During the tract campaign we met a 50 yr old woman named Katalina. She chose the question, “What happens to us when we die?” She had her own thoughts already, but the sister with me shared Ecc 9:5, 10. And Katalina was considering it, but not yet convinced. Nevertheless, we told her we'd return to talk more about the condition of the dead.
When we went back she swung the door open wide and asked Shane and me in. We started immediately in Chapter 6 in the Bible Teach bk. She must have read the tract because now she agreed with everything. And as she got more comfortable, she asked more questions.
Do we need to observe the sabbath? Because some say you do. Can we drink alcohol? Because some say you cant. (Why didn't they put that one in the tract? It's useful here!) A few scriptures was all she needed to see the answers. Then she asked where our meetings are. We told her and said we'd love to see her there. At our next meeting though, she didn't come. So, when we went back for the study last week she said she had come all the way through town in a taxi, but couldn't find the hall. We were so shocked. After we left that study, we made a point to visit a sister nearby and ask her to go to Katalina's house before our meeting and go with her this time. Sure enough, Saturday evening (we have our Public Talk and Wt study on Saturday evening) thanks to the sister's help, she came. We were so happy.
She even brought her one year old grandson, who climbs everything like a jungle gym. But he did as good as a one year old can. Some sisters in the row across the aisle captured him for her when he got loose one time. And Katalina looked as comfortable as could be. She even stayed half an hour afterwards to visit. Here is a picture of them.
The Motorbike
We bought a motorbike.
Buying the bike was easy. Registering it was not. The police decided that non-residents can't own property and wouldn't issue the license. They called Managua, the capital, to back them up. They recommended putting it in the name of a resident. But to do that we needed a lawyer, since it was already purchased and insured in Shane's name. The lawyer, a return visit of the special pioneer/elder in our hall, read the law to Shane and said it absolutely permits non-residents to own property. So, if we wanted to we could take the police department to court. Can you imagine? What a horrible idea! As if we don't stand out enough as it is. We'd be the favorite target of every officer in town on our little red motorbike. No, Shane just paid to have the ownership legally changed. It was cheap by the way. An hour and a half of a lawyer's time for $15.00 and then he discounted it by half! Plus, they preached to him the whole time. He was totally floored that Shane would leave all the glamor and prosperousness of life in the U.S. (yeah, not these days, right?) to come down and live off his own money and preach. He asked Shane and Luis, “So, you're telling me, if I learn what the Bible says, I'm going to want to give up my lifestyle and just start preaching.” Luis and Shane told him it is the best kind of life any person could ask for.
So now, we are enjoying “borrowing” our new bike from our brother Luis and riding is style. For your questions about safety, you'll be pleased to now Shane drives incredibly cautious and slow. With two of us on it, the bike's top speed is about 35mph. We don't intend to use it much in town. As for traffic, out in the rurals, we'll probably pass about five cars an hour. We're going to repaint the Kingdom Hall!
Next week after our district convention, we're going to repaint the Kingdom Hall. We're looking forward to it. Here is a picture of the pre-work. They had to redo the concrete stucco on the pillars and the security wall. We'll have more pictures of the finished project next time.
Now for a bit of shameless advertising:
Is anyone looking for a cell phone and plan? We need to find someone to take over our Sprint contract or we pay a cancellation fee. It has one more year left. The plan has 450 minutes for $49 + tax each month, free nights and weekends after 7pm, free long distance, and mobile to mobile. The plan can be adjusted for what you want. We will send you the LG Fusic phone with MP3 player and camera (is that still cool? We dont know!) If you hear anyone looking, please let us know.
Maps
People
Photos
My Stuff
trip feed
trip kml
