Thursday, October 6, 2011

"ADVERSITY HAS CHANGED MY LIFE BUT NOT MY HEART"


Yesterday I investigated a potential "need" congregation called Las Isletas. Granada sits right on the shore of the biggest freshwater lake in Central America called Lake Nicaragua. It has over 360 islands on it most of which are inhabited. Five years ago a missionary couple named Mark & Allison Lee from Canada were assigned to work this territory. I met them at the District Convention and invited myself along :)

We met at the missionary home 8:30 yesterday morning and loaded up. Obviously, since the whole day is spent on the lake, if you don't bring what you need for the day, too bad. So we spent a while loading up our service gear, lunches, meeting bags, and equipment to fill the Kingdom Hall (more on that later). Two other brothers met us at the marina and we were off! We picked up 2 baptized sisters who live on the islands and then met at a bible student's house for the meeting for service. We took two boats out that day and did a mix of studies, rv's, and regular preaching. First time preaching by boat!! I got to speak to a woman and her family, and they were very attentive. She unfortunately can't read so I explained to her about our new brochure from the convention Listen to God and made arrangements to bring that to her next time.

We then dropped the 2 island sisters off and met at the Kingdom Hall to eat lunch and finish preparations for the meeting. Now, this is no regular KH....it floats!! Yep, it's actually a platform built on air-compressed barrels and covered by a tarp. The brothers can haul it anywhere they want on the lake to meet the needs of the territory. Currently, it's docked on an island owned by a Spaniard who, in exchange for docking and general security when it's not in use, charges $15/month. If you'd like to know more about it you can read the September 1, 2009 Watchtower p.26.

The meeting started about 3pm. I know that sounds early but they like to finish while it's still night so no one is maneuvering waters at night. Bro.Lee left after lunch to pick up a few students while we prepared the Kingdom Hall. Other brothers rowed themselves over. We had an attendance of 20 with 100% participation other than 2 babies in the group. The meeting was nice and relaxing filled with lake breezes, the sound of waves lapping the KH, and the occasional howler monkey nearby.

Afterwards, we dropped the students off and got home about 6:30pm. It was a very tiring day but very exciting at the same time. I've been raised in the truth but it never ceases to amaze me that here even in this tiny group floating in the middle of nowhere do they manage to have the SAME meetings we all enjoy from the SAME literature and the SAME organization. It was also very encouraging working with Bro.Lee all day. He's a very humble brother who has an AMAZING life story and had a lot of good advice on how to be successful in your assignment. If you'd like to know more about him and his family, you can read the story of his father, Forrest Lee, in the March 1, 2001 Watchtower p.23. The quote for this post was taken from his article. What's not listed there, is the fact that after all he went through, he spent his last 12 years serving where the need was greater in Mexico.



Lenin Martinez manning the literature counter/sound booth/contribution boxes. Hey, there's limited space, you know?





All of us after the meeting less Bro. Chavez who's taking the picture








Floating KH in its dock








Katty and Noemi making a return visit






Me catching some rays! I know it's not very interesting but my Mom has expressed a need to see more pix of me.







This is Volcan Mombacho in the background. I can see this from my house! I love looking at it. Many times here I have wished to have my friend Flecky b/c she takes such amazing pix, and I know she could do this volcano much more justice than I have....oh, plus I just really love her and wish she was here :)

2 comments:

  1. Mom was right. Nice to see A (as in only one)pic of you as well. Love the stories. Keep em coming!

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  2. Oh my goodness it sounds like you are having an awesome time! I love it!

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