1. Which kind condition plenty servant of Jehovah de face today?

FOR the whole world, problems wey plenty servant of Jehovah de face de cause stress for them and de even cause pain. You don notice-am for your congregation? For some of us, we get serious sickness or our person die. Other people de really feel pain because their family member or their dear friend don stop to serve Jehovah. And other people still de suffer because things like heavy rain scatter their property. All this brothers and sisters need comfort. How we fit help them?

2. Why apostle Paul need comfort sometimes?

² Apostle Paul face danger plenty times. (2 Cor. 11:23-28) One of this things wey e face na wetin Bible call “chuku-chuku for body.” This one fit be one kind sickness wey Paul get for e body. (2 Cor. 12:7) And “because [Demas] love the things of this world,” e stop to follow Paul work. This one really make Paul sad. (2 Tim. 4:10) Paul get strong heart, na anointed Christian, and e use all e heart help people. But even with all this one, Paul still need comfort sometimes.​—Rom. 9:1, 2.

3. Who and who comfort Paul?

³ Paul get the comfort and support wey e need. How? Jehovah use holy spirit make Paul strong. (2 Cor. 4:7; Phil. 4:13) Jehovah still use other brothers to give Paul comfort. E talk about this brothers wey e work with, say: “This people don really support me.” (Col. 4:11) Among this brothers na Aristarchus, Tychicus, and Mark. They encourage and help Paul to endure. Which things help this three servants of God to give better comfort? How we fit do like them as we de try to encourage and comfort each other?

4. How Aristarchus show say na better friend e be to Paul?

⁴ Aristarchus na one Christian from Thessalonica, for Macedonia. This friend of Paul no leave Paul. The first time wey we read about Aristarchus for Bible na when Paul visit Ephesus for the third time wey e de travel go different-different place go preach. Some people catch Aristarchus when e dey with Paul. (Acts 19:29) And when the people free Aristarchus, e no try to run from danger. Instead, e remain with Paul. After some months, Aristarchus still dey with Paul for Greece even as some enemies de try to kill Paul. (Acts 20:2-4) Around the year 58 C.E., they send Paul go Rome as prisoner. Aristarchus still follow Paul for this long journey, and they survive together when their ship scatter for inside water. (Acts 27:1, 2, 41) And e fit be say after they reach Rome, Aristarchus dey prison with Paul for some time. (Col. 4:10) Because of this thing wey Aristarchus do, we no surprise say Paul really get comfort from this e friend!

5. According to Proverbs 17:17, how we fit be better friend?

⁵ Like Aristarchus, we no go only dey with our brothers and sisters when things dey fine, but we go still dey with them “when problem dey.” (Read Proverbs 17:17.) Even after the problem don end, our brothers or sisters fit still need person to give them comfort. Make we see the example of Sister Frances. * E papa first die, and after three months e mama die. The sister talk say: “I feel say when we face serious problems, we de feel the pain for long time. And I really dey happy say my friends no leave me and they remember say I still de feel the pain, even as my papa and mama don die for long time now.”

6. If we hold our brothers and sisters tight, wetin we go do?

⁶ When we hold our brothers and sisters tight as our friends, we go use our time  and power de support them. For example, doctor tell one brother wey e name na Peter say e go soon die from one serious sickness wey e get. Kathryn, the wife of the brother, talk say: “Na one husband and wife for our congregation take us go meet the doctor the day wey e tell my husband about the sickness. Then they decide for there say they no go leave me and my husband make we suffer the problem alone. And them dey with us anytime wey we need them.” We de really get comfort when our friends help us endure the problem wey we get!

7-8. According to Colossians 4:7-9, how Tychicus show say e be person wey they fit trust?

⁷ Tychicus na one Christian from Asia, part of the place wey Rome de rule. Tychicus na friend wey Paul really trust. (Acts 20:4) Around the year 55 C.E., Paul arrange make they contribute money to help the brothers for Judea. And e fit be say Tychicus help to do this important work. (2 Cor. 8:18-20) After, when they put Paul for prison for Rome the first time, na Tychicus e de use send message to congregations for Asia. E de carry the message and letters wey Paul write to encourage congregations.​—Col. 4:7-9.

⁸ Tychicus no stop to be the kind friend wey Paul fit trust. (Titus 3:12) No be all Christians that time Paul fit really trust the way e trust Tychicus. For the second time wey they arrest Paul around the year 65 C.E., e write something about some Christian men for Asia. Plenty of them no want spend time with Paul, and e fit be say na because them de fear the enemies of the good news. (2 Tim. 1:15) But Paul trust Tychicus and so e give Tychicus another assignment. (2 Tim. 4:12) True-true, Paul glad as Tychicus be better friend.

9. How we fit do like Tychicus?

⁹ We de do like Tychicus if we be friend wey they fit trust. For example, we no go only promise to help our brothers and sisters when they need help. But, we go still do things to help them. (Matt. 5:37; Luke  16:10) When people need help and they know say we go help them, this one go really comfort them. One sister explain why this one de really give person comfort. E talk say, “You go relax your mind because you know say the person go come help you for the time wey e don promise.”

10. As e dey for Proverbs 18:24, when people de face problem or they no dey happy who fit comfort them?

¹⁰ When people de face problem or they no dey happy, plenty of them de get comfort if they fit talk to friend wey they trust. (Read Proverbs 18:24.) After they disfellowship the pikin of one brother wey e name na Bijay, the brother talk say, “That time, I really need to talk to person wey I trust about how I de feel.” They stop one brother wey e name na Carlos, make e no do the work wey e de do for congregation because e do bad thing. E talk say, “That time, I need people wey I fit talk to and I no go fear say they go blame me.” Carlos see say the elders na the kind of people wey e need. They help Carlos handle e problem. Carlos still get comfort because e trust say the elders no go tell other people the thing wey e tell them.

11. How we fit be friend wey person fit trust and talk to?

¹¹ If we want be friend wey person fit trust and tell anything, we need to dey patient. Make we talk about one sister wey e name na Zhanna. When the husband of the sister leave their marriage, the sister get comfort when e tell e dear friends how e de feel. The sister talk say, “They sofri take their time listen to me, even if I de talk the same things many times.” You too fit show say you be better friend when you de listen to people well.

12. Who Mark be, and how e show say e dey ready to help people?

¹² Mark na Jew person from Jerusalem and na Christian. Mark and Barnabas come from the same family and Barnabas na missionary wey people know. (Col. 4:10) E fit be say the family wey Mark come from dey rich. But Mark no put money and property as the number one thing for e life. Mark use e whole life show say e dey ready to do things for people. Mark de happy to do things for people. For example, e work with apostle Paul and apostle Peter plenty times as them de do the work wey God give them. Mark fit don help them buy food, find place for them to stay, and do other things like that. (Acts 13:2-5; 1 Pet. 5:13) Paul talk say Mark na one of the people wey e de work together with to do the work of God, and wey e don receive help from to dey strong.​—Col. 4:10, 11, ftn.

13. How 2 Timothy 4:11 show say Paul really like the fine things wey Mark do?

¹³ Mark come be tight friend of Paul. For example, the last time wey they arrest Paul for Rome around the year 65 C.E., Paul write e second letter to Timothy. For that letter, Paul tell Timothy make e come Rome with Mark. (2 Tim. 4:11) The truth be say, Paul like the fine-fine things wey Mark don do before. So, for this very important time, Paul say make Mark come. Mark do plenty fine things for Paul, like to supply food or the things wey Paul use write. E fit be say before they kill Paul, e endure because of the support and encouragement wey e receive.

14-15. Wetin we fit learn from Matthew 7:12 about how to help people?

¹⁴ Read Matthew 7:12. When things  hard for us, we de over like-am if people do things to support us. Make we see the example of Brother Ryan wey e papa die for accident. E talk say, “Plenty things dey wey person de do everyday, but this things fit hard the person to do when problem come. We de get comfort when person do something to help us, even if the thing really small.”

¹⁵ If we take time look our brothers well and their condition, we fit see things wey we fit do to help them. For example, one sister decide to help Peter and Kathryn, wey we don talk about before. The sister de take them go hospital anytime wey they want see doctor. Peter and Kathryn no fit drive again, so the sister arrange make brothers and sisters for congregation de carry them turn-by-turn. This arrangement help them? Kathryn talk say, “E just be like say they carry heavy load comot from our head.” Make you always remember say, you fit really give people comfort even if na small-small things you de do to help them.

16. Which important thing we learn from Mark about to give comfort?

¹⁶ True-true, Mark na really busy Christian. Mark get important work wey e de do for Jehovah, like the book of Mark wey e write for Bible. But, Mark use e time to comfort Paul, and Paul know say e fit ask Mark for help anytime. Make we talk about the example of Angela wey they kill somebody for e family. People dey ready to go give this sister comfort and the sister really like-am. E talk say, “When my friends really want help me, e dey easy to talk with them. I see-am say they want help me and they ready to help me.” We fit ask ourself say, ‘I de always dey ready to do things to comfort my brothers and sisters?’

17. When we think deep about 2 Corinthians 1:3, 4, how this one fit make us comfort other people?

¹⁷ Brothers and sisters wey we fit give comfort dey around us, we no need to go far. We fit even use the same things wey  people don use encourage us to comfort other people. Sister Nino wey e grandmama die talk say: “Jehovah fit use us comfort other people if we allow make e use us.” (Read 2 Corinthians 1:3, 4.) Sister Frances wey we talk about before talk say: “The thing wey 2 Corinthians 1:4 talk dey correct. We fit comfort other people with the same things wey people talk or do to comfort us.”

18. (a) Why some people de fear to give comfort? (b) How we fit know how to really comfort people? Give one example.

¹⁸ We need to look for ways to help other people even if fear de catch us. For example, we fit de fear say we no know wetin we go talk or do to comfort person. One elder wey e name na Paul remember the comfort wey e receive from people when e papa die. They really try to comfort this brother. E talk say, “I see-am say e no easy for them to come talk to me.” Brother Paul still talk say: “They no know wetin to talk. But I still like-am as them dey ready to comfort and support me.” For the same way, after one brother wey e name na Tajon experience strong earthquake for e area, e talk say: “Na true say I no remember all the message wey people send to me after the earthquake. But I remember say they do everything to make sure say I dey safe.” We fit really know how to comfort people if we de show say we care about them.

19. Why you don make up your mind to really comfort or support people?

¹⁹ As we de near the end of this world, things go de worse and life go de hard more-more. (2 Tim. 3:13) And we go continue to need comfort because they born us with sin and we never stop to make mistake. One reason why apostle Paul serve God well reach the end of e life, na because e receive comfort from people for congregation. Make we hold our brothers and sisters tight like Aristarchus, make we be friend wey people fit trust like Tychicus, and make we dey ready to help people like Mark. If we do like that, we go help our brothers and sisters make they continue to serve Jehovah fine.​—1 Thess. 3:2, 3.