Hi Everyone,

So sorry.........Did not realize that it had been over a month since my last post.  Time goes by waaaay too fast! We have been so busy.  Nothing big, just normal stuff.  Spending a lot of time in service, just started painting the house, and we have really been working on getting to know our new hall.  So I decided that would be my new post.

Our congregation is "Reyes Heroles Ingles de Zacatecas".  We have a total of 42 publishers with 14 regular pioneers in there.  They made an announcement a couple of weeks ago that the publishers themselves average over 25 hours a month.  We have 86 Bible studies in the congregation.  Yes you read correctly....86! Two Sundays ago we had 16 Bible students at the meeting.  There were so many it was hard to get around and say Hi to everyone.

So as we go out in service I try to ask everyone how they learned the truth and then for those that have moved here to help out, I try to ask how they learned the truth but also how they got to Zacatecas.  I have learned some very interesting stories.  One local sister first talked with JW's after her father had been murdered and she wanted to know about death.  Brother Solis, who is pictured below, was a Spanish CO. Back in the 70's when the truth was just starting to take off here in Mexico, he was serving a congregation and a mob attacked the hall.  He was beaten so severely that he had permanent damage and had to leave the circuit work.  He is now trying to expand his service by helping in English.  His English is very limited but he's a doll.  He is out in field service 3-4 times a week and he gives us a Spanish lesson every time he is with us. I guess he thinks we really need it, and of course we do.  Oh, and did I mention he is 80?

Then there are those who are "need greaters".  All but the four of us are from Canada.  There are a lot of years in the full time service with this group.  Many special pioneers.  One couple spent several years helping in an Arabic congregation in Canada.  They have raised their families in the truth with several of their children in couple school, CO's, severing where the need is greater.  So they have been and continue to be real examples.  Interestingly, several also have their sad stories.  One sister is like me. They were getting ready to move here when she found out she had breast cancer and their plans were put on hold.  They arrived about six months before us.  There is a couple who's oldest son died under mysterious circumstances.  They think he was murdered by a woman who was a student of his, but she has disappeared and cannot be found.  It's amazing what our brothers go through and still they continue to give their all to Jehovah.

So now I thought I would  share our experience as we crossed the border coming here.  This is meant to be encouraging and not meant to scare anyone.  Keep in mind that the areas that tend to be most dangerous here in Mexico are the border towns. We knew this coming down and tried to plan appropriately.   We were told that it was as good idea to keep Spanish magazines in our cars.  So thanks to Annie (THANK YOU BIG TIME ANNIE!) we were able to get the latest set of magazines and put them in both our cars. Our goal was to fill our gas tanks so that we would have enough gas so that we would not have to stop anywhere close to the border.  We had to stop at the border crossing itself and do all the paperwork and of course unload and reload our car, as I mentioned in one of my past posts. 

Once that was all done we started our descent down to Zacatecas.  Less than 5 or 6 miles across the border, we had a white car with two guys pull up to us with their window rolled down.  Marshall rolled down his window and the guy was yelling something to us in Spanish.  Of course we had no idea what he was saying but we thought that maybe since we had just reloaded our car and trailer, that something was wrong with our stuff.  Then suddenly the guy driving tried to force us off the road and we realized...THIS WAS NOT GOOD.  Marshall said "No" to the guy and sped up a bit.  The white car dropped back behind us.  Eventually Megan and Daniel, who were in the car right behind us, pulled up beside us and asked what was going on.  We could not tell them since we could not understand what they said.  We told them to stick close and they dropped back behind us.  The white car then pulled up beside them and asked Daniel if they were with us.  Daniel said yes and the guy told Daniel they wanted our trailer.  Daniel and Meg sped up to us and motioned for us to follow them and to go faster.  Well of course we were pulling the trailer with a lot more weight and we could not keep up with Megan's car.  The white car then pulled ahead of both of us and tried to force Daniel off the road. They then spun out in the middle of the highway with Daniel almost hitting their car and us almost hitting Meg's car.  The two guys got out and went over to Daniel and Megan.  They identified themselves as one of the two main drug cartels here in Mexico.  They said they wanted our trailer. Daniel pleaded with them saying that we were his friends and family and we were moving to Zacatecas and this was our stuff.  They said they would not hurt us but they wanted our trailer.  Daniel pleaded again.  This time he said we were Jehovah's Witnesses and we were moving to Mexico to study the Bible with people.  Megan then started saying "Testigos de Jehova" and handed one of them the magazines. The guy looked at it and said..... and I quote...."Your of the brothers?  Why didn't you say so sooner?" They got in their car and drove off in the opposite direction. We were all very shaken and yes I cried.  But I have not been able to stop thinking of the scripture in Proverbs that says "The name of Jehovah is a strong tower. Into it the righteous runs and is given protection".  

Lessons learned....... #1 Do not pull a trailer going into Mexico. #2 Always carry magazines while traveling through Mexico and last but not least...... ALWAYS ALWAYS identify yourself as one of Jehovah's people.  

Hi everyone.  Well the last couple of weeks have been very busy.  We have moved into our house and had a full week of service last week.  We have been spending time with our new congregation and have jumped right into the swing of things.  Marshall gave the public talk yesterday and I am a householder tonight.

The sisters warned me that brothers get most of the studies here and they were right.  Marshall's first week he got  four calls and two studies, one of which was a man who just showed up to the meeting last Sunday and his first study was on Friday.  The other study he has to turn over to someone in the Spanish congregation, as he says he wants to study in Spanish because his wife and children only speak Spanish.  It is a little intimidating going to the doors when you can only say a few words to someone, so I think I like the approach work best.  Basically you go downtown on the streets or to one of the parks, approach people and ask if they speak English and then go through your presentation and give them the invitation to the Hall.   The territory is all walking territory, no driving for miles here.  The streets are CRAZY!  Very narrow and very very steep.  So trust me, you get plenty of exercise on a daily basis.

In this set of pictures I want to show you our house.  We live in Colinas del Padre in a privada called Privada Cerro de la Virgen.  Basically the privada is a gated community.  We pay a small monthly fee that includes a security guard, trash pick up and a very nice park right outside our front door.  The Privada then sets in a Colina, basically its own little city.  We have a bank, bakeries, meat market, stores, etc right outside the front gates, so we do not have to go far when we need something.  Kinda cool.  However the colina also has very steep streets and hills, so between service and walking the dog, we are getting in shape!

This is us on the corner.  I love the little balcony, it comes
right off the master bedroom.  

You may not be able to tell, but this hill is a killer!

The park runs the whole length of the Privada.

My kitchen is very small.  What you see is what you get. 

Dining room.....love the big window.

Living Room

Our bedroom.  Haven't painted yet so that's next.  Our bedroom has a master bath connected to it with a little dressing room.  There is only one sink and a small shower, so Marshall gave me this bathroom and he took the one in the hallway.  What a sweetie!

Gotta love Mexican closets.  Every bedroom has a closet like this. 

Guest room.

We have one more bedroom that we are turning into an office / guest room.   But right now it is housing all the unpacked boxes.......one thing at a time/.  

Well, our adventure begins.  We packed up on the 23rd.  Fortunately, Marshall had retained some of his packing skills from UPS.  Shrink wrap came in handy.  Both vehicles and the trailer were loaded down.  For future reference:

Shrink wrap.......... great idea for transporting across country.   

Shrink wrap.......lousy idea for going through customs!

Yes we had to unpack half of the trailer and allow Customs to inspect everything.  They then said we could load it all up.  Once this was done, we had to drive the car through a HUGE X-ray machine.  Which is what you see below. 

And of course.............They did not like the way something looked on the X-ray so they then made us unload our car.  3 1/2 hours later, they decided that the legs to our kitchen table were not the rocket launchers they thought they were.  

Fortunately, once across the border, the drive was beautiful.  

After 18 hours of driving the first day, 13 hours the second day and 3 1/2 hours at the border, we made it to Zacatecas.  Right now we are staying with the girls; eating their food, using their utilities and letting them drive us around.  Life is good! 

So the house is now up for sale. We are also beginning downsizing and are having a "Moving to Mexico" yard sale next week. Things are in motion, very exciting times ahead!