Carters and Esplins arriving in Guyana. World Interfaith Harmony Week

The Carters and Esplins arriving in Guyana.  The Guyanese
flag flying.  The airport is called the Cheddi Jagan International
Airport.

Just an interesting outfit I
wanted to capture.

A picture taken out the back window of the airport.

The only picture I got of them.  The Carters are,  going from left to right,  #'s 1 and 3,
the Esplins are #'s 5 & 6.

February 5, 2012

The International Airport in Guyana.

We had an exciting day today.  The Beutlers and we drove to Guyana's Cheddi Jagan International Airport to pick up our two new senior couples.  The Carters are from North Carolina and the Esplins are from Salt Lake City and St. George.  They will both be serving out in Berbice, a couple hours away from Georgetown.  The Carters will be in East Canje where the Treseders lived, and the Esplins will be in Bush Lot and are homeless for now.  Elder Esplin asked me if I knew any Ogdens from Richfield.  I said, "I am an Ogden from Richfield".  They have a Wayne Ogden and his family renting their home while they are gone.  I told him I was sure we were cousins and asked him to find out who his father and grandfather are.  They will be staying with the Carters while they look for a place to live.  Somehow the communication lines were down and we didn't find out until yesterday afternoon that they were coming today.  The Beutlers drove to Berbice with them to help them get settled.  We had taco soup together here at our place and then they were going to drive to Berbice.  They didn't end up leaving until three thirty, and then they stopped at Bush Lot to look at an apartment and see the church.  Those two newly arrived Elders had to drive from Georgetown, and get there in the dark.  What a wild time for their first day here.

Last Friday we found out when we went walking at 6:00 in the morning that we were invited to a religious meeting at the National Cultural Center at 8:00.  We heard that President Pooran, the counselor in the District Presidency was going to be a speaker.  We hurried and got ready, even faster than usual because the power was off and I didn't have to dry my hair:)  We hurried over there and hardly anyone was there (it started at 8:30), but people were setting up display tables in the large foyer.  Elder Beutler asked Pres. Pooran if we should set up a display and he said yes, so the Beutlers and Elder Beecher ran to gather pamphlets, Books of Mormon, our banner, etc.  We managed to get it all set up by the time the meeting finally started at 8:45.  It turned out to be a meeting of many different religions for the United Nations "World Interfaith Harmony Week".  It was very interesting to see all the Muslims, Hindus, Bai'hi, Mystics, Rastifarians, and others all dressed in their religious garbs.  About eight different religions offered prayers, and then others gave talks on harmony.  President Pooran gave a great talk about "love the Lord, thy God, and love thy neighbor as thyself".  He talked about service and how one of our leaders spoke of lifting the hands that hang down, and strengthening the feeble knees.  He talked about how all the people in Guyana get along even though they are many different religions.  He made us proud.  Then the Prime Minister, Samuel A.A. Hines gave a nice short talk and the Police Band played the Guyana National Anthem.    Then they ended that part of the meeting and invited everyone to look at the display tables and enjoy a snack.  They had packed styrofoam containers with fruit and others with cheese pastries, pineapple tarts, and sandwiches. Elder Beecher's pineapple tart did not have any pineapple or even pineapple syrup just the crust. We visited with some interesting people and looked at the displays.  People were quickly gathering up our pamphlets of The Plan of Salvation, The Restoration, The Word of Wisdom, Law of Chastity, The Family, Tithing and Fast Offerings, and Books of Mormon.  We were happy that the Church was so well represented and felt that we made a very positive impression.  It was something that the members here could be proud of.

The Rastafarian Leader

President Pooran on the right.

Our display table and people checking out our pamphlets.

President Benn, our District President in front of the table and banner.

The Rastafarians don't believe in cutting their hair.

The Bai'hai

A sharp looking Rastafarian.

The Hindu group, I believe.

The one in white is a Muslim for sure, and the other men may be.
The muslim women wear scarves over their faces and only their eyes
show.  They wear long sleeves and are very modest and probably hot.

This lady sat just in front of us.
President Pooran said that she is
the most powerful woman in the
government.