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:)