The preaching work here in the DR is incredible! So productive and very different. In Samana you have very hilly and mountainous terrain with views of the bay and surrounding areas. The scenery while out in the ministry, most of the time, is very beautiful. All the people are very humble and easy to share the truth with. We have enjoyed the ministry so much here and definitely and have learend a lot from the brothers and sisters here.
Life here, of course, has been very different from the states...in a good way. Its less stressful, more simple, and depending on how you want to live, more economical. There are always things you have to adjust to and change your viewpoint on. We already had open minds and also already knew some of the things we would have to adapt to, so it wasn't hard for us. Learning from other need greaters and the local brothers helped us tremendously in living here and we really appreciate it!
We have met so many friends from different parts of the world in these last 5 months! Its been awesome! You really understand the meaning of the term 'worldwide brothehood' or 'worldwide organization'. We constantly talk about it at the meetings and see it on the website and broadcasts and in the publicatons....but when you literally have lists of names of brothers from other countries that you've met and you know you can go visit them in their countries whenever you want, it really is a wonderful experience! We are so happy to have new 'family' members!
Overall this experience has been unforgettable! We've enjoyed all our time here in the Dominican Republic serving Jehovah. He has helped us too many times to count while we were here and really thats the only way we couldv'e come down and served. We are truly grateful to him for his loving kindness and direction in our adventure here.
As you may already know we have decided to continue as need greaters indefinitely, or for as long as Jehovah allows us to. We have to go back home to take care of some things and get things in order to come back. Of course, as much as we love being in the DR, we miss our family and friends back home and can't wait to see them again. Hopefully by summer of next year we are back here in the DR!
If you are interested in coming here or just serving as a need greater somewhere, feel free to ask us anything. Like I've said before, we are not experts yet, but we will help in any way we can by just the experiences we've had.
If you're thinking about being a need greater.....do it!
Of course as Luke 14:28 states "...calculate the expense...' first. Plan well and get as much info as you can from others who have been or are need greaters now.
Also, pray. Pray, pray, pray. Talk constantly to Jehovah about your goals, your worries, everything. He will definitely help you attain it if you're sincere and work along with your prayers.
Lastly...be positive! Don't dwell on the negative things that could happen or that may happen...serving where the need is great is a privilege! Not everyone can do it! its for Jehovah, which means that He will be with you and things will be fine! Get excited about your new adventure in Jehovahs service. Having a positive attitude has a huge effect on how you handle your new situation.
We will be continuing the blog back in the states, sharing our experiences with our family and friends as we work towards coming back to serve here in the DR.
Thanks to EVERYONE who encouraged us and help us in so many different ways. Especially to our families who were behind us as well. Our next post will be back in the states...until then take care!