Getting Back...

Dang! I only had one post for ALL of last year? And that wasn't even meant for my blog! I originally posted that on Facebook and thought, "This would be great for my blog," so I posted it. But, jeez! How slack I have been about this! Only ONE post! Oh well. It's 2010. Time to catch up.

I'm almost done with school by the way. The last class I'm taking is about fiber optic technology. It's pretty cool so far. I got to make a cable and take it with me. I also passed the mid-term exam, which was the last mid-term exam I will ever have to take! Can you say "w00t!" children? Don't get me wrong, though. This is a hard class. I actually had to study for that mid-term, and I got an 83. In retrospect, we as a class really should've taken Master Chief up on that offer to go over the chapters we needed to know for the test...

I'm going to Florida for the first time this weekend! I'm in the Portuguese language group in my congregation, and the Portuguese circuit has a Special Assembly Day in Fort Lauderdale, FL. My friend Kaitlin (who's been doing this forever, tee hee!) says that this is good timing for me because it's only one day, and I wouldn't want to overwhelm myself at my first assembly/convention. Yeah, I'm not gonna argue with that. You know, sometimes I think back to when the announcement was first made that there was going to be a Portuguese group established in our congregation. I turned in my application for it...and didn't get in. That hurt me. Really. Part of my personality likes a challenge, but that wasn't my entire motivation. I wanted to do something I had never done before, and I wanted to do it for Jehovah. That was the first actual leap of faith I took in my life! I was anxious those days that passed by and I didn't get a call or anything. I really doubted whether Jehovah wanted to use me like I had been told throughout my childhood so many times. I wasn't sure what I could do about it at all, so I begrudgingly left the group alone for two years. (after a 2 min pause to reflect) Besides, I had my own problems, and there was no way I would've been able to balance that with what I had to deal with outside of the Kingdom Hall. The big change didn't really happen for me until last year.

One of my responsibilities was holding the microphones during the meeting, and the brothers in charge of the sound department let me go. I had a low monthly average of hours out in service, so I was encouraged to increase those with the goal of resuming my privilege. Summer was coming up, and I know how I am about heat. I had to go out in service earlier if I wanted to get my hours up and keep them consistent. I talked to another friend of mine who went out early and arranged to go out with her. That early Saturday morning, I worked with her, Lauren, and the aforementioned Kaitlin. It was mainly street witnessing, which I had done before and wasn't a major shock to me. This went on for a couple of weeks, but I gradually started to feel left out within the group. Everyone but me was involved with the Portuguese group! Well, that was the obvious fact, and I knew that already. I just didn't think it would be a problem or anything. In any case, I did no speaking when we sought out Brazilians and other Portuguese-speaking people. This got to me because in addition to being the only dude in the car, I was the only one that didn't speak Portuguese. So, initially due to my eternal quest to belong, I eventually decided to learn Portuguese, but I refused any notion to join the group. Yeah, I know. "What sense does that make?" It didn't make any sense, but I didn't want to join a group that, in my mind, rejected me in the first place. I decided the best way to learn the basics was obvious: Rosetta Stone. I studied on a rigorous schedule, and I finished the whole Portuguese-language program in three months. However, throughout the first month, I thought about how much sense it made for me to learn this language for the ministry and not apply my skills in a better way? Or even the best way? I finally decided that I would eventually join the Portuguese group when I finished the program. I was really going at a steady pace, so I was actually able to say that--"when I finished the program." Hey, Kaitlin told me that the group needed more brothers, so it was perfect! In the meantime, I started going to the back for the Portuguese meetings. I didn't comment or say a word in Portuguese; I planned to surprise everyone when I finished RS. And when I did finish the program and gave my first comment in Portuguese...! Oh, MAN! I was sitting in the back, and EVERYBODY turned around just to see that I wasn't Brazilian! Even Kaitlin's jaw dropped! (No lie; she told me that.) That Saturday after the Public Talk/Watchtower Study, I approached Bro. Dossantos with my wish to join the Portuguese Theocratic Ministry School, and I told him in Portuguese, too! Now, some months later, I'm going to my first Special Assembly Day in the Portuguese Circuit. Look out for pics on Facebook about this!

I really wish I started with the Portuguese group sooner. I mean, I know I wasn't accepted to formally take the Portuguese class offered by the organization, but I had chances! Not to mention, I had my own territory! Going to Goose Creek HS, I encountered many Portuguese-speaking students, and of course, I, nudged by my eternal quest to belong, wanted to talk to them and see how they were doing. Now that I am where I am with this, I really wish I started earlier, like waaaaaaaay earlier. I could've done so much more and been so much better, and I passed it all up over a grudge--over a STUPID grudge!! Some lessons are best learned the hard way, I guess. Heck, if I am where I am after about seven months, imagine where I would be after two years! Not a Saturday goes by where I don't kick myself after considering this fact. Nothing like wasted time, the one thing that can't be recycled...

And the beat goes on...

B