Buckhead Theater Entertainment Evening Program

After many auditions for dancers, performers and singers from all over the city, Atlanta brothers put together this program for 15 nights of entertainment for the delegates. It took a lot of time, preparations and many rehearsals, but we witnessed Jehovah's music being performed at a very high level by professional musicians. As one of the brothers said, the whole purpose of this evening program was to bring us together and to bring us all closer to our god, Jehovah, and it sure did. As some brothers described it, the show was incomparable, breathless, outstanding, just a spiritual beauty.

International Convention Atlanta Georgia

We have been in the states now for a little over a month. After one and a half years in Ecuador we have been able to come for a visit twice. I know...maybe that's more often than we probably should. Well, the first visit was only 7 months after arriving in Ecuador. It was during October 2013, we were invited to the annual meeting, how can we miss that right?!? 

This time around we got accepted as delegates for the international convention in Atlanta Georgia. Couldn't miss that either...

On both occasions we have taken advantage of the trip to visit family and friends. After being away for so long, we truly missed them and we appreciate the time we are able to spend with them. Also, one of my best friends had a baby, I'm so glad I was around for this important moment in her life. 

 

The highlight of our trip has been the international convention, and what an amazing, unforgettable experience that was!

We arrived to Georgia a couple of days before the convention. We stayed with our friends, Michi and Rob, who live in the outskirts of Atlanta. It was very nice to spend time with them. Besides treating us like royalty and pampering us with treats everyday,  we were truly encouraged by them. 

Everyday was full of surprises. First scheduled tour was preaching day. Being our first international we thought we would get to the kingdom hall, get assigned to a group and get going to the territory. It was a big surprise when the bus drove into the kingdom hall parking and there was over 100 brothers and sisters standing with beautiful banners welcoming us. 

That morning we got assigned to go out in service with a missionary sister serving in West Africa. She shared a lot of experiences from 45 plus years in the missionary work. As she mentioned, it hasn't been an easy assignment due to all the conflicts in the area, but Jehovah has always taken care of her, and she's helped a lot for the advancement of the good news in Guinea. 

Brothers Welcoming the delegates

 

Preaching with the sister from West Africa

After Service the Brothers Made This Lovely Lunch Arrangement for the Delegates

 

The three day convention went by so quick. This was definitely a historical assembly. We were connected to 17 conventions, some outside the US. Total attendance was over 190 thousand and 528 were baptized in the Atlanta GA location. All the videos, and interviews added a lot of emotion to the program. I particularly remember the video from Friday morning, it really took my imagination to that day, when all we'll have from the past will be pictures and some memories of what it used to be like...

We had brother Sanderson from the governing body. On his talk Sunday he read a letter from the Atlanta city mayor thanking us for the visit. It said: "on behalf of all the members and residents of Atlanta, we are thankful for your visit and we hope you leave some of Jehovah's holy spirit in the city of Atlanta and in the Dome". Also a Dome employee said: "This is the finest organization that the Georgia Dome has ever worked with". What a great testimony for Jehovah's name!

                                           Here are some pics for the convention

Our Ecuadorian outfits for Friday

It was beautiful to meet, interact and share experiences with brothers from different parts of the world. Many of them made lots of sacrifices to be there.
So Monday after the convention we were scheduled for the Conyers Assembly Hall Tour. As the bus entered the assembly hall parking lot, all we could see was the brothers and sisters with the big signs, singing, dancing, clapping for our arrival. As we got down from the bus it got very emotional. It was beautiful to see people from different nations, different colors and even different languages hugging with tears in their eyes and exchanging gifts. The assembly hall was turned into a museum, showing the delegates a little bit of the JWs history. Also some of the events that took place right there in Atlanta in the 1900s. For lunch the brothers prepared an outdoor picnic with live music and dance. Right after lunch, we enjoy kingdom melodies played beautifully by brothers. I put some pictures and short clips together for this tour. If you will like to see them click here. 
 

 

 

Wednesday our tour was for "Modern Atlanta". (Pictures and videos). This tour visited Coca Cola, CNN, and the Aquarium where we enjoyed a beautiful  dolphin show for the finale. The nice thing about the tours was sharing with the brothers. That's what its all about... The Korean congregation was hosting us for lunch at a typical southern restaurant. They looked beautiful with their typical Korean customs. Lunch was very emotional as everyone is saying their goodbyes. This was the last of 3 international conventions in Atlanta. For the previous months brothers from all over Atlanta worked together on every detail to take care of delegates. It was really hard for them to see this beautiful event come to an ending. To see a short clip and photos click here.
 

 

The brothers from Atlanta went all out to make delegates feel special.  It gave us a good preview of what the new world its going to be like.