Throughout Our Life, We Learn From Jehovah

THE EXAMPLE OF MY PAPA AND MAMA

Some years before 1960, my papa and mama pack comot from Italy go Kindersley for Saskatchewan, Canada. E no tey after them reach there, my papa and mama learn about Jehovah and the truth come be the thing wey dey important pass for our life. I remember say when I be small pikin, I de spend long time for preaching with my family, so sometimes, I de joke say I do auxiliary pioneer when I dey eight years!

My papa and mama no get money but them show better example as them ready to leave things to fit do more for Jehovah For example, for 1963, them sell many of their property to fit get enough money to go international convention for Pasadena, wey dey California, U.S.A. For 1972, we travel about 1000 kilometers (around 620 miles) go Trail wey be one city for British Columbia, wey dey Canada, to help the people wey de speak Italian language for that area. My papa de work as cleaner for one store. E no gree accept work wey go give-am more money because e want serve Jehovah well.

I de happy say my papa and mama show better example for me and my brother and sisters. Their better example na the first thing wey help me as I de serve Jehovah. Them teach me something wey I no ever forget, and that one na say, if I put the Kingdom as the number one thing for my life, Jehovah go care for me.—Matt. 6:33.

WE START TO SERVE JEHOVAH FULL-TIME

I marry Debbie for 1980. My wife fine well-well and e really love Jehovah. We want serve Jehovah full-time, so three months after we don marry, my wife start to pioneer. One year after we don marry, we pack go one small congregation wey need dey, and I join my my wife to de pioneer.

After some time, we tire for the assignment and we decide say we go pack comot. But we first discuss-am with the circuit overseer. For kind way, e tell us the truth, e talk say: “Una de add join the problem. Una de put mind for the problems wey una de face. But if to say una de put mind for the better things wey una get, una for see them.” This na the advice wey we really need. (Ps. 141:5) We no waste time follow-am, and we come see say we get plenty good things to put mind for. For example, some sisters wey their husband no de serve Jehovah and many young ones for the congregation like to do more for Jehovah. We learn important lesson from this one. We learn say e better make we de put mind for good things and trust say Jehovah go fit help us endure any problem wey we de face. (Mic. 7:7) We come dey happy again and things come better more-more.

The instructors for our first pioneer school don serve for other countries. As them show us many pictures and tell us about the blessings wey them get, this one make us really want go serve as missionary. So we come get goal to be missionary.

To fit do wetin we don plan, for 1984, we pack go Quebec, where them de speak French. E far reach 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) from British Columbia. This one mean say we go learn new culture and language. Another problem be say, many times, we no de too get money. E get one time wey the only thing wey we get to chop na potato wey one farmer de allow us to take from im farm. My wife come sabi cook potato for different-different ways. Even with this problems, we continue to de happy as we de endure. And we see say Jehovah de care for us.—Ps. 64:10.

One day, we receive one telephone call wey we no expect. Na invitation to come serve for Bethel for Canada. Because we be don apply for Gilead School, we feel somehow say na Bethel them invite us to go. But we accept the invitation. When we reach there, we ask Brother Kenneth Little, wey be Branch Committee member say “Wetin we go do if them invite us go Gilead?” E talk say: “We go cross that bridge when we reach there.”

After one week, them invite us go Gilead. So we need to decide wetin we go do. Brother Little tell us say: “Whether una choose to go Gilead or stay for Bethel, time de come when una go feel say, e for don better say una choose the other one. One no better pass the other, Jehovah fit bless any one wey una choose.” We accept to go Gilead and as time de go, we see say the advice wey Brother Little give na true. We self de give this same advice to people wey need to choose assignment wey them go do, just as Brother Little advice us.

OUR LIFE AS MISSIONARY

We really happy to dey among the 24 students wey dey class 83 of Gilead school for Brooklyn, New York, for April 1987. The main brothers wey train us na, Brother Ulysses Glass and Brother Jack Redford. When we graduate for September 6, 1987, the five months for the school no tey for our eye. Them send us with John and Marie Goode go serve for Haiti.

For 1962, them force missionaries comot from Haiti and since that time, them never send Gilead missionaries go the country. Three weeks after we graduate, them send me and my wife go one small congregation for Haiti wey get 35 publishers. The congregation far well-well and e dey for mountain area. We dey young and we still need to learn many things and na only we de stay for the missionary home. The people really poor and many of them no fit read. When we first start missionary work, people for the area de fight-fight because of problems with politics, them de try to force the government comot, them de block road and de burn things for road and things like heavy breeze de destroy things.

The brothers and sisters no allow all this problem make life tire them. Them really dey happy and we get many things to learn from them. Life no easy for many of the brothers and sisters but them love Jehovah and the preaching work. Even though one old sister no sabi read, e cram about 150 Bible verse. The problem for the area de move us more-more to tell people the good news say na only God kingdom go fit remove all their problem. E make us happy to see say some of the first people wey we study Bible with for this area later become regular pioneers, special pioneers, and elders.

When we dey Haiti, I meet Trevor, one young man wey be missionary for one church. We discuss Bible together for some time. After some years, e send me letter. For the letter, e talk say: “I go baptize for the next assembly! I want go back to Haiti to serve as special pioneer for the same area where them know me as church missionary.” And this na wetin e and im wife do for many years.

WE GO EUROPE AND AFTER, WE GO AFRICA

Them send us go preach for one part of Europe. E no easy to preach for that place before, but that time, we don de get freedom to preach pass before. For 1992, we go Ljubljana for Slovenia, near the place where my papa and mama grow before them move go Italy. That time, them still de fight war for former Yugoslavia area. Na the branch wey dey Vienna for Austria, and the offices wey dey Zagreb for Croatia, and Belgrade for Serbia, be de organize the preaching work for this area. But now, each republic go get their own Bethel home.

Now we need to learn another language and culture. The people de talk say, “Jezik je težek,” and this one mean say “The language hard.” And true-true, the language hard! We like the way the brothers and sisters hold Jehovah tight and the way them de adjust to follow anything wey the organization talk, and we see how Jehovah bless them. We still see how Jehovah de always use love correct matter for the correct time. We learn many lessons when we dey Slovenia, and many of the lessons wey we don learn before still help us endure the problems wey we face when we dey there.

But more things continue to change for our life. For year 2000, them send us go Côte d’Ivoire, for West Africa. Then for November 2002, we run comot go Sierra Leone because them start to fight war for Côte d’Ivoire. Them be de fight war for Sierra Leone for 11 years, but the war just stop when we go there. E hard for us to run comot from Côte d’Ivoire like that. But the lessons wey we don learn help us to continue to de happy.

We put mind for our better brothers and sisters wey don endure the war for many years and for the plenty people wey like to learn from Bible. Even though say them no get money, them get open-hand. One sister try to give my wife some cloths. When my wife no want gree take-am, the sister talk say: “When them de fight war, brothers for other countries help us. Now, na our turn to help other people.” We come plan to de copy their example.

We later go back to Côte d’Ivoire, but fight-fight start for there again. For November 2004 na helicopter carry us run comot from there and na only one bag each of us fit carry. We sleep for ground for one army barrack for night and the next day, we travel go Switzerland. When we reach the Branch office around midnight, members of the Branch Committee and instructors of Ministerial Training School and their wives really welcome us well. Them hug us, give us hot food, and plenty chocolate. This one really sweet us.

Them send us go Ghana for some time and after the fight-fight don come down we go back to Côte d’Ivoire. The way brothers and sisters dey kind to us really help us endure the problems wey we face when we need to run comot, and e still help us do the different-different assignments wey we get that time. Me and my wife agree say even though say this kind love common for Jehovah organization, we no go take-am play. The truth be say, the problems wey we face that time na better training for us.

WE GO MIDDLE EAST

For 2006, we receive one letter from world headquarters wey show say we don get one new assignment for Middle East. This one mean say we go go new places, we go learn new things again like language and culture, and face new problems. We get many things to learn for this area wey de face many problems because of politics matter and religion. We like the different-different language wey people for the congregation de speak and we still see say we fit dey as one when we de follow the direction from Jehovah organization. We like the brothers and sisters because even though say their family members, schoolmates, workmates, and neighbors de go against them, them continue to use strong heart serve Jehovah.

For 2012, we attend the special convention for Tel Aviv wey dey Israel. This na the first time wey plenty of Jehovah people for that area de gather together like this since Pentecost 33 C.E. We no go ever forget this convention!

When we dey Middle East, them send us go visit one country. For this country, the government no de allow our brothers and sisters to do our work well. We carry some of our publication go, we preach to people, and we attend small-small assembly. Checkpoints and soldiers wey carry guns and other things wey them take de fight, full everywhere. Even with this one, when we de waka with our brothers and sisters, we no de fear because we de use sense waka. The brothers and sisters for this area no plenty.

WE GO BACK TO AFRICA

For 2013, we come get one new assignment. Them send us go serve for the branch office wey dey Kinshasa for Congo. Congo na big country wey fine, but many people for there dey poor. Apart from this one, them de fight war well-well for this country. We first de think say e no go hard us to stay for Congo because we don stay for Africa before. But we still get many things to learn especially because we need to travel for many area wey no get better road and bridge. But we see many better things wey help us cope. For example, the brothers de endure and de happy even though say things hard for them. Them really love the preaching work and them de attend meetings and assembly even though say e no easy for them. We see say because Jehovah de bless the preaching work, many people come de learn the truth. We learn many important things when we serve for Congo, and we come get many friends wey come be like family to us.

For the end of 2017, we get new assignment for South Africa. For all the branch wey we don serve, na this one big pass, and even the work wey them give us to do for bethel, na something wey we never do before. We get many things to learn for this assignment, but the things wey we don learn before really help us. We love the brothers and sisters wey don de endure as them de serve Jehovah for many-many years. E really sweet us to see say even though people for the bethel family come from different-different place, all of them de work and live together as one. E dey easy to see how Jehovah de bless im people with peace because of the way the people de allow Bible to change their character and as them de follow Bible advice.

Since the time wey me and my wife start full-time service, we don enjoy many assignment, learn many-many cultures and languages. The truth be say, to do some of this things no easy, but we don see how Jehovah don use im organization and brothers and sisters show us love wey no de fail. (Ps. 144:2) All the things wey we don learn from full-time service don really help us to be better servant of Jehovah.

I really value the way my papa and mama train me, I still value-am say I get better wife wey de support me and the better example of our brothers and sisters for the whole world. Me and my wife ready to continue to learn anything wey Jehovah go still teach us.