Out of all the things to miss in Bolivia I think that I will miss the preaching work the most. It is very rewarding. It is really easy to get studies here. You have to limit yourself or you will literally be too tired for anything else. But after seeing some of the my students' progress it is worth all the effort. I would like to tell you about some of them.
This is Yessica (in the red shirt) and her neighbor friends that come to sit in. I study with Yessica twice a week for a half hr. We study together one bible story and a question in the new Good News brochure and/or a section from the Jehovah's Will brochure. This is our study spot. There is a tiny ledge for the garage door that is barely enough space for my butt that we sit on. The girls don't seem to mind thou.
These are Anayely on the left and Paula on the right. They are just starting to come to the meetings and are even giving comments. They asked me if they had to continue going to mass at their church if they were already going to the Kingdom Hall. Lol! Smart girls! I hope they keep up their studies. Anayely makes her parents read to her from the magazines. The other day she told me that she made her dad read to her when he came home drunk. She told him that he needed to read to sober up.
This is Erica, my Brazilian student. She is progressing wonderfully. She is coming to the Saturday night meetings and is regular with her weekly studies. She really likes the new Jehovah's Will brochure since she sees how different Jehovah's Witnesses are from the other religions. After every study I ask her if she has any questions. After her last study she asked me if you had to be a baptized witness to comment at the meeting. After finding out that she could comment her hand was up the following meeting. Too bad there are now over 200 at every Saturday meeting. (Just joking!) She told me that she wants to go with me to study with other people. She has been witnessing to others. How do I know? I get random calls with questions as to where certain texts are in the bible.
This is Angelica. She is a brand new study that lives in Yotala. She was one of my very first students in the Good News brochure. She really enjoys her study. She expressed to me that in her town there is a lot of pressure to not study the bible with Jehovah's Witnesses and to go the the parties to venerate the saints where the majority get drunk and dance til the early morning. I hope that I was able to help give her strength to continue on with her studies when we read together Proverbs 29:25.
This is Soledad and her baby Myli. She is someone that I started a study with with the direct approach. I placed a set of magazines then asked if would like a free home bible study. She accepted and it has been nothing but progress since then. Although all in her household are Catholics you would never know that she ever upheld any of their beliefs. When asked the question in chapter 4 paragraph 12 in the Bible Teach book that asked if Jesus was equal to God she was able to respond using the bible text. Then after she opted to do more research in the appendix together in the study she was able to feel confident in explaining the truth about the trinity doctrine. I hope to see her at the next meeting. She has been telling me that she has been trying to go the past couple of meetings. Since we have been studying the new Jehovah's Will brochure she has shown more interest in the meetings. It has really helped her see that our meetings are different from what she thinks about when it comes to "going to church".
This is Alejandra. She is the student that lives the furthest from me. I think that she lives the furthest from everyone in the congregation. I go to her house once a week and therefore do not need to go to the gym. The journey begins with a 10 minute walk to the bus stop then a 5-10 minute bus ride. After getting off the bus there is a 40 minute walk straight uphill. I think that Jehovah knew that I was the only crazy person at the time that would go back to study with her. I hope that the sister and her husband that I gave her over to will follow through with her studies. They do have a motorcycle after all. Alejandra is a shepherdess and a farmer and is well respected in her neighborhood. She loves her studies and is very appreciative of the effort that is put to visit her. She told the sister that I brought to study with her when I leave that she really loves studying and she is working on fitting in the meetings.
This is Norma. She is one of those heart breakers. She got pregnant and married very young. She regrets it since now she has two very young children and no husband. She said that he abused her badly. The last time he beat her it caused her to lose her baby. She was tempted to run away from her problems and leave the children with her family but was persuaded to stay a little longer to tough it out and see if she could find work in Sucre. I am very happy to say that she found a good job at the supermarket recently! She works everyday, Monday -Sunday, from 4:30pm-10pm, as a stocker. Thus, now she is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully, she'll keep seeking to follow bible principles in her life and continue with her studies.
I have more studies that I wish that I could introduce you to but I don't think that it will be possible anytime real soon. Hope that you enjoy the experiences. :)
