The ministry continues to be one of the greatest highlights. This past weekend I was invited to go on a return visit with a young woman. It was explained to me that this woman had trouble with her vision and that she wanted a copy of the "What Does the Bible Really Teach" book so that she could scan it. When we arrived it soon became apparent to me that this woman was actually blind - I'm guessing from birth. She has a special type of scanner that scans written text and then translates the written word into speech so that Eveling can understand what it says. So, as we were introducing the book I was asked to explain the information on pages 4 & 5 where there are a number of illustrations along with bible texts that explains some of the changes that God will bring about on the earth. The third illustration is of a man who is obviously blind walking with a cane and then the same man removing his eyeglasses. The scripture text is from Isaiah 35:5 which reads "The eyes of the blind ones will be opened". You can only imagine the reaction she had when she realized that this would directly impact her - that she will actually see what we see. It was a real thrill for me to share this information with her.
Pat continues to receive many privileges in the congregation. This past Sunday he was asked to conduct the Watchtower Study and he continues to update the large number of territories that we have. In May we will be heading to Chinandega so that Pat can give the public talk.
We are both thrilled to be conducting regular bible studies and have a number of return visits.
One of the challenges that we have faced has been the adjustment to the climate. No doubt about it - it is hot here! We try to go out in service on Wed - Sat mornings because the arrangements start at 8:15 (8:30 on Sat.) and we are finished by 10:30/11:00. On Wed and Thurs nights we also go to the 5:00 pm arrangement because by this time the temperature has cooled somewhat. We are hoping to build up our bible studies for the afternoons so that we aren't out on the streets during the full heat of the day.
We love our Nica house but it has also proved to be one of our challenges too. With it having the open widows this allows not only the rain to come in but also the bugs - particularly mosquitoes. Pat doesn't think the mosquitoes are all that big of a problem - this is because they don't like him and eat me! He will have 1 bite to my 30! So, we are continually working on this problem and it is getting better and hopefully we will have a handle on it before the rainy season and the mosquitoes breed... Our shower curtain in the window has improved the situation with the rain coming in so we are happy with that arrangement.We both feel that we are getting healthier. We are both losing weight because of all the walking we are doing as well as the healthier diet. The fresh fruit and veggies are delicious and very inexpensive so there is no reason why we shouldn't eat better.
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| Mondongo Soup |
Enjoy it, but please don't invite us to share it with you....
We continue to work on our little garden and actually have some plants coming up - we still don't know what they are but they are growing. We do know one of the items is a broad leaf cilantro which will be great for cooking - the other plants are a mystery to us so if anyone can identify these plants then let us know. They are either - peppers, cucumber, watermelon or tomatoes.
The resident cat - which has been named "Otis" by one of our friends has become a little more friendly with us. Pat says that he has found her sleeping on our bench when he has got up to take out the garbage at 5 am. Lets hope that she doesn't decide that our house is an ideal place to have her kittens. Yep, Otis is a girl - so I would appreciate any suggestions that you have for a name because Otis doesn't work for me.... She actually came into the dining room and let us pet her so I think she is definitely looking to move in..... isn't she cute?
Hi Pat and Deb: Two months already WOW!!! So happy for your great service experiences and privileges. Very encouraging to us all that are following your blog. Hope you adjust to the weather but sounds like you are on track with that also.
ReplyDeleteAs to the mystery plants---they look like peppers to me, at this stage anyway. Otis is cute for sure but I think Georgia is a much better name for a girl.
When our friends lived in Jinotepe they had the same problem with the open windows and mosquitos (they love me too Deb)so got some fine mesh fabric and covered them, kind of like what you did with the shower curtain. Some we knew in Granada had their landlords get screens for them. Just some suggestions, I couldn't live with them either. Keep up the amazing work!!!
Thanks for the encouragement. We have talked about the fine mesh for the windows in the bedroom but it would be very difficult to cover the open window in the kitchen and also the dining area. I am researching some natural mosquito repellent. Vinegar seems to discourage them - I'll need to buy a bucket load!
DeleteCan't believe it's been two months already. That means we've been back in the States for two months too! Love reading your blog. Can't wait to be back down there!
ReplyDeleteGood morning how are you?
ReplyDeleteMy name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people's diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of used stamps because trough them, you can see pictures about fauna, flora, monuments, landscapes etc. from all the countries. As every day is more and more difficult to get stamps, some years ago I started a new collection in order to get traditional letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately it’s impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this I would ask you one small favour:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Nicaragua? I understand perfectly that you think that your blog is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Nicaragua in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and an original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Avenida Juan de la Cierva, 44
28902 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely
Emilio Fernandez