12000 Pageviews - wow!

I just noticed that our blog reached 12000 pageviews today! Thanks for following us. And a lot of you get the blog via email so probably never even go to the online version. It's nice to know that people are still keeping up with my oftentimes terribly long blog posts!!

So, since I last blogged we had a wonderful weekend enjoying our Circuit Pioneer Session and our Circuit Assembly. 

Friday we went to help clean the assembly hall in the morning. We were assigned all of the paths around the place, picking up leaves and scrubbing them (the paths, not the leaves!). We had a really good turnout to help, probably about 150 or so. We left the place nice and clean for the assembly. In the afternoon we had our circuit pioneer session. It was originally going to be at the assembly hall, but they had to change it at the last minute to a Kingdom Hall in Masaya. The reason is that the current political party were having a rally that involved shutting down the entire main highway between Managua and Masaya so that people could walk and party along the way. For an explanation of what it was for, you can click here if you like. (The comment the reporter makes in parenthesis towards the end are rather funny - my sentiments exactly!)

So, since that's the highway that goes from the assembly hall to Masaya they moved it into Masaya so that everyone could get there. Problem is, one congregation in the circuit, and 6 of us needgreaters, live between Managua and Masaya right off that highway! So, we got to the meeting just fine. Getting home - that was another story! We debated about waiting around in Masaya until later, in the hopes that the march would be over. But then one brother went to check things out, and came back saying the police said they'd let us through.

With that promise, we all piled into the two trucks we had between us and headed out. This was around 6pm. We got a few kilometers down the highway all excited about going home, and then, oh great, policemen blocking the road. They sent us up a different road, and from that main road, we had to drive down a dirt road in the dark for about 30 minutes or more. Along the way we had to ask for directions a couple of times but we eventually came back out onto the highway about 5 or 6 km from where they redirected us. So off we go, all happy that we're just a few km from home. We pass the street where two sisters in the group live, but there were so many people partying in the street, and probably drunk, that they didn't want to get out. So we kept on going. We got 3 km further, and again, CLOSED!!!! Thankfully for everyone else, by then we were in the territory where most of them live. So we took a back road and dropped everyone off. One couple ended up spending the night at someone elses house because it was too complicated to get back home.

But we still live about 2.5 km further on, so it's not over for us yet! We take a back road that we knew because we served for 3 months in that territory, but then we get so far and it's blocked off because they're repaving it! So we start to think we'll be staying at a friend's house for a while, the night before our assembly! As we pull into a field to turn around, a little mototaxi pulls past us and follows a path through the field. So, we follow him. I'm convinced the road will be too big for the truck, but it wasn't! We crossed the field and came out on a road that took us to Ticuantepe - which is where the assembly hall is. So, now we're about 3 km PAST our house! We drove down that road, passing by the assembly hall, until we find a dirt road that leads right to the gates of the housing division we live in!

It felt so good to be home. What should have been a 20 minute drive took 90 minutes, but we made it. We also went to the assembly in a really muddy truck the next morning! And even some of those that live right in Masaya had a hard time getting past Central Park. A 10 minute trip turned into a 30 minute one for them too.

Here we are - those of us who live off the closed highway, outside the hall, debating what to do!

But the day was wonderful. We have 265 regular pioneers in the circuit, and 3 special pioneers. The Kingdom Hall was bursting at the seams! Charley and Caleb both had the privilege of giving talks on the program. That was Charley's first talk at a circuit pioneer session. And Brenda and I did a little 2-minute demonstration for him which went well. We managed to remember all of our lines! If my memory serves me correctly, that's the first time I've ever had a part on the pioneer session too. I think!

As usual there were some really good reminders and suggestions on the program. I came away with lots of things to work on as I do every year! The CO told us that we have 2048 publishers in the circuit and conduct 3036 bible studies. 1256 of those studies are conducted by the regular and special pioneers. Also, 6 new congregations were formed in the circuit since September 2012, one of those being the one we're in now.

Our friend Justin also gave a really good talk about conducting progressive studies. He's a good example of that too - he had a study baptized at the assembly on Saturday. A young man he met in the door to door ministry about 2 years ago. 

And we got to meet the District Overseer - for the first and last time! They've been reassigned to Mexico, so they'll be leaving Nicaragua soon. Nicaragua only has one district, the whole country, so they've done a lot of travelling in the 2 years they've served down here. And we had the special privilege of having Brother John Larson who has served for years in Bethel in NY, and is currently in the Mexico branch for 18 months with his wife, Tamara. He gave the concluding talk and he had to try and talk louder than the pouring rain on the zinc roof for the last few minutes of it. I think he wrapped it up a little early because of that actually. We really enjoyed having them with us for the weekend as they were at our assembly too and we got to talk to them a little bit every day.

Charley giving his talk at the pioneer session

Brenda and I doing our demonstration

Blurry picture of Brother John Larson

The packed out Kingdom Hall

Andrea - I study with her little sister Noelia whose been featured on the blog before!

Our circuit assembly went really well. We had a peak of just over 1700 there on Sunday. Six were baptized on Saturday. Our young pioneer, Jose, did the bible reading on Saturday and did a very nice job. We had heard the program in English back in October, so it was nice to hear it again. I missed all of Sunday afternoon because our congregation was assigned to see to the sister's bathrooms. Man, was THAT an experience! 

I won't go into too much detail, but there was a lot of gagging went on during the cleaning process. Most sewer systems here in Nicaragua can't handle toilet paper, so people have a trash can for that in their bathrooms. Well, at the assembly hall the plumbing CAN handle it, and there's a sign on the inside of every stall which tells you that. However, not everyone believes the signs or something, so, well, I'll leave it at that. I would be happy to have ANY other assignment at the next assembly! Thank goodness they provided us with gloves!! An oxygen mask would have been nice too, but you can't have everything I guess!

Jose doing the Bible Reading on Saturday. They could hardly get the podium short enough for him! He's been a regular pioneer for over a year, and he's only 13.

Saturday after the assembly - I forgot to get one while Charley still had his tie on! A sister told me she had a belt just like mine about 20 years ago! I said yeah, so did my mam, and now it's mine!!

Our faithful travelling sisters. Left to right: Elizabeth Olivares (CO's wife), Sister Galindo (DO's wife, forgot her first name), and Tamara Larson currently serving with her husband at the Mexico branch, previously served at Wallkill.

Me and Brenda - they are in the other section of the circuit now but came to visit for the afternoon.

So, that was the weekend. This week we've had a good time out in service. I have an established study now in our new territory, and had some really good return visits this week too. I also had good studies with those from my old territory that I haven't turned over yet. It's so hard to want to pass them on, but as we get busier in our new territory, it will become too hard to keep my old studies anyway.

We're also getting to know our new congregation better working with them in the ministry. I worked with a young 22-year old sister called Socorro the other day. What a fight she has had to serve Jehovah. It was so encouraging to hear her story and think about how easy I've always had it. She started studying when she was 12 but faced severe opposition from her family. She kept going though, was baptized at 16, ended up leaving home at 19 and had a hard time finding work and a place to live, but thanks to the love of the brothers and sisters she's got a good place now and is faithfully serving Jehovah. There are so many young ones here who respond to the truth at a young age, when nobody else in their family does, and it's so encouraging to hear their experiences and see their faith in action.

Oh, and Masaya had a tornado. At first I didn't believe it, but then I realized it was true! It affected a brother's house too, and then this week his mam died. He's had a rough month. Here's the news story on the tornado. It hit right in our old territory and near our Kingdom Hall when we were on our way to the meeting. We didn't see it, but everyone was talking about it when we got there.

And exciting news for the end - we bought our tickets to go back and visit home!!!!! We've been hanging on, waiting for the prices to come down, and they finally did. So, on September 3rd at 5:45pm we'll touch down in Indianapolis, and will be there about 2 1/2 months, until November 20th!!! YAY!!!!! We're really excited about seeing everyone. I wish we could somehow afford a visit to England too, but that's not going to happen! But at least we'll be there a day before my Aunty Lesley goes back to England so we'll get to see her. 

I guess that also answers the question of whether we are only staying for a year. We enjoyed our first year so much that we've decided to extend our time down here. So, we'll see what the future holds. Stay tuned!