Nica Chica: July 2011

I had a really nice experience in service a few days ago from using the new "Learn from God's Word" series on page 16 of the Watchtower magazine. I went to a door a couple of months ago with a brother and the woman we met told him in Spanish immediately that she wanted a bible study. She said it really casually so I wasn't sure if she was serious or just trying to get rid of us. I guess the brother saw that I was trying to figure this out so he kept telling me that yes, she said she really wants to study. I asked her for a good time but she told me she was really busy with this and that and I should just come by periodically. So, I did so and most of the time she was busy. She works in a busy corner store and is always distracted but, she listens. I tried the "What Does the Bible Really Teach" book that we study with people along with their personal copy of the bible. However, every time we opened the book, she would get a flood of customers. So, I decided to use the new series in the magazine. It worked wonderfully! We were able to look at one or two scriptures and cover a point every week...sometimes more than one in a week. When we reached the end of the second series which considered the hope of the resurrection, she got all teary eyed thinking of how wonderful it would be to see her mom again. The following week I decided to try the book again to go into the chapter on "What Hope for Dead Loved Ones." Again, as soon as we opened the book, customers flooded in. I waited patiently determined to at least cover the first 3 paragraphs, which we did. Afterwards, I told her that my being there was good for her business since business picks up when we study. She laughed and told me that she is really enjoying the study and it is good for her heart. She loves what she is learning and wants to be able to focus 100% on it so the next time I visit, she is going to shut the store down so that we are uninterrupted! I could barely contain my joy! I asked if she wanted me to come at a time when business is slow. She said that it does not matter when I come. The study is far more important than any amount of business! I'm so glad that I did not write her off based on my judgement of her. Jehovah truly is the one "who makes it grow" (1 Corinthians 3:6,7). Want to read the book we are studying? Click here!

Last weekend, I ventured off to Honduras. I've been wanting to visit some of the other countries is Central America for awhile now. I figured the District Convention would be as good a time as any to go! It took me about 16 1/2 hours via bus with a couple of brief stops included. The convention took place in the northern part of the country in El Progresso, a few hours from the Guatamalan border. The scenery was beautiful! Once we got to the Nicaraguan border, a man approached me and asked if I was a Witness (he had seen a magazine sticking out of my bag). It turns out, he and his whole family are Witnesses visiting from Florida and were riding to the end of the line with me! I was so glad Jehovah had sent some folks to be with me on the long journey! I went not knowing anyone and returned with a ton of friends! Such a wonderful organization :-)

Rest stop at the border

I decided to take Tica bus which is a safer bet when crossing borders. They take care of the passport stamps at the border and everything. Just be sure to bring a few sweaters and blankets because it is FREEZING!

Passengers getting snacks as we wait for our passports.

My travel buddies. I was more than worried when I got to my seat and found that I would be sitting next to a baby for the next 15 hours. But to my delight, little Anna was a good girl the whole trip. Although she only spoke Spanish, her mom and I chatted and I was able to witness to her a bit. Everytime I woke up, Anna would be staring at me, giggling. Too cute.

Little boy shining shoes

This is the college where the convention was held. I couldn't believe how nice it was! Air conditioning and all!

I know this isn't a big deal to you, but I'm not used to big parking lots anymore. All we have is a bike rack at our Kingdom Hall :-)

We were surrounded by banana fields.

View from the terrace

Inside- CHAIRS!!!!! With CUSHIONS!!!!!! WOW

A sweet sister from the States

This is Sara. She and her family were kind enough to let me stay with them. She and her family are very hospitable.

Front of the college from the terrace

This is Sara's dad and the missionary couple who also stayed at the house.

Sara's brother in law

Yummy dinner

Sara's mom and one of her sisters

Cool corn doll

After dinner....I was so tired here!

Another of Sara's sisters

Lunch day two- chicken beans and plantains. I don't know how we got by with just sandwiches in the States!

Saturday evening, we came outside to find this beautiful rainbow. The picture does not do it justice. It got brighter and brighter until it was almost glowing! It got so bright it formed a double rainbow from it's reflection. We could clearly see it end in the mountains.

As we left the convention, we realized the rainbow was stretched directly over us :-) A nice way to end day two.

Saturday evening a bunch of us met at the mall for a bite to eat. That's right, a mall! This just gets better!

Gasp! Applebees!

We had to keep adding tables as more and more folks came.

We had soooo many countries represented. Not just among need greaters but also friends serving in other areas of Central America. We all shared stories of how we got here, how long we have been pioneering and what our various territories are like. Lots of new friends were made!

Speaking of new friends.... hats off to this Canadian sister I met. She is serving in a remote area with two Special pioneer sisters. Special pioneers are people who spend at least 130 hours per month teaching people about the bible as opposed to regular pioneers ( like most of us) who spend at least 70 per month. Anyway, it's just her and the two sisters-no brothers. She says they can't even keep up with their studies. I definitely plan to keep in contact with her and hope to visit in the future. Don't worry, I'll tell you all the stories ;-)

Another cool couple I met. Bry was great about introducing me around to everyone.

I met this sister at the Bethel meeting. She is in special full time service serving as a translator of the Garifuna language. Want to see what Garifuna looks like? Click here. From what I'm told even though there is only a small population of people who speak Garifuna in Honduras, there are many who speak the language in New York so, needgreaters who need to move back to the States can still use what they have learned!

Sister Karma-another really nice sister who introduced me to alot of folks.

Family from Roatan Island

This brother saw me running around talking to the older friends getting stories and advice so he stopped me in my tracks and sat me down. I'm so glad he did! He's been serving in Honduras for many years. He gave me lots of practical advice on how to remain balanced, how to grow and develop and what he wished he knew long ago.

Our new CO. They actually have been serving only in Honduras but beginning in September they will be serving several countries in Central America--including Granada English YEAH! We can't wait to show them Granada hospitality.

I thought it was sweet how the family I stayed with personalized everything. I felt like a little kid anxiously waiting to see what I had for lunch.

Chicken, rice and salad yum

Nice missionary couple from the States with her mom visiting

This is another one of the really amazing friends I met. This sister serves in Guatemala and has aided over 100 people to progress to baptism. I'm DEFINITELY going to try and visit her at some point! What a wealth of experience we have in our older friends.

I enjoyed watching the clouds and the mountains every day

Headed home.....While I was there I met a missionary couple and a sister from London who are serving in Nicaragua. They let me ride back with them as far as their city. I spent the night with the sister and got to see a little bit of Esteli. We made sure we had magazines readily available and handed them to everyone at the border. We did the same thing during the Special Assembly Day when traveling in Nicaragua. People respect the Witnesses here and know that we are peaceable so it is important to identify ourselves. Our passports were barely checked at one point when a man found out we were Witnesses. Another man waived the checkpoint fee when he saw the name badges! Oh yeah the picture above is when we had to cross a narrow bridge where only one car can pass at a time.