An inconvenient truth?

This may be a bit short, although that will even out lasts week’s lengthy one. The weather here has been unusual. By now we should be getting nicely into dry season, but we continue to have spells of rain. I don’t know if we have had a completely cloudless day since we arrived, nor three dry days in a row. I have learned that since we left last May, there has been no dry season, and it is looking like this one may be missed as well.

One the one hand, it has been good for us as we never have to worry about the water level in the tanks, and it has never gotten unbearably hot. But it is having some negative effects on others here. The accepted method of farming here is to clear a section of bush at the start of dry season, burn it off, plant it, and then when the rains come it will grow good. But with no dry season, things don’t dry enough to burn off, so then there can’t be a planting. Also, many here still cook over wood fires, and they say that dry firewood is getting very hard to find.

If you remember, a few weeks back I had included a picture of a coffee tree with blossoms, immature beans, as well as ripe beans all on the same tree. I just figured that was the way the tree naturally grew. However I had mentioned it later to a man who grows coffee, and he said that it wasn’t suppose to be that way. Normally it cycles through all together. However, due to the unusual weather pattern, the tree can’t decide where it is in the cycle, so it is all the different stages simultaneously. Apparently just one more indication of the way man is ‘ruining the earth’.

Tuesday I had a chance to work with Christina in the ministry. As we were working together, I was asking her how it felt to be here as a ‘short timer’. She said it seemed very strange indeed. She mentioned that she wasn’t even going to try and start any bible studies, as she wouldn’t be here long enough to accomplish anything with them. The next house we went to, she had a really nice discussion with a young mother who mentioned that she had been raised Catholic, but wasn’t satisfied with what she was getting there, and was wanting to find a next church. She mentioned that they were having to move from the house they were in since its owners were returning, but explained where they were moving to. She then told Christina that she must come and visit her at her new location later in the week. So Christina pulled out a Require brochure, asked her which section interested her most, and said they would consider that when she returned.

Afterwards I was kidding her about not starting any studies, and she said that this way, she would have a study she could be taking a sister from here along on, and then turn it over to her when she left. So she really didn’t start a study, the study came looking for her.

Today (Saturday) I worked with Paul George in the ministry. He is the son of Elroy and Joyann Smith. I think he may be 12-13 years old. He had a simple presentation he was using with the Awake on crime. After a few doors, he was asking where the scripture was that said we need not fear those who can only kill the body. I said I wasn’t sure, but we could look in the concordance in the back of the bible. We looked under fear and found Luke 12:4. He added that to his presentation, but I could tell that wasn’t the one that he wanted. The next door he did, he instead turned to Mt. 10:28, and used that one. Between houses, I asked him how he had found that one. He told me he had used the cross reference from the one in Luke. It made me feel good to see him using his bible and fine tuning his presentation as we were going along.

I want to thank those of you who have dropped us emails. I apologize if I haven’t personally responded to all of you, but be assured they are very much appreciated. I have even gotten some from people whom I don’t know personally, but they have one way or another found their way to the site. Again, it makes me feel good to think that others are able to share in our experience, even if only through reading.our accounts. I also know the more people reading of our activities, means more people praying for the continued growth of the congregation here. Thanks.

Early this week Seeta and her daughter Channel came over so Terri could trim their hair. Her two youngest boys, Travez and Daniel also were with them. So tihis weeks pictures are the four of them, as well as a picture of a rather large flower at one of our studies.

We are well and safe, and hope the same is true for you.

The Sopels arrived

The much awaited day for the Sopel’s return finally arrived. A number of the friends inquired after the meeting Thursday night as to the time of their arrival, as they said they were planning on coming to the airstrip to greet them. I told them that they were supposed to arrive a little after eight. Terri got up and went to the front house to make them some breakfast, as they would have had to leave before anything would have been available in ‘town. Then about 7:45 the phone rang and it was Joe letting us know that they were having some problems, and the flight was going to be delayed until around 9:00, which would have them arriving about 10:00. We called Solo to let him know, as he had talked about bringing the bus.

Shortly thereafter, Margaret, Joyann, and several of their small children came walking on their way to the airstrip. So they were told of the delay, and rather than have to walk home, only to walk back, they sat on the porch and waited, so Terri cooked a little for them as well. Finally everyone headed up to the airstrip, except for Terri who kept things in order at the house. The Sopels were surprised to see close to twenty people there to meet them.

One of this week’s adventures was a trip to Wauna. It had been a few weeks since I had been there, and I wanted to try and reach the man we had walked to Black Water to try and reach. One of the problems with going to Wauna is transportation. You are at the mercy of the bus drivers, and many leave Wauna quite early. One person we very much wanted to speak with was a teacher there, and he didn’t finish school until after three, by which time most of the buses had left.

I decided since the weather had been getting drier, that I would go out on one of the bikes. I asked Compton if he’d like to join me, and he was happy to. Since he had spent so much time early in the month in Matthew’s Ridge, he wanted to get some long service days in. I asked him to try and contact the man in Black Water to let him know of our plans, and see when he would be at his house.

When I got to Compton’s Wednesday morning, he said he had spoken to the man, and he was expecting us around 10 AM. So we set off. The road to Wauna is very rutted, and it was a challenge picking your way and then being able to hold to the course that you choose. Early in our journey I was following another bike. That gave me an idea as to the line to try and follow. But I found myself thinking of the many dogs along the way, wondering if having him in front would have the dogs all focusing on him and we could kind of slip by after him. Or if he would alert the dogs and get them stirred up, so they would be good and fired up for us. This became a mute point, as he stopped at a house along the way. As it turned out, we didn’t see a single dog all the way out.

We reached Wauna before school had started, so we went by the school and spoke to the teacher. We mentioned that we were out for the day and since we had our on transportation, would be able to stay later. He said he would meet us a little after 3:15. We also stopped by a man who lives near the school that Graem had studied with. He mentioned he was going to be doing a little work in the morning, but that he would be home around noon, and we could come by then.

We then set out for Black Water (or more correctly, Black Watta). The road was even more treacherous. At one point, I was headed up a hill, and the road had several gullies washed into it. I had to decide which was the best path through, but as I went along, the one I chose kept getting narrower and narrower, until it was about like a knife-edge, with deep washes on either side. Somehow I managed to keep balanced, and we made it across. We reached the settlement of Black Water, where we left the bike to complete the journey on foot, since the road passes through a long swamp, and consists of a long narrow boardwalk which would not support a bike, even if someone were crazy enough to try and drive it.

When we had passed though the last time (four weeks ago), we came upon a group of white men building a church. As we had passed by, I had heard one of them say, "Look there boys, there goes the devil." I just ignored it and kept walking, but it certainly cut to hear. That week in our bible reading though, was the scripture at Mt. 10:24,25 where Jesus said, "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his lord. It is enough for the disciple to become as his teacher, and the slave as his lord. If people have called the householder Be·el´ze·bub, how much more [will they call] those of his household so?" That certainly made me feel much better.
I was anxious to see how the building would be looking this time. I must say it had certainly come a long way. The last time just the basic framework was being worked on. It was a good ways from completion, and work on it had stopped. I expect the men working had had to go back to the states. It also looked as though they may had run out of materials. It will be interesting to see what it is looking like when we leave in April.

When we reach the man’s (Earnest Samuels) house, he was waiting, and said how happy he was to see us. He mentioned how much he enjoys the scriptures, and always is happy to listen to someone more versed in them than him. I decided to share with him what the bible says about what happens to us when we die, since that’s something that we can only learn from the bible, as the only humans who would know the answer are those who have died, and they are not able to share that with us. He mentioned that only a few days ago, a neighbor had poised that question to him, since the man knew Earnest read his bible regularly.

It was enjoyable taking him through the scriptures, reasoning with him on what was written, and seeing him grasp the meaning. He at one point asked me to wait a minute since he wanted to go get paper and a pen, so he could write them down to share with the neighbor. I then showed him how to use the cross-references in the bible, as well as the Bible Topics for Discussion in the back. He was very appreciative. We could have easily stayed much longer, but we had to get back for the man who had said he’d be home at noon. I had thought the next time I went to Earnest, I would take my laptop, so I could show him the video on the organization. But on a hunch, I asked him if he had a DVD player, and he said he did. I told him the next time I came I would bring the video and leave it with him and collect it the following time. That way not only could he see it, but he could invite others to view it as well. He was pleased with that.

Unfortunately, when we got back by the school in Wauna, the man we were supposed to study with was not available. So we spent the afternoon visiting others, including an older man I used to visit a number of years ago. Finally we were able to spend some time with the teacher. The last time we had talked, he said he realized that all religions did not teach truth, but he wondered about individuals in those churches, who sincerely desired to worship God, would he not accept them? We shared John 4:23,24. We talked about the matter of truth. I asked him if as a teacher, if the question was asked of the students whether the sun went around the earth, and one said yes, since that was the way it appeared, would he accept that answer, knowing that the student really believed it? He said he wouldn’t and appreciated what we were saying. He then proceeded to say how he had been invited by an old girlfriend to go to Mass with her. He said he had gone, but could not share in some of what was being done, because he knew from the scriptures that it wasn’t correct, no matter how sincere the people may have been. I was surprised how quick he was willing to ‘throw the Catholics under the bus’. However, based on that, we helped him to see that the same would be true of all religions that taught things that weren’t in agreement with the bible. I left him with the March Awake which addresses the question, "Is There One True Religion?"

I apologize if this has gotten a little long. It’s just hard when I think of all the different ones we get to talk to and reason with. Now for this weeks pictures. The first is a picture of the long boardwalk through the swamp on the way to Black Water, the next is the partially completed church along the way, and finally the arrival of the Sopels.

We are well, although grieving with the Fisher family over the loss of our beloved sister. Just one more reason we must all continue to fight the fine fight of the faith, so we can be there to welcome all our loved ones back

More from the Ridge

It’s hard to believe another week has passed by. Things have been busy, with me being the only appointed brother here. I am looking forward to the arrival of the Sopels
Friday, and I’m sure everyone here is getting a little tired of always having to listen to me talk.
I had received an amazing bit of information this week. My sister who lives in Vermont had written to remark that after reading about our visit to Matthew’s Ridge and the different ones we met there, David Jackson was the person they had bought their house from many years ago. I knew they had mentioned it was witnesses who had lived there before, but either I had never heard their name, or if I did, had long since forgotten it. I wish I had known that when we were there, so I could have mentioned it to David.
That brings up another point. One thing we enjoy while here, is being able to hear from friends back home. I know I had mentioned last year that according to proper correspondance etiquette, every time you receive (read) a message from me, you are suppose to respond with a message from you. Now I’m not going to hold you all to that requirement, but, that’s just one more reason to think of sending a little note. Now it may be that someone had shared the site address with you, so you don’t have our email address. In that case, it’s jimbobnewton@msn.com. Not only do we enjoy hearing what’s going on with everyone else, but it gives me incentive to continue to post entries up when I know someone out there is reading them. I had looked to see if the service has a counter associated with it that can let me know how much the site is being accessed, but I could find no indication of that. So it’s nice when we get an email and you mention something you had read on the site.
Yesterday, (Saturday) I ended up just staying home. I had developed a rather nasty illness, very stuffed up head, scratchy throat, and general feeling of unwellness. It was raining most of the day, so I decided (or was told) that I should just stay in. I think the day of rest did some good because today I was feeling better, and so was able to give the talk and do the Watchtower with little discomfort.
Compton returned late yesterday afternoon from a week at Matthew’s Ridge. He said he thoroughly enjoyed himself, and was very impressed with the project and the people he met. Everyone who was there when we were there were still there, plus a few others had come. He mentioned that Mike Dahlquist left while he was there, and Mitch is leaving Monday, and then Chuck and Kallie, Luke, and David are leaving the 15th. So that will leave Richard Cruz, who’s staying for three months, Blake, who’s staying for six months, and Steven, who’s there for up to two years.
Compton mentioned while he was there, they had a ‘community’ work day where they invited those from the community to come and help with clean up and painting, and he said it was very well supported. That certainly bodes well for the success of the project there. He mentioned they had 47 in attendance for the meeting Sunday.
He brought back the flash memory that I had given him with a number of pictures on it. Unfortunately, I think Mike had been the one who had loaded the pictures, and he had left a few days before Compton, so I don’t have a picture showing the latest (of course even if I did, it wouldn’t be current now). As I mentioned paint has been applied since the latest picture I have. Compton said he was confident that by tomorrow the exterior will have been completed. There is still work left on interior walls, but at least the building will be secure.
This week’s pictures are one of the latest from the Ridge. If you look close you can see that the camp that had been to the left of the hall has been broken down, and everything was moved into the main building. Compton mentioned that he had stayed there the whole time. The other two pictures are from the territory here. One just is a typical scene with cows wandering around, and the other is a picture of a ditch along a road completely filled with bird-of-paradise flowers growing as weeds.
Hoping all are well and moving forward.

Not much new

I really don’t have a lot to share at this point. But I want to keep in the habit of posting things up. As I had mentioned before, the Bryants left on Monday, so as of now I am the only brother here taking the lead. But it’s nice to have the three local brothers to help out. Since there will be three bookstudies until the Sopels arrive, and since I can’t be at both of the bookstudies, I am having Solo, Alex, and Compton each conduct a bookstudy. They are also helping on the school with instruction talks and bible highlights, which they are doing great at. One good thing about doing both the talk and Watchtower on Sunday, is you can’t complain that the other brother ran overtime. This thirty minute talk is still a work in progress for me.
Compton left yesterday for Matthew’s Ridge. He is planning on staying there for a week. I gave him a small flash drive to take with him and asked that he have one of the brothers in the Ridge copy some of the most recent pictures onto it, so we can see how the work is progressing. I will be sure to post up a picture or two when he returns, provided he doesn’t forget.
I know it’s a little early to start worrying, but at this point it time, it appears that when we leave in April, for the first time in many years, there will be no appointed brothers to be taking the lead. I am telling this for a couple of reasons. One, it may be that either you are someone you know may be in a position to come and help for a few months. Or, second, you can make it a matter of prayer that Jehovah will continue to provide the needed leadership for the young congregation here.
One of the people here that has impressed me since returning is Joyann Smith. Her comments at the meetings are showing a real increased level of maturity, this in spite of recently having had a baby, and in the face of caring for the family alone. Elroy has chosen to leave the area in search of employment. He will probably be gone for a couple of months. It seems this decision was in large part due to the prodding of his mother-in-law, who of late has shown no appreciation for serving Jehovah. We were only made aware of the situation after he had left.
The weather here seems to be transitioning from rainy season to dry season. There is getting to be more sun, and it continues to get hotter. However we are still having some overcast and cool days, so it has been very bearable.
One of the pictures I have selected this week is of a coffee tree. If you look closely, you can see ripe beans, green beans, and blossoms, all on the same tree at the same time. It reminded me of the trees of life spoken of in Revelation which bear fruit in each of the twelve months. I suppose there are some who might endorse the view that the coffee tree may indeed be the tree of life. Also, I included a picture of the couple who are presently in Port Kaituma, Easter and Dirk Bahr. And finally a picture of Travez Jessimy giving a talk on the school. You can’t see it, but he is standing on a stool, and the podium is adjusted as low as it can go, since he is a very short eight year old, but he read very well. It’s things like this that reinforce the need to continue to support this young and growing congregation.
Continue praying for the Kingdom, that Jehovah’s will be done here on earth.