Tomorrow we will have been back in Belize for three weeks. The time flies by so fast! Many exciting things happening in Independence!
First up, was a special week of activity leading up to our very first ASL (American Sign Language) public talk on July 12th. We had newlyweds, Mike and Jesi Carter, stay with us for the week. They worked hard along side many others to invite all the deaf in our territory. At the meeting we had a total of 33 in attendance, with 8 deaf!! It was exciting to see the potential here and Jehovah is blessing the efforts by sending another ASL couple (maybe two) to help.
In the meantime, Dana's niece, Amie Morgan, was visiting the Cayo area. During her stay she found a cute little place of her own to rent. Today we bid her goodbye and we know Jehovah will bless her efforts in Cayo, just as He did here in Independence.
Another exciting challenge has been trying to actively use Belize Kriol at the meetings and preaching. The branch has requested that our congregation give Kriol a trial run for several weeks. It has been truly amazing to see the impact this has had on our brothers and sisters. Jehovah knows what touches the heart, and it is someone's 'heart language' - the language they grew up speaking. For some, this has been a difficult mental shift to make because they have been taught in school that Kriol is not 'proper' English and not appropriate for worship. But we can see our brothers and sisters more engaged at the meetings, making more 'from the heart' comments and the laughter (especially at our attempts!). A lot of the meetings still contain English, because there isn't much literature in Belize Kriol (yet!). (Check out jw.org for the new videos in Belize Kriol)
We've also been busy getting settled back into a regular routine with our old bible students and even starting some new studies. Today, Dana and I visited a woman he had met last week. She told him she wanted a study like her sister in a neighbouring village. Even though she can't read very well, she said " I really love the things my sister has been telling me and I want to learn too"!! She really pulled at my heart strings! Can't wait to go back!
I'll have to get Dana to tell you about his new study. The man tracked down Dana's phone number through one of the Spanish brothers, to ask him to come visit and study with him!
The fields are white for the harvest! The October Awake has an article on Belize. It said that for the 2013 Memorial 1 in 40 Belizeans attended!!
We will try to keep you all posted regularly! Please also follow us on Instagram for more pictures - dana_carlee_brydon76
Love to all,
Carlee
