Pictures from Guyana

The Three Amigas - Sister Bullock, Sister Hymas, and Sister Leishman! I met Sister Bullock from Oregon and Sister Hymas from British Colombia in February when they stayed with us for almost a week during the week of our Couple Conference. Sister Bullock and her husband were serving in Guyana, Sister Hymas and her husband were serving in St. Lucia, and we were serving in Trinidad. Sister Bullock told us wonderful stories about falling in dirty trenches, hiking in to houses in gumboots in mud half way up the boots, frogs in the kitchen drawers, eating cayman and iguana, dirty brown river and ocean water for baptisms, mosquito bites despite the mosquito nets for sleeping, and many more exciting adventures. Her and her husband were very persuasive with their argument about how we should ask to come to Guyana to serve and that we would have such a good time. We both very politely declined saying that we would prefer our own special islands. No, actually, we both said, "There is no-o-o-o-o way we will ever come to Guyana!" Not too long after that, Elder Hymas got called to serve in the mission presidency to fill a spot created when the stake was formed and he would need to move to Georgetown, Guyana to oversee the part of the mission that is is South America. Also because of the stake creation, we were in a position to be transferred out of our area because it now falls under the direction of the new stake. For a while there seemed to be several choices - moving to a more remote location in Trinidad, going to the island of St. Vincent, or going to the island of Tobago. Guyana was one of those choices but quickly dismissed. Eventually, we were determined to go to Tobago and had an apartment already picked out when Elder Mundy began to work his magic on us. He's good because within days we had cancelled our Tobago apt. and committed to come to Guyana. We're here now and happy to serve. I'll put some pictures of our area on this blog as soon as I get a new printer for my laptop. My laptop won't read the chip I am using in my camera just now. It didn't get formatted right, I guess.

Footwear Fashion for Guyana! Within days of arriving in Guyana, it was necessary for President Hymas to take a trip to New Amsterdam where the Bullocks are serving. They live a 2 hour drive away from Georgetown down the coast, while we live a 2 hour drive in a different direction going more into the interior of Guyana. Elder Leishman and I were invited to tag along which we decided to do since we weren't able to move into our apt. at that time. Of course, when we got there, Sister Bullock had to show us the sights. Part of the gear for going into Cow Dam on a rainy day are gumboots. Thank goodness it wasn't a rainy day, so we didn't really have to wear them but she managed to convince us to put them on for this picture. Cute, huh?