We started the week observing a wake and
going to a funeral for the son-in-law of our friends and new converts,
Paul and Carla Ramsaywalk. The funeral was different that anything we
had ever been to before. We did a short Christian program, then the
Muslem leader talked for about 15 minutes, then several friends of the
deceased walked by and sprayed perfume on the body, then the Muslem
woman sang songs and the immediate female members of the family began
weeping and wailing before the casket was closed.
We went on to the cemetery and they opened that
casket again and prayed over it before finally putting it in a tomb.
There was a pretty dark feeling there because many of the Muslem men had
been drinking and they were not very reverent. It made us so grateful
for the gospel and the knowledge which we have about life and death and
the resurrection.
This week we had celebrations in Guyana on three
different days. On Wednesday, the hindus have a celebration called
Pahgwah, which is a celebration to welcome Spring. The people go to the
park with colored flour and throw it on each other. The colors are to
chase away the winter gray.
Then, on Friday, Good Friday, there is the
Christian celebration. I believe that the people who are Christians go
to church that day. Then instead of celebrating Easter on Sunday, they
celebrate it on Monday, so that they can have another excuse to take off
work.
Traditionally, here, the people fly kites on the sea
wall on Monday. There are literally thousands of kites flown that day.
It will be fun to see. We actually received a kite free, at the
grocery store this week.
.
To top of the week, on Friday the young adults
performed their play, "The Wickedest Man in the Book of Mormon" It was
really fun and I think that the young people in the district became
better friends by working together to produce the play.
Yesterday, we headed to Linden again to move mission
furniture out of the house where the couple missionaries lived. We
currently don't have any missionaries serving there, so we closed up
that apartment. President Goodluck, the counselor in the mission
presidency here, asked us to go to Linden a couple of times a month to
help out with the branch and train the new Branch Presidency there.
That will be a real challenge to make that trip on Sunday. We will
have to get up and go by 7:00 in the morning because it is a 1 1/2 hour
drive to church. We won't be back until at least 2:00 in the
afternoon. I will have to tell the Primary sisters that I can't help
regularly with Primary music like I have been in the past.
Dad has been helping with the young men, but lately,
not so much, because the Branch Presidency has been going in to teach.
We were told that our main objective here is to train our replacements.
I guess that we need to let the leaders do the teaching more and more.
It was fun to skype with you this week-end. It
sounds like the Easter hot dog roast and hike was lots of fun. We were
so sorry to hear that Elias broke his leg this morning. What a bad way
to spend Easter Sunday. Aneesa and Aaron, we wish that we could be
there to help out. We are so thankful that you have Mary and Shawn
there close by at times like that.
Amy, we enjoy all of your letters and pray that
your are finding joy in your associations with the people in Pohnpei.
Did you know that Samuel will be 7 and Mary is going to be 35 in two
days. Happy birthday to you, Samuel and Mary. Also, Uncle Garth, Ione,
and Ivan will have their birthdays this week also. If you get a chance
to email any of them happy birthday, they would enjoy that.
Time to close now. Love from Mom and Dad
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