Special Convention

Aaron and I were invited to one of two Special Conventions held in Chile. We began our travel by flying to San Francisco, via Japan. After overnighting in San Francisco, we flew to Santiago, Chile, via Los Angeles. In total we logged over thirty hours of travel.

For those who do not know, Special Conventions of Jehovah's Witnesses are held each year. What makes them special is that they are held in different parts of the world—usually at a larger venue with 10,000 to 20,000 in attendance. Of that number 2,000 to 3,500 are invited from different countries around the world as delegates. The brothers and sisters within congregations around the convention city volunteer their time to show hospitality and care for the needs of the delegates.

In 2025, Special Conventions will be held in Albania, Belgium, Bolivia, Croatia, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, Scotland, Sri Lanka, Togo, United States and Zimbabwe—19 conventions, 15 different cities. The congregations of Guam have been invited to apply to the Special Convention in New Zealand.

We were greeted at the airport by our brothers and sisters with cheers, clapping and hugs.

At every turn there was a friendly brother or sister to show us the way.

The many volunteers at the airport.

"Aaron y Christy de Micronesia! Micronesia! Micronesia! Micronesia!"

After we collected our bags and cleared customs, we were lead to an event center at the airport where there was music and refreshments while we awaited our buses to our respective hotels.

All of this happened between the hours of 6 and 11 a.m. When we arrived in the lobby of our hotel, there were more brothers to greet us and register our arrival. They gave us gifts, badges (complete with lanyards) and information regarding the next day's activities. Happily, the staff at our hotel allowed us to check in early. Although we had to wait for the transport of our bags from the airport—which our brothers also lovingly took care of.

After a night of sleep, we hit the ground running.

Our first activity was called

Friendships that Will Last Forever

We were transported to a Kingdom Hall where we visited with the friends and ultimatley met our "host family". The young brother here has stayed in contact with Aaron. He may come out to visit us on Guam. He was attending the convention with his grandfather.

I sat down in front of this sister, Connie. She asked me where we were from. When I told her we were from Guam, she asked me if I knew Brenda Gather. I was shocked when she proceeded to tell me that Brenda, who I knew and loved, was her fleshly sister. Brenda passed away prior to the pandemic. I miss her. Connie looked and sounded just like her. It was so special to meet her.

This is our host family. Starting at the bottom left, we have Tamara and her father Guillermo; above Aaron on the right is Matias; and on the other side of me is Silvia (wife and mother) and their family friend Raquel.

Tamara and Matias picked us up at the Kingdom Hall and drove us to their home. Raquel had prepared us a lemon coffee cake for "breakfast". After introductions, we sat and got to know each other. Tamara and Matias translated for the rest of us. We enjoyed their warm hospitality. We were then served a traditional meal of baked salmon, empanadas and salad for our afternoon meal. They served two types on wine—a red and a white. It was at this meal we first fell in love with Carmenere, a red variety of wine, for which Chile is known.

After the meal we visited some more. Before we had to go, they showered us with gifts. Their love, hospitality and kindness was overwhelming. They treated us as if we had done them a favor by coming.

Later that day we met for the

Evening Gathering