Memorial Season update

Back in February we talked about the zone visit. Recently we received an exciting update that despite having only about 24,000 publishers in the country we had over 34,000 in attendance for the Zone Visit, all either recieved the live broadcast or the recorded program later that same day.  Quickly following our Zone Visit we started preparations for the Memorial, Circuit Pioneer Meeting and Circuit Assembly.

2015 Memorial (Friday, April 3)

Stage for the Memorial 2015

What a joy to experience memorials in a land of growth.  We had almost triple our publisher base at the memorial.  We have about 85 publishers and we had 240 at our memorial.  Our Kingdom Hall only seats about 220 with chairs crammed in well beyond what safety regulations or common sense would dictate. We even had to move chairs to provide access to emergency exits.  The extra 20 people that couldn't fit in the main auditorium received the meeting by television / Skype hook up in the second school which is located behind the stage and accessed by walking outside, down the length of the Kingdom Hall and into a separate building. 

As punctuality is not one of the strengths here in Bolivia, we likely had more than the official count at our memorial.  For instance, as we were finishing handing the wine around in the second school someone showed up.  So, we went back to serve him.  It became obvious he was one who attended in response to the invitation and was not a study because he hung onto the wine glass not knowing what to do. I suppose he was thinking 'no one else has wine, I should wait until they are all served.' Being late he did not get the benefit of the Memorial Talk's clear explanation on who should partake.  Our Ministerial Servant quite humorously began to wrestle with him over the wineglass as he started raising it to his mouth and before he could take a sip.  Despite what seemed like an eternity of arm wrestling, nothing was spilled and we were able to return to the Kingdom Hall without incident.

We were happy to have 3 of our bible studies at the Memorial and we took them out for a late dinner afterwards.  What a joy to already see results in our ministry.  I even had the privilege of saying the prayer over the bread. Thanks be given to our neighbor who helped me get the wording right so I didn't say anything stumbling during our most special annual observance.

Full house at the Pioneer Meeting

Circuit Pioneer Meeting (Saturday, April 4)

The day after our Memorial we had the privilege of going to our first Circuit Pioneer Meeting in Bolivia. Again the Kingdom Hall was packed to bursting ... I believe the unofficial attendance was 210 regular pioneers and that was only part of our circuit. 

Demo at Pioneer Meeting

Statistics
2013 service year - 384 RPs in our Circuit (Sucre, Potosi, Oruro)
2014 service year - 456 RPs  (72 more in one year)

Sept 2014 - 1743 publishers
Mar 2015 - 1832 publishers (89 more publishers in 7 months)

A new congregation is formed every year in our circuit.  The circuit is growing so fast that it was announced that we would be forming a new circuit as of July 1, 2015.  For the first year the Pioneer Schools we be held in all 3 cities (Sucre, Potosi and Oruro) to help with the backlog of Pioneers waiting to go through the school for the first and second times.

Rachel and I even got to be in a demonstration at the Pioneer meeting.  I loved hamming up the "bad pioneer" bit.


Circuit Assembly (Sunday, April 5)

Rented arena set up for the Circuit Assembly

Immediately after the pioneer meeting ended we rushed home, gulped down some lunch and sprinted back to the Kingdom Hall to collect the cleaning supplies from the 'deposito' (or storage locker).  And then raced to the assembly site and we cleaned and cleaned and cleaned some more, until about 10:00 pm at night.  Rented facilities here are not handed over in good condition.  You could literally write your name in the dust that blanketed every nook and cranny of the facility.  We swept and washed the floors, we washed the lime stained, brick walls, we scrubbed and disinfected the washrooms, we covered the basketball floors with rubber carpets we rented - which of course had to be swept and washed clean of the confetti and spilled beer from the last event, we washed the windows, we removed bags of garbage from the outside lot ... the list is endless!  It was hard work and it was lovely to see the willing spirit of all the brothers that helped.

The assembly started. I relaxed into my chair in the cleaning department office and was just about to start taking notes when one of the brothers who was involved with the morning washroom clean came running into the room. "We're out of water in the washrooms!" he blurted out.  Well our department head was the morning program chairman and our first assistant was in the president's office waiting for his turn to give the 3rd talk of the morning. "Oh joy!" as 2nd assistant I get all the fun! That was the last moment I had to enjoy the program all day.  From that point on we were trucking barrels of water from a tap 500 meters away, quite appropriately situated in the middle of what seemed to be a small bog, to the convention site. Once there we carried them by bucket up to second floor washrooms where temporary hot-tub sized water drums were waiting to be filled.  From there brothers and sisters scooped water to flush toilets and wash hands. It wouldn't have been too bad except it started to pour in the early afternoon and the tap we were using to fill the barrels slowed to a mere trickle.  Thus we had to close 3 of the 4 washrooms by the late afternoon and we were soaked just keeping the 1 washroom supplied with water.

The clean up after the assembly was assisted by even more brothers.  We fortunately had the baptismal pool water we could use for cleaning.  Still we didn't get home until about 9:00 pm that night after finishing the final clean and making sure all the dinky little trucks used for trucking were loaded and dispatched to the 'deposito' once more. 

Rachel's interview during the Baptism Talk

So I'm looking forward to working in a different department next assembly!  ;-) (nudge, nudge, winky face to you know who).

During one of the times the barrels were being filled, I managed to sneak away and record Rachel being interviewed during the baptism talk.  It was wonderful to see her speaking Spanish before a large crowd of 1,300+ attendees.  It brought tears to my eyes!  It was either that or the sting of the salty sweat that was rolling down my face.  Either way my very shaky, overworked arms captured the worst quality recording you will ever be blessed to see.

Service Updates

We are up to 7 regular, sit-down style studies now.  We have about double that in studies but it is hard to keep them regular - whether because of our sicknesses (yes, I'm home sick in bed now and that is why you are getting an update) or cancellations on their part. 

For the first time a couple of weeks ago, the mother of a 20 year old that we study with sat in on the study.  The daughter was holding her baby in arms, her mother and 8 year old sister were seated beside her.  As we sat on chairs in the yard enjoying an outdoor study in the warmth of the sun, it was nice to reflect on the fact that we were helping 3 generations of that family draw close to Jehovah ... 4 if you count the cocoa chewing, Pachamama worshiping, grand-mother who was busily working in the yard pretending to ignore us.

Rachel Public Witnessing at the AutoVenta

Just last week we got one of our irregular studies pinned down to an appointment.  Their 13 year old daughter has been haranguing them to get us over again (it was likely 2 months since our last visit). They were ones with whom I got irritated because they kept missing appointments and they live at the far end of our territory, 20 minutes away by bus and 5 minutes of walking.  So I uttered the words "they're dead to me."  Well, while we were walking down the street in service the other day, they drove by us, stopped the car and made another appointment.  We went back Thursday and had a study with the oldest daughter (17), mother and baby.  She stated her 13 year old daughter was heart-broken that she had school and couldn't be there for the study. So she begged us to come back on Saturday when the whole family could be there.  So Saturday we trudged back, half expecting they wouldn't be there, but - Lo and Behold - they were all there!  They even invited over a 20 year old niece for the hour-long study.  What a joy it was to study with a group of 5 eager students sitting around us on bricks and stumps.  If only we can keep them regular from this point forward!

And finally there is our public witnessing.  Just some quick stats - last month the totals placed at our literature cart - 469 mags, 137 brochures, 37 books and 165 tracts. We also placed about 20 DVDs with all the Caleb, White Board Animations and many other videos burned onto them for the numerous kids that frequent our stand. 

Demonstrating a study at Public Witnessing

What results do we get other than just placements?  In just 2 days we received 8 requests for bible studies.  Also, a 14 year old boy that frequents the stand came by 3 times in just one day last week. The second visit he brought his friend and her mother who also requested a bible study. With him he had one of the magazines with the coupon filled out on the back and asked where he should send it to get his free copy of the Bible Teach book.  So I gave him one from my service bag and showed him the Bible Study process.  The third visit he brought his little brother.  Now they were some of the children who received the DVD the month before. The wonderful effects of the videos on the young ones can be clearly seen.  We were elated hearing him and his brother say they wanted to be Jehovah's Witnesses when they grow up.  And the 2 of them stood there and sang along to the Caleb song that was playing on the tablet (we usually display videos while doing the public witnessing as it draws more attention).  They had already memorized the words and were singing along with the Bethel video song.  I would have taken a video if I could have done so discretely. We are currently trying to get his parents to allow him to study.

So our hearts are brimming with joy.  It even helps reflecting on some of the highlights of our past month or so while I lie here in bed.  Hopefully my improved mood will be curative for my health.

Steak and Ale pie at English Pub

Paperwork

Yes, we are still doing paperwork for living here.  We loved how in a recent Watchtower it talked about the conditions being just right for the expansion of the Good News in the First Century and how Paul would have traveled without needing to worry about immigration and customs.  How we LONG to live in such conditions. Last weekend we decided on a last minute trip to the Embassy in La Paz to procure a legalized copy of my passport.  Bank machines are changing here and many do not work with our bank cards. Thus the need to get the paperwork in place for online, international, electronic funds transfers. 

While in La Paz we gorged ourselves on traditional English food at the English Pub. What a wonderful treat!  It was a whirlwind 2 day trip and the likely cause of my current sickness, but it was a refreshing break from the everyday.

Lots of love from us to you.  We are missing and looking forward to visiting many of you on our return to Canada in July 8 - Aug 14.  If you have some free time, drop us an email and we can let you know our itinerary.  We would love to see you!