“I Neva Wuz Alone”

MY PARENTS EXAMPO

My faddah an maddah wuz strong Catholics. But wen dey wen learn from da Bible dat God’s name iz Jehovah, dey both wen come Witnesses Fo Jehovah. My faddah wen stop making wood carvings of Jesus. Radda, he wen use his carpentry skills fo make da downstairs of oua house into da firs Kingdom Hall in San Juan del Monte, one town outside Manila, da capital of da Philippines.

My parents wen teach my four olda braddahs an three olda sistahs da trut. An afta I wuz born in 1952, dey wen teach me too. From small kid time my faddah wen tell me fo read one chapta of da Bible eryday, an he wen study wit me plenny diffren books from oua hui. Had times wea my parents wen invite da traveling ovaseahs an Bethel braddahs fo stay at oua house. Dat wen make oua family happy an we wuz pump up fo hea da stories dese braddahs wen share wit us. An dis wen help make serving Jehovah da mos importan ting in oua life.

I wen learn plenny from my parents who wuz faitful to Jehovah. Afta my mom wen get sick an den mahke, me an my faddah wen start fo pionea in 1971. But den in 1973 wen I wuz 20 years old, my faddah wen die. Losing both of dem wen make me feel alone an wen leave one big puka in my heart. But da “strong an solid” hope inside da Bible wuz like one anchor, an wen help me fo stay positive an close to Jehovah. (Heb 6:19) Not too long afta my faddah had die, I wen accept da assignment fo come one spesho pionea on Coron, one island all by itself, in da province of Palawan.

ALONE WEN HAD HARD ASSIGNMENTS

I wuz 21 wen I wen get to Coron. Az one city boy, I wuz shock fo find out dat dis island ony had litto bit electricity, running watta, an not too much cars or motorcycles. Even tho had some braddahs dea, I neva have one pionea pahtna an had fo preach by myself sometimes. Dat firs mont, I wen miss my family an frenz choke. Nite time, I would stare at da stars in da sky an jus cry. I wanted fo bag from my assignment an go home awready.

Times lidat I would tell eryting I wuz tinking an feeling. I wen rememba some good kine words I had read in da Bible an books from oua hui. I wen tink about Songs Fo God 19:14 plenny. If I wen tink about tings dat make Jehovah happy, like eryting he do an his good qualities, I wen kno dat Jehovah wuz “my solid rock an . . . da One dat get me outa trouble.” The Watchtower article, “You Are Never Alone”a wen help me big time. I wen read um ova an ova. Wen I wuz alone, wen feel like wuz jus me an Jehovah, an dese wuz spesho times wea I could pray, tink, an study.

Litto while afta I wen get to Coron, I wen come one elda. Cuz I waz da ony elda, ery week I wen hando da Theocratic Ministry Skool, Service Meeting, Congregation Book Study, an Watchtower Study. An ery week I wen give da Bible talk fo erybody. I had plenny tings fo do, so I neva have time fo be lonely!

My ministry wuz good in Coron, an some of my Bible studies wen get baptize. But had some tings dat wuz hard. I had fo walk half a day fo get to da territory, an wen I got dea I neva kno wea I wuz goin sleep. Had smalla islands dat wuz paht of oua hui’s territory. Fo get to dea, plenny times I had fo go by motorboat tru ruff wattas. An I neva even kno how fo swim. Tru all dese hard times, Jehovah wen proteck an take kea me. Layta I wen see dat Jehovah wuz getting me ready fo moa hard tings in my nex assignment.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

In 1978, I wen get assigned fo go Papua New Guinea, north of Australia. Papua New Guinea get plenny mountains, an iz almos da size of Spain. Wen blow my mind fo see dat had about three million peopo dea an wen talk in ova 800 languages. But good ting mos peopo could talk Melanesian Pidgin, or dey call um Tok Pisin.

I wen get assigned to one English local hui in da capital, Port Moresby, fo litto while. But den I wen move to one Tok Pisin hui an take one class fo learn da language. I wen use wat I had learn in class fo go preach an dis wen help me fo learn da language moa fas. Pretty soon I wuz able fo give one Bible talk fo erybody in Tok Pisin. Crazy fo tink dat in less den one year since I wen move to Papua New Guinea, I wuz assigned fo be one circuit ovaseah fo da Tok Pisin huis in some big provinces.

Cuz da huis wuz far from each odda, I had fo set up plenny diffren big kine meetings an travel all ova. At firs I wen feel alone cuz I wuz in one new country, peopo had talk one diffren language, an dea culture wuz diffren from wat I wuz use to. Wuz hard fo go to da diffren local huis cuz of da mountains an ruff land. Dass why I had fo go by plane almos ery week. Sometimes I wuz da ony guy on dat small, bus up plane. To me, dose trips wuz jus az skery az goin by boat!

Cuz ony some peopo had phones, I had use lettas fo get in touch wit da local huis. Sometimes I wen get dea befoa my lettas an I had fo ask da local peopo who da Witnesses wuz. But ery time I wen find da braddahs, dey had show me so much aloha dat I wen rememba how come I wuz doin all dis. I wen see Jehovah take kea me in plenny ways, an I wen come way moa close to him.

At my firs meeting on one island called Bougainville, one coupo wen smile an come up to me an ask, “You rememba us?” I rememba I had preach to dis coupo wen I firs wen get to Port Moresby. I wen start one Bible study wit dem an den wen turn um ova to one local braddah. Now dey both stay baptize! Dis iz one of da choke blessings Jehovah wen give me in my three years in Papua New Guinea.

ONE BUSY LITTO FAMILY

Befoa leaving Coron in 1978, I wen get fo kno Adel. She wuz one sweet sistah who wen put oddas befoa herself. She wuz raising two kids an wuz one regula pionea. Same time, she wuz taking kea her makule maddah. In May 1981, I wen go back to da Philippines fo marry Adel. Afta we wen get married, we wen regula pionea an take kea da ohana togedda.

Even tho we had one family, in 1983, I wen get fo be one spesho pionea again an dey wen assign me to da Island of Linapacan, in da Palawan province. Oua whole family wen move to dis island wea neva have no Witnesses dea. About one year layta, Adel’s maddah wen pass away. But we wen stay busy preaching an dat wen help us tru dis sad time. We wen start so much Bible studies wit peopo who wanted fo go meeting dat pretty soon we needed one small Kingdom Hall. So we had build one. Ony three years afta we had get dea, 110 peopo wen come da Meeting Fo Rememba Wen Jesus Had Mahke, an plenny of dem wen get baptize afta we had leave.

In 1986, I wen get assign fo go da island of Culion, wea had one group of peopo who had suffa from leprosy. Afta we wen move dea, Adel wen come one spesho pionea. At firs, we wuz sked fo preach to peopo who had leprosy. But da local braddahs an sistahs wen tell us no need worry cuz da guys wit leprosy wen get treatment an so da chance fo catch um from dem wuz small. Some of dese guys wen go meeting in one sistah’s house. Pretty soon we wuz comfortable fo preach to dem. An wuz so awesome fo share da hope from da Bible wit peopo who wen feel dat God an oddas neva kea about dem. Wuz real good fo see peopo who wuz so sick fo come happy cuz dey wen learn one day dey wuz goin have perfeck healt.​—Luk 5:12, 13.

How life wuz goin fo oua kids on Culion? Me an Adel wen invite two young sistahs from Coron fo come wit us so dat oua kids could have some good frenz wit dem. Samuel, Shirley, an dese two young sistahs wen love helping oddas fo learn da trut. Dey wen study wit plenny kids, same time me an Adel wen study wit dea parents. Got to one point wea we wuz studying wit 11 ohanas. Pretty soon we wuz studying wit so much peopo who wuz coming closa to Jehovah dat we could make one new local hui!

At firs I wuz da ony elda ova dea. So da branch wen ask me fo run da meeting ery week fo eight publishas in Culion an den take one three hour boat ride an do da same ting fo da nine publishas in Marily. Afta da meeting dea, oua family wen hike up da mountain fo hours fo study da Bible wit peopo in one small town called Halsey.

Ova time so much peopo wen come into da trut in Marily an Halsey dat we had fo build Kingdom Halls in both dose places. Jus like in Linapacan, da braddahs an odda guys who wen show interest wen give plenny stuff we wen need fo build an wen do mos of da work. Da Kingdom Hall in Marily could hold 200 peopo an we could make um moa big so dat we could have big kine meetings dea.

FEELING SAD, ALL ALONE, AN DEN HAPPY

In 1993 wen da kids wen grow up, me an Adel wen get into da circuit work in da Philippines. An den in 2000, I wen go Ministerial Training Skool fo learn how fo teach dat skool. I neva feel I wuz good enuff fo do dat but Adel wen always build me up an remind me Jehovah would give me da powa fo do um. (Php 4:13) Adel wen kno wat she wuz talking about cuz she wuz taking kea her assignment on top of dealing wit healt kine problems.

In 2006 wen I wuz teaching da skool, da doctas wen diagnose Adel wit Parkinson’s disease. We no could believe um! Wen I had tell her maybe we should stop oua assignment fo take kea her, Adel wen say, “Please find one docta who can help me, an I kno Jehovah goin help us fo keep goin in oua assignment.” Fo da nex six years, she wen continue fo serve Jehovah an neva complain. Wen she no could walk anymoa, she wen preach from her wheelchair. Wen she no could really talk anymoa, she still wen ansa one or two words at da meetings. All da way til she wen mahke in 2013, plenny braddahs an sistahs wen sen Adel messages telling her dey so tankful fo her unreal exampo of hanging in dea. I had spen ova 30 years wit Adel, my loyal an loving wife. So wen she had mahke, I wen start fo feel supa sad an alone all ova again.

Adel wanted me fo keep goin in my assignment, so I did. I wen stay busy an dis wen help me fo feel not so lonely. From 2014 to 2017, I wen get assign fo visit Tagalog-speaking huis in countries wea da braddahs no wuz free fo worship Jehovah. Afta dat, I wen go Taiwan, da United States, an Canada fo go visit Tagalog local huis dea. In 2019, I wen teach da Skool Fo Kingdom Evangalizas in English in India an in Thailand. All dese assignments wen make me supa happy. I da mos happiest wen I stay busy working hard fo Jehovah.

WE ALWAYS GET DA HELP WE NEED

In ery new assignment, I come supa close wit da braddahs an sistahs I meet, dass why iz real hard fo leave. Times lidis, I wen learn how fo trus in Jehovah full on. I always see how Jehovah take kea me an dis help me fo be ready fo any changes dat come up in my life. Today, I one spesho pionea in da Philippines. I feel at home in my new local hui, cuz dey wen come my ohana dat love an take kea me. An make me feel so good fo see how Samuel an Shirley copy dea maddah’s fait.​—3 John 4.

I wen go tru plenny hard times in my life, like seeing my sweet wife suffa from one terrible disease an den die. I had learn how fo change tings up wen new tings wen happen in my life. I had see dat Jehovah “no stay far away from all us guys.” (Jesus Guys 17:27) Jehovah get “plenny powa” fo help his peopo an make um come strong, even if dey stay in places all by demself. (Isa 59:1) Jehovah, my Rock, wuz wit me my whole life, an I stay so tankful to him. I neva wuz alone.