Studies... Again

It has been some time since I last mentioned some of the studies here.  But in this case, no news is good news.  Many have continued to progress well.

One is a man who speaks Amharic.  Well, I don't know about you, but I'm pretty rusty with my Amharic.  So we studied in English for a long time.  His appreciation kept developing.  He attended meetings.  But it was not his mother language.

Then a family moves into our congregation.  One day the brother mentions that he has a friend who is learning Amharic back in the States.  We get her email.  We chat with her on Skype.  Her Amharic is basic, but she gives us the email of a native Amharic speaker.

Long story short, now we include him on our study via Skype!  And it is fantastic.  Sometimes I will just sit there for an hour while they talk.  But he understands everything clearly!  It is really a blessing.

I mentioned another study a long time ago.  He continues to grow in his understanding and appreciation.  The last time I went it almost made me cry.  He is so thankful when we come that he always gives us a donation, even when we don't give him any new literature.  He always says "thank you for showing me the way."  And when he can't keep an appointment he says "I beg you, forgive me, let's make it another day."  It is hard to put his attitude into words, but it is a beautiful thing to see.

Studies

I've posted a lot about Argentina and general experiences here.  But really, the beautiful thing about Buenos Aires are the Bible Studies.

For example, we went on a study yesterday.  He sells jewelry on the street.  What a sincere, humble man!  He appreciates so much learning from the Bible.  Whenever we go to see him, he takes time out of his selling to speak with us.  When we consider a subject, his face takes on this look of deep thought.  Sometimes he will have questions written on a piece of paper to ask us. 

He insists we open and close with a prayer.  He asks us to pray for him to help him understand and make changes in his life.  And he always wants to give us a donation or one of the items he sells.  We repeatedly tell him we don't need it (Jesus said "you received free, give free") but he so very much wants to give.  He told us yesterday that he was sorry he could only give us 10 pesos, but to please forgive him and he would give us more next time. Then he gave me one of the rings he sells. When I tried to stop him he said that he appreciates so much our 'showing him the way' and that we are 'his saviors.' (Of course we said that Jesus is the savior.)  It makes you want to cry!

There are many such humble people here.  It's beautiful.