Wanfala Taem Bilong Hapi Long Balkans

Long 1922, wanfala meeting bilong Earnest Bible Students, nem bilong Olketa Jehovah’s Witness bifor, hem kamap long Innsbruck, Austria. Wanfala man long audience hem Franz Brand, wanfala young man wea kam from Apatin long Vojvodina, Serbia. Taem speaker talem nem bilong God, Jehovah, wanfala raf sekson start for mek-noise, diswan mekem speaker hard for go ahed for story, so olketa mas finisim meeting. Nomata olsem, samting wea Franz hem herem hem barava muvim hem, and hem start for preachim gud nius bilong Kingdom. Diswan hem start bilong wei wea wanfala long olketa Balkan kantri hem grow long spiritual wei.

TAEM planti pipol distaem herem datfala nem Yugoslavia, hem mekem olketa tingim olketa war and wei wea pipol dae. Hem savve mekem iumi tingim olketa barava nogud wei for kill-kill, olketa refugee wea fraet fogud, olketa haos wea distroe, and wei wea olketa pikinini wea no garem dadi or mami safa. Hem hard for explainim bigfala pain and wei for safa wea kamaot from war wea barava spoelem Balkan Peninsula midolwan 1991 and 1995, wea distroem hope bilong pipol for olketa man mekem wanfala future wea garem gud and isi living. Long kantri wea olketa kolem Yugoslavia bifor, war mekem pipol safa from hard taem saed long selen and for kasem barava poor living.a

From bigfala wei for safa olsem hem kamap long there, maet man ting hem bae hard for faendem eni hapi pipol long datfala part bilong world. Bat maet iumi sapraes, from pipol olsem stap long there. Tru nao, klosap long end bilong mek-20 century, olketa pipol hia kasem wanfala spesol day bilong hapi. Hao nao Franz Brand, datfala young man wea iumi storyim long start, join witim disfala wei for hapi?

Spiritual Wei for Grow wea Kamap Long Balkans

Franz Brand barava hapi tumas long olketa niufala truth wea hem herem and hem disaed for hem mas talemaot disfala gud nius. Hem waka long wanfala ples for katem hair long Maribor, wanfala taon long Slovenia klosap long spialaen bilong Austria, and hem start for preach long olketa customer bilong hem, wea planti taem olketa sidaon kwaet and lisin long hem taem hem go ahed for shavem olketa. From hard waka bilong hem, wanfala smol grup bilong pipol wea talemaot Kingdom stap long Maribor long olketa lastfala year bilong 1920. Olketa savve givim olketa Bible tok insaed wanfala ples for kaikai, wea bihaen olketa kolem nem bilong hem Novi svet (Niu World) Seafood Restaurant.

Gogo, gud nius hem kasem full kantri. Wei wea olketa iusim “Photo-Drama of Creation” (wanfala eit-hour tok wea garem movie, olketa slide, and olketa recording) hem barava helpem disfala waka for grow. Then, long olketa year bilong 1930 taem Olketa Jehovah’s Witness kasem bigfala persecution long Germany, Olketa Witness long Kingdom of Yugoslavia kasem strong from olketa pioneer from Germany wea ranawe from hom bilong olketa. Olketa sakrifaesim gud living for olketa seleva, and trae hard for go preach long olketa farawe ples long disfala kantri wea garem planti maunten. Firstaem, no planti interest long message bilong olketa. Long olketa firstfala year bilong 1940, 150 pablisa nomoa givim report for field service.

Long 1941, raf persecution hem kamap, wea go ahed kasem 1952. Bigfala hapi kamap from long September 9, 1953, anda long Communist rul bilong General Tito, Olketa Jehovah’s Witness register long saed bilong law! Long datfala year, 914 pablisa bilong gud nius stap, and datfala namba go ahed for grow. Long 1991, namba bilong olketa pablisa hem grow kasem 7,420, and long datfala year 16,072 attendim Memorial.

Long August 16 go kasem 18, 1991, first international convention bilong Olketa Jehovah’s Witness long datfala kantri hem kamap long Zagreb, Croatia. Namba bilong pipol from datfala kantri and from olketa nara kantri wea attend hem 14,684. Disfala nambawan convention hem preparem pipol bilong Jehovah for olketa test wea bae kamap bihaen. Midolwan olketa lastfala transport wea go akrosim spialaen bilong Serbia and Croatia hem olketa bas wea tekem olketa brata from Serbia go bak long hom bilong olketa. Bihaen lastfala bas hem go thru, olketa satem datfala spialaen and war hem start.

Pipol Bilong Jehovah Garem Reason for Hapi

Insaed olketa year wea war go ahed hem wanfala taem wea Olketa Jehovah’s Witness long Balkans kasem olketa hardfala test. Nomata olsem, olketa hapi bikos Jehovah blessim pipol bilong hem witim bigfala increase. Start kam from 1991, namba bilong olketa pablisa bilong Kingdom long area bilong Yugoslavia bifor hem kasem winim 80 percent increase. Long 2001 service year olketa kasem peak bilong 13,472.

Bifor, olketa office long Zagreb and Belgrade (Serbia) nao lukaftarem waka bilong Olketa Jehovah’s Witness long datfala kantri wea bifor olketa kolem Yugoslavia. From datfala increase and olketa change saed long politik wea kamap, olketa need for mekem olketa niu office long Ljubljana (Slovenia), and Skopje (Macedonia), and tu olketa kasem olketa niu office long Belgrade and Zagreb. Samting olsem 140 member nao waka insaed olketa office hia. Staka long olketa young and fulap witim strong and love for Jehovah. Big haf long olketa duim waka for transleitim olketa buk for helpem man for studyim Bible, long olketa languis bilong Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia. Hem wanfala barava hapi samting for kasem klosap evri magasin and literature bilong Olketa Jehovah’s Witness long olketa languis hia wea olketa pablisim long semtaem witim English! Olketa pablikeson hia helpem planti pipol for kasem comfort and hope.

Narafala samting wea mekem olketa hapi hem wei wea planti full-taem servant from olketa nara kantri kam saportim olketa. Insaed olketa year wea just go pas olketa buildim samfala naesfala Kingdom Hall, diswan tu mekem olketa kongregeson hapi. Nomata olsem, wanfala samting for mekem olketa hapi hem stap yet. Hao nao olsem?

Wanfala Spesol Project

Planti taem samfala pablisa ting, ‘Waswe, bae enitaem iumi garem New World Translation long languis bilong iumi?’ Evri year olketa hope for herem announcement for datwan long distrik convention. From olketa transleison team for olketa languis hia hem just start tu-thri year go nomoa and tu no planti man for transleit hem stap, bae hao nao olketa savve duim wanfala bigfala project olsem?

Bihaen olketa lukluk gud long evri samting, Governing Body appruvim wei for duim wanfala project wea olketa transleison team for languis bilong Croatia, Macedonia, and Serbia barava waka klos tugeta and from datwan evriwan bae kasem help from waka and koment bilong each other. Team bilong Croatia nao bae leadim olketa.

Wanfala Day Bilong Hapi

Olketa Jehovah’s Witness long Balkans bae nating forgetim July 23, 1999. Olketa plan for “Profesi Toktok Bilong God” Distrik Convention for kamap semtaem long Belgrade, Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Skopje, and Zagreb. Firstaem olketa no sure sapos bae olketa garem convention long Belgrade from taem NATO go ahed dropim bomb, olketa no letem eni pablik meeting for go ahed. Olketa brata barava hapi taem olketa savve luk forward long wei for kaban tugeta, nomata for planti month olketa tingse maet bae nomoa nao! Bat, samting wea kamap hem winim wanem olketa expectim.

Long Friday aftanun wanfala spesol announcement hem kamap long fofala taon wea convention kamap long hem. Olketa 13,497 delegate weit for herem wanem nao bae olketa talem. Taem speaker releasem New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures long languis bilong Croatia and Serbia and talem audience hao transleison long languis bilong Macedonia go ahed gud, olketa delegate no savve holem bak feeling bilong olketa nao. Laodfala wei for klapim hand hem mekem speaker no savve finis for talem announcement hia. Long Sarajevo convention, evriwan barava kwaet taem olketa herem from olketa barava sapraes tumas. Bihaen, olketa klapim hand for longfala taem. Long Belgrade planti krae from olketa barava hapi, and speaker hem mas stop planti taem from olketa go ahed for klap taem hem trae for talem datfala announcement. Evriwan barava hapi tumas!

Wei wea olketa barava tinghae tumas long disfala present hem big go moa, from Olketa Jehovah’s Witness kasem raet for printim transleison bilong wanfala Bible long languis bilong Croatia and tu wanfala bilong Serbia. So, olketa mekem New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures long tufala languis hia for kamap wanfala volume witim transleison bilong Olketa Hebrew Scripture long sem languis. And tu, olketa printim Bible long languis bilong Serbia long Roman and Cyrillic raeting.

Pipol bilong Jehovah long Balkans barava thankiu long olketa nambawan blessing and instruction wea olketa kasem, and olketa barava agree witim toktok bilong David: “Nomata mi wakabaot long deepfala valley, mi no fraetem eni nogud samting, bikos iu [Jehovah] stap witim mi.” Nomata olketa go ahed for feisim olketa hardfala taem, olketa disaed strong for mekem ‘hapi bilong Jehovah hem sef ples for olketa.’—Psalm 23:4; Nehemiah 8:10.

[Footnote]

[Piksa long page 20]

Firstfala grup bilong olketa pablisa from Maribor, Slovenia, go preaching long farawe territory