I have received the latest report from Jonathan, but before I post it up, I wanted to share a little that’s been happening with me. Friday I was finally able to see a specialist. Of course, on the first visit you can’t expect to learn a lot. The doctor did say that my stomach is very much enlarged, and that is something that doesn’t happen in a short time. He thinks I have some kind of restriction at the outlet of my stomach which is causing everything to stay much longer in my stomach than is normal. So Monday I am once again going to have an endoscope. And the next day I will have another appointment with the doctor where I will hopefully learn what will be needed to correct my problem. Now here is the latest from Jonathan.
This past week was a busy one as we all got ready for the Memorial. On Saturday the last part of territory in Matthews Ridge was covered, Red Hill, inviting people to the Memorial. On Sunday we had a Kingdom Hall clean-up in the afternoon. It was nice to see that this was well supported. Most of the publishers were able to come and help, as well as a number of Bible students. We re-arranged the benches in the Kingdom Hall and added some more seating to allow for more people to be able to sit in the hall. The grass was trimmed by weedeater and cutless. The inside of the hall was swept and the floors were mopped. Outside the hall, the walls and the deck were scrubbed. I must say that by the time all were finished, the hall looked quite spiffy.
It was nice to see so many attend the Memorial on Tuesday night. The attendance was 180. There were some present that were at a Kingdom Hall for the first time in their lives. There were multiple people who asked for a Bible study following the observance. Considering the ratio of publishers here to individuals wanting a personal Bible study, it is a challenge to squeeze more studies in, but we warmly encouraged these to return to the Kingdom Hall for upcoming meetings and promised to visit them to give a further witness.
One of those present at the Memorial in Matthews Ridge was a publisher from the nearby Baramita congregation. We met her prior to the Memorial in an interesting way. We were having our weekly family study in a common sitting area on top of the hotel here in Matthews Ridge on Monday night. This sister walked by and noticed we were considering the Watchtower. She stopped to gaff, realizing then that we were Witnesses. She was on her way from Georgetown to Baramita and was connecting through Matthews Ridge. She had been planning to head to Baramita Tuesday morning, but decided to stay and attend the Memorial with us here in Matthews Ridge.
There were more comings and goings this week as well. We were happy to see a few of the Bible students who have been regularly studying, but who had been away, return to the Ridge this week. We had another publisher leave this week as well. Jared Forman, who came to Matthews Ridge about three weeks ago from Massachusetts, flew out of the Ridge on Wednesday morning. We enjoyed his company, and we appreciated his help in handling Bible studies and helping to care for things at the meetings and the Memorial. At this point, there are 12 publishers currently here in Matthews Ridge. There continues to be much fine activity here, and it helps us to see Jehovah’s guiding hand and the backing of His powerful holy spirit.
The pictures included with this week’s entry are of the Kingdom Hall clean-up and of the Memorial.
