So much has been going on over the last few weeks. Our roof fell in, then came rainy season which left Melissa paddling through her room to rescue her floating possessions. We managed to get the roof fixed and then had an overload ( in the nicest possible way) of spiritual food with a C.O visit, Zone visit, and then Circuit Assembly. As there is no stadium suitable to house all the witnesses in the country only a few were invited to the assembly hall, so we were very privileged to be able to go and hear Brother Gerrit Losch from the Governing Body. He gave some very direct counsel, one point he mentioned was about the importance of return visits – regular pioneers in this country should be looking at about 60 return visits every month! The point that really stood out was in regard to the importance of Bible reading “if you don't read your Bible everyday, maybe it's because you don't love Jehovah enough”. Really makes you think.

We had the circuit assembly at the Bethel assembly hall, and it was eye-opening to see that some of the amenities we take for granted are totally unheard of for some of the brothers from the countryside. Hot-air hand dryers in the bathrooms may not seem anything special to us, but some of the sisters just stared in amazement, hardly daring to put their hands underneath and watching us carefully to see how these unusual inventions worked!

We have a VIP visiting right now, Ian, Melissa's Dad. He brought us chocolate and wine and in return we are introducing him to beans and rice and deep-fried cheese. :) Fair exchange is no robbery!

The latest excitement for us is the news that our cong. is being sent a missionary couple, so we can't wait for them to move into the congregation, they will be a huge help and encouragement, and will mean we will the grand total of 2 elders now.