It's SUNday!

Hope you are all still checking in on us! Had trouble getting time to post while in Johannesburg - but we still have so much to say and share - so keep checking in! Will try to get everything up quickly and wrap it up. Stay with us!

So sunday started off with clear blue sky and sun shining! We were so excited! For about 39 seconds. Then we were hot. =) Walking into the sunshine here is like opening an oven door. It is HOT. Amazingly hot. I alternated between wearing my hat, and hiding under the umbrella. It helped to have the shade from the umbrellas - so they were put to good use by all once again. There was a nice breeze which made it tolerable. It was really a beautiful day. I saw some brothers handing out bottles of water to some of the older ones which was nice to see. Wouldn't take long to collapse in this heat.

Some brothers were complaining that they still got sunburn on the top of their heads through the umbrellas. Not Steven of course, but some others =) . I guess that shows the power of the sun here. Seems that my skin really likes the african sun and I have actually gotten a bit of a tan. In a nice crisp t-shirt pattern. Lovely. It will probably be with me for a while too. Corrine is very amused by it. I think I will call it a "convention tan" instead of a 'farmer's tan'. More accurate.

The drama was today, and we were happy to see them come out from under the canopy. Would have been difficult to grasp the gestures and emotion from under the cover. I felt bad for them being in the heat of the sun - but some clouds came out and provided some shade through most of it. The drama was just as emotional to watch here as it was at our home convention. Didn't matter that the Indian father had African sons. And that they all had American accents. =) I cried once again throught the new song they played at the end as well.

In the afternoon, we had more reports from other lands - which included interviews from missionaries here at the Durban convention. One of the couples was assigned to Tanzania. They have been building "expandable halls" there, which are kingdom halls with attached auditoriums that they can use for assemblies. They had to learn to like different food, as they live in a rural area and eat what is there. I appreciated that the sister explained the sacrifices they made to simplify for their assignment. They originally had to cut down from a house to a one bedroom flat. Now, they had to cut even more - from a one bedroom flat to a car. She said she mostly misses her shoes =).

I wanted to share too the report from Korea - There are 90,000 publishers in Korea. Of those - there are 43,000 pioneers!!!!! That is 44%!!! Wow!

Our closing talk was once again Brother Morris. He gave us the final count for the baptism = 96 here in Durban, 65 in Cape Town, and 163 in Pretoria, for a total of 324!

Then he told us that JW's are officially registered in Georgia! Yay! He also related the sad news from Russia, where we are now under ban. We had heard this already, but it was something to hear from a Governing Body member. What I appreiciated too was the way he explained it. While it seemed surprising to us, he said that the outcome of the case was not surprising to the brothers. There are 7 more cases pending, and they are expecting a similar outcome. As he stated, while not easy for them - the brothers there are accustomed to this opposition. They have banned 34 of our publications as Explicit in Nature, and labeled us "Extremists". Among the books banned - My Book of Bible Stories, and the Bible Teach book.

As he recounted the Convention for us, going through highlights - some dark clouds came rolling in. Ah, relief from the sun! Then a sprinkle. Umbrellas started shooting up. I refused, as I was sure it wouldn't rain. Then it sprinkled more. Suddenly - the heavens opened up! It was pouring! Then the wind began! It was raining sideways and even up! It was a monsoon! Brother Morris tried to continue - at one point laughing and saying "This is interesting!" =) The brothers went up and moved him back farther under the canopy - but with the wind - I am sure it didn't help! People's umbrellas were blowing inside out! It was hysterical! Then Brother Morris said "2 more minutes - hold on! You can't get any wetter!" So true. I managed to get my poncho on and umbrella up - but everything was soaked - including the page in my notes. It made for a hectic ending to an eventful weekend - and I don't think I would have wanted it any other way!

Here is a pic of everyone after the convention, and after the monsoon!

As the bus pulled away - we drove by many brothers and sisters - and they all waved "goodbye" to us. It was so sweet! Many of them had to walk through the massive puddles to get to their cars. We were one of the first buses out (go team!) but the later buses got caught up in more downpours. Somehow, it still didn't take away from the amazing experience, and while our clothes were wet and our feet were soaked - it didn't dampen the spirit!

Thanks again for checking back in! Stay tuned - we still have to report from Bethel! And then I have photos galore to share!