Service in the Bush

Recently we were recognized as an official sign language group. This was really encouraging, but our goal is to help more deaf ones find the truth. So we've stepped up our efforts to search for deaf in our territory. Linden, the town we live in, is divided into groups of developed lots with houses on them know as “wards”. But, as you go deeper into the wards the houses get more and more spread out until you look around and ask yourself, “when did I enter the rain forest?” Such was the case last week. We started canvassing a residential area going house to house asking if people knew of any deaf ones in the territory and before we knew it...jungle.

Fortunately, we have a sister, named Crystal, in our group who's very familiar with the territory having grown up in the area. We saw a lot of simple one or two room “squatter houses” made from scrap wood and tin. “Squatter houses” are simple houses that people erect on unclaimed land and live for as long as they possibly can without anyone claiming some legal right to their land. Crystal told us that most squatter homeowners employ an ingenious way of making sure no one takes their land from them. They plant coconut trees around their house. Since most people don't have a backhoe or heavy excavating equipment uprooting the coconut trees is an extremely difficult and expensive task. So in effect, if anyone is trying to build on squatter land they have to first find a way uproot the trees and then they can try and level the house. Most people deem it to be too much of a hassle and so the squatters are able to secure a nice life for themselves. We also found it interesting that even though a lot of people out there have no electricity running to their house it seemed like everyone had a good stereo and/or tv running off of a generator. Priorities.

While we were out in the “bush” two young boys who lived in a little house there started is follow us. We have our theories on why this happened. They were either curious, concerned about our safety, or they just didn't get many visitors in their area and were just excited to see something other than trees. In any case, they led us down to the water and entertained us by diving in and showing us how they can make bird noises and whistles with their hands. We didn't find any deaf in that area, but I placed a few magazines with a man I found out there. And if nothing else...the kids were happy to see us.

Home-Foodsickness and Studies

Food and Service
Even though we love our preaching assignment here in Guyana, there are still some things about home we just can't help but miss. For example: food. I never thought that I would miss the simple things but after being away for a few months you tend to develop a slight craving for a decent slice of pizza or a good burger. I'm such an American. So, in order to deal with the “home-foodsickness” (new word) from time to time we take matters in our own hands. We go to the nearby market and search for necessary ingredients and make the best of what we can find. We've made some pretty good homemade pizzas, but we can't help but wish the people of Guyana liked pepperoni or Italian sausage enough to stock it in any of their stores. Oh well, chicken pizza it is. Burgers are easy enough to make here so we've done that a few times. Cat has also made roasted chicken and mashed potatoes. Don't get us wrong we like the local food (roti, cook up, bake, etc.) but having something more familiar has a real satisfying effect on you in unfamiliar surroundings.

Preaching here has been a real joy. Cat is still studying with a deaf girl named Kelita. She isn't going to school because there is no deaf school in the area of the country that we live in. So, Cat shows her flash cards of letters and simple words with pictures to match. Then, she shows her how to sign what is on the card. We visit with her for about an hour each week and in between visits her mother practices what she has learned with her. We have been amazed at how much this little girl is able to remember. With each visit she is progressing so much in her ability to sign her alphabet and to identify the signs for different things she sees. Her mother tells us now when she recognizes an animal or object she sees on the street or on tv she automatically will sign its name. You can imagine how happy both the mother and daughter are because now they are being taught to communicate with one another in a more meaningful way. Of course, she still has a lot to learn and she makes some beginners mistakes. For example, the sign for goat involves stroking your chin to indicate a beard and then moving your fingers to the top of your head to indicate two horns. Her mother told us they saw a man with a beard and Kelita caught her mother's attention and signed “Goat!” Her mother quickly corrected her. Recently, we showed her the My Book of Bible Stories DVD in ASL. We hadn't shown her this before because she needed some basic sign vocabulary before she could understand it. Nevertheless, she loved watching the brother sign the story explaining how Jehovah created the earth, and the plants and animals. Her eyes got real wide and she began mimicking the signs the brother was using and she was excited to see him using the signs we taught her. There is nothing like someone receiving the truth in the language they understand the best.

We live in a fairly rural part of the country. There are a lot of areas in our territory that don't have any paved roads, buses and taxis don't frequent often, and the streets are unmarked. Thus, searching for interested deaf ones can be a challenge. But, somehow we are always directed to where we need to be to find them. Last week, Cat and I were taking a break after we just took a boat to the other side of our territory. A young woman happen to pass by and had a brief conversation with us. I told her what we were doing and asked her if she knew anyone who was deaf. Coincidentally, her cousin was deaf and she was able to exchange information with us to go visit him. Today, I went to visit a deaf man that I'm studying with. Unfortunately, he wasn't home. But, just before I was about to get on a boat to go home I passed by a man and I noticed that his speech was garbled. I quickly stopped him and signed to him to see if he was deaf. Sure enough, he was. It took me an hour (including a bus ride and a boat ride) to get to a not at home, but it was worth it to find another deaf person.