Hello again!  I've had a few really cool service experiences that I want to share :)

First of all, I was trying to support a new pioneer in our hall and join her for long afternoons in service.  Since the borders of our territory were just changed, most of my afternoon studies were in the old territory and I had to start from scratch.  So, every afternoon consisted of a lot of door to door.  In one block, a young woman and a little girl answered.  They seemed interested in learning more about the Bible, so I offered to return the next day and show them how to use the new brochure, Good News From God.  When I returned, the little girl, Yesenia, was ready to study and the young woman was nowhere in sight.  Silly me, I thought I'd be studying with the adult, but the children here never cease to amaze me :)  She invited me in and got out her Bible to look up the scriptures.  After the study, I asked Yesenia when I could return and she essentially asked me to come every afternoon!..  we settled on every other day :)  Every study she wants to give me juice, bread, fruit, whatever they have in the house, as a token of her gratitude.  Yesenia has expressed to me some concerns she has with her family, drinking, marital problems, etc. The other day, I asked her if everything was okay, and she responded, "Yes, we've had food every day this week, so that's good!"  It nearly broke my heart. It's amazing how strong and generous young people are and how much they really appreciate Bible truths. I'm working on getting her to come to my house to eat lunch which we study.

The second experience comes from a return visit that I'm doing for Stephanie... I went to study with a girl at an internet place, but she wasn't there, so I decided to talk to the girl that was working there instead.  It turns out, she was the normal girls' sister and was filling in for her for a few days.  We talked for a while and she had a lot of good questions about how to strengthen relationships.  I went back a few days later and answered some more questions.  The girl, Cristina, told me that she might not be filling in for her sister the following week, so she asked me for my phone number and email so that she could make arrangements to meet again since she had more questions.... Normally, the fact that people ask for my information is shocking in itself... BUT Cristina emailed me a few days later and practically begged me to make plans to meet again :)  Of course, she is going to be starting a different job next week on the other side of town, but she asked if we can continue to meet downtown because she has a lot of questions.  We'll see how this plays out!