Anyways, back to the topic.
We left San Juan Del Sur 9/9 Wednesday morning at 2am on shuttles to Rivas (about 45min), then transferred to a larger bus for a 1.5hr drive to Masaya to get to our full size "greyhound" sized bus.
We passed through several borders and I think 6 checkpoints, it took forever.
Honduras border
We picked up brothers from San Marcos, Leon and Chinandega. Everyone was exhausted and annoyed but brotherly love was still apparent. Thanks to Moises, Steve and Scott all the checkpoints went as smoothly as possible. Everyone chipped in for the "tips" the border patrol expected.
El Salvador border
SIDE NOTE:
The Creole Congregation in Bluefields is mostly composed of locals, they are very poor and most have never even left the lagoon. It was very unlikely that they could afford to travel all the way to El Salvador, much less pay for a hotel and food for 5 nights. The Elders told the congregation to put their names on the list for the bus even though they couldn't afford it. They wanted to make sure everyone had a chance. Just before they had to pay for the bus, a very large anonymous donation arrived that made it possible for everyone to go.
Some traveled in a 2hr panga ($10) or a cheaper 11hr ferry just to get to the bus in Rama. They slept at the local Kingdom hall in Rama and were fed Gallo Pinto "beans & rice" by the local Spanish Congregation. They were supposed to board the bus at 3am but it never showed. After making calls for hours the bus company showed up about 4pm in the afternoon. The brothers and sisters in San Salvador, lovingly opened their homes to these brothers and sisters and helped them with meals.------
We arrived to our hotel at about 8pm, yes that's correct 18hrs! Everyone was ready to get to there rooms, take showers, eat dinner and go to bed. What we found when we arrived, no one expected...
Our local San Salvador brothers we waiting to greet us outside the hotel. They gave us hugs, bottles of water and ham sandwiches. It uplifted everyone's spirits, just telling you guys about it brings tears of joy to my eyes.
The next day, Thursday, was a free day so a group of us went to the local markets and the Zoo. The Zoo cost $1, which made us weary, I'm sure you have heard stories of 3rd world zoos before. We were pleasantly surprised. There were a variety of animals and all well fed.
Now for the convention...the very first day, as a matter of fact before the morning session even started Jessica had a blowout. These were the only shoes she brought with her, so she was compelled to wear flip flops the rest of the weekend. Between you and me though, knowing Jessica, she didn't have to be coerced.
Some in our congregation had parts, our lone elder had 3 parts total. (From left to right) Shayla Wheater, Elkie Harrison, Sian Smith and Steve Harrison.
We met many friends we hadn't seen in a few months and others we just met there. The max attendance we had was 901, our district covers El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua. We had brothers and sisters from nearly 15 different countries serving as need greaters. At one time our Congregation alone had brothers from 9 different countries.
The Vargas Family-serving Bluefields, Nica
(L-R) Jessica, Chloe (Auzzie), Erika (Mex.), Jessica (Kiwi), Sienna (Cali. U.S.) - serving San Juan Del Sur, Nica
Eating lunch where ever there is space.
Jessica (Cali U.S.) - serving in Granada
Gary and Shannon - bible studies from SJDS
Last day of the convention many dressed up in native garb from their home country or where they are serving.
The Whites, just moved to Granada, Nica
Whitney - Her and her parents used to serve in SJDS.
(L-R) Wheaters - serving in SJDS and Nathan - was in SJDS now in El Salvador
This brother really touched my heart. He is from Bluefields, Nica. When I gave a talk there in April we went in service together. He was struggling between work and serving Jehovah. He was happy to tell me he never forgot our conversation and is putting Jehovah first, he hopes to be a Regular Pioneer before the end of the year.
This couple serves in the mountains of Guatemala.
Tab and Julie - passed through SJDS, serving in El Salvador
Current Central Ingles SJDS Cong. as of Sept. 2015
(L-R) Jenna, Devon, Leon, Mike, Michelle -Tola, Nica. There are part of our territory, they serve in the Spanish, but join us in English service regularly.
It was such a refreshing and rejuvenating convention. Unfortunately, this will be our last convention in El Salvador. The territory has been rearranged and we will be meeting with the brothers in Costa Rica and Panama next year. So as a final farewell, maybe until the paradise, the El Salvador brothers and sister sang songs. A couple of songs were written by a brother just for us, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.
For the video click the youtube link below:
Our return trip wasn't so bad, it took 15hrs. It was nice to be back home in our own beds, but the realization hit us while dragging our bags home...IT'S HOT HERE!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comments are appreciated and always encouraging. Thank you, may Jehovah bless you.