11-23-13 & 11-24-13 Prep Work and S.A.D.!!

Saturday:  This morning I cleaned up around the house, did laundry for my friend who was moving today, then went grocery shopping and made food for myself for the week and for a Bethel family of 4 for the assembly the next day.  That evening I had to work several hours in order to make up for the shifts I would be absent Sunday morning.

I finished work at 11:30pm, but couldn't sleep.

Sunday:  I woke up exhausted this a.m. Nothing a cup of coffee and a shower can't fix.  I was so excited for the S.A.D.  We gathered up our things and headed to the Kingdom Hall where we met up with the others who were taking the bus to the Assembly Hall in Calderon.  There were 3 buses in total.  We met some new people who just moved to Quito and would soon be attending our congregation, as well as others who were serving in various parts of the country.  Our bus driver, who didn't know how to get to the assembly hall, was following one of the other buses.  Unfortunately, we caught a light and then got lost. After a few minutes, and a minor detour, we were back on track.  We arrived in plenty of time to associate with our brothers and sisters in the English field in Ecuador.

 Friends from Quito English (and a photobomb by our friend from Puerto Lopez!)

 My roomie and some friends who are the caretakers at the Assembly Hall in Rio Bamba

Quito English's newest additions :)

I learned that one of the English groups had recently been dissolved and so now there are 4 congregations (Guayaquil, Cuenca, Andrade Marin, and Quito) and 1 group (Manta) in the country.  Even still, we had 415 in attendance for the morning session and 376 in the afternoon. There were quite a few Bible studies in attendance as well as some need-greaters who serve in Spanish congregations, but also enjoy attending the assembly in their native language.  No baptismal candidates this time, but an excellent discourse nonetheless.  The Bethel family I had prepared lunch for was not able to attend at the last minute and so I gave away what food I could.

We had a visiting Bethel speaker in attendance who gave 1.5 talks (our final talk was split between our Circuit Overseer and the Bethel speaker).  Two of our congregation's elders gave talks as well; one with the Watchtower Summary and the other with the part about youths.  There were three experiences in that part given by members of our congregation and they did an excellent job!!  The final talk of the program also contained an experience by one of our local brothers and brought many to tears.

 Our COBE

 Interviews - Quito English brothers

 Interview - Our Sister in Quito English

 Final talk - Our C.O. and one of our brothers from Quito English

Two of our visiting brothers from Puerto Lopez and two friends of theirs

 
After the program and final cleaning, we piled back on the bus and headed back home.  My roommate and I went home to change quickly and drop off the extra bags of food.  We then went to the food court at the mall for dinner.  One of our friends from Puerto Lopez met up with us and we all went to my friends' new apartment (still just down the street from my place!) for coffee/ tea.