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Wow...(hope our brothers and sisters are ok) A powerful explosion ( The cause of the explosion is not yet known, however there are reports that it was due to a gas leak in a bakery. ) occurred in the central district of Paris on Saturday morning, police confirmed. There are no immediate reports of casualties so far. The blast took place on the Rue de Trevise, causing fire and chaos on the adjacent streets, local witnesses and journalists report. Images showing the apparent aftermath of the explosion have been posted to Twitter. https://www.rt.com/news/448641-france-paris-explosion-house/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Current numbers starting 2019..

Wow. Tort - hopefully it works out with that. Our chappie who came is an atheist ... we've started a study in the good news brochure ... well he's also an alcoholic so attention span is a little short for now. He's very honest and says he wants to believe but can't, so his head knowledge is stopping his heart, hopefully giving him accurate knowledge will jumpstart the heart. He came to the meeting ... looked at me (Tom was sick so another couple and myself picked him up) and said: "Don't expect me to sing the songs will you? - I said No No just observe so you know what goes on here that's fine. Welllll ... he sung all the songs and was the loudest out of all four of us - very nice voice. Young chap well 44ish ... looking foward to where Jehovah is taking us on this one.

I got an example of this just a few hours ago. We have a grandson over for the night. He will be 7 tomorrow. He has been doing things with me most of the day and has been fine. After dinner we let him play with his IPad. House rules are no violent games. Well, he had some rough ones on his tablet and I wasn't really paying attention so he was doing some slice and dice and shoot em up stuff, volume down low. After awhile he told me he was feeling mad, and didn't know why. We talked for a couple of minutes and then I asked him what game he was playing. After I saw it I asked him if maybe that's why he was angry. We reasoned it out pretty good for a few minutes and I told him that's why we don't do violent games, I don't like them and God doesn't like them. He understood fairly well. He says he wants to please God and he doesn't understand why other people don't want to. We did some reasoning on that too....

It just dawned on me. My heart is in the new system. I cannot tell you why I feel that way, but I do. I know we have work to do here, and now, but...hard to articulate. We have a cemetery on our land. My husbands people. His Mom, Dad, aunts, uncles cousins. Some he never met. You know I want him here with me to greet them. The reality just gets closer and closer. Makes not much sense, I know. Who to share it with, but you dear friends!

We have 46 studies in 120 publishers in the congregation, many progressing nicely.

Do you enjoy playing violent video games? Then you can't avoid military service. That appears to be the message South Korea is sending conscientious objectors. Prosecutors said they were investigating whether a number of men seeking exemption from military service played "online shooting games" in the past. "We need to verify their genuine faith. So we need to examine their personal life," an official with the prosecutors office on the southern island of Jeju told CNN. "We check whether they had been attending (religious) service. Checking their history with shooting games is another method." hat ruling came after a decades-long fight by conscientious objectors, many of them Jehova's Witnesses, to push back against the country's stringent military service law, under which all men between the ages of 18 and 35 are required to perform at least 21 months of service in the South Korean armed forces. Since then, however, conservative politicians and prosecutors have attempted to get around the court's ruling, by, for example, requiring conscientious objectors to carry out more stringent -- and potentially more dangerous -- forms of non-military service. Following an earlier ruling by a constitutional court ordering the government to provide alternate ways to serve for objectors, the right-wing Liberty Korea Party put forward a bill to force objectors to perform 44 months -- double the usual length -- of service, including mine sweeping and other dangerous activities. "This is a form of retaliatory punishment against conscientious objectors that is anachronistic and in violation of human rights," South Korea's Hankyoreh newspaper said in an editorial at the time. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/11/asia/conscientious-objector-south-korea-gaming-intl/index.html

I must say, it's been quite exciting not just for me but our local congregations, there's seems to be an upsurge of studies coming to the meeting. Jehovah blessed me with two coming and another thinking about it. It's very encouraging not just for myself but for my studies and the congregations. How's the Bible Study attendance by you all? Any nice experiences?

Some wonderful trips,events are being planned as we speak. The Otways region is around 3 hours from Melbourne, but varies depending on what part of the region you are visiting. Renowned for waterfalls, the striking cool temperate rainforest of the Great Otway National Park boasts one of the highest rainfalls in the state. Whether chilling-out or cooling-off, a waterfall makes for a stunning natural backdrop. On cooler days, especially after rain, watch the falls transform into a roaring curtain of water. And on a hot summer’s day, enjoy some shady respite through the sheltered forest to the water’s edge. Boasting a mind-blowing collection of walking tracks and trails across amazingly diverse terrain, choose your landscape – cliff top, coastal, rainforest or bush trail or all four at once! The Californian Redwoods Located along the picturesque Aire Valley Road, close to the quaint town of Beech Forest, this is a delightful place to stop and enjoy a picnic or just a short stroll into the forest. The awe-inspiring Californian Redwoods (Sequoia trees), were planted alongside the river in 1939. This unique forest is enchanting and is an experience that you will not forget. TIP: You are only a few minutes drive to Hopetoun Falls, so try and allow time to check it out too!

Finally!

I told them never to call me here...

Congratulations dear brother! ....

I almost had a great experience last week. Several weeks ago we were doing early morning street work and I stopped at a carpool lot, it was a Sunday morning and I was surprised to see someone getting out of a work truck at the far end of the lot. I talked to him for a minute and left him a tract, he asked for my phone number in case he had questions. I didn't hear from him for several weeks so I stopped by the carpool lot again and his truck was there, I left a tract and a note for him, he called me two days later. During our conversation he said he wanted a bible so I offered to bring him one, he suggested that he could just meet me at my church! So we made arrangements for him to attend a meeting, unfortunately he texted just before the meeting that he was sick and couldn't make it. Anyway, I have texted him and hope to get him to a meeting soon.

The desire to discredit religious views are very strong today. Many want to label all believers as hypocrites. And so many are being exposed that it only adds fuel to the fire. Think about it from the world's standpoint. 'My son is fighting to protect our country and may die for our country, just so you can pretend to be a conscientious objector.' Some time ago for our family worship, I put my three sons on trial and using material from trials of Jehovah's witnesses, I acted as the Prosecutor. Specifically, I was trying to find out if they really lived their faith or just didn't want to go to war. I was a little hard on them and told them that it would be harder in real life. At the end all my boys were very disappointed. I wonder, if are young people were questioned in this way would they survive. At the time they could not think of a single scripture to support their claim. as the prosecutor, I pointed out that there was a Watchtower two months previous that outlined spiritually why JW's don't go to war. I asked if they read it. No. When it came to video games, they said I was being unfair. As their father, I pointed out that if you are saying you will learn no more, how can you justify playing a certain game. Well, they have improved so much since then. The Israelites had so much trouble because of being (or wanting to be) like the nations around them. I think this is our burden also. If we were tried in a courtroom over our faith would we be convicted. Jehovah's knows we are dust, but the governments don't care if you are in their sights.

This reminds me of something a brother said many years ago, he asked 'if you were arrested as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, would there be enough evidence to convict you?' We think the limits of our conscience is just between us and Jehovah, there may be times that we do something that our conscience allows us to do, however again we need to think of how others will view the things we do. In this case, whether or not a brother felt it was okay to play violent video games may make the difference whether or not he goes to jail.

I fell yesterday. In service. I was getting out of a back seat, my feet got tangled in my purse strap, and down I went. Initially, flat on my back. Then I bounced, and my head hit the ground, and it bounced. It was a hard fall. I remember as I was in the second phase, thinking, “Oh great, a two phase fall”. I'm sore today. Actually pretty sore, and I did my neck no favors. At my age, it could have been life altering. Have you any idea how grateful I am? I assure you, that will not happen again. I could have broken so many things. I feel like I really jarred myself. As I said, one thankful person, I am. (It was my call, I went on it, then we all went home.) A long day that ended well!)

On the 13th October, over 700 elders from the greater Melbourne area gathered at the Melbourne Assembly Hall for a motivating and encouraging meeting. Representatives of the Australasia branch office, along with both the Convention and Hospitality Committees were present to provide an update on how congregations can be involved in showing hospitality for international delegates attending the 2019 Melbourne International Convention. Information was also given on the process publishers can follow in volunteering for hospitality, and for convention departments such as cleaning and attendants. Several department overseers provided an update on the progress that had already taken place in making the necessary preparations for the convention. All left the meeting with a sense of appreciation for the enormous effort being made to ensure that the 2019 Melbourne International Convention takes place decently, by arrangement, and above all, brings glory to Jehovah’s name. The congregations to which they returned were infused with the same excitement that the elders carried with them.

Yes we have quite a few progressive studies coming to the Hall. My call is too ill (liver failure) to attend but listens on the phone.

In working on the roof of the old Kingdome we used ultra-high water pressure at 40,000 to 66,000 pounds pressure. A mis-directed stream would cut right thru a boot severing the toes. Steel toe foot wear was a requirment. BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY featured our work in one of his shows. I made put his director in contact with a local company that usese water to mill titanium, as per the article above. A sidelight to the show, which I have never seen, was my two grandsons were wachting Bill NYE in New Hampshire and called out to my daughter "Mom come here, PAPA is on BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY."

I can just hear it now, "This coffee tastes like #$!%." Had to see who's poo they were speaking about: Too cute to be kept in cages and force-fed cherries. No more cruelty to Jehovah's critters in the New World.

Perhaps constitutional laws overwrite personal rights in this instance ..I don't know Korean law , but it just shows that Satan is relentless in his attacks, and it's a protection for us when we lead a clean life as we are encouraged week by week.

Thats why we have the CLM. Christian Living Ministry. Its better to obey Jehovah in everything. Or else, we can't avoid the consequences. For example, a brother who wants to avoid the military service but play shooting/violent games is a halfhearted witness. Watchtower study on Sunday reminds us to obey Jah in all things.

One of the reasons for the popularity of the WOL online library, is that you can access it from Apple or Android devices where the DVD version is Windows only. But as mentioned, you need an internet connect to use it. This is a problem in the rural area I live in.

I agree. I don't think that the S Korean government is specifically targeting our brothers. I have read somewhere recently that many young men in S Korea were happy about the court ruling on conscientious objectors. They see it as an opportunity to dodge the draft by becoming JWs. The S Korean government knows this and just wants to make sure that only genuine conscientious objectors do the non-military service. What is more, S Korea is technically still at war with N Korea. It has never signed a peace treaty with its neighbour after the war ended in the mid 1950s. Hostilities could start at any moment. That is why all S Korean men are still required to go through the military service regardless of status and wealth.

Well, I understand on one hand how they're want to make sure conscientious objectors are practicing what they preach, but at the same time, this is a clear invasion of privacy and a violation of your right to play whatever sort of video game you want. Yes, a brother objecting to military service but playing shooting games can be seen as a hypocrite, but my biggest fear is the subjective precedent that can be set. What subjective criteria will they now use to determine if an objector is lying? Owning a pocket knife with a blade longer than a certain length? What constitutes a violent video game? I'm just saying that this opens the door for even more human rights violations when the ruling should have done the opposite.