Reconnected and Ready!

First off I would like to say that we are very excited about finally being able to reconnect with the world and those within it.  When you are accustom to a steady flow of daily news, downloads and  instant contact, then all of the suddenly that is taken away you feel detached with the additional anxiety that somehow you are not "reporting in for duty" everyday.  But, now the world is again spinning properly upon it's axis and my separation guilt is no longer a constant companion because at last the Internet and I are, "reunited and it feels so good."

Life here in New Amsterdam has not changed much since our last blog.  The weather is still hot, yet breezy.  The water still looks like a mocca latte and the animals are still freely walking down the center of the road, although they seem to obey the traffic laws better then the humans, the other day I actually saw a cow shift his tail and move his head to the left before making a lane change.   Here is a picture of the savanna next to our home and of course some moo-moo's.

Well enough about the country, I know you really want to know more about what is going on with us...right.  Ok more about the country, right now election fever is sweeping throughout the region and  the politicians are hard at work convincing the hard working to cast their vote in favor of, your guessed it "change".  So right now slick slogans are flying like cow pooh from a healthy heifer and so some improvements are being made in the area, like for example cleaning out the canals that run along most of the roads, the contents of such look something like this and oh by the way this is the infamous ditch that we snatched the kitten out of that eventually died. 

As you can see, they have plenty of room for improvement.  The real sad truth is that even if they cleaned up all the mess, the people would just continue what they have been doing for 100's of years and that is what really needs to change.  Of course the only real solution does not lay in the hands of men.  Which brings me to the whole reason why we are here, the advancement of divine education.  The life's we are being brought into contact with are just amazing and incredibly complicated.  For instance, you meet a deaf person who is soaking up bible truth like a sponge, they beam brighter with each new point they learn about Jehovah and about the language they have never really been taught.  But then there extended family, who live in the U.S. and financially support them, who are themselves devote Muslims find out about them studying with Jehovah's Witnesses.  Well, without going into great detail, I'll simply say the two do not mix.  Family pressure mounts and hard choices have to be made, often times ending with them foregoing both the truth and an opportunity to learn to read and write for the sake of survival.  It's tough to watch it all unfold but at the same time it is what all of us have had to do in some way or the other, taking a stand for truth is never easy and maintaining that stand in not going to get any easier.  For instance, here is a picture of an unbaptised sister who's husband (not a witness) told her that he did not want her to spend long days in the ministry because it was darkening her skin.  She respectfully complied, yet stayed as active as he would allow and now he has softened to the point of accepting a bible study and coming to the meetings with her. 

We have been busy moving again.  We finally said enough, we could no longer stay in the house we were in because the neighbors were and are crazy! We just got tired of hearing the arguing and profanity, you have to understand the house we lived in was nothing more then a tent with plumbing, the walls were paper thin and the windows did not shut completely, so you heard everything..at all hours...all the time.  It was as if they were having the argument in our house, when we ate, slept, showered, a constant assault on the ears and mind.   So, now we have moved to a more peaceful neighborhood and the house is more to our liking,  I'll post some pictures on our next blog.  So in the end I will leave you with a picture that I love.  It is a picture of my stunning wife standing in what, at that time was our kitchen.  Crystal is the reason so much of what we do is endurable, she manages to find a way to make a hole a home.  I'm so fortunate to have a wife who is ready and willing to leave the comforts and security of living in the land of "Ur" (U.S.) in order to come to a place so different and at times very demanding all in an effort to reach the hearts of those rightly disposed, she is my "Sarah".  Till next time, you'all stay safe and keep your eyes on the prophetic future, we are indeed living in exciting times.