08-03-14 - 08-09-14 Earthquakes and Volcanoes and Tremors - Oh My!!

Sunday:  After the meeting today, my friends and I planned a nice lunch and coffee in the valley (Cumbaya).  First, we had sushi, and our waiter tried to kill be by putting crab in my handroll.  I immediately went to the pharmacy across the street and got something equivalent to Benedryl.    I still broke out in a mild rash of hives and gained 4 lbs by the following morning :(

 

 Views of Cumbaya from the Pedestrian Walkover Bridge at Paseo San Francisco

               

 

Monday: Today was a long work day, followed by Family Worship; finished up discussing the fruitages of the spirit by discussing what it means to be truly guided by and walk by Holy Spirit.  Then I had a nice long chat with a friend and went to sleep.

Tuesday:  This morning after work I went out in service.  We were joined in the afternoon by some friends from the valley and the south - when the weather turned bad, we stopped at a quaint little tea shop for a short break.

 That night, I took my friend out to celebrate their regular pioneer application!

Wednesday:  After a long and busy day of work, I prepared a substitute talk and a demonstration for the meeting that night.

Check out our new JW.org sign outside the main door!

After the meeting, we went out to a restaurant called Zao to say goodbye to our friend who was leaving for the States.

Thursday:  After work this morning, I ran down to the bagel shop to get something for the service group at my house that morning.  We had quite a nice turnout, with a few others joining us later that morning.

In the afternoon the air smelled of a bonfire and we quickly deduced that Tungurahua (a very active volcano in Banos) had erupted again.

Friday:  After work this morning, I met up with the group and spent the afternoon doing some return visits and was able to set up a study for Saturday.  At 5pm, I stopped in to talk to a woman I've been studying with (kind of hit or miss) and was able to have a nice hour long study with her on the spot! When I arrived home, I fixed myself some dinner and was all cozy on the couch studying my Watchtower when I heard a load rumbling sound and looked up to see everything in my house shaking.  As it turns out, it was a 3.8 earthquake - though the center was a good distance away.  Crazy!

Saturday:  Today we started preaching at the park early and had some nice experiences.  We had a nice large group meet for service this morning and had good success distributing the JW.org campaign tract.  I went to the grocery store and then home to prepare a few things that afternoon for hospitality the next day and then met my friend for a Bible study (the man I met on the street the previous week) and we had a great discussion.  After the study, I rushed off to my friends' house for dinner - they had just purchased a new bbq grill and were kind enough to invite a few of us over to try it out!  Delicious!! :)

07-27-14 - 08-02-14 Busy, Busy, Busy...

Sunday:  This morning, as promised, I got up early and made cinnamon rolls to take to some of the friends.  The meeting this morning was great as usual, and the guest speaker was a brother from Ohio/ Florida.  

Twinning with the Secretary!

Then, a "small" group of us went to Mariachi's for lunch afterwards.

Our Speaker and his family

 

The Whole Group

After lunch, two of my friends and I went to get ice cream before heading back to my house.  Then my roommate and I met some other friends at the movie theater and watched "The Fault in Our Stars" and balled our eyes out.  Then we came back to the house and hung out a bit before going to sleep.

Monday:  Today was extremely busy with work and the day flew by quickly!  Afterwards, we had our Family Worship night, continuing our discussion of the Fruitages of the Spirit.  Then we had dinner; beef tenderloin, salad and some fresh mora/ fresa (blackberry/ strawberry) juice.

Tuesday:  Today I met up with the service group after work and we had a good morning.  In the afternoon, I met up with my friend for some calls and then a study that evening.  After her study, I decided to walk home and clear my mind a bit.  On the way home, a man asked me where a particular street was (in Spanish).  I replied that it was two more streets north of where we were standing.  Then, in my poor Spanish, I tried explaining that he could also go uphill at the current street and he would intersect the street he was looking for.  He stopped me part way through and said "You can tell me in English if you'd rather".  So I explained to him in English how to get to the street he was searching for.  He explained to me that he works at the hospital and is moving to Quito and that he was on his way to view an apartment in the area.  I told him I could take him to the street since I was going that direction.  As we walked and talked I told him that I was a volunteer Bible teacher and that is why I moved to Quito.  He asked why we do this volunteer work, so I explained to him how the Bible has benefited me personally and that it was my desire to share what I have learned with others so that they too can benefit from the wisdom in the Bible.  I explained the Bible study arrangement and told him that through a study of the Bible he could find answers to such questions as: "Why does God allow suffering?"  He told me that he wondered what the answer to that question was and I gave him the July issues of the Watchtower and Awake magazines.  By this time, we had arrived at his street.  He told me that he was interested in the Bible study, so I told him that if he was comfortable he could give me his contact information and we could make arrangements for a Bible study.  He asked if he could have my contact information as well, and told me that email was fine if I didn't want to give out my phone number.  He seemed sincere in his interest in a Bible study, and not at all creepy, so I gave him my email and phone number.  I walked another 3 blocks home and excitedly told my roommate of my experience.

Wednesday:  Another crazy busy day of work today, followed by final preparation for the meeting and then heading off to the meeting.  During the meeting, I received a text message from the man I had met the night before saying he would like to have a Bible study and asked me to contact him.  After the meeting, a few friends and I headed to Chili's to have dinner before going home for the night.

Thursday:  Today we met at the park again for incognito - our group kept growing as the morning went on. That morning, I sent a reply message to the guy who requested a Bible study and we made arrangements to meet at the shopping mall on Friday at 4:30pm.

 Our group started out small... but kept growing that morning!

After service that morning, I went home to do some more work in the afternoon and then prepare dinner for the phone witnessing group.  On the way, I received this free Coke during a promotion and then met a couple who are studying the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses in Canada!

At the grocery store, I ran into another nice couple that had lived all over the world (she was originally from England) and had a 15 minute conversation with them.  I left them an invitation tot the meetings and when I said good-bye, the woman hugged and kissed me!

I made lasagna and salad this evening, both mora juice and guanabana juice and brownies for dessert.

Friday:  This morning I was slammed with work, then met a friend at the mall to return some things he had left at my house, then I treated myself to coffee and prepared for my studies that afternoon.  Unfortunately, an hour before the one study was scheduled, she called me because her friends mother had passed away and she needed to go comfort her friend.  My friend who was coming to meet me for the study was already on her way, so instead we did a little informal witnessing at the mall.  I ran into some other friends from the hall that afternoon while waiting for her to arrive.  Then a different friend met me for the second study that afternoon, which went really well.  I showed him the video "Why You Should Study the Bible" and he asked many questions and requested to start the study in Chapter 4 of the Bible Teach Book, "Who is Jesus Christ?"  He explained to us that his parents are strict Catholic, and that some people believe Jesus is God and others that Jesus is the Son of God.  I assured him that all of his questions would be answered from the Bible.  He also told us how various tragedies had struck his family and questioned why God didn't do anything to prevent it.  I referred him back to the magazines I had given him on Tuesday evening and again told him that through his study of the Bible, he would gain understanding and find the answers to his questions.  He said he hoped that next week when we studied that he would be in his new apartment and we could go there to study instead.  We assured him that we would be happy to meet him anywhere it was convenient for him; whether at a shopping mall, his home, his work or anywhere.

After the study, I accompanied my friend to the clinic at the hospital for an appointment and then we had dinner at Noe Sushi afterwards.

Saturday:  This morning we had a group of 5 for early morning witnessing at Carolina Park and talked to several people, including a woman that we had met last week (and her daughter this time as well).  When we were finishing up early morning, we stopped by our favorite little bagel place before heading to the Kingdom Hall for regular service.

The same man and his little girl that we had met the previous week was there again, this time with 2 other gentlemen and their children.  The kids were all under the age of 5 I would guess and it was apparent that they were quite restless and eager to run around.  They kept lingering by the door until one of their dads would call out and tell them to stay inside.  Since we had just started the campaign for this month, I was carrying my laptop on me.  So, I asked them if they wanted to watch a cartoon and played for them the "Stealing is Bad" video that I had downloaded from the www.jw.org website.  They asked me if they could sit, so all 5 of them sat in a semi-circle on the floor of the bagel shop and I knelt in front of them and showed them the video. When it was finished, one of the children said, "is that all?" So I showed them another video from the Become Jehovah's Friend series.  Unfortunately then, our order was ready and we had to hurry off to make it to the service meeting at the hall on time.  The fathers thanked me and said the store employees also thanked me as the children were all quietly fixated on the video while it played.

We had a group of over 30 meet at the Kingdom Hall that morning for field service, each one ready to distribute the new tract as part of the worldwide campaign this month.

After service, I went to the grocery store and then to prepare dinner for that evening.  A bunch of the friends came over and we ate and played games, including a few hilarious rounds of Bible Pictionary.

 

 

07-20-14 - 07-26-14 A Farewell to Friends, "Family" Worship and Fun in the Field Ministry

Sunday:  This morning our talk was given by a visiting brother, who brought with him is lovely wife and three adorable children.  They are currently serving in a Spanish congregation and have been in the country for only a few months. After the meeting, a large group of us (I think I counted 37) went to Crepes & Waffles for lunch to say good-bye to a couple who was heading to Australia for a while.  We are hopeful that they will be able to return to Quito soon!

 Most of our congregation, plus a few visitors

 Failed panoramic, but you get the idea...

After lunch, we went to a friend's house to spend a little more time with our departing friends.  We played a card game called Cuarenta (40) that is quite popular here.  The rules don't make much sense at first, but the game is rather fun and addicting nonetheless.   Afterwards, we played another game I refer to as "Animals" - a card game where the players select an animal sound and when a match is laid on the table, the players with the matching cards must race to make the opposing player's animal sound in order to "win" the cards. You can imagine how hilarious this gets.  

A friendly game of Cuarenta - wait... there is no such thing...

Monday:  After work today I ran to the grocery store, picked up a few items for dinner, came home, cleaned the house a bit and made dinner (pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches and Italian pasta salad).  A small group of us watched the video together, and then discussed it.  Then we ate dinner and talked for a while.  Before we knew it, it was after 11pm!  Where does the time go??

Tuesday:  After work, my roommate and I stopped for a bagel on our way to meet the group for service - yum!  We had a very interesting (and long) conversation with a woman who was well acquainted with our work.  In fact, she knew we were Jehovah's Witnesses just from our brief introduction through the intercom.

 Service Selfie!

Lunch Time!

In the afternoon, we met up with another friend, did some informal preaching at the Mercado de Artesenal, had lunch at the Magic Bean and did some calls at the Mall.  Then three of us continued doing return visits and then a study.  It was nearly 8pm by the time I arrived home.  Then I made dinner for my roommate and I and we did our Bible reading together and chatted until we were both falling asleep.

Wednesday:  I wasn't feeling very well today.  After work, I just laid on the couch and my roommate and I watched a movie (she wasn't feeling well either).  I felt terrible for missing the meeting, but was in no condition to attend.  I was appreciative of all the friends who were thoughtful and took the time to check up on me.  It reminded me of how special and loving Jehovah's Organization is.

Thursday:  After work this morning my roommate and I grabbed a bagel on the way to the park to meet the group for incognito witnessing... its getting to be a bad habit this stopping for bagels all the time and I'm noticing the effects of the excess carb intake.  Gonna have to correct that...

Another successful day of incognito witnessing!  We had several nice experiences. One man we met expressed great interest in attending the meetings.  One man with his family actually approached us and was quite pleasant and friendly.  And while walking along, we passed by a film crew doing a piece on how people were dressed for the climate this time of year (I might be on TV!!), both crew members spoke English and we were able to share literature with them.  One woman who spoke English, though not interested herself, told me that she has a friend who speaks English and is interested in the Bible and offered to pass the magazines along to her friend.

I stopped at the grocery store on my way home - I had to go back to work in the afternoon as it has been an especially busy week.  Once home, I worked for several more hours in the afternoon and then prepared dinner for phone witnessing that evening and cleaned up the house so it was presentable.  I make such a mess in the kitchen every time I cook!!  Tonight I served cinnamon rolls (from scratch), scrambled egg omelets, and bacon.

Phone witnessing was awesome!  Our group had two really nice and long conversations that agreed to be contacted again next week.

Friday:  This morning was a very busy work day, followed by an equally busy service day.  I met up with my friend for studies and return visits in the afternoon and on into the evening.  I got home around 7:30, then called my other friend and went to her house to hang out and catch up.  Her guests arrived home from their trip to Otovalo around 10, then we all ate dinner together and talked (and talked and talked..) I ended up leaving after midnight!

Saturday:  This morning I met up with a few others for early morning witnessing at the park.  We had a very nice conversation with a woman who had brought her dogs to the park and a family who's daughter was enrolled in soccer summer camp.  After that, we headed to the bagel shop and I was able to witness to a man who was there with his 4 year old daughter.  He worked at the Embassy and traveled around from place to place depending on the length of his work contract.  After a nice conversation, I left him with the Family Life tract and directed his attention to the website where he could find videos for his daughter.

After we ate our bagels, we headed to the Hall.  The one brother had a Bible study that morning and the other had a meeting for the information desk for the International Convention.  My best friend here was the only other person to show up - but she and I always have a great time preaching together!  We did a few calls then contacted another friend to try to encourage and spent the rest of the morning at our friend's house writing letters and drinking Cuban coffee (yum!)

My friend and I departed at noon and I went to two different grocery stores to find the ingredients I needed to make a dessert for a gathering that evening.  While I was leaving the store, however, the host of the party called me to ask if I could make cheesecake instead.  So back in the store I went, got the ingredients for cheesecake and raced home, changed my clothes, threw all the ingredients and supplies in a large bag, hopped in a cab and met up with some others to take a bus down to Sangolqui (in the valley, about an hour away).

I made (2) cheesecakes, and a mixed berry topping to go with it.  The party was a lot of fun; dancing, ping pong, food and karaoke.  We left, tired and happy a little after 11pm and took a taxi back to the north of Quito.

       

                    Twin Outfits :)                                         Twin Aubreys - How could there be two??