Hello!
We hope that you are doing well and to hear from you.
Things have been going really well here in Esparza, Costa Rica. We recently worked on our kingdom hall, the congregation all contributed to paint the inside and outside and do tile-work on the inside floors. It was a great witness for all the neighbors and passerby's to see the unity of the friends working together. We have been busy with the campaign trying to encourage as many to come, the territory is really big so there is a lot to cover. The congregation has peaked in attendance and at the meetings the brothers have to stand because its beyond capacity, a large amount are studying and progressing real well. The brothers have announced the congregation will be dividing, this is such great news since there has always been just one congregation in this town. We had such a nice visit from family and friends in February, the congregation doesnt get many visitors so they loved getting to know them.
It's been difficult to turn down potential studies in service but our schedules are so full, several times a week our studies end at 9pm. The other pioneers and publishers also have full service schedules. One brother in our hall had many studies in one part of the territory that he grouped them all into a study session.
Several studies have avocado, mango, maranon and carambola trees and kindly give us goodie bags after studying...so our home is never short of fruits!
We might be mangoed out when we return to the states.
We have seen that many young ones are interested in the bible. Albert was preaching to a lady one day and noticed that a young boy, about 14 yrs old, was reading the Truth tract that a witness had given to him previously in the background and trying to find the scriptures in his bible. When Albert mentioned that we offered bible studies, he gladly accepted and the mom said that the entire family would be present during the studies as well. At times he even has some of his friends sit in on the studies. They live in one of the poorest areas in town and where they are constantly confronted with violence and drugs.
We give study to a few couples, one of them is Gustavo and Jazmin. They have the study in our house, because Gustavo's dad is very opposed. Although his sons are grown men, they fear what he would do to them if he knew they were studying. They love what they are learning and hopefully will be able to get over fear of man.
A study named Irene, used to love eating Morcillo or Moronga which is a blood sausage. After our discussion, she stop by the local meat market and the butcher was surprised she didnt order the usual morcillo, she told him: No way, I've been studying the bible and God doesnt approve of us eating blood, i wont ever eat that again. And you shouldnt either if you dont want to be against God!!", while she was telling me, she smiles and goes " Im preaching arent I?"
The religious leaders here really use the blood issue to make people hate us and refuse the message, they want the people to see us as children killing people, we have showed the blood video many times and thankfully many righthearted ones give us the opportunity to show Jehovah's point of view.
Last time we mentioned a couple named Guillermo and Teresita, well at first they had a hard time finding scriptures but they have come a long way, she took down her catholic imagery and now understands her hope is here on earth. They find the scriptures quickly and are proud of it, saying they are finally learning about Jehovah.
Three studies have now taken their children out of the obligatory religion classes the schools give. These religion classes teach catholic doctrines and make the children recite prayers for different saints. They understand that what they are being taught is not biblical so whats the parent's stand? The bible states its the parents duty to teach their children about Jehovah's principles.
These are some nice experiences that have happened to us recently, hope to share more later on. Ive put up more pictures http://www.offexploring.com/bonnie-clyde
Lots of love,
The Sanchez