Necessity Is The Mother of Invention

   One of our big adjustments since coming to Mexico has been getting used to living in a Mexican style apartment.We used to live in an average American home. Multiple bedrooms and bathrooms...with  TUBS...and A/C.  Ahhh, life in the good ole' U.S.A.
   Alas, here in Guasave homes are a bit more compact shall we say? We live in a typical 2 bedroom 1 bath home. It has just enough space for us and when we consider that it is not unusual for an extended family of perhaps 6 or more to share the same size home, we are living large in comparison.
  One issue that has bugged us though is the lack of privacy we have. In order for Suzanne and I to get into our room we have to go through Danielle's room. This is not ideal especially when we are getting dressed or for a trip to el bano in the middle of the night. So what to do?

The Problem. Our room is on the left side, Dani's is on the right

   "You know what, maybe I can build a screen" I suggested. The two of them immediately started laughing at me. You have to understand. Those of you who know me know that I am not Bob the Builder. Ask me for a recipe for pork chops or what to do with a standing rib roast-no problem; I'll give you three different ideas. Ask me to build something-thaaat might be an issue. I'm telling you; I'm all thumbs. So when I had THE NERVE to imply that I would build, my family mocked me. The gauntlet had been laid down, duty and honor required that I respond. So it is with great pride that I present to you: The Wonderscreen 2000! (not available in stores)

Proud New Owner

 This piece of solid craftsmanship ( Hecho in Mexico) was proudly designed and assembled by one J. David Windham, owner and operator of Wonderscreen Industries (hey a guy can dream can't he?)
   Seriously though I put it together this afternoon using some pieces of scrap wood one of the brothers in the congregation had in his shop and about $6.00 worth of supplies I purchased at a  ferreteria (that's hardware store for you folks north-of-the-border) Danielle greatly appreciates it as now she can extend it when she is dressing. When Suzanne and I need to leave the room we don't have to call out "are you decent?". She has her privacy and all is well. The two of them are even talking about putting some fabric or lace on to dress it up a bit. I said that will make it too girly and suggested something like ohh I don't know maybe blue and orange with a N.Y. Mets logo on it but that idea was quickly shot down.

   Anyway this gives me hope. Maybe I can sell hundreds and make enough money to keep us here in Mexico. Or maybe not. But it did feel good to build something with my own hands. And now when I read in Isaiah "they will not build and someone else have occupancy" I will no longer break out in a nervous sweat. I will think to myself I can do this. After all, I invented the Wonderscreen.  ;-)

Bienvenidos a Guasave

 Hard to believe it but we have been here for a month now. I guess time really does fly when you are having fun! After a rocky first couple of weeks we have settled in well here in Guasave. I won't go  into detail but suffice it to say we were Turistas  in every sense of the word :-)
   The past couple of weeks in the field ministry have been particularly exciting for us as Danielle was able to start a new bible study with a young lady she met in house-to-house work. We have also had a few experiences showing us the potential that exists here to find new interest. For example on a Saturday after service we were hungry but longing for something non-tortilla related. We finally gave in and wandered into the McDonald's here in town (the Golden Arches are everywhere!)  We were looking at the board and placing our order with some minor complication (the Spanish IS getting better though) when a woman behind the counter asks us in perfect English: "would you like to try a smoothie with your meal?" We talked to her for a moment and it turns out she used to live in San Jose, California. We will keep her in mind and have a tract on hand the next time we go in there.

"would you like fries with that?"

   On another occasion we were at the park swimming and a gentleman there struck up a conversation with me. I was able to converse with him in Spanish for a bit but to my surprise he switched to English without my prompting him to do so. He then told me that he had lived in Los Angeles back in the 1980s and gave me a little synopsis of his life. He then asked what I was doing in Guasave (remember this is not a tourist town) and that gave me an opportunity to explain to him the work we are doing here.

   We have many opportunities like this to witness informally. As I stated in an earlier post we stand out in Guasave and many people flat out ask us: what are you doing here? I love that because it's an easy opening to tell them we are Testigos de Jehova and helping people to learn the Bible's message in the English language. The local brothers have said it is good for our family to be here. It seems that many Mexicans hold all things American in high regard. So in their eyes the fact that some Americans are here to preach adds an "air of importance" to our work. Guasave is also a relatively small town so we often see the same people as we go about town. We hope that in time by being friendly and approachable we will get a chance to witness to some of the folks we meet.

   We had our C.O. visit last week and for two days we did street and business witnessing only. Hard to believe but all my years in the Truth and I have never done business witnessing before! It was very productive as we were able to find many English speakers and Dani, Suzanne and I each have several r.v. because of doing this work. People here are so friendly we simply walk in and explain what we are doing and ask if anyone in the business speaks English. We were never turned away and had several good conversations over the two days.  Hopefully we can continue to build on the interest we have found.

   So that's a bit about life here south of the border. We are working hard, searching out interest wherever we may find it. We pray that Jehovah may bless on our work here and to have more workers join us in  the harvest!

Some photos of Guasave:

La Congregacion Guasave Ingles

our two latest publishers

Daniel....this kid is a comedian !

the mercado in downtown Guasave

"...order for Mr. Fred Flintstone?"

"...hmmm, what to buy?"

this guy was scary with that knife :-)

the neighborhood watch

:

We have Wally World!

Dani and Suzanne in front of our casita

I guess we got the memo