Highlights from January 2013

• Of course the biggest highlight in January was our long-awaited ‘Safeguard Your Mind’ circuit assembly January 12th – 13th. (remember that because of timing of moves, etc. we missed 2 circuit assemblies in a row!). So, we thoroughly soaked that up… and what a great assembly it proved to be. I particularily appreciate the focus on ‘bracing up our minds for activity’, as we have never before know such activity as we are seeing here on Caye Caulker. It’s unbelievable really. The appetite of the people here for bible truth is astounding! And, that being said… the second best highlight of January was:

• The visit of our circuit overseer the week of January 21st. (If you look in the new brochure we received ‘Who Are Doing Jehovah’s Will Today? at the assembly the week before, you can even see what they look like  – pg. 14 on ‘What Is Missionary Service?’) Their experience being missionaries in Panama added to their mild personalities and zealous attitude. Brother Laschinski, in his talk on Tuesday evening made an interesting comparison. After observing what seems to be an out of the ordinary amount of interest here, he asked us ‘What was the conversion rate of the Ninevites after Jonah preached to them?’ 100% !! He then added ‘Who knows if Caye Caulker is not going to be one of those places?’ We were encouraged to try hard to cultivate all the interest shown even though it seems like a huge task! Our regular pioneers have such full schedules as it is, but more studies keep being started!

He ended his talk by saying he wanted to see every seat filled for the talk on Sunday… then added ‘No, not just every seat filled… I want to see all the brothers standing at the back because there are no seats left for them’. Well, when Sunday morning arrived, guess what… one of the biggest torrents of rain we’ve had yet! Only a few interested ones braved the weather to come to the Kingdom Hall… don’t forget, here folks can’t just jump in a car and dash into the hall from a parking lot! Most would have to walk, some for up to 20 minutes, wading through deep puddles!

But, I’m happy to say that 2 of my studies and 2 or 3 of Richard’s are now coming fairly regularly.

• Another highlight here in Caye Caulker English that followed the CO visit was the reinstatement of Sister Reina’s daughter! Reina is sooooo happy beyond words! She is now able to visit freely in her home and is enjoying having studies with her 3 grandchildren! It’s been 13 years! The children are already commenting at the meetings! I can only imagine Reina’s joy that I still hopefully look forward to experiencing some day!

• A lesser, but still significant highlight in January was … remember that pink building that used to be sitting in front of our apartment (it was for sale – to be moved). Well, it’s gone! Yayyy! The only drawbacks is that now we have no ‘buffer’ from the street noise, or shade from the afternoon sun. But, we now have a free-flow of air through the windows on that side, plus we don’t have to worry about the kids playing around and under a degenerate building before and after meetings!

Ever tried studying the bible with 3 boys on a see-saw?

The day after the building was moved away, I was awaiting 2 little boys to arrive for their bible study. They are supposed to come to my house on Saturday mornings. They didn’t show up so I went looking for them where they live but was told they moved. I passed by a sister on the street and mentioned that I was looking for the boys and she told me she thought she had seen them and gave me directions how to find them. When I followed her directions, this is where I ended up!! Here we are having our study on a ‘see-saw’ right in front of the old pink building where it now sits! Sister Donna and her visiting friend Gale happened to spot me while going door to door and couldn’t resist snapping this shot! The 3rd boy’s father was the contractor hired to move the building, so that is why they were playing there. He wanted to join in on the study too. Jaime, (the older of the 2 I study with) suggested we move over to a solid block of wood… his little brother Ulesis is pointing to it. It proved to be a good idea since the 3rd boy couldn’t resist trying to catapult me skyward!