Raining buckets

Last Saturday night, the sky dumped buckets of rain on Guyana.

Guyana has two seasons...rainy and dry. See if you can tell which season we are in?

As we walked the 30 minutes to church Sunday morning which was across the river in Rosignol, I snapped these photos of the houses that had literally become islands for their inhabitants during the night.

Check out their smiles! Are they real or fake?

Can you see the sign that says, "Egg for sale"?

Out for a morning stroll?

This river is usually a street.

Aha! Here's the pig that I told you about that is usually feasting on the rubbish at the back of the Rosignol market. The rain didn't seem to get him down!

But down is exactly where this cow is...down in the trench. We're wondering how it is going to get out of here. Maybe it'll have to wait until the dry season comes in a couple of months.

He is calmly munching all that green foliage in front of him (is it a she?) and doesn't seem to realize he's in a bind.

And this enormous pig was running along side of us as we walked.

Later, that day we drove towards the elders apartment in New Amsterdam when we heard all the streets around their apartment were flooded and water was running through their apartment.

The elders' apartment is on the left. The water just came right through the front doorway.

People were walking everywhere through the water. Most people took off their shoes and went barefoot unless they had boots like this gent.

The elders all have boots that today weren't tall enough to keep them dry as they walked through Cow Dam.

We found Nanda and her daughters ankle deep in front of their house.

When I learned their entire apartment was ankle deep in water, I had to see for myself. Can you imagine how it was jumping out of bed in the morning with a splash? They left the whole mess behind and came to church. What do you think of that?

By Monday, we were getting very worried about what Jade and Travis' house was like. We knew their food and fuel supply were gone so we loaded up our bags, put on our boots and hiked back to their house to look for them.

Here I am trying to walk gingerly so as not to splash mud all over myself. Also, I was keeping my eye on that alligator trench that is just off to my right. It is the one I stepped right in and was up to my waist in muddy water.

The back view of me is better.

Burt had his arms full and when he arrived at their house and ...

Here's what it looked like!

Do you think they slept dry? The slats on the sides of their house fit about as close together as the logs did on the pioneer houses...and there is no glass in their windows.

We left our muddy boots on their front porch and went inside to unloaded our bags. I cried as I hugged and kissed her sweet always cheerful face.

She immediately began to share the bananas I had brought to them with her little brothers who live close by. I know that everything I bring them will be shared with them because they have so little to eat, also, and Jade is very generous.

When we turned to leave, Travis tried to arrange the submerged boards of the path to his house so Burt could find his way from their front step back to the path that was more like a river.

Then, he led him by the hand as he carefully walked the submerged boards.

Meanwhile, 13 year old Rudell, one of Jade's 5 little brothers, surfed the muddy waters while wearing only a shirt. I know for sure because I saw!

He was having the time of his life. Check out the muddy drips of water all over his face and hair!

We turned to leave and left the 3 of them smiling on their doorstep with Coolie, another of Jade's little brothers.

Oh, Rudell, you are just having too much fun!

Their water buckets were empty and there was nowhere to refill them until the waters subside.

As we trdged the 30 minute walk home, I realized how much those scratchy boots hurt my feet and ankles. But my heart was happy that we were there to help them. We love them as if they were our very own!

Playing in the big city

What's it like in the big city...Georgetown?

They have real restaurants, supermarkets with American foods, a Zoo and the Botannical Gardens.

Here's what went on when we spent a day there with Elder and Sister White.

"Take off your shoes, climb up that tree and sit by those giggly little girls".

That's what I told myself when I spotted them lounging in this big fun tree.

Then, I had to have a photo by the Kissing Bridge with my favorite boyfriend.

Sister White said her favorite attraction at the park was the Manatees. Watch them gobble that grass from her hand.

You can only see their heads. They are as big as seals but have snouts more like huge pigs!

She made me feed them, too, and touch their rough skin that felt like an alligator.

The kids are usually my instant friends. They just seem to crave attention and I love to give it.

Oh, how I love them, love them, love them!

But, I didn't love this guy! He wanders the streets of Georgetown and is very creepy. I gave him a dollar so I could pose with him. He was repulsive.

They have real food and smoothies in Georgetown!

And haircuts. Sister Larsen lives in Georgetown and is a beautician. She has saved my life trimming up what little hair I have.

I finally have no bald spots and it is all the same length.

Does my hair look wavy? It never used to be before I got so old!

Fun in the Jungle

Who are these darling little imps and why are they hiding from me?

Stayed tuned to learn more!


Twelve of us senior missionaries were feeling the urge to have an adventure and a little R and R. So, we planned a two-day trip to an Amerindian Resort located in the jungle of Guyana where almost noone lives.

Amerindian villages are scattered through the jungle. We knew our adventure would include visiting one.


Our adventure began in a large van but soon we were...


speeding down the river towards the jungle of Guyana. The weather was hot. My skirt was getting soaked.

Do you think that bothered me one bit?



Deeper and deeper our boat took us down the river into the jungle.

The water was dark...about the color of Pepsi cola and the reflections were awesome.


Occasionally we saw a small cabin like this one with some Amerindians nearby.

An Amerindian is a native of the Americas like a North American Indian is.


We saw a lot of coconut palms...

Lots of pretty green trees and stuff...


Bamboo trees...

And more grassy roofed cabins.



Eventually, we came to what is called Santa Mission, which is the village of Ameridians. We disembarked and took a little stroll through the village.

The large brown building you see is the school. You'll see inside in just a minute.

The village was immaculte. Not a piece of rubbish was anywhere in sight.

When we arrived all the kids were in school so we walked in to take a peek. They seemed startled by our interruption.



Where is their schoolwork?



Oh, there's some! Sister White warmed right up to them.

With a little coaxing, some of them let me take their photo. But, not those little guys at the start of this blog!


Don't they look just so clean and scrubbed and bright eyed?

A few more steps from the school I found granny Ruby. Her husband was killed when her 8th child was just born. She is showing me her craft. The women all do crafts in the morning while the men hunt and work. They had a store to sell their work.

I bought a hammock and a grass skirt. Just what I needed!

Here's where Granny Ruby lives. Do you suppose she raised her 8 kids in that house or one like it? Probably.

Well, we hopped back in the boat and were on to Arrowpoint Lodge. Wow, we were impressed when it came into view. We were not to be disappointed.

The cabins were perfect enough for a honeymoon. That's what I've been telling the elders since I've been back from our trip. There was even a mosquito net over our kingsize bed.

Here's the row of several cabins that included about 9 individual rooms with baths.

Check out the food. Fried fish, chicken, rice with beans and little green pieces of bora (a vegie). Do you like fried bananas? We all loved them.

Four cute Amerindian women from the nearby village fixed these scrumptious meals for us!

Who is the foxy dude with the muscles who is hiking through the jungle?

This hike led us to these kayaks, much to our surprise.

We were told to climb in and this was all the photo I could get of our kayaking through these beautiful jungle everglades.

Burt was the rower. He kept screaming at me that I was doing it wrong so I just let him do it. I wondered why we kept running into the trees!

The trees were growing right out of the water and the reflections made them look like you could see down, down, down below the water's surface. Remember, the water is almost black.

We kayaked several times and it was my favorite part of our adventure.

An airplane crash in the jungle? How would anyone ever find you? This guy was lucky...someone did and he is still alive today.

Here's where we swam in the Pepsi Cola waters. I swam just fine in my red skirt and blouse.

It is just about time for us to leave Arrowpoint. We've all had the time of our lives and are determined to return.