Chinese Experience

Last week, a brother from a local car dealership let us know that a few people from China were visiting Cuenca for work.  They spoke little to no Spanish, so they communicated with the brother through their limited English.  He asked a few from our Chinese group to take them out to lunch and show them the city and gave them a car to do so.  Ivan, Jazmin and Damaris talked to them the whole afternoon and they asked why Ivan and Damaris were here (since they’re both obviously foreigners).  They explained the preaching work and the couple continued to ask questions.  They had never 1. seen a Bible, 2. heard of Jehovah or Jesus, or 3. heard of witnesses.  Ivan invited them to the meeting the following day and… they came!  They came to the Saturday night meeting as well.  Not only did they attend, but they both commented multiple times!  They were so excited to attend the meeting and loved seeing that all of us are putting forth an effort to learn Chinese.

Spanglish Experience

One day, on the way home from Azogues, a woman got on the bus with her two small children.  I immediately thought she looked like a really nice person and said a quick prayer for courage to talk to her… but… she beat me to it!  She started talking to me in English because she lives in New York and was visiting her family in Ecuador.  She, of course, asked me why I am in Ecuador, and I explained in English that I am a Bible teacher.  I could tell that she didn’t understand everything in English, so I switched to Spanish mode and pulled out the truth tract.  She took the tract and was examining it as I talked.  She said she’d read the literature before, but when I showed her the Bible Teach book, she said she’d never seen it.  Apparently, the Witnesses she’d talked to were from an English congregation and didn’t speak Spanish, but had left her some magazines in Spanish.  After showing her the book and the various themes, I highlighted the family happiness chapter and her eyes lit up and she said, “I WANT THAT!”  In the end, we talked the rest of the way, she took the book, gave a donation, and left me with her address (in Brooklyn!) so that someone could come visit her.  Since she was going to travel home on Thursday, she said she wanted someone to come that Sunday.  I contacted the branch to send someone to her :o)