Bryan and Sarah

Hello family🦋 In 2 weeks we will be making the move back to South Carolina. The time has come to be some extra support to family. Which is a honor set by Jehovah. But we will leave a piece of our heart here. We are so grateful Jehovah let us go to the School for Kingdom Evangelizers and sent here to a place we will never forget. When you say “yes!” to Jehovah, he never disappoints.
If you know me, you know I like to write poems. Here is one that sums up our feelings.

“Just Go In Service and Love the Friends”

A grand opportunity came our way,
But in our safe place – we could not stay.

Off to a school where much we would learn,
And making this big change-to God we would turn.

There we were taught a huge lesson in life,
That would get us through any troubles and strife:

“ just go in service and love the friends”

Would it be hard, would it be our big regret?
The angels said: Don’t you worry, don’t you fret!

Because God sent us to a people so easy to love.
Whose steadfast endurance was noticed above.

They laughed with us and preached with us, their arms open wide!
We saw the young one’s zeal! And when some were lost…we cried.

At that school we learned many lessons for life,
But one, put into practice, brings so much delight!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

So this is me saying goodbye to this story. Good night all and…see you later.

love, Sarah🦋

So it has been a couple of months since we have been to South Africa (or SA has the locals say) and it all seems like a dream. The dream was of paradise in the midst of a crummy, chaotic world. Our SA family is full of love and joyful singing and dancing! They sang and danced for us at the airport, at the Kingdom Hall, at the Assembly Hall, at the convention, and even at the market when we arrived for some shopping they were there for us with a song and dance and hugs. While there were tensions and riots in the streets of Johannesburg, we were loved and protected like precious cargo. And this provided many opportunities to give a witness. We handed out many JW contact cards. We were noticed.
There are so many stories and new friends to speak about but….here are a few pictures….

• 

• 

• 

I hope this gives you a small taste of what we experienced. We will be changed forever. The peak attendance for the convention was over 58,000. Our brotherhood is amazing and we will have forever to get to know our beautiful family.

love you all🦋

Last month of the service year and I hardly need any hours and it’s stinking hot…but what can you do when a beautiful group of teenagers are auxiliary pioneering? You go out and have a blast in service.

And we have been having some great calls a new bible studies from the field! Good things are happening!🦋

Bryan and I did get to take a few days of relaxation on the Oregon coast. It was simply beautiful. The west coast is really where the mountains reach the ocean. So serene and a cool getaway for the summer.

Then we stayed a few nights in Crescent City California and took a drive and walked a trail thru the Redwoods. Walking through those giant trees, you can’t help but thank the Creator.

Then we came home by way of Crater Lake. Truly one of my most favorite places…so far on this planet.

Love you all!🦋

Hello friends and family!🦋

So it’s the end of July and the fires have started. It’s hot, dry, and windy. There are fire warnings all over, air quality warnings, and campfire restrictions but there are so many careless people and some are started by lightning strikes or sparks from tractors in the fields. It has become the new normal. Some days you just want to wear a mask in service! The locals say it has been so much worse the last 3 years.

The wheat harvest has begun and yesterday we saw a few huge dust devils up on the hills where the harvesters are running. Kinda makes ya hold your breath that they don’t spark a fire.

The summer has been so busy and flying by! We have had old friends stop by from California that we enjoyed.

Also going in service and cultivating some good calls.

Also hanging out with my squad…

 

But the highlight was the regional convention! So amazing! Br. Luccionni was our Bethel speaker. He was so sweet! He kept reminding me of someone familiar that I love…I finally figured out it was my uncle Jimmy! His easy going, friendly manner that had such a cute snicker when he laughed! Him and his wife loved meeting all our young people. Their loving attention really impressed those young ones.

So now we have the CO visit this week, a little get away planned for the coast, and then off to Charleston to see loved ones this month! Then our huge trip to an International Convention in Johannesburg, South Africa!!

Stay tuned….

oh, and I meet my doppelgänger (my twin) that is only 4 years old but she looks just like me!

So it’s cherry harvest time here in the Valley.  A family in our Hall has a cherry orchard so that was fun to see. They had workers, mostly Spanish and some of the friends, come and start before 5:00am. They kept tract of the baskets they picked and payed them accordingly. Some of the amazing field workers can pick so fast they make $200 by 11:00 that morning!! Then they would take them to the processing plant to package and send out to stores. By the way they were delicious! Mostly bing cherries and other large type of cherries.

 

We we also took in a concert in a park with some of the friends. The days are getting hot, but for the most part it gets breezy and nice in the evening.

Cant resist taking pictures of the little cuties!

1. Bryan dressed up at a Hawaiian theme graduation party 

Hope you are all enjoying the summer and having busy lives in Jehovah’s service!

love to all🦋

hello all!

Here it is June already! Busy in Jehovah’s work makes life good. Last month we had the pleasure of having Bryan’s sister Heather and David visit us here. We wanted to share everything about our valley in the short time they were here…and it wore us out completely. But it was so fun! The friends loved them. I asked Heather what was her favorite part, she said being with the horses.

Bryan and I were talking about that expression “the friends”. Something unique to God’s people. But we instantly know who we are talking about. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. But then I’m weird like that!🤣

 

I love the long days of summer! It gives me energy! Seems like we get to talk to more people in service too. Maybe because they are outside and can’t hide from us. Haha! Friday just Bryan and I were out until 4:30 and I could of kept going! The sun was shining and we had some great calls. But Bryan had his study at 5:00 so we had to quit. I love days like that. It reminds me of how much I love pioneering.

Love you🦋

Spring is here! It is so beautiful here in the Yakima valley! The hills are green, the flowers are blooming, and once again the baby animals are everywhere. The wind blows the fog out and the mountains are seen in all their glory. Can you tell I like it? 😂

Along with the spring comes the Memorial season. We had great support and enjoyed Bryan’s Memorial talk. We had 187 in attendance.

Another thing that comes with spring is allergies and both of us caught a cold.😷

Last weekend we had our Pioneer Day and assembly. It was so wonderful! A real boost. Jehovah is such a grand instructor. Three young sisters from our congregation got babtized and we were so excited and proud of them! What changes they have made with Jehovah’s blessing!

After they all three were babtized they hugged each other and cried! So precious.💕

So that’s a little update. Jehovah continues to live up to his promises and takes care of us so lovingly. (Matthew 6:33) 🦋

Love you all!

It is the first day of spring and it has been a March I will never forget. First of all the snow.

the snow was amazing. It stayed around along time! This week it’s finally melting. Now the hills look like someone sprinkled powder-sugar on them.

It was record snow and cold, but suddenly it feels like spring.🌺

But that was not the only thing that made this March memorable…

Last  Saturday we had a lovely morning in service. But halfway thru Bryan got a severe pain in his upper back. He has had pain there off and on through the years from an old injury, but Advil was not working on it. That afternoon he fell asleep on the couch and woke up very nauseous. Making his way to the bathroom he passed out and did a face plant on the tile floor. So…ya know how you wonder  if you could dail 911 when you need it? It is not so easy. 😣 Bryan was unconscious for 5 minutes. I will spare you some of the gory details. But I can confirm that our God of peace responds to loud supplications.😂 Long story short, the little neighbor sister showed up outside at the perfect right time to be with me,and Bryan rode in an ambulance and spent the night in the hospital. Many test were done on him (he got a through check up on his heart and brain) and in the end ….he tested positive for the flu and his low blood pressure made him pass out, and get 25 stitches on his face. That beautiful face…is still beautiful to me.😍

Sunday evening after we were finally home ..a sweet sister brought us 2 plates of amazing food…I sat down, prayed and started eating and sobbing between bites. Bryan is laughing and said “Is it really that good?” It was just that I realized I had barely eaten the last 2 days and barely any sleep and all the trauma…and we were home and going to be ok…and then Jehovah provides this meal?!? 1 John 4:8

Hello!

Lets see…what’s new with me? Cold and snow. Breaking all records for snowfall here in south central Washington. Yes it’s pretty and I at least have a warm puffy coat and good boots…but enough already! The friends are really feeling isolated. Service has been impossible. At least we can count on the fact that warm weather will come…and in July when it’s 100 degrees, will can remember the many snow days stuck home.

Bryan and I did have a break in February. He was invited to Warwick to work for 2 weeks while I flew home to visit the family. South Carolina rarely disappoints in the winter.🌞 It reached 70 degrees several days.

So this winter may of slowed us down but a busy spring and summer are ahead. As Jehovah’s people we always seem to have something to look forward too! Love you all!🦋

oh yeah, I forgot to tell you we went up towards the mountains past Yakima where there is an Elk feeding station. When the winters get bad then they come down to find food and they feed them every day at 1:30pm. It was so amazing to see thousands of these magnificent creatures gathered and watching them come down the mountain to get feed.

        

      

It was a very cold day, but we will never forget it. Pictures do not do it justice and I can’t figure out how to put movies on this blog.😂

 

Well my last post was of that amazing sunset…that was before snow-megeddon.😒 It has snowed off and on for like the last 4 days and more is expected.  The brother we rent from has lived here for like 30 years (he came from the western side of the mountains) and says it never snows like this here! But wow is it beautiful!

But the beauty is beyond compare…

    

   

So we have been having snow days. Good thing we made it to Costco before it got real bad!😁

love you all. Stay warm and well fed!🦋