Sunday, April 17, 2011

Bus Trip To Walkill New York

       I know you're used to me talking my head off on this blog....and no worries, I'll get back to that tomorrow! LOL But today, Sunday April 17, 2011, is a kind of special day for those of my Religion. It's the Memorial of Christ's death today. The anniversary of the day he died. And Jehovah's Witnesses around the world will be commemorating it in respect to all he and his father have done for mankind.
     That's why the bus trip my hubby and others in my congregation took on Friday was such a good precursor to today. It was an opportunity to see and be reminded of the work and ministry our organization has accomplished, and still are accomplishing every day.
    They started out from our local Kingdom Hall here in Holyoke. Hubby took this shot from inside the bus. I guess he was kind of anxious to get on the road!...
      They were a little late leaving, so I guess everybody actually might have been a little anxious to get on the road by the time they actually left!
       It took them a little more than 2 hours to get there, passing horses and cows along the way.
       Finally they were there....at Watchtower Farms, one of the places where Jehovah's Witnesses produce their literature.
        Doesn't my hubby  look handsome?! :-) .... Anyway!! Moving on!
       They climbed the stairs to go to the lobby area.
      It was a beautiful, and comfortable, and welcoming lobby!
        The lobby had beautiful artwork too!
       Some of them sat outside and had their lunch before the tour.
       Then it was just a matter of getting all of the 'chatter boxes' organized into whatever group they would be in for the tour.
       This was hubby's group!
      He became buddies with the little one. :-) It was a day of hand-holding for the both of them. {Hey! If you don't have kids, it's nice to be a part of a group of people with lots of little hearts to love! :-)}
     Okay, on to the history of the organization and the equipment that's being used now to get the door-to-door worldwide ministry done!
      There were brochures in all kinds of different languages, to introduce you to the United States Branch Office of Bethel.
 
        And the tour covered so much information!!...and equipment a plenty!!
      Hubby just opened his ears, walked along, and tried to stay between the yellow lines so he didn't get hit by a fork-lift or something! LOL
         WOW! They sure use a lot of paper here!!
      And they don't waste the scrap paper either! It's recycled. It saves them up to 300,000 dollars a year!
     Being a worldwide organization, the shipping department gets quite a workout too!
       I was mentioning yesterday that I found something out about this branch that was news to me...about it's expansion...
     ....I found out that the Watchtower and Awake! magazines are no longer being printed in the United States. They're now being printed in Canada!! There's so much work to be done that everybody is getting in on it! :-]
     So, as you can see, there was a lot of information to take in on this tour. Hubby's head was a mass of detailed information...that I can't keep in mine. I have a sieve for a brain these days!.....{HORMONES!! UGH! LOL} But he brought me back some written information, and a DVD I can watch!
      And with all of his nice pictures, I feel like I went with him....almost! :-) 
        They all headed home, tired, but very encouraged.
      It was a great trip, and a great way to put yourself in a good mindset for a special day like today! :-) 
     I hope, even if you don't find it the most interesting thing you've ever read, that you appreciate the fact that I wanted to share something near and dear to my heart. And wherever you live in the world, April 17th, after sundown, will begin the anniversary of the day Christ died. If you want to hear all about it, take a little time out of your busy schedule and visit a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses near you. :-)
     Okay, I'm off for the day! Have a good one everybody. This day was bought for you with a very high price!


I Am Rich

I am rich in loving friendships.
Rich in loyalty and love.
I am rich in deep emotions,
and in my love for God above.

I am rich in complications.
Rich in insight from my years.
Rich in belly folding laughter.
Rich in sympathetic tears.

I am rich as I can be,
in things not taken in a flash.
Not all abundance can be counted.
Rich is not always in cash.

18 comments:

  1. I can see what you mean about almost being there with your husband on the tour. He took lots of great photos.
    I love your poem. Its so true, you don't need to have any money to feel rich :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Jo-anne. Yes, it was likr I could feel the wind and sun on my face, but didn't have to sneeze or readjust my bones and muscles once!! ^_^ He did a great job taking pictures!...And thanks so much for the nice words about the poem too! A lot of us are rich, but just don't think about it often. :-]

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the virtual tour! Hubby and I enjoyed our visit! The "new" things you mentioned, I did hear about but forgot. We had a group of young men that went a few weeks ago and they brought back the news. It's a 14 hour drive for us, but they drove through. To see the lobby, brings back many fond memories of when we dropped our oldest off for his 1 1/2 years of voluntary service. Seems so long ago. Fond memories there for sure.
    Love your Memorial mention! And I love the poem too! We are rich, aren't we!?

    ReplyDelete
  4. CinLynn, It was my pleasure!...and Jeff's pleasure too! :-) My aunt, who lives about 16 hours away from the branch, says she can't believe we don't go more often...being so close! She said she would be there all the time! She's only been once, when her congregation took an overnight bus trip. She raved about it. That was a long time ago now. Me and hubby have been a few times. I like the Brooklyn trip the best. All of the water...and bridges...and New York, city-wise. I love seeing the sign across the bridge saying: "Read your Bible Daily". :-) It's been a while since we went there though...I missed the pigs this time. :-( Call me crazy! ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a fascinating place that must be - and your hubby took excellent photos!! Love your poem and it's such a good reminder that our true wealthy does not come from money... Love to you on your special day! Silke

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very nice tour pics! I've been here before a few times and for the very first time at Brooklyn a few weeks ago! I loved it! Anyone who wants the "overview" of what Bethel is all about should visit the Brooklyn one first - definitely an eye opener :D

    ReplyDelete
  7. Silke, Yes, it's kind of amazing watching everyone at work there, with a good purpose. If only the whole world got along as well... :-] Thanks for the nice words about the poem. And you're very right...our truth worth is never about money. Although you'd never know it from watching how much time and attention people devote to it sometimes!...You have a good day too Silke.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Denise, Thank you about the pictures. And I agree with you about the Brooklyn Bethel! That has always been a favorite one for me too, but I think it's because of the water, the skyline, and the bridges around the area. And also the general setting of where the building is located, and how organized the preaching work obviously is from there!...I have friends who worked at the Farm during harvest time, and had lunch with the Bethel family during the time they had cows, chickens, etc... Everything so fresh, so self-sufficient. I like now that the emphasis is on the preaching though. It's very important in this day and times...Thanks for your nice observations about that! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lovely photo's and i can see it was a magical day for you all. Your Husband does look very smart ;-)) dee x

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks very much delia! He does look right 'smart' doesn't he?! ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh Debbie
    Have fun! I love NYC!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Deb, very beautiful pictures and informative blog. Thank you so much for sharing. Hope you are having a wonderful day.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Priscila, It was a very good day! :-] I love New York too! Sure wish I could've gone too...Maybe next time.

    ReplyDelete
  14. SnowflakeDreams1, He did a good job, didn't he?! I enjoyed the pictures too! I'm so glad you liked them...It was a very good day...and night! :-] I hope you had a good day too!

    ReplyDelete
  15. It looks like your day was filled with sunshine, great company and wealth of information. xo

    ReplyDelete
  16. Joyce, Indeed it was!! I hope you had a good day too!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous4/19/2011

    Great pics sister, thanks so much for sharing...it's been such a long time since I've been there looks so beautiful, awww :)


    Love,
    T. Brown-Thomas

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous, (T,Brown-Thomas) Thank you!! Yeah, it's been a long time since I've been too! Hubby took great pictures though. There's no way I could have posted them all! :-]

    ReplyDelete

Wait!! Click the "Join This Site" button, and leave me a comment! I'd love to get your thoughts! ^_^