Me again... The pen is mightier than the sword

Or in this modern day age, one could say the stylus is mightier than the sword! I talk of course about the use of pictures and technology when preaching.

Today's meeting was combined with our sister group and I had a young lad sit next to me for the talk and watchtower. He is a deaf study of about 14 years and hadn't been able to study the watchtower for some reason. Today's was the Proclaimers article, about the history of the Organisation etc. He had not one clue about what was being discussed, so I took out my iPad and went to work. Within a few mins, he had a full grasp of the content, had answered twice and had commandeered the iPad and was now drawing his own pictures from what he understood! I know most of you don't understand how amazing this is, but to us, this was brilliant to see.

It was made more poignant to me as the young lad has missed a month of meetings. He is having a really rough trot at the moment as he lives in an extremely alcohol fueled, abusive house and is currently taking some severe beatings. Some days he has been prevented from attending the meetings, other days he just doesn't want to go. Seeing him there today, his face lighting up when he saw me and seeing him thrive through using pictures, it made me so desperately to spend time teaching the lad. In Jehovah's care do we leave him.

I enclose a few pictures of the type I try to use in my min or when showing deaf how to note-take. They are not great works of art, but they work!

 

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Through new eyes...

Through new eyes do old sights become clear...

 

Good evening my lovelies. We have just got back from our 'monthly' combined sign language meeting with our sister group. I paranthesize monthly, as we haven't had one, or I haven't been at one for about five! There were forty something in attendance, with twenty-four deaf. Lucas, the brother visiting from the U S of A delivered the talk in fine style and did himself proud, having only been here for a few weeks. He actually delivered a talk in the morning in English and then this one in ASL - not uncommon here to give two talks, but I am sure it was strange to him.

It has been nice to have Lucas and Dan here for the last few weeks. First and foremost, it is fab to have other blokes around! True they are American, but they cannot be blamed for that and science has taught us that even monkeys can learn to communicate, so there is hope for them yet! Honestly tho, the serve where the need is nicer crew tend to be wholly female and there is only so much a man can take. The guys arrive with beer and don't turn up their noses to 'its gone midday - anyone for a rum'. Bliss.

I was with the two of them on the ministry the other day, doing the thing I enjoy the least here - search work. I have become jaded to certain things - familiarity breeds contempt I guess - but being with the two of them was just refreshing. Everything and everyone we encountered was met with enthusiasm and delight - their taking pictures of flowers I have seen a thousand times, laughing at the transport, marveling at the accents. It is nice to see through a borrowed pair of eyes the wonderful richness of Guyana (tho buried under a pile of rubbish) and the absolute privilege of having served here uninterrupted for over a year now.

This refreshed perspective becomes more poignant as I contemplate a trip home. It has been a year and a month since I left blighty - I missed the riots, the Olympics, the rains and the sun. I miss the people and the white wine! Hopefully it will be a small visit before returning to Guyana, not the one in Africa, but we will put that in Jehovah's hands. I am thinking of five weeks or so from the middle of dec. Whilst at times I have wanted to run from this place, it does feel like home. Having the boys come and throw new light on it, illuminates me to the place that this country occupies in my heart.

'Anyone for rum...?'

Posted with Blogsy

Quite a sight I did see...

You know how I love to share the good and the lovely with you all, so here is a treat.

 

Whilst sitting in the bus that had just parked to wait for more passengers, I turn to my left to see that we had stopped by a gentleman dressed in sackcloth - not completely out of the realms of bizarre in our fair town. Then looked more close did I to see that he was peeing into a coke bottle. 'Gross' me thinks in my naive manner, for next, he raises the now fully and certainly warm bottle and...

 

 

Welcome to Guyana! Figured you would like pictorial support of this part of the process, rather than the literal front end section.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Back in the groove

Hey all

 

Well, it has been a long week so far! Trying to get back into the routine of everyday ministry after finishing my hours early, having a week away, Jo come, a week away, convention and then school in Trinidad and a week in Tobago, topped off by a week preparing for circuit assembly - its hard! I am sun burnt, spotty from the sweat and all over tired: it's only been three days! Three days but twenty hours later, it has been fun.

 

I promised myself I was going to post more ministry experiences, to prove that I am actually doing something out here, so here are some pics.

 

This is Denzel. He is the amerindian lad who accompanied Jo and I upriver for a few days. He is the son of a witness but wasn't really doing so well and had no interest in moving forward. I was asked to study with him and literally a few weeks later, he was on the school. Fast forward a few months, he was a publisher and now he is talking about baptism. He is such a joy to study with - so intelligent, so articulate. To top it off, he is learning to sign so hopefully when he takes that final step of baptism, a whole door of opportunity will open for him.

This is Lucas explaining a paragraph to my study Vishal. Lucas is an American (!) who has come for five weeks with another guy, Dan. They are from Albany in New York and whilst Dan is in English, Lucas is in sign language. It is so nice to have the support and company of some brothers for a change! Vishal is a 15 year old boy who up until three or so years ago had no communication and was so lethargic he couldn't get up. When contacted by the witnesses, he showed no interest and no movement was made. After taking a few months up in the north of the country, he came back and was thirsty for knowledge. The deaf brother who was here made him a pet project and he suddenly was signing near perfect ASL and coming out with some really profound stuff. Sadly, once that brother left, vishal got a job, fell into a crowd and has been terrible at coming to meetings and assemblies. I went to see him yesterday and he was really excited about the study, about coming to the meeting and was able to explain the whole Listen to God brochure to us with every detail correct. We talked about him getting back to meetings and he said he wants to be able to join the school and preach and he knows that Jehovah has not been happy with him of late! So amazing to see him. I think he will be having at least two studies a week, maybe three for the next few months to really give him a chance to thrive and get back to where he was.

This couple are a deaf couple at the edge of our territory. It takes about 40 mins or so to get to their house. Their story is interesting. He is the same age as me and is known as the dumb boy tyre shop. He runs a tyre repair shop and is one of the only ones on his part of the coast. Like a good hindu boy, he lives with his parents and cares for them. When I met him, Navin was a true kid, like a teenager and really ADHD - couldn't get him to focus or pay attention for more than two minutes. The brother who had visiting was at his wits end and was ready to give up on him. As you all know, I like a challenge and said I would take him on. I soon found out that he knows some ASL and a whole load of bible knowledge from a couple who visited years before. He was married to a deaf lady, but they separated due to family conflicts. Anyway, he was looking for a new wife, I kept pleading with him to take his wife back and then suddenly one day she was back in the house with the two kids in tow. Whilst very shy at the start, the wife is coming more and more out of her shell and today she came and sat with me and chatted for ages. They are having problems again but both were very open with me and accpepting of the counsel and encouragement I was able to offer from the bible. They asked me to come back on Friday to talk to the children as they are being very unruly too. So, looks Ike their study is back on too. Hopefully, something can come of it, even if it is just that they become a happier family.

 

Anyway, a lovely day on the min. Good to be back. Just what I needed!

 

More to follow in due course.

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Update - Pioneer meeting and Circuit Assmebly

Hey readers!



Quick update. We had our circuit assembly this weekend, which meant preceding it we had the pleasure of the circuit pioneer meeting. A real treat was holding it in the newly built kingdom hall in Rosignol, over the floating bridge (third largest in the world) and about an hour away. We travelled up altogether, us pioneers from Skeldon congregation. The hall is, I think, the first to be built in Guyana under the 'countries that are poor and can't build good' programme. The lads built this, another up a few towns and are now in the capital building a new one for the English, who share with the sign language.



Anyway, our motley crew of Skeldonians were proud to boast 6 new pioneers just announced, bringing our congregation ranks up to 15 in full time service - 13 regular pioneers and two missionaries. We also had two lads from America here who are visiting for two weeks - one in English and one in sign, bringing us to 17! Sadly, one of the pioneer's daughters is seriously ill at the moment and had to stay home, missing her first pioneer meeting. So, the picture below is missing dear Barbara, but she was with us in spirit.

The week also featured the Circuit Assembly. With a peak of 1044 and 24 deaf, it was a lovely weekend. The power stayed on, the rains have finished and there was a cool breeze coming off the water - happy days. We had 8 baptised, including two deaf. Three were from our cong! We are on a roll! Soon, our whole hall will be baptised! The two deaf are from New Amsterdam group and are both under 16.

 A great weekend. Our DO is Lemuel Smith from Trinidad and is hilarious. Gave some brilliant talks. Haven't got another until March now, so we can get back into ministry and routines. That said, I need to go to Suriname next week, as I only got a month at Immigration coming in, which also necessitates a trip to the capital for a visa trip. Groan. No end to interruptions.



Til the next happenings. ;)

Posted with Blogsy

Good to be back...

Hey all

 

Reporting once again from the steaming and tropical Guyana, specifically from my hammock! I am back home and it is good to be back, as the eponymous post is thus named. Well, let's qualify that by saying it is weird and a little challenging to be back, but I am glad that I am. I have really missed the people so it was great being at the meeting on Sunday and seeing everyone, and sitting with my studies who had all prepared and had answers ready!

 

I have come back to the lovely news that we have six new ones joining the pioneer ranks - a mixture of ages and one brother. There are also a few who are doing their questions for the circuit assembly this weekend, including two deaf from our sister group, tho I won't give details yet until it has actually happened. So, it is a very nice atmosphere to come back to and a very encouraging one after pioneer school. One last piece of good news is that one of my deaf studies has a common-law wife and it has been a huge obstacle for his progression. She is hearing but a strict Hindu and has no interest in the witnesses. It has been really hard with the deaf one as he really can't move forward until the situation is 'resolved' one way or the other. Well, I heard that she has accepted a study which started on Saturday! So watch this space.

 

This week is a hive of activity. We have circuit assembly this weekend, so Wednesday we have rehearsals, Thursday set up, Friday pioneer meeting and then the weekend - phew! I had wanted to arrive and get stuck into the ministry, but will have to put that on hold for this week, as I have to sort out a lot of the back work for the interpreting and tech teams. We have two new brothers coming across from the states for five weeks, one for sign and one for English, arriving tomorrow, so that is nice news and should be a boost too.

 

So, look out for more news and reports coming soon.

 

Reporting from Skeldon, Guyana for the BBC.

Posted with Blogsy

Completely Forgot...

I completely forgot to post this, which is terrible of me, but it has been so busy... blah blah.

Anyway, just before the magical arrival and visit of my sister, we had our three-day convention here in Berbice (I say 'here' - I am on a beach in Tobago, but you know what I mean). Attended by a thousand-odd from our district, the rain held off, the power stayed on and the race horses didn't come out to practice during the keynote address this year!

It has been a year since I arrived in Guyana, having arrived a week or so before the convention. For the last six months or so, I have been studying with a deaf man called Trevor. He is about 35 and has two children who are hearing. Trevor was one of the first deaf to study in Skeldon and has done so for about 8 years. Each time someone comes and goes, he is handed off to the next - regardless, he has continued to study and make the meetings and ministry etc. For the last year or so, he has been in a funk: he was a bit attitude-y to everyone, would do minimal ministry, arrive late and leave straight away. I sat him down and had a good ole chat with the boy and it transpired that he really wanted to get baptised but felt bad in himself as he felt he didnt understand enough.

*Side Point - here in Guyana we 'use' ASL, but most of the deaf have no clue what it is. They have a form of signing that is natural, but sadly, most brothers dont use it when preaching. The deaf have a near-permanent furrowed brow as they try to work out the meaning of even the most simple sentences.

Anyway, we had a chat about it and decided to halt his study in the LV book and review what he knows from the LL brochure. Well, a complete 180 occurred: suddenly he was animated, explaining things and thirsty for clarification on points and signs that he has pretended to know for the last few years. He started coming early to meetings, staying late chatting with the other deaf and the hearing, coming out on the ministry with us all, even taking time off to come out mid-week. Long story short, you could really see Jehovah's spirit moving him... and he got baptised at the DC!!! He is the first deaf man to be baptised in our whole area that I know of and probably one of five in the country. It was a proud day for everyone who has been involved with Trevor over the years. Here are some pics...

 Trevor was one of two DEAF that got baptised (unheard of...). We had them answer the questions from their seats in the deaf section.

 Trevor!!!

 Me and my boys! From the left: Michael (baptised, I do the LV with him, he is helping out with tech for sign language); Mark (teenager in the hall who has just become an UBP); Nicholas (my study who wants to get baptised soon...); Dellon (great young lad who recently became a UBP alongside his cousin standing to his right. He lives here in Guyana but the rest of his family live in Suriname); Denzel (my study - 13 years old. He is the cousin of Dellon and recently became an UBP. He is learning sign language and is amazing at it! He is talking about baptism: we shall watch for that one...); Damien (son of Trevor, the deaf BROTHER. Used to be very shy but is coming out of himself a bit more.)

 Me and Daniel Adams - this innocuous looking, but crazy, individual is 19 years old from a neighbouring cong. He is hilarious. Recently invited onto the Countries with limited resources building programme thingy (none of us know the name: I call it the countries that are poor and cant build good programme (Zoolander-reference)). He has spent the last year going around Guyana building much-needed halls.

Last note. This picture is very special. Due to my being in Trinidad for the School, the missionary brother had to take over the CBS in ASL. He sadly fell ill and that left... TREVOR! Having been baptised for a whole two or three weeks, he had to step in and take the CBS with hardly any notice! Jehovah must have been with him as he apparently did an amazing job! Very proud!

Farewell Dear Friend...

I speak of course to Tobago! Today is my final day and as I sit here and try to find my flight details, I feel whimsical and have been impelled to share some more delights from this fair isle.

Yesterday I was able to get a car to drive around the island - thrown in as part of my accommodation fee (sweet!) - and made full use of it! I managed to drive around the whole island in about 8 hours and ticked off most of the sights and sites that are listed in the guidebook.

I must say, I am glad I stayed on the north-side of the island: it is the caribbean side, as opposed to the Atlantic side. The winds are less and the beaches are far more beautiful, with much calmer water. It is a sad thing that to be honest, there are so many beaches and bays on Tobago that they all kind of began to look like one another and my pictures all kind of look like each other after a while. That said, cant say enough about this place!

In sympathy for those in fairer climes, here are a few more photos to whet your appetite for your next jaunt, wherever that may be.

Welcome to Trinidad Baby!!!

Well, a slightly belated post due to problems with my blogging app, but here I am at last. I am currently sitting on my veranda in Tobago, having booked a week of relaxation post-pioneer school. It is beautiful here, but more of that in a bit.

Trinidad was a special experience, as I was privileged to be part of the 4th ASL Pioneer School in Trinidad - the 124th Class in Trini. There were 25 of us in total, hailing from Trinidad, Antigua, Guyana (including two from the States and yours truly from the UK) - a truly international class. The instructor, in his final comments, noted that this is the most experienced class he has ever taught, being made up of need greaters, interpreters, special pioneers, elders, an ex-Bethelite, and an MTS-grad. It was definitely a mixed bag! Here is a photo of us from Guyana - I will have to do a separate post with the whole class as need to take a photo of the photo.

To be honest, I went with a couple of expectations that were not fulfilled, but I gained so many other things from the class - both through instruction and association. It was such an intense experience, compounded by the fact that it was conducted in ASL - and 1980’s ASL at that. Trinidad is still very much ‘behind’ in terms of how the organisation have moved forward with natural signing, so I think they gained something from us ‘outsiders’ coming too and being able to share experiences and ideas. 

One of the unexpected highlights of the trip were my hosts! Due to last minute changes, I ended up being placed with a couple who were the most fantastic hosts that I could ever have wished for. Che and Natalie Afong: THANK YOU!!! These guys really showed me a good time and, although it meant a little candle-burning-at-both-ends, made the experience fantastic on all levels. They seemed to have the intention of making me taste every type of food on offer, thus I have put on a huge amount of weight!!! Thankfully, here in Tobago I am just eating fish and swimming, so most of it has gone already! Their generosity was truly an expression of the ‘brotherhood’ at its best. 

Two weeks over, I was properly knackered! I had had the good sense to not head back to Guyana straight off but to grab a week in Tobago. A couple of friends had said about joining me, but the husband fell ill just before, so they had to cancel. So: a week of solitary confinement. I am sure I would have enjoyed the company, and it would have made things easier for me to get out and about and do trips to share costs, but a week of doing nothing is exactly what I need right now. The past few months have been crazy busy and I haven’t really had time to stop and digest any of the experiences, as I have ping-ponged into the next one. A week hiatus - the plan was to soul search and think for a week, but instead it has been drinking beer and watching movies - horses for courses! I am staying in Castara, which is well known on the island for snorkeling and diving. My hotel/Guesthouse thingy is literally ten yards from the beach. It is very quiet and has a few little restaurants nearby, so I am happy. Back to Guyana on Friday - groan!!!

I hope pioneer school and the Tobago rest will allow me to go back to Guyana with a renewed vigor. I have made no secret that I struggle at times in Guyana, especially in the signing field. I hope that the recent encouragement from the school and the brothers and sisters will enable me to go back with new energy and an adjusted perspective. I do feel very blessed to be out here, doing what I am doing. It does feel like a trip back to Blighty is coming soon, to see the rents and all my extended family in London - whether a return to Guyana follows soon behind, time will tell. 

Right, I have put three posts into one here, sorry! Enjoy some of the photos and I will try to improve on the blogging positive experiences, rather than the moans! 

Love to all...

david