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