Check out Life in Jarabacoa!

Sunday Meeting!

Ok so Sunday meeting was amazing! The Watchtower was incredible. I really think we could have discussed it for hours! There were so many good points but there was one I wanted to post because I don't think I would have ever noticed this unless a sister in the concregation pointed it out.

Look closely at this picture. In all reality only one of the examples is how we should be as runners.

From Left to Right:

Runner Number One: Obviously distracted, do we need to say anymore about that?

Runner Number Two: Not breathing correctly

Runner Number Three: Worried about sweating

Runner Number Four: His Knee is up, see the paragraph below from Jogging101.com

"While sprinters need to lift their knees high to achieve maximum leg power, distance runners don't need such an exaggerated knee lift--it's simply too hard to sustain for any length of time. Instead, just a slight knee lift, a quick leg turnover, and a short stride are all that's needed."

Runner Number Five: Correct Running Position

Runner Number Six: His gaze is on the ground, which is a definite no-no for long distance runners. Since your eyes dictate your focus, he should be looking straight ahead for the goal!

A picture is really worth a thousand words . . .I would have never noticed this unless informed by a true runner. . .isn't the Faithful and Discreet Slave keeping us fed so well?! It reminds me that these pictures are planned so carefully and everything is included for a reason!

An amazing coffee break!

Wow I had an awesome morning today! We met for service and paired off six girls. We made our map and set off to the territory. So we went to the street we were supposed to work but were unsuccessful with finding our not at homes. Apparently the name changes on the street but thankfully we hadn't been there too long before I asked for directions at a colmado. Anyhow, we were more than halfway to Monte Alto, a coffee plantation with the most amazing frappuccinos I believe I've ever had, anywhere, so needless to say we made our way to the plantation for a coffee break. We were sitting there enjoying (or should I say devouring?) the frappuccinos when in walked two English speakers. So right away we talked to them found out where they were from and visited for a bit. They were tourists from Germany, familiar with witnesses but not very interested in the truth. A few minutes later one of the workers comes in and asks if one of us can translate, the Germans needed someone to translate the tour because none of the workers spoke English and they obviously did not speak Spanish. So they let all of us take the tour for free! Tara and I served as translators and it was amazing!!! There were a few words that we were stumped on but for the most part it was rather easy to explain. I had soooo much fun! As most of you know I am addicted to coffee so it was incredibly interesting to find out how it was made. Like how many years they can get the tree to produce and how after seven to ten years they have to cut it so that it will produce like a young tree again! That it takes seven months before a seed gets planted in the ground for real! That the workers check the seeds fifteen times a day while they dry in the sun! And how did we find out that coffee beans must be steamed and than put through a process to cool them down to optimize taste before they are bagged? It was very very interesting! And all of this in Spanish! It was so fun! So after the tour I was able to talk to the girls again, not an outright witness as far as doctrine or scriptures but just a little and that's sometimes all you can do with tourists. Not break out your Bible but just leave a positive view of Witnesses in their mind and that brings honor to our God. So when they asked me how long I was staying, I mentioned that it depends on finances, that we are all self supported and that our work consists entirely of volunteers because the Bible says we should not be paid for we 'ought to be doing' While I was talking to the tourists the other girls in the group started talking to two Americans studying at a table. Turns out they are teachers at one of the christian schools in the area. So Tara was able to share a scripture and Kali left them some literature. So our coffee break turned out to be a very productive morning! We should have known it was going to be an incredible day when a man stopped us on the way to the territory and requested magazines! He said his neighbor was a witness and he enjoyed reading the magazines. It is an incredible feeling to be stopped by people requesting Bible literature, doesn't happen like that in the states, right? Here are some pictures, sorry guys, I didn't take pictures of all the phases but here are a few snapshots.

Our Tour Group

Our tour guide, the tourists, and the translators :O

Before we got coffee

After coffee :D

(sorry the shot is a little blurry, can you tell I was excited?)

Where the beans are sorted

First, the beans put through a machine to be sorted according to quality.

Afterwards, the are sorted by hand for a second cyle of quality control.

These women work from 7:30 am to 12 and than from 1 to 4.

The men were putting together packages for the local hotels.

They told us that they can make twenty orders in about three days.

These packages include coffee, two packets of creamer, four of sugar and two stirrers.

Jarabacoa English Concregation

Jarabacoa English and a few visitors from Puerto Plata

Living out of suitcases can get messy!

                

Day One Moving In

Everything is neatly organized and arranged

After One Week :)

Hey, I couldn't find my shorts!

A perfect day in Jarabacoa

A perfect day in Jarabacoa of course starts with service.

Today I was able to work with a new couple who came to our concregation after serving in

the Dominican Bethel. One of my favorite things about Jarabacoa is meeting the friends,

because the stories they tell, of both getting to DR and staying in DR are always extremely encouraging, often showing true faith and reliance on Jehovah. We did pretty good work, as well :) managing to find our way to the not at homes, which becomes pretty complicated the way DR neighbors are 'organized' I even managed to find an english speaker! After service I came home and cooked lunch. No driving thru McDonalds out here! Today was a special day as we had organized a group to visit the waterfalls you see below. I had been once before on my last trip and this spot is truly one of my favorites in town. The water is freezing but the hike gets you ready to jump right in! We all had a good laugh when I walked a couple feet into the water and attempted to dive in, not realizing how shallow it was, I kinda got stuck! A funny sight I would imagine, feet sticking up and everything, had to laugh at myself at that one! :) So after a bit of swimming and picture taking, we made it back to town. Afterwards, we decided it would be a great night for American food, french fries and hamburgers! A few friends came over and we cooked and ate, ending the night with chocolate cake and good conversation. What a great day in the Dominican!

So come and visit! Have I convinced you yet?

"So what do we need to do about the cow in the middle of the road?"

What a view!

One of my favorite spots in all of Jarabacoa!

From Left to Right: Jorge, Krystal, Kali, Alex, Tara, Andre, Torre, Me, Owen

(and yes Tori is standing next to Torre, we have two in the hall and it does get slightly confusing :D)

Tara made it!

Our first service day in La Vega!

Me and Kali

 

ice cream break as oppose to our normal coffee break
as much as I love coffee I am not complaining :)

Chinola Ice Cream (passionfruit) is amazing!

 

so good we don't mind sitting on the side of the road for it!!!

The Ultimate in Dominican Travel

From Left to Right: Mason, Amanda, Jackie, Cheyenne, Kali, Cassandra, Tara, Me, Krystal and Owen (shoutout to Lauren for taking the pic) :)

We fit eleven people in a small suv today to make the drive to La Vega, which is

fourty-five minutes away. Quite an accomplishment I think but it becomes rather

second nature when traveling around the Dominican. We had two people in the front

seats, five on the bench seat and four in the trunk. We made it to La Vega at about

9:30 and worked till about 4:30 in the afternoon doing indexing, which is where we

count every lot and every house to ensure we make accurate maps. It's the first step

of completing the territory and it is very  meticulous. It is just amazing to me how

much effort Jehovah's people put into following His direction. I'm confident that

we will see Jehovah's continued blessing as the work moves forward with

Jarabacoa English.

Sisters from Florida

These are some spanish sisters we met at a popular eating place by the park. There is a lady who has a resturant right out of her house where you can get a delicious lunch for 100 pesos ($2.63) so needgreaters love eating there. Anyhow, me and Tara ran into these sisters from Santo Domingo who had come down to Jarabacoa for just a few days to visit family and they invited us to eat with them. So we sat down and all had lunch together, conversing entirely in spanish. It was quite an adventure but we found out all about their families and what they were doing in the Dominican Republic. Afterwards we took pictures and exchanged information and they told us since they live in Florida to look them up if we ever wanted to visit Disney World. Only in Jehovah's organization can you sit down with complete strangers and walk away with an invitation to stay at their house in an entirely different country!

Hi Everybody!

Okay so here it goes, my first post on my new blog :) I finally got it up and running so down hopefully you'll check it out and be able to see a little of what life in Jarabacoa is like. Coming back was surreal, I felt more like it was something happening to me than something I had been working towards for six months! And now I am here and life in Jarabacoa is exactly the same albeit with different faces. Our publisher count has increased from 18 to 30 from March to November so more workers have answered the call and we finally have a new sign that proudly displays Jarabacoa English Concregation's information. I am so happy to be back! Thats it for now.

Luv, Tori