'Forgotten' Guyana carving gospel mark
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Communities with storied LDS histories — think Salt Lake City, Nauvoo, or maybe the Mormon colonies of Mexico — all had a beginning. An opening chapter written by a few faithful and forward-thinking members.
The Church in Guyana is writing its own opening lines of what local leaders say will one day be a thick, well-read tome.
"Guyana is ripe for the gospel," said Georgetown Guyana District President Wayne Barrow.
Guyana is one of three northeast South American nations on the Caribbean coast — along with Suriname and French Guiana — that are often forgotten amid the continent's vast Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions. Ask folks to find Guyana on a world map. Many start by searching Africa.
Church members in Guyana, meanwhile, are playing gospel catch-up with many of their more visible continental counterparts. From Colombia to Argentina, South America has become synonymous over the last half century with rapid Church growth. The first full-time missionaries — Elder Benjamin Hudson and Sister Ruth Hudson — did not arrive in Guyana until 1988. The Church was recognized a year later and a small branch in the capital city of Georgetown was formed. The first meetinghous was dedicated in 2003.
That single branch has become five units — with two or three new branches expected to be organized by year's end, said Elder Larry Fournier, a full-time missionary serving in Georgetown with his wife, Sister Cherryl Fournier.
"The Church is growing and making an impact on this very troubled country," he said.
Indeed, Guyanese members are developing testimonies of eternal families and Church principles even as they endure the poverty, crime and unemployment gripping their country. Some are finding respite in the gospel.
Three years ago, Wayne Barrow was on his knees pleading for spiritual help. Despite his professional training in management information systems, Brother Barrow was unable to find work. He prayed for someone to enter his life who could offer hope. Two young missionaries knocked on his Georgetown door a short time later, asking Wayne Barrow to read the Book of Mormon.
"Just as Mosiah had said, there was a mighty change of heart," he said, recalling his conversion. Brother Barrow was baptized a short time later. That decision exacted an immediate cost. Brother Barrow's wife left him, certain her husband had joined a cult.
Yet the gospel quickly built in Brother Barrow the muscles to support his burdens. His testimony grew. He fell in love with another young convert in his branch and asked her to marry him. Today, Wayne and Diloon Barrow have a temple marriage and three children. Just three years removed from the missionary discussions, President Barrow is Guyana's presiding priesthood authority.
The Georgetown Guyana District is rich with hard-working women. The Melchizedek Priesthood holders lag behind, President Barrow said. More diligent men are needed to move the Church forward in the former British colony forward where English, Creole and even a few Amerindian dialects are spoken.
Temple blessings remain a dream for most Guyanese families. Just over a dozen members in the district have attended the temple. Each trip a Guyanese family makes to a temple in the United States or the Dominican Republic marks a small victory, said Elder Fournier, who teaches a temple preparation class. Recently a branch president who earns a humble living cutting sugar cane traveled with his wife and seven children to the Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple to be sealed.
The infamous 1980 Jim Jones-led cult massacre/suicide has left many Guyanese skittish of "outside" religious groups, said President Barrow. So Guyanese members have organized service projects to both bless their country and introduce the Christian aspects of the Church to their neighbors. The district recently hosted a family awareness week, set up displays at the National Library and has adopted a downtown Georgetown street to maintain and keep clean.
Good days are ahead as young Guyanese men and women serve missions, develop gospel savvy and return home to their respective branches.
"The young people here are the highlight," Elder Fournier said. "The quality of missionaries we're sending out is very high."
E-mail to:jswensen@desnews.com
