Never the Twain Shall Meet...

It is funny here in Guyana. They say it is an English speaking country and people are very proud of that. They lull us into a false pretense and we all arrive thinking we can get off the plane and get on with things. When one looks, and listens, a little closer though, a new world opens up - that of Creolese.

I seem to spend a lot of my time explaining to different foreigners, both long serving and new, that the general populace do not understand us properly when we speak, and therefore, when and what we teach. I Skeldon, our area is very agricultural and many have only a basic schooling. When I go on studies, I speak Creolese and naturally translate when I read the Bible Teach book into a Creolese slant. I have been criticized for this by some foreign brothers, as they say everyone speaks English and SHOULD learn to do so at a higher level. It is an ongoing debate.

Anyway, thanks to Nikki who posted this on her site, which I have subsequently stolen. It highlights that even in their newspapers, they use Creolese. The kids learn it at school, they speak it in their homes, they speak it to their children, in the street and when they eat. Why can't we speak it when teaching them about Jehovah, reaching for their hearts and not their heads.

Enjoy...

Dem boys seh…Dem gun lef de thiefing money

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012 | BY KNEWS | FILED UNDER DEM BOYS SEH, FEATURES / COLUMNISTS,NEWS

There is a true, true saying, Failure is an orphan, success has many parents. When a man become successful and get plenty money he does get nuff relatives. Dem got people who only got to hear that somebody rich and dem does identify demself as some far off cousin sister pickney.
Dem got all description fuh how dem tun relative.
Tek de case wid de doctor wha dead. He still deh in de parlour waiting fuh somebody bury he. Is when people hear bout de money he got in de bank and de property he own all over de country is then dem come. Some come from England, some come from Australia, from South Africa and one come from Papua New Guinea. Some of dem ain’t know wheh dem come from.
Dem boys seh that dem never know that de man had so much family. One woman come from America and claim how she is de dead man daughter. Dem boys sure is a man name Peter, called Petes fuh short, who bring she in.
She ain’t know she mother name, she ain’t know she date of birth and she ain’t know wheh she born. Dem had other relatives tun up but when de parlour people ask dem some question dem go home fuh come back and never come back.
Well dem boys seh that dem got nuff people who gun end up like de doctor. Tek de Bees, especially de big Bee. Dem tek so much from de treasury and through dem contract that dem got more money than dem and four generation can spend. Some of dem ain’t got a chick or a child because dem couldn’t get.
Imagine when Bharrat pass on and people coming fuh claim that dem is he children. Then dem got de other Bees. People gun find out that dem dead and forge documents. Dem same Bees use to forge contracts and collect money without doing any work. Some of dem, like de fat one, even forge de children birth certificate.
Well imagine de line fuh claim de palace at Sparendaam, or de wine parlour pun Lamaha Street. That is because fuh all de thiefing nobody can’t carry nutten when dem dead. That is why when some of dem realize that dem gun dead and lef all of that dem gun bawl pun dem dying bed. That is when dem gun got to prepare to answer to Peter, not Petes.
Talk half and put back wha all yuh thief while you got time.

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Going the extra mile...

Just wanted to share a story about this young man.

He is from New Amsterdam and fourteen years old. He has had a bad trot of late. Without going into it, he was taken off the school temporarily and has been labeled by many in the congregation as the 'bad-boy'. It is so sad - he has taken it all to heart and so has stopped coming to meetings.

Everyone in the hall is really worried about him, as I am. So, I came up this weekend with the goal of seeing Robin and giving some encouragement. Success! We get on really well and were able to have a good old chat about what's been going on with him. I took him out for a ride in a taxi and went to a KFC-type place for a treat. He is from a poor family, so was nice to treat him to something. We talked at length about how he feels about meetings etc and he said he would come with me to the meeting on Sunday and sit with me. I wasn't sure if he would make it, as he has apparently said this every week.

Success again! As the meeting is starting, in walks Robin - the second meeting he has attended in seven weeks. He did really well and answered a load of times from pictures in the magazine and that I had drawn. I took him out again for food and then we went and played football with the English congregation and he loved it. It was so nice to see him thriving and enjoying being with everyone.

The brothers here have asked me to come up regularly and study with Robin and a couple of others, but it just isn't possible at the moment. I am just going to try and be a friend-at-a-distance for him and try and catch him each time he falls from the net. Leave the rest to Jehovah. It is ones like Robin who make Guyana worth it for me. I had Robin on one side and another study of mine, who is fifteen, on the other - Vishal, who has also been missing a lot of meetings. It was so nice to see them attentive and eager to answer. Smiley face.

 

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Maintenance day at the hall...

 

 

 

 

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Mmmm

So, after complaining about being hungry, I thought I would share something I love to eat here in Guyana. It is originally African and is a hearty, end of day of ministry meal. I always get one Aunty to make it for me, as her family love it and it is a special thing to have so much food going around. They eat the left overs for a couple of days, there is so much of it.

Friends, meet Metagee, or Metem as some call it. The Aunty who makes this does it a little different, depending on whats in the larder and in the market. We never have steak, just the catfish, or salt fish.

Enjoy:

Metagee

Weight or Volume Ingredients

6 ounces flat iron steak, cubed

6 ounces pork shoulder blade, cubed

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups coconut milk

1 pound sweet potato, peeled, cubed

1 pound yam, peeled, cubed

1 pound plantain, peeled, cubed

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped

2 habanero, seeded, finely chopped

1 pound catfish, cubed

1 red onion, cut into rings

1 pound okra, sliced

1 cup flour

2 tablespoons butter, small cubes

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

½ cup milk

Procedure: Dust beef and pork with flour and sauté. Add stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Add coconut milk, sweet potato, yam, and plantain. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add habanero and thyme. Place fish on top of meat and starches, then red onions, then okra. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Rub flour and butter together. Add baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add enough of the milk to make a stiff dough. Form into balls and place on top of veggies. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

I'm hungry...

I have just got back from the meeting (123 in attendance! Wow) and am hungry!

I must say lunch is the thing I struggle most with here in Guyana, in terms of food that is. Ha. There are other challenges that exceed this, but on a day-to-day basis, lunch is such a pain. You would think that after a year and a few months of this, I would have developed some sort of system, but alas no.

I used to make extra for dinner and save for lunch, but got out of that habit when a teenager started frequenting and eating what was left in the pot on a daily basis. The girls downstairs used to always do big cook ups so I could steal from them, but now there is just one of them down there so it is a no-go area.

In a land of blackouts that last whole days, it is hard to gather enough food to always have something in the fridge, whilst not having too much that it wastes away during a blackout or two.

So, here I sit on a Sunday afternoon after meeting, with a hungry belly and a lamenting heart. Oh for a marks and Spencer's!

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He who persists...

I'm not sure of the rest of that statement, but yesterday I felt like someone blessed for doing so.

I have a study called Vishal who is a great young deaf lad here, 15 years of age. He used to study and attend meetings regularly but recently has dropped off due to his now working late hours and generally being a teenager. He has so much potential - he was almost a publisher for a while - but I just haven't been able to get him to come to meetings.

The other day I thought enough is enough. I visit him three times a week - one study and two meeting prep discussions - but with him not attending the meetings, I can spend my time better by visiting others. So, I told him so. Well, it was obviously enough to get him moving. He came early to the meeting last night, answered several times in the book study and told me after how he wants to answer six times on Sunday! He even apologized about wasting my money to come and see him for studies, so he wants to come to mine this week to save me money!

It was such a nice meeting last night. Denzel, one of my young studies, had his second bible reading and did a sterling job. His heart was racing before but he got through with gold stars!

Today, I'm tired! Have come home early to get out of the sun and have some well needed hammock time. Almost done my hours for the month, so deserve some feet-up and chillaxing.

Vishal

Denzel before his talk

 

 

 

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1 Cor 9:19

19 For, though I am free from all persons, I have made myself the slave to all, that I may gain the most persons.

I had a nice study with our newly baptised deaf brother today. As I think most of you have seen on previous blogs, we recently had one of my studies baptised who is deaf. He has been studying for about 9 years and finally made the leap of faith to get baptised.




It was interesting to speak with him before baptism about how he felt he was doing and why he wasn't baptised yet. He told me that he felt scared as he doesn't understand enough. Now, this is part of a huge discussion here about how much ASL should hinder a person. I have studies who can tell me all about the truth, but don't know any ASL. Yet, for them to get baptised, they need to understand the DVD and go through the Teach and LV DVDs. It's a hard one that I continue to debate internally.




Anyway, this now-baptised brother and I were talking about his ministry. He has one study who is studying and finds the ministry hard. He actually prefers going on English ministry to going on sign language - the reason: no-one understands him when he signs, as he uses ASL. When he goes on English ministry, he signs ASL and we voice-over for him. When he goes on sign ministry, he has to talk directly to deaf ones.




In Guyana, 99% of the deaf do not attend school, and if they do, they learn very little. They have never seen ASL and in the most part, don't need it. They have a very clear and understandable way of signing here, with a distinct vocabulary and set of rules. It employs all the features of a sign language and is lovely to see the deaf express themselves fluently in their own language. The sad thing is this is how the brother used to sign, yet when he learnt ASL he threw out his native language. Now, both hearing and deaf tell us that they do not understand him as he only signs ASL.




In our chat, we discussed the scripture above. I was asking about his approach to preaching. He told me that he visits them and teaches ASL and then the truth. I asked him how this was going and he said that most do not want to learn. I explained to him that most of my studies also don't want to learn, that is, they don't want to sit down and learn vocab for ASL. They do, however, love learning about the bible. We talked about the need for us to be willing to adapt to the way that the locals sign here, so we can jump straight to teaching them the Truth. For those that want to learn ASL and are capable, then fine, but this should never overshadow the reason that we go on the ministry - that is, to teach them about Jehovah and draw them to Him. Jehovah doesn't need them to sign ASL to do that!




We watched the scripture and he saw the point himself - we need to 'change to match', not expect them meet us. He made it a resolve to try to open up his signing to make it more visual and less wordy, and to try and touch the heart in his ministry, rather than just the head.




At pioneer school, I wrote a phrase in my notes 'we preach, to teach, to preach' - that is, when we preach, our goal is to make disciples that will then in turn go and preach. If we isolate them into an ASL community that doesn't exist, how can they then go and preach to the majority, who do not know ASL.




It is a very interesting question and topic to think about. Do we teach our students in a way that shows them that the Truth is the important thing, and not the language? Are we giving them tools to take and go and teach others that cannot sign, or even learn to sign? Are we using pictures as much as possible? Are we studying the way that our students sign and copying them, to make it easier for them, or do we insist on signing 'proper-ASL' and expect them to meet us?




In translation at bethel, they taught us that whilst lots of people sign higher-level sign language, or a more English version of signing, their brain is still a 'Deaf brain'. This means that they still think in pictures and in a visual way - they are hard wired to do this. So, if we sign visually and conceptually, using signs that are part of their heritage and culture (thinking ROTI rather than the ASL sign for BREAD), they will understand. By making a shift in our approach, we are actually opening up our work and message to the whole community, rather than focusing on a very small part of it. It has given me a lot to think about

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Red sky at night, shepherd's delight

Amazing storm and lightening one night. Amazing sun rise the next. Jehovah, you are clever

 

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