President Baird (Kyle as most of us know him 😉) is the presiding authority of the church in most of these areas so he will do temple recommends, any disciplinary councils needed, and district conferences and training as well as his responsibilities for the missionaries.  It makes for a very busy schedule but somehow the Lord has blessed us to be able to fulfill all these responsibilities and has helped us to really enjoy all the associations!!  It has not felt like a burden at all.  We have truly felt joy in Serving these people.  Saturday we were able to attend 3 baptisms (I only got pictures at the one....) and then Sunday we attended portions of 3 different Branch meetings.   Everyday when I go home I have  a lot of friend requests on Facebook!!  It makes me so happy because I really feel like they are my friends.  I cherish the time I have been able to get to know individuals as they wait for interviews with Kyle, whether it be the missionaries or the members I have had some wonderful spiritual conversations, and I feel like I'm learning more from them than they are from me. 

Elder White & Elder Riter

Elder Raymond & Elder Peterson

Elder Garner & Elder Fisher

Elder Kennedy - Teaching the Basics of Rugby
Very informative, Maybe I could
Actually watch it and understand what
is going on.  😅

The Students for Elder Kennedy's Rugby Instruction
(Waiting for Interviews).....

Elder Kyler & Elder Kennedy

Elder Bigler

Elder Garner

Elder Kennedy

Elder Kyler

Elder Allen

After a long day of driving us around, and waiting while Kyle finished interviews...we treated Elder Allen and Elder Bigler to a "real Hamburger" At the Marriott.  It was late and they had stayed with us and hadn't had any dinner yet.  We were all very hungry.  It was really fun to eat with them and get to know them a little better. 

As we have traveled the mission I am so impressed with the caliber of missionaries in this mission.  They are all so dedicated to the work, obedient, humble and kind.  In order to have the Lord's protection they know they need to be doing those things that He expects of them and they are.  We feel so blessed to have such great missionaries.

In Guyana they have these trenches that are on the sides of the roads that fill up with water, sludge and such during heavy rain.  The Elders say that if you slip into one you could sink up to your knees and sometimes further.  But in these trenches they have the most beautiful flowers that grow.  It's a wonderful example of beauty that blooms in adversity.  The blossoms are about the size of a soccer ball and are just gorgeous.  I didn't get a really great shot of a trench in bloom, because I didn't want to keep asking Elder Bigler to stop when I saw a good one.  But hopefully sometime when I'm down there I'll get a great photo of one.  The local people use the leaves as plates for a dish called "seven curry" when they have parties.  

This trench was right next to one of the chapels. 
It was in bloom the first time I saw it but not this day....😏

This is Sister Griffith, She is the Mother of one of our Elders who is serving in Trinidad right now.

We actually have 3 Elders who are from this mission serving in this mission.  Two of them only a couple of hours drive from their homes.  One, Elder Leitch is actually only serving here until he receives his visa to go to the Dominican Republic.  Elder Andrews is the other one.  We met his sisters while we were in Berbice.   (Pictures of them will be on that post)

Before President Baird was called to serve as Mission President, his calling in our ward back home was the 5-year old primary teacher.  He had all the 5-6 year olds in this little branch come up while he was speaking and tell them about his calling.  I think they thought that was pretty neat!  His topic was no matter where you are called to serve, you do the best you can.  Whether it be in the primary - teaching children, a bishop or branch president, working in the ward library, relief society, YM or YW,  music, or ministering to each other EVERY calling is important. We should not seek "leadership" or seek to "hide" but be willing to serve.  You "LIFT" wherever the Lord needs you.

This is one of my dear new friends, Anamika and her son Avi
who will be going on a mission to South Africa soon!

More new friends!!

Georgetown West Coast Zone Conference

Back Row: President Baird, Elder Kennedy, Elder Peterson, Elder Riter, Elder White, Elder Allen, Elder Hanni, Elder Bigler, Elder Kyler, Elder O'Dair
Front Row:  Sister Baird, Elder Ortega, Elder Fleming, Elder Batista, Elder Fisher, Elder Garner, Travis, Elder Raymond, Sister O'Dair

This is Travis, He is a young man that joined the Church just over a year ago and is so excited to share his testimony of the Savior with others by serving a mission.  He is the only member of his family so he wanted to open his mission call with us during Zone Conference.  He is going to the Barbados mission and will leave in November.  It will be exciting to watch his growth because we will be able to be here when he leaves and when he comes home.  

Elder Ortega, Travis, Elder Hanni

 

Elder Riter, Elder Garner, Elder Fisher, Elder Peterson

Elder Kennedy, Elder Kyler, Elder Fleming, Elder Batista

Elder Riter, Elder Raymond, Elder Fisher, Elder Peterson

Elder Peterson, Elder Hanni, Elder Garner, Elder White

Elder Andrews, Elder Batista, Elder Fleming, Elder Kyler,
Elder Raymond, Elder Sanchez, Elder Fisher

Elder Kennedy

Sister O'Dair told them to look like they were "pondering"😂

Elder Andrews & Elder Fisher

More "Selfies" From the missionaries! 

Elder Peterson and Elder Allen

We knew we would be seeing Elder Andrew's family when we went to Berbice
so we wanted to make sure we got a picture with him before we left.

(He is an incredible young man with a lot of Faith.  He comes from a family of 9 siblings (I can't remember if that was counting him or not....)  He doesn't have any contact with his father and after his mother passed away 5 years ago he spent his time helping to provide for his two younger siblings but still had a desire to serve a mission.  His trust in the Lord that He will help his family while he is serving is tremendous.  I know the Lord is mindful of him and his family and will bless him for his diligence in consecrating his life to serve others) 

Overlooking Georgetown

In Guyana you often see horse carts on the roads carrying a variety of items.  Lots of them have produce or other items for sell. I've also seen some that are carrying heavy items like bags of concrete mix or lumber.  And some, like this one just have people.