Inciting one another to love and fine works

The past two days have been very encouraging for me. Thursdays are a day set aside for public witnessing but instead of doing that I went with Jerry, a special pioneer , on his bible study. Jerry is funny because he's very relaxed and down to earth. He can bring up any subject and you'll feel comfortable talking about it. But he also is able to provide good advice and council because of his years in full time service. His bible student is from Nigeria and is a very intelligent man. We even got to use the new brochure "Who is doing Jehovah's will today?" It was awesome being able to use it and the practical value of it was made clear. Easy, relaxed discussion that will lead students to God's organization. But what made the study even better was the meal that was provided afterwards. We ate chicken , rice and cabbage. It was awwwwesome.

The meeting last night was very encouraging as well. We had a few visitors and also some new friends who are looking to switch over into the English field to help us out. It's nice being part of a smaller congregation because its really like a family. We all work with each other out in the ministry through the week and are able to provide encouragement to each other after the meetings. After last nights meeting we were recharged and ready to get back to work. But we had a guest afterwards! Teresa , a missionary who works in the sign language field , came back from her visit to the states! Teresa had taken a special interest in Gabe and I in precious visits , so to see her again was nice and we made plans to work with each other today.

So today Teresa , Esa and I went to go see Clara Luz again and a couple more of Teresa's students. We always learn so much from Teresa whether its new vocabulary or important points to remember when working with the Deaf and Blind.

Also, we got our classes for the new semester. I'm going to be teaching Let's Talk 1 and 3 on Tuesdays , Fridays and Saturdays. So this will definitely help contribute towards some expenses.

So below I have a few random pictures. First is a Dominican bench. Haha these things are made out of whatever they can find, usually tree stumps. Second is Esa. I figure I need I start putting some faces to the names so this is a start. We had stopped for gelato and I snuck a shot. Last, you'll see the Pekin Kingdom Hall. This is where a Spanish congregation and sign language group meet. They have a beautiful view of the mountains !

We hope you friends are doing well and think about you all. If you'd like to Skype me my name is : Musicman2131 and my moms Skype is : baileymk1. We'd love to hear from all of you friends.

Nos Vemos
Aaron

Waiting for something beautiful

Today Esa and I went to go see Clara Luz along with Dana. Clara Luz continues to amaze me every time I see her. Today we had her spell her name out in magnets. It's was such a beautiful thing to see because, as I've said in an earlier post , she's deaf and blind. But something that I've failed to mention is Clara Luz's siblings. She has a 6 year old sister who is FULL of attitude, and a younger brother who seems to be about two. Now while the study is always a joy , the circumstances around it are always somewhat comical. For example , last week the little girl comes out to a little stream of water that's going down their alley way and crouches down. Normal right? No. She then proceed to spit out blood into the stream because she had a tooth pulled out. So while we are waitin for Clara Luz, we get to enjoy her sister spitting up bloody spit into the stream of water. Also , the little boy is naked. Always. Forever. Naked. No matter what. He can be playing , eating or people watching from his yard. I'm not sure if he just hates clothes or this is a phase. But there's just a lot of nakedness running around while we teach Clara Luz about the bible. This week we take it up a notch. We had Clara Luz spelling her name and I was video taping it so I could show you friends, but he little brother comes up( standing at a distance) and begins to pee. Everywhere. So in the video attached to this post , we are cracking up. But here you'll see Clara Luz guiding Esa's hands to the letters to spell out the name. It amazes me every time. We talked with Clara Luz about how Jehovah created man and then gave her a piece of clay and had her make a man too. A picture is attached below of what she was able to make. O! Also, I was able to conduct the study for the first time in ASL. I was nervous as can be but the sisters provided some much needed assistance so I made it through. It's really cool to feel Jehovah is using me to do. What I mean by feel is that for some reason I can pick up ASL so easily and I find it to be a major joy. So seeing and feeling the effects of holy spirit has been such a privilege.

We know many friends are going through hardships right now and our hearts go out to you. We think of all of you often and hope you are doing well.

Here is the link to see Clara Luz spell here name and for a few laughs.
http://youtu.be/ap6RBX5bW8w

Nos Vemos
Aaron

A time to work and a time to rest

Sunday we had 72 people at our meeting! It was awesome to see so many friends supporting the congregation as well as some new visitors. We went to a gathering that night and were able to enjoy dancing and good association. There is a girl in the congregation who is a publisher now, but she told us her story about how she fought to serve Jehovah despite persecution from her family. I will talk with her again soon so I can write down this experience for you friends because it was so encouraging to hear. Now another thing different about the DR is that nobody really goes out in service on Mondays. So we take the day to relax , study and get chores done. But yesterday was a little different for me. Gladys, a sister from a nearby congregation , cleans out house for us on Mondays so we didn't really have many chores to do. So around 11 AM I started playing my guitar and didn't stop till 10 PM! It was so much fun to sing with some of the friends who stopped by during the day. We danced , sang and enjoyed a meal together so all together , this weekend was so refreshing.

I got my first return visit today here. The man's name is Jesús and he was very receptive. My mom is also starting to build up quite a stack of RVs. We're getting used to walking in the heat and adjusting to the new way of working territory here. My mom is using her French everyday now. Today we met a Haitian families that lived in a cement shack. They were so receptive and my mom is going to bring back a Fenway bible to them very soon. These people are yearning for something better!

I took some pictures of the plants here for you gardeners out there. There were some interesting ones. Black, purple , reds, etc. You'll also see a picture of an incomplete apartment building that people started living in. The place is completely unsafe and the people who are living there have no protection from weather or thieves. But this is just the way it goes for some people here. Also you'll see a picture of the shack that the Haitian family lived in.

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

Nos Vemos
Aaron

"Teacher , Teacher!!!"

This morning Isabel, Yasmely , Esa, Mom and I did early morning witnessing today. We went to a restaurant called Square One, a place that us notorious for English speakers because of its proximity to university. The food was delicious and I got to enjoy a macadamia cappuccino. We went to the Kingdom Hall to meet with the group for service but were surprised to find out that the English congregation doesn't meet at the Kingdom Hall on Saturdays!!! Sooooo we need to figure that out. But we worked with the Creole congregation. It was awesome to get to know more friends, more brothers and sisters of our Family. We worked with two missionaries and a young brother named Wilson.

Today was my first day teaching and it was quite the experience. Let me kinda paint a picture of this situation for you guys. So I applied for this job yesterday , was given all my materials and told to come in TODAY. Now this wouldn't be the biggest problem, but remember , I am coming in to replace a teacher mid-semester and I've never taught this material. Ever. So you can probably understand why I was a little apprehensive. But I was brought up to my classroom and began introducing myself. I gave the students a chance to ask me questions about myself and one student , Anderson , asks me "teacher , teacher! (Imagine the accent too) Do you speaka da Spanish ?" , to which I replied "only a little bit". The class in awe beings to laugh and say "Teacher teacher why you no speaka da Spanish ?!" After a few laughs and jokes I had settled in and began teaching. I got to know some of the students better during the break time and they are quite the characters. They think that I'm quite the trip apparently because they were laughing whenever I Talk about myself. One rule we have is ONLY ENGLISH in class. So I put up a box in the corner of the whiteboard and in that corner I drew an angry face. They students went wild , " teacher teacher! What is this?!" I told them that If they speak Spanish that the name would go in. 3 offenses and they get points deducted for their grade. The faces dropped. It was priceless. They said "oooo o!!! We are American now. We don't speak Spanish anymore!" The day seemed to be over as soon as it had started. My next class isn't until next week Saturday.

Tonight we are having The Viciosos over for dinner and to catch up a bit so we're looking forward to that too.

We saw this little kitten out in service and I immediately thought of some of you friends. The second picture was the beautiful sunset. Everything was orange and it was so pretty! then just another picture of our walk back home.
And the last photo is of my new classroom.

Hope you friends are doing well and we think about you often.

Nos Vemos
Aaron

Bailey. Profesor Bailey.

Me and Esa went to work with the sign language group in Pekin today. We worked with Dana, a sister from the states who has been for a few weeks now. We went to see a bible student who is deaf and blind. Her name is Clara Luz. If any of you had a chance to meet her , you'd be so amazed. She can spell her own name with magnets and her sign are impressive. She always wants to teach too. She'll make sure you know the signs too. There is a bag that has all her materials in it and she will pull everything out herself, including some hand sanitizer that she will put in everyone's hands. Today I gave my first prayers in sign language!!! Granted they were so short, basically just thanking Jehovah for helping us learn about him. But I did it!!! After that Esa and I went to the university to do informal witnessing. They day was hot but productive. On a side note we had really good melon batidas (shakes). It was made with fresh cantaloupe and it was sooooo refreshing.

Today I went down to the New York institute and sat down for an interview. I am officially an English teacher now!!! I never even really got to go through the application process or anything. Because I'm a native English speaker I got the job immediately. And to add to it all, I start working tomorrow!!! My first class is at 2:30 and I'm taking over for someone mid-semester. The great thing about this place is that they love the witnesses ! There are 6 or 7 witnesses who work there. They know we new time off and are very aware of a pioneer schedule, so I know this is definitely a blessing from Jehovah. I was so shell shocked from how fast everything happened but Esa helped me out with things like starting a lesson plan and how to teach the students. I'll definitely get back to you all on how tomorrow goes.

Below is a picture of my mom's legs. She was bitten several times by Malles( pronounced My-as). The bites swell up a bit and itch for weeks. But it's nothing a little rubbing alcohol can't fix. Also, here a street we walked on back home from the university and the last picture is Clara Luz.

Let the search continue!

Each day I look out over the city as we walk with the group out in service and I think " I LIVE HERE". It's amazing to think we're actually HERE. My prayers to Jehovah have changed just a little because I'm just thanking him everyday for this opportunity , for letting me come here to experience this and being able to reach one of the goals that I had set out after pioneer school. Seeing other young ones here as well helps me feel more at home. I plan to go up to Jarabacoa soon to visit my friend Brok. I'm just so happy to be able to call this place home!

Speaking of homes, the friends are being a major help to us as we try to find a new home. Fortunately there are many places for rent here in Santiago. For instance , there is a house for rent with 6 bedrooms , 2 living rooms and 3 and 1/2 bathrooms! It only comes out to $625 a month, and the place is furnished as well. But we're lookin for something a little smaller then that. We just continue to pray that Jehovah provides us his direction in the matter.

We're still getting used to walking everywhere and today proved to be a challenge because each Thursday is devoted to public witnessing. One group went down to the malls and my group was near the university. Mom and I had the privilege to work with an older couple , Ralph and Annie. They are from Georgia and both are very kind and zealous from the ministry. It's so apparent too , because even with the problems of advancing age, they were keeping up , if not walking faster then us in the territory!

Mom is trying hard to adjust to the heat and all the walking as well because often times we just keep going from 9-12. This , of course , is a LOT different from back home. As the heat intensifies during the morning , our bags begin to feel heavier and our steps feel more like trudges. But when we get to talk to people , we get the biggest shot of energy !

Below is a picture of that house I was talking about earlier, as well as a little guy who wanted to sit with us on break and some of the house that are empty now in the city. Apparently it's because people couldn't rent them out so they have had to completely leave these houses behind.

We hope you friends are doing well as I've been hearing that you've been enjoying the blog, so thank you for reading it ! It means a lot.

Nos Vemos
Aaron

Just the beginning...

Today was another beautiful day in service. We started the second we got into the taxi this morning because our driver worked in Puerto Plata , a tourist area on the beach, and spoke clear English! We left him with the Magazines and plan on making a return visit very soon. After we met with the group , we headed back to the hills again and went into the territory. Today was a little different because there were 16 of us in this area and we were split into 2 groups. The brothers had me lead my own group but thankfully the sisters could help me cause I was so lost. We found a little alleyway that was like another world. It was very poor and half the time we weren't sure if the doors we were at were even doors. They were just openings to the house with sheets over them. Clothes were hung in the alleyway as well. It was sad , but a reality. This is a developing country and there is still much poverty. We found English speakers today tho which was great! After service we went to go see Aida, our lawyer who is helping us with our residency. She is a pioneer sister in the creole congregation who also helps in the legal department at bethel here in Santo Domingo. We have to go to the capital for the final parts of the process. But soon we will be official residents of the Dominican Republic. Esa helped us figure out the concho routes to the Kingdom Hall today too. So now we won't have to take the taxis and we can save our money. Mom and Esa are also gonna dart working on a concho map. That way we can know which car to take where. It's really been so great to be back. The English congregation needs so much help here and it feels so good to be part of this work. We have a lot of fun at nighttime too. We hangout with Isabel and Esa, as well as the three dogs. We get to share our experiences for the day and also we are able to receive tips and pointers for day to day life. We hope you friends are doing well and we think of you often. Below are some pictures of the territory we worked today and the middle picture is the start of the neighborhood we live in.

Nos Vemos
Aaron

Our first day out in service !

Today was a beautiful day but it was also incredibly hot outside! We worked with our new congregation , Santiago English, and did canvassing work. Our car group was Daphne and Adrian, a mother and son from Virginia Beach , and then 2 couples from Seattle, Wa. The couples have just arrived here in Santiago a few days before we did so it was nice to get to know them better. One couple will be staying here for 3 months so we look forward to the interchange of encouragement to come. Now today was a big day because we got broken in , pretty roughly too. We climbed some of the biggest hills I have ever climbed. And doing this in service clothes was just exhausting. But we found people who did speak English (a few who even spoke French ) and were able to see the rewards for our efforts. Break time here is a little different too. We stop at the little colmado ( these are little stores with water , basic food and of course cerveza ) and we continue to talk to people so our work always continues. Its also nice because we get a little bit of shade before we get back out to work. Today was a big day for Mom. She has her very first ride in a concho. I'll have to describe what this is for you friends so you can understand why it's so necessary we take these cars. Here in DR there are many forms of transportation. I won't go into them all right now but two main ones are taxis and conchos. Taxis cost more , but you get the convenience of air conditioning and having a car to yourself. The price for a ride to the local kingdom hall would be 140 pesos, which back home equals about $ 3.50. For us Americans this is so cheap tho! The conchos provide a similar service but there are differences. Conchos ride a route and each car is marked with the letter as to which route it will follow, kinda like a subway or train. You pay 20 pesos (less then a dollar) to ride this route around town. But unfornately there's no map or anything showing us which car goes where. It's fine tho because the friends are willing to point us to the right car and watch us ride off into the sunset. Here's the catch tho, these men need to make money. So they shove as many people as they can into these small sedans. Typically there are two people in the passenger seat and four people in the back seats. So you can understand why some people may feel uncomfortable. So to get home from the territory we took the M car to the university and thankfully the maximum amount of people in the car capped out at 6 of us. Then we walked through the university to get to the our path back home. We met one student who is our brother in the Creole congregation as we strolled through. So we had quite a walk ahead of ourselves which should have totaled about 30 minutes or so. But a brother from the creole congregation saw us and took pity. He gave us a ride back home which was great because dehydration was beginning to set in. That's one thing we are learning, there's never enough water! We need to force ourselves to drink more! So now that lunch and siesta have passed its time for some studying and meditation. We hope you friends are doing well and please , if you want to hear of anything in particular, email me at baileyap@ymail.com and I will try to post about it immeadiately! Below are some pictures of our day in service. The group met together to discuss where to work next, a man immediately began reading what he took and just a smaller hill of the day.

Nos Vemos,
Aaron

Safeguard your conscience 2012

The assembly today was amazing!!!! There were 752 in attendance today and 4 were baptized. We saw many old friends and made new ones as well. We saw the Vicioso family and they are doing quite well too. I also saw a sister who I had previously met when she had visited the states a few months ago. It was such a happy day and of course Mom was crying a lot. The weather today was soooo hot and humid. but we survived. We made a new friend Esalena. She's 23 and has been here on her own since May. If you wanna see more about her journey , check out her blog at traveladdictsonadime.wordpress.com
So below there are pictures of the sunset and of course the assembly.

Nos Vemos,
Aaron

We're here!

Hello friends! We arrived safely last night around 8 pm and got our much needed sleep. We are staying with our friends again , Isabel and Bella. And don't worry everyone , Pocket is safe and sound here. There are two other chihuahuas here , Ringo and Candy. Ringo is 14 years old and Candy is 10. So it's pretty much a senior citizens club here. Ringo isn't usually to friendly but him and Pocket get along while Candy , who is normally nice, can't seem to accept her new roommate. O well. It's been amazing to see Jehovah's hand in this whole process. Whether it was help from the friends or how easily somethings went by, we saw that Jehovah truely was blessing our efforts. We look forward to the assembly tomorrow and I'll try to add up pictures as much as possible.

Nos Vemos
Aaron