Transcripts: Enjoy Life Forever!

Transcript: The Life of Rural Circuit Overseer
[Boats idle across calm waters. At the pier]
Presenter: It’s 9:00 a.m. on a Tuesday morning. A boat leaves the harbor in Belém, a city in the north of Brazil. A traveling overseer and his wife are on the boat, heading for a peaceful, rural island where they will spend the week.
[Alexandre Alciatti. Circuit Overseer]
Alexandre: We’re going to the island of Cotijuba. It’s about an hour away.
[Patricia Alciatti. Circuit Overseer's Wife]
Patricia: There are no cars on the island. We’ll arrive at the harbor, and there’ll probably be some friends already waiting for us there. We’ll get a horse-drawn or a motorcycle-drawn carriage, load up our luggage, and go to where we’ll be staying for the week.
[While using a pully they hoist their luggage to an upper floor]
The generosity of the friends is incredible. They can’t do enough for us. They’ve been preparing to receive us for the last six months—we can really feel that. They don’t give us just anything; they give us their best.
[Over the bed she ties up a bug net]
You notice that often the friends don’t have very much financially, they really don’t. But they prepare things for us to eat or give us somewhere to stay, things that sometimes they don’t have for themselves during their day-to-day life. You just have to love them. Everything we do doesn’t compare to what they do for us.'
[Wispy clouds quickly float across the sky]
Presenter: On Tuesday, after lunch, the circuit overseer starts analyzing the congregation records with the elders. Also, that evening, he delivers his first talk. The friends really look forward to this. They go through so much in life and this makes them feel looked after.
Alexandre: One of the things that I always make an effort to do is encourage the friends. That’s the key.
[A should pat and a warm hug]
Patricia: I think the friends already suffer a lot in this world. I try to help the sisters and the brothers feel as comfortable as possible around me.
[Joyful and harmonious conversations]
Presenter: After that, every morning and every afternoon the couple goes out with the congregation in the preaching work, on return visits, and Bible studies.
[Sitting in chairs on the beach brothers conduct a Bible study]
Alexandre: You have to cover a large area because it’s a big island. So, you have lunch in one area, then you go to one end of the island for a Bible study, then to the other end for a shepherding call. And don’t forget that the transportation available here is quite precarious and it isn’t always available when you need it.
[With Sunbrella’s the walk down a steep ramp towards boats]
Presenter: After a busy morning in the ministry, lunch is at a loving family’s home. And of course, local dishes are a must!
Patricia: We’ve arrived for lunch. Look at how many delicious things there are, all traditional food. This is maniçoba, a delicious local dish. And these are white beans, really tasty. What else do we have here? Caruru, a dish made from okra and shrimp, full of flavor too.
[Lifting lids from large metal pots]
Presenter: The couple’s week is full of activities with an early start every morning, but they never forget to feed themselves spiritually too.
[In a hammock she reads the Bible]
Patricia: While my husband is at the meeting with the ministerial servants and elders, I make the most of my time by doing my personal study. And then I tidy up a bit before he arrives.
[A local elder]
Brother: Months before the visit, we start looking forward to the circuit overseer’s arrival because we need guidance and encouragement. That’s why the visit is really good for us, for all the members of the congregation, and for the circuit overseer.
[A local pioneer sister]
Sister: When we have the pioneer meeting, we get a better idea of what we need to adjust and where we need to improve. And when we have the meeting again six months later,
you realize how much you’ve changed and that makes you really happy and motivates you.
[By a literature display she stands with Patrica]
Alexandre: Brothers, it was a pleasure for my wife and I to visit you this week. We were really pleased and encouraged by your good example, by your zeal, and by your endurance. Your generosity made us very happy, the meals, the care you showed us every day. We felt your support throughout the visit, in the mornings, the afternoons, on Bible studies—for all the arrangements that were made. We thank you from our hearts for all of your care and excellent support during our visit.
[Baby sloth licks and nibbles her thumb]
Presenter: And so, it all begins again. But this time, in another congregation in another place.
[In service clothes they walk hand in hand down the sandy beach]
(Logo: Black capital letters JW.ORG inside a white box. Copyright 2019 Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania)