All Work and No Play

Our job is coming along quite nicely.  We've been able to spend some time outdoors lately, documenting the electrical panels there.  This branch is really gorgeous, it's almost a nature reserve.  One Bethelite has recorded 85 species of birds here.  We also saw a mongoose the other day, hopefully busy keeping the snake population down.  They have many spots here for a braii (pronounced bry), which is just a BBQ.  They love to braii here.  One spot is up on a cliffside, they built a nice little platform and some seating and a picnic table, and it has an awesome view.  The braii area we've been working at is a beautiful little pond, which is frequented by geese, heron, and the local deer.   The whole branch is built on a hillside, so everyone has a great view, and our room even has a little porch.

The field ministry here is quite refreshing for us.  The Afrikaans and African people here have enormous respect for the Bible, quite different from what we're used to in Sedona.  And most speak English, even though for many it is not their first language.  You can easily place literature with the Africans, but the Afrikaans have been told we're the anti-Christ so it's a little more difficult to get them to converse.  We did have a nice conversation with a young Afrikaans man who knew his Bible well, so that was fun.  We don't get to use our Bible so much in Sedona, so it was a nice change.

We had Bro. Morris of the Governing Body here recently.  He had some wonderful Morning Worship programs and a special talk after the Monday night Watchtower Study.  It was very nice and he even stayed in the room next to us, so it really cramped our partying plans. :)  We did get to meet him though and talk with him a bit, he is a really funny and fun loving person. One cool experience he told us was from Liberia, a sister named Shushonna.  She was an invalid, but she wanted to auxiliary pioneer.  The congregation worked up a schedule for one publisher to come to her home each morning and dial phone numbers and hold the phone up to her ear so she could work telephone territory.  It encouraged everyone so much that they pioneers doubled, from 15 to 30.  One man that she reached on the telephone was blind and he was so depressed.  He told her that he didn't want to live anymore, so she said "Let's talk about what you do have... do you have children?" "Yes" he said.  "Do you have grandchildren?" "Yes" "Can you walk?" "Yes"  After a bit more, he said he was so encouraged by her call, and he wanted her to come and teach him about the Bible.  She said that she couldn't, and he asked why.  She said "I am an invalid, lying in my bed right now, with someone holding the phone to my ear."  Well, she did arrange for someone to visit him and he's studying.

Bethelite deer, so cute!.. and very spiritual.

Our room.

View from our room.

Construction Projects in Africa