Dismounting our motorbike, we walked nearly an hour through rough terrain, mud & rocks, & came to Andres' house and as promised, he was waiting for us with his wife, Juana.  They listened and asked questions and we began a Bible study.  After an hour when we went to leave, they insisted vehemently that we please stay!  And when almost three hours had passed answering their many questions they expressed appreciation for our visit, and asked us to please come back.  Andres walked with us another kilometer to Elfrido's house where he and his wife, Cándida, were also waiting for us!  Elfrido had not forgotten either!  He and his wife greeted us warmly, showing the same hospitality that Andres and his wife had shown.  They, too, urged us not to leave after an hour and so the time stretched to almost 3 hours, during which time we answered their questions about the Trinity, & many other subjects, and started a Bible study.  After this, they served us a delicious meal of beans and rice! We made arrangements to return the following week and as we left, they gave us a huge bag of fruit to take home.

To return to my motorbike at the main road, we had to again pass by Andres and Juana's house, and as we did so, they called out to us to please come in!  We did so, and found the table all set for us to eat!  They, too, had prepared a lovely dinner for us.  They were so kind  to have done this and so happy to show us such hospitality, that we did not have the heart to tell them we'd just eaten at Eldrido and Cándida's (so we had two dinners)!  Upon leaving, they too loaded us down with lots of fruit to take home.

People living here in the country areas have no electricity and running water.  They obtain their water from "pozos" or springs, much like Bible times,  lugging it back in barrels on donkeys.  They cook on "carbon" (home-made charcoal made from trees & coconut husks) in little open kitchens with palmetta roofs.  There is no refrigeration, so they must cook each day for that day only.  Most of the people live off the land, growing their own, beans, platanos, yucca, and a host of other vegetables and fruits. These little plots of land with their produce are called "Conukos".  The people have chickens, ducks & pigs to slaughter for meat and often cows for milk as well.  Life is very simple & non-materialistic, but  people are happy.

Shortly after this, we started a study with Juana's parents, Nonyo and Juliana, who live nearby her.  We found that there are three fleshly brothers and their families living in Laguna Salada - Nonyo, Fausto, and Jesus, who is the father of  Elfrido

Meanwhile Cándida and her daughter, Diana, continued to progress and within a short time, Cándida had begun to reject all the basic doctrines of the Church of God & Prophecy:  the Trinity, cross, immortality of the soul, etc., and no longer wanted to celebrate holidays.  When the pastor of the evangelist church sent three persons to talk with her, she told them of her faith in Jehovah and asked to be removed from the church membership roll. 

In time, Cándida talked to her husband's relatives next door, leaving them a booklet.  One day when I went to Laguna Salada, their son, Alex, was sitting on a rock on the path, waiting for me.  He asked for a Bible and I began a study with his parents, Gisela and Fausto.  At present, Gisela preaches to everyone passing by her house on horses, taking their flocks to the water hole or carrying  water from the spring on their burros. Also, she preaches to the various farmers taking coconuts, bananas, pineapples & other products to the market to sell.  Due to her zeal in sharing the good news, two more studies were started another kilometer or two beyond her home.

Right from the beginning, Gisela and Cándida wanted to attend the meetings  but since there is no transportation to the little town of Samaná where the Kingdom Hall is located, in addition to the fact that the meetings end late at night 30 kilometers from Laguna Salada,  this has been an impossibility.

However, arrangements were made to have a book study in the afternoon at 4 o'clock on Tuesdays for them and to provide transportation from the main road for those who could attend.  Gisela and Fausto listen to the Bible tapes as well as tapes of the Watchtower articles, the Require Brochure, and the Knowledge book every day - with battery-powered tape recorder.  Gisela prepares her Watchtower, does her daily text, prepares for the book study, and reads all the latest magazines from cover to cover. Cándida and her daughter, Diana, continue to progress nicely also, and attend the book study.

Gisela and Fausto, Nonyo, Cándida and Diana progressed even more rapidly spiritually after beginning this arrangement.  In one of the first Watchtower studies we had, Nonyo made a wonderful comment about Jehovah's Witnesses and how he  never understood anything when he went to the Catholic church, but how much he is now learning "because Jehovah's Witnesses really explain the Scriptures and reason with people."

 Fausto, Gisela, Cándida, and Diana attend the book study fairly regularly in Las Galeras.  To attend this one meeting near enough to them, requires the 2-hour round trip walk to the main road, where we pick them up to go another 12 kilometers to the book study.  Fausto refers to it as "my meeting" and tries hard not to miss it.

Our group filled with the "joy of Jehovah" at the end of a long day of preaching in the campo and returning from Laguna Salada after studying the Watchtower informally with these  interested ones. 

EPILOGUE

In August 2004, Gisela became an unbaptized publisher, and by May 2005, four persons she studies with were attending the book study held in Las Galeras!  Fausto, Gisela's husband, continues to progress, talks the truth to everyone, Gisela is working towards baptism.

Samaná

Samaná, a province as well as a peninsula, is located in the northern part of the Dominican Republic. It is known for its mountains of which it is almost entirely formed. Samaná has numerous beaches and is considered one of the most beautiful places in the Dominican Republic. Tropical forests, coconut groves, hundreds of cozy alcove beaches with turquoise crystal clear waters, waterfalls, protected national parks, a great bay, a peninsula. Also, Samaná is one of the places humpback whales have selected to use as a breeding sanctuary.  Samanás capital is the little town of Samaná, also known as "Santa Barbara" and is situated along side of the sea. Estimated population: 82,000.

There is one small congregation in the town of Samana with a range of 50-70 publishers, two special pioneers.  Elders fluctuate from 2-4, due to needgreater elders coming and going. Number of pioneers also varies due to the same reason. However, the figure ranges between 15-18  local and foreign pioneers. Samaná's congregation territory is vast, covering almost all of the peninsula. In many parts, there are people who have never heard the Truth before. Most persons in the territories do not have running water or electricity & cook on home-made charcoal & coconut husks.

"THE LITTLE COCONUT BARN"

Arroyo Barril, Samaná
 

The special pioneers made a little platform out of some cement blocks and wood that they had borrowed and they covered it with a white bed sheet & in the end it looked quite nice.  Another small white bed sheet was used for a table cloth for the emblems (and if it had been made of fine linen or damask, the brothers could not have been happier!)

Some of the sisters made little flower vases out of powdered milk cans (no one noticed the words on them, "Kanny Milk Powder) and filled them with a lovely array of wild flowers. 

One of the biggest problems, was that there was no electricity in this area at that time and so the brothers borrowed a car battery and connected it to a wire & hung a light bulb from the ceiling.  Since in addition to there not being enough electricity, there was no sound equipment and so to have music for the songs during the Memorial, arrangements were made for two young needgreaters to play the violin and the flute together.

Next the problem of seating was resolved when a number of  "comedors" or tiny local eating places very kindly offered to loan us their benches.  Each of the needgreaters carried a long bench across their motorbike to the coconut barn, making several trips until the coconut barn had enough benches.

Finally it was time for the Memorial celebration and the little coconut barn was now ready--having been converted into a place  befitting the dignity of this special celebration! The brothers and sisters had worked hard all day, but were so happy with what had been accomplished & were happily looking forward to the evening celebration &having their Bible studies and other interested ones attend.

Meanwhile, a new problem arose.  The young needgreater brother who had been assigned to give the Memorial talk had come down sick with a high fever several days before and was frantically "trying to get well", everyone helping him, bringing him soup and medicine, hoping by the day of the Memorial he would be well enough to give the talk. The day of the Memorial, he was still very ill and found out that he had Typhoid fever and at that time, we had no other brother to replace him on such short notice.

Late afternoon, early evening came.  It was now time to "shuttle" the many interested ones to the Memorial since in this far out area, there was no transportation at this time.  The two special pioneers and two needgreater sisters, used their Honda 125s, and an older sister assisted with her little Honda 70 .  All went to their Bible studies several miles away picking up two persons at a time, returning over and over again with the people of interest until the little coconut barn was packed!

And the speaker?  The brother showed up, smiling and happy! No one was the wiser that he had a high fever and had had the doctor prescribe some "calmantes" or pain-killers to get him through the evening.

And then a new problem arose:  just before the Memorial talk began, it started to rain, and to rain hard!

The coconut barn had a tin roof which to everyone's dismay was found to have holes in it.  But something interesting:  As the rain poured in little streams through the holes in the tin roof, it was as though it were invisible to all in attendance: the brothers continued as though this was nothing out of the ordinary: The violin and flute played on and the brothers and new ones sang fervently to be heard above the rain on the tin roof!

Within a very short time, little rivers began to make their way down the aisle and eventually into each row of chairs and then under each chair & bench and very quietly people picked up anything they had on the "ground" and put it on their laps-- all eyes remaining glued on the speaker and the emblems.

There was a hole in the tin roof directly above several persons' heads and tiny streams of water began to stream down their backs, but no one moved.  Many brothers and sisters sharing their Bibles with Bible students sitting next to them, found there were tiny leaks in the ceiling above them & moved their Bible's accordingly as they looked up the scriptures.

Tiny streams of water came down on and around the speaker, but again, it was as though they were invisible to him and everyone listening. And to even those passing the emblems as they sloshed through the water that had risen on the floor by that time!

Later, after the Memorial, many commented that "you could just feel Jehovah's spirit there" that night, as this tiny group of around 90 persons celebrated the Lord's evening meal!  Out of this number maybe only 10 were baptized. Needgreaters having had the privilege of helping out this at this happy occasion will always treasure the memory of the "little coconut barn" and how Jehovah had blessed their efforts. For some, it was the best Memorial celebration they had ever attended!

A second celebration was held in the town, where 206 more persons attended the Memorial  in a government building in comfort, with real flower vases, white table clothes, electricity and a sound system for the music, but this is not what made it special...as with the little coconut barn, what made it special was that the majority of those persons attending were unbaptized persons all appreciating the Truth enough to attend this wonderful occasion!

Afterward: The speaker, the young needgreater brother with Typhoid Fever, was taken to the home of one of the brothers after the Memorial, where with much care and loving attention from the brothers & sisters, he recovered nicely and continued zealously helping the congregation. 

San Jose de Ocoa

San José de Ocoa

While going from house-to-house the Special Pioneer assigned to San José de Ocoa went up a staircase and knocked on a door. A man coming out shook his hand and invited him in.  On entering the Pioneer found himself in a radio studio.

During a pause for a song he introduced himself to a man sitting at a table saying, "I'll be very brief. I would like to share a message with a positive point of view." The man replied, "Fine then, sit down and we'll give you a couple of minutes on the program."

To the Pioneer's surprise he found himself wondering what he was going to say to an audience of about 40,000 for two minutes. He decided to share an item in "Watching the World" in Awake! magazine. The part went very well and at the end of the part the man, on the air, invited the Pioneer back the next week as the program dealt mainly with 'positive things'.

The special pioneer commented:  "You could have knocked me over with a feather when I found myself in that radio station. I tell you, I've given talks in front of ten people and once, in Guatemala, in front of 47,000. I had more butterflies this morning than I had on either of those occasions. Thank Jehovah for the Ministry School!"

MOCA, ESPAILLAT, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Moca is the capital of Espaillat province shown in the map above. [For detailed Location: www.Needgreaters.com/DomRepMaps.htm ]  Population: 66,000; Nearby large cities:  Santiago: 29 miles; Santo Domingo: 77 miles.

Unfortunately, one of my studies has been very sick. She has pain and pressure so bad in the head and neck she feels she's going to start bleeding. The doctors think it's just nerves, but they really need to do a MRI to find out what's going on, but she has no money. This is a poor family that lives in the campo (country) with dirt floors and no running water. The MRI is only 1,100 pesos, which is less than $100.00, so we're trying to round up the money to take to her.

We take so much for granted in the States, so many times the things we worry so much about really aren't necessities. But here, when you have so little, there usually isn't a lot to worry about either, until something really serious comes around and you seriously don't have the money for the necessities, and it could cost you your life.

Bro. Reiner Thompson and his wife Jeanie were here in Moca for a week for the yearly Branch visit with the missionaries. A sister had them over for Mexican food and included all of us "needgreaters." We had a delightful evening talking, sharing experiences and seeing their pictures of their recent trip to the dedication of the Branch in Spain.

Reiner and Jeanie have served in a number of different countries, including Belize and Nicaragua. They come from California and will attend one of the Long Beach District Conventions this summer. They are a wonderfully, down-to-earth, progressive, positive-thinking couple.

Undoubtedly, their positive attitude has a lot to do with the expansion here in the country.

There is a lot happening here. Jehovah's spirit is very active and his people are truly offering themselves willingly, at times at great personal cost, but his blessings are evident every day. There are an average of 350-400 "needgreaters" serving here in the country from such varying countries as England, Denmark, Sweden, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the USA. I am greatly enjoying the privilege of working with such faithful brothers and sisters here in the Dominican Republic.

If any of you could manage your circumstances to "step over into Macedonia" and serve where the need is greater, I can say from my experience here, it is well worth the effort! . Please write, I would love to hear from you.

Much agape love always,

Cheri Gossage. Moca, Republica Dominicana
Phil. 1:3-5.  Email: Needgreaters@gmail.com