Patterson.....& Gilead!

Words are going to fail me as I try to capture in written form, the awesome experience we enjoyed yesterday at Patterson, the education centre of Jehovah's Witnesses in Patterson New York........but I'll give it a try.......!

The facilities are impressive and extremely well maintained, beautiful. Set against the backdrop of majestic rolling hills they offer panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. The architecture is stunning.

We arrived around 11 and after wandering around the reception area for about 1/2 hour, looking at all the displays, we were met by Jesus......no really, Jeff, the Brother who had invited us for lunch & a tour, is the Brother who was used as the model for Jesus in the Greatest Man book. My Aunt had worked on the project with him. He is also now in the Timothy video (I think he plays "Silas"). What a lovely fellow!

We went straight up to the lunch room for an amazing meal of chicken fajitas with homemade salsa/spanish rice/roast baby carrots/bean salad & a light fluffy strawberry milkshake! What a feast.....how do all those bethelites stay so slim?? A member of the governing body was visiting (sat a couple of tables over) and we enjoyed having him direct the meal and then offer the dismissal prayer. The brother who opened the meal in prayer was awesome, I exaggerate not an iota when I say that he simply thanked Jehovah for the meal and good friends and then closed. Guess he was hungry! The entire lunch room giggled when he finished...and then dug in!

The biggest treat of the day was to come next, Jeff asked one of the instructors of Gilead if we could have a tour of it!!! An area considered "confidential". It was AMAZING! Let me back track a little here....bear with me....to tell you of a couple we had heard about who were serving in Nicaragua as need greaters, from Spain originally and were told that if they wanted to attend Gilead they would have to return to Spain and apply from there. I don't even remember who told us about them but we had heard this some time ago.......Back to the present.....When we met up with the instructor for Gilead he told us that we had to wait for another couple from Nicaragua we were like "no that's us, we're heading there" and then this couple walk in! The very couple we had heard of, on there way back to Spain, stopping to see Gilead on their way through......what's that chances of that!!

We then were treated to a tour of the facilities and shown some of the workbooks & material that were used. Brother Max Larsden from Brooklyn (branch committee) came through while we were there, telling us that that day marked 70 years for him at Bethel!! I can't even begin to express my appreciation for this amazing privilege! For Nikki to see it all meant a great deal to us!

The couple from Spain barely spoke any English and our Spanish is apparently not as fundamental as we thought ;) but we managed to communicate a great deal and we adored them. We hope our paths cross again. They gave us some very encouraging information about Nicaragua and begged us to go to the area they just left (Leon) as they say the need is huge. We will have to wait and see what the branch says when we arrive in just over a week. They told Gary this week that there is a new need developed that they want to discuss with us over coffee when we arrive. Exciting days.

As if this wasn't all enough, we then had the joy of having a Brother of the anointed show us around the art department. He is an amazing artist who has done many of the pictures we love so much in our literature. He is originally from Liverpool England. Last name Boyle....any relation Sean & Kathy?? :)

As if that weren't enough......we then met up with a Brother who had been friends with my family since I was a child (Ed Aljan) who gave us a personal tour of his department......Writing Correspondence!

After that we got to see the rest of the normal tour, while great, paled in comparison. We felt on such a high!!

I have so many amazing pictures of the day, I had trouble picking a handful to include with this post! If you want to see any in particular, shoot me off an e-mail and I will send it to you.

We arrived home around 6 pm. We felt so exhilarated and better prepared, bolstered for our trip ahead of us.

Next week I am going to concentrate on preparing for Nicaragua. First aid kit, some clothes (believe it or not Nikki appears to have shot up again and is not fitting into many of the summer things we bought) and then trying to narrow down the must have's for our suitcases. The branch this week provided us with the number of a new hotel opened near the branch by a Witness couple so we have changed our first night reservation the there, to be picked up the next day by the branch. It is a relief as my biggest concern was that first night and getting transportation so late at night from the airport. They are sending someone to meet us......it's all coming together!

Sorry for going on so long......so much continues to happen.....:)

The Bronx Zoo

What an amazing day. A three hour drive took us into the heart of the Bronx and the amazing zoo found there in! We all loved it. An incredible variety of animals and gorgeous architecture made it an awe inspiring day, the beauty & diversity of God's creative work! The Giraffe even spat water at Gary which was a real highlight for everyone! Proof of Jehovah's sense of humor!

We stayed until the very last minute possible, and when we were finally kicked out with sore feet and wind burnt faces, we headed into the Bronx for a stop at an authentic Market, a famous bakery, a delicious Italian pastry shop & finally a little pizza joint that made awesome stone oven pizza. You should have seen Gary driving in the rush hour traffic, I was so proud! It was a vibrant area that I could have spent days in, just wandering the streets. Exciting smells & sounds, interesting people and stores. The quality of the culture was astounding and addicting.

I even witnessed an accident while we were there. A taxi was double parked on the narrow, busy street and the lady getting out simply opened her door, directly into the path of a firetruck whizzing by. The door was bent completely backwards and the noise echoed down the street. It was cool :)

As we were leaving a lone figure approached the car clutching a plastic baggy full of papers.......an elderly black sister doing street work in the heart of the city! Heart warming to see her faith and to know that where ever you go, our family is there.

Oh, the excitement!

Two weeks to go till we leave for Nicaragua.....we are very eager!

The Princess, Her Human Motor & The Pyromaniacs

Idyllic days on the Husotonic River....while the boys try and light it on fire....coincidence that we were out on it at the time......I think not!!

The next picture I took was David & Gary running down to the water front with buckets the try and tame the wild fire they had set :) Giggling! You were right Mom, "Boys are always boys!"

Meeting Arturo & Ajah

Meeting the Manzanares was a real highlight of our time here so far. They seem really excited about their new missionary assignment in Nicaragua. They are arriving before us and are looking forward to the memorial tract work to get them into the groove. They had been at Patterson before going to Gilead and had gone to Nicaragua for a week last year. They said they loved it.

We are getting anxious to get on with it. Get into a routine. We still have just over two and a half weeks till we arrive in Nicaragua. If it doesn't come soon, I may get cold feet.........the reality and feelings of vulnerability are creeping up on me.

I'm sick with a nasty sinus cold....bring on the warm weather :)

No Rubber Glove Treatment for Gary!

Much to my keen disappointment, Gary made it through the US Border without being hassled! Nikki & I were all ready with the camera...I mean, all prepared to be supportive, but it was all for nought. We were rudely interrogated by a woman guard (who Gary announced he would not want to wake up beside) but then told to "just go". We actually had to be told twice as we were so surprised :) "Are you sure?"



So late yesterday we arrived in "paradise" for three weeks or R&R before we head to Nicaragua. My Aunt & Uncle have a lovely home on a River in Dalton MA where they have kindly given Gary & I the whole upper apartment to ourselves (privacy at long last) while Nikki is in the main house in the "Noah's Ark" room. We're thinking this may be a lot cushier than where we're heading so were going to enjoy it thoroughly.



Our time in Ontario flew by....and we were completely exhausted by the end of it. So many people to visit and things to get in place for leaving. Nikki came down with a nasty flu bug which really affected our plans, and was out for a solid four days. Leaving the country was emotional, it's so "safe" at home in Canada and now our plans seem to be much more a reality, like the journey has begun in earnest.



I've just been called for lunch so must cut it short. Memorial campaign begins this week and we are really looking forward to that. As well, Julie has suggested a visit to Brooklyn for a day. They still have many friends there so it will be a new experience for Nikki to get to see all the inner workings. We will try and fit in the Bronx Zoo too! I will take lot s of pics.....promise!

In Ontario

We're here....now what?

The air smells like home, funny how you remember things like that. The weather is a much drier cold than Nova Scotia so we find that we feel overly warm every where we go....while everyone else is still cold. Shows how your body adjusts to temperatures according the where you are. Hope it keeps up the good work in Nicaragua....that'll be a big adjustment!

There is no snow around which means we've been able to get out for some lovely walks already. We had forgotten how big the squirrels are here...like giant rats! But much cuter :)

We went to the hall in Dudas yesterday...what an awesome family we belong to. A lovely couple named Maracle took us under their wings, picked us up and introduced us around....even sat with us. They were in bethel & international construction for a number of years and were most encouraging and informative about our journey ahead. The really neat thing is that we later found out that they are good friends with the couple we have been conversing with who live in Nicaragua (who we have yet to actually meet). It's such a small world we belong to.....means I always have to behave!! Drat!

Off to Collingwood tomorrow, an opportunity to meet up with old friends we haven't seen for close to 10 years. We still weary from the journey so far but it doesn't look like we'll catch up on sleep this week!

We are missing our friends in Nova Scotia already. Even missing some aspects of Nova Scotia already. Such a slow, loving, down to earth culture, if that't the right word. Don't forget us guys!