Field Ministry! OH MY GOODNESS. It's just so simply amazing. I am so floored by the service here. I've been looking for some really nice experiences to write up to post for you guys... so far I haven't experienced anything very unusual for Nicaragua. For Canada, the States, and even Mexico, however, normal service days are very unusual. I've been accompanying a sister named Patricia on her bible studies every Friday, and it's a looong day. I'll tell you about last Friday's day. There's no service group for Friday morning, so we left together from El Crucero and caught a bus to a town called El Salto. It's about a 40 minute ride away. So, we started our first study at about 8:45 or so... the road down to the first community was a dirt road, it hasn't rained for a while so it's very dusty and the wind is strong. We walked up to a house, it's quaint, completely open air, there is no glass in the windows, just a sheet pulled back that can be let down for privacy. The 'kitchen sink' is outside, clean dishes piled next to it on a makeshift countertop made of 2 planks of wood sitting across 2 barrel tops. Clean laundry is hung up on a swaying clothes line that criss crosses in front of the house, and we had to duck under the damp clothes to get to the house. "Bueeenaaas!" we call out, which is like saying "Hello!" except the literal translation is "Good!" A lady comes out of the house, a huge smile on her face "Buenas!" she replies as she waves us in. She's the mother and she calls to someone else in the house, one of her 2 grown daughters who brings out 2 plastic chairs, then 2 more, then a 5 gallon bucket. Another girl comes from around the corner and greets us, Bible Teach book and Bible in hand. Patricia and I sit down in one of the chairs, and the 3 women take their perspective places, 2 in chairs, and one on top of the upside down 5 gallon bucket. (I think that one would leave a mark.) They are all smiles, and open their books to the chapter on 'Who is Jesus?'. Proudly telling us that they had read it before we came. We had a really good study, they were so stinkin intelligent. They caught on to everything immediately. We explained how Jesus was in heaven before he came to the earth, calculated out the 70 weeks of years, talked about the trinity. The daughters took turns making notes in their books on scriptures they could use to explain the trinity to their relatives and friends since the mother doesn't write or read well. But I was REALLY impressed with the speed that they caught on, and explained everything right back to us.
One problem I've noticed in Nicaragua is that many of the people are quite uneducated... and they're almost taught not to think for themselves. By the government, their families, whoever... their life is generally a routine, and thinking and reasoning isn't a part of that. So obviously, when teaching people to think and reason on the bible, on different religious beliefs.... reasoning on why the trinity is a false teaching, etc... it can be very difficult. But this family is one excellent example, however, of the type of people that we're looking for. They're smart, and even though the mother, for example, doesn't read well, she gets it. It's so exciting to see. And you can see all over their faces how happy they are to learn something new at every study.... like that Jesus was in heaven before he was born on earth. Their eyes were so wide with wonderment and they all looked at each other and exchanged comments. Of course, I didn't really understand what they were saying, except that they were impressed... haha
Our study lasted a little over an hour and then we moved on to the next, and then the next, etc... At 12 o'clock we were pretty starving so we went to a little 'restaruant', if that's what you'd like to call it. Along the side of the road there's a lady who has 2 tables with tablecloths set up in front of her house. She cooks 'comida nica' or Nicaraguan Cusine.... yes, for $30 cordobas, (or $1.60US) I ate a piece of chicken (frito or asado), rice, beans, a mini salad, and tortillas. While we're munching away, she's washing dishes in her outdoor 'kitchen sink'.... and she asks "Are you girls Jehovah's Witnesses?" "Yes, we are." "Oh, I thought so," she says "By the way you're dressed. Where are you from?" so we explain that we live in El Crucero but that we come once a week to El Salto to give bible studies. So Patricia jumps on the opportunity to preach... she whips out the Bible Teach book and starts right into it. The woman starts asking questions about what happens to us after we die... and Patricia read a few scriptures to her in between helping customers.... neighbors who walk up and ask what she has for lunch today... "Fried chicken or grilled chicken" she'll reply. "Fried." "Extra beans" she's scooping salad from a bowl onto the plates, listening to Patricia as she reads to her from the bible. Meanwhile there was a little girl, maybe 7 years old sitting next to me at the little round table. She had a plate of rice and beans that her mother set down for her and she was pushing it around on her plate shyly looking up at me with big eyes, like she'd never seen someone with such fair skin.... I tried to talk to her, but she was painfully shy, ducking her head down and giggling, she wouldn't say a word. She would shake her head yes or no to questions though... haha So I pulled out my Bible Story book that I keep with me for service and showed her some of the pictures... we finally decided on reading about Noah's Ark. I caught Patricia giggling while listening to me read the silly story in my gringa accent... the little girl seemed to like it too. Since I couldn't get her to speak, she just pointed to the pictures when I asked her a question, it was so cute. Patricia told the woman who made the food that we'd be back next week and would study more of the book together... the woman nodded and agreed.... and then we were off to the next study....
A young girl, 19 years old.... just starting the book, Laisy, one of Pao's studies from the first trip down, another lady who's 16 year old daughter sat on the steps within earshot and listened, an older woman who had a very hard time reading, another young girl, 13, who's I'd met the first time I was here.... all of the studies went very very good. Poor Patricia was BEGGING me to be more involved in the study because she was talking so much her throat was hurting her! I tried as best I could to jump in when I could and say something interesting... but my spanish is still pretty limited. But I am understanding a LOT, which I'm really happy about. I get about 85% of what's going on at the study. By the time we were finished them all, we had to get back to the main road to catch the bus to bring us back to El Crucero. It was 5:30 and the last bus leaves at 6pm. Just then.... VOOOOOM! At the end of our road, we see a bus swoosh past. Uh oh. We start running for the bus, afraid that it was the last one.... but then we stop. There was no possible way that we'd catch it, plus it was only 5:30, for sure there would be another bus.... we hope. Well, we made it to the main road and walked to a little store on the corner.... the shopowner, a lady, and her neighbor were sitting outside the door in plastic chairs on the sidewalk, just talking, passing time. We approached them and asked about the bus... they said there should be another bus, but they weren't sure because sometimes the bus leaves early if it seems like no one is there to take it. We'd just have to wait and see. So the lady gets up and gets us chairs and has us sit down with them.... having a gringa around is a sure way to start a conversation. I'm always asked where I'm from, what I'm doing here, and why.... like clockwork, they asked. Patricia, dispite her strained vocal chords, started preaching.... we had a great conversation with them. They asked me lots of questions about why I decided to come to Nicaragua, their eyes got wide when I said it was volunteer work and that I can't work in Nicaragua because of my visa. The man and woman started joking with each other saying "What are YOU doing for God?? Look what she's doing, she's going to heaven, where are YOU gonig??" "I guess I'll meet you in hell!" It was quite amusing.
The time was passing.... and there were no buses. 6 o'clock... 6:15... 6:30.... at this point I'm starting to be pretty worried. Its either going to cost us a pretty penny to get back home in a taxi, or that stinkin bus better come soon! Just then a big bread truck pulls up and starts chatting with the shopowner. She gives him something to give to his family and they start to drive off. "WAIT!" she calls out after them and turns to us... "They're going past El Crucero... do you want a ride?" uhhhh.... before I had a chance to think about it, we were squished, 4 of us in the cab of the truck heading home. "So, " the driver asks "Are you Jehovah's Witnesses?" Why yes, as a matter of fact, we are! "My family studied with Jehovah's Witnesses... I used to go to meetings when I was a kid." he said "But then I stopped after a while. Plus I don't understand why you disfellowship people." Here we go again.....! Patricia started to explain about getting baptized, dedicating your life, and how disfellowshipping is only done when people are blatently unrepentant for what they've done...etc...etc... He kept coming up with all these questions, and after we finished explaining he gave these satisfied little grunts "Mmmh". We preached to him and the other man for the whole 40 minutes back to El Crucero. When we were finishing up, he said he was going to call an Elder that he knew in his town and see if he could get the 'new book' Bible Teach from him. We finally got to Crucero, at about 7:00pm... That made it an 11 hour day, seeing that we preached straight through lunch and the entire way home. Now THAT was a full day.
on October 25, 2010, 1:12 am
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