Get To Know Our Needgreaters- Bev

Get to know our Need Greaters- Bev

Ok first let me preface this interview by saying I asked her these questions many many moons ago but never had a chance to post it.  She has since served in the Dominican Republic and is currently assisting a congregation in the States.  Nonetheless, this is one of my favorite interviews so I still wanted you to see it!  Ok, without further ado, here's Bev!

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

Missouri originally; before I came here I was in San Diego, 17 years.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO BECOME A NEED GREATER?

It just more or less just happened.  I needed lower living expenses and at the same time I wanted to be where there was a need.

WHY NICARAGUA?

It was between a couple of other places but I had extended family in Leon who would bring pictures when in the States for work.  Then, a friend of my son's was in Masaya and he put me in touch with a family in Granada.

HAD YOU SERVED WHERE THE NEED WAS GREATER IN THE PAST?

No, only unassigned territory in the States.

DO YOU PLAN TO SERVE ANYWHERE ELSE?

I plan to move to the Dominican Republic (which she did!) to an area near my granddaughter.  I've been in Nicaragua for almost 11 months.

HOW DID YOU PREPARE TO SERVE IN NICARAGUA?

Well, almost two years before, I started downsizing with plans to sell my mobile home.  At that point, I was not sure where to go because my purpose in downsizing was for economic as well.  Then I realized I could actually go to another country.  So, I distributed all my things of value to my grandchildren and now it's just the clothes on my back and a few photo albums!

WERE YOU WORRIED ABOUT ANYTHING BEFORE COMING TO NICARAGUA?

Not really.  The brothers gave me a lot of information and I knew they would see to it I was in a secure place.

DID YOU HAVE TO OVERCOME ANY CHALLENGES TO GET HERE OR WHILE SERVING HERE?

Well, Satan is going to make sure you have obstacles.  I have been pioneering almost 35 years and every year is a challenge.  Of course, things did not go smoothly getting here and the language is a challenge for me.

DO YOU HAVE ANY HIGHLIGHTS OR GOOD EXPERIENCES FROM BEING IN NICARAGUA?

There is not enough time to relate how exciting the ministry is here!  I have been able to use many assets of service; I was able to give a witness to several that would be hard to find.  Just warmth and caring is a witness in itself.  But the highlight  for me is seeing Jehovah's organization in action.  I can never wait for the year book to come out, but to be somewhere and see Jehovah's hand in so many ways is an experience beyond compare.  For example, they hand a pioneer route in all Central America starting in January through June.  14,050 pioneers from Central America and 3,035 from Mexico.  Some came for as many months as possible, and some for all six.  They covered every nook and cranny.  Not only did they have excellent experiences but they encouraged the congregations they worked out of, also.  This was all rural.  They forged rivers, climbed mountains, slept in hammocks in the wilderness as well as walking two to three hours to the territory.  The second thing is, that to see young and old, mostly young, make the sacrifices they do to be here.  They live here as long as they can before return to find work and then back again.  As they put up with indescribable conditions, they are happy to do so.  Need greaters are very close to each other because they need to keep encouraging each other.  And, they still find time for recreation.  This is a non-stop ministry!

HOW HAS THIS EXPERIENCE HELPED YOU TO DRAW CLOSER TO JEHOVAH?

When you go to where the need is greater, you realize how much we all have to do.  Even though everyone checks on each other, you realize that they have alot to do so this draws you closer to Jehovah because he will help you with everything.  Also, we are really in a goldfish bowl, so everything we do or say can be a good or bad witness so unity is very important.  So many prayers in order to bring praise to Jehovah and the work his son is doing.

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

Study, cook, clean.  There are times for trips but just getting together with the friends is so encouraging.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHERS THINKING OF SERVING WHERE THE NEED IS GREATER?

Just get in the car and start turning the wheel.  Most of all, a great matter of prayer.  Do not build the tower without it.

On the road again...

After several months of getting stronger and enjoying my time in Atlanta, I'm headed to the midwest to work the beet harvest yet again.  My mom sent me off with breakfast of champions and called me at every layover, lol.  I thought I would be bussing it all the way but, at the last minute I found a super cheap flight to Minneapolis so I flew most of the way and just bussed it for the second leg of the trip.

I buy my boots extra big in the men's section so I can layer a bunch of socks for warmth.  Unfortunately, this also causes me to trip over my own feet.  Add that to the weight of the bag causing me to get off balance and knock into people and you have pretty good entertainment!

Mmmm..... my mommas biscuits!

I felt pretty cool navigating my way from the airport to the bus station on public transportation for the first time.

I spent the night at the bus station in Fargo.  Everyone else oppted to sleep on the floor while I stayed up and read.  This gentleman must have been having a really good sleep!  (Y'all wouldn't have believed me if I hadn't taken the photo!)

Home sweet home for the next several weeks!  A loving family a few cities over let two sisters and I use their camper for the harvest.  They even stocked us with lots of blankets, space heaters and other comforts.

We even have a cute doorbell that says "No boys allowed!" when anyone rings  it, lol.  I'm opting to walk the mile and a half to work each way to work to try and get my stamina back up.  We'll  see if that lasts as it gets colder!  Many other witnesses have returned this year.  Since the local congregations are at their assembly this weekend, we'll take our first roadtrip to Fargo to get in some long days with the Spanish congregation there.  Then its "Hi ho, hi ho....it's off to work we go!"

I Do Windows

So.... I picked up a little extra money doing some house cleaning the last week or so for some of the friends.  A first for me.  And quite ironic I might add given that my room usually looks like a tornado went through it.  Another work in progress but least common areas are in order!  I was doing fine until I realized I'm really bad at windows!  I had to sneak away and call my mom for the secret to streak free windows.  Thanks for making me look like a pro, mom!

In other news, I just finished packing my bag to head to the midwest tomorrow for the beet harvest.  I was worried about whether I could handle it this year with my health.  But, Jehovah worked through my boss there to find me a "sit down" gig.  It's still on night shift (12 hours) but I'll get off at 9AM so I can meet the group at 9:30 for a couple of hours (in an ideal world at least!)  I think I've found the right combo of vitamins and my energy is great now.  I'm still getting lots of encouraging calls and texts from the friends and my students back in Nicaragua so that keeps my spirits high as well!

I'm gonna try to put up a few more long overdue posts if I manage to have wi-fi at the airport and bus station.

See ya!

Foreign language here in Atlanta-Burmese

The call is out to help in foreign languages!  My old hall here has a Spanish and Amharic (Ethiopian) congregation.  There is also a "pre-group" for the many Burmese speaking people in our area.  They are from the country our year book was about this year-Burma/Myanmar.  I don't understand a word of the language but I love going to Burmese Bible studies with my friend because she is so well organized and puts so much love into preparing for her students!

Not sure what this is but they were very hospitable in giving us plenty of it :-).

Some of my friend's phonetically spelled teaching notes.

Tabs she uses to find the books of the Bible.

There are tons of different dialects so she uses tabs so that she can be even more efficient.  Because we have so many Burmese attending our English meeting, our Watchtower conductor always greets them in three different languages before he begins.  We just got our first Burmese unbaptized publisher also!

Two sisters conducting a Bible study.

Doing what I do best...distracting the kids with a video!