Mi laf bikos mi tingse fren blo mi no interest lo religion. Mi askem hem: “Iu savve lo Bible tu?” Hem no ansa kwiktaem. Then gogo, hem sei mami blo hem Jehovah’s Witness and hem lanem samfala samting from mami. From interest, mi askem hem for storyim samfala samting moa.

Klosap full naet mitufala story. Fren blo mi storyim hao Bible sei Satan nao rulim world. (John 14:30) Maet for iu, iu savve finis lo datwan, bat lo mi, datfala teaching hem niu and barava interesting. Staka taem mi pipol sei God hem kaen and hem nao kontrolem evri samting wea happen lo world. Bat datwan no mek sense bikos mi lukim staka nogud samting happen. Lo datfala taem mi 26 year nomoa, bat mi lukim staka samting wea mekem mi feel nogud.

Dadi blo mi hem pilot lo United States Air Force. So taem mi smol, mi savve hao war savve happen enitaem, and army redi evritaem for launchem olketa nuclear bomb. War lo Vietnam gohed lo olketa year wea mi skul lo college lo California. Mi joinim olketa student for protest. Police holem olketa weapon and ronem mifala and mifala no savve lukluk gud bikos lo tear gas. Lo datfala taem, pipol faet againstim gavman and evri samting olobaot. Olketa killim dae samfala bigman lo gavman, pipol protest and riot happen. Evri samting hem olobaot bikos pipol garem own idea blo olketa seleva abaotem wat for duim.

Lo 1970, mi duim wanfala waka lo north coast lo Alaska and mi kasem gud pei. Then mi flae go lo London and baem wanfala motorbike. From there mi go south, and mi no savve wea nao bae mi end ap. Then samfala month bihaen, mi end ap lo Africa. Taem mi gogo, mi meetim tu pipol wea laek for ranawe from olketa nogud samting wea happen lo ples blo olketa.

So bikos lo olketa samting mi lukim and herem, datfala Bible teaching wea sei Satan nao kontrolem evriting wea happen lo word hem mek  sense. If olsem, wat nao God hem duim? Mi laek for savve lo datwan.

Lo olketa month bihaen nomoa, mi kasem ansa. And gogo, mi savve gud lo staka man and woman wea nomata olketa kasem olketa hard taem, olketa gohed faithful lo God.

Taem mi go bak moa lo London, mi contactim mami blo fren blo mi and hem givim mi wanfala Bible. Then taem mi lo Amsterdam, Netherlands, wanfala Witness lukim mi readim Bible anda lo wanfala street laet. Hem helpem mi for savve lo samfala samting moa lo Bible. Then taem mi lo Dublin, Ireland, mi faendem branch office blo Olketa Jehovah’s Witness and noknok lo front door. Lo there nao, mi meetim Arthur Matthews, wanfala experience brata. Mi askem hem for study witim mi and hem agree.

Mi barava enjoyim study, mi readim olketa buk and olketa bound volume wea Olketa Jehovah’s Witness pablisim. And mi gohed readim tu Bible. Mi hapi tumas! Mi herem lo olketa kongregeson meeting, hao olketa pikinini savve lo ansa blo olketa kwestin wea staka savveman bin laek for savve lo ansa blo olketa for staka handred year. For example, ‘Why nao olketa nogud samting happen? Hu nao God? Wat nao happen lo olketa wea dae?’ Mi associate nomoa witim olketa Witness. Datwan hem isi bikos mi no savve lo eniwan moa lo full kantri. Olketa helpem mi for lovem Jehovah and for duim wanem hem laekem.

Mi baptaes lo 1972. Wan year bihaen, mi start for pioneer and joinim wanfala smol kongregeson lo Newry, lo Northern Ireland. Mi rentim wanfala haos saed lo maunten wea olketa wakem lo ston. Olketa buluka stap lo field klosap and mi savve practicem olketa tok front lo olketa. Luk olsem olketa lisin taem olketa gohed kaikai. Olketa no savve givim kaonsel bat olketa helpem mi bikos olketa nao olsem audience blo mi. Lo 1974, mi kamap spesol pioneer and mi partner witim Nigel Pitt, wea hem kamap gud fren blo mi.

Lo datfala taem, violence hem big tumas lo Northern Ireland. Gogo, samfala kolem ples hia, “ples blo olketa bomb and bullet.” Pipol faet lo street, olketa sniper attak, sutsut lo gun, and car bombing kamap normal samting. Problem kamap insaed politik and lo religion tu. Nomata olsem, olketa Protestant and Catholic luksavve olketa Witness no teksaed lo politik, so datwan mekem  mifala sef and free for preach. Staka taem olketa haosholder savve wat taem, and ples wea violence kamap, and olketa savve warnim mifala for stap klia lo olketa ples olsem.

Nomata olsem, hem still no sef for mifala. Wanday, mi and Denis Carrigan, wea hem pioneer tu, mitufala preach lo wanfala taon klosap wea no eni Witness stap. Wantaem nomoa mifala preach lo there. Wanfala woman accusim mifala and sei mifala spae for olketa British soldia, maet hem bikos accent blo mitufala difren from Irish accent. From datwan, mitufala fraet tumas. Nomata man story gud lo olketa soldia, olketa savve killim or sutim tufala knee blo hem. Taem mitufala gohed standap seleva weitim bas lo aotsaed wea cold tumas, mitufala lukim wanfala car hem kam stop lo café wea datfala woman hem accusim mitufala. Woman hia kamaot and story lo tufala man lo car and hem hapi taem hem pointim mitufala. Olketa man hia draev slow kam lo mitufala and askem tu-thri kwestin abaotem schedule blo bas. Taem bas arrive, tufala story lo bas draeva. Mitufala no herem wat olketa storyim. No eni nara passenger tu lo there, so mitufala tingse bae olketa duim eniting lo mitufala aotsaed lo taon. Bat hem no happen olsem. Taem mi redi for go aot from bas mi askem draeva: Hao, olketa man wea kam story lo iu, olketa ask abaotem mitufala? Hem sei: “Mi savve lo iutufala and mi talem tufala finis, no wari, iutufala sef.”

Lo 1976, lo wanfala distrik assembly a lo Dublin, mi meetim Pauline Lomax, wanfala spesol pioneer sista from England wea visit kam. Hem wanfala spiritual, hambol and naes sista. Hem and brata blo hem, Ray, tufala growap lo truth. Wan year bihaen, mitufala Pauline marit and mifala gohed spesol pioneer lo Ballymena, Northern Ireland.

Mifala gohed for duim circuit waka, mifala serve lo Belfast, Londonderry, and olketa nara dangerous area. Hem barava encouragem mitufala for lukim strong faith blo olketa brata and sista wea disaed for worshipim Jehovah and lusim religion blo olketa, wei for teksaed, and wei for heitim narawan. Jehovah barava blessim and protectim olketa!

Mi stap lo Ireland for ten years. Then lo 1981 mitufala kasem invitation for attendim mek-72 class blo Gilead. Bihaen graduation, mifala kasem assignment for go lo Sierra Leone, lo West Africa.

Mifala stap lo missionary hom witim nara 11-fala moa. Mifala evriwan iusim wanfala kitchen, thrifala toilet, tufala bath rum, wanfala telephone, wanfala washing machine, and wanfala dryer. Paoa savve off enitaem nomoa. Rat staka tumas lo ruf, and cobra snek savve kam lo basement.

Nomata ples hem no isi, mifala barava enjoyim ministry. Pipol respectim Bible and olketa lisin gud. Staka study and acceptim truth. Olketa pipol lo there savve kolem mi “Mista Robert.” Olketa kolem Pauline lo “Misis Robert.” Gogo mi mas waka lo branch office staka taem and mi no go staka taem lo field ministry, so pipol start for kolem Pauline lo “Misis Pauline.” Olketa kolem mi “Mista Pauline.” Pauline laekem datwan!

Staka lo olketa brata poor, bat Jehovah evritaem provaedem wat olketa needim, samfala taem lo wei wea olketa no expectim. (Matt. 6:33) Mi tingim wanfala sista wea garem nomoa selen  fitim for baem kaikai for hem and olketa pikinini blo hem for datfala day. Bat then hem givim evri selen hia lo wanfala brata wea sik wea no garem selen for baem malaria medicine. Lo sem day, wanfala woman kam lo disfala sista and peim hem for staelem hair blo hem. Staka experience olsem happen lo hia.

Mifala stap lo Sierra Leone for naen years. Then mifala muv go lo Bethel lo Nigeria. Distaem mifala lo bigfala branch office. Mi duim sem office waka wea mi duim lo Sierra Leone, bat hem bigfala change for Pauline and hem no isi. Evri month hem savve spendem 130 hour lo ministry, and hem garem olketa Bible study wea gohed gud. Distaem hem waka lo ples for soengim kaleko, and full day hem waka for repairim olketa kaleko wea brek. Hem tek taem for adjust, and hem luksavve olketa narawan tinghae lo waka wea hem duim, and hem duim best blo hem for encouragem olketa nara Bethelite.

Mifala no savve lo culture lo Nigeria so mifala mas lanem. Wantaem, wanfala brata kam lo office blo mi for introducem wanfala sista wea just kam for waka lo Bethel. Taem mi laek for sekhand lo hem, mi seke tumas taem datfala sista bow daon lo feet blo mi! Kwiktaem mi tingim tufala scripture: Acts 10:25, 26 and Revelation 19:10. Mi ting, ‘Waswe, bae mi stopem hem for duim diswan?’ Then lo semtaem mi ting, olketa acceptim hem for kam lo Bethel, so hem savve lo wat Bible teachim.

Nomata mifala gohed story, mi ting raonem nomoa wat hem happen, and then mi duim samfala research. Mi faendaot wat sista hia duim hem followim culture, wea lo datfala taem samfala part lo kantri olketa still duim, olketa man tu savve duim datwan. Diswan hem wei for showimaot respect. Hem no wanfala wei for worship and staka example olsem tu stap lo Bible. (1 Sam. 24:8) Mi hapi tumas mi no duim eni samting wea bae mek shame lo sista blo mi.

Mi meetim staka brata and sista wea showim gud example for gohed faithful for staka year. Wanfala hem Isaiah Adagbona. b Hem lanem truth taem hem wanfala young man, bat then hem garem sik leprosy. Hem go stap lo ples wea  olketa keepim olketa pipol wea leprosy and hem nomoa Witness. Nomata olketa againstim hem, hem helpem winim 30-fala wea sik lo leprosy for acceptim truth and gogo wanfala kongregeson kamap lo datfala ples.

Lo 1996, mifala kasem assignment for go lo Kenya branch. Diswan hem firstaem for mi go bak moa lo Kenya bihaen datfala taem wea mi storyim lo start. Mifala stap lo Bethel. And samfala lo olketa visitor blo mifala lo property hem olketa vervet monkey. Sapos olketa lukim olketa sista karem frut, olketa savve “stealim.” Wan day, wanfala sista lo Bethel forget for klosim window blo hem. Taem hem kam bak, hem lukim full grup blo olketa monkey gohed enjoyim kaikai insaed rum blo hem. Hem shout big and ran aotsaed. Olketa monkey seke and jamp aot lo window.

Mi and Pauline joinim Swahili kongregeson. No longtaem bihaen, mi kasem assignment for conductim Kongregeson Buk Study (distaem hem Kongregeson Bible Study). Bat hao mi story lo datfala languis hem still olsem olketa smol pikinini. Mi mas preparem gud study mekem mi savve readim olketa kwestin. Bat if olketa lo audience givim koment wea lelebet difren from wat hem stap lo buk, bae mi no minim nao. Mi feel nogud lo miseleva! Mi sorre lo olketa brata and sista. Bat mi barava tinghae lo wei wea olketa hambol and patient taem mi conductim olketa study.

No winim wan year, mifala stap lo Kenya. Then lo 1997, olketa invaetem mifala lo Brooklyn Bethel, lo New York. Distaem mifala lo wanfala kantri wea pipol garem staka material samting and lo semtaem hem no isi tu. (Provebs 30:8, 9, SIPB) Nomata olsem, olketa brata and sista garem strong faith. Olketa iusim taem and material samting wea olketa garem, no for olketa seleva bat for sapotim waka blo organization blo Jehovah.

Insaed olketa year wea mifala stap lo olketa difren ples, mifala lukim faith blo olketa brata and sista nomata wanem situation olketa feisim. Lo Ireland, olketa garem faith nomata war kamap. Lo Africa, olketa showimaot faith nomata olketa poor and stap isolate. Lo United States, olketa garem faith nomata olketa rich. Masbi Jehovah barava hapi taem hem luk kam daon and lukim wei wea pipol showimaot olketa lovem hem nomata olketa feisim olketa difren situation!

Olketa year hem go pas “kuiktaem nomoa olsem wata wea hemi ran.” (Job 7:6, SIPB) Mifala waka witim olketa narawan lo world hedquarter lo Warwick, New York, and mifala hapi for gohed waka witim pipol wea garem love for each other. Mifala hapi and satisfae for duim wanem mifala fit for duim for sapotim King blo iumi, Christ Jesus, wea klosap nao bae hem blessim evriwan wea faithful.—Matt. 25:34.