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00:01 This is a report of the branch visit 00:03 to the Central America branch and Cuba, 00:07 in April. 00:09 My wife, Jean, and I 00:11 had the privilege to visit the Bethel 00:13 in Mexico City and then, after that, 00:16 the Bethel in Havana. 00:19 At Haggai 2:7 the words of Jehovah state: 00:24 “‘And I will shake all the nations, 00:27 “‘and the precious things 00:30 “‘of all the nations will come in; 00:33 and I will fill this house with glory,’ 00:36 says Jehovah of armies.” 00:39 In this part of the world, 00:41 hundreds of thousands of people 00:44 are flocking to Jehovah. 00:47 And currently, there are over one million preachers 00:51 who regularly bring glory to His house. 00:54 These two branches are responsible 00:57 to care for the spiritual needs of people 01:00 in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, 01:05 Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, 01:09 Panama, Mexico, and Cuba. 01:14 In all these places, there are many people 01:16 who are really precious to Jehovah. 01:19 What makes them precious? 01:21 They are fully devoted to Jehovah, 01:24 and they display qualities that he appreciates 01:27 —qualities that mean a lot to him. 01:30 Let us introduce you to some of them. 01:34 Each experience is summarized 01:36 by one of the qualities precious to Jehovah. 01:39 Please note them as we briefly relate their stories. 01:43 The first experience is about the brothers and sisters 01:46 in the Rio Coco Miskito congregation, in Asang. 01:50 The publishers in that village wanted to go up the river 01:54 to preach to people in that very remote part of Nicaragua. 01:58 But they did not have the money to buy a boat. 02:02 They found a big tree that had fallen, 02:05 cut it up, hollowed it out, and made a boat out of it. 02:10 It took 50 of them just to move this boat into the water. 02:15 Then they went up the river into those remote villages 02:19 to preach to the people. 02:21 Guess what they used? 02:24 —electronic tablets. 02:25 Wherever they went they showed the people 02:28 the new video publications 02:30 in the Miskito language using their tablets. 02:34 They gave a tremendous witness. 02:37 So even though they used ancient technology to travel 02:41 to these remote places, 02:43 they used the latest technology 02:45 to preach once they got there. 02:47 These brothers and sisters are very creative, 02:49 and they make the most of their resources 02:52 to accomplish what needs to be done. 02:55 The next story is a story of determination. 02:59 In Mexico there is a young girl, 8 years old, 03:02 named Zurisadai Moreno Humarán. 03:05 She was diagnosed with leukemia 03:07 and went through a tortuous path of going 03:10 to many different doctors and hospitals 03:14 where people tried to force blood on her. 03:17 Of course, the Hospital Liaison Committee was working hard to help. 03:22 Zuri was flown all over the country 03:25 looking for a doctor to treat her, 03:28 and eventually she was able to get the right treatment. 03:32 She made a strong stand for Jehovah, 03:35 defending her faith. 03:37 She was going to obey Jehovah no matter what. 03:41 While all of this was happening, 03:43 she decided to get baptized. 03:46 She could not do all of this without her parents and family. 03:50 Her face gleams with determination, doesn’t it? 03:55 A circuit overseer in El Salvador 03:57 told this experience: 04:00 “One time after I finished accompanying publishers on Bible studies, 04:04 “we said good-bye, and I went down another street. 04:09 “A group of gang members came out of a house. 04:11 “I immediately went into the nearest house to avoid a confrontation. 04:16 “I was so glad that the householder kindly told me to come inside. 04:21 “I began to preach to her. 04:23 “The lady patiently listened to me. 04:25 “About an hour later, they either got bored or tired and left. 04:30 So I took advantage of the opportunity and left right away.” 04:35 The following experience illustrates how the fear of God 04:39 can motivate us to do the right thing. 04:42 In a small village in Mexico, 04:45 about 2,000 people got together 04:47 and expelled the Witnesses from their village. 04:50 They were forced out of their homes 04:53 and were not allowed to bring their possessions. 04:55 Among them were grandparents, parents, 04:57 little children, and even babies. 05:00 They were forced into cars and trucks 05:03 and driven out of the village 05:05 and dropped off in the mountains. 05:07 That night was a cold night. 05:09 They were shivering; they had no food, 05:12 but they trusted in Jehovah. 05:15 I have felt fear, 05:17 but it’s a fear of not doing Jehovah’s will, 05:19 because many lives would be lost. 05:21 Many people would remain in spiritual darkness. 05:24 They would not come to know Jehovah. 05:27 So the next day, he and his family went back to the village 05:30 they had been thrown out of 05:32 and spoke to the leading men there. 05:35 These men agreed that they could come back. 05:38 The brothers all came home, 05:41 and now the congregation is flourishing in this village, 05:44 and the brothers freely preach from door to door. 05:49 Many young people have left behind 05:51 opportunities for higher education. 05:54 They’ve stepped out of the boat and walked on water. 05:58 They left behind so-called security and safety, 06:02 and they put their lives in Jehovah’s hands. 06:04 Even though they’ve chosen to give up 06:06 some comforts of life to serve in remote areas, 06:10 they are happy and live fulfilling lives. 06:16 Having our minds focused on the ministry 06:19 has helped us as a young couple. 06:21 It’s helped us not to set materialistic goals, 06:24 which would enslave us to work toward financial goals, 06:28 but rather to think about the ministry. 06:31 I learned that if you put all your energies into this world, 06:34 the world will only use them to its convenience. 06:39 But if you use it for Jehovah, 06:41 he will help you feel full and he will give meaning to your life. 06:45 Next, we went to Cuba. 06:49 Cuba is a beautiful place. 06:51 Although, at this time, Cuba may not be known 06:54 for its physical riches, 06:56 it is full of the most amazing spiritual riches 07:00 —what Jehovah calls ‘the precious things of the nations.’ 07:04 Most of our brothers do not have much in a material way, 07:09 but they are happy as they work hard to give Jehovah 07:12 their very best. 07:15 Spiritually, they are rich. 07:17 Despite many challenges, they have around 96,000 publishers, 07:22 and many more are coming into the truth. 07:25 While they cannot have Kingdom Halls, they do have meeting places. 07:31 The following pictures show the outside of a meeting place, 07:36 and then a view of the inside. 07:38 It might not be impressive from the physical perspective, 07:41 but all of them are precious to Jehovah. 07:46 The amazing thing is that even though 07:48 these brothers do not have much materially, 07:51 they are able to offer part of their property as a meeting place. 07:55 Under Cuban law, you inherit property 07:57 from your parents, and so on. 08:00 Sometimes it’s just a hallway, a room, 08:03 or an attachment at the back of the house. 08:07 Fifty or sixty publishers can fit into these small places. 08:11 But the point is that they have meeting places, 08:14 and they are able to have all the meetings. 08:19 A remarkable feature of Cuba 08:22 is that vintage cars are used as taxis and family cars. 08:26 But the brothers 08:28 are up-to-date with JW Broadcasting 08:30 and convention videos. 08:32 For example, 08:34 at the weekly Christian Life and Ministry meetings, 08:37 the videos are used as normal. 08:40 They have it all. 08:42 How do they do that without much Internet access? 08:46 This is how: 08:48 The few brothers who do have some Internet access 08:50 make copies of the programs. 08:52 Then they copy them from phone, to phone, to phone. 08:56 Everybody seems to have a cell phone. 08:59 Maybe some of the phones don’t have video, 09:02 but at least they have sound. 09:04 When they go to the meeting, they play the program on the TV screen, 09:08 and everyone gets the full benefit of the program. 09:13 Among Jehovah’s precious people in Cuba 09:17 are six brothers and sisters 09:19 who are both deaf and blind. 09:22 Two deaf and blind sisters 09:25 came to Bethel for an interview. 09:27 It was amazing to watch 09:30 when they met for the first time. 09:35 The brothers translate the study edition of The Watchtower 09:38 into Cuban Sign Language. 09:40 One local census taken by our brothers suggests 09:44 that about 1 in 5 deaf people that we have encountered 09:47 is studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. 09:52 This couple, who assist with translation, are both deaf. 09:57 The “precious things” of Central America and Cuba 10:00 are indeed praising Jehovah. 10:03 They are fully devoted to serving Jehovah, 10:06 and they always seem to be smiling. 10:09 At meetings and at larger gatherings, 10:12 it is evident that they know who they are 10:16 and that they represent Jehovah worthily. 10:21 These precious ones truly appreciate 10:25 all the provisions from Jehovah’s temple arrangement. 10:29 And currently, they are helping 10:32 about one and a half million Bible students 10:36 to bring praise and glory to Jehovah’s name. 10:39 And the brothers at these two branches asked us 10:42 to bring to you their love and deep affection.
00:01 This is a report of the branch visit 00:03 to the Central America branch and Cuba, 00:07 in April. 00:09 My wife, Jean, and I 00:11 had the privilege to visit the Bethel 00:13 in Mexico City and then, after that, 00:16 the Bethel in Havana. 00:19 At Haggai 2:7 the words of Jehovah state: 00:24 “‘And I will shake all the nations, 00:27 “‘and the precious things 00:30 “‘of all the nations will come in; 00:33 and I will fill this house with glory,’ 00:36 says Jehovah of armies.” 00:39 In this part of the world, 00:41 hundreds of thousands of people 00:44 are flocking to Jehovah. 00:47 And currently, there are over one million preachers 00:51 who regularly bring glory to His house. 00:54 These two branches are responsible 00:57 to care for the spiritual needs of people 01:00 in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, 01:05 Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, 01:09 Panama, Mexico, and Cuba. 01:14 In all these places, there are many people 01:16 who are really precious to Jehovah. 01:19 What makes them precious? 01:21 They are fully devoted to Jehovah, 01:24 and they display qualities that he appreciates 01:27 —qualities that mean a lot to him. 01:30 Let us introduce you to some of them. 01:34 Each experience is summarized 01:36 by one of the qualities precious to Jehovah. 01:39 Please note them as we briefly relate their stories. 01:43 The first experience is about the brothers and sisters 01:46 in the Rio Coco Miskito congregation, in Asang. 01:50 The publishers in that village wanted to go up the river 01:54 to preach to people in that very remote part of Nicaragua. 01:58 But they did not have the money to buy a boat. 02:02 They found a big tree that had fallen, 02:05 cut it up, hollowed it out, and made a boat out of it. 02:10 It took 50 of them just to move this boat into the water. 02:15 Then they went up the river into those remote villages 02:19 to preach to the people. 02:21 Guess what they used? 02:24 —electronic tablets. 02:25 Wherever they went they showed the people 02:28 the new video publications 02:30 in the Miskito language using their tablets. 02:34 They gave a tremendous witness. 02:37 So even though they used ancient technology to travel 02:41 to these remote places, 02:43 they used the latest technology 02:45 to preach once they got there. 02:47 These brothers and sisters are very creative, 02:49 and they make the most of their resources 02:52 to accomplish what needs to be done. 02:55 The next story is a story of determination. 02:59 In Mexico there is a young girl, 8 years old, 03:02 named Zurisadai Moreno Humarán. 03:05 She was diagnosed with leukemia 03:07 and went through a tortuous path of going 03:10 to many different doctors and hospitals 03:14 where people tried to force blood on her. 03:17 Of course, the Hospital Liaison Committee was working hard to help. 03:22 Zuri was flown all over the country 03:25 looking for a doctor to treat her, 03:28 and eventually she was able to get the right treatment. 03:32 She made a strong stand for Jehovah, 03:35 defending her faith. 03:37 She was going to obey Jehovah no matter what. 03:41 While all of this was happening, 03:43 she decided to get baptized. 03:46 She could not do all of this without her parents and family. 03:50 Her face gleams with determination, doesn’t it? 03:55 A circuit overseer in El Salvador 03:57 told this experience: 04:00 “One time after I finished accompanying publishers on Bible studies, 04:04 “we said good-bye, and I went down another street. 04:09 “A group of gang members came out of a house. 04:11 “I immediately went into the nearest house to avoid a confrontation. 04:16 “I was so glad that the householder kindly told me to come inside. 04:21 “I began to preach to her. 04:23 “The lady patiently listened to me. 04:25 “About an hour later, they either got bored or tired and left. 04:30 So I took advantage of the opportunity and left right away.” 04:35 The following experience illustrates how the fear of God 04:39 can motivate us to do the right thing. 04:42 In a small village in Mexico, 04:45 about 2,000 people got together 04:47 and expelled the Witnesses from their village. 04:50 They were forced out of their homes 04:53 and were not allowed to bring their possessions. 04:55 Among them were grandparents, parents, 04:57 little children, and even babies. 05:00 They were forced into cars and trucks 05:03 and driven out of the village 05:05 and dropped off in the mountains. 05:07 That night was a cold night. 05:09 They were shivering; they had no food, 05:12 but they trusted in Jehovah. 05:15 I have felt fear, 05:17 but it’s a fear of not doing Jehovah’s will, 05:19 because many lives would be lost. 05:21 Many people would remain in spiritual darkness. 05:24 They would not come to know Jehovah. 05:27 So the next day, he and his family went back to the village 05:30 they had been thrown out of 05:32 and spoke to the leading men there. 05:35 These men agreed that they could come back. 05:38 The brothers all came home, 05:41 and now the congregation is flourishing in this village, 05:44 and the brothers freely preach from door to door. 05:49 Many young people have left behind 05:51 opportunities for higher education. 05:54 They’ve stepped out of the boat and walked on water. 05:58 They left behind so-called security and safety, 06:02 and they put their lives in Jehovah’s hands. 06:04 Even though they’ve chosen to give up 06:06 some comforts of life to serve in remote areas, 06:10 they are happy and live fulfilling lives. 06:16 Having our minds focused on the ministry 06:19 has helped us as a young couple. 06:21 It’s helped us not to set materialistic goals, 06:24 which would enslave us to work toward financial goals, 06:28 but rather to think about the ministry. 06:31 I learned that if you put all your energies into this world, 06:34 the world will only use them to its convenience. 06:39 But if you use it for Jehovah, 06:41 he will help you feel full and he will give meaning to your life. 06:45 Next, we went to Cuba. 06:49 Cuba is a beautiful place. 06:51 Although, at this time, Cuba may not be known 06:54 for its physical riches, 06:56 it is full of the most amazing spiritual riches 07:00 —what Jehovah calls ‘the precious things of the nations.’ 07:04 Most of our brothers do not have much in a material way, 07:09 but they are happy as they work hard to give Jehovah 07:12 their very best. 07:15 Spiritually, they are rich. 07:17 Despite many challenges, they have around 96,000 publishers, 07:22 and many more are coming into the truth. 07:25 While they cannot have Kingdom Halls, they do have meeting places. 07:31 The following pictures show the outside of a meeting place, 07:36 and then a view of the inside. 07:38 It might not be impressive from the physical perspective, 07:41 but all of them are precious to Jehovah. 07:46 The amazing thing is that even though 07:48 these brothers do not have much materially, 07:51 they are able to offer part of their property as a meeting place. 07:55 Under Cuban law, you inherit property 07:57 from your parents, and so on. 08:00 Sometimes it’s just a hallway, a room, 08:03 or an attachment at the back of the house. 08:07 Fifty or sixty publishers can fit into these small places. 08:11 But the point is that they have meeting places, 08:14 and they are able to have all the meetings. 08:19 A remarkable feature of Cuba 08:22 is that vintage cars are used as taxis and family cars. 08:26 But the brothers 08:28 are up-to-date with JW Broadcasting 08:30 and convention videos. 08:32 For example, 08:34 at the weekly Christian Life and Ministry meetings, 08:37 the videos are used as normal. 08:40 They have it all. 08:42 How do they do that without much Internet access? 08:46 This is how: 08:48 The few brothers who do have some Internet access 08:50 make copies of the programs. 08:52 Then they copy them from phone, to phone, to phone. 08:56 Everybody seems to have a cell phone. 08:59 Maybe some of the phones don’t have video, 09:02 but at least they have sound. 09:04 When they go to the meeting, they play the program on the TV screen, 09:08 and everyone gets the full benefit of the program. 09:13 Among Jehovah’s precious people in Cuba 09:17 are six brothers and sisters 09:19 who are both deaf and blind. 09:22 Two deaf and blind sisters 09:25 came to Bethel for an interview. 09:27 It was amazing to watch 09:30 when they met for the first time. 09:35 The brothers translate the study edition of The Watchtower 09:38 into Cuban Sign Language. 09:40 One local census taken by our brothers suggests 09:44 that about 1 in 5 deaf people that we have encountered 09:47 is studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. 09:52 This couple, who assist with translation, are both deaf. 09:57 The “precious things” of Central America and Cuba 10:00 are indeed praising Jehovah. 10:03 They are fully devoted to serving Jehovah, 10:06 and they always seem to be smiling. 10:09 At meetings and at larger gatherings, 10:12 it is evident that they know who they are 10:16 and that they represent Jehovah worthily. 10:21 These precious ones truly appreciate 10:25 all the provisions from Jehovah’s temple arrangement. 10:29 And currently, they are helping 10:32 about one and a half million Bible students 10:36 to bring praise and glory to Jehovah’s name. 10:39 And the brothers at these two branches asked us 10:42 to bring to you their love and deep affection.
