Dressed in white

The elders casually mentioned to us, “There is going to be a wedding of the Boat Family on Saturday. Do you want to come?” Duh!….I course we did.

So, Saturday morning, after meeting the preacher at the appointed hour in front of the fruit stand and driving him to the beginning of where the dirt path to the boat family’s campsite began, we walked together to where they were camped.

I realized we had arrived when I could see through the bushes the mom dressed in a beautiful white wedding dress having her hair combed and face powdered with baby powder. The woman combing her hair was a member of the New Amsterdam Branch who just met the family when she accompanied the elders to one of their teaching appointments. She happened to be there when the matter of what the bride would wear was discussed and she offered to bring her wedding dress for her to wear. The dress just fit. There were clothes hanging on the line to dry. The logs they had harvested from the jungle and hoped to sell were still scattered over the campsite. Two boats were parked at the river’s edge …not one as I had seen on our first visit. Perhaps some of the family members had arrived by boat. If you look between the logs that are in front of the boat, you can see what it looks like inside the boat. I think that is where the family sleeps. The 4 elders stood waiting for the big moment with the groom/father who was all smiles wearing a tie, white shirt and dress pants, all borrowed from the young Elders.

The 3 daughters, 2 grandchildren and neice of the bride-to-be were all scrubbed clean and wearing beautiful dresses. The little son's hair had been clipped short with a pair of scissors. They were all looking fine!

This day was going to be special… the wedding of the mother and father of a very humble Amerindian/Lamanite family.

It is not uncommon here in Guyana for couples to live together, raise families, grow old together and never get married. When the missionaries find these families, teach them the gospel and the couples decide to be baptized, something must happen first…their wedding.

The elders know a preacher from another church who is authorized to do marriages. He likes the elders very much because they call him frequently to help the families set up their weddings. He travels all over Guyana to perform these marriages and he gets paid well…well for Guyana, that is.

The temperature was rose steadily as the preacher filled out the marriage papers. The littlest son held an umbrella to shield his mom from the hot noonday sun. After the marriage was complete, they wanted a photo with their legal document. After the photo, the family members excitedly yelled, “Kiss the bride!”

The bride never smiled, not even once. It wasn’t that she wasn’t happy…rather it was because most of her teeth are missing and she was very aware that I was snapping photos of her like crazy. At the end, she asked me for copies. I’ll get them this week when they return from their trip back into the jungle for more wood.

There were lots of family members in attendance…their kids, grandkids, the bride’s mom and her sister and zillions of cousins. Of course, we were there, too, looking like 2 giants next to these tiny people. The children flocked around me wanting their photo taken with me. I think they liked my camera better than me.

When we turned to leave, they all begged to hold one my hands as we walked back towards our car.

The 3 next photos are the houses we passed by. Notice the guard dog in front of the gate in the photo just below. There was a lady sitting on a chair just inside her doorway. She watched me as we passed by. I wish we could see her!These little kids waved at us as we walked by.

In the car, on the way to the ferry, the preacher, Mr. Kishun, commented that he had never done a wedding quite like that one before! Usually there is no wedding dress and they aren't out camping.

The next time I see the Bride dressed in white will be an even more exciting event. It will be the day that the family will be baptized and many of them will be wearing white. It might even happen this weekend after they’ve attended Conference…if they’ve made it back from the jungle!

During the month of March 2008, our mission baptized 215 people. Their goal was 204…the number Alma baptized in the waters of Mormon in the Book of Mormon. The area around us is where most of the baptisms are occurring. It is exciting for us to be here in Guyana when so many are joining the church.

Cooking Guyanese Style

The Rose Hall Relief Society president, Geeta, asked for volunteers to help cook the meal for the "Easter Monday" Branch activity. I happened to be visiting their Relief Society that day so I volunteered to help. We agreed to meet Geeta at 6 am to go cook at the Rose Hall branch president’s house. Rose Hall was a 30 minute ride away. Of course, dad had to come and cook, too.

The cooks

Six of us ladies (and a few men) comprised the cooking crew and we cooked the whole meal outside in two very large outdoor "cooking pots". The whole process took us about 4 hours.
Long boards were used as the firewood and they were pulled in and out of the fire as needed to regulate the temperature of the fire under the pots while cooking the food. A pretty ingenious method, I thought. It seemed a much better way to keep the food from burning than we ever used at the Girls’ Camp I attended.

Pot heating

Pot of raw chicken

Stirring the chicken

After the pot was heated, 25 pounds of raw chicken was added! It was stirred occasionally and eventually covered with a lid.

We cooked three dishes: chicken, fried rice and a dessert made of a mixture of flour, margarine, cherries, raisins, peanuts and Koolaid. Dad wasn’t too excited about eating a dessert of straight margarine and flour when he was offered a sample. I hoped Geeta didn’t notice that I finished both of our samples so she wouldn’t think we didn’t like the special dessert they had prepared.

Spreading the rice on table

Scooping it back up

Before we could prepare the fried rice, we had to wash it, spread it out on a sheet on a table to dry and then it was gathered up again. You’ll see that dad and I both got in on this part of the rice preparation.

Ingredients for the rice

Burt with finished rice

Women scooping the rice out quickly before it burns

The ingredients for the rice included green bora (looks like long skinny string beans)and carrot, both chopped fine, corn, a brown paste of spices, and a couple of bottles of flavoring.

Preparing dessert

Me stirring the dessert with the ladies

Men stirring the dessert vigorously

Women standing with 2 bowls of finished dessert

One time I was trying to do my part by stirring the mixture with a huge wooden stick. One of the women, grabbed the stick from me, and began to stir vigorously. Apparently, I wasn’t stirring fast enough. Some help I was… I had yet to learn the art of Guyanese cooking!

Geeta sitting on the ground washing all the dishes

When we were finished cooking, all the dishes and pots we used were washed by Geeta as she sat on the ground with her usual big smile. She washed them with a little bar of soap and a sponge. I was fascinated watching her as she used her hand to swish and rinse each dish and pot we used with the cold water that was stored in a small cistern next to where she sat on the ground. The cistern has a cover that was pulled back and you can see it in the photo.

It was a very fun morning and we made some good friends. After the meal was cooked, we ate simple bread sandwiches made with a spread made of margarine, grated cheese and hot sauce. By this time I had kicked off my sandals and was walking around barefoot. It is the custom to take off your shoes and leave them outside the door before entering someone’s house. In this case, it was just easier to leave them off.

One of these feet is not like the others...

They seemed to be amused that I would walk around barefoot. Maybe it was my white feet that were catching their attention. Later, they giggled and giggled when I set my white foot next to their brown ones and took this photo.

When I asked each woman how long they had been members of the church, they each said anywhere from 1-3 months, except the R S President, Geeta, who had been a member for 3 years. Most of them attend the weekly fireside on Joseph Smith that dad and I teach in their branch. They are starting to be our good friends.

Party Photo

Party Photo

Party Photo

Party Photo

Here are a few photos of the party that was held later that day at the only nice church building in the area in Canje. I couldn’t get everyone in the photo because there were so many. Aren’t the children just scrumptious?

Every week their branch is growing. Over 90 people attended last week. The 4 elders in their branch baptize new members every week.

Real Chickens.

When I saw the yummy chicken the Rose Hall sisters were using to prepare the meal for the Rose Hall branch activity, I was excited. I asked Geeta, "Where did you buy that chicken? Will you take me to where they sell it?"

We haven’t been able to buy anything that resembles meat or chicken since we’ve been in Guyana…which is one month. The chicken pieces they sell in the supermarkets are all the size of little chicken wings. They are nothing to get very excited about…and I was very excited about the prospect of eating real chicken like I saw cooking in the huge outdoor pot!

Geeta and I agreed to meet after the fireside the following Tuesday and she would take me to the chicken place to buy chickens. She warned me that the chickens would still be alive and that I would select which ones I wanted to buy. Then, they would and pluck them while I watched. Sounds gruesome, but I was more than willing if I could have real chicken to eat.

I got my camera ready as we walked in the chicken place. The man asked me how many chickens I wanted to buy and before I could answer, he said he only had 4 left. I said I’d take all four. He walked in his walk-in refrigerator and brought out 4 plucked and cleaned chickens. Apparently, we had arrived too late in the day to watch the killing and plucking.

Me with the daughter of the man that sold us the chickens

I was a little disappointed they weren’t still alive and I couldn’t watch the whole "show". I had to content myself with taking a photo of me standing next to the chickens that hadn’t yet met their fate!

Ladies who came to watch the "show"

Three of my new friends from Rose Hall came with us. I guess they just wanted to watch my show…me with the chickens!

Raw chicken before I cut it up

When I got home with those chickens, I finished cleaning and cutting them up before I put them in my fridge. I was a little surprised to see what I pulled out of the bags…the entire claws and the heads. I was reminded of one time when I was a little girl. My older sisters had painted bright red the toenails on the claws of some chickens my mother had bought.

Elders getting ready to eat my precious chickens

I knew I would enjoy our chickens more if we could share them and so, I called the 4 elders that live in walking distance of our place and asked them when I could make a chicken dinner for them. Today, we had that meal. Those elders ate and ate… oven-baked chicken, mashed potatoes, sliced tomatoes, corn, sliced pineapple, bananas and watermelon and deviled eggs.
Their eyes bulged at the sight of strawberry ice cream and brownies at the end of the meal. Amid their cries of "Oh, I’m so full," they ate nearly the whole pan and had second helpings of the ice cream, too! One of them said, "That was the best meal I’ve had since I’ve come to Guyana!" I thought to myself, "He’d better say that because I know the elders here live on cold cereal, eggs, toast and Top Ramen. "

Later, I got my wish...

I was wishing after I bought those first chickens that I could have watched them get killed and plucked. Well, today my wish came true. We bought 3 more chickens and watched as they carefully weighed each live chicken, and then put them in funnel-like fixtures attached to the wall with their heads hanging out the holes in the bottoms of the funnels.

Each throat was cut and the nearly beheaded chickens continued to kick and wiggle. They were then plopped into a big vat of water. When they were pulled out, they were no longer kicking. It was obvious to me that they were finally dead! To remove their feathers, they were dropped into a circular machine. I couldn’t see what was going on inside the machine but when the chickens were pulled out, they looked like little turkeys like you buy at Thanksgiving, all clean and ready to cook.

Before putting each chicken into a plastic bag, one of the chicken guys chopped off their claws and finished removing the dangling heads. I knew he was going to add the heads and claws to my sack and so I spoke up and said, "Oh no, I don’t want any heads and claws." My Guyanese friend I had brought along quickly spoke up and said, "Oh, I want them. Give them to me!"

Later, as I washed and cut them up at home, I could feel that they were still warm and their unpleasant smell made me wonder if I really want to eat chicken. I’ll be thankful when I can buy a bag of frozen chicken breasts once again from Costco!

I took no photos because my camera battery was as dead as the chickens. Maybe that is just as well!

I thought to myself, "Maybe it is better if we don’t always get everything we wish for!"

Boat Family

The Elders called.

“Can you come with us tonight? We have found a special Lamanite family and we are teaching them.” I asked, “Do I wear my boots?” They assured me I wouldn’t need them. I was disappointed. I haven’t been able to wear them yet, because it hasn’t rained in about 2 weeks and the huge puddles have all dried up.

This special family had a stack of wood that they were hoping to sell. They had harvested the wood in the jungle. They knew they had to guard it in order to protect it from the pirates and bandits that would try to steal it. They parked their boat by the wood and planned to stay there until the wood was sold.

As a side note, we had a member man come to our gate last week asking for money to get back to Georgetown where he lived. He had been fishing the rivers close by where we live and pirates had stolen everything he had except his boat, including the motor, his food, the fish he had caught and I don’t know what else. I thought pirates were only in Peter Pan! Back to the story of the boat people…

Straight ahead you can see where the path starts.

We began walking down a dirt path with the elders toward where the family had parked their boat. It seemed to me more like we were going for a hike, because there were no houses or buildings in sight.

We continued down this path for some time. Eventually, I noticed the Canje River on my left… a smaller river that branches off from the big Berbice River…the one we have to cross quite often by way of a very old ferry.

I noticed a strange looking boat. It was long and narrow with some kind of roof. There was a girl that never left the boat. She seemed to be the boat’s watchwoman. When I realized it belonged to the family we sought and I began to wonder, “How does the whole family sleep in there together?”



When we arrived, the parents and several members of the family were already seated on some logs that were set up like a small set of bleachers. The rest of the children were called to join them on the “bleachers” and I counted 7 children and 2 parents. Then I really began to wonder how they all fit together in that boat. “They must sleep in a pile of bodies”, I thought.

When I pulled out my camera, the kids got excited and all began to dance around and pose for me and ask for individual photos. With my camera finally tucked away, the 2 elders began to teach this family.

We started with a song and they all listened intently as the four of us missionaries sang, “I am a Child of God”. Everything the elders taught that night was very simple and basic…Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost. It was geared to the youngest child so all could understand. The parents smiled and agreed to pray and seemed to love the message the elders taught.

The elders kept calling on dad and me to comment during their lesson. We never knew when it would be our turn to speak so we tried to listen carefully and be ready whenever they would say, “What do you think faith is, Sister Bullock?” One time I let my mind wander just a bit, and sure enough he called on me again, and I had to say I had nothing more to add.” What a doof I was! We loved our time with this family, whom I found to be very humble and charming.

When the final prayer was finished and we started back down the path towards home, the children all wanted to walk with us and hold our hands. They had a big green pet parrot that Elder Williams carried on a stick as he walked. I kept thinking about bird flu and kept my distance from the bird.

My favorite thing to do here is to go with the elders to visit the families that they are teaching. Every visit is a sacred adventure. During these visits, I feel like I am in heaven!

P.S. I just learned the mother and father of the Lamanite family are getting married tomorrow so they can be baptized on Sunday after they attend church. They are getting married down where their boat is parked and we’re going. I’ll fill you in on the details later.

She washed my feet!

The last thing that Elders Lucero and Webb said before we met them at the bridge to go visit and teach two families was, “I’m sure you won’t need your boots!” It was nearly 6 pm when we met and it hadn’t rained in several days.

We were late and darkness was beginning to set in. We walked together with the elders through the dirt roads of “Cow Dam” towards the tiny house of an investigator family with whom they had an appointment to teach.

The road ended, and just a narrow path continued. Suddenly, we could see only a line of boards in front of us through the swamp. We hesitated for just a moment and then carefully began our trip across the “boards” to their house. We could see the small house and Jade’s cousin, Allyson, and her family in the distance in front of us. It was a ways away.

In this photo Elder Bullock seems to be looking back wondering if we are crazy to keep on going!

As it quickly began to darken, and we all struggled to balance ourselves and walk along each long board so as not to fall into the deep swamp on either side, I couldn’t help but wonder how we were ever going to cross these same boards in an hour or so when our “visit” and the lesson were over…in the pitch black of night!

Fourteen of us were squeezed into the tiny humble living room of Allyson’s home. We all managed to find a spot so as to kneel for prayer and the lesson began.

The elders taught beautifully and the spirit was strong. The mother had read her assignment from the Book of Mormon and had taken notes. The elders were excited at her enthusiasm and receptiveness to their message.

The little 8 year old girl sat close at my side on the love seat during the lesson, and gently stroked my white toes. They must have seemed so strange to her in comparison to her dark chocolate colored ones. At the end of the lesson, she let me help her give the closing prayer as we once again all knelt for prayer.

The moment was memorable and sweet in spite of the mosquitoes that I could see darting around the room in the dim light. Jade and her 16 month old baby were there and at times added her testimony during the lesson. I know her cousin and her children will be baptized soon and hopefully the husband will follow, also.

We hugged and I kissed each one goodbye. We put on our shoes and began our careful walk back across the boards. Elder Webb led the way and I held gently to his shoulder bag just to keep my balance. Jade followed me closely while holding her baby in her arms.

Suddenly, Elder Webb made a wrong step and was down in the swamp! I was holding on to his bag, so of course, I went down, also. Jade and her baby followed…all of us down in the water and mud. I had to give a couple of firm tugs with my foot to release my sandal from the mud before I could step back onto the board. My long skirt was laced with mud, but at last we made it back to the dry path.

Jade immediately said, “Oh, let me wash your muddy feet and shoes,” and she ran into the small house that was at the side of the path. She immerged immediately with a bucket of clean, fresh water and knelt as she tenderly washed each of my feet, swishing the water carefully through each of my muddy toes and sandals. I'm sure that little house had no running water and that the bucket of water must have been their fresh water supply.

I couldn’t help but think of the Savior as he knelt to wash his disciple’s feet and how they must have felt. I said to her, “Oh, you didn’t need to wash my feet,” and her answer back to me was, “Something inside me just told me I had to do it!” I felt such a reverence and love for her. After she washed my feet, I felt like kissing her feet!

As we walked with Jade and the Elders towards her place for the meeting with her and her husband, Travis, we could see the red glow of the eyes of the alligators in the trench beside the path. One of the elders threw a piece of a pumpkin right at the alligator’s long toothy snout and it quickly snapped at the pumpkin and disappeared out of sight.

The meeting in Jade’s tiny home began with us singing “I Love To See The Temple” and we all knelt to pray. The elders talked to them about them setting the goal to be sealed in the temple.

They were very excited at the prospect of going to the temple. We promised them that if they would do all they could to prepare for it, that they would be blessed and perhaps even miracles would happen and doors would open to help them accomplish it.

After we knelt again for prayer, I snapped a photo of their photo of their recent marriage before they were baptized a few months ago.

Then, I snapped some other photos of all of us inside their tiny dark living room. This was the same home and family where we held the family home evening a couple of weeks ago that felt like we were in a little corner of heaven.

As we started down the dark, dirt path towards home, I turned to take one last photo of their home. Everything in my view finder was totally black…I wondered if anything would show up in my photo and here is what I got…one priceless-to-me photo of Jade and Travis in front of their home that is set in a little corner of heaven.

I loved how I felt when the evening was done. I want to feel this feeling again and again that I know comes from serving others and loving the people that we serve and with sharing with them what is most precious to us, the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know this is the reason that Burt and I had to serve another mission before it was too late and we were too old!