A few last photos of Guyana

Here are some photos from our final few weeks in Guyana...

Jo and Ayo worshipping with us at Mahaicony

Visiting St George's cathedral in Georgetown

Hilarious notice at the back of the cathedral!

At the wonderful Georgetown zoo!! Ha!

Presenting the books to Helena Primary that have been sent from all around the world :-)

 

Presenting some money raised by a pre-school in Lincoln for books

Nettie waiting to be packed...reading National Geographic to pass the time!!  We really need to get out of here! Ha!

Two little abandoned kittens at Airy Hall. :-(

Sandrina showing the new bookcase for the books sent from the Isle of Wight - the new circuit lending library

At our leaving service - not a brilliant attendance but some special people came

 

Our final day in Guyana...helping with the feeding programme in Virginia

 



Helping bag up the meals for delivery

The three faithful ladies who are running the feeding programme

A grateful recipient of some lunch

We delivered lunch to a man who lives in the hut through the gate and to the left of Mark...yes that really is his house.  :-(

Another delivery

I was a bit scared walking over this bridge!!

Two little children watching us deliver the food!

 

Back in Guyana for three weeks

We arrived back in Guyana on 30^th October and are here for three weeks to fulfil a few commitments, pack up the house and say our goodbyes.

Mark’s Dad

Mark said an emotional farewell to his Dad before we left England and we hoped he may stay alive until we got back but as most of you know, he died peacefully on Tuesday 5^th November.  It is hard for Mark being so far away at this time and we came back here with his Dad’s blessing so he feels at peace about the whole situation.  The funeral is going to be after our return so it means that thankfully we won’t miss it.  

Youth weekend

The main reason we came back when we did was because we had promised to lead a youth weekend camping at Splashmins, a man made little beach on the edge of a creek.  Having spoken to our youth leader from England we discovered that the young people had not done enough fund raising and so the weekend away was not possible but instead we agreed to take them there for a day – to do some teaching in the morning and then swim and relax in the afternoon.  I have to say I was grateful not to have to sleep in a tent in the middle of nowhere with no electricity or running water!! 

We had 28 young people from across the circuit and we delivered a scaled down version of what we had prepared – we taught them about experiencing God’s love and about dealing with issues they may have from their childhoods regarding their parents.  We felt this was particularly important teaching in a society where the vast majority of children grow up without a father in the home and many without even knowing who their father is. 

After our sessions we then had chicken and rice for lunch (the usual!) and spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing.  Many of the young people told us they had never been in water before so some of them were really nervous but soon began to overcome their fears and enjoy splashing around and having a go at swimming! 

The next day at church one of the young girls stood up in church and said that she had learned from our day that in God she can be secure, that she can have confidence and that she is significant and it moved me to tears!  It was worth coming back even to hear that!

Listening hard!

Mark delivering his session on the Father's love

Doing an activity in groups

My session on dealing with parental issues

Ready for a boat ride - the girls wear shower caps to keep their hair dry!

The kids out on the boat ride

Reactions from the locals

Several people have expressed their sadness that we are leaving so soon and told us that they appreciate what we have been doing.  It is sad that it has taken us leaving for anyone to give us even the slightest hint of some encouragement but it is nice to hear! 

One young lady expressed her anger at the situation in this circuit and said she didn’t want us to go but stay and change things but I reminded her that she hasn’t been to any of the services or events that we have put on so it’s a bit late to say that now!  She had a chance to help us bring about change but sadly missed the opportunity as did so many people. :-(

The loss of Mark’s Dad has stimulated many people to call and visit to offer condolences which has been lovely to experience.  We have always said that everyone likes a death here and this situation seems to have brought out the best in people! 

Passing things on!

Some of our friends from the Isle of Wight organised some boxes of stuff to be sent to us ages ago and we were worried it wouldn’t arrive before we left but we are thankful that we could collect it from the wharf on Tuesday – it was so exciting sorting through 8 big boxes of clothes, books, Bibles and craft materials to be able to give it all away.  Mark’s study now looks like a distribution depot! 

 

This morning we delivered 4 boxes of clothes to the local children’s home and have boxes of craft stuff to go to the lay workers, a huge pile of books to the circuit to start a circuit library and Bibles to all the churches for those who haven’t got one.  We also have a lot of our own stuff to pass on as we arrived here with 10 freight boxes and 4 cases but are hoping to only carry back 4 cases so we are giving away masses of stuff including all our books, towels and bedding as well as a lot of our clothes!  Hopefully we can replace a lot of our stuff when we get home or manage without it! 

Ready to sort the boxes from the Isle of Wight

Delivering clothes to the children's home

4 boxes of clothes gratefully received

 

 

 

Coming back to England

We are still in England on compassionate leave as Mark’s Dad was diagnosed with lung cancer in June and has been getting steadily worse. My Mum and Emily were staying with us in Guyana in September so we travelled back with them on 22^nd September and are staying in Bedford for the time being. 

This break has come at a good time for us and has enabled us to reflect and take stock of things.  Those of you who have been following my blog will have realised that things have not been easy for us – I have always tried to be as positive as possible in my writing but you can’t fail to have noticed that I have been struggling to veil the difficulties.  In the last couple of months things have come to a head and after discussion with the World Church Office we have all agreed that we need to curtail our appointment.  We intend to return to Guyana during November to pack up and gain some closure and will return to the UK before Christmas. 

Coming back to England has made me realise just how dry I have been – spiritually, emotionally and socially.  This has been a time of healing and restoration for us and there are many things that have brought me joy in the past few weeks – here are just a few of them…

• Sharing time with loved ones
• Having hot water showers and baths
• Eating all the food I have missed
• Constant electricity
• Not feeling hot and sweaty all the time
• Having my hair cut
• Having sign posts on the roads and predictable driving conditions
• Seeing the changing of the season and the beauty of the countryside
• Sleeping peacefully

I found a quote in a book I have been reading which says ‘Those who’ve survived periods of bleakness are often better at savouring good times and wise enough to understand that good times are actually great.’  That has certainly felt true for us in the last few weeks as we have gained so much pleasure from all the little things we used to take for granted.  I have also felt touched by so many friends and family who have shown us their love in many practical ways – giving us a place to sleep, doing our washing, feeding us, buying in treats that we have missed, praying for us, lending us things we haven’t got, looking after things for us…the list goes on and on and we can never repay these lovely people for all their kindness to us.  We so appreciate this especially at this time when we feel dry and just need to receive from others to restore our spirits.

 One of my most moving experiences was last Sunday when we went to worship at Jo and Ayo’s church in Manchester.  I cried through most of the service as it felt so moving to be there in a place where we were welcomed warmly, the worship music was played sensitively and tunefully and where the church was being what a church should be.  I introduced myself to a young girl who came and sat next to me and discovered she was a student visiting for the first time.  After the service Jo took her to meet their student co-ordinator and the girl was immediately welcomed and invited to have lunch with a family from the church – it seems strange that such a seemingly small thing moved me so deeply but having been starved of love and social interaction I just felt overwhelmed by their thoughtfulness and kindness and by seeing the people work as a team to show love to people. 

During the service I had a real sense that I needed to lay down my pride as this is such a humbling experience for me – I am used to being the one to give and help others and it doesn’t come easily to me to receive help.  A good lesson to learn! 

As for what we will do next we would appreciate your prayers.  Our resignation has been sent to the Guyana District, and once released from the World Church Office the Methodist church will try to find a ministerial appointment for Mark to take up – hopefully in January.  I will keep everyone informed as to the next step once we know what it is!  This is a wonderful time of refreshing for us but also an unsettling time as we prepare to lay down this ministry and take up a new one in the next year. 

 

 

 

You're SO white!

 

We have made some interesting observations about politics and race since being in Guyana.    As I have mentioned before, the country has a mixed racial population – predominantly East Indian (Indo-Guyanese) about 42%, then about 30% Afro-Guyanese and the rest are a mixture of Amerindian, European and Chinese.     Politically the country was under British rule until independence in 1966 when a series of Marxist Governments impoverished the country, ripped up the railway lines, banned imports, depleting natural resources etc and many people left to live in other countries.  I have mentioned before that 80% of people with degrees leave Guyana to live and work in the Caribbean, the USA, Canada and Britain which has left a ‘brain drain’ and a declining population which adds to the country’s economic and social problems.    The current political parties are deeply divided on racial grounds – although people seem to live alongside each other amicably, we have been told that there is an undercurrent of racism between the Indo and Afro Guyanese – for example Afro Guyanese won’t bother applying for a job at a business run by Indians as they say they only employ their own race.    When we moved here I was concerned about how we would be perceived being white and British and wondered if people would feel antagonistic towards us.  This has not been the case at all and everyone we have met has been very friendly and welcoming even if they are intrigued by us and our white skin and floppy hair!     We worried they might see us as symbols of oppression and colonialism.  In actual fact we have realised that we are the ones trying to help them break free from the oppression in the nation and the church and seeking to increase their self worth and enable them to rise up and be who God called them to be.  We also seek to encourage them to worship in their own vibrant style and not feel they have to do everything the way the British taught them which is a bit staid and belongs to a bygone era!  I think they realise that we love them and have their best interests at heart so most people have taken us into their hearts.    We have had some funny comments made to us… ·        One man said to Mark ‘You’re SO white’ in complete incredulity! ·        A young girl asked Mark, ‘Why are you so red?!’ ·        One of the youth said my hair looks like a mop!  That made me feel a whole lot better about the hideous condition of my hair! ·        When introducing me to some locals one of the youth said, ‘This is Sister Carolyn our pastor’s wife…she is white!’   I said to her that they could probably see that for themselves!    We have had children staring at us (I think some of the more rural communities never see a white person!) and when we go to Georgetown we are a target for all the beggars who associate white people with money.  Bearing in mind our training we try not to give money but carry around packets of biscuits and peanuts and Christian leaflets to give out!

A roller coaster week

More ups and downs this past week! 

Vacation Bible Schools

Each of Mark’s churches have run a ‘Vacation Bible School’ or VBS (what we would call a holiday club) so we have made sure that we have paid a visit to each one – we have taken along Nettie and taught them some action songs.  The local people do their best to give the children a fun time and they are given some colouring sheets and simple crafts – when I think about how we used to decorate the church for our holiday clubs and all the amazing crafts, activities and refreshments the children enjoyed, it is sad to see the few meagre resources available here.  We also noticed that the adult helpers didn’t speak to the children very much or encourage them in any way so we were trying to model that by chatting to the kids and having a bit of fun with them. 

Children colouring their sheets
 

Listening to Nettie's message!
 

 Another wedding!

Mark took another wedding last Saturday and it was about as farcical as the last one!  This time there were meant to be 55 bridesmaids who all arrived at various times up to and during the service.  The wedding was meant to start at 4pm but by 3.55 no-one had arrived – the groom came at 4.20pm (after Mark called him to find out where he was!) and the bride finally arrived about 5pm (so she forfeited her late fee!). 

 

The whole service made me really angry as the bridesmaids and groomsmen were just chatting, playing games on their phones, messing around in the church and the few family members who came along were outside the chapel shouting to each other, screeching with laughter etc throughout the service.  The bride and groom didn’t seem that bothered either: chatting during the service and even while Mark was praying for THEM.  The groom was making silly faces at people and just generally messing around and it felt that it wasn’t important to them at all.  There was no dignity or sense of occasion and it made me feel depressed. 

A small bridesmaid and groomsboy who didn't seem very happy!

Some of the 55 bridesmaids!

The bride arrives with the person who gave her away

Bored bridesmaids not participating in the service at all

Many people sat outside during the service chatting

Mark's colleague taking the legal part of the service

One of the bridesmaids with attitude - I just had to get a photo of that necklace!

 

Things that have made me feel down L

• I had a nasty bang on the head when a pole from our spare bed fell down on me and it really upset me.  I think the tears that had been building up for some time all came out and I thought I would never stop crying.
• We got stopped by the police again this week – we think he was showing off to his friends but he thought Mark was going too fast (he wasn’t – he was within the speed limit) and just wanted to show his authority.  Since the incident in the previous week I have been very nervous of the police checks – when you live somewhere with a corrupt Government and justice system you can never be sure that justice will be done even if you are innocent so have to constantly pray for God’s protection.  Also, the roads are so dangerous and we have so many near misses that it is very stressful every time we have to go anywhere, particularly into Georgetown.
• Although I keep trying to remain positive and hopeful, we constantly battle with disappointment – in fact disappointment is probably the word we would use to sum up most of our time here so far.  A friend sent me a lovely reading and it included these words which I found very encouraging:

‘You will see the fruit of your labours and you will not be disappointed forever, for your toils and struggles are not in vain.  Take refuge in the heart of my Father for he loves you and watches over you.’

I’m particularly holding onto that line, ‘You will not be disappointed forever’ because some days it feels like there will be nothing else but!   We are determined to hold on to God despite the circumstances.

Things to be thankful for! J

• For some months now I have been encouraging the church at Virginia to start some kind of lunch club to feed some of the very poor people in their village but didn’t want it to be us that did it – I wanted them to take ownership and run it.  Someone from the UK kindly sent us a donation for the work here so I offered it to them to use if they started a feeding programme.  Then last week we heard that they had started a lunch programme – they are going to do it once a month to start with and deliver meals to people’s homes – they went to 13 homes last week and I was SO excited that they had done it!  Next month we hope to go with them so I can get some photos to show you.  Bless their hearts. 
• We had several nights with no music last week and Saturday night was not as loud as it usually is so we are thankful for small mercies. 
• I led the Circuit Women’s Fellowship yesterday afternoon and had really encouraged as many as possible, young and old to come along to talk about how we can support each other and reach out to others – I was encouraged to have 27 women there (which believe me is a lot for this circuit!) and most amazingly of all, 22 of them were there before the start time!  Miracles can happen!  No-one said anything to me about how they felt it went (it doesn’t seem to be the done thing to encourage anyone or thank anyone here!) but the fact that they all came still encouraged me – it doesn’t take a lot! 

Under arrest!

This isn’t as bad as it sounds though it was a scary experience!  On our way back from Georgetown last week we were stopped at one of a number of regular police checks and asked for our paperwork.  They discovered that our car insurance expired at the end of July which we hadn’t twigged as the district office deal with our car paperwork and we assumed (wrongly!) that the insurance was for a year as it always is in the UK.  The police asked us to accompany them to the police station and it was a pretty scary experience!  They were talking about Mark having to go to court and making bail payment so we felt very intimidated.  Mark explained to the officer in charge what had happened and by the grace of God he took pity on us and said he would let us go if we promised to sort it out that day.  We were so thankful.  It turned out that the district office had in fact paid to renew the insurance for another 6 months but it had ‘slipped their mind’ to pass on the paperwork to us!  AAGGHH!  We are used to the disorganisation and poor time keeping causing us inconvenience and annoyance but this was the first time it could have got us into serious trouble.  Mark explained to the leaders here that if had been summoned to court on Tuesday we would have been on the plane to England on the Monday! 

Lesson learned – in future we make sure we check all our own paperwork.  We have been criticized for not checking the paperwork but in our defence and for those of you who were supporting us back then, you will remember that it was a time of extreme bewilderment, disorientation and loss so it is hardly surprising that we overlooked a date on a slip of paper!  More of a miracle that we weren’t on a plane back to the UK all those months ago with all we had to contend with.  A little pastoral care, grace and understanding goes a long way.  

Youth service

 

We continue to struggle with life here while trying to remain positive and trust God for each day.  Some days it is easier than others.  We encouraged the youth in one church to take a service with Mark a couple of weeks ago and of course when we arrived at the church not a soul had arrived before the service was meant to start.  The girl who was meant to be leading opening prayers arrived 45 mins late so missed doing that, the girl who was preaching came over an hour late and then was inappropriately dressed so I had to drive her home to change into something more modest.  The youth (who were leading the service!) gradually drifted in and finally the service got underway but we have spoken to them afterwards and expressed our disappointment that they did not take the responsibility we offered them and if they want to lead worship and make things more lively they HAVE to step up and act more maturely. 

Sex talk!

Last Wednesday we were asked to go to a district youth camp for the day to lead sessions on ‘Healthy Relationships’ which we were delighted to do.  No-one seems to speak openly about personal matters and it was great to talk about issues like pornography, dating, masturbation, marriage, domestic violence, rape, incest and other such matters in a frank way!  There were a few gasps to start with and a bit of giggling but they soon settled down and mostly listened well.  We offered prayer at the end for anyone who was struggling or needed help and one young lady (aged 16) came up to ask me to pray for her as she said her step brother had abused her when she was 11 and he was 18. 

I asked if she had told anyone and she told her mother - her mother apparently said, 'If I find out you're lying I will throw you out of this house' and nothing was done about it.  I said to her (as I'd explained in my talk) that it was not her fault - I said 'Do you understand that it was not your fault' and she shrugged and started to cry so I think she has carried the guilt of it all these years. poor girl and poor girl not being believed.  I told her I believed her and prayed for God to heal her. 

I got right on my soap box and told the girls that they must NEVER accept physical violence against them and that they have a chance to change the culture of this country by not standing for it!  I told them they are worth more than that and should not stand for it (or being raped either!).   All we can do is a drop in the ocean but maybe if it helps one person it will be worth it.  I had the girls and Mark had the boys for one session so he got to talk to the boys about how it is not acceptable to force a girl to have sex or hit her!  Sounds obvious to us but it isn't obvious here!  Mark told them to treat their women like princesses not whores!!  LOL

 

A few pics from this week - anniversary, staff day out and 'fun day'

Since writing my last blog on ‘love and marriage’ we have heard the exciting news that our younger daughter, Emily has got engaged to her boyfriend Chris.  We are so thrilled with this news – they make a perfect couple and it is exciting to be planning a trip home in the next year or so!  Mark is already fed up of me talking about weddings! 

 

Chris and Emily

 

Also since last week, we have celebrated our pearl wedding anniversary and would like to thank everyone for their good wishes.   To celebrate and try to make the day different we went to a hotel we had not previously been to – we had a lovely time there – had a swim and relaxed, ate a reasonable meal and enjoyed the hot running water!  In the 18 hours we were there I had 2 showers and a bath to make the most of it! 

Relaxing by the pool

The hotel pool

Mark and Nemo!

Going for a meal - shame about the hair!  (me not Mark!)

The hotel is near the airport so a long way from here, but meant to be one of the best in Guyana – we found it was rather overpriced for what it was and the facilities they advertise on their website and room directories were not actually present!  Typical Guyanese wishful thinking!  The website says about the rooms:

‘Relax in comfort!! Sit and enjoy a beverage from our fully stocked mini bar while captivating your eyes with a view that is simply breathtaking of our peanut shape poolside or glimpse at the lush horizon populated villages near by.’

In reality there was a fridge, but it was empty and below you can see the ‘breathtaking view’ we had from our room!! 

Breathtaking view from our room! Ha!

The website also said that the room contained a clock, radio, safe and coffee percolator but our room had none of those things!  When we checked out we asked to speak to the manager about these things and to be fair to her, she was very apologetic and let us have last night’s dinner and drinks on the house!   We have not received much quality customer service in Guyana so we were pretty impressed and intend to go back there again next time we need a break.  We did explain to her that really they need to remove things from the website and room directories if they don’t provide them as that is misleading to customers.  Hopefully they will either do that or put the things promised into the rooms! 

Last Friday we went on a staff day out to the grandly named ‘Madewini Gardens Resort’ which consisted of two pools next to a creek and a few tables and benches!   Our experience so far has shown us that people don’t tend to just do anything for ‘fun’ in the churches so I went feeling a bit heavy hearted and worried it would be a day long ‘service’ but in a different place!  We did have to have the obligatory worship session but then went in the pool and actually enjoyed the afternoon.  Mark and I were also brave and swum briefly in the creek – I was terrified as the water is black so you can’t see what it in it!  I thought to myself, ‘Well I’ve overcome a lot of fears since being here so why not?!’   I stayed in for about 3 minutes but at least I had a go!!  In this picture of Mark it seems to have blotted out his face so he looks like a ghost especially against the black water!!

Grandly named 'Madewini Gardens Resort'

By the creek

Dare I go in?!!

A ghost swimming in black water!! 

The last of this week’s pictures are from a ‘funday’ hosted by one of the churches last weekend as a fund raising activity – they had asked Mark to open the ‘funday’ at 2pm so we dutifully go there by 2pm – you’d think we’d have learned by now!!  They were nowhere near ready to start and we had to be at another meeting at 3 – so off we went to our other meeting and when we got back to the ‘funday’ about 4.30 they had started at last!!  The ‘funday’ wasn’t really our idea of fun – there was a VERY loud worship group playing so no-one could talk to each other, a few stalls selling Guyanese food (mainly chicken and rice), a merry-go-round and a couple of trampolines which all looked like they had seen better days!  We managed to stand the noise for about an hour then slipped away with ears ringing!  Everyone else seemed to be enjoying sitting listening to the music and not talking to anyone so we are glad they had a fun day and hope they raised some funds for their building project. 

The bleachers where people sat

Two dodgy looking trampolines

The merry go round

The guest worship group