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
Monday, November 26, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
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
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
Friday, November 9, 2012
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
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
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
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
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
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