"Hey Man! You Like French Fries?"

Things have been busy as usual! I've been able to start a few studies this past week and these guys are just awesome. Today is normally my day off, but one of my students requested that I come today, so i got Herby to go with me this morning. Unfortunately , we weren't able to have the study, so we decided to make the most of our time and do public witnessing. In just a short amount of time, we met three guys and were able to set arrangements for studies with all of them! So our CO was encouraging us to just speak english to people and see how thy respond.  One example he said was just asking the peopl " Do you like hamburgers?" It would be pretty obvious by their reaction if they spoke englsh or not. Herby wanted to try this out, so he goes up to a man today and says to him " Hey man! You like french fries?" The man whipped his head around and said " whatchu talkin bout french fries for?" IT WAS HILARIOUS!!! It may seem silly, but the results prove that this can be effective!

 The other night we were all treated out to dinner by a very kind brother yesterday night. He was adamant that we get what we wanted and not to worry about any of the expenses. So a group of about 15 of us went to Square One , a very American restaurant , for our feast! We had so much fun! To the right is Lenin, Hannah, Maria and myself . The next picture is Rina and Ambar. Ambar has such an amazing story all about how she came into the truth and it will be posted up here soon. I won't spoil any of it for you, but her story will make anyone cry. So keep your eyes open for it!

 I had my first motorconcho ride today! Motorconchos are the motorcycle taxis . It was SO MUCH FUN!!! It was the driver, Herby and I on this small motorconcho. I was on the back of the bike with one hand on Herby's shoulder and my other hand wrapped around my bag and Herby's folder. I was nervous at first but it was awesome. I am definitely doing that again! My mom hates the idea , but it's a very common way of transportation so i have my excuse .

We're looking forward to our circuit assembly this weekend as well! We the have two guests coming in on Thursday from the capital. One is a young brother and the other is an older sister who has been in the full time service for sometime now. I'm sure that we'll really get to learn so much from these friends . For the Pocket fans, you'll see here that he's happy, healthy and lazy. A Pug/chihuahua mix getting to enjoy his senior years in the Caribbean. He's definitely enjoying the life. He's been losing weight too! He's finally at a healthy weight after all these years.

We hope you friends are doing well! I hear this winter is pretty awful. My heart goes out to all of you who are coated in snow.

Nos Vemos,
Aaron

Branching out to our new family

The CO visit was so encouraging !!! I found out that it was brother Simon's first time ever serving with an English congregation , but his English was so good!! Each morning at the field service groups , he brought out something he wanted us to try. For example, one morning he stated that we were to use only our bibles at the door. Another day focused on starting studies right away and so on. All there methods proved very effective and many of us got results immediately. I was able to start a new study with a young man named Luis! He must be in his late teens. He was so great ! He came in from playing baseball to sit and talk. When we asked him questions, he didn't just recite an answer from the book. Instead, he thought about the information and have a heartfelt answer! I felt like this was different then any other study that I had conducted because of how much he wanted to learn. We went over the first few paragraphs of the first chapter in the Bible Teach book and I'm slated to return next Monday.

We've been having the friends over our new apartment lately. It's been nice because we can all relax and just get to know one another better. So one night we had some young ones over and we danced and sang. It was pretty loud once Adele was being sung. These girls LOVE Adele. Another night we had a large assortment of friends over. Two sisters from connecticut who are visiting for a little bit , two missionaries , and some other friends from our congregation and another Spanish hall. This night was SO enjoyable. Not only did we get to know these experienced publishers better , we sang kingdom songs like our life depended on it. We had 4 different languages present , so people were singing in French, Creole , Spanish and English. Regardless of the language, the praise to Jehovah was beautiful. The best part was the food tho! Shout out to my mom for rocking the barbecue chicken. I couldn't have enough of that stuff.

Below you'll see Graham, Mario, Herby and Adrean. After that is a noni tree!!! For all of you health freaks, this is what you're drinking!! Next is Teresa with Clara Luz. We were teaching her about god's kingdom and Jesus being king which is why she has a crown on. Lastly, you'll see that gangnam style has infected the farthest parts of the world!

Nos Vemos,
Aaron

A special week of activity

Hey friends!!! Our apartment is starting to feel more like home everyday now. We have furniture in there now and everything is starting to come along well. We just have to paint the walls and then I'll post up some pictures for everyone to see.

We've been able to spend some time with friends visiting from the United States lately. This past Monday we all went to the beach and I was the one leading the whole group! I was nervous because it was my first time bringing a group outside of Santiago, so I was just hoping everything went well. We went to get the bus around 7 AM and then found out the first bus was going to leave at 8:15 so we were going to have to wait an hour. Aaron Bailey , failing before 7:30. That was just an amazing start. Haha BUT I saw a girl who was definitely American so I said to on of the sisters with us that she should go preach to her. The sister sat nearby her and began to study her Jeremiah book and the KM for this week. The girl came over immediately and was a witness too! She was visiting for two weeks and was on her way to Monte Cristo. After we all met (causing a little scene in the bus station ) a man came up and knew who we were right away. He said he was a pastor and commended us for the work we do here. A strong witness was given and suddenly we all felt better about showing up to the bus an hour early.

Sunday we had a speaking from bethel and he gave two talks that were so great. The last in particular was about the our spiritual diet and how important it is that we feed ourselves regularly. He even showed us some ways our brothers in some lands are getting their spiritual food where the watchtower and awake are not allowed. It was absolutely amazing. Jehovah really does make sure we all get our spiritual food. I was just in awe. As for this week, we have a visit from our circuit overseer. Brother Jones is at the school for the CO's in Paterson so we have Brother Simon. I'm not sure where he's from but he has a heavy accent, I think maybe Haitian. This brother is FULL of love. His talk tonight was about the progress our congregation has made as of late. We have 57 publishers, 18 hour average , 11 mags average and almost each publisher has at least one study. The brother was practically bursting with love! He made a really amazing point tho that I never thought of. During the great tribulation while we are being persecuted , we will still be preaching but our message will be different. It will be a judgement message and people will hate us for it. This really helped me understand why we are looking over the Jeremiah book as a congregation. We are being prepared to take the heat and we are also being reminded that Jehovah will always be there for us as he was with Jeremiah. I'm looking forward to our week of activity with him and my first pioneer meeting with the Santiago English congregation!!

Below are an assortment of pictures. First was our jam packed concho ride out in service. There are no words to express this picture. Next we have Graham and I doing the Gangnam style out in service. Don't tell Teresa , we did it while she wasn't watching. Next, we stopped back to the orphanage and visited the children again. The little girl in the picture has mental disabilities and she drooled... All over my back.... I looked to Teresa and Graham and was thankful that I was just drool , because it could be a lot worse then that. And the last picture is our beach day. In the picture next to Graham is Blake, a brother visiting from the states for 3 months. Behind us is Joel who is also visiting for three months.

We hope all you friends are doing well and think about you often.

Nos Vemos ,
Aaron

Off to a running start!

Hello friends!!

Everything has been so crazy since we returned to DR so I'll try to lay out the major details as well as some nice experiences we've enjoyed.

First off , WE MOVED INTO OUR NEW APARTMENT!!!!! It's not grand , but it'll do. We have beds, a stove and a fridge. We've just recently installed wifi , which has been the primary reason as to why I haven't posted anything lately. Also it appears as tho we are going to have guests soon! A brother from Japan who is serving in the capital will be with us for the circuit assembly , as well as a sister who I don't know. We're looking forward to getting to know them both better. Being right across from the Kingdom Hall is awesome!! We just cross the road and I'm immediately at the service group! Now my laziness can enter a whole new level.

We rested for the first day after we arrived and then got to the preaching work ASAP! I brought Graham with me to the sign language group and we went along with Teresa and Esa to Clara Luz and Sarah , another deaf girl. It felt so great being able to use my sign language again! Teresa ten told me that she had a young boy that she wanted me to study with so we made plans to work with Teresa on Sunday morning and we were in for such a treat! Teresa brought us to an orphanage wher she visits a young blind girl. As we drove in , all the little children were waving at us and yelling "HOLA!" We ended up not just preaching to the blind girl but also about six other children. Using the Listen To God brochure , we all conducted studies with the children. Even Graham with his limited Spanish was able to study with a boy using the pictures. We are planning on go back to visit all of our new friends very soon. After that, we stopped in on the boy to Teresa would like me to study with. I know his sign name is a "K" but we don't know his full name because he has problems spelling. Regardless, he was very timid at first. But Teresa saw that he responds to drawing, so she had him draw the first pages of the Listen To God brochure. Soon after, we were showing him some new signs and having him imitate these. We know he will do well in his studies and I'm excited to be able to have a study in sign language!!!

We are continuing work on Clara Luz's book. She's been progressing so fast so we have to keep making more and more pages. This may seem easy, but the process is difficult. First, she's never been able to see the things we're teaching her about such as gambling , earthquakes and so on. So we have to make cut outs of foam or use objects to convey these ideas. For example, the subject of gambling. We use a card , a few pesos and some dice to put the idea in her head about what gambling is. That's just one thought. We have to convert the whole Listen To God brochure into this. While most of this work is done already, we are still making more lessons for Clara Luz.

Below are some pictures of our visit to the orphanage and Clara Luz , as well as our night working underneath the brutal dictator known only as ..... TERESA. Can't you see how mean she is by the picture. Haha

We are so happy to be back and in the action again as the work continues to grow ! We hope you friends are doing well and think of you all often.

They "made us come " - Acts 16:15

Well we return to Dominican Republic TODAY so this blog will be back up in action !!! I wanted to let you all know of something that really touched my mom and I as we visited the states. When we realized we would have to return for a time , my mom was very stressed because we have no home in States anymore and no vehicle to use as well. But a close friend of ours encouraged us to stand back and see what Jehovah would do for us. I remembered my friend , Graham , had offered us a place to stay previously when we were transitioning through homes. So I placed a call and immediately Graham's family said that we should stay with them for however long we needed to. Now that we had lodging , we needed a vehicle. Well as I was talking to Graham and asking if anyone had a spare car we could use, he told me that they had one and we were more then welcome to use it! It was amazing to see that in just a mere 5 minutes , all our problems had been solved and it was all because of our Christian brotherhood. The LaRose family offered us the mother-in-law apartment beneath their home which was furnished , had a kitchen and our own bathroom. As for the vehicle , we were allowed to use whichever van we wanted , even their brand new van. Just thinking about this whole experience over the past five weeks has really impressed on me that as brothers and sisters , we must show extraordinary love to one another.

As we got to know the LaRose family better, we became closer friends and were able to encourage one another. For example , one thing that I learned from Greg and Heather (Dad and Mom) was patience. They have three kids living in their house and they really are cultivating them in such a way that is sure to see results. Graham(son) was very kind in letting us take his car whenever we needed to , even when it inconvenienced himself . Tristram (son) was so encouraging because he had such a strong desire to comment at the meetings. His hand shot up and would get so excited! As for little Aubrey (obviously daughter ) , she gave her first comment and she would always say the cutest pray before she ate. I was really just so impressed with all of them and we look forward to spending more time with them next summer.

While we were disappointed that we had to return to the States, we were so encouraged by the many things we could experience. We saw many demonstrating of Christian love while helping out in disaster relief work and with the hospitality we were shown. We saw Jehovah's hand guiding us along as we met many Dominicans here and were able to give a witness to them. And finally we made new family and friends who we share so much in common with , all because of our God.

So now we return to DR and Graham will be returning with us!!! He'll be staying for six weeks , just enough time for the circuit assembly in January! This is his first time serving where the need is greater , so we're looking forward to the many blessings he'll receive as well as the experiences he'll enjoy. So it's time to get back to work!!! We are so excited and happy!!!

Here's a picture of Aubes(that's my name for her ) and another with Mom and Tristram.

We hope you friends are all doing well and we think of all of you often !


Nos Vemos,
Aaron

Ataita

After a whole day of trying to understand technology , i have finally been able to make the singing in Swahili available for viewing. I love how the circuit overseer was harmonizing with everyone. It was an awesome experience and i hope you guys enjoy!!!

http://youtu.be/znJaodAOpas

O!!!! Last but not least, I finally fixed the problem with the comment section. I know some people were trying to leave comments but needed a google account to do so but now it's completely open to the public to leave comments ( or at least I think it is). Sorry for the inconvenience !!!

Nos Vemos,
Aaron

Just a quick update!

Hey everyone ! We just wanted to share that we'll be back home shortly and are just extremely excited to return to our assignment. We've been able to enjoy many things here tho. My mom had the circuit overseer visit in her French congregation and this brother was so kind. He taught us how to sing in Swahili ! So Saturday after the French meeting we all gathered and began to sing song 111, Ataita (He will call). I have a recording of it that I will try to upload at some point but I'm not exactly sure how. It was a very touching experience.

For those of you who adore Pocket, my dog, you will be pleased to know that Esa is taking care of him. Now , I'm not saying she's doing a good job at it. You're probably wondering what in the world I mean , so check out this link to her blog. Prepare yourself my friends, it's not pretty.
traveladdictsonadime.wordpress.com/2012/11/25/ummm-whats-a-pocket/

I hope you friends are doing well! Just know we think of all of you often.

Nos Vemos,
Aaron

With much brotherly love and comfort... PT 2

The next morning we were up bright and early and off to work. We had to gut out a kitchen and an office area. Basically taking about a foot of Sheetrock off so that the wood could dry out. Soon enough , our work at this home had finished and we headed to our next assignment which was only a few blocks away. The sister's basement had been completely submerged in water during the storm (about 11 feet of water) and even though the brothers from her congregation tried their best to drain her basement out , the very next day a good amount of the water was back. Because of the water, there wasn't much we could do at that time for the sister. So the brothers in her congregation offered to do the "dry out" work for us.

One thing that was nice about staying with these 5 other brothers was that I got to know them all better. Some I had worked with on previous builds but others I was just meeting for the first time. So we really got to know each other well over just a few days.

Monday morning we received a new assignment and , just like the other houses, this one received some heavy water damage. But before we even got to work , a letter was read from the RBC about our efforts and also those of other brothers who delivered supplies to New Jersey. It was hard not to be filled with emotions and love , not only for Jehovah's arrangements , but also for our brothers and sisters. I know that this was one main lesson I pulled from this experience. Our love sets us apart so much from this world we live in. People came up to us at each house we worked at expressing how amazed they were that we were helping our brothers. One catholic man in particular said "The Catholic Church isn't here. The Red Cross isn't here. FEMA isn't even here. But Jehovah's Witnesses are !" Shortly after he declared "This has to be the truth!"

Unfortunately, due to a storm coming in, all relief teams were evacuated from Long Island because storm surges were expected to reach up to 5 feet, as well as wind gusts up to 60 mph. Our week was cut down to only three days. But I can't even express how happy I was to be there. On our last night together, our whole team got together for dinner at a sister's home. It felt like family. That's the only way to describe it. We say around telling stories , eating a warm meal and exchanging hugs before we left each other. I'm so grateful that Jehovah allowed me this opportunity and I hope I can go back again to help soon.

So today we went to NYC to put in our new paperwork for our visas and with success we found out we should receive them within a week! Which is awesome because originally we were told 2-3 weeks. So soon we'll be back home!!! I'm so excited because I've sorely missed our assignment.

Something cool also happened today. I had said to my mom as we walked through time square "Strange. We haven't seen any of the brothers or sisters today." Not a minute later we saw it. The Manhattan Project. Our brothers and sisters with their stand in time square!!!! It was amazing! And we saw people going up and actually taking literature, as well as pictures of this! We were so encouraged to see this because we had only heard about it online. Seeing its power in person was unbelievable.

Below you'll see one of our vehicles we used. Also a group shot of our team. Next was our attempt at making a table. Yes it's a refrigerator , but it served its purpose. Lastly, mom with the sisters at the stands. I can't wait till we start doing this I'm Santiago!!!

We hope all you friends are doing well and think of you very often.

Nos Vemos,
Aaron

With much brotherly love and comfort... PT 1

Since last Saturday when we landed back in the United States , I had been receiving emails about disaster relief for the upcoming hurricane. The branch acted quickly and had the local RBCs start spreading the word for assistance. On Friday , I received another email asking if I would be willing to go assist in New York with the disaster relief work. As many know, the coast of New York is destroyed and the brothers and sisters there needed help badly. So I responded to the email saying that I could go to New York for a week to help out with the work. That was around 2:50 pm. After I hadn't heard anything, I began to relax that evening, watching movies and hanging out with my friend. I went to lay down for bed around 11:30 and then that's when the phone rang. The brothers asked if I would be able to leave for New York the very next morning at 5 AM. I immediately woke up my mom and we ran to Wallmart to get new work gear(since mine is still in storage ) , along with food and water. The brothers told us to expect the worst. Housing with no electricity. Temperatures dropping into the 30's at night and peaking around 50 during the day. Food and water was scarce so we were to bring our own for the week. Now by the time we returned back home ,around 1:30 AM, I was running off of adrenaline. I couldn't eat, sleep or think straight. All I knew was that in just a few hours I would leave, go meet brothers that I didn't know and ride with them to the disaster relief hub somewhere on Long Island, New York. I finally slept for about 30 minutes . My mom drove me to Wethersfield, CT at 4 AM and by 5 , I was with the brothers on the road. In my car group was an elder who has had many experiences with the international construction work as well as disaster relief. Also , a sister who was a single mom , who left her work for a week to be ale to assist the friends in New York. Needless to say, nerves were as we headed for New York. We saw many trees down and by the time we hit western Connecticut, gas stations were closed (due to lack of gas) or gas lines of countless people were formed. We knew this would be an issue because we were lugging a huge trailer around with us which only allowed our truck to get 10 miles to the gallon. We eventually arrived at Long Island and went to the Hub. Now the hub is the center where the brothers give out our assignments , tell us where our housing will be and also where we can refuel on food and coffee. I saw brothers from our RBC, and it turns out , this is who we were paired with. I thought of what a loving provision that is. For most of the crew, I had worked along side them before on various Kingdom Hall projects or I had seen them for most my life at the circuit assemblies. So we were all wry comfortable with everyone and knew who to look to for direction.

Our first assignment was a house that was located in between a bay and the ocean. They has received 6 inches of water in their basement and it had soaked the walls completely. Soon after we arrived, our team of 10 brothers and sisters began to tear apart the walls and gut out all the insulation that was soaking wet. We worked hard all day and the family provided food for us. One thing we were told tho was that we needed to have compassion, love and strong fellow feelings for our brothers. They had lost so much and they need to be consoled. So our priority was the family and neighbors first, and then the work at hand. If the family needed to tell us their story, we were to stop and listen. We just had to first express our love for our brothers first before we could help them out other ways.

After a few conversations , I realized that everyone that was there had all been called around midnight as well. The most sleep anyone in our group got was only 2.5 hours. Most people were under an hour. But Jehovah definitely gave us the strength to go on. We ended our day around 4:30 and went down to the beach just a few blocks over. The devastation we saw was incredible. It was eerie as the sun was setting over the water there. We had to leave the area because of the mandatory curfew and headed to the hub. We waited there for about an hour and received the address for the house our group of 6 brothers were to stay at. The family we stayed with was from El Salvador and they extended so much hospitality towards us! We ate like kings that night as we were fed stuffed tortillas and flan. Another benefit for me was that the house was HOT. They cranked that heat up and I felt like I was back in Dominican Republic! There were two beds and a couch so 3 of us slept on those and then the others slept on the ground. We were all asleep by 9 PM and eagerly awaited whatever the next day held.

Below is an assortment of pictures. I will try to upload the rest very soon.

To all the brothers and sisters affected by the storm , we pray you are alright. Just know that our god will not leave us and help will be there soon.

Nos Vemos ,
Aaron

Hurricane Sandy

I'm sorry I haven't posted as much but the pat few days have been insane. We arrived at JFK on Saturday afternoon and we were feeling a tad bit depressed. Even tho we'll be back soon, it feels weird leaving our assignment. So we were waiting for some friends to pick us up and a woman approached my mom with a tract in her hand. It was our tract on family life!!! So my mom asked her where she got it and the woman said it was hers. Turns out this was a sister from Korea!!! She was there with her husband and they have lived in the United States for a year now. They were leaving the country to go to their new assignment out in Asia. We were so encouraged by the two of them for a few reasons. Here was another couple of need greaters who are reaching out to a territory that not many can go to. Also, the husband was learning English and trying so hard To use it. This made me think of my Spanish and how I need to use it more and more! With Jehovah's help its been progressing. Just this evening , we had our family worship night in Spanish! Using the daily text and the Greatest Teacher book, we're teaching ourselves Spanish. I'm so grateful that Jehovah is helping us do this.

We came back to the states just in time for hurricane sandy. I haven't really left this area too much, but from what I've heard , some areas nearby have heavy flooding and many tree down. It never ceases to amaze me how fast the branch acts. The day before the hurricane hit, I received an email from the RBC about how we new volunteers for any emergency electrical work that may occur due to the storm. Jehovah truly does look after his servants.

It's been nice to be back and the family we're staying with is more then hospitable. They've gone above and beyond the call of duty, making us feel so at home. Of course , just another wonderful benefit of having the biggest family in the world.

Below are some pictures of the brother and sister we met. Also , Gracie , the best dog in the world. We got bore and dressed her up, but to be honest I think she liked it.

Nos Vemos,
Aaron

Chinola, comida , and beyond

Alright so today's post is about food , the second most important thing in my life! So food here is a little different then from back home. Besides the major cultural difference in foods, the quality of food here is different. Farmers don't use pesticides here so all our food is organic. You actually have to pay more money for processed food. We get to enjoy many fresh fruits and vegetables. Such as chinola(passion fruit ), naranja verde ( green oranges) , and aguacates (avocados). I'm not sure if you've tried fresh passion fruit before but it's really strange looking. Almost has mucus like texture. BUT this is my favorite fruit ever!!! It's sour and delicious! Then green oranges ( this is such an oxymoron ) are really good here. But because lemons don't grow on the island, we use green oranges instead because they have a very sour taste. I went to the missionary home near bye to visit some friends and they gave us this drink that was like lemonade, but made from the green oranges. Absolutely delicious! Now for avocados, they are HUGE!!!! It takes more then one sitting to eat it all. One thing we have do here is make our own meals. Because we can't trust the food from the street vendors, we eat home cooked meals all the time. O and don't even get me started on the juices (jugos). In the grocery stores they juice the fruit right in front of you! There are so many varieties!!! Chinola , piña , limón and so on. This is fresh organic juice! It's amazing! For snacks we like to make popcorn , kinda reminds us of home. Bella likes her popcorn with Parmesan cheese on it , which is delicious. I like to make mine a little different. These instructions are for stovetop popcorn too.

1.put half a cup of kernels into a pot and make sure you cover them with enough oil.

2.Let that bad boy pop up for a few minutes. Remove from stove and empty into a bowl.

3. Put a few table spoons of butter in the hot pan and squeeze half of a
fresh like into the melted butter.

4. Pour lime butter over popcorn and apply salt if necessary.

BAM (Yes i'm Emeril ). Lime popcorn is so good. So try it out and you won't be disappointed.

So if anything you want to learn from this post , please keep in mind these three phrases.
1. Me gusta jugo de chinola.
2. ¿Usted tiene jugo de chinola?
3. Yo quiero jugo de chinola.
If you know these three phrases, you will be happy forever in Dominican Republic.

So tomorrow we fly to the United States. We expect to stay for about. A month. So we are excited to see you friends.

This part is important so please excuse the all caps: PLEASE EMAIL ME FRIENDS! THERE ARE PEOPLE READING THIS BLOG WORLDWIDE AND I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!!! I looked at some stats and there are now viewers in Russia , Finland and even Japan!!! So please , I would love to hear from you! My email is : baileyap@ymail.com and my Skype is musicman2131. Tell me what you enjoy about the blog, what you'd like to see on the blog , etc.

Below are some pictures of our apartment which is bare. But soon it will be home.

Nos Vemos,
Aaron

Preparing to come back home

So we plan on coming back home this Saturday ! I'm excited to see everyone and I hope we'll be able to stop in to visit most of you friends. We're still trying to figure out transportation but I'm sure Jehovah will make a way. I think that's something I've learned in all this. Jehovah ALWAYS makes a way. For example, we asked one family if we could stay with them for the month and immediately they agreed to it! It's amazing to see Jehovah's organization in action. The love we've been shown so far has been tremendous. Whether its support through emails or phone calls , it's definitely had an encouraging effect on us.

I'm going to try to post up more information about the country itself. Such as food, culture , etc. I know that some of you friends are reading this and wondering if you'd like to experience it. And I also know that in order to help you make that decision, I'm gonna have to post up more info about the life style here. So today I'm gonna focus on our daily routine.

Each morning our service group meets at 8:40. You may wonder why this is different from back home , but it's because of the heat. If we start early, we can beat the heat. So usually for service we work in areas surrounding the KH. This means we walk to most of the territories. And if its a little bit aways, then we either get into someone's car together or some of us take the conchos to the territory. Service will go to about 12 or 1 at the latest. The group then breaks off for siesta which lasts till 3. This time is really invaluable because we can eat, rest and rehydrate. Now the rest of the day depends on you and what you'd like to do with your time. I usually work in the afternoons , but there is a service group that meets at 2 across town that has been recently started. Also , many congregations meet around 4 or 5 again for evening witnessing. That's another thing different here too. Because night time can be very dangerous , our evening witnessing lasts till about 6. After that, you want to be on bible studies or at home. I like this schedule a lot because it gives you so much time to study. Back home, I could come up with ten million reasons why I didn't have time for personal study one day. But here, you HAVE the time, it's all about using it wisely. So that's pretty much it about the daily routine. Tomorrow , I'll try to get you friends some information about the most important thing, FOOD.

This random little picture is of an almond. Yes!!!! An almond! The fruit surrounding it is red and the nut is inside! One of the many cool thing in service is seeing all the different fruits in the trees.

We look forward to seeing you friends soon.

Nos vemos ,
Aaron

A new home! OUR home!

Bella came back home!!!!! It's so great to have her back. We've missed her so much. Today we took David and Ken to a huge center that sells gifts. Now the circumstances surrounding this was funny because Bella suggested going to La Sirena( our version of wallmart, but classier ) but she went with what we wanted and drove downtown to this center. We went in and I immediately went to this one stand that I had gone to before. Granted, my first and only visit there was a year ago, I knew they gave us good prices last time so I wanted to check it out. I'm looking around with mom for some bracelets, other trinkets and decorations. The woman at the stand comes up to me and asks me if I'm a Witness!! I said yes and she seemed very happy. So I asked her if she was and she replied no, but that she loves the witnesses. So we had a quick conversation about where I was serving and my background. By now the whole group was here at this woman's stand and she began giving us free little gifts!!! She was so nice so Bella witnessed to her and left her a tract. The woman would love to study but has a husband who opposes. So we'll see what happens with her, but just seeing her and her kindness helped me really envision her as out sister soon. So we soon realized that Jehovah had easily directed us to her. First, we went someone completely different for gifts. Second , out of the countless stores there , we immediately went RIGHT to that one. On the plus side, she gave us such a nice discount and MORE free gifts. I purchased a coconut that has been carved into a monkey play a guitar. I HAD to have it! I've named him Eduardo.

Today was a big day too because we got our own apartment !!!! It's on the fourth floor of a building directly across from the Kingdom Hall!!! Our balcony looks right out to the KH. It's a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom apartment. We get the keys tomorrow and plan on filling it with things before we leave for the States. Hopefully the whole Bed and breakfast thing will be up and running soon. Getting this apartment is a huge blessing because not only are we right across the road from the KH. We also live above two other witness families living in the same building. AND they're both in our congregation. So we look forward to settling in there soon.

We got the date of our zone visit !!!! It's February 10!! So friends , please , if you want to come visit February is the time !!! Everyone on the island is invited to attend , so we're all eagerly awaiting the date.

Below is me and Eduardo. Isn't he awesome. :)

We hope you friends are doing well and look forward to seeing you soon!

Nos Vemos,
Aaron

So we've got some news...

Today we went to Santo Domingo for the day with 2 goals in mind:

1.Going to immigration to complete out residency.
2. Visiting bethel.

So we went to immigration to finish everything up , but they said they couldn't accept our visas because tr consulate in Boston gave us TOURIST visas and not RESIDENCY visas!!! So what this means is that we will have to briefly return to the States and reapply for residency visas. This time we'll be going to the consulate in NYC, so hopefully it goes better. The trip should take no more then a month and most of that will be us waiting for the visas. So hopefully we'll be able to see most of you friends while we visit. We'll be using this time for the ministry work and also gathering some extra things we'll need for our new life here.

Bethel was AMAZING! The branch has 111 bethelites and the majority of the work her is shipping literature all over Dominican Republic and Haiti! The branch was absolutely gorgeous. The landscaping was cool to because apparently they was coral underneath the land. So the brothers used the coral for decorations and furniture. We met with the Branch Secretary , who really works along with the need greaters. He remember me and my mom from the letters they received for the brothers back home. I don't mean just names, actual details about our previous trips! He gave us really good pointers and advice as well as some encouragement.

So the pictures below are all the different parts of the branch. I would go into detail about them, but that would make up a whole blogpost! So I'll just let you check these out. There is a picture with the brothers and sister. The brothers are here from Sweden. They just arrived yesterday and they're going to serve here until June! The sisters were visiting from Virginia and North Carolina. It was a very nice chance to meet some mor rod the brothers and sisters.

Hope you friends are doing well and look forward to seeing you soon!

Nos Vemos,
Aaron