The Interview

Well, the job situation has been complicated. The laws have changed and therefore it has been very difficult for me to change my current visa to a work visa. I have gone from department after department and have finally got the information and documents needed, thanks to a co-worker who is also an attorney. Bottomline is, I have to quit. It has taken the school where I work currently a very long time to produce the necessary documents and I have until Jan. 9th to get things in order. (If not, I could lose my privilege as a Regular Pioneer and get kicked out of Ecuador because it´s illegal to work on a 12 vii visa. An attorney that I spoke to and the rep at the Dept of Ministries said that if I start the process then I´m ok. The problem is, the process technically has not been started because my visa gets kicked back because I don´t have the proper documents.) So, come Monday morning (Jan 5th), I have to communicate the same to the owner of the school. I pray that all will go well. Basically, I hope that he will pay me my last check and let me leave with a fuss.
In preparation for the possibility that he will not have the documents in time, I started looking for a new job. Today was my first and only interview. I got the job but the only twist is ... it starts in April. They will be able to help me change my visa. Hopefully, we won´t run into any snags. So, what do I do from January until April on limited funds???? Matthew 6:33.

a tremendous blessing

One of the two bible studies that I have told me that she wanted to become an unbaptized publisher and that the elders in Batán where her and her family attend wanted to talk to me on Sunday after the meeting. So, I accompanied her to the meeting and afterwards we sat in the backroom. I sat quiet and prayed to Jehovah to help Jennifer recall all that she had been taught. I was so happy that I had my jacket on because I was so nervious and was sweating up a storm. After about 30 minutes of the elders questioning Jennifer, the brothers gave Jennifer (12 years old) their congrats and told me that I could make arrangements to go out in service with her. I was so happy! What a wonderful blessing from Jehovah. We made arrangements to go out in service but Jennifer was not able to accompany me because she helps her mom sell things at the market. Between school, chores at home and meetings, she said it´s a little easier for her to go with her mom in service for right now. I was somewhat sad but understood. Hopefully soon, we will be able to go preaching together.

Preaching in Santa Isabel

Preaching in Santa Isabel was a breathe of fresh air. There were people who had never received a witness before. Many people listened which is always wonderful. We worked in one territory in the mountains and I spoke to a lady who was blind and had other health problems. She said she could not read and that no one was home. So, I read to her some scriptures and offered her the magazine and encouraged her to have her family read it to her when they returned home. She agreed and tucked the magazine away in her dress. Further up in the territory, we met another lady who was blind. She actually had lost her sight over time. (I believe Ecuador is no. 1 or no. 2 in the world for some type of eye cancer however I don´t know what the cause of their loss in eyesight.) Anyway, she listened as I read to her from the bible the hope for the blind and the sick. She was pleased and thanked us for the visit. Later, we came to a water treatment plant. There was a man working outside. It was hot and he was dripping in sweat. It was my partner`s turn to talk, a little sister from St. Isabel. She gave her presentation and placed the magazine. As she was talking, he asked us if we wanted to come inside. I looked up towards the wire fence that was closed with a lock and looked back at him and kindly said no thanks. We are not going to take much of your time because I know that you have work to do. I said. The rest of the friends were out of sight and I was afraid to go behind the gate. Besides, we were in the middle of nowhere. As we stood there in the beating heat, he offered us two more times to come in. For some reason, I agreed. As we were passing the side wall of this house, I noticed a very larg knife about two feet in length. I just about passed out. He went inside of his house, located right on the grounds of the treatment plant and brought back two chairs. We sat down on the patio....out of the view of the friends. I said a quick prayer to Jehovah to protect us. To my surprise, this guy was really interested. He asked some really good questions and even directed some of them to the young sister I was preaching with. He wanted to know how could it be possible for someone so young....11 years old ... to know that she was ready to serve Jehovah. She explained that we just don´t baptize people that you have to study the bible and then come to that conclusion yourself. It was great. Then we heard her dad looking for us and he came in to sit with us. He joined in the conversation and placed the Que Enseña book and set up an appointment to study. I am so greatful that the angels are directing this preaching work.... because I was ready to take off the first time he offered us to go inside.
On Sunday, it was somewhat different. We preached directly in front of a large church. There is a park situated directly in front of this church and many were just sitting around. So, we took advantage of the situation and gave a witness. I was able to place a book with a lady who lived in a different town. We also preached to two men. It was not until later that I realized that they were drunk. I am not really quick on picking up on things like that, I guess.

After the English Convention

Hello Again,
After the English Convention, I started looking for a job. Money was just about to run out because I grossly underestimated what I would need to live on each month and for unexpected expenses. So, I was on the hunt for a job. Thanks to some friends in my congreagtion, they took me around to leave my resumé. I prayed so much for Jehovah´s direction in this matter and to help me find work so that I could stay as long as possible. To my surprise, when I returned home from dropping off my resumé, I received a call from the owner of one of the private schools. We set a time and day for the interview and the same friends dropped me off for the interview and waiting until I was done. I was so nervious. I said a prayer to Jehovah to help me answer all their questions and to help them understand my Spanglish. I met with two people. First, I met with the director of the school and then with her husband, the owner. They offered me the job and said that they pay $200 per month. I would have to teach 5 classes M-F from 8am - 12:30pm and one day I would have to stay a little later. I was dissapointed that it paid less that what I wanted but it was sufficient to pay for my rent and food and not much else. I was somewhat worried about my service because I was normally used to preaching in the morning. However, I felt it was Jehovah´s direction since we have service meetings in the afternoon and there was support from the congregation. So, I accepted the job under the condition that they assist me in changing my visa which they agreed. I stressed that if I was not able to change my visa then I would not be able to work for them. They understood. I started working on obtaining the necessary paperwork for my visa and I started work a few weeks later.

It´s been a long time.

It has been a long time since my last blog was posted. A lot has been going on. Around the time of the English Convention, I went into a long-term state of sadness. I was missing my family, friends and all that was familiar to me in the states. Also, my family was going through a very difficult time and I had desperately desired to go back home. This period lasted for nearly 3 months. I am greatful to Jehovah, all the friends here and back home who helped me get through it. And, the situation with my family has gotten a lot better.
It has been a real journey trying to make friends. Since my arrival, my experience has been that many are very private and distant. This has been my greatest challenge from day one. As many of you know, I travelled to Cuenca, Ecuador alone and I had hoped that making friends would not be a problem. But like all things, Jehovah can teach us a lot about ourselves and others. As a result, I have become more quiet, observant, and have had the privilege of witnessing things that I would have otherwise passed over before. One can really learn a lot about body language. Above all, I have learned more about myself and things that I need to work on... refinement.