First Meeting for Field Service

We have been so busy getting situated in our new place that we were finally able to get out in service Saturday. But first I want you all to know that I hope to share our experiences with you good and ..challenging. If you ever decide that you yourself would like to move to another area or a foriegn language group you would be a little more prepared & learn from our experiences & mistakes:) We prepared for over a year for this move but I don't care who you are, you will always encounter things that you don't expect or catch you by surprise. Its part of the adventure:)

Since we have gotten here, we have been able to see in more detail, the way the congregation functions. A group is obviously much different then a congregation. When it comes to service we work right along with the spanish. On Saturdays to help support the spanish we work spanish territory..in spanish..I don't speak spanish :) But guess what The Baxters did Saturday? Thats right ..preached in spanish. As the brothers and sisters started to come into the Kingdom Hall it dawned on me that none of them speak english. I naively thought they would, just a little (typical American I'm told). Well 1 did but he knew very little. The brother started conducting the meeting for field service in spanish. He soon pointed to me and to another spanish sister. I just said, "si"I had no idea to what until after it was over, but I figured,  he's a brother.. I can trust him :) So It was me, a spanish sister and Asher and Peyton. I looked to a sister in front of me who is in english and said.."little issue..I don't know spanish." (of course she knew that but I didn't understand how this was all going to work) She just said yeah nobody in English does don't worry and she scribbled down this sentence: 

" Me gustaria este tratado" 

and she said after I say that, hand them the tract. Before I had the chance to ask any questions, a spanish brother came up and started talking to me, I think my eyes were the size of gum balls! He knew I didn't speak Spanish but he wasn't letting that stop him from .. I think welcoming me?? Anyway it ended in a hug:)  It was very overwhelming. So all the way to the territory I tried my hardest to talk to the sister that was with me. Now this may come as a shock to you all but... I like to talk. Haha so it was very frustrating. Finally we got to the territory and the car in front of us stopped and out popped a little girl just 9 years old running over to my car. I rolled the window down and she said, "Im here to translate for you ." Thank you Jehovah! This little girls family is from Canada and they have been here 5 years and she speaks perfect Spanish. I felt so bad for the sister I was with, so up until this point, I had been using every spanish word I knew. I was all out.  So for the next 2 hours this little sister was able to translate which was great!

This was also my first time driving in Costa Rica and the roads here are unpaved, rocky and STEEP ( My capitals are to show you..I mean business about it being steep!) I was in 4 low for almost 3 hours straight. I was a little on edge all morning, totally out of my comfort zone. When we finally got back to the hall one of the English elders got out of his car and came and gave me a big hug and asked how it went..man I needed that hug!:) It was a day of firsts for me but we all placed literature and although I couldn't understand my partner I stood alongside as she spoke with people and was just amazed ..again.. at how Jehovahs organization is united. Here we were 2 strangers when we woke up that day, who spoke different languages, yet there we were on someones doorstep talking to them about what WE believe. We have a connection. Although it was overwhelming, when that past, it made me want to learn spanish even more so that I could talk to her and get to know her. So that was the highlight of the week so far. In other news we are exploring the town we live in, visiting random waterfalls and just enjoying our new life here. We keep reminding ourselves that we don't know when our circumstances could change so we are trying to enjoy every minute here. On my next blog I will get some pictures up of the house we are renting and tell you all about that crazy story! talk to you guys soon!!