Mi Willing for Change and Kasem Blessing
STORY BILONG JAMES A. THOMPSON
Mi born long 1928 long south part long America. Long datfala taem law talem olketa blak man and white man for no stap tugeta. Eniwan wea no followim datfala law bae go long prison or bae olketa killim hem nogud.
LONG datfala taem samfala ples long America tu mas garem olketa difren kongregeson, circuit, and distrik for olketa white man and for olketa blak man. Long 1937, dadi bilong mi kamap company servant (chairman bilong olketa elder) long kongregeson long Chattanooga long Tennessee. Datfala kongregeson hem for olketa blak brata and sista. Henry Nichols nao hem company servant long kongregeson bilong olketa white brata and sista.
Mi tingim yet olketa gud samting wea mi duim taem mi young. Samfala taem long naet mi savve sidaon aotsaed long haos witim dadi and lisin taem hem and Brata Nichols tufala story. Nomata mi no minim evri samting wea tufala storyim, mi hapi tumas for stap witim dadi and lisin taem tufala storyim best wei for duim preaching waka.
Long 1930, mami bilong mi dae. Hem 20 year nomoa. So dadi nao lukaftarem mi and sista bilong mi Doris. Doris hem 4 year and mi 2 year. Nomata dadi just baptaes, hem gohed strong long truth.
Olketa wea Showimaot Gud Example
Long 1933, Dadi maritim wanfala naes sista wea nem bilong hem Lillie Mae Gwendolyn Thomas. Tufala faithful for worshipim Jehovah and showimaot gudfala example for mitufala Doris.
Long 1938, samfala change kamap long organization long wei wea olketa chusim olketa elder long kongregeson. Winim wei for olketa brata and sista long kongregeson nao votem olketa man for elder, olketa brata long headquarter long Brooklyn, New York nao markem brata for elder. Olketa askem evri kongregeson for sapotim datfala disison. Samfala brata long Chattanooga no laek for followim datfala disison, bat dadi bilong mi sapotim change wea kamap. Mi lanem gud samting from wei wea dadi faithful and wei wea step mami bilong mi sapotim hem.
Mi Baptaes and Duim Full-taem Service
Long 1940, staka brata and sista long kongregeson bilong mifala haerem bas and go long convention long Detroit long Michigan. Samfala wea mifala go tugeta tu baptaes. Start kam from taem mi 5 year mi savve go preach evritaem, so samfala brata and sista laek savve why nao mi no baptaes.
Mi sei: “Mi no savve yet long evri samting wea man mas duim for baptaes.” Dadi sapraes long wanem mi talem. So hem traem best for helpem mi for savve wanem nao hem minim for baptaes and why hem important. Fofala month bihaen, long October 1, 1940, mi baptaes long Chattanooga. Hem barava cold tumas long datfala day.
Mi start pioneer taem mi 14 year. Mi savve duim datwan long taem bilong skul holiday. Mi preach long olketa smol taon long Tennessee and long olketa ples long Georgia wea stap klosap. Mi savve wekap early and redyim lunch mekem mi savve go long train or bas long 6 klok long morning for kasem territory. Mi savve kam bak long haos long samting olsem 6 klok long evening. Plande taem mi savve finisim kaikai wea mi tekem bifor hem 12 klok. Nomata mi garem selen for baem kaikai, man wea ownim stoa no savve letem mi for baem kaikai bikos mi blak. Wantaem olketa raosem mi from stoa taem mi laek for baem ice cream. Bat wanfala white woman wea kaen tumas hem givim ice cream for mi.
Taem mi start skul long secondary skul, pipol long south part long America start for campaign for evri blak man garem sem raet olsem olketa white man. Samfala grup olsem NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) talem olketa blak student for sapotim datfala campaign. Staka skul for olketa blak student laekem evri student for joinim olketa grup olsem. Olketa long skul bilong mi talem mi for mas sapotim olketa blak pipol bat mi les. Mi talem olketa, God no favorim eniwan and mi trustim God nao bae stretem evri samting.—John 17:14; Acts 10:34, 35.
No longtaem bihaen mi finisim secondary skul, mi disaed for muv go long New York City. Firstaem mi go long Philadelphia long Pennsylvania for visitim olketa fren wea mi meetim long convention. Long there nao hem firstaem for mi lukim olketa white brata and blak brata meeting tugeta. Wanfala traveling overseer visitim datfala kongregeson and hem askem mi for duim wanfala part long next meeting. So mi disaed for stap long Philadelphia.
Wanfala fren bilong mi long Philadelphia hem Geraldine White. Mi savve kolem hem long Gerri. Hem savve gud long Bible and savve tumas long hao for story witim pipol long ministry. Hem tu laek for pioneer. Long April 23, 1949, mitufala marit.
Mitufala Go Long Gilead
Mitufala garem goal for attendim Gilead Skul and duim missionary waka long nara kantri. Nomata olsem, mifala hapi for go long nara ples wea needim samfala pablisa moa. Mitufala savve datwan bae redyim mitufala for Gilead Skul. No longtaem bihaen, mifala kasem assignment for go long Lawnside long New Jersey. Then mifala go long Chester long Pennsylvania, and bihaen mifala go long Atlantic City long New Jersey. Taem mifala long there, mifala apply for Gilead Skul bikos mitufala marit for tufala year finis. Bat wanfala problem kamap.
Bihaen olketa year long 1950, staka young man mas joinim army and go faet long Korea. Olketa bigman long army long Philadelphia talem mi for mas joinim army. Olketa les long Olketa Jehovah’s Witness bikos olketa no join long war. Gogo wanfala judge talem mi olketa man wea lukluk long case bilong mi luksavve mi talem tru samting taem mi no laek for teksaed. Long January 11, 1952, Presidential Appeal Board sei mi no need for joinim army bikos mi wanfala minister bilong religion.
Long August 1952, mitufala Gerri kasem invitation for attendim mek-20 class bilong Gilead Skul wea start long September. Mitufala tingse bae olketa sendem mifala long nara kantri bikos sista bilong mi Doris, hem attendim mek-13 class bilong Gilead and hem go long Brazil. Batawea mitufala kasem assignment for go long Alabama wea stap long south part long America. Mitufala duim circuit waka and visitim olketa kongregeson bilong olketa blak brata and sista. Mitufala sorre from mifala barava laek for go long nara kantri.
First kongregeson wea mitufala visitim hem long Huntsville, and mifala stap long haos bilong wanfala sista. Taem mitufala tekem olketa basket long haos, mifala herem sista hia story long telephone and sei, “Olketa pikinini long hia nao.” Mitufala luk young tumas nomata mitufala 24 year. Evriwan long circuit givim nem “olketa pikinini” long mitufala.
Staka pipol long south part long America barava tinghae long Bible. Olketa savve kolem datfala area Bible Belt. So taem mifala duim ministry, mifala savve storyim thrifala samting:
(1) Olketa samting wea happen long world.
(2) Hope wea stap long Bible.
(3) Wanem Bible talem for iumi mas duim.
Bihaen mifala storyim olketa samting hia witim pipol, mifala showim buk for helpem olketa savve long Bible. From story wea mi iusim helpem staka pipol, olketa brata askem mi for duim demonstration long assembly long New York long 1953.
Long 1953, mi kasem assignment for kamap distrik overseer. Mi visitim olketa circuit long south part long America wea olketa blak brata stap. Territory bilong mifala hem start long Virginia and Florida go kasem Alabama and Tennessee. Olketa traveling overseer mas willing for change fitim ples wea olketa go long hem. Olsem example, plande taem mifala stap long haos wea no garem bathrum insaed. Mifala savve swim long wanfala big basin klosap long oven long kitchen. Mifala hapi bikos datwan nao hem ples long haos wea hem warm.
Pipol Ting Daonem Narawan wea Garem Difren Kala Skin
Taem mifala visitim olketa kongregeson long south part long America, mifala mas tingting gud bifor mifala duim samting. Pipol long datfala area no savve letem blak pipol for iusim ples for wasim kaleko wea evriwan long pablik savve iusim. So Gerri savve go long there and sei hem wasim kaleko for Mrs. Thompson. Staka tingse hem haosgele for Mrs. Thompson bat nara nem bilong mifala nao Thompson. Long datfala taem olketa distrik overseer savve showim movie The New World Society in Action long olketa big screen. Taem mi laek for haerem screen, mi savve ringim man long stoa and sei screen hem for Mr. Thompson. Hem savve letem mi tekem datwan. Mifala no kasem staka hard taem long ministry bikos mifala kaen long evriwan.
Staka pipol wea stap long south part long America no laekem olketa long north. Wanfala niuspepa sei James A. Thompson wea waka long Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York bae givim wanfala tok long assembly. Samfala tingse mi kam from New York. Skul wea mifala haerem hall bilong olketa no letem mifala for iusim datfala hall for circuit assembly. So mi go story witim olketa long skul and talem olketa hao mi skul long Chattanooga bifor. Datwan mekem olketa for letem mifala iusim hall for circuit assembly.
Long samting olsem 1954 go kasem 1956, plande pipol ting daonem narawan wea garem difren kala skin and samfala taem olketa raf tumas. Long samfala distrik convention long 1954, samfala Witness feel nogud bikos no eni blak brata givim tok. Mifala encouragem olketa for patient. Long year bihaen, mi kasem assignment for givim tok. Bihaen datwan, olketa nara blak brata tu kasem assignment for givim tok long olketa assembly and convention.
Gogo pipol long south part long America start for lusim wei for raf long narawan wea garem difren kala skin. Olketa white brata and blak brata start for meeting tugeta. So samfala pablisa kasem assignment for joinim nara kongregeson and territory bilong olketa kongregeson hem change. Olketa elder tu kasem olketa difren waka long kongregeson. Samfala blak brata and samfala white brata no hapi long datfala change. Bat plande brata followim wei bilong Jehovah for no favorim eniwan. Staka fren gud tugeta. Datwan hem no niu samting for mi bikos long olketa year long 1930 and 1940 famili bilong mi fren gud witim olketa white brata.
Kasem Niu Assignment
Long January 1969, mitufala Gerri kasem assignment for go long Guyana long South America. Mitufala hapi tumas for go long there. Firstaem, mifala go long Brooklyn, New York. Olketa trainim mi long hao for lukaftarem preaching waka long Guyana. Mifala kasem long there long July 1969. From mifala getius for duim traveling waka for 16 year, hem bigfala change for stap long wan ples. Mi waka long branch office and Gerri duim preaching waka.
Mi duim staka difren waka long Bethel. Mi savve brasim grass, sendem olketa buk long 28 kongregeson, and raetem olketa leta for olketa long headquarter long Brooklyn. Long each day mi savve waka for 14 or 15 hour. Nomata mifala waka hard, mifala enjoyim assignment long Guyana. Taem mifala kasem long there, olketa garem 950 pablisa nomoa, bat distaem hem winim 2,500.
Weather long Guyana hem naes and hem garem staka naes frut and vegetable. Bat samting wea mekem mifala hapi tumas nao hem taem pipol wea hambol laek lanem tru samting abaotem Kingdom bilong God. Gerri garem 20-fala Bible study. Staka wea mifala study witim baptaes, and samfala long olketa pioneer, kamap elder, and go long Gilead Skul for kamap missionary.
Kasem Problem Saed Long Health
Long 1983, mami and dadi bilong mi wea stap long America needim samwan for lukaftarem olketa. Mitufala Gerri and sista bilong mi Doris story tugeta abaotem datwan. Doris hem missionary long Brazil for 35 year, so hem nao disaed for go bak and lukaftarem olketa. Doris sei hem gud for hem nao go bak winim tufala missionary nao lusim assignment. Bihaen dadi and mami bilong mi dae, Doris hem spesol pioneer long Chattanooga.
Long 1995, mi kasem prostate cancer so mitufala mas go bak long America. Mifala go stap long Goldsboro long North Carolina bikos hem klosap long famili bilong mi long Tennessee and famili bilong Gerri long Pennsylvania. Distaem mi no sik big tumas. Mifala spesol pioneer long wanfala kongregeson long Goldsboro bat mifala no need for kasem hour wea spesol pioneer shud kasem.
Mi duim full-taem service for winim 65 year. Mi hapi tumas bikos Jehovah blessim mitufala from mitufala willing for changem samfala samting mekem mitufala savve gohed worshipim hem. Toktok bilong David hem tru tumas. Hem sei olsem abaotem Jehovah: “Iu faithful long olketa wea faithful long iu.”—2 Sam. 22:26.
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Dadi bilong mi and Brata Nichols showimaot gudfala example
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Bifor mitufala go long Gilead Skul long 1952
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Bihaen Gilead Skul mitufala duim traveling waka long south part long America
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Olketa traveling overseer and waef wea redi for distrik convention wea kamap long 1966
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Mifala enjoyim missionary waka long Guyana