What to Bring

I find it funny that one of my friends asked me tonight, "Who actually reads your blog?!" Only to find out I am just shy of 2800 readers.. So thank you all, in his words I appreciate.  And if he ever stumbles on this one post I hope it makes him smile, mostly out of annoyance.

To the matter at hand:

If you are ever planning an trip as an international servant some things you should know. Its a "Leave the gun, take the cannoli" type of situation. There are certain things one can afford to leave behind, and for the few countries i have lived in, four.. I can at least share some of my pent up knowledge.

As a rule I take these five things, no matter where I am headed. It  just has worked out that they are always useful.

1)     Wet wipes (baby or antibacterial)  -Wonderful for when you have no water and need a quick clean or wonder if the person ahead of you had e coli-

2)     Pain killers, ibuprofen  -you never know what kind of meds you can get so have at least a bottle-

3)     Re-hydration tablets  - LIFE SAVER anyplace hot, have these on hand and get into the habit of drinking them-

4)     Power bars or breakfast bars (at least 15)  -eating habits differ from place to place always have a snack  in case they give you dinner at 10 pm and you had lunch at 11-

5)     Flashlight with one extra set of batteries (or solar one) –self expiatory-

 

Puerto Rico

So technically this is part of the US, but when you get there or if you have already been there, it’s more like an 2nd world country.

They have Walmart, Walgreens and Applebees. So in short there is not much you really need to bring that you can’t get in the states. The only things that can run a bit expansive are paper products, notebooks, calendars and so forth. I do suggest in inventing in a small handheld blender, perfect for fresh smoothies. The fruit you can get fresh makes the best breakfasts..

Bahamas

I had the great pleasure of staying the Bahamas a few different times, exploring three of the islands out of 700 of course. Everything there is way more expansive. They have very little that is produced there so importing ta is sky high. Even most of the meat, besides fish, is brought in so is priced ridiculously high. Consider becoming a vegetarian while there if you are on a tight budget.

Also if you have white girl hair, like myself, bring your shampoo.. to get it there is not cheap and sometimes impossible to find.

Sunscreen, hand held fan, a hat or umbrella is a must for the intense heat.

Fruit and fish are cheap as well as rice and chick peas, a local favorite. Basically anything you think you need bring to this place otherwise you could have to live without unless you are on Paradise Island. 

Ecuador

Besides the 5 things I always bring.. For here I would suggest no small amount of Pepto-Bismol (stomach relief). The weather ranges here so be ready for anything in one day.

If you have clothing you don’t feel like you need to keep take it along and sell it at the end of the trip.

I love bringing the roll up water bottles everywhere once I have finished the drink it’s an easy carry.

I found things I needed were easy to get here, most people have wifi and in some areas you can wait for a delivery truck to come by and you can grab your groceries from him instead of walking to the store down the street. Dvds are cheap and they let you watch part of it to make sure the quality is good. 

Zimbabwe

Medicine is cheap so is the alcohol here.

White girl shampoo again is hard to come by and is way overpriced. (Normally because

the ones buying it can afford it to be a bit more.) Make sure to have a first aid kit with you, just because meds are cheap doesn’t mean Band-Aids or roll gaze is.

They have great coffee, tea and such here if you decide to splurge on anything I’d bring a coffee syrup.. It can make a difference after five months to have a cup that is just like home.

Make sure that you have a power bank with you, lately the power has been fine but it hasn’t been all that great over the years. Thinking in terms of solar is best, no lack of sun there. If you are there for a while serving in the field you may want to bring one or two Tupperware bins to hold food. They cost a ton here and having a few has been a great investment. I even bought a small non-stick skillet and it was such a great thing to bring. They are mucho $$ here. (I also bought in packets of my favorite seasonings like taco mix for dinners.)

Overall if you are a picky eater or someone who has lots of allergies you may have a bit more to overcome for those who don’t. Being an international servant or need greater is all about leaving the comfort zone in every way. Be prepared to get dirty, get hungry (at least once), get tried, get sick and get annoyed or aggravated. Sometimes you sit down and go over the pros and cons of this path you’ve chosen and in the side of Pros, you have: Reaching Out to Serve My God…its all worth that pain, annoyance and extra cost. I suggest taking a few articles with you so that if everything goes wrong you have something to bring you back to the focus.

 This is where my memory stops, if you have any questions about something I may have forgotten about please ask, it might help jog my brain. I have been other places but these are the major spots I have spent more than a few weeks at, so focused on those.

Just Over Half Way

Can you believe its already the half way mark of my trip?! I can’t. Although it has taken this long to get into a routine and get to know all the people I pass in the streets and the market again. So I know it hasn’t been a small amount of time. 

The weather pattern, as I have mentioned has been changing, summer is supposed to be winding down and winter on its way but we still are having high temperatures as early as 9 am and rains in the evenings. Thank goodness the pool has been ready cause after walking a few miles in the sun the best way to beat the heat is pool instead of tea time, I have pool time. J  

We have a new couple in our hall. Tim & Natasha (haven't got the spelling of the last name..) They

have been married for 19 years, he is from Germany and she was born here. They have worked as special pioneers in Germany then were assigned as international servants and we assigned to Zimbabwe. After a few years here they were put in Maui, Fiji and then back here again! They are a cute couple and i'm excited to get to know them and their experiences.

We had a going away party for two of our dear friends. One couple Jim & Wendy Davis helped Chandi and i a ton last year. Sadly they are on their way to England here soon where they can find work and survive a little easier. They shall be missed greatly. 

(Wendy is next to me.) 

The other are moving to an area where a new congregation was formed in the rural areas. (sadly i didn't get a photo of them..)

This last week we had a great time in service last Monday.  We fit 5 of us ladies in the back of a truck, full grown adult ladies i might add. :) I was able to show videos up to 20 times to about 15 kids all day. The overall bonus was that i started two studies with young people in the Bible Story book in English! I was pumped after even being up at 5 am for cart and 10 hours in rain and slight cold. 

A sister from South Africa was visiting us so we put on our good hats and preached until 6 PM! Its so nice to have a large group to help us with the homes, they are desperate for a Kingdom Hall in their area.  Maybe sometime soon it will happen. 

Alight i am off Tuesdays are my "day off" and by that i do all my laundry, dishes, study for meetings and an English course. Some day off. 

Talk later my friends. 

Katie

Weeks gone by

Goodness,
I'm so sorry this has been a long time coming this month.
It has been a busy month mostly in the ministry. I've been trying to get special pioneer hours. So far it's going well, I'm almost there!
It has been a busy month with the tract work I think our congregation covered all of our territory or pretty close to it. We had 206 people at our memorial last night! More then a few people came because of the work we did it's so exciting to see the people respond.

I have been reading, mostly Psalms, in Shona at the studies on Mondays! The sister asked me to say a closing prayer I froze and then said the ten words I knew.. Hahah The study really thought it was nice that I tried. I'm working on learning a few key points from the prayers said in the scriptures. We shall see. 🙃

I am half way through my trip oddly enough, I had a bit of an issue with my visa this time but at the last minute was able to  get it renewed for another month... By the skin of my teeth. The time is flying which means I am having a good time despite living in this system. It's turning cold now, winter is coming early this year. The rains were late causing the maze to be late and many of the rural villages are without sadza. We are asked to donate if we are able to help the friends out in that area, and they were asked to sell their livestock if they had any left. Livestock are the way many areas show their place in society, so many are hesitant to sell them off.

But over all nothing really to report. I'm doing well staying busy with, early witnessing, letter writing,  evening witnessing and starting not at homes. (New idea to take not at homes). I'm thinking of taking a holiday here soon, I'll keep you updated. 👙😍

Bethel Second Round

We took another trip to Bethel this year again, it always nice to see what changes have been made in the last year. 

The family has been shaved down so much so that they now only use the dinner room for family worship Monday evenings. The family makes their own breakfast, dinner and cleans their own rooms. Such a change. I asked the brother who gave us the tour if he had lost any weight just yet cause of his cooking, lol. A friend of ours happened to be our guide, Mike Dube, he is in the Ndebele congregation in the city here. His assignment here is on the tech team for the JW.org and Bethelites computers. The team help set up new accounts for newly formed congregations he said they handle about 4 a month! They still need many halls to be built and updated but they work hard and quickly the number hasn’t changed from the last time so I am not sure how many more they need.

The translation teams have been very busy at work this last year. Around this time last year they only had a few books recorded in Shona now if you look all most every watchtower and awake is released along with the English versions. It helps to learn to say the sounds when I can listen a million times to the same page in order to read on the rurals. I tend to read very slowly so at times the meaning is lost.. oops.. haha  I bring up that we need the Shona added to the lang app every time I go to visit Bethel on Saturdays to hang out with a couple. 

Ending new numbers as such from exactly one year ago: 4 New circuits , 87 new congregations or groups, 833 new regular pioneers and 2295 new publishers.