Easter is a favorite holiday here in Guyana . . . because it means 4 days off work for most people. Friday, Saturday and Sunday are usually spent partying with friends, but Easter Monday is the day families gather for picnics in the park and kite flying!
In the spirit of the day, we decided to spend our Easter Monday working at Sister Mala Bramdeo’s house. This feisty little single mom built her own house, put up her fence (with the help of her 14-year-old son Avanash), and is in the process of doubling the size of her home so each of them can have a bedroom instead of her sharing her room with 9-year-old Anthony and Avanash sleeping in a hammock in the kitchen. Her yard (on the property she owns outright) is a saucer-shape where rain water puddles, causing flooding from time to time. But, she wants to put in a garden and raise chickens (fryers and layers), so we gathered with three missionary companionships (E/S Sappington, E/S Cook, Elders Anderson, Rollins, Durfee and Hall) to move a big pile of dirt from the street to the low spots in her yard. It was a hot, sweaty day involving dozens of wheelbarrows full of dirt, blisters, sun burn and brownies – while we were always mindful “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.”
2 comments:
Burning calories! Just think how many you burned!!!
Dear Brother and Sister Sappington,
I happened upon your blog (while looking for news about the West Indies Mission), and was thrilled to see pictures of the senior missionaries, especially pictures of the couple's conference in Trinidad at President Gamiette's home. We served in St. Maartin and Trinidad under Presidents Robison and Gamiette. We arrived home to Cedar City, Utah nearly two years ago, June 2010. After taking care of family, home, and health issues, we are again beginning to think about the future! We know you are loving your mission: our Elders were also fantastic (no Sisters were called to the West Indies until just before we came home), the members and the leaders worked so hard, and there are no more beautiful sights and scenes than in St. Maartin, especially. Best of luck to you both in the final months of your mission.
Carol and Dave Oliver
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