This fiery young need greater heralding from Trinidad had been one of my main contacts in the whole planning process. She, along with a few other like-minded single girls, lived right behind the Skeldon Kingdom Hall. Her other two roommates, Amy and Michaela, were up and around when she and I prepared for the field ministry. Josh and Ribz then met up with us at the house and we made our way to go to the service meeting.
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| Extremely excited for our first service day....some more than others... |
Now, you'll have to know, many of the friends in this area of Skeldon/Corriverton do not own vehicles. Wherever you need to get to, there are plenty of taxis and minibusses all vying loudly to get your patronage, or you could just walk. This morning, we had a ride from one of Kayla's elders in the Brighton Congregation, "Uncle" Richard Joseph.
(As a note, in Guyana a term of respect for those your senior is calling them either uncle or aunty. It reflects the same code of familial respect prevalent among the Indians. Also, many people you meet in the ministry refer to anyone they view as religious as "brother" or "sister".)
A short ride later, we arrived at a shaded area in front of one of the houses in the territory. We had a nice size field service meeting, after which we divided and made our way to go witnessing. My partner for the rest of the day was Kayla, while Jonatán stayed with Josh and another brother named Michael Somwaru.
To get a good idea of how preaching is done down here in this part of Guyana, picture the scene: the extremely happy-colored houses are all right by the road. Bright, lush gardens decorate the front yards, peppered by the occasional fruit tree. There's then what is called the "bottom house", the lower open level of a home set for the sheer purpose of hanging hammocks, cooling down and "gaffing". Gaffing is a cultural staple, a lively conversation between host and guest, shooting the breeze in a most neighborly fashion. You stand outside the front gate, call out loudly "INSIDE?" and await an invite to enter their bottom house. Once inside, you can comfortably begin talking and getting to know your host.
Anyone who knows me well enough knows that I do not regularly raise my voice very loudly. The whole aspect of having to call out "INSIDE" made me feel quite a bit nervous. After a couple of practice rounds with the ever helpful Kayla, I attempted my first door in Guyana. A middle-aged mother named Sonia called us into her bottom house and invited us immediately to talk. She then proceeded to call her daughter and husband (Trisha and Junior, respectively) to join the conversation. I began a study with Sonia and Trisha from the Good News brochure right from the get go.
After that amazing first experience, we continued out in service down the territory. Kayla and I then made our way to some of her return visits. This led us to one of her studies named Lena. She is a former Hindu who has since been progressively studying for about two or three years. She and her daughters are attending meetings regularly and associating with the congregation. A warm and loveable person, she immediately opened her home to us and fed us lunch. (See next post Nom-Noms of Guyana: Georgetown/Skeldon Edition for more details on our exotic meal).
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| Such a hospitable host, very typical quality of the Guyanese |
To wrap up our service day, we called on two of Kayla's highly intelligent young girl studies, Elizabeth and Ria. Listening to these small children (11 and 9 respectively) made me feel the first pang for my own Bible studies back at home. Few things are as theocratically endearing as hearing a young person declare their faith and learn about Jehovah. It truly is beautiful.
A rousing yet hilarious game of Bananagrams (aka Scrabble on speed) finished this very fulfilling day. If Skeldon is THIS good, imagine Orealla.....
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| Word |
Stay tuned for Day 3!
Love, The Adventurous A.
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