A number of us— Bro Joe & Sis Veronica Badlu and Sis Eunice Chan, Brooklyn, NY, Bro Othmel & Sis Dorothy Mathias, Wales, UK, Bro Clement Williams, Tobago, Bro John Bancroft, Barbados, Sis Maudelin Softley, St Lucia and Sis Esther Worrell, Hamilton, ONT — participated in another preaching activity of this island from November 2 – 9, 1996.
We started the week with a breaking of bread service on Sunday, November 3, and later m the day held a dedication service, placing our activities under the wise and capable direction of our Heavenly Father.
Daily devotions enjoyed
Our daily spiritual renewal and refreshment exercise, considered the “pulse” of our operation, consisted of daily readings, discussions and sharing of thoughts and ideas on the readings and other matters of importance This provided a full and rich fellowship — a sweet harmony of individual minds, abilities and dispositions directed and focused on the proclamation of the gospel The resulting joy, laughter and relaxation — the blessings of serving our Heavenly Father — left myself, and I am sure others, with a feeling of spiritual exhilaration even after leaving the island.
Follow-up work
This year’s activity was mainly to meet the contacts who requested the Bible Correspondence Course We had placed two newspaper ads for the booklet, Key to Understanding the Bible, and followed up the responses with an offer of the course.
Although many of those who applied for the course are either slow in sending answers or don’t send them at all, we are continuing to send the lessons because:
- Requesting the course after receiving the booklet indicates interest in the scriptures
- It is an effective way of getting the Truth into households For example, the parents of one of our contacts are showing some interest
- Interest may still be there, as in the cases of two students who were taking the course prior to our activities on the island One who discontinued sometime ago recently asked to be considered again On receipt of the invitations to our talks sent to everyone on our mailing list, he called to the Guest House before our arrival to ask for directions The other student also telephoned but could not visit because of distance
- Some explained they were away from the country
- Some may be experiencing difficulties in fitting the course into their daily schedules
- One person, who is now very keen, was distracted by demanding problems
We are now exploring the idea of changing our question sheets to a multiple-choice format
Talks during the week
As soon as we arrived, we realized the guest house where we had booked, while very comfortable and ideal for informal meetings with contacts, was not well known and particularly difficult to find at night Even though it is advertised in the tourist brochure, it was unknown to the immigration officer So at our first meeting we only had three visitors — the guest house proprietor, an employee and a friend of Sis Maudelin’s, but no contacts A couple who tried to attend gave up after some effort to find us.
But providence was at work Our main contact, who completed the course and introduced eight of her friends to it, had anticipated the guest house would not be suitable for the public to find On her own, she had secured a room for our use Next evening we switched to the school room, where we met with four of our contacts and three visitors One of the visitors came in response to some invitations given out earlier that day near to the school And the following evening, we met with six contacts and five visitors.
All three talks were well done, with encouraging discussions being held with our friends during refreshment period During the informal visiting, additional requests were received for the booklet and the correspondence course.
On the Friday evening, we met with our prime contact at her home where there were about 13 friends, including some from talks held at the school The home meeting was more informal, with audience participation at question time Our hostess provided substantial refreshments after the talk and, at the close of the evening, presented each member of the group with a little hand crafted gift she had made
Future plans
During the year we hope to continue advertising Key to Understanding the Bible returning with another campaign in November, 1997, Lord willing.
The 1997 campaign is scheduled for November 1 to 8 and will be held on the same self-supporting basis as the others Each person pays for his own travel and accommodation expenses and contributes toward any common expenses involved in the project This is a preaching-vacation and spiritual retreat Those desiring to participate are requested to contact us by July 31 so that we will be able to arrange accommodation.
Communicating your travel plans to us will be helpful as will your desire to participate in a common sharing of meals We prepare our own meals to keep expenses down.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One