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!

Wedding - Trip to Potosi - service update - everyday life

Wedding preparation

We got to enjoy our first Bolivian wedding last month.  Rachel, Yovi and Yolanda got the joy of preparing chocolate covered fruit platters, Bolivian meatballs and salsa, and deviled eggs (something Bolivians have never heard of) as appetizers.  There were 22 tables and 220 guests.  It was a hectic couple of days preparing but you can see the tasty results below.

Gorgeous wedding reception venue

Some of the appetizers

Sisters preparing appetizers

 Our trip to Potosi

Our friends from England recently found out they cannot renew their VISAs.  They will be returning home by the end of March.  Once again we our losing our friends.  Thus we decided to go to Potosi to bid them adieu, adios, farewell, sayonara, aufwiedersehen, ciao ... BUT ... it wasn't clear skies and beautiful scenery all the way there.

highway to Potosi

highway to Potosi

Hiking up to Potosi

Miners blockaded the highway

We hit a rock in the road ... or should I say many rocks ... as we got closer to Potosi.  In Bolivia it is common for disgruntled people with complaints to block the highways - called 'bloqueados'. On this occasion it was the miners who had a beef.  Fortunately, unlike the violent bloqueados of the past, there was no pelting with rocks of persons crossing the blockade. Perhaps it was the large police presence that deterred them?!?! Still it was quite the half hour hike up the hill, especially considering the 14,000 foot elevation!

After arriving and getting settled in we decided to take a mine tour of Cerro Rico, the infamous mountain of Potosi (g96 8/8 p20-21).  Legend says that they could build a bridge from Potosi to Spain with the silver they extracted. The horror of the story is that they could also build a bridge of the same span with the bones of all those who have died extracting the ore, mainly native indigenous and African slaves who were forced to work in the mines.

A custom for those visiting the mines is that they stop at local merchant shops to buy gifts for the miners.  The usual gifts are bottles of 96% alcohol, coco leaves, water, cigarettes and dynamite.  Miners don't eat while in the mines, they just chew coco leaves and drink alcohol for energy.  This reduces the need for washroom breaks. They also need to supply their own dynamite.  They only receive a pay check if they find valuable ore.  Thus it is understandable why it is customary for tourists to bring them gifts.

Potosi also happens to be one of the only areas (perhaps THE ONLY) where you can buy dynamite without a permit or providing any documentation or identification at all. Even children can buy dynamite. We couldn't resist the urge!  When will we get the opportunity to buy and detonate dynamite again?

One shocking surprise, as we sat in the 'tienda' our guide unwrapped a stick of dynamite and had us hold it. It felt like sticky play dough with a fish smell.  While we passed it around Marco lit a match and slid it along the dynamite in our hands!!!  Apparently a chemical reaction with the mercury in the blasting cap (or primer) is what causes the dynamite to explode.  It would have been nice to have that explained before the match was placed next to the stick of unwrapped dynamite!

ready to blow!

Dynamite

Buying dynamite

  After a short bus ride to the base of Cerro Rico, reaching about 14,500 feet elevation, we were ready to enter the mine.  Pausing at the tunnel entrance, Marco explained that the dark staining above the mouth of the tunnel was llama blood.  The miners splash it there much in the same way the Israelites splashed sheeps blood on their doorposts during 'Pascua' or Passover.  He went on to explain that at the entrance is where the Catholic religion stops. From there forward the religion of the Pachamama rules. This is the indigenous peoples religion.

Not far inside the cave entrance is a large, human sized idol of 'Tio'. Tio is the Spanish word for uncle but it's origin in the case of the idol is from the Kechua peoples attempt to say the Spanish word for God, 'Dios'.  Apparently Kechua does not have a sound for D thus attempts to say Dios came out as Tio.  The Tio idol was a disgusting red devil with a giant penis. Upon entering the cave the customary way to appease his anger and have his blessing in making the mountain fertile is by putting coco leaves on the idol, pouring alcohol on it and lighting a cigarette and sticking it in his mouth.  As long as the cigarette is burning you have his permission to enter.  The people are a lot like their gods in their habits.  What a protection for our health that we worship the clean god!

Best looking mining crew in Potosi

rest tunnel with altar

 Inside the tunnels we ascended and descended to various parallel mine-shafts at different elevations.  The smooth clay lining the shafts made this a little dicey. At times we took turns helping place each others feet onto the rough hewn steps. Occasionally we would get distracted by the veins of minerals glistening above us, but only for a moment or two as we would end up tripping over the uneven muddy ground if we didn't pay constant attention to where we placed our feet.

A couple of times we stopped to rest in small, dead end, side tunnels.  The first time we stopped to get a lesson on how to place and pack dynamite.  The second time to safely wait in a side tunnel for the dynamite to be exploded. It was an eerie feeling to hear the 'thwump' of the explosion and have a rush of air push past us.  It reminded us of the impact tremors felt during Jurassic Park during the first scene with the T-Rex. Yes, this is an active mine that we were touring.

Waiting and conversing with the miners we got to find out many of the details of life as a Bolivian miner. It is definitely not a safe or easy job!  All along the walls of many tunnels there are small, crystalline, snow-flake like or fiberglass like coatings.  This, we found out, is arsenic.  Miners here don't wear protective breathing masks.  They sometimes can be seen pulling their sweaters up over their mouths when it is really dusty.  Thus one danger for miners is dying of silicosis, a lung disease from breathing the airborne arsenic and silica minerals. To test for bad air down the tunnels they throw a juicy orange.  They check it 4 or 5 hours later.  If it has dehydrated then they know air quality is dangerous and they avoid that tunnel.

Lesson on how to place dynamite

descending to a lower mineshaft proved a little sketchy

They also have to push the full ore carts weighing 2 tonnes out of the mine by hand.  As you can imagine this is labor intensive work.

Full ore cart - from the angle you can tell it "jumped track"

 One of the following days we took a small trip to the "Ojo del Inca", a natural hot spring the size of a small pond. It was apparently a cone shaped pond that was 22 meters deep at the center and heated by volcanic lava.  Don't worry we stayed near the edges ... most of the time.

Swimming at Ojo del Inca

Our friends whom we're going to miss!

Service Update

Just a small experience from our Public Witnessing Cart.  It has proven to be VERY effective for contacting people.  By the middle of March my placements (just mine and not Rachels), great thanks to our increased Public Witnessing, were 131 mags, 17 brochures and 217 tracts / invitations.  We try not to put books on our cart as they are placed just as fast as the other literature.  We keep them hidden at the back and offer them to people who request bible studies.

On that note, one of the Public Witnessing referrals we received was a family of 3 teenage girls who requested a study.  We have met 2 of the girls and from our first visit onward (once we found their house ... arrrgghhh) we have had a very nice, productive bible study in the Bible Teach book. It seems Jehovah is really blessing this form of the ministry here in Bolivia.

Sharing Caleb during a rest break

Getting mobbed while Public Witnessing - in a good way!

You may wonder how we get such success here (other than the fact that the average person has a deep respect for and interest in the bible)?  Well, it's because we show videos while we're Public Witnessing. Usually we show Caleb or whiteboard animations.  This draws crowds of kids.  Often, even if they don't stop, we hear them saying to their parents "look mom, it's Caleb".  This warms our hearts seeing how effective these videos are at reaching the young ones and how well known they are here in Oruro.  When the children come we often try to give them just a tract. Many won't leave until they get a magazine or brochure.  We keep a supply of old magazines for the children and limit them to one per family.  Often though, they will go away and get their parents to come back with them to request more literature and/or forms of literature that we don't allow children to take.  Yes, the videos sure are an effective tool and blessing from our dear brothers taking the lead in the organization!

Everyday Life

Everyday life still holds it's challenges.  Our recent battles have been with insects.  For the last few months sugar ants have slowly increased in numbers in our house.  We ignored them as we didn't know where to go to buy 'ant bait'. Then one day we noticed very fine saw dust under our bed.  Wanting to locate the source I lifted the mattress and box spring onto their side.  There was a lot of saw dust on the inside of fabric stapled to the bottom of our box spring.  Peeling that back revealed a colony of termites actively eating our bed right out from under us!

So that whole day was blown buying diesel (the recommended poison for termites here in Bolivia) and spreading it all over the wood support structure of our box spring, walking all over downtown looking for ant bait and cleaning up the mess made by it all.

Know what the worst part was???  We bought the mattress NEW!!!!  And we paid an exorbitant price!  This was literally the most expensive bed we have ever purchased.  Partly because they overcharge extranjeros (foreigners) and partly because Canadian style beds are still not common in Oruro (many still sleep on straw mattresses covered in the same material from which rice sacks are made).  And we are still sleeping with our mattress on the floor as our boxspring is banished to the hallway until the overpowering smell of diesel dissipates.  Oh well, as our friends often say; "TIB" (this is Bolivia).

The other challenge is the cold.  I'm not sure when summer was supposed to have arrived, but apparently it is over.  Last night was -3 Celsius and we were greeted by heavy rain during the morning.  Apparently the rains will dry up this month.  But with the reduced cloud cover the temperatures will continue to drop from the the balmy day time highs of 16 Celsius to the frigid barely above 0 Celsius that is our winter.  Of course, if we stand in the sun we can still get burnt! So there is a positive!

Well that's all for now.  Keep warm and well fed. Yes this has new meaning for us and we really wish that for all of you.  Lots of love.  Over and out.