Mi Lukim Staka Sheepsheep Bilong God Kamap Long Korea
Story bilong Milton Hamilton
“Mifala sorre for talem iufala missionary, gavman long Republic of Korea no givim visa for iufala go long kantri bilong olketa and no laekem iufala for go stap long there. . . . From gavman duim datwan, mifala laekem iufala for go firstaem long Japan for lelebet taem.”
KLOSAP long end long 1954, mi and waef bilong mi kasem leta hia from olketa brata long Brooklyn, New York, long America. Long start long datfala year, mitufala graduate long mek-23 class bilong Gilead Skul long New York. Taem mifala kasem datfala leta, mifala missionary for lelebet taem long Indianapolis, long America.
Mi and waef bilong mi Liz (wea firstaem nem bilong hem Liz Semock), mitufala long wanfala class long secondary skul. Gogo mitufala marit long 1948. Liz laekem tumas for pioneer bat hem no laek lusim America for go pioneer long nara kantri. Hao nao gogo hem changem tingting bilong hem?
Liz hapi for mitufala go long meeting for Gilead Skul wea kamap long international convention long Yankee Stadium, New York, long 1953. From meeting hia barava encouragem mifala, mifala raetem pepa for go long Gilead Skul. Seknomoa mifala kasem leta for start skul long February 1954.
Mitufala kasem assignment for go long Korea. War wea gohed long there for thrifala year hem finis long 1953, bat war hia barava spoelem staka samting. Olsem datfala leta storyim finis, mifala go firstaem long Japan. Bihaen mifala gogo long ship for 20-fala day, mifala kasem Japan long January 1955. Mitufala and nara sixfala missionary wea mifala shud go long Korea nao mifala go long Japan. Lloyd Barry, wea hem overseer long Japan branch, hem kam meetim mifala long wharf long six klok long morning. Then mifala gogo nao for missionary hom long Yokohama. Long datfala sem day tu mifala go preach.
Gogo Mifala Kasem Korea Nao
Gogo mifala kasem visa for go long Republic of Korea. Long March 7, 1955, mifala lusim Haneda International Airport long Tokyo for flae for thrifala hour for kasem Yoido Airport long Seoul. Long airport, winim 200 brata and sista long Korea kam for lukim mifala, and mifala krae from mifala hapi tumas. Long datfala taem Korea garem nomoa 1,000 brata and sista. Mifala garem disfala tingting hao evriwan long Asia luk semsem nomoa and olketa duim olketa samting long sem wei tu. Bat gogo mifala luksavve diswan hem no olsem. Pipol long Korea garem languis, alphabet, lokol kaikai, lukluk, stael kaleko, and stael haos bilong olketa seleva tu.
Firstfala samting wea no isi long mifala nao hem for lanem languis long Korea. Mifala no garem eni buk for helpem mifala for lanem datfala languis. Mifala kwiktaem luksavve hem hard for talem olketa word long Korea followim hao mifala savve talem long English. Man savve talem stret nomoa olketa word long Korea taem hem lanem firstaem alphabet bilong olketa.
Mifala mistek tu taem mifala languis. Wanfala taem Liz askem haosholder sapos hem garem Bible. Lukluk long feis bilong haosholder hem barava difren nao and hem tekem kam masis. Liz askem hem for sungnyang (masis) and no sungkyung wea minim “Bible.”
Bihaen tu-thri month, mifala go long Pusan, wanfala taon long south, for lukaotem ples for niu missionary hom. Mifala rentim thrifala smol rum for mitufala and nara tufala sista. Olketa rum no garem tap for wata and no garem flush toilet. Long naet nomoa, wata savve kam strong lelebet long hose pipe for kasem mek-tu storey long haos hia. So mifala wanwan garem taem for wekap long barava early morning for refillim wata long olketa container. Mifala boelem wata or putim medicine chlorine long hem for mekem hem fit for mifala savve drinkim.
Mifala kasem samfala nara samting tu wea mekem hem no isi for mifala. Paoa no savve kam strong so mifala no savve iusim machine for wasim kaleko or iron for ironim kaleko. Kitchen bilong mifala nao hem long corridor, and mifala garem nomoa kerosene stove. No longtaem nomoa, mifala evriwan lane hao for kukim lokol kaikai long kerosene stove. Bihaen thrifala year, mitufala Liz kasem sik hepatitis. Long datfala taem, klosap evri missionary kasem datfala sik. Bihaen staka month, mitufala gud bak moa bat mifala kasem samfala nara sik tu.
Samting wea Kasem Mifala Helpem Olketa Brata
Long 55 year wea go pas finis, Korean peninsula hem garem staka problem long politik. Wanfala area (DMZ, wea hem nao demilitarized zone) hem stap midolwan long datfala peninsula wea olketa stopem army for no go long there. Area hia stap 55 kilometer north long Seoul, wea hem kapitol bilong Republic of Korea. Long 1971, Frederick Franz long Brooklyn headquarter kam visitim mifala. Mi tekem hem go long DMZ, from hem nao barava sef ples long earth. Long olketa year wea go pas finis, plande taem olketa bigman bilong United Nations garem meeting witim pipol long tufala gavman long peninsula hia.
Iumi no joinim eni politik long disfala world and datwan long Korean peninsula tu. (John 17:14) Winim 13,000 Korean Witness stap long prison bikos olketa no joinim army. Sapos iumi addim evri year wea olketa stap long prison hem kasem 26,000 year. (2 Cor. 10:3, 4) Evri young brata long Korea savve hao gavman bae askem olketa for joinim war, bat olketa nating fraet nomoa. Sorre samting nao, gavman ting long olketa Christian brata olsem pipol wea brekem law from olketa no saedem gavman.
Long taem bilong World War II long 1944, mi tu no joinim army and olketa putim mi long prison long taon Lewisburg, long Pennsylvania, America, for tu and haf year. Olketa brata bilong iumi long Korea kasem hardfala taem long prison. Mi minim wanem olketa young Witness hia kasem. Taem plande nara brata savve hao samfala long mifala missionary long Korea kasem semkaen samting tu, datwan strongim olketa.—Isa. 2:4.
Mifala Kasem Hard Taem
Long 1977, bigfala problem kamap from mifala no saedem gavman. Olketa man long gavman tingse mifala nao talem olketa young wan long Korea for no joinim army. So gavman no letem olketa missionary wea lusim Korea for kam bak moa long Korea. Diswan start long 1977 go kasem 1987. Sapos mifala lusim Korea long taem hia, mifala bae no savve kam bak moa long Korea. So long olketa year hia, mifala no go bak nao long America.
Mifala story witim olketa bigman long gavman staka taem and minim long olketa hao iumi no saedem gavman from iumi followim Christ. Gogo olketa luksavve hao mifala nating fraet nomoa. Bihaen tenfala year, datfala law for stopem olketa missionary for kam bak hem finis nao. Long datfala taem, tu-thri missionary lusim Korea from olketa sik, bat mifala olketa narawan stap and mifala hapi long datwan.
Long olketa year bihaen 1980, pipol wea againstim ministry wea mifala duim accusim olketa director bilong legal corporation bilong mifala. Olketa sei olketa director hia nao talem olketa young boy for no joinim army. So gavman kwestinim wan bae wan long mifala olketa director. Long January 22, 1987, olketa lawyer bilong gavman no faendem eni pruv for diswan. Diswan mekem olketa for no garem rong tingting nao abaotem mifala.
God Blessim Waka wea Mifala Duim
Long Korea, from mifala no saedem gavman, pipol barava againstim preaching waka. So hem no isi for faendem gudfala ples for garem olketa big assembly. So olketa Witness wakem Assembly Hall long Pusan. Diswan nao firstfala hall wea olketa wakem long Asia. Long April 5, 1976, mi garem privilege for givim dedication tok for datfala hall, wea 1,300 pipol nao kam.
Start long 1950, plande thousand soldia long America kam waka long Korea. Bihaen olketa go bak long America, staka soldia hia kamap Witness. Staka taem mifala kasem leta from olketa and mifala ting long diswan olsem blessing from mifala helpem olketa for savve long Jehovah.
Long September 26, 2006, mi sorre tumas from waef bilong mi Liz, wea mi lovem tumas, hem dae. Mi barava missim hem tumas. Long 51 year wea mifala stap long hia, hem hapi for duim eni assignment and hem nating komplen nomoa. No enitaem hem storyim hao mifala shud go bak long America, kantri wea hem firstaem talem hem nating laek for lusim!
Mi gohed waka long Bethel long Korea distaem. Long firstaem, no staka nao stap long Bethel famili, bat distaem hem kasem 250. Mi wanfala long sevenfala long Branch Komiti wea lukaftarem waka long hia.
Long firstaem wea mifala kasem Korea, ples hia hem poor nomoa, bat distaem hem barava rich nao. Korea garem winim 95,000 Witness and klosap 38,000 olketa regular or auxiliary pioneer. Evri samting hia tu mekem mi tinghae long privilege wea mi garem for worshipim God long disfala kantri and for lukim hao staka sheepsheep bilong God nao kamap long hia.
[Piksa long page 24]
Mitufala witim olketa nara missionary kasem Korea
[Piksa long page 24, 25]
Taem mifala stap long Pusan
[Piksa long page 25]
Long 1971, mi and Brata Franz long DMZ
[Piksa long page 26]
Mitufala Liz no longtaem bifor hem dae
[Piksa long page 26]
Bethel long Korea wea mi gohed waka distaem