PREACHING IN THE "CAMPO"

LAGUNA SALADA
(Salty Lagoon)

Island of Hispañola
Samana, Dominican Republic

Prologue
 

One Sunday 2½ years ago, our entire congregation went some 30 kilometers from town to preach for the entire day in the "campo" or the country.  The brother in charge directed to of us to work a dirt path off the main road.  As we were walking in, someone shouted to us that there were no houses for at least an hour walk.  We were informed that we could not take a motorbike or car in as the path is too muddy, slippery, and rocky for vehicles.  Since we'd miss the group leaving the territory if we made the two-hour round-trip trek on foot, we decided to go there another day to preach to these people.

Meanwhile, as we waited for the brother in charge to direct us, two men came along - one on horseback.  We spoke with them and before long, we'd discussed the earth not being destroyed, paradise, and what happens to you when you die, as they had so many questions.  The man on the horse, Elrido, said, "You MUST come to my house and tell my wife all these things you've shown me as she is an evangelist!"  And the other man, Andres, said "Yes, come and speak with my wife also!"  We asked where they lived, and they pointed to the nearby path and said "Laguna Salada" (Salty Lagoon).  This was the very self-same path we'd planned to return to in two weeks since we had our assembly the following week.

Two weeks later, we set off for the 36-kilometer ride on a motorbike to the path leading to Laguna Salada (LGS).  We were not sure where the houses were, or what we would find or if the people would even remember we were coming, and we wondered if Elrido's wife, the evangelist, would be angry with him for inviting us!

After nearly an hour of rough terrain, we came to Andres' house and as promised, he was waiting for us with his wife, Juana.  They listened and asked questions and we began a Bible study.  After an hour when we went to leave, they insisted vehemently that we please stay!  And when almost three hours had passed studying and answering their questions, we simply had to go.  They expressed appreciation for our visit, and asked us to please come back.  Andres walked with us another kilometer to Elfrido's house; he and his wife, Candida, were also waiting for us as promised.  Elfrido had not forgotten either!  He and his wife greeted us warmly, showing the same hospitality that Andres and his wife had shown.  They, too, urged us not to leave after an hour and so the time stretched to 2½ hours during which time we answered their questions about the Trinity, and started a Bible study in the brochure and were served a wonderful meal!  We made arrangements to return the following week.  As we left, they gave us a big bag of fruit to take home.

To return to my motorbike at the main road, we had to again pass by Andres and Juana's house, and as we did so, they called out to us to please come in!  We did so, and found the table all set for us to eat!  They had prepared a lovely dinner for us.  They were so kind  to have done this and so happy to show us such hospitality, that we did not have the heart to tell them we'd just eaten at Eldrido and Candida's (so we had two dinners)!  Upon leaving, they too loaded us down with lots of fruit to take home.

ON THE WAY TO LAGUNA SALADA

Making the long trek of some 4 kilometers to the Laguna Salada (LGS) area, and then to its last house, 7 kilometers.  Here we see the path to the Laguna on a good day.  Often it is covered with some six inches of water and/or mud from side to side.

1. Along the way: Enjoying a wonderful nature walk, seeing animals such as these, observing hundreds of colorful butterflies, listenting to the beautiful songs of birds in the miniature rain forest. 

2. Preaching to passersby, obtaining water from the pozo or carrying coconuts and plantains to market.

3. Watching dung beetles busily rolling their balls of dung to clean up the path (black with white spot, next to and on top of dung).

And then finally, the beautiful Laguna Salada framed by a miniature rain forest on the mountain behind it - 4 kilometers from civilization. 

We continued to return to Laguna Salada each week, but found it was not easy - often mud and water covered our shoes halfway up to our knees - when it had been raining hard.  If it had not been raining, the red clay path was often very slippery from the dew or small showers.  By the third study with Andres and Elfrido, the husbands asked where our meetings were as they said they would like to attend.  Elfrido attended the book study on horseback the following week, some 12 kilometers away.   By the fourth study, both husbands talked to me about the possibility of having some kind of meeting in that area so they could invite all of their relatives and friends.  They expressed their desire to have everyone learn the things they were learning!

Shortly after this, we started a study with Juana's parents, Nonyo and Juliana, who live nearby her.  We found that there are three fleshly brothers and their families living in Laguna Salada - Nonyo, Fausto, and Jesus, who is the father of  Elfrido

Meanwhile Candida and her daughter, Diana, continued to progress and within a short time, Candida had begun to reject all the basic doctrines of the Church of God & Prophecy:  the Trinity, cross, immortality of the soul, etc., and removed herself from the church membership in addition to no longer celebrating holidays.

In time, Candida talked to her husband's relatives next door, leaving them a booklet.  One day when I went to Laguna Salada, their son, Alex, was sitting on a rock waiting for me.  He asked for a Bible and I began a study with his parents, Gisela and Fausto.  At present, Gisela preaches to everyone passing by her house - on burros and horses - taking their flocks for water at the spring or carrying coconuts and bananas from their little farms to the market.  Because of this, two more studies were started another kilometer or two further into the area.

The only thing holding Gisela back from becoming an  unbaptized publisher and getting baptized is not being able to get to the meetings, as there is no transportation, and the meetings are at night and too far away.  However, arrangements were made to have a book study in the afternoon at 4 o'clock on Tuesdays for them and to provide transportation from the main road for those who can attend.  Gisela and Fausto listen to the Bible tapes as well as tapes of the Watchtower articles, the Require Brochure, and the Knowledge book every day - with battery-powered tape recorder.  Gisela prepares her Watchtower, does her daily text, prepares for the book study, and reads all the latest magazines from cover to cover. Candida and her daughter, Diana, continue to progress nicely also, and attend the book study.

PREACHING IN LAGUNA SALADA
(14 persons, 7 families)
 

Every Saturday when we leave Laguna Salada, our backpacks are loaded with the latest "harvest"!  Grapefruits, passion fruit, oranges, plantains, bananas, red beans, pumpkin, okra!   Almost every week we are fed a wonderful simple dinner consisting of root vegetables together with wild guinea hen or duck, chicken, or other times corn gruel or homemade cheese with fried platanos - everything cooked on "carbon" or charcoal in their tiny outdoor kitchens.  The Laguna Salada people live totally off th eland, lug water from a spring, have no electricity, and make everything themselves, such as their own cheese, cornflour; they even pick, roast, and grind coffee beans from their coffee trees.  It is such a joy to visit people that live so simply and yet are so content with their way of life and who show such appreciation and love for the truth!  We return home each Saturday with our backpacks filled with vegetables and fruit, and with our hearts filled with "the joy of Jehovah" for having had the privilege to study the Bible with them!

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