Remembering a Lost Friend

This is a bit of a departure from the usual topic but hopefully you will read and enjoy...
 
   We first met Sister Keck when we moved to Lake Mary in September of 2001 and we were assigned to attend the book study in her home. I must admit I was less than thrilled to be sent there. In addition to Sister Keck there were a few other older ones in the group. I remember thinking to myself "great, I'm stuck with the old-timers" or something along those lines. Little did I realize at that time just how much I would come to care for her.
   Going to her home for the first time was an experience. We had heard a few whispers, "Oh; you're going there for the book study..." so we weren't sure what to expect. We found her home to be charming and immaculate, almost like an over sized doll house. We quickly learned the rules; shoes off, no bare feet on the carpet, after the study help put away the chairs, etcetera. Nothing too difficult but Sister Keck had a certain way and she let you know what was expected. The last week of each month she, as many homes did, had a goody night-some refreshments after the study had ended. This was held on the back patio and though we were usually tired after a long day of work we enjoyed these occasions as it gave us a chance to get to know our friends a little bit better.
   As she was getting older Sister Keck was no longer driving at night time and would get a ride with another sister to the hall on Tuesday nights.  In time this sister moved to another congregation and Sister Keck would need a ride to the meetings. I remember asking her "How will you get to the hall? she said "Oh, I'll find a ride with someone". I offered to take her with our family and she seemed a bit hesitant. I reassured her I would be there early and said : "Well, we live just down the road, we'll come get you." I had the feeling she didn't quite believe me and sure enough about 6:00 Tuesday evening the phone rang. "Brother Windham..." the voice said, "...this is Sister Keck." I replied  to her "no, Sis, we didn't forget about you we'll be there by 7pm." So began an arrangement that would last for several years, taking sister Keck to and from the meetings on Tuesdays and eventually on Sundays as well.
   During this point in our lives Suzanne and I were both working full time and feeling "the grind" as I call it. Our typical meeting night we rushed home many times with just enough time to shower, grab a sandwich and go. Study? Preparation? What was that? We would get to Sister Keck's house and be stressed from the day. It was at these moments I truly came to appreciate her. Sister Keck would always have something positive to say. Tuesday was her day in the ministry and she usually had an experience to share about a call or study she had. Often times she would go to visit another one our sisters who was staying in a nursing home and would share tidbits about her visit. Sometimes she would tell us about a particular point she had studied for the meeting and really appreciated. We would dutifully listen to her and often would talk when we got home about how encouraged we were by her remarks. Often times our minds would be racing away with the cares of the day but being around Sister Keck would remind us of what was really important. She made us want to be better students, and focus more on our serving Jehovah.
   Over the years we enjoyed associating with her socially as well. A few times our family went to her home on Saturdays to study the Watchtower together. Of course she had some cakes or other treat for us to enjoy afterwards. One year Danielle had dance class and she came to see her perform at the year end recital. On a number of occasions we had invited her to our home to share a meal and she at times would invite us over. One day I remember out of the blue getting a phone call: "Brother Windham..." -she never did address me as "Jonathan"- "...can you come over for a minute?" When we got there to our surprise waiting for us was a strawberry pie! We truly enjoyed her strawberry pies. I always wanted to but never did ask for the recipe. She would always say, it was easy to make but would insist you "had to get the pie crust from Publix" because theirs was the best.
   Fast forwarding to 2009 we visited her just before we left to go to the convention in Berlin. We had some photo cards of our family made up to give away to the new friends we would meet. We gave her one, made sure she had arrangements to get to the meetings and bade her goodbye. After we returned we visited again to share our pictures from the trip and as we left her house we saw that our photo card was placed in a niche with pictures of her family. We talked about this among ourselves afterwards and said that we had indeed missed her while we were away and felt a closeness to our sister.
   Unfortunately the ravages of old age and failing health began to slow her down. In time she had to go live with her son. One thing about Sister Keck is that she would not miss a meeting. If she didn't come out, it meant she was sick. That never changed even moving into her son's home. When we visited she showed us her room and proudly showed us the phone. She said she would remind her son "to dial in for her" so she would get the meetings by telephone connection. Even though she could not come out she still made her meetings!
   Suzanne and I visited her just a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving holiday in 2010. We remember her saying that her daughter-in-law was big into family and the holidays. She apparently was making plans for a family celebration for the holidays and Sister Keck was determined not to be a part of it. She related that she just wanted to stay in the room and that the rest of the family could enjoy their holiday together. We remember her relating a conversation the two of them had and she was told that "everyone has to compromise" to which Sister Keck told us "we'll see about that". As Suzanne and I left I remember thinking this is going to be interesting. Not long after that she was moved to a nursing home.
   Over the next few months we would call and visit. She would often make remarks about not having much time left or being tired. We couldn't help noticing how frail she seemed.  Her determination again showed itself for the memorial of 2011. She wanted to attend but her health would not permit it. In order for her to not miss the celebration, the brothers arranged to conduct a memorial in one of the rooms at her nursing home. After we left our memorial a number of friends went to the second memorial at the nursing home. We were all so happy to see her and she smiled so much. She actually seemed a bit overwhelmed by so many being there. We could tell though she was happy and she made her goal- to be at the memorial!
   After we left we stopped to get a hot chocolate on the way home. It was much later in the evening and we saw another family from the congregation at the store. They had asked us why we were still dressed so late and we replied "oh, we just came from the memorial for Sister Keck." They had stunned looks on their faces and we just realized what we had said! "No!", we quickly corrected ourselves and explained what we meant. We all had a good laugh about it and went our separate ways. Sadly though just a few days later she did pass away.
   Perhaps because it is again the time of year for the memorial I find myself thinking about Lois Keck. Often my eyes well up with tears but then a smile takes over. I remember her strength and determination. I remember her loyalty, her hospitality and her consistency. Sometimes when people pass away we tend to make them "saints" so to speak, only thinking of the good. She was not perfect to be sure. She had her opinions and let you know them. But she truly loved Jehovah and always would talk about him and have an encouraging word for any who would listen.
  We never got to tell Sister Keck of our plans to be Needgreaters. By the time we decided to pursue this course she had become "forgetful" and her health was beginning to fail. I have to think she would have been happy for us, perhaps a bit concerned, but still happy. Although she was not family we miss her dearly and are looking forward to seeing her in the resurrection. When we see her again she will be young, vibrant and healthy. Her hands will no longer be bent and wrinkled from arthritis. She will no longer need to hold onto someone's arm for support or be out of breath after a few short paces. We can tell her about the end of this old wicked system and relate our experiences from the field. Sister Keck had said that when she got into the paradise she wanted to run through a field of flowers in her bare feet. Perhaps I'll join her or just watch her enjoying herself running. Then afterwards, maybe I can get her to show me how to make a strawberry pie.

FAQ

   As our time in the Spanish congregation goes on, we are making progress in many ways. During the past month we have been working at our commenting at meetings. We try to make one at each meeting. I still must read my comments but see small improvements in pronunciation and the pace that I read at. I have also been able to do a couple of Bible readings, no easy task when you don't know every word or how to pronounce them!

   The greatest improvement we see however is in the ministry. During the past month each of us has had good experiences in street and casa en casa witnessing. Interestingly, in our territory we have pockets of Mexicans, mostly males who share apartments. We get a very good response from them. In some cases it appears they are here without documentation but they listen to us. I have been very impressed as they are in general a very humble  people. They have a basic knowledge of the Bible and a respect for religion; they readily accept literature and converse with us. The trick is finding them to make a return visit. They are very transient and when you call back at the apartment and find someone different, the cycle starts again! Oh well, many seeds of truth are being planted!

   One pleasant surprise has been the opportunity we have had to "talk up" needgreatering in the past few months. When we have been out at social functions and people ask "what congregation are you from?" and we reply "Longwood Spanish" we get a long pause and we see the wheels turning in their heads. Usually the next statement is something like: "but .....you're not Spanish...?" and we then get a chance to tell what we are doing. This has happened a few times and I realized many friends may want to know more about needgreatering or have thought about it and are curious to see someone else going through the "transition". So, I got the idea to write about a few of the questions we have been commonly asked. Therefore without further ado....

YOU WANT TO DO WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY?

Okay, no one has really asked us this but we have asked ourselves when we started out in this process. We are about to leave a home, good jobs and the comforts of Florida, I mean this is the country's playground, Mickey lives here! When compared to the joys of teaching the truth to someone we think it's a good tradeoff!

WHY DO YOU WANT TO SERVE WHERE THE NEED IS GREATER?

The ministry is often compared to fishing for men. If you were to go fishing and heard the fish were biting in another part of the waters, you would get in your boat and go there. This is how we feel. We also realize that many are serving faithfully here and cannot for various reasons pick up and go. Some also need to be here to preach the message, we all can't leave, right? For now our circumstances allow us to "lift anchor and pull out to deeps waters" so to speak and we want to take advantage of that opportunity while we can. We know not what the future holds for us and would truly regret if we missed an available opportunity to expand our ministry while favorable season was here!

HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT CHOOSING A COUNTRY?

We started out looking at the statistics in the yearbook. We looked for lands with high ratios of population to publishers, memorial attendees and bible studies to publishers. We focused on Spanish speaking lands because Danielle has had it in school for 3 years now and I had it for 1 year in high school. We felt we had a basic familiarity and would be able to adjust to the language. We did a lot of Google searches on various countries and focused on the Caribbean because of its proximity to Florida and ease of travel there. 

WHAT IS THE COST OF LIVING LIKE AND HOW WILL YOU SUPPORT YOURSELF?

Many people are able to live in retirement in developing lands on a social security check. Much of your expenses depend on how you want to live. Do you want a home just like the one you had in the U.S.A.? A beach front condo in a gated community? Marble counter tops and air conditioning? You can have it but it's gonna cost ya! When we were in Santiago we inquired about a modest apartment to rent and were told we should expect to pay at most about $400/ month- and that would be for a high end place. As for supporting ourselves, we are leaving much in Jehovah's hands. We will be living off of savings and hope to sell our home. We will stay until the money runs out and if we need to, come home to work for a few months and then return to our assignment. 

WHAT ABOUT THE LANGUAGE?

Got that one covered! That's why we switched congregations after all. In many locations the Branch Offices will arrange for language classes as well to help needgreaters learn a local language. As an example the branch in D.R. has offered classes in Haitian Creole which is in great need there. Want to serve where the need is greater but unsure about learning a new language? No problemo, English is needed almost everywhere!

HOW ABOUT SCHOOLING FOR DANIELLE?

She will complete her final year of schooling online. Our local school district offers virtual schooling as an option and we will take advantage of that. 

IS IT SAFE IN D.R.?

In the time we stayed there we at no time felt unsafe or in danger. We were there for the ministry and spent most of our time there or at meetings. Doing this and using good discretion and common sense we felt safe. Interestingly we found the Dominican people in generally to be very friendly. When we talked to them they were in amazement and seemed to "admire all things American". One caution is about theft. If you leave anything out or unlocked it is an invitation to have it stolen so caution must be exercised in this area.

WHAT IS LIFE LIKE THERE? WHAT ABOUT RECREATION, ETC. ?

We loved it there!!! Life was centered around the ministry and meetings. Much time was spent socially with the friends. We made friends with other needgreaters and got to know local friends as well. There are malls and movies if you want those things. With high speed Internet you can watch tv shows and sports events from home if you wish. We also went to the beach and spent time at a waterfall and sightseeing. Mostly we enjoyed spending time with our brothers and sisters whether we were just talking, playing dominoes or dancing meringue. Oh and did I mention the WINTER BASEBALL LEAGUE IN D.R.-yes!!!

So, there you have it a few frequently asked questions. Hope it was helpful....

I Will Only Use These Powers To Do Good

  (Ecclesiastes 11:6) . . .In the morning sow your seed and until the evening do not let your hand rest; for you are not knowing where this will have success, either here or there, or whether both of them will alike be good. . .

 Four months into our transition and all goes well. One thing that has been a bit of a surprise to me is how little we actually get to converse in Spanish. In our typical week we only use Spanish at the meetings and in the ministry and even then, I would say that 90% of the friends in the congregation speak English to us. As is the case in many congregations, in the field we seem to have more NH than anything else. This has presented a challenge for us to try to improve on our ability to communicate in Spanish.

   A few weeks ago however I had one of those "ah-hah moments"- you know where the heavens part and a bright shining light beams upon you and a celestial voice points you in the right direction. We were finishing up service on a Saturday and we were in a strip mall where there is a Spanish store that serves hot lunches. We decided to get some to take home with us for lunch. So, after deciding what we wanted I went to the counter and ordered: " Me gustaria tener pernil y arroz blanco con habichuelas y maduros ; para llevar por favor." The fellow behind the counter smiled and had a very pleased look on his face. He asked me where I learned to speak Spanish and without really thinking about it I said "in school". We thanked him for our order, paid the cashier, speaking to her in Spanish too and proceeded to leave. All of this I did without thinking or hesitating in any way, it seemed to come naturally.
   Then about two weeks ago at work I was making a delivery to an office where two women who appeared to be Latinas were working outside doing some landscaping. I thought to myself "I'll get some more practice in here" and so as I walked past them I said "Hola" to which they replied the same. I then asked them "Como Estan Hoy? "Bien!" they answered. It must have been something I said because they looked at each other for a split second as if to say "is this guy for real?" and then looking back at me they asked if I was  Puertorriqueno? I (laughed inside) smiled and told them no, I was Americano, but that I was learning to speak Spanish. I told them many persons spoke it and if I was able to I could speak to them as well. They told me I was doing good. I thanked them and entered the building to go about my work.
   It was just then that I had the aforementioned ah-hah moment. I thought to my self that was a golden opportunity to tell them I was studying to be a missionary and to give a brief witness. When I left the building they had moved on to somewhere else and I did not see them any more. That incident made me think about looking for opportunities to witness to people in Spanish; just as I have always done in my native tongue. I shouldn't  think that I don't know enough or what if I don't understand- just rely on Jehovah and make the effort, he will do the rest. I mean after all what good is it to speak the language and only use it to order lunch? I want to speak Spanish to help people learn The Truth!!!  Last Saturday having this point of view paid off.
   In our complex there are some new homes being built. For about the past month we have had construction crews coming and going. We were returning from service and as we were driving past we noticed the workers seemed to be at lunch. I remarked we should go over and talk to them. To my surprise Danielle agreed to go with me. Well, now I was stuck I couldn't back out of it. So, after parking the car at the house we grabbed our bags and walked over to the site. We said a prayer on the way over and I was shaking. I wonder what was in the guys minds as they saw us dressed in our service clothes coming over to them? A few of them scattered (maybe we looked like Feds?) but about seven or eight guys were sitting and eating their lunch. I said a greeting and just began talking to the group. One or two really listened and Dani and I focused on talking to them; all in Spanish of course! We were both able to place magazines and tracts with a few of the workers and were quite thrilled when we left. One of the guys started reading his mag right away as he was eating his lunch. I thought to myself: why had we not done this before?
   This has made me more determined to be prepared to witness informally. In the course of my workday I come across a lot of people who are Spanish speakers. Many times they may work in positions that I have simply overlooked them- landscapers, construction, janitors etc. As I think about it though, if I am willing to pick up and move to a foreign country to preach, why not show the same zeal now in reaching some who are here but may not be home when the brothers go house to house. Who knows if simply showing interest in, and identifying myself as a Witness may lead some to listen. Would it not be a privilege to plant a seed of truth in some one's heart?
 So, with a renewed focus I keep tracts in Spanish on hand and try to initiate conversation in Spanish wherever I can. With Jehovah's blessing, it is my hope that the end result may indeed be that some of the seed land on fine soil and bear fruit.

The Baby Steps and Mister Miyagi

   One of my fondest memories of Danielle's childhood was watching her take her first steps. We had noticed she was getting more and more active so we bought a camcorder to record the special moment. Then one day Suzanne, my Mom and I were excitedly watching and cheering for her as she took her first few steps on her tippy-toes before dropping to the floor. Undeterred, she got right back up and took a few more wobbly strides before falling again. I am so proud of her now since she has mastered this skill :-)
   I got to thinking about this whole learning to walk and baby steps metaphor of late. As I have mentioned in some earlier posts "the conquest" of the Spanish language is taking a little bit longer than I thought it would. For me, learning the language has been like learning to walk all over again; a slow process with lots of stumbles but I keep picking myself up and trying to push forward.
   One of those stumbles was attending our first Spanish language Special Assembly Day last month. To be honest I really did not learn ANYTHING. By the Baptism talk my brain was fried and I just shut down. It was so hard to try to keep up with the words. My head was tired from trying to translate and when I used the dictionary to look anything up, I would miss several sentences so that too set me back.
   There are, as well, those times when I want to say a few phrases to someone in the Kingdom Hall and even though I have practiced, somehow when it comes time to actually talk, the words just do not come out correctly. Or they come out sounding very "anglo style" and not authentico. Or the times that the friends do talk to us, but get impatient and say their thought in English because we have taken too long to reply in Spanish ( please hold for translation).
   For each of those "stumbles" however there always seems to be a little "pick-me-up" as well. For example after the session at the Special Assembly Day we got to talk to our C.O. and his wife for a few minutes. When he saw us he said: "I remember you, you are going to be needgreaters!" He then joked that I looked as though I were an overheated car with steam coming out of my ears. He and his wife were very encouraging and told us not to give up. His wife added that for her it took about 5 years to be entirely comfortable in Spanish, so definitely take a long term approach. We appreciated their comments, they are both Americans so for them Spanish is not their native tongue either. They reassured us that at the next assembly in Spring we would be able to understand more and would see how much progress we will have made by then.
  We also got a boost when we were visited by our new "old friend", Jenn Hirt (see July 2011). She was in the States and came by for a few days to visit us. Jenn is brave! She took a real chance coming here as we were all battling a nasty cold/flu thing and were again feeling a little bit down. At the time we were beginning to doubt whether we could really do this or even if getting to D.R. was going to be possible for us. It was such a pleasure to have her visit at that time though. Jenn has such a positive outlook and gave us little push in the right direction to help us get our thoughts back in order. I find it to be interesting how someone can give you that "just right" word at that "just right" time. What another fine blessing we enjoy as servants of Jehovah!
   Alas, there are THOSE MOMENTS. WHEN EVERYTHING SEEMS TO GO RIGHT. WHEN ALL YOUR WORDS, THOUGHTS, AND PRONUNCIATION BLEND TOGETHER TO FORM A COHERENT, WELL STATED SENTENCE OR THREE.
   Perhaps you remember the old Karate Kid movie. When Daniel was ready to quit his lesson thinking that he was just doing work for Mr. Miyagi and not learning anything. Miyagi then has him go through all the moves he had learned ("wax on- wax off, paint fence Daniel-san") Lo and behold he wasn't just doing the chores but when put into practice he was learning Karate moves.
   Not that I have such moves but I enjoyed such a moment a few weeks ago. One of my co-workers is from Cuba and is not very fluent in English. He also is active in his church singing in choir and such. Recently his mother had passed away and I had not seen him as he was away on bereavement leave. On this particular day I saw him in the warehouse and went over to express my condolences. He began to talk about how much he missed her but he knew she was "with Jesus". We then got into a nice discussion about the resurrection; I was able to quote him some verses from 1 Corinthians 15 and Revelation 21. He thanked me for sharing those thought with him and when I looked up we had been talking for about 10 MINUTES! OH YEAH AND IT WAS ALL IN SPANISH!! Okay maybe 80% kinda like a Spanglish but you get the picture. It was a baby step in the right direction and I thanked Jehovah that if only for a moment I was able to glorify him then.
   THOSE MOMENTS, are the ones give me hope for the future. Yes it seems as though we are now in an uphill climb, but others have passed this way before and so can we-at least that's what I keep telling myself. The friends in the congregation have been extremely supportive, "cheering us on", commending us when we make a comment or read a verse. Most of all, we are keep asking for of Jehovah's blessing. We know that with his backing and the blessing of his spirit and continued effort on our part nosotros hablaremos Espanol bien muy pronto!

Como Estan?

   Estamos muy bien, gracias! Two months into our new lives in the Spanish language and yes things are going well. We are making new friends, learning to communicate and as mentioned earlier I have been given a new apodo(nickname): "Ventana". It's all in good fun, so I don't mind.
   So, exactly how does one go about learning a new language without taking a formal class? Poco a poco (little by little). To be honest the process is much more difficult than I initially thought it would be. I remembered a few things from studying Spanish in high school and thought that it would all come flooding back to me in a couple of weeks. Oh, if only it were so easy. It seems that 20+ years has a way of making you forget things so we start anew.

   Each week we prepare a simple presentation for the ministry: A greeting, introduce ourselves, read a scripture and offer a piece of literature. Over time we have committed this to memory and are comfortable with those words and phrases. Meeting preparation is also a way of learning. We are making good use of The Society's audio recordings as they help us tremendously with pronunciation. Some things are more of a challenge for me though. For example the Service Meeting and Watchtower study are difficult at times. This is because not only are the words different but at times the thought is as well. Have you ever heard someone talking in Spanish and thought to yourself that it sounds like they are saying twice as many words as in English? Well, that's because they probably are. Spanish is a very rich, descriptive language, much less to the point than English is. As we study though we are getting familiar with word patterns and phrases-all part of the training! I see progress as the weeks go by though. It once took me over two hours to get through eleven paragraphs of a WT lesson. I am happy that I have significantly cut that time down!

THE TOOLS OF MY IGNORANCE

   The congregation helps us out tremendously in our efforts to learn also. Many will offer us suggestions on how to better express something we want to say or simply offer a polite correction when we make a mistake. One couple has kind of adopted us so to speak and are really extending themselves to help us. I was having a conversation with Brother Bueno and telling him about our struggles and he offered to teach our family. Really? Would you? How can we pass that up! So, Saturday evenings we head over to the Bueno home where he and his wife give us lessons using the brochure Learn to Read and Write. The Buenos have been very hospitable to us, opening their home up and spending their time-a Saturday night no less- to teach us Spanish. Hermana Bueno also takes great delight in stuffing us with a tasty treat after the lesson is over. We were very surprised after the first lesson when she offered us a meal( I wasn't going to say no!) and genuinely appreciate these friends showing us such hospitality. It was very moving to me as we were talking after one of the lessons and she tells in that they are helping us basically because they know that we want to help others in the ministry; so they are offering to help us-in a way they're helping others too! What a loving gesture I thought to myself and one that will not be soon forgotten!
   The next few weeks will bring some "firsts" for us. I have my first assignment on the Ministry School in about two weeks. It is a Bible reading and I am already nervous over it. We also have coming up shortly our Special Assembly Day. This will be a test for sure. After some meetings I have such a headache from trying to pay attention. A whole day? My head just might explode; but we'll see how much we can retain. We are looking forward though as we realize that this is all good preparation for our future goal. So we press on Poco a Poco asking Jehovah to help us, just like he did for Bezalel and Moses and Joshua(WT 12/15/2011).     We are confident that with his spirit we will indeed reach our goals and continue to be "muy bien".
Hasta luego!
 

Hermano Ventana

   I have often fancied my last name Windham, as an elegant, regal name. I imagine that there was at one time some royal rich dude-The Earl of Windham perhaps- who left England and sailed for the new world; landing in Alabama where many generations later my father would be born. By this reasoning I further imagined that back in merry old England there is a Windham Estate, long abandoned and waiting for an heir (me) to claim it. My visions of  "Windham Royalty" have been reduced these past few weeks.

   It seems as though when we have introduced ourselves to the Spanish brothers rather than hearing "Windham"(say wind-um- the h is silent) they were hearing "window". So for a while now I have been "Brother Window". ( I am fairly sure there is no window estate) Things reached a crescendo on Tuesday morning during the meeting for field service. Hermano Blanca was organizing car groups and he asked my name saying he had forgotten. I reminded him of my last name and he said : "Hermano Window". I kindly corrected him "Wind-um" and added "no ventana", ventana being the Spanish word for window. All of a sudden there were several friends saying out loud : "ooh, wind-um; no window, no ventana". This went on for about a full minute during the meeting for service. Afterwards, several friends came over and were like : "wind-um, si?" Needless to say at this point I'm thinking that I should have kept quiet and continued as Ventana, but things calmed down and now I can rightfully reclaim "my estate".

   Our first month in the new congregation is coming to an end and NO we still can't speak Spanish(well). One of the big frustrations has been giving what I call baby comments at the meeting-you know like "Jehova"-and feeling quite proud to have pronounced it properly. The experience is humbling but the friends here are super supportive. Many are immigrants to the U.S. and had to learn English as adults. They have been relating their personal experiences to us and encouraging us to stick with it and reassuring us that this can be done. One piece of advice that has been constant is that they all said watching tv and listening to radio helped them learn English. My Spanish hasn't improved much but I am up to date on Muchachitas Como Tu,  Caso Cerrado, and El Gordo y La Flaca  :-)

   We have had some ups and downs during this time. As mentioned comments are limited. The meetings are a challenge at times. It is quite frustrating to sit through a whole talk and not understand anything that was said. There are those moments though when you listen to the speaker and it just clicks! For now they are few but as the weeks have passed are getting more frequent. I am also appreciating that the way that different friends speak can have an affect on your understanding. We have a multitude of countries represented in the congregation and each has a slightly different accent and some different terms they may use that is unique to them. Then there are the ones I call The Fast Talkers. Imagine the scene- an auctioneer at the podium "five do I hear ten? Sold to the man in green!"-  Yeah now try to follow as someone speaks that quickly and you get the idea. This has stressed to us the importance of our pace and pronunciation- we want to be easily understood so even from now we practice speaking clearly and correctly.

  We have enjoyed the ministry here though it is a little different from the English congregation. The number of homes that are Spanish speaking are few in comparison to English. You may only have a house or two on a street to call on so the territory is much more vast than we are used to. Street witnessing is a big part as well. Last Saturday morning there was a group of 20 who went out at 7am. I joined them and was promptly thrown into the fire so to speak. I assumed someone would help me but no, the brother said "we go one at a time, you can do talk to those guys there". So here I wander over to the truck with the landscaping crew and first words out of my mouth? "Do you guys speak Spanish?" Duh! Yes they do-you don't- just offer them the magazines-I said to myself! I prayed all the way over to the truck and managed not to fumble the brief presentation thanks to Jehovah.

   All things considered this has been a good start to our time here. We are receiving a lot of help from the friends. Many know of our plans and have had only positive words of encouragement for us. We are enjoying the warmth of the Spanish culture as well. The friends are very welcoming. It is considered good manners to speak to everyone at the meetings, say a greeting, hugs and kisses, shake hands, etc. It makes it hard to leave quickly  but you can never get enough love you know. 

   Well, that's just a brief update from our first month. Jehovah willing we will enjoy many more as we press on to our goal of serving as needgreaters in the near future. :-)   

All Good Things Must Come To An End(?)

   I have been a bit philosophical lately, thinking about commonly accepted ideas and looking at them critically, challenging them if you will. Take for example the above statement. Most people are familiar with it, perhaps even uttering it once or twice. Why though do we accept it? Who was the first person to say this and why? Were they having a particularly tough day at the time, indeed what led them to feel that if something is good it won't last?
   I began to think about this after our recent district convention (no, I didn't take any pamphlets from the protesters outside). As mentioned earlier our family has recently changed to the Spanish congregation. Our recent convention was the last time we would be with the friends from Lake Mary for a while. So I guess you might say we were back on the emotional roller-coaster again: joyous to sad and back to joyous again.
   We thoroughly enjoyed the convention program. Having our convention in September, we had heard bits and pieces from about it from others in the months prior. Finally getting to go, we were not disappointed! What a great program! Reminders about seeking the kingdom first, our conduct as subjects of the kingdom, the final talk on Sunday and the dramas, oh the dramas! Yes, I am not ashamed to say my eyes got a little moist during Saturday's drama. We left feeling refreshed and spiritually well fed.
   So why the sadness? I guess the realization that this was truly "the end". We were no longer part of Lake Mary congregation, time to move forward. To make matters worse, the Sunday drama was performed by a number of friends from Lake Mary congregation. So there we are sitting in the audience watching friends we have known for years perform and thinking "we not going to see so-and-so". At the end of the convention, we sat in the car in the parking lot, not wanting to leave-it was a very quiet ride home.
   Things picked up midweek as we started attending the Spanish meetings though. As expected we were warmly welcomed and we "jumped right in" going in service with all our post it notes, dictionary and index cards with our presentation; was even able to make a comment during Sunday WT study. We have found a lot of encouragement from several friends in the congregation who also are not native Spanish speakers but have made the transition. It gives me hope, which right now is something I need. Nothing quite as frustrating as sitting through a talk and missing major portions of it, or everyone laughing at something funny that was said, but not understanding what's going on. Oh well, I guess Rome was not built in a day- hey wait a minute- isn't that another one of those "wise sayings"!
   So, after a week of emotional ups and downs and a new start in a new congregation what conclusion have I drawn? "All good things must come to an end". Whomever was the first person to utter this statement must not have been a servant of Jehovah. Why do I say that? Well I take our experience. Yes, we are missing our friends in Lake Mary already. We had a "good thing" there for ten years now. However we are now in Longwood Spanish and it is as if we have already been there for years, it's very familiar in a good way. I think also about the joys that await us when we finally get to DR, good things as well. Not to mention our hope as servants of Jehovah: life eternal in a paradise serving our loving heavenly father surrounded by brothers and sisters who love us. Everlasting life- now that's a good thing that will never end! "All good things must come to an end". Really, I think not.