Step over into Macedonia

Sometime in the fall of 2011 A friend and I decided we would go to Nicaragua in order to serve where the need is greater. There had been a lot of encouragement for ones to consider moving some place that had need for more publishers, in particular I remember one kingdom ministry article titled "Can you step over into Macedonia?".  Here is a clipping of that article, I strongly recommend reading the entire article.

About the year 49 C.E., the apostle Paul left Syrian Antioch for his second missionary trip. His intention was to visit Ephesus and other cities in Asia Minor. However, he received a spirit-directed invitation to “step over into Macedonia” instead. He and his companions gladly accepted, and they were privileged to establish the first congregation in that region. (Acts 16:9, 10; 17:1, 2, 4) Today, some parts of the worldwide field have a real need for more harvest workers. (Matt. 9:37, 38) Are you in a position to help?

In my mind I was already serving where the need was greater, I was in a Blackfoot language group, and at the time that article was studied at the meeting I was with a group on their way to northern Saskatchewan to witness to the isolated reservations up there. The trip was quite a success, but upon returning to my home congregation in Fort Macleod, the two weeks we spent up north seemed way too short.

Sandy Beach, SK, Canada

My idea was to move to somewhere in the northern regions of Canada, where congregations are few and territories are massive. Unfortunately this did not pan out, the door was not open so to speak. Later on however, A sister who had joined the Blackfoot group was telling us in service about her home country, Nicaragua. How the territory is extremely receptive to the preaching work, and how affordable it is to live there. I was shocked to learn that even at minimum wage in Canada, one can easily save up enough to live in Nicaragua for long periods of time without working.

At the time I didn't have a job, nothing was available in our small town that would allow me to move out of my parents house and continue pioneering. However, I was able to get a job at a restaurant that paid enough to save up for a trip to Nicaragua, which I did. A brother in our hall was visiting from Japan, and his visa was about to run out, so he had planned on moving back to Latin America where he had first learned the truth. (His life story is quite interesting, I wouldn't be surprised if it showed up in the Watchtower one of these days).

This time the door was open. After much prayer and a little planning everything fell into place smoothly. At the end of February, we were on our way to the Calgary Airport.