As mentioned in Edward’s report, over the past few years, factions “seitne” have developed here in Palmgrove. Having only been here less than two weeks, we haven’t really felt it, but in small ways we’ve noticed it. Since the first day we arrived, my dad and Paul Vetter have been having meeting after meeting with people, and here and there they have been telling us a snippet or two of what the problems are that people have. We won’t get into that, because a lot of it is just plain gossip. But anyways, it’s been a long hard battle.
We’ve had three brotherhood meetings that lasted till I didn’t know in what position to sit next. At the meetings, we got a pretty good feel of what the ministers have been going through daily. The first meeting was after a hot (no air conditioner and no fans) almost two hour lehr. At first, it seemed like no one had the courage to bring anything up. Inno Vetter made us all sit in a circle on benches. (A short note about the benches, they are very hard and very narrow. When I actually have to sit on them, I’m thankful that Bruce didn’t burn our old ones at home and hope that they will eventually make their way over here.) Because the brotherhood is fairly small, the circle stayed nice and tight.
At the first meeting, Inno had to do most of the talking, simply because no one else would. In church, the Ministers have been trying to impress on the people, that they must rise above fear of each other and fear of the truth. They were putting it into every sermon, every chance they had, and I now understand why. It’s amazing what a difference has been made spiritually here in these two weeks. At first, even when they were asked about a specific topic, they would sit like a bump on a log, not saying a word. Whereas, previously in private, they have had the courage to come out with the truth. At the last two meetings, there were actually some people speaking out, and at the last one people were bringing up issues and resolving them right there. It is emotionally draining to go through. I only had to sit through three meetings and sometimes felt very discouraged and drained afterwards. It made me completely understand, why Paul Vetter and Ed Vetter sometimes just sit there in the evenings, with this immensely tired expression on their face, not saying a single word unless they have to. But anyways, finally we are ready to have the Lord’s Supper and partake of it in peace and unity, with everyone having aired their issues and looking forward to a better future.
It’s a truly wonderful feeling, Talitha
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