Guyana

Almost every West Indies missionary falls in love with Guyana.

Why?

Unspoiled beauty, adventure, rapid Church growth, sweet loving people - what more could a young (or senior) missionary want?

Facts:

• Known as the "land of many waters'
  
• The only English speaking nation in South America
• Bordered to the east by Suriname, to the south and southwest by Brazil, to the west by Venezuela, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean.
• The only state of the Commonwealth of Nations on mainland South America
• Guyana has a population of about 86,000 where 90% of the population live on the narrow coastal strip.
• The population comprises groups of persons with nationality backgrounds from India, Pakistan, Africa, China, Europe, along with several Aboriginal groups as the indigenous population.
• Guyana is a major breeding area for sea turtles (mainly Leatherbacks).
• It has one of the largest unspoiled rainforests in South America, some parts of which are almost inaccessible by humans. More than 80% of Guyana is covered by forests.
• Agriculture is its main economic staple
• English is the official language but Guyanese Creole is widely spoken
• One quirk of Guyanese English, particularly in the lower classes, is the fact that English pronouns are almost completely interchangeable. E.g. "he" "I" "we" "she" "them" may well be used just about in any combination in a sentence. An example, “I said to the police, why are you bothering me?” would be said, "Me says to dah pleece, why them bodder with we?"
• Guyana's culture is very similar to that of the English-speaking Caribbean islands, to the extent that Guyana is included and accepted as a Caribbean nation.

Church:

As of June 2009, there were two districts, fourteen branches and two groups. The Georgetown District is working on qualifying to become the second Stake in the West Indies Mission. It is very close.

Georgetown District branches (with date created):

• Demerara (4Oct2004)
• Diamond (16Dec2007)
• Garden Park (28Nov1994)
• Georgetown 1st (17Mar1989)
• Georgetown 2nd (20Jul2003)
• Parika (26Oct2008)
• Patentia (11Jul1996)
• Vreed en Hoop (12Nov2006)
• plus the Lindon Group (Spring 2009)

Canje District branches (with date created):

• Bushlot (28Sep2008)
• Crabwood Creek (23Mar2008)
• East Canje (19Mar2006)
• New Amsterdam (13Feb2000)
• Rose Hall (19Mar2006)
• Rosignol (16Mar2004)
• plus the Skeldon Group (Spring 2009)
  

Missionary Work:

As of June 2009, there were fifty elders serving in Guyana, organized into five zones: Georgetown, LaGrange, Canje, Berbice, and the newly created Lindon zone.

There were also nine senior missionary couples: a couple each for CES, humanitarian, and family history plus six proselyting couples.

The missionaries meet in two separate zone conferences - one in Georgetown and one in Canje.

Missionary work is very successful in Guyana. Many people are willing to listen to the missionaries' message and a good number of them keep commitments and progress to baptism. One of the great challenges in Guyana is accommodating rapid church growth. The senior couples do an amazing work in this area, through friendshipping, training and shadow leadership.

History:

Missionaries held the first sacrament meeting in Guyana in September 1988. Among those who attended were members of the Majid Abdulla family, who had been baptized previously in Canada.

The Church gained recognition in February 1989, and a small branch in Georgetown was organized in March with about 23 in attendance.

In March of 1991, additional missionaries were sent to Guyana and the branch membership soon numbered more than 100 members. Later that year, Guyana became part of the newly created Trinidad & Tobago Mission, but shortly thereafter the name of the mission was changed to the West Indies Mission. By the end of 1993, there were about 270 members. By 1996, membership grew to about 500, and another branch was organized.

Pictures:

Amazing sights

Kaieteur Falls - one of the most powerful waterfalls in the world




Black water rivers




Brown water rivers


Incredible sunsets




Colorful fruits and vegetables


Growing Church





Georgetown Chapel


Newest Church building - LaGrange Chapel


Beautiful people











"Mighty Chief" of an Amerindian tribe, baptized in 2008


Sweet school children always in uniform





Occasional challenges

Trenches everywhere - be careful!


Oops, Sister Bullock fell in!


Plenty, plenty rain




Lots of creatures


(don't worry moms - these caymans were NOT alive)




Curried Anaconda anyone?


Interesting living conditions

Missionary life




Guyanese life










The most rewarding work in the world



"Inside!"







The SWEETEST part of the "work"



Filling the font - they are three traditional church fonts, many of these outdoor fonts, and in some areas no fonts where baptisms must take place in the sea or river








Two elders (on their mission only 5 months), one weekend, three families




That's why we love Guyana!