Regional Convention

Hey everyone!!!! This weekend was our regional convention. We have been looking forward to this since we got here. Seeing the friends again that we met last year..we couldn't wait!! But a few things dampened our plans:( Last Saturday (weekend before the convention)  Tyler fell really ill. At first he thought it was the flu and just tried to stay in bed but by Tuesday I just felt something wasn't right so I pretty much begged him to go to the doctor. I had already been the doctor the week before for some ongoing ear issues with all the kids and I really liked the doctor. Well 2 shots later and $100 in prescriptions...he had a bad lung infection AND the flu! I have never seen him this sick before but he is finally getting better. Funny little story..Our Co ordinator owns the pharmacy in town and when Tyler got to the doctor they actually had to drive down to that pharmacy and get the shots to give him! So our coordinator knew what Tyler had before he did! Small town?... I think so:)
So off we went to the convention on Thursday morning.

The convention (what we were there for) was amazing! Tyler and I were asked to do a part last minute which we were so excited about. We did the skit on public witnessing. We played the part of  the couple passing by the table that got ignored. It was so fun! Some of you may have seen the video I took of our rehearsal. It consisted of us doing the part on a sisters porch while the CO skyped in to watch. Then on the day of our part, we ran out of time during the walk thru and had to show a team of brother the actual part in a 4X15 hallway backstage! There was like 20 people in this little hallway! It was crazy but so much fun!!

Friday we were only able to stay for the morning session and same with saturday. Tyler was really bad you guys, I was really worried:(

I want to share 4 experiences from our convention that were so awesome:  The first is a couple who were in the 32nd class of Gilead and had to learn Chinese. Just 1 year later they were relocated to Costa Rica and had to learn Spanish! Seriously!!?? A YEAR later. That brother and sister are my new heroes!! " Hi I know you just learned..CHINESE..now learn spanish..and could ya make it snappy because were moving you in 4 months..Thanks" Okay maybe it didn't happen like that but I'm probably not too far off! They have been here ever since. I just wouldn't have the room to share the tidbits of experiences that they shared but they have had such a rich life serving Jehovah. The way he found the truth was by being invited to a talk in someones house when he was in his late teens, 3 years later he was a regular pioneer. They are now very up in years but still faithfully special pioneering! WOW!

The other experience was a couple serving in Panama. They are from Canada originally. They were only in Panama 2 years before they were invited to attend the couples school. They serve the english circuit, but in Panama couples school is only in Spanish. So they had 3 months to learn Spanish before couples school and thats exactly what they did. Now that I know what it is like to learn another language as an adult I am really amazed at this brother and sister.

The third experience was a sister who came into the truth after she was newly married. Her husband had tried on many occasions to get her to stop her study. She went back and forth with her study because of this. One day she decided that she needed her study and she knew it was the truth. So she resumed her study. Shortly after that, one day she came home from her study to find her husband home early. She went to take a shower. Little did she know that while she was in the shower, her husband had called her bible study teacher and said that they had better come get her because she was on her way out! Unbeknownst to her, she got out of the shower,  got dressed and stepped into the living room. She saw a brother standing at her open front door, thats when she heard the cock of a gun behind her. She begged the brother to leave but he refused and said he wasn't going anywhere. She pleaded with her husband to just let her go as she slowly walked toward the door. He did. She left that day with just the clothes on her back and became our sister. She is in my congregation, so if you ever come visit,  you will be able to meet this fearless sister.

Last but not least, was not actually an experience but a couple that we met who sat in front of us. They are from Nicaragua serving as special pioneers. They are in Managua which is about 2.5 hours outside of Costa Rica. They told us about all of the wonderful experiences there and how the congregations are just growing tremendously! They serve in a Spanish congregation but told us that nearby is an english congregation with almost 100 publishers that more bible studies than they can handle! The sister, Karen, spent several years in Nicaragua when she was a child. Her parents went there to serve where the need was great and thats how she learned spanish and also developed a love for the ministry. She watched her parents struggle with the language and never forgot that. She was 6 when they moved there and actually got so accustomed to speaking spanish that she started forgetting english! So her parents made it a rule that at home, english had to be spoken:) They were so encouraging and had some great stories! I was glad we were early that day because we spent the whole morning hearing about life in Nicaragua. Even the kids were intrigued by everything they were saying. Of course they insisted that we must come visit them for at least 2-3 weeks. That's just how it is here, you never go anywhere for a few days.  They were amazing and I actually am really excited to be able to visit them and experience what Nicaragua is like!

Okay I'm adding another one! Brother and Sister Morales talked about their experience going to couples school and serving as special pioneers. They then asked him to explain to us what it was like to serve on an elder body with Brother Pierce . He said that Brother Pierce kept very quiet during elders meeting and always let everyone express their thoughts. "Sometimes", Brother Morales said,"We all just wanted to look at him and say... Just tell us what to do, we know you know." It was so funny! He went on to explain that Brother Pierce was learning spanish and I never knew that! He said that he often made mistakes and asked the friends to please correct him. When he was asked what he felt was the most memorable thing about Brother Pierce this is what he said:
" His time. He never made you feel like he had other more important things to do. When he would invite those from the congregation to his room at bethel he would be preparing the meal and he was present in that moment. Not distracted by other things but present with you,  getting to  know you and allowing you to know him." He even said brother Pierce would often call other brothers and ask their opinions about things. It was so sweet the way he spoke of Him. He said that when he died,  the congregation wasn't upset because they had lost one of the anointed, but because they lost a genuine friend.  

SIDENOTE: For those of you who read my blog before I changed it... Bro L is still alive! lol There were 2 experiences on the   program about GB members and I got the names mixed up! Thanks mom! LoL She about died laughing when I related the experience and said," ummm Amber he's not dead" So there you have it, Bro. L is alive and well:) 

Phew! Okay It was a great program (what we saw anyway). There were only 650 at our convention this year. Last year there were 850.  It has been a difficult adjustment for many, learning a new language so this convention was a huge boost for us all! So although our numbers have shrunk, the friends spirit of happiness has not! More will come as they always do and Jehovah will make sure that there are always enough people for whatever is needed.

In other news: In San Jose we got to eat at McDonalds and Outbacks Steakhouse!!! We found Price Smart! Its just like Costco. This will save us so much money on food,  we were thrilled. Also, my mac died you guys:( I know I'm so sad!!! I came home from convention, tried to turn it on and..nothing...just the 3 beeps of death. And of course it's out of warranty by 2 weeks! UGH! So no pics this blog, sorry. I will try to add some later.

The kids start school next week! I'm a little nervous about that but I think we are ready. We are actually getting a really good routine with work and service so I think everything will work out really nicely.

Thank you so much to all of you who email, text and Skype us! We love it. Really, the highlight of our month a few weeks ago was when Tyler & Paul skyped and he was just leaving the meeting and we got to see a bunch of you!!! Firgrove will always be our true home:)  We love you guys!
Well I better get going guys I still have dishes and some cleaning to do ( Yeah, those things followed me to Costa Rica:). My plan is to do a blog every 2 weeks on Sunday or Monday and I would love to hear from you guys too! Talk to ya soon!