Visit from the Buddens

Hey everyone so today we had a very special visit from a special pioneer couple in the New Amsterdam congregation, it was Ramon and Kali Budden. Wednesday night we got a call from Ramon who had just come back from a trip to the states that lasted for a little over 2 months. So he called to see how everything was going and to plan a day to preach with us and impart their wisdom. Today was that day!

First Dani and I took Ramon with us to go and visit Navin. Navin was so excited to see Ramon again. Pretty much all the deaf that we study with were found by Ramon and Kali. They started the majority of the work in sign language in our area. When we arrived at Navin's house all in the family were really happy to see such an old friend. We were there for about an hour and the study went really well. We love watching him explain things back to us. He becomes very animated when discussing the difference between Jehovah's people and those who don't follow the Bibles standards. We had Ramon conduct the study, watching the way he teaches the deaf has given us some great pointers for our own service.

Next we went to Abida, she is a woman who told Dani and Dana that she was deaf. Then when I went back to conduct her study she tells me that she isnt deaf but is hard of hearing in her right ear. It was really fun to go home and tell the girls who were so excited that they found a deaf woman that she isnt really deaf. She just wanted to say she was deaf. Well we have found out that she has only one response to anything you say, its yes. It doesnt matter if its a yes or no question or not. She will always say yes. So we are trying to relate what we talk about to things she knows, recently we have been able to compare things to cooking. That seems to work because she does a lot of it and its something she enjoys doing. I am really rusty at english service. The study took longer than normal because I was trying to pry some sort of answer out of her. It kind of seems like she and her husband will be joining us for meeting on Sunday. I think I am going to introduce them to a couple in the Kingdom Hall and hand them over to someone who is in english.

We had a little bit of time left before we had to go and meet back with the others so we decided to walk down to go and see the twins Atri and Athang. On the walk we found out about their life. They have been in Guyana for 2 and a half years serving as special pioneers. They served at Brooklyn Bethel for 7 years before moving down here. He talked to us about how they setup their house like a missionary home. We just learned about their backgrounds and what their plans are for the future. So after a short visit with Atri we headed back to the house so that Ramon could share some notes from Gilead graduations that he likes to share with all the need greaters that come to the Berbice.

Once we all got settled upstairs we sat and listened as Ramon shared points that he enjoyed from Gilead graduation talks. We had an entire part about how to get along with others in the ministry, in the house, and in the congregation. There were a lot of great points but unfortunately for all of you I am too lazy to write any of them. I did really like the part we talked about everyone in the house. We got quite a few wonderful ideas from it. Such as now we are going to have a family worship night in our house. It is always really encouraging when you sit down with someone who knows what they are talking about and allowing them to give you suggestions on how to make life easier.

After we had our discussion of those points we switched groups so Dani and I went with Kali to go and see Natalie and Jem. Both studies were pretty uneventful, we covered a lot of material with both of them. But the ride home was definetly eventful. We stopped a bus and the conductor put Kali in the very back then he pulled the seat down where to guys were sitting together. As I got in the bus to sit down they parted so I had to sit in the middle of them. Once I sat down I noticed the beer bottle in the hand of the boy on my right. Then when he opened his mouth to talk to me the smell of alcohol hit me like a brick wall. I knew from the second he started to talk to me that the ride home was going to be one for the blog! I need a new paragraph for this one.

He leans over and says I want a Jehovah's Witness Bible. I said that I wasnt going to be giving him one. So he then changes his request to a tract. I didnt have one with me so I told him that I didnt have one to give him. In reply to this he asks are you really a Witness? I just stared at him until Dani chimed in with her tract. So he grabs the tract from her and opens the first page. He read half a sentence and looks at me and said I dont know what they are talking about. So I tell him that it might be a good idea to read the rest of the sentence before saying its too confusing to understand. At which point the Guyanese woman sitting behind me started cracking up. So he finishes reading the sentence out loud to me. Then asks me what it could mean. So I told him to open the rest of the tract and look at the picture and I said do you see families around here that are that happy. He told me that his family is like that. I tried to stop the conversation by saying that is nice and looking ahead. He wasnt going to have that.

He tried to start talking to me again but Kali stepped in by telling him that he talks, or gaffs as the locals call it, a lot. He started laughing and goes I gaff a lot?? So she said yes, is this the first white girl you ever see? He began to tell me that I am not the first white girl he has seen, he knows the girls that were here before. He said they gave him a Bible. So I asked why he needs another Bible if they already gave him one. He tells me that he wants a Bible from me. So I tell him that if he would like a Bible he has to go to the meeting on Sunday. He tells me that he doesnt go to the Kingdom Hall, then changes the subject to how I need to take my glasses off so he can see my eyes. I told him no again, then he went back to the subject of the Kingdom Hall. He said ok so if I go to the meeting then you will give me a Bible and tell me your name. I said yes, if you come to the meeting then we will get you a Bible and you can know my name. Then he says no you have to give me the Bible at the meeting, it has to say from then you write your name and to then you write my name so I can always remember. At which point both Kali and I started cracking up. Thankfully that was about the time the bus stopped in front of our house. So I am getting out of the bus and he goes oh its your house!! See you Sunday.

Yes I attract all the crazies...Doesnt matter where we are or what we are doing the crazies are drawn to me like a moth to a flame. Or a more Guyanese way to think of it is mosquitos to people! The mozzies are terrible right now. Ok well that is all for now, hope you all enjoyed my crazy stories!!