Gaithersburg MD Spanish lecture feedback

When our lecture chairman first went to the Shady Grove Workers Center to present our offer of a lecture for the workers, the staff were ready to welcome and accommodate us, saying that many other speakers, including speakers from other churches, do come to the center to talk with the workers. After they understood what our message would be, a woman on the staff told our chairman as she left that we were bringing “a gift from heaven.”

On April 30 before 8 a.m, the trailer was filled to capacity with about 50 temporary workers who were eager for the half-hour lecture to start. They listened attentively and all wanted copies of the Heraldos (40), Spanish New Testaments (40), and Ciencia y Saluds (10) that our team of four members had brought. In fact, the administrative staff were disappointed that the copies were gone before they could get ones, so one member went to the Reading Room and came back with more for the staff later the same morning. Many people wanted to talk more, and our group was invited back.

As a result, the Gaithersburg members have taken on the responsibility of visiting the center weekly. Below is a fruitage report from Linda H, who went to the Workers Center on May 7, one week after the lecture:

I had the privilege of meeting with this group this morning at 7:30 a.m. It turns out that the manager of the center, Fernando G, is a friend of ours from John and Jay’s Boy Scout troop so I stayed after for quite a while and caught up with him. The staff asked for another Ciencia y Salud and one of the workers borrowed a copy while I was there. I played just the first 10–15 minutes of an Heraldo CD and then spoke with them.

We talked about the 91st Psalm (an integral part of the program they’d heard) and God’s ever-present power in each of our lives. I then talked a little about the power of prayer and used the Lord’s Prayer and Mrs. Eddy’s interpretation that we went through together. Then I took out the translation of the Miscellaneous Writings article, “Contagion” that is in our window at the Reading Room. We read through that together and I ran out of copies to give out. Sarah (one of the staffers) made more for us. Following the program we had an interesting discussion of that article with one of the education staffers who loved Mrs. Eddy’s perspective. I had the opportunity to talk a little about Mary Baker Eddy with them.

They are eager for us to continue visiting so I set up regular meetings for Wednesday mornings at 7:30 a.m. (except for the first Wednesday of the month when they have their own worker meetings). This group loves the messages we’ve shared; one even thought he’d attended one of our Spanish services a couple of years ago and looks forward to returning.