El Rubio

El Rubio is a little town about 45 minutes from San Jose de las Matas. Population 2000. Elevation 2500. The people there have an unusual thirst for the Good News. You see about years ago, there were 2 special pioneers that preached fervently in the town. Well, they planted the seed. However, soon after the preaching work began in the area, the special pioneers had to leave. I'm unsure of the facts related to the reasons why they left, but the fruits of their labor were evident. Two elderly women were baptized from this territory. Unfortunately, they died some time ago. Fast forward to 2010. We have had the privilege to start preaching in El Rubio since April-May 2010. Even though its a bumpy ride up the mountain, we have found great interest. They seem to remember the ring of the truth, and they are responding to the good news. We pray that Jehovah continues to bless our efforts.

Sajoma, March, 2010

San Jose de las Matas is a small town about 2000 ft above sea level. It has a very pleasant climate. It's hot in the day, and there is a cool breeze at night. Sajoma (abbr. San Jose de las Matas) actually has somewhat of a winter. It can drop into the 50's during late December, January and February. It is very green, and mountainous. The congregation has 59 publishers, 2 elders, and 14 pioneers. We have over 40 campo territories, and we are unable to work them all. This is not because of lack of zeal, but there is not enough workers. Most of the territory is within 25mins to an hour away. Upon our visit in March, we immediately found a very pleasent home to live. The congregation is very nice and zealous in the preaching work. Within the first 2 weeks of our visit, we got an opportunity to preach in one of the territories almost 2 hours away. It was a mountainous territory. We past cow pastures along the way, and they greeted us as we went in and out of villages. We stopped and preached to the people on the way up. It was very excited and satisfying. The mountain people were very appreciative our efforts. We camped out in a field that night. And awoke to a cold misty morning. I think we are going to like it here. Time will tell.

Where did the year go? In 2009, we visited Janico, Dominican Republic. It is a small town about 30 minutes form the bustling city of Santiago. We call Santiago the real capital of the Dominican Republic. It's cleaner, cooler, and it has more culture than the real capital. The 3 C's! Anyway, we thought Janico would be the stopping point. We stayed 3 months (Nov-Dec). We rented a deluxe apartment in Skyyyy. We preached, and enjoyed ourselves with our awesome brothers in Janico. However, after a stay, we realized that the town was a too small for our liking. We were about to call it quits for the big DR, when the special pioneer sister decided to take us to a neighboring town called San Jose de las Matas.

Los Bancos

Here is another campo where we preached. The area was very picturesque and the people amable.

Unexplored Territory

Here are a few pics of three campos in which we worked. These are in the South of the Country. One of these campos had never been worked and the other two 15 years ago. We were often taken by surprise by someone yelling at us to make sure we did not pass there house by. It was amazing to me when one of the women pleaded with me saying "please give me one of those books about Jehovah". Enjoy these photos and I will post other preaching days in the future.

Saludos

This is the first of my posts to this blog. We have enjoyed 2 months of hard work in the DR. I hope to upload plenty pictures and encouraging experiences. Please feel free to give your comments or any uplifting words.I hope you enjoy seeing part of our incredible experience.


Los Ketters
Daniel y Katrina