Boxing Day At Our 1-Year Anniversary

Our 1-year anniversary of missionary service in the WIM fell on the day after Christmas, known as Boxing Day in Guyana (also called St. Stephen’s Day, supposedly after one of seven ancient apostles appointed to oversee the church's distribution of alms to the poor). Boxing Day was traditionally the day off for servants after the festivities of their employers on Christmas Day. Today, December 26 is celebrated around the world by tipping or paying bonuses to employees or giving gifts to strangers and those less fortunate.

We worked VERY hard on this Christmas weekend tending to the needs of young missionaries and branch members so we felt we had earned our Boxing Day. Midday on Monday, all the senior couples serving in Guyana (except the Benn's who had a wedding to attend) showed up at our apartment to decompress . . . and say goodbye to Elder Larry and Sister Karen Harris, who leave for their home in Layton, Utah on Saturday! It was a lovely - no-agenda - day spent hanging out, enjoying leftovers, playing games, then talking - almost until the sun came up.

Our Very Guyana Christmas

Christmas Eve Day, on Saturday, December 24, began with a missionary service project at a local hospital maternity ward (caroling and distributing newborn kits) then these 12 hungry young men gathered at the Church for dinner (18 at the table) followed by missionary-appropriate “Minute to Win It” games and ending with a Guyanese rendition of “Twelve Days of Christmas” before they hurried out the door to scheduled baptisms.

Christmas Day - which reached a high temperature of 90 degrees (with humidity just about that high) began with the baptism of Sister Robin Parris. She is the only member in her family, so far, but she is hopeful she will soon have others follow her into the waters of baptism. Following Church, we set up five laptop computers in the Primary room so they could call home. Each was provided with ear buds (thanks to Elder Sappington) since they could not be in a room alone and had an hour to talk to loved ones at home. We had to get permission from the mission president to use Skype, but when President Gamiette found out it is FREE Skype-to-Skype . . . and only 2.3c per minute otherwise (compared to $3.00 a minute calling from a landline or cell phone) he quickly gave his blessing! It was fun to hear the interaction and hard to get some of them off the phone when their hour was up.

The elders waiting their turn . . . or who had already called home, but were waiting for their companions, were treated to a viewing of “Lost Land of the Jaguar,” a 3-part BBC documentary on Guyana’s spectacular and virtually unexplored interior. It is a beautiful production and the missionaries were fascinated!

By the time we got home at 10 p.m., we were exhausted, but with many memories we will always cherish. It was a beautiful Christmas . . . even without a tree or lots of gifts!

Christmas Minute to Win It! Another Hit

It was so much fun the first time, Young Single Adults in Georgetown wanted to do "Minute to Win It" again and since it is so close to Christmas, I decided to add a holiday flavor to each challenge (e.g., "Santa's Sleigh Ride," "Snowball Fight," "Frosty the Snowman," "A Long Winter's Nap" and "Holiday Kiss"). Unfortunately, a bride and groom were setting up for their wedding in the cultural hall, so we were reassigned to the second largest room in the building which was a little cramped for 20+ active, noisy young adults. All the same, we enjoyed our time together, had hamburgers and cake to celebrate Selwin and Simeon Lovell and Leon Wilkins' birthday this weekend, and at the end of the night, we sang a Guyanese version of "12 Days of Christmas"

And, as the saying goes, "a good time was had by all!!!"

Times Tables by Skype

It is a lovely, sweet experience to hear the sound of an incoming Skype call and to discover it is Kaytee, Adyn and Skylar; Kelly; David, Jan’L and their boys, or Taisley calling to share some news or just to check on us! Kelly comes in upside down (some problem with her webcam) which always puts a smile on our faces. David and Jan’L’s calls are filled with laughter and little faces bobbing on and off our computer screen. Kaytee’s calls are sometimes a desperate attempt to hear an adult voice, to share her plans for next week’s lesson for her Young Women, or to report a milestone in the lives of her babies. Taisley calls to tell us about school, to share her enthusiasm about a book she has just finished reading, or to practice her times tables with Grandma. Skype is certainly not nearly as good as actually being there, but this technology is a wonderful "second best" option which enables us to see their precious faces, as well as hear their voices.

We are also grateful for the technology which allows us to keep up with family through blogging. Kaytee does such a wonderful job of maintaining her blog at http://joshloveskaytee.blogspot.com/ and recently Taisley called to tell us about her 4th grade school teacher’s blog at http://porterclass4.blogspot.com/ (where these pictures were found. Note the iPad Taisley is using. It seems they are used throughout her school).

We are grateful to our loving Heavenly Father for these great blessings which allow two busy, but homesick parents / grandparents to stay connected to our family when we are thousands of miles apart.

24/7 Incarceration is No Fun!

On Thursday there was Thanksgiving with the missionaries . . . then on Friday, calls from four young single adults reporting we had helped them all find jobs . . . and receipt and delivery of our first three PEF checks! Wow, what a great way to end one week and start probably the most boringly dull 7 days of our mission. Because of the Guyana elections on Monday, November 28, we were sequestered for a week by order of our mission president who was willing to sacrifice a few days of work to avoid any possible violence to us and the other missionaries.

During our 7-day lockdown, we used our time wisely and well, making phone calls, scheduling appointments at our apartment, getting caught up on some reading, doing some planning for the next few weeks, sleeping in (once or twice) and watching a few missionary-appropriate movies on DVD, while keeping an ear to the news channel for updates on when it will be safe to go back to work.

As it turns out, there were only a few isolated instances of disgruntled voters, a little paint thrown, some tires burned . . . and lots and lots of heavily armed police men ready to thwart any civil unrest. The election results: PPP/C Pdt. Ramotar was voted in by a very slim margin, but this Communist leader, in an already Socialist country has had his hands tied by the election of 7 new members of his parliament where the opposition is now the majority party . . . for the first time in Guyana’s history. It is going to be an interesting situation to watch!