New blessings each day

By Peggy Velker
April 2000

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Hello from Guyana! It is hard to believe that I have been here for almost two years. Here I am, at most times, wilting under the heat and humidity. Beads of sweat roll down my face from getting up time (six o’clock in the morning) until after sunset.

Life here is certainly interesting. Venturing from home to market or to the church is a test of one’s ability to play the game of dodge-dodge. There are cars, taxis, cows, donkeys, bicycles, sheep, goats, roosters, hundreds of lean and sometimes mean dogs. There are cats, pigs, motorcycles, and last but not least, the town folk.

I feel braver each day at venturing out alone. I always remember that a guardian angel is resting on my shoulder and that with God there is no fear!

I stayed my first five weeks here in New Amsterdam with Sisters Cecile Turner and Doris MacDonell of Our Lady’s Missionaries. They shared with me much of the knowledge that they have gained during their many years in mission in South America and the Caribbean. They provided me with a comfortable room and gave me some guidelines on cooking Guyana style.

How blessed I was to have their TLC (tender loving care) as I struggled to adjust to so many new and different customs, habits, noises, and smells, and to the constant dust from the sugar cane fields. Then there are the wee beasties (and some not-so-wee beasties). Like the night a salamander was crawling up the inside of the mosquito netting draped over my bed. It was Sister Cecile to the rescue and I am sure that the poor salamander was the most frightened of us all. I named him Slither and he slithered off to more welcome climes.

I eventually moved to New Street to an absolutely fabulous flat of my own. It is a half a block from Main Street and not far from the church, the Sisters of Charity orphanage, and the market. It is walking distance to the Good Samaritan Home for the elderly, and to the Fort Canje Psychiatric Hospital, both places at which I would like to work.

I am very happy with my home and my landlord and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Sookraj. They are very helpful and try their best to ensure that my safety is secured. I must admit that the first couple of nights alone here in the flat were stressful and I did a lot of checking throughout the night to see if any bandits were lurking about. But, with some self-talk about trust in God, a Rosary or two or three, and the ever available Bible for reassurance, I soon went to bed and slept peacefully, feeling refreshed and rested by sunrise. I am no longer afraid even during the frequent power outages.

Scarboro missionary Fr. Russ Sampson, pastor of the parish here in New Amsterdam, has been a quiet, reassuring and caring presence to me at all times. I remember sitting at the stelling (wharf) at 11:30 the first evening we arrived. It was pitch darkness and John and Jean MacInnis and I were waiting to cross the muddy river to our new home in New Amsterdam.

I knew we’d be okay with the two young men who were transporting us and our possessions. Fr. Russ had entrusted our lives and belongings to their care and, I suspect, to God’s care.

Guyana is a beautiful country with palm trees waving across the horizon at sunset, the stars so very numerous (I see the Southern Cross in the sky most nights), and the multi-varieties of colourful birds singing from early morning. I watch the birds through binoculars from my verandah. The little singing birds come and sit on a wire close to my home and we whistle to each other.

The people of Guyana are indeed a welcoming people. The children, especially the 200 children I teach each week, are very responsive to a hand held out in love and acceptance. I also taught summer school to 28 children ages seven to nine years. They call their group the “GEs” (God’s Environmentalists) because they are going to try to keep God’s beautiful Guyana (especially New Amsterdam) clean.

Each day brings me new insights, new people, and a deepening faith.

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