Nuestras Adventuras en Ecuador : Curcuit Assembly in Cuenca

A few weeks ago we had our Curcuit Assembly in Cuenca. It was the first weekend after we arrived, so it was a little crazy, but it all worked out great. There are about 800 publishers in our circuit from around the Cuenca area. In fact we learned that there is only 1 or 2 congregations more north than Tambo in the circuit, so we are one of the congregations that travels the furthest. Because of this, we actually rented a bus with the Cañar Congregation (Cañar is located on the mountain directly across from Tambo). Even though it cost a bit more than normal, it was certainly worth riding with all brothers & sisters on the way to the Assembly.

Since this was the first real 'meeting' since we arrived, we hadn't seen many from the congregation yet, so we were very excited when we hopped on the bus and the first thing I heard was a group of little kids from our congregation yell "Brittany!!!" and run up and give me a hug. I don't think they realized we were coming back and I have to say, it touched my heart that they were so excited :)

Since we only rented one bus and there are 2 congregations, it got quite packed at times, so a sister brought a mattress to put in the aisle for the little kids to sit on. It was really cute because the kids just piled on top of it, like it was 'their' spot, but I have to admit, we laughed a bit because something like that would be so unacceptable in the states for safety reasons of course, but here it's not thought of twice.

It was nice to meet some of the new friends from the Cañar congregation as well. In fact, there is this sister in her 60's that just moved into Cañar. I don't know here entire story, but what I do know is that she has always had the goal of serving abroad and when she was younger she intended to, but then her mother got very, very ill and she spent years and years taking care of her and had to put her goals on the 'back burner' so to say. Now, in her 60's, she doesn't have that responsibility anymore so she wrote the branch, asking where the need in English was. The branch responded by saying there is a greater need in Spanish and asked if she would be willing to learn Spanish. This is not at all what this sister had planned for, but her attitude is to serve where the need is and she is now living in Cañar, learning Spanish and serving in that congregation. What does this teach me? Several things- First, I'm very, very appreciative to have the opportunity to serve here. Second, If she can learn Spanish in her 60's, I can in my 20's. Third- Never give up on your spiritual goals! They may not happen when you intend, but with Jehovah's blessing, you can fulfill them! (Awesome WT article in the new January issue for Serving where there's a greater need even in your 50's+...Mom & Dad check this out if you haven't already :D) What a great example this single sister is for us all!!!

Ok, back on topic- Once we arrived at the Assembly, we were able to meet several friends from all over Ecuador and even several need greaters (some others from the states, a single sister from the Bahamas, a brother from Italy etc.). Many of the foreign brothers even gave talks on the program. There was an awesome couple we met from Ohio-Micah & Ashley. They have a pretty awesome story too, but more of their "How we came to Ecuador" story a little later.

Cuenca actually has it's own Assembly Hall, so we were able to listen to the program in comfort, well, 'Ecuador comfort' I guess you could say-clean bathrooms and somewhat padded chairs-woo-hoo!

Here are a some pictures from the weekend: