Memorial 2012
Memorial Attendance:
Padilla 52
Serrano 95
Sur, Sucre 392
Grand Total (for my congregation of 131 publishers) 539!
The Memorial is always something that I have looked forward to every year. So much emphasis and excitement for the ministry. For many it is there first time to the meeting. That was the case for many here in Bolivia.
I went to Padilla for the Memorial. I had mixed emotions about going to Padilla for the Memorial since all my studies are in Sucre. Although, at first, I was very torn about leaving behind my studies in Sucre to fend for themselves, I am very happy that I went to Padilla instead of staying behind. I know of at least one of my studies did in fact attend and I am waiting to ask another one of my studies that I was hopeful about if she and her daughter went. Segundina was very distressed over not being able to make it due to it being a rainy disastrous day. (By the way, Segundina and I study at her house now in the kitchen verses the street corner.)
Thursday morning began at 8:00 a. m. cleaning the small Kingdom Hall. Due to dirt roads, open widows and no A/C the whole place quickly gets dusty. Then there is the cleaning of the shared, kingdom hall bathroom. Well....it wasn't pretty but I was pleased when I was finished with the disinfectant.
By 10:00 we were finished with the kingdom hall cleaning and at 10:30 we commenced giving out the last of the invitations to the residence in Padilla. Debbie and the two young publishers had done the brunt of the invitation work and had left only not-at-homes to do. With Jehovah's help our small group was able to complete the whole territory of Padilla with less then an hour to spare til the Memorial began. We had even arranged for a radio advertisement to be given.
There was no time to waste the whole day. Happily, bible students started arriving a half an hour til the start of the program. Then at ten to seven arrived a small bus of 25 studies and interested people from then next town over in Tomina! Oh! How wonderful it was to see so many interested ones coming into the kingdom hall for their first time! In a previous blog I wrote about Tomina and how it has so much interest and how infrequently it gets visited. The one and only time I was there I enjoyed very much. One of the people I talked to in the door-to-door work was a young mother. We talked about 2012, "The end of the world", and I showed her what the bible says on the matter. I arranged to have someone go back the next time that they go to Tomina. Well, the next time that they went back was to invite interested ones to go to the memorial in Padilla. How exciting it was to see that she was in attendance along with her little baby!
Here are some pictures of the scenery that I took while on the trip.
I don't know why but for some reason on "Passover Sunday" the town of Serrano does bull fighting. So, after, before and/or during the Sunday mass the people where in town square celebrating while watching the bull fighting.
Then on returning to Padilla we found that they do horse races in the town square on "Passover Sunday". Which, of course, has absolutely nothing to do with the Passover or Christ. It is a tradition that promotes over-drinking and loose conduct which the bible condemns. I don't know how some of them were able to stay on their horse (or mule for some) since they were sooo drunk.
Looking forward to what Jehovah has in store for me this next month. There always seems to be an adventure. :)
