Any year you lose a parent is a bad year...

This was the photo used on the front

of the memorial tract. My father, as many

knew him, loving life.

Today is the last day of 2012, and I wanted to write the final post of the year about the worst day of the year, and then put it to rest.
As readers of this blog know, I was raised by God-fearing parents who taught me the Truth. Sadly, on August 15, 2012, my father, aged 81, passed away at his home in Fairhope, AL., surrounded by my mother, myself and my brother ans sister.
It was not a surprise- I had gone for a visit in December 2011, when he was hospitalized to remove a cancerous kidney. Doctors told him then that the cancer had spread and he would likely have about 8 months to live. They were correct.
I went again in April 2012 for another visit, and while in some discomfort, my father and I were able to have some good conversations. I remember asking him why he had made the decision, at 40 years of age, to sell our possessions and take the family to Ecuador to serve where the need was greater (Keeping in mind that the Ecuador of the 1970's was closer to the U.S. of the 1870's. While there still might be culture shock, it's far less significant now than it was then.)
Anyway, he said, "I thought if we didn't do it then, we might never have had another chance."
He was like that- as the "patriarch", he made the decisions and the rest of us fell in line. I think we all turned out okay.
Knowing the end was near in August, I flew back to Alabama from Las Vegas on a Tuesday. Within a couple of days, he took a turn for the worse, and hospice was called. He was gone a few days later.
The service at the Kingdom Hall was well attended by hundreds of people who knew my father, and I appreciated the expressions of a number of brothers and sisters, many of whom I had known for more than 40 years, but not seen in decades.
Some had been elders when I was just a teenager and had encouraged me to stand firm in the Truth. Now they are nearing the end of their course in this system and I am encouraged by their faithful decades of service.
Because my father had known his time was limited, he selected the brother to give the memorial talk and made many arrangements. He always liked to have everything done in an orderly way.
I wrote the contents of the memorial tract that was handed out, and much of that was used in the brother's talk.
I present now the text of that tract and the photos that were included. We opened with song 11 and concluded with his favorite Kingdom Song, #56, "Please Hear My Prayer".

"Bill Winder married his high school sweetheart, Jean McCullers, in 1949. He was 18 and she was 17. They were in such a hurry that they had decided to elope in their home town of Fort Worth, TX.

They enjoyed more than 63 years of married life together and had three children, Jesse, Joe Bill, and Eva. He also has three grandchildren; Jamison and Rob Winder and Heather Woodin.

Bill & Jean 1956

 Bill always loved cars. He loved to work on them, customize them, race them, and repair them- often for his less-mechanically inclined friends.

Bill had a restless spirit that set him apart from many of his friends. After marriage he attended Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he studied engineering. They had their first child Jesse Ray, in 1952, and soon after moved to Phoenix, AZ where Joe Bill was born in 1955. Bill said he was on his way to California to get into racing, but job and family got in the way.

By 1959 the Winder family was living in Arlington, TX. and Bill was working as an electrical engineer. A life-changing event happened when a co-worker who was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses gave him some Bible-based literature. Bill devoured the magazines and books and knew he had found the Truth. But about this time, his company offered him a job in Germany, installing high level secure phone systems at U.S. Air Force bases throughout Europe.

Always ready for adventure, Bill accepted the position and in 1960 the family was off to live in Wiesbaden, Germany. From the literature Bill had read, he knew the German Branch Office of Jehovah’s Witnesses was also located in Wiesbaden. So not long after arriving, he took a taxi over to the Branch and in his broken German, conveyed to the brothers that this big American standing in their lobby wanted some witnesses to come to his home and study the Bible with his family.

Soon after, the Drebbinger’s (a German witness doctor who spoke English and his American wife) stopped by and began studying with the entire Winder family in the “Let God Be True Book”. During the three years that the family lived in Germany, they finished that book and also studied the “This Means Everlasting Life” book. One new member of the family was added with the adoption of Eva Marie in 1962.

When Bill and the family left Germany in 1963, they lived briefly in Texas until Bill was offered a job in Mobile, Alabama. On arrival, he contacted the local brothers and resumed his Bible Study. The family began attending meetings and made rapid progress in the Truth. Bill and Jean were both baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1964. They made many dear friends in those early days and many of those friendships have endured nearly 50 years all the way to the present. Several times through the years, Bill and Jean traveled with some of those friends to Europe to attend international conventions.

Bill & Jean 1965

Bill was adamant about always conducting a family Bible Study and setting a good example in field service and meeting attendance. But in 1971, he made a decision that truly showed what he valued most when he announced to the family that he was quitting his job, selling the house, cars, and everything else, and moving the family to serve where there was a great need for Kingdom preachers in the faraway country of Ecuador, South America.  

The family spent two happy years in Ecuador and returned to the United States in 1973 to take up residence in Baldwin County, AL. Except for a short stint in Lubbock, TX, Bill and Jean have lived here ever since and proved a rich spiritual asset in the Fairhope  congregation where he served as an elder for many years. Bill never lost the love he had for the Spanish field, so in 2007 (at the age of 77), he took a Spanish language class and he and Jean began also attending the Robertsdale Spanish congregation where they developed many dear friendships.

Winder family going to an Assembly - 1965

As a husband, father, grandfather, and faithful witness of Jehovah, Bill influenced the lives of countless individuals in a positive and upbuilding way. Now he has run the race, faithful to the finish.  He is missed, but we look forward to enjoying his association one again the in the promised New World, a time when “death will be no more”."

Note:

Some may wonder how my mother is doing after losing her mate after 63 years of marriage. Fortunately, she lives in a small town where brothers & sisters will often drop to visit. She is a healthy 81 years young, very spry and energetic, lives on her own with her little dog, and drives her PT Cruiser to the Kingdom Hall and anywhere else she wants to go. She says she's coming out to Vegas for a visit in the spring.

So what is the Field Service like in Las Vegas?

When I’m travelling and meet other Witnesses, there’s often a curiosity factor regarding the same things we do in Las Vegas that Witnesses do all over the world, as if we are on some exotic planet where everything is different from anywhere else.

Field Service in typical Las Vegas territory

The boring answer is that the ministry in Sin City is probably not dramatically different than where you live. I’ve yet to have a feather-coiffed, six-foot showgirl answer the door in full regalia, and no-one has ever offered me a $5 casino chip as a donation to the worldwide work.

One noticeable difference though is that there is more diversity amongst the population in Las Vegas than in other places I’ve lived (Dallas, Alabama, Florida panhandle). Las Vegas is truly an international city, and few of the 2,000,000 residents of the greater Las Vegas area are natives. So on any given morning in service, you’re apt to meet someone from any of the 50 states or the 192 members of the United Nations.

I always thought there seemed to be an awful of churches here, so it was no surprise that according to Wikipedia, Las Vegas has the most churches per capita in the nation. I don’t know if people feel guilty or just want an alternative to the rampant materialism, but all religions are represented. Of course, the big question is, do we find a hearing ear- and the answer is that many times we do. The main problem is that because people work so many different schedules, we tend to not find many at home, and sometimes wake up day sleepers. But out of the ones who are home, we’re often able to have good conversations. There can be exceptions- it was a little jarring the first time I went out in service here and I found two householders who proudly announced they were atheists! I said to myself, “Jesse, you’re not in the Bible Belt anymore.”

The weather is one issue that you have to learn to cope with. We live in the Mojave Desert and the heat can be brutal from May to September. Yes, people like to say it’s a “dry heat”. So if you’d like to simulate it, just crank your oven up to about 400 degrees and stick your head in. Dry enough for you?

One redeeming factor is that when we’re at 115, the humidity is generally in single digits. But even so, you’re not likely to feel inclined to take an afternoon stroll. So the pioneers often go in early morning witnessing, starting at 6 am, working businesses, bus stops, and gas station- wherever people can be found.

And on the bright side- from October to May, temperatures are very moderate and you can be out all you want. Just be sure to wear sunscreen. The sun shines brightly here in the desert more than 300 days a year, and it will burn you no matter what the temperature is.

The Kingdom Halls are full- in fact most are maxed out with four to five congregations meeting there, and there is a constant search for land for new building sites. In my Hall, we have four English and one Korean. In the Las Vegas valley are two circuits of English and two of Spanish. There are multiple foreign language congregations and groups as well, so matter what language a person speaks, he is likely to be able to find a meeting in his mother tongue.

The physical layout of the territory is similar to any other large Southwestern city such as Phoenix or Tucson. Lots of subdivisions with stucco clad homes painted in various shades of beige and roofs of clay tile. A “yard” as many Americans envision it, doesn’t exist here, at least one that contains grass. It would be safe to assume that we have the lowest lawn mower ownership per capita in the nation. Due to the permanent drought situation, planting of grass has been outlawed for some time. Homes have “desert landscaping”- rock mulch with drought resistant plants serviced by low-water usage drip emitters. It’s amazing that Jehovah’s creation contains so many colorful plants and trees that are well adapted to the desert extremes and actually thrive on very little water. It also means that there’s not much shade in the territory when you go walking from door-to-door so take an umbrella or wear a hat. Sadly, the brothers still have to wear ties.

One of these days though…..

Inside Pebble Road Kingdom Hall (click to enlarge)

Wedding Anniversary Time

Over the past 28 years, mine and Shirley’s wedding anniversaries have included a variety of festivities. Sometimes a trip to Hawaii was involved; sometimes it was a camping trip, other times maybe dinner and a show on the Las Vegas Strip.

Pirate show at the TI

This year, September 14 fell on a Friday, so we made a weekend of it. Every decade or so, we like to go slumming on the Las Vegas Strip like a tourist and check out what all the excitement’s about. So I made a reservation at Senor Frogs at the TI on Friday night and we made the 15 minute drive from our house in the suburbs to the Strip.

The TI is famous for its free “Siren’s of TI” pirate show spectacular which takes place every night starting at 7 PM and features acrobatics, explosions, dancing girls, and a sinking ship. The nice thing about dinner at Senor Frogs is that you’re right on the waterfront with an up-close view of the action.

So after our fish tacos, chimichangas, Dos XX beers and a brownie sundae it was time to burn those calories with a stroll down the most expensive strip of real estate in the world.

Volcano at The Mirage

Of course, Vegas is an international city- like Rome, all roads lead to here eventually, so it’s appropriate that a recreation of Rome at its zenith- Caesar’s Palace occupies a prominent spot of the Strip. As if that’s not enough, there’s the Venetian complete with St Mark’s Square, canals and gondolas imported from Italy along with The Paris and a 1/3 scale recreation of the Eiffel Tower.

Bellagio dancing waters

Free stuff to see includes the erupting volcano at the Mirage, dancing fountains at the Bellagio, and a surfeit of street entertainers as well as people-watching in general. In fact, at the main fountain of Caesar’s there was one guy the security guards call the “swimmer” who was going in fully clothed to snag coins.

One benefit of living in a town where tourism is the bread and butter is that there’s enough security to make sure crime is held to a minimum, especially along the strip, so you can stroll around in relative security practically any time of the night. Being a 24 hour town, the casinos don’t even have locks on their doors.

Caesar's Palace fountain

This is one of the best times of the year in Vegas- 90’s during the day and 70’s at night with that single-digit desert humidity. So we checked out the conservatory at Bellagio with its talking tree and admired merchandise in shops so high-end that they don’t even post prices. Out front was a street performer who had just been on “America’s Got Talent” for the skill of being able to dance while dislocating his elbows and shoulders. Whatever it takes to make a buck.

Elvis sightings area common

So that was Friday. On Saturday we had plans with our friends CJ & Gerrie to head out to Spring Mountain State Park- a desert oasis about 30 minutes out of town- where they have summer stock productions under the stars. You take your wine and cheese (or whatever sustenance you require) and have a relaxing evening enjoying a Broadway musical. Our selection this year was “Leader of the Pack- The Elie Greenwich Story” which told the story of the Brill Building songwriter who wrote so many of the Girl Group classics from the ‘60s. (Ronettes “Be My Baby”, “Baby I Love You”, Dixie Cups “Chapel of Love”, Shangri-Las “Leader of the Pack”).

It was a great show, and of course for Baby Boomers like ourselves, the opportunity to hear performances that are part of our musical DNA.

So in answer to the question, what do you guys DO in Las Vegas, that was one weekend out of our lives enjoying typical non-sinful activities in Sin City.

Picnic at Spring Mountain State Park

Enjoy the pictures!

Bellagio front lobby

The Paris Hotel

McDonald's on The Strip

Street performers

Performers ouside Caesar's Palace

Bellagio Talking Tree

Flashback: July '71 We arrive in Ibarra, Ecuador

"Well Jesse, you're not in Alabama anymore", I thought to myself as we headed north on the Pan American Highway from Quito, heading towards Ibarra.

I was on total sensory overload. At least, familiar faces had picked us up at the airport- Robert & Pat who we had met at our congregation in Mobile a few months earlier and sang the praises of Ecuador.

I was 18 years old and had been regular pioneering for a year since I had graduated high school. My father had made the decision that we should move to serve where the need was greater, and now here we were with my mother and father, 15 year old brother, 12 year old sister, and invalid grandmother. None of us spoke a word of Spanish and Ecuador might as well have been Mars for the amount of information we had on it.

Ivan Morillo & Jesse at my Ibarra house.

Now as I watched the eucalyptus trees zip by and admired the mountain scenery that was so different from coastal south Alabama, my primary thought was – “this should be fun.”

And fun it proved to be- and by the time we ran low on funds and had to return to Alabama two years later- the adventure proved to be the defining event of my life that has influenced me down to this day- four decades later.

Having to learn a new language didn’t scare me at all. After all, I had done it before when I was 8 years old and my father, an electrical engineer, got a job transfer to Wiesbaden, Germany. We were there 3 years and I attended German school for the 3^rd-5^thgrades where no-one spoke English and I was the one who had to adapt.

Having a new family move into the congregation was a big deal. There were only about 50 publishers to cover the entire province of Imbabura. The presiding overseer was Carlos Salazar (yb89 pp. 218-219), a Gilead graduate and native Ecuadorean who had grown up in New York and was fluent in English. He was single and lived with his elderly great-aunt.

Hugo Salas & Jesse

The congregation may have been small, but it was extremely zealous with an eclectic blend of regular and special pioneers. We weren’t the only Gringos. There were four elderly sisters from Canada who were living together on their social security. There were the Ginn’s, a younger married couple from Canada and the Convery’s, a Canadian family with a teenage son and daughter. Dave never met a fruit he couldn’t turn into wine- not as quickly as Jesus- but often with a 24-48 hour periodWith the addition of my family, there were now 17 Gringo publishers in the Ibarra congregation.

The Watchtower conductor was Rodrigo Vaca (see g85 9/8 22-25 for his life story), who happened to be blind, but not handicapped. I watched with amazement as the reader would read the question and whoever wanted to answer would say “Yo” out loud. Brother Vaca would recognize the voice and call on the person. Of course, in those days the Branch didn’t provide recordings of the literature, so a volunteer would record the magazines on tape for Bro. Vaca and he would essentially memorize them. 

Did I mention Rodrigo only had one hand, but he loved to play guitar? He would strap a leather pick thing around his right wrist and strum while fingering the strings with his good left hand.

Jesse & Rodrigo Vaca

And of course, he was a special pioneer, getting 150 hours a month in service time.

Of course, Alabama is not exactly a hotbed of ethnic diversity (in our congregation in Mobile we had black and white, that was it), and I had never met a Hispanic in my life. So the new variety was fascinating. Just the fact that my brother and I knew that “”Vaca” meant “cow” and that was a brother’s last name was a source of some initial amusement. Let me introduce you to some of the other brothers:

There was Guillermo Suarez, a high school English teacher who spoke very broken English in an almost unintelligible accent. For some unexplained reason and with no provocation he would loudly break into his favorite song, Doris Day’s “Que Sera, Sera”. (Sample lyrics: "When I was just a little girl I asked my mother, what will I be, Will I be pretty, will I be rich Here's what she said to me.")

Then there were the teenage Salas brothers, Fabian and Hugo. In our twisted minds, my brother and I pronounced Fabian like the teenage '60s teen idol Fabian and called Hugo “Juice”, not realizing the “H” was silent. 

Carlos Salazar

 A dear friend about my age was Ivan Morillo who lived in the poorer section of Ibarra. Of course I wasn’t aware of the subtle class distinctions of the culture, but Ivan and I became fast friends communicating in that weird “Spanglish” that people do when they’re learning the language. He became a fixture at our house and delighted in my mom’s pancakes and syrup, which he had never experienced.

That’s it for today’s retrospective, but there will be plenty more as I countdown to my long-anticipated return to “needgreater” status once again.

The countdown is on...

This will be a different sort of blog....both an affectionate look to the past and a hopeful look towards the future.

By way of introduction, my name is Jesse and my wife is Shirley. We have lived in Las Vegas, NV for 22 years and share our household with a paint horse named Trooper, bull terrier Thor, and African Gray parrot Diego.
We are active Jehovah's Witnesses and the "countdown" in the title refers to our goal of moving to Ecuador to serve where the need is greater in a Spanish speaking congregation.
As this blog continues, you will find entries regarding our life in Nevada (so often when we travel, we find that many folks are amazed that are thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses living and prospering in Las Vegas). 
There will also be entries and photos regarding one of the happiest periods in my life- when as a young man of 19 I was privileged to serve where the need was greater In Ibarra, Ecuador along with my parents, brother and sister




We spent two good years there in the full-time ministry before returning to Mobile, Alabama (thus the "Yellowhammer" alias). That was in the early '70s (you do the math), and I had always thought that when my circumstances would change (as they will in 2 years time with retirement) that I would return for another go at it. Although I serve in an English congregation, I've been able to remain fairly fluent in Spanish and look forward to working in the Spanish field.


Pebble Road Kingdom Hall- Las Vegas

It's funny- I read a lot of the blogs and communicate with some Gringos in Ecuador, so I have a good idea of how life is and what things cost. But with all the changes, the culture remains the same, and even though 40 years may have passed, the things I loved the first time around are the things I'll still enjoy. Those are some of the themes that will be addressed in future blog entries.
I don't know where we'll end up in Ecuador (I'm open to suggestions), but it will need to be somewhere in the Sierra, and of course I have a soft spot for Imbabura and that fabulous weather. As the time gets closer, I'll write the Branch and see what they recommend.
Obviously no-one can foretell the future, but two years passes very quickly, and having a specific goal helps to keep focus.
So we'll see what happens.
For everyone who happens to come across this blog- welcome to the journey.