Well folks this is the last blog that will be posted from Belize!! We leave on Monday the 28th for the US and then will fly back to NZ mid Jan.
We are very sad about this and can not believe that time has gone so fast.
Every minute we have been here has been a pleasure and an experience that has touched our hearts. We will never forget the place, the people, the smells, THE TASTES, the ministry, the congo, the love we have felt! To think we would have missed out on this if we had made other choices.
The future holds many options for us, which on we will take we do not know yet. Time will make that clearer, but we will keep you all up to date with what and where we end up.
So its goodbye to the bugs and the clear blue skies. Goodbye to our dear brothers and sister that have become like family. Goodbye to our bible students that are like our children. Well not goodbye but hope to see you real soon.
I still have heaps to post on here about belize so I will keep doing that, It will be a bit out of order but too bad, you will all just have to get over that, sorry.
So signing off from Belize for now. Love you all, see ya!
(ps, i wont forget to post the other days of the convention).
Sunday, December 27, 2009
THE DELEGATES WELCOME
We had been travelling by bus for nearly 27 hours when we crossed into the Mexico City area. From up in the mountains you look down on the city which is mysteriously shrouded in smog. Although dirty strangely beautiful!
We wound our way down into the city where suddenly on our right appeared a group of welcomers. They held up huge signs saying Bienvenidos (Welcome). The buses stopped along side them and the ladies all pilled onto the bus. They handed out little Mexican lunch packages, which we greatly received by us all. We were then escorted through the city to Taxcoco where the Bethel is.
Driving through the city was quite an experience. We were in a bus so were quite safe but man if you were a little car of a motorcycle you take your life into your own hands! There were horns blearing in all directions, cars and huge trucks just pulling straight in front of you. There seemed to be no law when it came to traffic lights. We think the red light was just a suggestion! We got there safely though, phew!
When we turned the corner into the Bethel area we saw the streets lined with extraordinary color. It was our dear brother and sister all dressed in the various region cultural dress. Each area has its own little culture and dress to go with it. They were all wonderful and bright. The street before us waved as hundreds of people welcomed us and we were still just approaching the Bethel.
The bus came to a stop at the back of the Assembly Hall where we got off the bus and were lead along a path flanked on both sides by delighted Mexican brothers and sister, young and old and everything in between. They were holding signs and handing out small gifts to us all. Everyone wanted us to stop and take photos with us, to hug us to welcome us with a kiss. It was mind blowing! The chant "Bien-ven-idos" filled the air.
In a way it felt wrong, as it was almost like we were celebrities or something, but when we thought about these people and how long they had been working and waiting for us all to arrive from around the world you can understand why they were so overcome to meet us.
New Zealand had not officially been invited but we snuck in because of serving in Belize. We had NZ on our name badges so when they saw that we were given a little extra love! It was truly wonderful a marvel to behold! My heart and eyes filled with tears of joy and wonder for Jehovahs loving organization.
The path we took to the main auditorium must have been about 150-200 meters long. Both sides packed full of our new family members. When we approached the end we could hear melodious voices singing praises to our great God Jehovah. There were our brother dressed so brightly singing and playing instruments, the wonderful new world that awaits us so closely came directly to mind.
I could have stood there all night listening to them but we had to go and find out where we were all staying.
Delegates from Belize, Nicaragua and Guatemala were all there. They welcomed us again with words and then started reading the names of us out. They would call a family name from the visiting list and they would stand, then the name of a family from Mexico was read out to host them and they would meet each other for the very first time. What rally stood out to me here was that no one knew each other, but it was as though we were all long lost friends. It was a joy to watch them run into each others arms and cry on each others shoulders! Love, the quality Jesus said would identify the true religion shone through immensely! Some gave up their own homes and moved in with family so we could enjoy comfort. Each day, breakfast lunch and dinner was provided, great feasts indeed. Many gifts were showered upon us all. None of this was expected by anyone!
Due to my health we stayed in a hotel with delegates from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Cancun to mention just a few.
A brother we never knew and would never see again wanted to drive us the 1 ½ hour drive to our hotel. He could speak no English and we only a little Spanish but through sign language and laughs made our way easily. He was in tears when he dropped us off and said goodbye. He would take no money, he only wanted to memories and the chance to help! We thank him so much for his loving kindness. He then had to drive three hours in the opposite direction to get home! True, unselfish love, I think so!
So that was our first day at the Convention. We got to our hotel room at 12am and were very very tired after our long bus ride and wonderful welcome but joy was filling us and all we could do was reminisce the days events!
Next time I’ll tell you about the first day of the "Keep on the Watch" International Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
We wound our way down into the city where suddenly on our right appeared a group of welcomers. They held up huge signs saying Bienvenidos (Welcome). The buses stopped along side them and the ladies all pilled onto the bus. They handed out little Mexican lunch packages, which we greatly received by us all. We were then escorted through the city to Taxcoco where the Bethel is.
Driving through the city was quite an experience. We were in a bus so were quite safe but man if you were a little car of a motorcycle you take your life into your own hands! There were horns blearing in all directions, cars and huge trucks just pulling straight in front of you. There seemed to be no law when it came to traffic lights. We think the red light was just a suggestion! We got there safely though, phew!
When we turned the corner into the Bethel area we saw the streets lined with extraordinary color. It was our dear brother and sister all dressed in the various region cultural dress. Each area has its own little culture and dress to go with it. They were all wonderful and bright. The street before us waved as hundreds of people welcomed us and we were still just approaching the Bethel.
The bus came to a stop at the back of the Assembly Hall where we got off the bus and were lead along a path flanked on both sides by delighted Mexican brothers and sister, young and old and everything in between. They were holding signs and handing out small gifts to us all. Everyone wanted us to stop and take photos with us, to hug us to welcome us with a kiss. It was mind blowing! The chant "Bien-ven-idos" filled the air.
In a way it felt wrong, as it was almost like we were celebrities or something, but when we thought about these people and how long they had been working and waiting for us all to arrive from around the world you can understand why they were so overcome to meet us.
New Zealand had not officially been invited but we snuck in because of serving in Belize. We had NZ on our name badges so when they saw that we were given a little extra love! It was truly wonderful a marvel to behold! My heart and eyes filled with tears of joy and wonder for Jehovahs loving organization.
The path we took to the main auditorium must have been about 150-200 meters long. Both sides packed full of our new family members. When we approached the end we could hear melodious voices singing praises to our great God Jehovah. There were our brother dressed so brightly singing and playing instruments, the wonderful new world that awaits us so closely came directly to mind.
I could have stood there all night listening to them but we had to go and find out where we were all staying.
Delegates from Belize, Nicaragua and Guatemala were all there. They welcomed us again with words and then started reading the names of us out. They would call a family name from the visiting list and they would stand, then the name of a family from Mexico was read out to host them and they would meet each other for the very first time. What rally stood out to me here was that no one knew each other, but it was as though we were all long lost friends. It was a joy to watch them run into each others arms and cry on each others shoulders! Love, the quality Jesus said would identify the true religion shone through immensely! Some gave up their own homes and moved in with family so we could enjoy comfort. Each day, breakfast lunch and dinner was provided, great feasts indeed. Many gifts were showered upon us all. None of this was expected by anyone!
Due to my health we stayed in a hotel with delegates from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Cancun to mention just a few.
A brother we never knew and would never see again wanted to drive us the 1 ½ hour drive to our hotel. He could speak no English and we only a little Spanish but through sign language and laughs made our way easily. He was in tears when he dropped us off and said goodbye. He would take no money, he only wanted to memories and the chance to help! We thank him so much for his loving kindness. He then had to drive three hours in the opposite direction to get home! True, unselfish love, I think so!
So that was our first day at the Convention. We got to our hotel room at 12am and were very very tired after our long bus ride and wonderful welcome but joy was filling us and all we could do was reminisce the days events!
Next time I’ll tell you about the first day of the "Keep on the Watch" International Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION '09
After three days on a bus we have arrived back to Belize! Neither of us have butts anymore, but that’s okay there was plenty to go round before.
I will try very hard over the next few emails to describe the wonder that was the International Convention of Jehovahs Witnesses 2009, "Keep on the Watch".
This experience gave true meaning to the term, "you just had to be there".
Dave and I have never been to an International before and of course we would choose the biggest one in the world to attend. Attendance started out at approx 80,000 on the Thursday and Friday. Then Saturday it jumped to 100,000 then on Sunday we had a peak of 115,000!!!!!!! Wow we were absolutely blown away! The count was done in the afternoon when a number of people had left. Looking at the morning season we think there must have easily been over 120,000 as there were no spare seats and they were bringing out cardboard boxes for people to sit on as there were no more seats.
Everything went smoothly except for the swarm of bees that decided to take up residents around the main speakers podium! At first they sprayed them with a fire extinguisher to frighten them away, which worked for a short time. However those bees did not want to be removed from their new home among the beautiful flowers the brothers bought in to decorate the stage. They came back and as you watched the huge monitor of the speaker you could see they flying all around him. Finally they were to dangerous and started stinging people around the speaker, the guy that was filming etc. One person was taken away on a stretcher and the program was stopped while they got rid of the bees for good. Local firemen came in and dealt with them. The program then carried on as normal and all was well.
So anyway, I’m jumping all over here so let me start at the welcome we received at the Bethal Assembly Hall on the Tuesday. That will be the next blog for ya all. Please be patient with me, as usual I have come home sick so am doing my best.
Love ya all!
I will try very hard over the next few emails to describe the wonder that was the International Convention of Jehovahs Witnesses 2009, "Keep on the Watch".
This experience gave true meaning to the term, "you just had to be there".
Dave and I have never been to an International before and of course we would choose the biggest one in the world to attend. Attendance started out at approx 80,000 on the Thursday and Friday. Then Saturday it jumped to 100,000 then on Sunday we had a peak of 115,000!!!!!!! Wow we were absolutely blown away! The count was done in the afternoon when a number of people had left. Looking at the morning season we think there must have easily been over 120,000 as there were no spare seats and they were bringing out cardboard boxes for people to sit on as there were no more seats.
Everything went smoothly except for the swarm of bees that decided to take up residents around the main speakers podium! At first they sprayed them with a fire extinguisher to frighten them away, which worked for a short time. However those bees did not want to be removed from their new home among the beautiful flowers the brothers bought in to decorate the stage. They came back and as you watched the huge monitor of the speaker you could see they flying all around him. Finally they were to dangerous and started stinging people around the speaker, the guy that was filming etc. One person was taken away on a stretcher and the program was stopped while they got rid of the bees for good. Local firemen came in and dealt with them. The program then carried on as normal and all was well.
So anyway, I’m jumping all over here so let me start at the welcome we received at the Bethal Assembly Hall on the Tuesday. That will be the next blog for ya all. Please be patient with me, as usual I have come home sick so am doing my best.
Love ya all!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
YOU WILL NEVER GUESS WHERE WE ARE!!!!
Well as the title says, you will never guess where we are!
We are at the International Convention in MEXICO CITY!!!!
Todays attendence was approx 80,000 people and this was on the quietest day! They expect 110,000 plus people on the Sat and Sunday!
Our minds have been blown away by the hospitality and loving kindness of our dear brothers and sisters. Everywhere we go we hear "bienvenidos, bienvenidos"! This means welcome!
The bad news is that our camera died a few months ago and we now have to use our video camera to take photos. It is doing its best but we cannot take photos when the light is getting dull. We are searching for a new one at the moment so we hope to have some wonderful shots to share with you all soon.
The convention is being held at the famous Estadio Azteca. This is the biggest stadium (seating wise) in the world! World Cup football is held here normally.
I am in the process of writting up some blogs about our trip through Mexico to get to the city and other adventures we have had in Mexico.
Our days are very very long and although we are both very exhausted we will not stop enjoying this once in a life time experience. We want to make the most of every second we have with our wonderful brotherhood here!
So please be patient with me, I know Im slack at this blog thing, but thats what you get when you live in Belize, slack technology. Here in Mexico its much better so I will try to find time to make the most of it for you all. But you will have to excuse me if our enjoyment here takes priority, sorry!!!! he he he
Lots of love to my brothers world wide!!
We are at the International Convention in MEXICO CITY!!!!
Todays attendence was approx 80,000 people and this was on the quietest day! They expect 110,000 plus people on the Sat and Sunday!
Our minds have been blown away by the hospitality and loving kindness of our dear brothers and sisters. Everywhere we go we hear "bienvenidos, bienvenidos"! This means welcome!
The bad news is that our camera died a few months ago and we now have to use our video camera to take photos. It is doing its best but we cannot take photos when the light is getting dull. We are searching for a new one at the moment so we hope to have some wonderful shots to share with you all soon.
The convention is being held at the famous Estadio Azteca. This is the biggest stadium (seating wise) in the world! World Cup football is held here normally.
I am in the process of writting up some blogs about our trip through Mexico to get to the city and other adventures we have had in Mexico.
Our days are very very long and although we are both very exhausted we will not stop enjoying this once in a life time experience. We want to make the most of every second we have with our wonderful brotherhood here!
So please be patient with me, I know Im slack at this blog thing, but thats what you get when you live in Belize, slack technology. Here in Mexico its much better so I will try to find time to make the most of it for you all. But you will have to excuse me if our enjoyment here takes priority, sorry!!!! he he he
Lots of love to my brothers world wide!!
CREOLE LESSON ANYONE???
Creole is one of the many languages spoken here and although it is predominately made up of English, to the untrained ear it is foreign indeed.
So here is a lesson in Creole people.
- You greet people by saying “How de do?” Or “How you de do?” Please speak as fast as humanly possible.
- You never say “I don’t know”, replace this with “I no know” or “me no know”, again at great pace.
- Replace “us” with “we” all the times for example, come with us becomes, come with we.
- Never say “him” or “her” replace these in a sentence with “he” or “she”, ie, Im going with he.
- In many cases you preface what you are about to say with “Makeame”. For example, Makeame show my homework, or makeayou get homework. Generally this rule applies if you are about to do something or you are asking some else to do something.
- Rather than saying “other” or “another” say “next”, ie, do you have another one? Becomes, do you have a next one?
- When giving directions you don’t say “there”, “here”, “left” or “right” you would replace these with “So”, ie, when you get to the mango tree, go down “so”. I went down there, becomes I went down “so”. In effect you could end up saying “ Go so then so and then straight then so but don’t go yonder” they really direct you by pointing as they speak but, hmmmmm you wouldn’t want to be blind!
- At the end of a sentence when describing something or making a statement ie the grass is green you would add “No true” so you would say in Creole, “the grass is green, no true” This is not a question it is a statement.
- To say “can I have some please” you would say “Please some” and that’s it.
An example of a Creole conversation is this, try it out and don’t forget to speak super fast and with a slight Jamaican accent:
“Where you de go?”
(Where are you going?)
“Me no know, makeayou show me”
(I don’t know can you show me)
“You go down so at de first street and then go straight, then go so and then so.”
(You go left at the first street, then go straight, then take a right and then a left)
“Is there de next way?”
(Is there another way?)
“I no know, just go so! When you de get there, you meet we, and we go”
(I don’t know, just go the way I said. When you get there you will meet us and then we can go together)
“Ya maan, you have some drink? Please some pop?”
(Oh, you have some coke, can I have some?)
“Naah maan, this be mine, you get de one from de Chine”
(No, this is mine, go get one from the Chinese store”
“The Chine down so on de corner, no true, me go go”
(The store on the corner, I’ll go get one.)
I hope that gives you an example of Creole, well sort of anyway. We laugh cos its so fast and very foreign sounding. So folks, that’s your very first lesson in Creole, please try it in your vocab and see what reactions you get and then let me know what happens.
So here is a lesson in Creole people.
- You greet people by saying “How de do?” Or “How you de do?” Please speak as fast as humanly possible.
- You never say “I don’t know”, replace this with “I no know” or “me no know”, again at great pace.
- Replace “us” with “we” all the times for example, come with us becomes, come with we.
- Never say “him” or “her” replace these in a sentence with “he” or “she”, ie, Im going with he.
- In many cases you preface what you are about to say with “Makeame”. For example, Makeame show my homework, or makeayou get homework. Generally this rule applies if you are about to do something or you are asking some else to do something.
- Rather than saying “other” or “another” say “next”, ie, do you have another one? Becomes, do you have a next one?
- When giving directions you don’t say “there”, “here”, “left” or “right” you would replace these with “So”, ie, when you get to the mango tree, go down “so”. I went down there, becomes I went down “so”. In effect you could end up saying “ Go so then so and then straight then so but don’t go yonder” they really direct you by pointing as they speak but, hmmmmm you wouldn’t want to be blind!
- At the end of a sentence when describing something or making a statement ie the grass is green you would add “No true” so you would say in Creole, “the grass is green, no true” This is not a question it is a statement.
- To say “can I have some please” you would say “Please some” and that’s it.
An example of a Creole conversation is this, try it out and don’t forget to speak super fast and with a slight Jamaican accent:
“Where you de go?”
(Where are you going?)
“Me no know, makeayou show me”
(I don’t know can you show me)
“You go down so at de first street and then go straight, then go so and then so.”
(You go left at the first street, then go straight, then take a right and then a left)
“Is there de next way?”
(Is there another way?)
“I no know, just go so! When you de get there, you meet we, and we go”
(I don’t know, just go the way I said. When you get there you will meet us and then we can go together)
“Ya maan, you have some drink? Please some pop?”
(Oh, you have some coke, can I have some?)
“Naah maan, this be mine, you get de one from de Chine”
(No, this is mine, go get one from the Chinese store”
“The Chine down so on de corner, no true, me go go”
(The store on the corner, I’ll go get one.)
I hope that gives you an example of Creole, well sort of anyway. We laugh cos its so fast and very foreign sounding. So folks, that’s your very first lesson in Creole, please try it in your vocab and see what reactions you get and then let me know what happens.
A COUPLE OF HIGHLIGHTS
Again a little late sorry!
Here are some of the outstanding things that happened at the Special Assembly Day.
-There was a bus that the congo hired to take the brothers and sisters and bible students to Punta Gorda (PG). This bus seats 82 people at a stretch. The bus had to go through a number of villages here to pick everyone up and soon they could see that every seat on the bus was going to be full and then some.
By the time they had picked everyone up there were 115 people on the bus! There were people standing in the aisle, in some case three people to a seat and if they were children there were four to a seat. It was so full that they ended up waving down a public bus and commandeering it to take the extra people to PG.
These people are all from the Dangriga congo and the new Hopkins group. Majority of them were bible students!
-There are only 230 Jehovahs Witnesses in the area that attended the Assembly in PG but there were 514 in attendance!!!! How is that for potential growth!! Yeah you could say there is a need here.
-Our congo had 2 baptized, Emily Samiento and Oscar Polanco.
Here are some of the outstanding things that happened at the Special Assembly Day.
-There was a bus that the congo hired to take the brothers and sisters and bible students to Punta Gorda (PG). This bus seats 82 people at a stretch. The bus had to go through a number of villages here to pick everyone up and soon they could see that every seat on the bus was going to be full and then some.
By the time they had picked everyone up there were 115 people on the bus! There were people standing in the aisle, in some case three people to a seat and if they were children there were four to a seat. It was so full that they ended up waving down a public bus and commandeering it to take the extra people to PG.
These people are all from the Dangriga congo and the new Hopkins group. Majority of them were bible students!
-There are only 230 Jehovahs Witnesses in the area that attended the Assembly in PG but there were 514 in attendance!!!! How is that for potential growth!! Yeah you could say there is a need here.
-Our congo had 2 baptized, Emily Samiento and Oscar Polanco.
THE RAIN CAME DOWN AGAIN
Hi folks,
This is a little out of date but thought you would enjoy it.
The night before the Assembly in Punta Gorda one group of brothers and sisters had come in from Big Falls (a little village about 15mins drive from PG) for dinner. There were 7 of them which was fine coming in as it was not raining then and some of them travelled in the trailer of the pickup truck. However on the way home it was raining so heavily they could not go in the back out in the rain, so they all piled into the cab and its back seat.
There was the driver and then a brother who had his wife on his knee in the front passenger seat then all the others were in the back seat. ( good thing there is no law in Belize ha)
The air con in the truck was not working so the windows all fogged up and the driver could not see anything. On top of that the rain was so heavy even if he could see out the window he wouldn’t have been able to see through the rain. So the brother in the front passenger seat was wiping the fog off the window so the driver could see a little and his wife had to open the window and hang her head out, yelling back to the driver to go left or right a little or go straight and when to turn etc.
On arriving at the hotel most of them were soaking wet as the window had been down the whole way so they may as well have sat in the trailer anyway. They all laughed about it and had fun anyway.
Again all I can say is just as well there is no law in Belize!
This is a little out of date but thought you would enjoy it.
The night before the Assembly in Punta Gorda one group of brothers and sisters had come in from Big Falls (a little village about 15mins drive from PG) for dinner. There were 7 of them which was fine coming in as it was not raining then and some of them travelled in the trailer of the pickup truck. However on the way home it was raining so heavily they could not go in the back out in the rain, so they all piled into the cab and its back seat.
There was the driver and then a brother who had his wife on his knee in the front passenger seat then all the others were in the back seat. ( good thing there is no law in Belize ha)
The air con in the truck was not working so the windows all fogged up and the driver could not see anything. On top of that the rain was so heavy even if he could see out the window he wouldn’t have been able to see through the rain. So the brother in the front passenger seat was wiping the fog off the window so the driver could see a little and his wife had to open the window and hang her head out, yelling back to the driver to go left or right a little or go straight and when to turn etc.
On arriving at the hotel most of them were soaking wet as the window had been down the whole way so they may as well have sat in the trailer anyway. They all laughed about it and had fun anyway.
Again all I can say is just as well there is no law in Belize!
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