God's Word Is Truth District Convention 2013

FIRST ,THERE ARE NO SPOILERS HERE. I just wanted to make that very clear before I get started.

My little partner , Logan

Hello friends!! We just got back home today from our convention and I'm telling you, it was amazing! The speakers were had were so great and the information was so timely. On Thursday morning a group of 30 from our congregation packed into a small guagua (like a minibus) and drove down to Santo Domingo to help with the cleaning of the assembly hall. It was so great seeing all the help! Even the small ones from various congregations were there to support us. Friday was a big emotional day because of some of the experiences we had. One in particular I wanted to share with you.

Logan and his sister

Our brother has many years of faithful service to Jehovah and many years serving here in the Dominican Republic. He was actually sent to start the English congregation up in Puerto Plata. So as you can guess many people know him and cherish him. He revealed to the audience that he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer and that he's not expected to survive more than a year. At this point tears were in everyone's eyes. He began to speak of how great of a privilege it had been to serve here and how many friends he had made over the years. He reassured the audience that his short term goals were destroyed , but his long term goal is still the same. The speaker then said "it's been a privilege to work along side you " and with that the brother turned to the audience and waves goodbye as he walked off stage. The audience had to be quieted because our clapping went on so long. This no longer was an interview , it was a goodbye. Our hearts were saddened to hear this but if you saw this brother , he kept his smile on and a happy composure. It was a powerful experience.

Mom having an interview

On sunday , a sister was interview about a loss she had suffered in 2010. Her daughter passed away from cancer. As she began to tell the experience she broke down. The brother started to tell he experience and then she suddenly gained enough composure to tell the rest of her story about how the friends were there for her and how she managed to keep strong and focused. As she ended she was weeping again and said "I want to be there to see my Gina again ". A sister came to comfort her on stage and the audience once again thundered with applause. I thought about this situation and I knew the Holy Spirit helped her. She became calm enough to deliver most of her experience and then began to cry right at the end. It's like her tears were held back.

Well friends as you can tell just by these two experiences , this was an emotion packed weekend and it was so encouraging for us all to be together.

We hope you all are doing well and look forward to seeing you soon! We come back to the states to visit this SATURDAY!!!!! I can't wait to see you all and hear how everyone is doing. I'm so excited!!!

Nos Vemos,
Aaron