Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Assembly Fest and More

Hi friends,

I know I haven't written in forever, but finally I am motivated to write a tidbit about what's been tango-ing down here (you know you want to laugh!)

Assemblies
This month has been 'assembly bonanza'...we are still having the 2013 District convention in Argentina. We had our Chinese DC, with a peak attendance of 540.  It was also my first year to attend the Spanish convention, which had 5400+ in attendance. There, I met a missionary couple, the Heithauses, from Idaho who has been in Argentina for 20+ years!
Me and some sisters from La Plata Chinese group (1.5 hours from Buenos Aires)
                                               
L to R: Me, Chinese Bible student, and her teacher, came from Paraguay

Chilean sister in our Chinese drama

Christine in an interview
Bro. Heithaus

Enlarged assembly program

But finally, HIGHLIGHT- the Special Convention!
Yes, Argentina was the host of one of the Special Conventions this year!
Our congregation wasn't invited to the event, but some of us had the opportunity to take the delegates sightseeing. Even though we weren't in the center of all the activity, just seeing the efforts of Bethel and other congregations organizing events for the delegates was sooooo touching.
If you don't know already, the idea behind the Special Convention is for the delegates to not just attend the assembly, but to meet and preach with the local brothers. Touristy activities are also organized with theocratic history of the country in mind.
Welcoming the delegates
For instance, Christine and I were asked to help out the English speaking delegates who were sightseeing in Tigre. Tigre is a town along the Delta River, where floods happen all the time. Brothers rely mainly on small boats for transport, which presents unique challenges for preaching. 
For a while, the brothers even had a floating kingdom hall...one built on the river! Finally, that same kingdom hall was hauled onto a piece of land, and is still used now. We were able to visit the kingdom hall with the friends, and the local brothers prepared a whole dance show and some snacks for us!




Other tidbits....

One of the best things that happened recently is my Bible student Lucia joined the TMS school, and she was my householder a few weeks ago. Her unexpected progress really reminded me of the explanation regarding kingdom seed given at an assembly. Sometimes, the growth is hidden, but it does not mean that it is not happening.  I had thought about stopping her study because I thought she wasn't into it. However, a few months ago, according to Lucia, she began experiencing Jehovah's help in protecting her and helping her individually. So, as an expression of thanks, she decided to join the school.

Our lovely apartment
We've been really enjoying our apartment, truly a blessing from Jeh...recently we had a new laundry machine installed.  A gathering pic....