Merry Christmas

We just want to wish All of You a very Merry Christmas!!!
These past few weeks have been very busy for us. A container of goods came in from Salt Lake and we got to be there for the Handing Over Ceremony where all the items were handed over to the people back in a very poor area. The leaders, teachers and those who deal with the very poor, were all there to help distribute the goods. It was a big deal! Dad had to speak and he told them how the Humanitarian program works within the Church. He did a very good job and it was a great experience for us!! This was on local T.V. and the newspaper. We also had the experience of taking a wheelchair to a man who was in great need of a chair. We have included our experience with him in the previous blog.
When we have these experiences, we are so happy and excited to find more projects and people to help…and just as I was feeling so great..our power went out and was out for over two days. I started to grumble about it and while this was going on, we needed to meet with some ladies and take them shopping for a project we were working with them on. As we spent hours with them, we visited and talked about our families and they told us that they had never lived in a house with power or running water and they are mothers with families!!! We were in our air conditioned car that they were enjoying and I was reminded that they have no vehicles!! I realized once again that I had no reason to be complaining at all!!! Let me tell you…at home we are really used to the good life and we take it so much for granted!! I hope I never do again!! Now a few days later, we haven’t had water for 2 days and already, I’m back to wanting to grumble a bit, and I keep thinking of all the many people who have never experienced power and water in their homes!! Dad keeps saying to me “Hey, we are having fun,,it’s just like camping! It’s just more hot and humid than the Uintahs!! For some reason his talking like this isn’t making it any easier for me!!!
Also, with Christmas time here in Guyana, the people will do anything to get extra money and the crime escalates. It’s been very bad the past few weeks. The daily newspaper today was telling about the crime and these are the words they use…they talk about the bandits and the robbers and the pirates are hijacking ships and boats in this area!! It’s unbelievable the things that take place here!! Sometimes we feel like we are reading a book rather than actually living in all this!! The people here at Christmas time also clean their houses inside and out and clean their yards. This is a tradition here.
Living here in Guyana is teaching me so much!! Everyday, we learn something new and experience something we never thought we would experience.
One more thing…we had a Branch talent show last Saturday afternoon. It consisted of children through adults. Same church but different culture..anything goes!! The teen-agers were the most interesting. It was unbelievable!! Guyana consists of six nationalities and our Branch is made up mostly of the two most populace…Afro-East Indian. The talent show was three hours long. After 2 hours, we had intermission where they served hot dogs and then continued on for another hour with anything that anybody wanted to do!!
Hope all of you enjoy the holiday season and remember the real meaning of Christmas,It’s always better to give that to receive!!
From up on the mountain in Grenada, looking down on two cruise ships and the people getting off to shop at the mall, andmarkets there..