Home..

We are home now. We had a relatively uneventful day traveling. The only semi-exciting thing was Jessica getting called to the front of the plane line, as the police had confiscated her bag because it was heavy. We had all our books in there (Bibles, Bible Teach books, books for the meeting, Jessica's textbooks for her online classes). Apparently the bag got flagged because it was so heavy. The police officer looked through literally every single book to make sure there wasn't anything illegal hidden in them.
Everything feels the same as when we left, except for the weather, which is uncomfortably humid. Once we start hearing all the things we've missed and starting missing all our new friends in Colombia, it will probably feel more like we were gone for five months.

Bittersweet Moments..

So today is our last day. We have to wake up bright and early at 5 am tomorrow to get to the airport by 7. These last fews days have gone by very quickly. We are happy to be coming home, but also sad to leave this experience and all the friends we've made.

The Ortegas threw us a surprise going away party yesterday. We had absolutely no idea they were planning it. Felipe and Gladys even came for a little while.

As you can see from this picture, we were attacked with confetti.


Saturday was our last meeting. This is part of the congregation:

Almost our last day in service:

This is Angela, who I was studying with for the months of May and June. I passed her over to Kelly last Thursday. She's a good student-likes to learn and best of all, was super patient when I didnt know how to say something in Spanish.

Sorry we didn't write more for this last post, but we have to finish packing and just got home from our paseo to the river.

..

Emily and Gabriela. Gabriela studies with Laura, the mom, Sulema, studies with Kelly, and the dad, Oscar, studies with Jesus.

Steph and Kelly No. 2 talk last week..

Kelly and Jessica, No. 2 talk this past Tuesday...

Tomorrow Emily leaves, and then only 2 weeks more for us. Time has flown by!

Good times...

Right after Emily took this picture, the burro kicked her. It was the subject of many jokes for the rest of the week.A balanced breakfast: cornflakes and a twin banana.
We had the Circuit Overseer visit this week: Gustavo and Carmen Elena Rodriguez. They have been in the traveling work since '99 and were special pioneers before that. As you can imagine, they have some awesome stories.

This is Esteven, the 5 yr old I have fallen in love with.
Irnory, Kelly, and Stephany striking a pose in the mountain territory. (Yes, that is the view we get to see when we go out in service).

Party at the house yesterday! Yesterday, we had a small gathering, of only about 40 or so. First about 20ish for San Cocho (delicious soup) for lunch. They had to make it in a giant pot over a fire. Then more people came later, including some musicians (all brothers) and there was a little concert of singers and guitar players. Then some dancing and later some soccer in the dark. Overall, awesome party.

Saturday was Emily's first offical day in door-to-door service. We took a picture with these kids after they surrounded me when they found out I was American. From far away, it looked like the picture of Jesus surrounded by children in the Learn From the Great Teacher book with the scripture "Let the little children come to me." But in this case, they were surrounding me so I could teach them English.

This little girl was the cutest. When we played soccer, she told Alejandro (the guy in the video), "Think of me so that you will win." She can also sing "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes...." in English, complete with the dance.

This is Diani. She is 18 years old and a regular pioneer. Her knowledge of the Bible and ability to reason from the scriptures really shows how much effort she puts into personaly study. In addition to being an active commenter in our meetings, she is learning Sign Language and attends their Sunday meetings. She recently spent two months serving in isolated territory with another young sister. They lived in a small town in the mountains with a two hour walk to and from the Kingdom Hall. (!) She says her goal is to move "anywhere!" there is need and be in the full time service. She is a great example of whole-souled service!

Wednesday we went to a part of the territory that involves a lot of walking (on a mountain). We only work it about once a month. Here are some of the sights typical to this area.

No. 2 talk last night...

mmm the color of chocolate...

Our water comes from the river, so when it rains hard this is what comes out of the faucets.

It shouldn't last too much longer but until then...we will be showering out of the bucket:)

The Tienda Nueva Congregation is growing!

Since we love our little congregation here, we thought you guys should get to know them too.

We will start introducing you to the brothers and sharing their stories little by little. I hope you enjoy getting to know them as much as we are!
We had 3 new unbaptized publishers go through their questions Saturday night. They were all out in service on Sunday morning for their first official day in the ministry.


This is Rafael and Amanda. Amanda is a continuous auxillary pioneer, and was elated to have her husband join her on his first day in service. Their two daughters are regular pioneers (all of three sisters were baptized two summers ago). It was so encouraging to see Rafael's zeal and boldness. He not only talked at every door, but read scriptures and used detailed illustrations!

This is Olmedo and Yornay, also unbaptized publishers as of Saturday, and their daughters who are studying too. This is the family's first day in the ministry. Yornay was very excited to become a publisher; she was nothing but smiles after the meeting and told us how happy she was to be able to preach.

Bogota

We went to Bogota for about 5 days. Here are the highlights. Went to Bogota Beer Company on Thursday and I had an honrary beer even though I've been able to drink for 3 yrs already in Colombia.
We also went to the English Congregation Sunday, which was very exciting. We actually understood the entire meeting for a change! It was an especially good day to go because the speaker was a MTS graduate from NJ (originally from Colombia). Plus, I got to see the friends that I made two years ago.
The pic of Jameson playing is a game is called Zapo (Frog). You throw rings into holes and try to get to 100 pts first.
Other pics are of friends. The pic on the right near the bottom is Monserrate. And yes, that dark ominous cloud above our head is a rain cloud. It rained hard very shortly after this pic was taken.
The brothers in the bottom right corner are brothers that went to the English with us. The one on the left was visiting from Italy, and the other two are Bethelites.

A highlight of our trip was spending the weekend at the Colombian Bethel (Branch Office of Jehovah's Witnesses) in Facatativa.

There is a pic of of the group in front of the famous tree.

Saturday night we had a little gathering in one of the Social Rooms at Bethel. On the left, there are pictures of a lively game of Mimica (our version of Charades with Bible characters).

Jameson's arm with the stamp displays our Bethel "tattoo." There is a brother in jail in Facatativa (he used to be a police coronal, and he is in jail for things he did before becoming a Witness). He is a regular pioneer and has his own special territory-the jail. Brothers from Bethel go give the talk in the jail and the brother conducts the Watchtower study. We had to get stamped and numbered to go in the jail. It was an awesome experience though. He studies with several people in the jail, one of which is a publisher now.

More to come soon...didn't have much time tonight but I wanted to post again since its been so long. Chao pesca'o!

Jessica

We got a Puppy!

It has been quite a joyous weekend!
Friday night we were extremely thrilled to welcome t0 the house, what I will confidently label, the cutest puppy in all the land! They say the needed another dog to protect the house and keep the other dog company, but I think they just finally gave in to all our pleadings:)

Saturday and Sunday were long service days, which is always wonderful. Sunday was basically a two hour hike up a mountain in the blazing sun, but the service group was large and we had fun. We did stop at the top for a Coca-Cola and chicken flavored potato chip break, so I can't complain:) We played basketball for three hours that night too, so Jess and I agreed that our exercise quota for the month had been filled.

Today, the Marquez family came to visit and joined us in service. We officially finsished all of the territories as of this morning with one week to spare! The rest of the campaign will be spent going back over them and hopefully finding new people.

I would also like to point out that in the bottom picture we are standing on, and next to, manuere. I wish I could make the photo scratch and sniff so you all could enjoy the aroma as much as I did.
Estefanie

A Post...Finally

Sorry for not posting in so long! We just realized its been over two weeks. We are posting two days in row (gasp!) to make up for it. This one is a little overview of service in Tienda Nueva, and the one below has some pictures of our week.

It's been in the back of my head to write about the differences in preaching here and preaching in Florida, and I finally sat down and did it.Here it goes:

~You preach the same territory every week, like the people in NYC who only have a few territories and say "We are making our weekly visits." In the Nueva territory where we are, we go to a different territory every day of the week(Tienda Nueva on Mondays, Potrerillo on Tuesdays, Barrancas on Wednesday, etc) and on the weekends we do one of those territories again or La Bolsa or La Cascada (La Cascada is where we live). They have some meetings in the afternoon and evening, but generally its door to door in the morning, and then studies and return visits in whatever territory you are in that day. This means walking for most of us. Two of the above mentioned territories have some nice hills with rocky roads. As I grew up in Florida, I find these hills to be more like mountains. Did I mention we are not driving up the hill in a car with A/C? No, no, no, we are climbing this rocky, unpaved road in hot weather with only umbrellas to shield us from the sun.
Really though, its not that bad, and its good excercise.
~Here when you get someone home, they generally will give you some time to talk, or at least share a scripture. They have the same problem with return visits not being home or not having time though. In general, they have have more studies thanthe average person in the US, but half the time, the study doesnt have time when you come. And you come once a week, maybe twice, but generally when you are in that territory that week. For comparison, today we went to three studies and five return visits. One of the three studies actually studied, and 2 of the return visits were doorstep studies, two were busy, and one wasn't home.
~Here they take 2 hours for lunch! It's crazy. They have to go home and make lunch, or bring lunch (there is a a few brothers at least in every territory, so if you need a place to chill for lunch, it's available). And even if you eat a small lunch, the rest of the world is preparing and eating lunch for those 2 hours. If you goduring lunchtime, chances are they will be busy and not able to talk.
~Something to appreciate about Florida-the endless amounts of territory and avenues of service. Telephone, letter writing, early morning, tons of (not home usually haha) return visits to drive around to. There is no telephone witnessing here because phone calls are expensive on cell phones and you have to call land lines (Fijo) from a Fijo phone. In Cali (a bigger city), there is early morning, but here there isn't.

So those are some of the highlights of what service is like here compared to my experience in Tampa and Bradenton. Amazingly, as many times as you do the territory, you meet different people at the same houses (because families live together a lot of the time-grandparents, cousins, etc.) so you still find interested people even after the 27th time working the same territory.

Jessica

Our Weekend

Here is a little collage of our weekend. Rebecca and her parents had a party at their house Friday night for us while Mel was here. Dancing and empanadas until 12am, what more can you ask for? Saturday we went to Brother Rodriquez' finca in the mountains. Some might remember him. He stayed with my dad for bit over 10 years ago. He makes amazing art pieces our of rocks, pistachio shells, pinecones, etc. Dad gave a talk at his hall and also at a little congregation way up in the mountains (see next pic). Dad and Mel left Sunday morning and, later, Rebecca's family had a going away dinner for a young brother who is leaving for France. The dinner somehow turned into a karaoke/dance party until 12am again. All in all, a very enjoyable weekend.

This is this a new little conregation out in the mountains. As you can see, the hall is small, seats maybe 30 people. Normally you wouldnt have a congregation of 20 publishers, but these brothers live pretty far from the city, so its a special arrangement to make it easier for them to attend meetings.

Philip and Gladys drove down on Monday so that they could spend time with Melany. We went to a restuarant called "Siga la Vaca" or "Follow the Cow." There have a covered area with 10 hammocks separate from the restaurant for naptime. And lots of little cows everywhere.

1 down, 4 to go!

It has officially been one month... a good time for reflections.

Learning the language:
At times it can be frustrating and I feel like the learning curve has been very flat...but I do think I had unrealistic expectations of being fluent in one month. Jehovah has not granted me that miracle. So since I have not seen any flames on my head, I may have to actually crack open the textbook:)
Between the two of us however, Jessica and I are able to get our points across. (Much thanks to whoever gave Jess the translator!) When you first start to listen to another language, all the words seem to blur together and everything sounds alien. I am proud to say that I can now differentiate between all the words, I just don't know what all of them mean. Still, it is progress. Now that we are used to our surroundings and more comfortable in our routine, we can really apply ourselves to learning.

Service:
This city is very interesting. When a place is such a gold mine for Bible studies, that usually means the area is pretty harsh. We live in the country so most people are poor and have pretty labor intensive jobs. There is not much for young people to do but hang out in the streets and go to dance clubs. (The dance clubs are the nicest building in town). It is easy to reason with them about the need for a change in the world because most of them have experienced struggles of life first hand. Many agree to a Bible study but have a hard time finding time to prepare or attend meetings, or have a hard time changing their lifestyle, so most do not progress too rapidly.
On the other hand, you have those who study and the whole family becomes pioneers 6 months after they get baptized! There is a surprising amount of studies with little kids. The parents don't have time but the kids really like learning about the Bible so they make the decision to study.
All in all, almost everybody has some sort of Godly devotion and appreciates the Bible, most just don't know too much about it. It has been very interesting seeing the different responses and different methods of preaching.

Some good experiences:
We were walking in the territory as a man on a horse passed by and saw a brother with magazines. He was looking pretty intently, so the brother approached him and started a conversation. It turns out the man had read a Watchtower once and really liked it but had not seen the witnesses again. The brother left a set with him and promised to meet the man at his house that afternoon to talk more. When he got there the man had been waiting all afternoon, magazines read, and welcomed a study.

The other day, a sister and I came out of a house after having a really great 40 minute discussion with a young guy. I expected all the other sisters to be far down the street, finishing the territory. When we came out, almost everybody was exactly where we had left them, having their own 40 minute discussions! It was so amazing to look around and see all our sisters really getting into the Bible and teaching people about Jehovah. I was able to visualize Matthew 24:14 and appreciate that I get to be a part of it. So next time you are in service, look around at your brothers and sisters at the door and take a minute to think about the great work you are sharing in!


We are really enjoying service and the new friends/family here. Although I have been a little homesick, I am really looking forward the next 4 months! Hopefully they will be filled with many interesting stories to share.

Estefanie

P.S. I have officially spread the Bible Teach picture presentation to Colombia! Three sisters have used it...my work here is done:)

Motorcyles, Sequence, and Why We Love Colombia

Next time you hear a heavily accented comment at the meeting, take a minute to appreciate the preparation, prayer, and hutzpa it took for the person to give it!
Jessica and I are proud to have successfully (more or less) commented at every meeting so far. Despite the fact that our hearts nearly stop, it is a fairly painless experience, and everyone is very encouraging afterward. We think the only reason they understand us somtimes is holy spirit.
Also, I gave my first presentation at the door! It was not pretty, but that is why we have two people at the door-the second person is there to explain to the householder what you actually meant.
It is hard to pick a good experience to share because things that would constitute a great day in service for us in the states are so common in this territory. There is a Bible discussion at every door. Laura started three new bible studies on the Direct Approach Day, making her total (if these new ones study) 19. When we start having our own experiences (that is, when we start taking doors by ourselves), we will share them with you.





Going in service on a motorcycle :) :)









Playing Sequence (thank goodness it comes with directions in Spanish!)
We had one game with 10 people on two teams. You can't avoid table talk with 10 people.

Here is a hastily-made video entitled "Ode to Colombia":

Armenia with Philip & Gladys

Philip and Gladys (uncle + aunt) took us to Armenia Tuesday and Wednesday. It's more in the mountains, and there are beautiful views everywhere you turn.

They took us to a research/education center for guadua. Guada is a type of bamboo and is used for construction. It's flexible and can be used for making furniture, cups, toys, instruments, etc. Interestly, guadua houses used to be only for the poor, but then when an earthquake hit, and the guadua houses were the ones left standing, more people took an interest in them.

They can retain 10 to 15 liters of water a day in their stalks, and when the river start drying up in the dry season or drought, theygive back that water to keep the water level at the status quo.

They grow super fast (21 cm per day, 25 meters in 6 months). You can't use for the construction until they are 6 years old.

Interestly, these plants are excellent evidence of creation. It seems they were made to be used. If left untouched, they shrivel and die. They actually thrive and get stronger (they grow back thicker) when cut down (similar to when you cut your dead ends to make your hair grow faster). Philip asked the young man who giving us the tour, and after a reluctant pause (maybe he was wondering what motive Philip had in asking that), he said that with plants like this, you have to believe in creation.

Anyway, it was very interesting. Don't quote us exactly on the facts, because the tour was in Spanish, and we only got the translated version from Philip.

And yes, Steph is hugging a giant tree in that picture :) They say that if you hug it, it will take away your negative energies. Steph says it takes away your negative energies, not because of any natural remedy, but because you are hugging a tree, and you have to be happy when you hug a tree.

Tips from the Cat Whisperer

Petting a Random Cat on the Side of a Mountain

1. Get low to the ground and initiate communication (the cat must think it is his idea to make contact)- squat, don't sit, in an unassuming position and extend your hand. Palm up= "I'm going to feed you", palm down= "You may smell me." If your chosen method does not envoke the desired reaction, switch methods immediately, before the cat loses interest.

2. Slowly and gently begin to pet the cat behind the ears- this communicates that you have something to offer and he will begin to trust you.

3. Pick up the cat (this MUST be done in a swift motion so as to catch the cat by surprise)- hold it tight in a cradle position and vigorously scratch it behind the ears until it is forced into submission. He likes it, you just have to convince him of it. (Caution: If fighting persists for an extended period of time, use discretion. It may be wise to abort the mission here.)

4. Voila! The cat is tame and you have successfully cat whispered.

** Disclaimer: Results are not guaranteed. The Cat Whisperer is NOT liable for any damages caused to your person while attempting to cat whisper.**

2 weeks down...

There's a lot of walking in service. You walk the whole territory. Imagine walking to a Riverhills territory, and then doing the whole (or most of) the territory. (Or for Bradenton people, imagine driving to Myakka, then walking from house to house instead of driving to each gate-it's a similar amount of walking). The street we are walking down in the picture didn't have many houses, but we had to walk all the way down in it. We actually ended up in another territory and then Jesus picked us up in the car. As we were walking down that street though, we could look to our left and see this:

These are my shoes (I had to buy leather ones that could take the walking on rocky roads). The first pic is when i bought them on Tuesday. The second pic is today after only a few days wear from service. You can see why we would need slightly more durable shoes than our little Florida flats.

Friday we went to a pool. Of course, the one day we go to the pool, it was overcast in the afternoon. But it was fun anyway. And again, right next to where we were swimming, you can look one way and see the mountains. Ages 15-20 are represented in this picture (Angela, 18, Jessica, 20, Steph, 19, Daniela, 15, Lady, 17, Kelly, 25, Laura, 16). All the people in this picture are pioneering (the 15 yr old is auxilary and the rest are regular).

Kelly is funny- shes older than all of us, but also shorter, so she stands on her tiptoes in pictures.

Jessica

Life so far...

So, today we brought a cow to someone and I took a shower with a frog. Which one is an expression and which one literally happened? I will tell you at the end of this post.

Now that we are settled and know the routine I can describe everything a little better, so here is our new life so far:

The Family:

Jesus, Kelly, and Laura. Jesus is an elder and all three are pioneers. We could not have asked for a better family to stay with. They are warm and inviting and include us in everything they do. Kelly is teaching us to cook and clean and do all the wifely duties in which she is so skilled. They are learning English at a British school which makes communication a little easier. They have learned to piece together our broken Spanish and understand what we are trying to say. They all have a great sense of humor so we are always laughing. We feel very much at home.

The Place:

The beautiful house (as you have seen in pictures) is in a town called Tienda Nueva which is right outside Palmira which is about 30 min from Cali. Cali is a city like Tampa and Tienda Nueva is more in the country. Every time we go out in service I am amazed at the view. Sugarcane fields to the left and mountains to the right. Most of the houses are more on the “rustic” side but many are very nice with big gardens. In this town, you say hello to everyone you pass in the street. It is generally safe but you do have to be cautious of going into certain areas, like into the mountains. The weather is florida-esque in temperature but minus the humidity. Overall, a BEAUTIFUL place to live.

The Routine:

Monday- house cleaning day.

Tuesday- Service in morning, lunch/siesta at noon, studies in afternoon, meeting in evening

Wednesday- Service, lunch/siesta, studies, family study

Thursday- Service, lunch/siesta, studies

Friday- Service, lunch/siesta, studies

Saturday- Service, lunch/siesta, meeting, Plan B family study

Sunday- Service, lunch/siesta, studies

Of course this is the general plan which can be altered if we want to sleep in or go somewhere, but as you can see, life revolves around service. I am sure it is no surprise that I slipped into this lifestyle pretty smoothly..especially the lunch/siesta part:)

We are loving every minute so far and are learning a lot. We will keep you posted on exciting events and good experiences.

Oh and if you guessed bringing a cow to someone as the expression..you were right. It means everyone chips in for one person.

I took a shower in the outside bathroom and a frog croaked on the wall next to my head the whole time because I was too afraid to move it...it did not seem to have nearly as much fear as I did.

Estefania

Dad gave the talk at the Tienda Nueva congregation (the one we will be in) on Saturday, and then again at 8am and 9am Sunday.

Also, I have now proved that I can actually make platanos (fried plantains) without burning down the kitchen. I hope you are proud Linda :)

They have chickens for the eatin' in the back yard so we ate some [very] fresh chicken. It's interesting to wake up and see chickens hanging upside down in the yard (to be bled).



The hot dogs here (perro caliente..lol its literally the spanish words for hot [caliente] and dog [perro]) are amazing. They are loaded up with chips and sauce and cheese. Contrary to what Steph's face looks like it is feeling in the picture, she actually thought they were delicioso!

Never get between a man and his swan.














Early morning service in Cali. Our presentation was "Buenos dias. Tengo un tratado para usted. [read title of tract]. Si lo dejo que lo lea." (direct translation: Good morning. I have a tract for you [read title of tract]. If I give it to you, read it.[its sounds softer in spanish than in english])











Dad preparing his talk for Saturday.

This is the family we are living with in Palmira: Jesus, Kelly, and Laura. They are all three regular pioneering and have 38 studies between the three of them. They go out in service almost every day. Territory in the morning, and studies in the afternoon. This morning, we all slept in because the territory was in the mountains, where it is not as safe for the gringas (white girls)to go.

This is the "pueblo" we are living in. Man, we are roughing it in this country, there are only three hammocks on the 2nd floor porch.

After the meeting Tuesday, empandas, papas rellenos, and refajo (=beer + soda, in this case Sprite)..mmmm!

We went to the meeting Tuesday night in Cali. There are muchos jovenes (young people) in this congregation. Jessica made her first comment in Spanish. It was very complex: "Respetar las decisiones y deseos del paciente."