Out of the mouth of babes

I'm going to take a moment to brag about my amazing nephew and his awesome mom too.

Asa is 10 and these are his Bible students! His mom, Charley's sister, was taking magazines to the husband and decided to let Asa take over since the man's wife never really joined in their conversations. Next thing she knows, Asa is offering them a study which they both accepted!

My sister-in-law told me: "They are very religious and I think they only started studying because it's him. My favorite story to tell is how the wife one time said Jehovah...I mean God, and then awhile later said our God Jehovah."

They absolutely adore Asa (it's hard not to!). So proud of this little guy and the great job Hannah is doing. Her 13-year old also conducts a study with an adult. Beautiful thing to see Jehovah using willing young ones.

Catching up

I have once again terribly neglected the blog. This will basically be a summary of Instagram posts over the last few months with a few extra details in the stories. It will also probably be a bit jumbled as far as the timing goes! I'll probably post another set of photographs later since it seems I have some on the computer and others on my phone. 

We traveled to Indianapolis in November to work for a couple of months. This was in the Fort Lauderdale airport. So nice to see the friends wherever we go! It brightened up what was a looooong layover in the airport!

Quick coffee and muffins before heading out into the cold for field service in Bloomington, Indiana with Charley's family

With the Matthews after the meeting. The boys are growing up so fast!

Hadn't seen frost in a long time! Our first weekend in Indiana was chilly but not too terribly cold. 

Loved seeing the snow fall downtown. The novelty wore off as soon as I had to go outside though! We've decided we definitely won't be going back to Indiana in Winter unless we absolutely have to for some reason! This was our first December in Indiana for five years and we'd forgotten how challenging it can be!

We both got new glasses and by complete coincidence chose matching frames!!

We got to enjoy field service (and breaks!) with old friends from the Spanish and English congregations

A couple of weeks after getting back to Nicaragua we had our first break-in experience. We came home from service at midday to discover our gate lying down and the back door open. The police got some good fingerprints, but as far as we know nothing has resulted from that. We don't expect to get anything back of what was stolen but it was a good reminder of why it's best not to be too attached to material things. The worst of it all really is the peace of mind they steal, that's harder to get back. But that weekend we went to the English circuit assembly and felt very comforted by a talk that specifically mentioned how as foreigners we're often the target of thieves and that we continue to have faith in Jehovah as our shield. That assembly day was like a big hug from Jehovah in the language of our hearts. Very encouraging indeed.

This is Charley's new wedding ring! His ring didn't want to fit the morning we got robbed, and so it was in the house and they stole it. It wasn't an item we would have bothered replacing, at least not any time soon. Well, the next week, a little girl in our congregation gave me a little pink box with a necklace in that she'd made for me, and the ring you see in the picture! For some reason she had this ring, and she decided to give it to us, and it fit Charley perfectly! Amazing to see how Jehovah can use a 7-year old to comfort us when we've had a difficult experience!

On a study last week. It was so heart-warming to hear this sister's student talk about how she's trying to use the name Jehovah more often now. She really appreciated understanding more about his name, it's meaning, and the importance of it. She sells clothes so we sit on the high curb to have her study. This picture also captures two popular modes of transport here in Masaya. Motorbikes and horses! You have to look closely but you'll see the horses and carriage in the background!

Field service scene from circuit visit week. This sister and her husband were also visiting us from the States to "spy out the land". We had a really fun week with the substitute CO and his wife, and this couple that were visiting too. Such fine examples of couples who have made wise decisions and always put Jehovah first in their lives.

Finally got public witnessing worked back into our schedule. We did an afternoon shift in Masaya's Central Park. It was so nice to have this aspect of the ministry back into our weekly routine. 

And some random guy decided to draw Charley!!!!!!

So, those are some random pictures from recent months. We had an enjoyable but hectic trip back to the States. I worked at my old job full-time Monday to Friday and Charley worked mostly Saturday-Tuesday at his old job, so we didn't seem to have much time together, or to spend with others. We didn't get to see as many people this time, but we thoroughly enjoyed the time we did get to spend with family and friends. The cold weather also made it harder to want to go do anything! I just wanted to be wrapped up and warm in the house all the time!!

It's always so good to be back though. Although we've had the awful experience of being robbed, and we've lost time and money getting some repairs done from the damage they did, but we don't let that take away our joy. Being out in the ministry, seeing students making progress, and spending time with the friends more than makes up for it all.

We have a busy time coming up as does everyone worldwide. Some dear friends are coming to visit in March so we're very excited about that. And we also have our circuit assembly. CO school started back up so we're back in the kitchen at the Educational Center, but on Fridays now with a different crew. We just had a sub-CO since our CO is in this month's class. And when their class finishes they're off to a new assignment and we're getting another new CO. We can't seem to keep our CO's for very long around here for some reason!! And of course before we know it we'll be in Memorial season which is always a busy time for Jehovah's people worldwide. 

So, lots going on and lots to look forward to. We're trying to tighten our belts a little this year so that we don't have to go back and work until Summer (not Winter!) 2018. It's been amazing to see how Jehovah always provides though. How those unexpected expenses always seem to be somehow covered! And even sometimes there's a little left for some of those little "wants" in life that Jehovah so lovingly provides as an occasional treat!

Thank you to all of you who made our trip to Indy a success, and who continue to support us in many different ways. Your friendship and kind words and deeds mean so much to us.

I leave you with a couple of my favorite quotes from the English Circuit Assembly:

"You have to faith it, to make it"

"Faith doesn't make it easy, it makes it possible"

"Faith is like taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase"

Prayer after prayer

I just posted this on Instagram as a video of photos with the Kingdom song "Teach Them To Stand Firm" playing in the background, but here it is in photo collage format for those of you who don't follow me on Instagram.

In December 2013 I prayed for studies. Within a week he let me meet Sonia. In 2015 I prayed that Jehovah let me stay in that congregation at least until she was baptized. Less than a month after her baptism in April 2016 we were asked to move to another congregation. Last week we finished the second book. What a joy it's been to see her progress and even auxiliary pioneer. I know Jehovah will continue to answer my prayers to help her remain faithful forever.

Back by popular demand - haha!

I was surprised to discover recently that a handful of people out there actually miss my blog, so here goes a post!

First a summary of the last few months, then a couple of stories of things that just happened this week that I feel the need to share!

• So, we had a fantastic circuit pioneer meeting and circuit assembly with a fantastic visiting speaker from Mexico Bethel. Charley had the privilege of conducting the Watchtower study at that assembly and we had a blast doing rehearsals and then playing a small part in the program. We had a sweet young sister from our congregation baptized too, the first in her family (her brother is a publisher and her dad just qualified a couple of weeks ago!). 
• Charley had the amazing, unexpected privilege of conducting Pioneer Service School alongside our CO. He hadn't been to the school yet in the new book, so that made for some pretty intense preparation! Jehovah willing he'll be able to go as a student in 2018! I really enjoyed being the wife and getting to go daily for lunch and baking goodies for the class each day! 
• We made a quick run to Costa Rica to renew our visa and got to spend time with new friends with a fantastic view from their house and the sweetest dog ever! 
• We also made some new friends that were here spying out the land for a month. 
• Three classes of CO school came and went and we had a blast in the kitchen as usual! Now we're back to other projects, mostly cleaning, until SKE classes start again next Spring maybe. Really miss working in the kitchen, but it's all sacred service so we're enjoying it all!
• Then last month we finally had our Regional Convention. WOW! That's all I can say. WOW! One of our young ones in our congregation got baptized and two older sisters from our previous congregation. 
• We also briefly had some awesome new friends from Lithuania visiting us. 
• We've had two new publishers in our congregation in the last month and another student just got married so she's now a step closer to becoming a publisher too. 
• Three of my studies finished the Bible Teach book and have started, or are about to, in the second book. One of them is already a publisher and had her first assignment on the meeting, the first conversation. I got to be her householder and she did an awesome job! 
• Oh, and we've been to construction a couple of times in Managua helping with a new Kingdom Hall there. 
• And we celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary last Sunday. How time flies!
• Oh, and we bought a car!!! BEST decision!! Rainy season has been so much less stressful for me this year. Rain and motorbike is just not fun to me! And the story of how we ended up finding the car is a good one, perhaps I'll remember to tell it one day!

That was basically a summary of all of my Instagram posts over the last few months but without the pictures!!

Now for a couple of specific stories.

Last week's Watchtower about progressing spiritually left me with a lot to meditate on and a long list of things to work on! One of those things was improving in my public preaching skills, approaching people in public places and trying to start conversations. It's just not my strong point to be honest. So I decided I'd like to start dedicating an hour a week in this aspect of the ministry. We have the wonderful advantage of having Masaya's Central Park in our territory (hence the congregation name, El Parque). Perfect place for public preaching. So, as it worked out, I ended up by myself Wednesday morning because we had an odd number out and I had two studies, so it was easier for me to go alone. Well, neither of my studies could study, so I went and did a couple of nearby calls, and then planned to meet back up with the group to go door to door with them. Then, I remembered my new goal of spending an hour in the park once a week. So, off I went. 

As I entered the park I prayed for courage to talk to someone and wisdom to know what to say to strike up a conversation. I walked around a little but ended up back with the first lady I saw since everyone else seemed to be talking to someone already or had headphones in. So, I sat next to this lady in her early 30's and smiled. I drank some water from my bottle. Got my phone out and pretended to look at something. Then I commented on the weather, how nice it felt since it was cloudy and cooler. She responded and straight away I could tell she'd be inclined to continue chatting. Then I asked about how to sign in to the wifi. And then I honestly don't quite remember how the conversation moved on to spiritual things, but we ended up talking for about 45 minutes! I read a few scriptures, showed her a video, gave her a meeting invitation. 

She works in a factory, so she's never at home probably when the witnesses go by. She just happened to be off work on sick leave for two weeks and had been to a doctor's appointment. For some reason she said instead of going straight home she decided to stop in the park and use the free wifi there. She has the YPA book that she got from a public witnessing cart at the hospital one day. She studies it with her 10 and 17 year old kids and she told me what part of the book they're up to! So I showed her the sections for young ones and children on the website and we watched a Whiteboard Animation. Then towards the end of the conversation she told me how she lost her mom suddenly 4 months ago and how hard that has been. She asks herself where she is and if she'll ever see her again. So I asked how we could continue the conversation so that we could see the Bible's comforting answers to those questions. She gave me her phone number (she doesn't live in our territory) and she said she might come to the meeting. Despite having a sister in Costa Rica who is a witness, she's never actually been to the Kingdom Hall before, so we'll see. I sent her a text message today with a couple of scriptures to look up about the condition of the dead. I'll keep you posted on how it turns out. I went back to meet Charley just walking on the clouds after that!! It was such a wonderful conversation. She said that God provides comfort in the most unexpected ways sometimes!

So, I was reminded once again of how Jehovah blesses our efforts when we step outside of our comfort zone and try new things! And also how the angels are so obviously involved in directing us in the ministry, and they can use us if we allow ourselves to be gently pushed in new directions! I hope to make my hour in the park a weekly thing and improve my skills in that form of the ministry.

My other story is about work. We're getting ready for a trip back to the States to work for two months. I already got confirmation a couple of months back that my old job would happily take me on full-time again this year!! YAY!!! That's been such a blessing - having work lined up to go back to in familiar surroundings!

Charley works for Pepsi and continues to be an employee this whole 4+ years we've been down here. He just shows up every 18 months or so for work!! But he texted a couple of the people he worked under last time and got no reply. So this week he sent a few emails and got at least one bounce-back and one auto reply. Well, this morning he said, "I wonder if I should start looking for something else". Literally the second the words were out of his mouth, his phone made a noise, he looked, and he had an email from someone at Pepsi! It wasn't anyone he knows, but they said "Yes, we have work, let us know your availability".

Jehovah once again shows us how he'll always take care of us. So glad to find that Charley will be going back to work again, as he has done each time we've gone back to work! Such undeserved kindness from Jehovah that helps us continue in this ministry that we just love so much. 

Well, that takes me right up to bed time, so I'll sign off now. 

I leave you with some pictures:

Lots of hard, physical labor at Kingdom Hall construction. No back-hoe in sight!

Lovely dinner out for our 12th wedding anniversary

Carpentry shop at educational center all nice and clean after a hard day's work.
It's a panoramic, and Charley moved, therefore the 5 heads!

Had some more of the friends from our new congregation over

Two new publishers on their first weekend out in service.
(Young girl in white shirt and brother in black shirt)

Awesome new friends from Lithuania at our house

Cleaning the cooler at the educational center - practicing for December in Indiana!

The amazing view from our friends house in Costa Rica

Charley conducting Pioneer Service School

And a very rare selfie taken in the kitchen during CO school!

Few quick pics

Quick post of some recent Instagram pictures.

First a couple of collages showing the progress on a nearby KH Construction project taken over the last two months. Work is almost complete there now.

A group pic of our 17 regular and 4 auxiliary pioneers. All of our ministerial servants are regular pioneers and one of our elders (Charley). The other elder is auxiliary pioneering this month as we had CO visit.

And saving the best for last an amazing picture of my friend Cherub who also serves here in Nicaragua and my hubby. Apparently they weren't liking each other that day at the English Circuit Assembly!

Vamos!

Well I think this blogger app might be a good thing! For those of you who follow us on Instagram it will seem a bit repetitive but not everyone does I guess.

Had a busy weekend as usual. Maybe a bit more than usual. Sadly we went to a funeral on Saturday afternoon. Our dear, 88-year old Bro. Taleno died suddenly on Friday. The brother who gave the talk did a beautiful job of remembering him and giving a witness to the brother's family. He'd been baptized 47 years but nobody else in his family ever supported him. He was such a sweet, faithful old brother. The congregation took care of all his needs and we enjoyed taking him his breakfast on Wednesday mornings. He'll be missed and probably a bit disappointed to discover he missed Armageddon but we look forward to seeing him again!

Sunday we went to a nearby English congregation and Charley gave the talk. The first two times he tried to introduce a scripture he said "vamos", and he said "y" instead of "and" a few times but all in all he did a good job! We enjoyed hospitality with a few of the friends and I even managed to enjoy most of the motorbike ride there and back!

Unfortunately I'm covered head-to-toe in a rash which looks like Zika. It's going around like crazy although I don't think even the doctors can agree on what it is! But it's not too bad. Just a little itchy! So, while I got to spend the day laying around watching movies, Charley worked hard outside and got our water tank connected! Very exciting since we only have one day of running water every third day from the city. Now we'll have it daily!

Well, that's it for now. I leave you with a picture of our water tank!

Just a picture or two

I have the Blogger app on my phone now so I thought I'd try and share pics as I post them also on Instagram. That way you won't have to dig through a mile long blog post once every three or four months!

Below is a picture of a few of us saying goodbye to Shawn who has moved back to the States. Sad to see her go but she'll no doubt be a blessing to any congregation she serves in. We are also pleased to have been able to buy a bed from her, and a bookcase and crock pot and some more fans for the house. Lots of reminders of her around here!

Below that, is an idea of the progress of the nearby Kingdom Hall construction in Nindiri. You can see how it looked May 2nd and how it looked when we went to work yesterday. Really admire the hard-working construction group, especially the amazing wives in the group. Quite an exhausting schedule they keep.

And then one of my favorite pics from our going away party that one of the young ones sent me. I just love this pic for some reason. I miss my Pancasan buddies!

Well, not sure how this app formats things so hopefully this post comes out legible and with the photos actually included and in the order I commented on them! If not, I'm sure you'll figure it out!