I've talked about her before. I study with her and her cousin Mirna together and we always have a good time over there. They were both hoping to come, but Mirna had some family come visit so she wasn't able to. Juliana had an English class to attend at 4pm, but since it was right across the street from the hall, I managed to convince her that nobody would think badly of her if she just came for the talk and then left.
We were running a little late so I was still getting changed in the bathroom at the Hall (we don't go home between service and meeting on Saturday since it's 1/2 hour drive) when I heard her telling someone her name! When I came out she was sitting down and she told me that if she hadn't seen Charley when she came in, she would have left since she didn't see me! Thank goodness Charley was near the door!!
So, she seemed to enjoy the talk. I'll find out more about what she thought about it on Wednesday when I go study with her and Mirna. But when I was showing her the study Watchtower before the meeting, she said she was probably going to be changing her English class to Sunday so she would be able to stay for the whole meeting in the future. So that's a good sign! Her and Mirna have always lived in the area, and their families live near the hall so they're very well known. I'm sure people soon knew that she'd come to the hall so I was really proud of her for not letting fear of man get to her. Hopefully, nobody will discourage her from coming again, and hopefully Mirna will come with her next time.
I didn't have my camera so I have no photographic evidence, but you can imagine the big grin on my face that afternoon!
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| Juliana is the one in the middle with the white shirt on. This picture was taken at their house one day. |
On Sunday we went to Ciudad Sandino which is about 35 minutes from the house and Charley gave the Special Talk again! It's a tradition here in Nicaragua to have a visiting speaker for your Memorial and your Special Talk. Not sure why! We didn't have visiting speakers as such, but the two foreigners (Caleb & Charley) gave those talks at our Memorial & Special Talk. So, one of our other elders had agreed to go to Cuidad Sandino to give the Special Talk. But he ended up having to travel Sunday so Charley went in his place. The congregation was very friendly and the hall was lovely with very nice parking and landscaping. Again I didn't take the camera! They usually have about 150 at meetings they said, but 210 showed up for the Special Talk! There were a lot of new ones there. They had to ask about 15 brothers to stand up in the back so others could sit down.
So, Charley did a nice job. On the way home I decided he needed a treat for giving the talk twice, and that I needed one for listening to it twice (hahaha j/k)! So, guess where we took ourselves for dinner?!?!?! TGI Friday's!!!!! YAY!!!!! We both had a bacon cheeseburger and fries. Man, it was GOOOOOOOOODDDDD!!!!! And then we had a Chocolate Malted Turtle for dessert (chocolate cake with caramel, pecans and vanilla ice cream). It was an American priced meal, but man was it worth it!!!! I'll be talking about it for weeks to come!
On to service experiences now!
I have a couple of nice new studies in the Good News brochure. I just LOVE that brochure. One of them is a young girl called Scarlet. I had called on her before, and I'm not sure why I stopped. But I talked to her again and got a doorstep study going in the brochure. She's only about 15, but man is she smart. She is really good at explaining the scriptures. I also discovered that they sell "helados" at her house. It's basically frozen juice in a bag! You just bite off the corner to eat it. And they're only one cordoba - 4 cents! We got one that was melon but we both thought it tasted like butterscotch for some reason! It was DELICIOUS! And she wouldn't let us pay for them either!
I also have a call where they sell frescos (fruit drinks, in a bag of course!). They're 3 or 5 cordobas depending how much you can afford and quite yummy too! And that return visit wouldn't let me pay for them the other day. And then yesterday when I was calling on another lady in that same house (who gave me two packets of crackers), the other lady there came home and gave me a fresco!! I don't just do return visits on those that give me stuff though, I promise! I've decided that every time I try to buy one and they won't let me pay, that money goes in to the contribution box since it's their way of contributing to our work.
Another nice new call I have is with Ruth. She goes to an Evangelical Church but she's happy to have us visit her too. She asks really good questions and enjoys using her Bible as we answer her questions. She also likes to quote things her pastor has said to her, then ask if that's right. We then read scriptures to see what the Bible says. At least once she's clearly seen that what he said didn't coincide with the Bible's advice, and she accepted it since she read it herself in her own Bible and came to her own conclusion on the subject. I really enjoy visiting her since she's very chatty and loves to discuss the Bible.
Charley and I are also managing to maintain our exercise routine. We're at about six weeks now so I think it's become a habit! I wish we could fit another day in, but it's hard to. But two days a week is better than nothing and I'm feeling the benefits of it. I had a nice jump start to the day this morning. After exercising I was chilling a bit on the hammock when I suddenly ended up on the floor! Gave me an instant headache, but it also got me on the move again. Hammock is now tied up again - hopefully with a stronger knot this time!
Well, that's all for now. Time to get some meeting prep done. Bye!
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