Trip Down Memory Lane- Pre-Nica Experiences

Hi everyone!  I'm working on a post to catch you up to speed on what has been going on with me since my return to the States.  Bare with me as I take a few minutes here and there to write and upload photos.  In the mean time, I recently came across this list of experiences that occured a few years ago when I was preparing to leave for Nicaragua.  I wrote them so that I wouldn't forget how Jehovah had his hand in things from the beginning.  I hope they are as encouraging to you as they are for me. (And yes this is a long, wordy post with no photos, sorry!!)

Nica Chica ;-)

Experience 1
 

In preparation of my upcoming move to Nicaragua to pioneer for a year, I visited an oral surgeon to find out if I needed to have work done prior to the move. Once I signed in at the office, several of the nurses at the front desk were excited to finally meet me. I had made several calls for a quick appointment stressing that I would be leaving the country soon. One of the nurses in particular, was excited to learn of the need greater work because her father was the head of a church and had done "mission" work in the past. She was surprised that this was a work that Witnesses do worldwide. Once in the doctor’s office, the surgeon asked why I was leaving the country for so long, so I explained. She asked if I was Christian to which I replied, "Yes, but more specifically, I’m one of Jehovah’s Witnesses." She immediately paused in writing on my chart and I could tell that she was going to make a sarcastic comment so, I beat her to the punch and made a joke myself. She laughed and told me jokingly just not to leave any pamphlets in her office since that’s what we do. I laughed and made no promises. Further into my exam, she left the room and returned with her assistant and an intern. She told me that she had a serious question. She said that her intern had come to her a few days prior about an issue brought up in class. The intern wanted to know why Witnesses would not accept blood. I explained Genesis 9:4 very simply. She understood but then said that she herself had issue with the Witness’ stance because she does not know what to do in a trauma situation if a Witness needs blood. I told her that while we don’t accept whole blood, we do accept blood fractions. She said that was fine, but stressed that in a trauma situation that whole blood is necessary. I said a quick silent prayer and Jehovah brought back all of the information that was discussed in the Kingdom Ministry a few months prior. I was able to thoroughly explain the need of various fractions, the use of cell salvage, saline solution and other options. She stood silently nodding her head as if a very bright light had come on. She continued my exam for a few minutes and abruptly stopped again to ask if the Witnesses were an American religion. I explained about our worldwide work and unity. She was stunned by what she was hearing. She looked to her left and to her right at her assistant and intern who were both full of questions and excited at what they were learning. She laughed out loud and exclaimed, ‘Here we are supposed to be working on you and you have us in awe of your Jehovah stuff!’ I laughed and encouraged her to open the door the next time Witnesses visit her. The next day, I dropped off the blood dvd with her receptionist and plan to follow up within the next month to see if she had any questions.
Experience 1 part 2 
The surgeon ended up telling me that the surgery was not necessary now. However, she was so impressed that I was willing to give up lucrative job and excellent insurance for my ministry that she insisted that I email her every few months with updates and visit her when I return to the States. She said that she would keep my charts and if she found that I needed the surgery upon my return, she would get me set up in the free insurance system in my city, schedule the very difficult and expensive surgery at a nearby learning hospital where she oversees residents and she would personally come down and oversee the procedure to make sure I received the same care that I would have with my expensive insurance. Jehovah takes care of all of our needs if we put him first.

Experience 2 Part 1
 

After visiting Nicaragua briefly last year, I made plans to serve there for one year. I saved as much as I could but prayed to Jehovah since my savings were coming along slowly. Shortly thereafter, my boss told me that she needed to see me in her office. She told me that the firm was making some changes and that my role was going to change slightly. She reminded me that the firm was giving 2% raises to everyone in September at the start of the fiscal year. I knew that I would be in Nicaragua by then so I was a little discouraged. She told me that the high performers would receive a 5% raise instead. I graciously thanked her, realizing I would never see the bonus. However, she told me that she was so impressed by my work and positive attitude that I was way above the high performers so she was going to give me a 15% raise! She went on to say that she didn’t want me to have to wait until September to see it, so she changed my job title to warrant giving me a promotion, took away a bit of my workload (which gave me the opportunity to further plan for the move) and the raise would begin the following Monday! Jehovah more than blessed my efforts to save for the move!

Experience 2 part2

A week later, I called regarding my student loans to find out if I could be given a grace period for a month or two after I returned from Nicaragua since I would be out of work initially. They told me yes and inquired why I was leaving the country. I told them, and assured them that I was saving up enough money to pay them while I was away. The representative asked to place me on hold and returned to say that I qualified for deferment and did not have to worry about paying the loans while I was out of the country!

Experience 2 part 3

A few months after the promotion, the came time to tell my boss that I was leaving. I was very nervous that she would feel I was unappreciative of the raise. Satan did everything he could to make me stay, including having a partner come to me as I was holding the resignation letter to say that he wanted to utilize me more (even more money). I asked my boss into an office to speak privately. Full of nervousness and teary eyed, I told her that I was leaving the firm. Full of concern she wanted to know why and was ready to negotiate. Once I explained, a huge smile covered her face. She told me (for the first time) that she was always so impressed by the joy I found in my ministry and that she wished she had that joy. She went on to say that as much of a workaholic I was for the firm I seemed to work 10 times as hard outside the firm in my ministry and she envied the joy and purpose it gave me. She wanted to know what I would do when I returned in a year. I told her just temp work until I found a job. She took me over to Human Resources and they both agreed to offer me an extended leave of absence with the guarantee to create another position for me as soon as I returned!

Experience 2 part 4

Prior to my leaving, an office wide email explaining why I was leaving the firm was sent. This is VERY uncommon with my firm. The email led to countless opportunities to give a Witness about the Brotherhood. This is an opportunity that I had not had in the past. I continue to send emails to my coworkers about the work here in Nicaragua and they continue to have a new found respect for the Witnesses.

Experience 2 part 5

Fast forward four years. I was offered a job by my former boss at her new firm since returning from my assignment. While speaking to one of the principals at  the firm, he asked about my former employment. When I mentioned the previous firm he told me that his daughter is currently employed there. I told him that I remembered when she was just an intern!   A few days later, he told me that he had inquired of his daughter about me. After all these years what she remembered about to me, was my volunteer service (pioneering) and that I had left the firm to do missionary service and Nicaragua. I was quite surprised! This led to a nice witness with her dad. Throughout my job hunting I have had  countless opportunities to give a witness because of having to explain a three year gap in my employment (aside from harvesting sugar beets lol).  I am still in contact with some of these people.

Experience 3

While working in a fast paced, high pressure job with a large accounting firm, one of my coworkers laughed aloud and shook her head as I walked by. I asked her why she had responded so. She smiled and told me that I had chaos and stress swirling around me yet I always have smile and complete inner calmness. I was later able to give her a witness and explain why I am so genuinely happy.

Experience 4

In my prior job indirectly discouraged from witnessing to coworkers. So, I would simply mention all the fun I had in the ministry when people asked me about my weekend. Upon returning from doing need greater work in Costa Rica for two weeks, our marketing department wanted to know more about what I was doing. They were working on an annual report showcasing members of the firm who volunteer. I was able to explain about pioneering, RBC and need greater work as well as how the firm allowed me to have a flexible work schedule so that I could be in the ministry more. The article was included in a booklet which was sent to all of our offices in the US as well as hundreds of clients served by the Atlanta office.

Experience 5

I began pioneering last year with a full time job. In order for my schedule to work, I had to start letter writing at 4:45 AM every morning. Over the course of a few months, I sent out just under 100 letters including Isaiah 41:10 and the, "What Hope for Dead Loved Ones" tract to families listed in obituaries. I received one response in the form of a hand written card. The card read, "Your kind expression of sympathy is gratefully acknowledged and deeply appreciated. I am so grateful for the scriptures you sent me. To be able to open the bible to specific passages lightens my heavy heart. Thank you" That one card made all my early mornings well worth it. Ecc. 11:6

Experience 6

I recently took a flight to NY to visit family. I stuck a few magazines in my backpack in case the opportunity to give a witness arose. On the return flight, I accidentally sat in the wrong seat. I was realized this well into the flight but I had a funny feeling I was there for a reason and since no one came for the seat I didn’t move. When we stopped and more people boarded someone came for the seat. Before I could gather my items, the man asked where my seat was and immediately went to it. Again, I felt a funny feeling that I was there for a reason. The woman to my left saw me smiling at a baby and asked if I had kids. I replied, "No, I’m not married." She was taken aback by my response and said that I must be Christian. I told her I was. She gave me several opportunities to give a witness but honestly I was too nervous to get shot down with several more hours of flight left. Every time she brought something up I prayed to Jehovah for boldness and chastised myself for not jumping on the opportunity. She told me her pastor had forbid her from speaking to the Witnesses but she was really searching for truth. I could no longer hold back. I explained many things and she was very excited. Finally, I stopped studying my Watchtower and remembered the magazines I had. I offered her 1 of 4 to read on the long flight. She took one and began reading it. I noticed the gentleman on my left eyeing the others in my lap so I offered him one to read as well. When he chose one, the first lady saw one she wanted more. I told her she could have it as well. They both immediately began reading and before long the gentleman looked at me very seriously and asked, "Do I have to give this back to you?!" I told him, "No!" with a smile and he read for the whole flight. The original lady became engrossed in the second magazine and pulled out a highlighter like I had for mine. A few minutes later, she pulled a bible from her purse and started looking up all the scriptures! About an hour into the flight a person 2 rows back (who had been listening to our conversation) asked her if she was reading a Sunday school book. She pointed to me and I explained that I had one more magazine. He hesitated then declined accepting it. Both passengers continued to ask questions during the entire flight. Finally, the first woman asked for the last magazine I had. As soon as she set it on her lap, the person 2 rows back asked if he could read it after all! He read for the remainder of the flight. Towards the end of the flight, I asked where the woman lived. She turned out to live in my area directly across the street from my fleshly brother. Since my brother was picking me up from the airport, I called him when we landed and he agreed to take her home as well. We joked like old friends and passengers all around us started giggling too—apparently they had been listening to me the whole time I had been witnessing! Both passengers asked to exchange email addresses to stay in contact. By the time we got to baggage claim, the lady was so excited at having finally spoken with a witness she kept saying, "I’m so thankful to Jehovah!" I could barely believe my ears! Over the next week she moved out of state but my brother and I were able to help her with her move. She was completely overwhelmed at how nice Witnesses are. The wrong seat turned out to be the right one!