Mahaicony Favorites

Cecilia
The ministry is wonderful as usual, you would think we would get used to it, but years in, and its still dumbfounding. Like today, Aunty Cecilia, in her late 7o's, after her study told us that when she prays to Jehovah she tells him that she doesn't know the Bible and she wants to learn more. She says "Here you girls are, even though I'm old and you're young, your taking time to teach me" and she was tearing up making me tear up too. Melanie, my roomie and faithful service partner was moved to tears too. Afterward Melanie said to me, 'See? We moved here for people like that! That's who I want to spend my time with, people like her who appreciate the message!' Cecilia made it to meeting a couple of times. She's got grown out pink and purple hair and a lot of energy. Me and Melanie sing her the Cecilia song. Another time she had told  Jehovah in prayer that she wanted to do something for him that day, so she went out with her Large Print Bible in hand and some people in mind to visit. When the first friend wasn't home she went to the second. She found that friend distraught and she told me that she was able to listen to and encourage her and tell her some things she'd learned from her Bible study. The woman said she felt better by the end of the visit. Isn't that adorable that she was out sharing the Bible with her neighbors by her self?! I asked how long she'd been doing this and she said as long as we've been visiting her she's been moved by our example to venture out on her own to visit her neighbors. Aunty Cecilia always made us feel welcome, having us to sit down in her stuffy hot but way-too-comfortable-to-stay-alert house. She's got those sofas that you just sink down into and melt away in. Then she'd give you either freshly made juice or a snack she bought in preperation for you, or fresh coconut water. She even killed me a chicken one time! I thought I could watch, but when it came time, I couldn't. Her son runs a copy shop down stairs called Silicone Valley Printing. Fancy name for a tiny dark dusty nic-knacked shop sitting down a narrow dirt foot path ally next to a chicken pen. Aunty Celcila always expressed sincere appreciation for what she was learning. She could just go on and on, bubbling over with apprciciation. When I left she was going to the states for 5 months or so but she told me she wanted to come with me on my next trip to Africa, "to pray with the people there". She was always so humble in spirit and so fun! Very young at heart and she had the most distinct voice. When you called at here house "Inside!" She would always make us smile because she would reply instantly from where ever she happened to be, which was usually so far away you could barely hear her. Answering in that endearing voice, "Come right in!" a squeaky gravely perfect gramma voice. I hope I see Aunty Cecilia again. I just love her. You'll love her too. I'll introduce you to her some day. Remind me. 

Oshauna

Its Guyanese culture to be nice to everyone, so we have to be careful to direct our attention to ones that show a genuine interest in what the Bible teaches and focus on them. With Oshauna I felt immediately drawn to her to offer her a study right away. She came to her gate with a huge smile and nice comments and a spiritual out look on things. She is agreeing with basic teachings already, after explaining the trinity to her, I asked her if she thinking Jehovah would be ok with her attending a church that focuses worship on Jesus. She got the point. Even though she is a very busy girl with school and volunteer work she has decided to make time for meetings at the Kingdom Hall on Thursday nights! She comes in her scrubs coming straight from a long day of hands on schooling in town. By the time she gets home she'll have been on the road from 6am to 7:3opm. She also has a close friend that enjoys sitting in on the study with us. Before we start she texts her and her friend who then walks a couple blocks to meet up with us. I'm excited, these girls are making time for spiritual things. They're hopfully going to be a good influence on eachother to keep it up.

Dwayne

A wonderful study came out of the territory when our friend Mandy from Ohio was visiting. She found him and at the end of her trip she said "If all that comes out of my stay here was finding Dwayne, than my trip was well worth it". I can see why she would say that. He commended us "It's hard enough just to get out of bed in the morning to do every day things, but when you're getting up to go out in the preaching work where some people will reject you and brush you to the side that would be very hard. And to do that day after day? God must be giving you guys his spirit to be able to do that." I was tearing up when he told us that, it was very encouraging to meet someone with such an appreciation and that gave careful thought to what we're doing. He doesn't get it when his friends say "So, the Witnesses stopped by and I sent my kids out to tell them I wasn't home", it makes him feel bad. What a darling. When asked how he's benefited from his study thus far he said he likes how it had been a calming influence on his life. It's something he looks forward to. He said he even had trouble facing normal life routines but now he has more motivation.

Aunty Seema 

So I wasn't able to get to Aunty Seema for her Bible study yesterday and this is what she texted me today, "A blessed morning to u AUNTY Cortney:) Sorry to ur not feeling well, I pray that Jehovah restore ur health very very soon so u can go out and share his good words ({})" What a loving heart, right? I'm making this stuff up! No, I'm not. 

I Purtnear Blew My Self Up 

So I was out and about in the yard, picking up unsightly things to burn, dried up coconuts, vehicle tires, car parts. We have an iron 55 gallon drum we use for burning our trash and I was going to and from the drum picking up trash that had spilled out and adding more to burn. I had just finished doing that when I went into the house. Now, from the kitchen window, if you happen to be burning trash at the same you're also preparing food, you may peek out the window to check to see if your flicker is still aflame. If you peek at the right angle, you can make it out in the corner of the yard just under the stair case, and know OK my trash is still burning. So as I said, I had just come inside and was chopping vegetables when... KABOoooooooOOOOOOOOOOoooooOM! *Sustained explosion.* Both the living room and kitchen window completely light up! A resonating blast. I was sure the house was going to catch fire from the shrapnel. After what ever it was, a car part perhaps, blew up, I immediately started thanking Jehovah that neither I nor my room mate happened to be standing next to it when it blew. My heart was beating out of my chest and I was shaky. I called on the phone regarding my room mates wear abouts to make sure she was not out side when it happened. Our water tank started over flowing. But I wasn't going to risk going out side again when there was a possibility that another compartment of what ever that was could also blow. I kept my eyes peeled for my room mate getting home and rushed down to do two trips in one, flicked the water tank off and ran to the gate to meet her. She said she'd never seen my eyes so full of fear before. "OK, here's what we're going to do. Something in the garbage can just blew up. We're going to run up the stairs and wait in the house until the fire dies just in case something else decides to blows too." The next day I went to my neighbor Aunty Shakila and she asked me 'What were you burning yesterday?! There were people over here when we heard it explode and we were like "Oh my God!" I learned my lesson. I will not burn any more car parts or the like and try to be more careful with my very soul.