Last tea with our Guyanese Grandmothers! :)

I've always been a fan of lazy Sunday's and that's exactly how last week started. My friend Venus had moved into her new house on the day earlier and I went over to visit her and her family on Sunday. I got there and we had some food to eat and then after that everyone ended up laying down and relaxing. Venus and I were able to have a great chat and relax. I always call Sunday my recharge day and was grateful for it. After that I headed to Mass at the Cathedral and spent the rest of the night relaxing at home. I am such a go go go person that days like these remind me it's good to just relax.

Monday was Caricom day which means once again it's another public holiday. Mercy Wings the vocational school I work for always takes a staff outing on this holiday. This year we went to a place called Aracari resort. I would like to say that the word resort is used very VERY loosely in this sense. Basically it was a building with a restaurant, bar and a mediocre pool. Although it wasn't the greatest spot to be at we still had a really great time. I enjoyed being able to relax with my co-workers, eat good food and enjoy the sun. We stayed until about 5:30 pm and got home around six. After that I had to quickly shower and get ready to go and see a friend for her birthday. I feel like these last few weeks have kept me super busy going from one place to the other and I love how it makes time go by quickly.

Tuesday as always we had our community spirituality night. It was my turn to lead this week and what I decided to do was go through Mother Teresa's book "No Greater Love" and pick out a couple of passages that I really liked. Here is one of the stories we discussed:

Not so long ago a very wealthy Hindu lady came to see me. She sat down and told me, "I would like to share in your work." In India, more and more people like her are offering to help. I said, "That is fine." The poor woman had a weakness that she confessed to me. "I love elegant saris," she said. Indeed, she had on a very expensive sari that probably cost around eight hundred rupees. Mine cost only eight rupees. Hers cost one hundred times more.
Then I asked the Virgin Mary to help me give an adequate answer to her question of how she could share in our work. It occurred to me to say to her, "I would start with the saris. The next time you go to buy one, instead of paying eight hundred rupees, buy one that costs five hundred. Then with the extra three hundred rupees, buy saris for the poor." The good woman now wears 100-rupee saris, and that is because I have asked her not to buy cheaper ones. She has confessed to me that this has changed her life. She now knows what it means to share. That woman assures me that she has received more than what she has given.


I really liked this story because it made me remember that I can make small sacrifices to make a difference in the lives of others. Sometimes I feel like helping the poor, unloved and lonely seems like such a daunting task and this story reminds me that I don't have to move heaven and earth to help someone else. I thought of how the other night at the orphanage I was sitting with a little boy named Adrian and although he had already eaten tons of ice cream I still shared it with him. It didn't benefit him at all because he had by far passed his limited of sugar but it was simply just being loving to him that mattered.

On thurday we went over to Sister Noel and Celine Marie's house. Sister Celine Marie is leaving on the 15th of this month so we went over to have tea with them. They had a really nice cake for us and of course tons of wonderful food. I always leave their house having eaten wayyyy to many things! :) We call them our "suga momma's". I will always miss the love and joy that they bring into my life. They really have been like grandmothers during my time here in Guyana. They taught me that you must really have trust in God through all of their stories of when God has provided in their life. They are an inspiration to me. Also they act like an old married couple so it is always hilarious to see them interact with each other.

May you all have a wonderful week! In four short weeks I will depart from Guyana and I can't believe it!

Love and prayers,

Ashley Ann