Joy and Pain

   Two months since my last post, time to update I guess. A lot has happened in the past two months, most notably the passing of Suzanne's father at the end of August.

   Although he had been very sick for some time, when a loved one passes away the sting of death is still there. We are sad that Dad is gone but relieved at the same time. His last months were filled with pain. Now though the pain is no more. He is simply sleeping peacefully, awaiting for Jehovah's call in the resurrection.

   As painful as it was to lose Dad, we have had some joyous things as well. The ministry continues to be very productive here. In fact one of Suzanne's Bible students began sharing in the field last month. I must tell you about her because I think her efforts are pretty incredible.

first day in field service

   Mitsy is a single mother of three, a 15 yr. old, a 12 yr. old and a 1 yr. old baby girl. We have been studying with her since last summer and have seen her make good progress in serving Jehovah. In May we began encouraging her to try to get to the Kingdom Hall on her own as we had been carrying her to meetings, but were leaving JA for a trip home.

   Mitsy lives far from the Kingdom Hall, probably a good 25 minute drive up into the hills north of Kingston. She does not have transportation and there are no buses that go where she lives. Basically it's you have a car or you have to get a cab and then two buses to the Kingdom hall, if the buses are running that time of day. Additionally the drive there is up a winding, twisting, bumpy mountain country road with no guard rails of course. I really was reluctant to drive up there but when someone wants to serve Jehovah how could I say no?

   Seeing that we would not be able to carry her to the KH, we thought it wise to encourage her to get there on her own. How though? Well here in JA in the country, it's still common for people to hitchhike. If you need a ride just go out and wave down a car. More often than not they'll stop for you and take you to the bottom of the hill. We encouraged Mitsy to get to the meetings on her own, as we would be away for a month and she needed to keep attending meetings. We encouraged her to view her efforts as her sacrifice to Jehovah. Was it his will for her to get to the meetings? Would he not answer her prayers for help in that regard? We prayed with her specifically about it and left for our trip. Did we mention to you that she wasn't employed at the time? Bus money would be an issue.

   On our return to JA many of the friends told us excitedly how Mitsy had been a regular at the meetings while we were gone. She did it! But how we asked her? "I just went out to the road and begged a ride" she said. Who could say no to a mother and her kids "going to church" on a Sunday. Sometimes she would get a ride all the way there, sometimes she got to the bottom of the hill and had  a 15 minute walk to the KH with her two daughters.

Suzanne, Mitsy and Carly 

   She got to experience Jehovah's hand in matters on a number of occasions. One particular day she got a ride down the hill but was short of the needed carfare to get home. She stated that she just got in the cab and was praying on the way home. She didn't know what she was going to tell the driver but when he got to her house he simply turned to her and said "don't worry about it"! She got a free cab ride home!

   She has been consistent at meetings, comments regularly and talked of getting baptized. So recently we asked her her plans. She stated she soon wants to get baptized. "Well", we told her, "if you want to get baptized you need to be a publisher first." And so she has. It's been a joy to see her enthusiasm in the ministry and she is looking forward to her first assignment on the Theocratic Ministry School next week.

   So I titled this post Joy and Pain. It's quite ironic in the span of a few weeks to experience a swing of emotions such as these. As joyful as the past weeks have been though we have some uncertainties before us. Our whole reason for being here in JA was to care for Suzanne's dad. Now that he has passed away our assignment is over. As enjoyable as the ministry here is there are a number of lands where there is still a great need for kingdom publishers. It has always been our desire to be fully involved in the work for as long as we can. But we have an enjoyable and productive ministry here. And there are still some congregations here with only one Elder who could use help. What to do? Do we look to step over into Macedonia abroad, or the Macedonia here in JA?
Decision time...

A Trip to The Country

   "…It's a small congregation of 16 publishers but they only have one elder. On Sundays after giving the public talk he has to do the Watchtower lesson as well. We'd like to send a group of friends up there  to support the congregation and give the brother some relief. Can you go?"

   So began the phone call that got me to do something I have dreaded and up to that point avoided doing-driving across the island of Jamaica. Last month we took a trip north to St. Mary parish to support the Camberwell congregation there. Wi a go a country…Jamaican patwa for we're going to the country!

   Jamaica is a mountainous country, full of winding mountain passes. The roads are narrow, not well paved and lacking guard rails in most locations. Nothing quite like driving up a hill, rounding a blind curve and seeing a car coming in the opposite direction straight at you!! As you small up for the pass and look out the window you see nothing but the steep drop off the mountain side and think to yourself: I am so happy for the resurrection hope!

   Thus the reason for my aforementioned fear of driving across the island. However after hearing about the needs of our brothers, how could I say anything other than "here I am send me!" So off we went, two cars of friends from Kingston to work in the country for the day. Wah gwaan? Weh ya a go? Mi a go country, soon come back.

a banana plantation

   The Camberwell congregation is located in the Parish of St. Mary on the north coast of Jamaica. The parish is noted for among other things having numerous banana farms in the area. It is also the location where the good news was first preached in Jamaica:  
   
"In 1897 something even more beautiful entered Jamaica—the good news of God’s Kingdom. (Isa. 52:7) This is how it happened: Two Jamaicans who had migrated to Costa Rica learned the truth in that country and felt that such wonderful good news should be taken back to their homeland. So it was that H. P. Clarke and Louis Facey were the first to preach the Kingdom good news in Jamaica.

the blue bags protect the bananas from insects

   Reports tell of their going to the village of Camberwell in the mountains of the parish of St. Mary, where they preached to Patrick Davidson and his brother. Both accepted the Bible’s truth and immediately joined in the preaching. The response to the message was encouraging, and on March 26, 1899, which was two years later, 300 persons attended a convention and Memorial celebration of the death of Jesus Christ."    From 1985 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses pg. 68

   What a day it proved to be as we enjoyed an interchange of encouragement with our Camberwell brothers. We worked together in the ministry in the morning, taking in the beautiful mountain scenery. After having lunch and freshening up a bit, we headed to the Kingdom Hall for our meeting. There it dawned upon me how heavy a load Br. Prendergast is carrying. One of our brothers gave the talk, another read the WT, and another handled mics for the WT study. Had our group from Kingston not come he would have to do the talk and WT lesson. For midweek he has to do all the parts as well as there are no servants or young brothers there. And this he does week after week. So…anyone out there want to serve where the need is greater in the English (mostly) field? Camberwell would love to have you! And don't worry Jamaican patwa nah hard mon! 

   We had a wonderful time serving together that day, made some new friends and look forward to our next trip there. Below are some photos from the day:

suzanne and kara resting after climbing the hills

br. prendergast and son

kara serves with our congregation in kingston but camberwell is her home. here with her mom

sugarcane

the brothers were very hospitable, sending us home with...

...bananas, plantains, yam, pumpkin, tangerines, sugarcane, coconuts & more

the camberwell congregation and visitors for the day!

"Build For Yourself an Ark…"

   In May we left Jamaica for a few weeks to do some traveling. It was time for me to visit my folks as, well, I missed my mom and dad :-(    sniff sniff . Before heading back to FL though we passed through Guasave for the wedding of Aaron and Lizeth.

   We had been looking forward to this visit for quite some time. Since leaving Guasave my heart has longed to return there. The experience of serving where the need was greater, getting to know and understand my brothers and sisters from another culture, of being fully involved every day in the ministry was one I will always cherish. We served with our brothers, we became family, we learned many things about warmth, love and hospitality. We grew spiritually and in many other ways.

   What I didn't realize though was just how much of an enriching experience serving where the need was greater would have on all of us. Each of us have been changed by our experience in the Guasave English Congregation. Some of us from the old congregation were talking about how we are different people now. Some are more mature spiritually, some have new privileges and responsibilities, for some it was simply a realization that they could do more and taking the steps to increase their service to Jehovah.

   For our family it has put us on a new life path, we desire to serve as needgreaters for as long as we are able to. We still have hopes that we may one day have the privilege of attending SKE. We have changed our "family tree", and for Dani we are encouraging her to spread her wings leave the nest, enjoying new experiences on her own as she begins a life in full time service.

   I recently heard a talk in which the brother giving it spoke about Noah. While it's true that he preached before the flood, when he spoke about Jehovah after it we can be sure it was not the same way. His faith would have been strengthened.He would have a greater conviction. When he spoke about Jehovah he would have done so with a greater zeal due to his experience in the ark and Jehovah's delivering his family.

   He likely built a house as well after the flood. That too we can imagine was done in a different manner. In his experience building the ark he would have likely acquired some practical skills that helped him build a better house; no leaky roofs in his home! To be sure, he came through the flood a changed man, bettered by his experiences.

   I think that serving where the need is greater has had a similar effect on us. When we extend ourselves, get out of our comfort zones and put ourselves more fully in Jehovah's hands we come out changed people, changed for the better. We learn to live simpler, to rely more fully on Jehovah, widen out in our love for our brothers,  and become better teachers of God's word.

   As our family continues to build our "spiritual ark", we look forward with anticipation to where Jehovah will lead us in this need greater life.

with our Guasave friends family

Aaron's Rib

"And Jehovah God built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman, and he brought her to the man."- Genesis 2:22

You may recall me writing about Aaron Lee, a brother from England with whom we served  in the Guasave English congregation back in 2013. Aaron went back to England to work for a while but had ulterior motives for returning to Guasave. He found his "spare rib".

another blessing for serving as a needgreater :-) 

   Aaron and Lizeth, who also served with us in the Guasave English Congregation, were married last month in Guasave. We had the honor to be in attendance at their wedding and to enjoy their special day.

Felicidades Aaron y Lizeth y que Jehova bendiga su matrimonio!

Special Pioneers?

   Our move to Jamaica just happened to coincide with Jamaica being merged into the U.S. branch territory. As a result many people upon meeting us seem to get all kinds of ideas as to why we are here. I have often been asked:  "Are you a missionary? special pioneer? from Bethel?" Yeah, right, if only they knew who they were talking to. I doubt anyone of such questionable character as mine would be granted such privileges. I mean I am pretty special (at least I think I am), and I am a pioneer but that's about the extent of it  :-)

   Usually when I start talking is when the questions arise. Apparently since we have arrived here I have developed an accent or so I am told. "You from foreign?" they will ask. "I hear you have an American accent." Funny I hadn't noticed, too busy trying to understand all the  Jamaican accents around me! Besides, I think I tawk like a poifectly nawmal New Yawka...

   Something special that has been going on however is the Special Metropolitan Public Witnessing Program that was started on the island last year. When I saw in the KM how this program was being done in only 13 cities in the branch territory it amazed me that Jamaica was selected at all. I mean we are talking cities like New York, D.C., Chicago and others. Major metropolises (or is it metropoli?) I think Manhattan alone has a larger  population than the whole island of Jamaica!

   We are privileged to have a share in this form of witnessing; although I must admit at first I was less than enthusiastic about it. When we were asked to participate I thought to myself: "it's just glorified street work, I don't want to do that."  I could not have been more wrong! Clearly I forgot who is driving the chariot!

   The SMPWP or "metro" as we like to refer to it has been nothing short of exciting. Imagine service with no not at homes. Imagine not having to approach anyone but people coming up to you...and asking for a study! We are enjoying such experiences each week as we share in metro.

   Jamaica has a deeply religious culture and most people read their Bibles regularly. It is not uncommon that when you start reading a verse, the householder is able to finish it. One of the unique differences about witnessing in Jamaica is that we get to witness to the young ones. Back home if you even look at a kid, the parent comes out screaming at you. Here, people send their kids out to you so you can teach them something about the Bible. This is especially evident in metro witnessing as we have many young ones stopping by the stands on their way to and from school. Some will get magazines, a number of them have asked for Bibles, some even have studies at the cart on their way home. It is a nice feeling to know that we are planting seeds of truth in tender young hearts, who knows where they may sprout and bear fruit?

somewhere beneath that pile of kids...

     Some recent experiences have shown us that fruitage may come sooner rather than later. One day a woman stopped by the cart and began looking at the literature displayed. When she was asked if she would like anything to read she said yes she would. She said her kids had been bringing home the magazines and books and she had been reading them. Now she wanted to know more for herself and she stopped by.

   Two preteen-age girls came by and asked Suzanne for Bibles. We try to gauge the young ones' interest before handing out Bibles so they are not wasted. So we inquire about what their favorite scripture is or something like that to be sure they really want to read it. So, when Suzanne asked the young girl she replied that she really did want the Bible. Her present Bible was a small one with only Psalms and the Greek scriptures in it. "How can I read Isaiah if it's not in my Bible?" she asked? She and her companion both got Bibles and Bible stories books. A few days later they returned and sang a little jingle they made up, thanking Suzanne for the books and saying that now that they have them,"they are not bored anymore."

...lies a missionary

    At times we joke among ourselves, saying we get "glimpses" into the spirit realm. We know the Devil would love to stop our work, but we can just picture Jehovah's angels forming a barricade around us; keeping us safe and drawing sheeplike ones to us. There have been a number of occasions where we will see someone passing us by and then all of a sudden as soon as they get near the cart they will yell out in a loud voice: "Jesus!" Please keep walking...and take your demons along with you thank you very much. There is one man who passes by regularly. He
never says anything, never looks our way but without fail as soon as he is within ten feet of the stand he just starts shouting: "you must repent for the Lord is coming! The kingdom of god is near!"  or something like that. And as soon as he passes he stops! With all that activity going on  around us, we are getting noticed.

   There is a young woman who has a cart and sells nuts and candies, situated next to us on the sidewalk. Each day she is around us we say hello, maybe talk briefly and go on our way. Little by little we noticed she kept creeping closer, looking at the literature, listening in when others would stop by and talk. One day she took a magazine, then a book, she got an invitation to the memorial, she attended the memorial. She had questions-we had answers. One of our sisters finally asked her if she would like a study and she said "well I'm never home." No problem, I mean after all she is right next to our cart on the street!

   Each week we seem to have some exciting experiences. We are enthusiastic about this form of preaching and think about it on a global scale. How many more persons will be reached by the public witnessing? As we think about how many times people pass us by each day and then one day, all of a sudden an article, a sign, or the color of the magazine catches their eye. What a witness is being given!  How many will come to know the truth by this means? Only Jehovah knows, we're just happy to be playing a small part in the work...and trying to hold on to the chariot as it rolls on! 

crazy homeless guy sat down by Tricia and Dani...

...then he started singing and clapping!

every once in a while we get a goat

happy at the end of the day

You Know You're a Needgreater When...Part 2

You know you're a needgreater when:

* Your most permanent address is your email address

* You know your passport number by heart

*When going through border control the officer has a hard time finding a place to stamp your passport

* The balance in you frequent flier account is higher than the balance in your bank account ( hat tip to Cat Chai)

* Your "best friends" are Germ-X, Purell, and Yakult

* Your favorite app is Skype or FaceTime

* You can fit all your belongings in 2 suitcases weighing no more than 23 kg each

* You frequently state: " I just found this great new way to use ramen! "

*When you hear a thump on the roof in the middle of the night you can instantly tell whether it was an avocado or a mango by the sound it made

* When you look forward to your trip home not only because you want to see family but also because you look forward to limitless hot showers and a really good burger!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

"Sow your seed in the morning and do not let your hand rest until the evening; for you do not know which will have success, whether this one or that one, or whether they will both do well."-Eccl. 11:6 

   Yes, we are still here, alive, well and thanks to Jehovah adjusting nicely to our new home. Much has happened over the past several months, some good, some not so good. The good? Well, we were able to navigate the tangled web of bureaucracy and get legal status here for myself and Danielle (Yeah!).  The not so good? Sadly we had to put Suzanne's dad in a home a few months back.

   That decision was one of the most difficult things we have ever had to do. Your conscience kills you, I mean this is your parent! But when all was said and done we realized that Dad needed more care than we could give and the nursing homes are staffed and equipped to handle cases like his. After visiting a number of homes, leaving some of the more deplorable ones swearing we could never do it, shedding many tears and praying for guidance; we found a suitable place not far from the house.
 
   He is well cared for by the staff; the nurses there truly put their hearts into their jobs. Since he no longer recognizes where he is, it was not so difficult to leave him in the home. We worried what would happen when we dropped him off, if there would be a big scene or not. But he went in, sat down on the couch and after a while the nurses encouraged us to leave. We said: "bye Dad, we'll see you later" and he simply said: "when will you be back?" "Tomorrow" we answered. "Okay, I'll see you then." And that was that.

   Ironically him being in a home has lessened the load on the family. We are still nearby, able to care for whatever he may need. Suzanne visits nearly every day. Since the home is in our territory many of the brothers and sisters visit him often, and to be honest he seems content, almost happy dare I say.  Most of all knowing he is being well cared for has freed us to keep busy in our most important work: the ministry.

   During the past few months we have picked up several Bible Studies and some nice RVs as well. Between the three of us we are conducting now twelve studies.  At our recent circuit assembly three of them attended with us and they have been regular at Sunday and mid-week meetings as well! We have high hopes for them and pray that Jehovah continues to draw them to his organization.

Dani making good use of our theocratic tools

   Dani has a study with a young girl up in the hills incidentally named Danielle as well. She goes there on Saturday mornings and oddly enough we only see kids at the house. Danielle and about 5 or six of her assorted siblings and cousins ranging from about 4 to 13 years old. As Dani studies each of them wants her to read to them as well so we spend much time there in the mornings. One of the young boys in particular would always come sit next to me and look on in my book. Suzanne encouraged me to study with him but I hesitated figuring "he was just a kid." Well for some reason one morning when he came over I pulled out a Listen to god brochure and asked if I could read to him. He was really into it! It warms my heart to hear him talking to the others about the Paradise and how God has a name-Jehovah. He also knows that if we want to live in the Paradise we need to listen to God by reading the Bible. Studying with the young ones is a highlight of the week for me. I especially enjoy seeing the excitement in their eyes watching the Caleb videos. They all gather around and watch on our phones. What a blessing these have been as they are able to teach valuable lesson to them.

"the kid whisperer"

   We met *Denise when we were making a rv at a house two doors down from where she lives. She saw us working and called us over. She told us she used to study and attend meetings. She is a young woman of about 19 or so. When we asked her if she would like to study again, the biggest smile came across her face as she said yes. She told us she has had to move many times in the past year but she kept herself spiritually fed by using the website. She said she would go on it every Sunday at 3p.m. since that was the time of the meeting she used to attend. She would study the WT article but said she only would last for an hour as "she did not have a public talk". Using jw.org she has been able to keep up her spiritual feeding. The week after we started studying with her was our assembly. When we asked if she wanted to go that big smile appeared again as she said: "Yes, definitely!" She is a regular meeting attender and hopes to take some big steps soon.

   To me Denise's experience is very encouraging. As a young person there are many things she could do to occupy her time, but her relationship with Jehovah is very important to her. She used the available technology to keep herself alive spiritually and her love for Jehovah and his ways are evident. Although she was isolated, she didn't get lost and she demonstrates that she values worshipping with the brothers by being at all the meetings.

   Sometimes we don't realize right away how things will develop. Back in June I wrote about my excitement over finding a woman from Cuba in the ministry. Her English was limited so Dani and I have been calling on her using whatever Spanish literature we could round up. Over the passing of time though we found her home less and less but her mother-in-law, also a Spanish speaker, seemed to enjoy reading the magazines. So whenever we went back to visit home, we would load up on all the magazines, Teach books etc, that we could fit in our suitcases and leave them with her. On a recent visit to the home we were told that she went back to Cuba. Oh, well so much for my Spanish practice errr, I mean, return visit :-) Or so I thought.

   Last week while out in service, I got a call from Tricia a missionary in our congregation. She told me she had passed by the house and saw a man cleaning outside the home. Thinking he was a Jamaican man she pulled over and began witnessing to him. But he was an Afro-Cuban and again spoke limited English. He accepted some magazines from her and she referred us to call on him. So…up the hill Dani and I go to call on him. *Luis told us he lived in Cuba but would be visiting his family here for three months. He also said that he was studying back in Cuba, and he had his Bible and Examining the Scriptures with him. A big surprise to us was that the mother-in-law from the home who we used to place magazines with was his mother! He says she would send them back to him in Cuba and tell him to read them. Apparently it worked because he is now studying. So we offered to continue studying with him while he was here in Jamaica and will begin doing so this coming week. The only issue is he wants to study in English to improve his English and we want to keep our Spanish sharp. Spanglish it is!

   It is experiences like that though that continue to excite us about the ministry. When we meet people who are hungering for the truth, showing a determination to feed spiritually, even when isolated from the congregation, it reminds us that this is no ordinary work. For me it is almost as if the angels were hovering over that house, telling us not to pass by and leave it as there are sheep there. Don't worry, I'm okay, not seeing or hearing things, I said "as if" :-)

   I also greatly appreciate the hard work that the GB has put into designing jw.org and broadcasting and the jw library app and the language app and the Caleb videos and whew! I'm tired just mentioning them. Surely as never before there is an abundant supply of rich spiritual food available! We have enjoyed putting them to good use personally but also in the ministry.

   Besides the preaching work we have also been busy in the congregation and with some renovation work at the Kingdom Hall. An office for the LDC team for Jamaica and Grand Cayman is being built and we were privileged to have a small share in the work. As many may know I possess ten thumbs so construction is not my thing. But it's for Jehovah so I am willing to give it a try. Below are some photos from the work site; we are indeed busy, busy, busy…

Tricia (right) keeping an eye on Dani

"measure twice cut once. or is it the other way around?"

concrete bucket brigade