Mi Garem Goal for Joinim Circus

Story Bilong Zoya Dimitrova

Taem mi 15 year, mi kasem goal bilong mi for joinim circus. Mi hapi tumas for kamap wanfala acrobat and joinim wanfala circus grup. Bat long September 4, 1970, wanfala nogud samting happen. Wantaem mi swing and flae naes long air. Then seknomoa mi foldaon long graon.

M I BORN long December 16, 1952, and mi stap witim dadi and mami witim wanfala big sista bilong mi long Sofia, Bulgaria. Long datfala taem, Bulgaria hem Communist kantri wea les long religion. Klosap evriwan no biliv long God, and olketa wea biliv long God no laekem pipol for savve long datwan. Nomata famili bilong mi sei mifala Orthodox, dadi and mami no lanem mi abaotem religion and mi no interest long God.

Start from taem mi smol yet, mi interest tumas long olketa difren kaen sports, bat main wan nao gymnastics. Taem mi 13 year, wanfala man kam long skul bilong mifala for lukaotem gele for duim training for joinim circus. Gymnastics teacher bilong mi talem datfala man for chusim mi. Taem mi go for interview witim olketa wea trainim man saed long acrobat and for olketa testim mi, mi hapi for go long car bilong boss, wea hem car olketa wakem long America. Mi hapi tumas, olketa chusim mi. Start long datfala taem, mi mas train hard and practice for winim tufala year. Then taem mi 15 year, mi finisim training and mi joinim circus. Firstaem mifala gogo long olketa ples long Bulgaria and then long Soviet Union, Algeria, Hungary, and Yugoslavia.

For thrifala year mi barava hapi bikos mi kasem goal bilong mi. Gogo taem mi duim wanfala show long Titov Veles, Macedonia, mi kasem accident wea mi storyim firstaem. Mi duim wanfala acrobat show barava hae long air. Partner bilong mi wea hange ap saed daon bae swingim mi go ap and taem mi foldaon kam bae hem catchim mi. Bat mi missim hand bilong hem and safety rope wea mi hange long hem brek, and mi foldaon 6 meter. Olketa tekem mi go long hospital, and olketa luksavve hand and samfala rib bilong mi brek, and spine bilong mi tu hem brek. For samfala day mi no savve wanem nao kasem mi. Taem mi gud lelebet, mi luksavve mi paralaes start long waist go kasem long leg bilong mi. Bat from mi young, mi tingse bae mi savve wakabaot moa sapos mi exercise or olketa operatim mi, and maet mi savve go bak for duim show long circus.

For tu and haf year, mi kasem treatment long samfala spesol hospital, and mi tingse bae mi kamap gud. Bat gogo mi luksavve bae mi no joinim circus moa. Mi mas getius for iusim wheelchair long full laef bilong mi wea  hem barava difren from wanem mi laekem.

Startim Niu Laef

From mi getius long laef long circus, mi tingse hem hard tumas for mi iusim wheelchair for full laef bilong mi. From mi no garem eni hope nao for mi gud moa, mi barava sorre tumas. Then long 1977 wanfala young man wea nem bilong hem Stoyan noknok long door. Taem mi savve hem brata bilong wanfala woman wea mitufala waka tugeta long circus, mi talem hem for kam insaed haos. Taem mitufala story, hem askem sapos mi garem hope for kamap gud moa. From mi barava feel nogud long samting wea happen long mi, mi sei mi no garem eni hope. Taem hem sei God nomoa savve helpem mi, mi tok kros long hem, “Sapos God hem stap, why nao laef bilong mi hem olsem?”

Then Stoyan, wea kamap Jehovah’s Witness taem hem waka long circus long America, storyim long kaenfala wei olketa nambawan promis long Bible abaotem future. Mi hapi tumas for savve klosap nao earth bae kamap paradaes. Promis wea Bible sei, “no eniwan bae dae and no enitaem bae pipol sorre or krae or feelim pain tu” barava strongim mi. (Revelation 21:4) Mi laekem tumas for gud moa! So mi disaed for studyim Bible. Datwan hem changem laef bilong mi. Tru nao, mi luksavve diswan nao trufala hope!

Evri week mi barava luk forward for studyim Bible. Firstaem Stoyan nao study witim mi, and bihaen Totka wanfala Witness wea kaen tumas study witim mi. From hem helpem mi, mi kwiktaem lanem staka samting long Bible, and mi dedicate long Jehovah God. Long datfala taem, no eni brata wea fit for baptaesim mi stap long Sofia, so mi mas weitim brata wea bae kam from Macedonia. Long September 11, 1978, wea hem samting olsem wan year bihaen mi start studyim Bible, mi baptaes long bigfala basin for swim long haos bilong mi. Mi barava hapi tumas taem mi baptaes and kamap wanfala Jehovah’s Witness, and datwan mekem mi garem hope.

Olketa samting wea mi lanem long Bible hem olsem fire wea bone insaed long mi. Mi laekem tumas for storyim hope wea mi garem long evriwan wea kam long haos bilong mi. Bat sorre tumas, olketa nating tinghae long wanem mi talem, maet bikos olketa tingse mi no tingting gud bikos mi accident.

Bigfala Mistek

Long datfala taem, gavman tambuim waka bilong Olketa Jehovah’s Witness long Bulgaria, and no staka Witness stap long datfala kantri. No eni kongregeson meeting for mi go long hem, and mi no savve kaban tumas nao witim olketa brata and sista. Mi no  luksavve tu long nogud samting wea savve kamaot from wei for kaban witim olketa wea no followim wanem Bible talem. Gogo mi duim bigfala mistek.

Konsens bilong mi gohed pokem mi, and mi luksavve hem nogud tumas for no fren witim Jehovah God. Mi feel sorre and shame, so mi talem evri samting long Jehovah long prea, and barava askem hem for forgivim mi. Bihaen, olketa Christian elder helpem mi, mi fren gud moa witim Jehovah, and mi hapi moa for worshipim hem. Mi barava tinghae long privilege for worshipim Jehovah and garem klin konsens, and for stap long organization bilong hem wea klin!

Hapi Nomata Mi No Savve Duim Staka Samting

Accident wea kasem mi winim 40 year finis mekem mi for no gohed waka long circus, and mi mas iusim wheelchair for full laef bilong mi. Nomata olsem, mi no sorre, or feel olsem mi iusles. Tru samting wea mi lanem long Bible helpem mi for luksavve hapi wea mi garem taem mi joinim circus hem for lelebet taem nomoa. Mi lukim tu samfala wea mifala waka tugeta long circus bifor nating satisfae nomoa long laef bilong olketa. Bat mi garem barava spesol samting, wea hem nao for fren witim Creator bilong mi, Jehovah God. Datwan nao mekem mi barava hapi winim taem mi waka long circus.

Mi hapi tu for lukim olketa narawan lanem tru samting long Bible and olketa dedicate long God wea lovem iumi, Jehovah. Taem mi start studyim Bible long 1977, no staka Jehovah’s Witness long Bulgaria. Nomata long 1991, taem gavman registerim Olketa Jehovah’s Witness bihaen Communist gavman hem finis, samting olsem handred Witness nomoa long full kantri. Mi hapi tumas for lukim namba bilong olketa wea talemaot Kingdom isisi kamap big and distaem hem samting olsem 1,800!

Bigfala waka stap yet for duim long Bulgaria. Staka pipol laek for savve long Bible. Iumi savve long datwan bikos 3,914 nao kam long Memorial long dae bilong Christ long 2010. Mi hapi tumas bikos datwan pruvim Jehovah blessim waka bilong pipol bilong hem long  Bulgaria. Mi barava lukim “smol wan” hem kamap “bigfala kantri” olsem Isaiah 60:22 talem.

Nara samting wea mekem mi hapi and wea barava spesol long laef bilong mi, hem taem mifala kasem New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures long languis long Bulgaria. Mifala kasem datwan long August 2009 long “Gohed for Lukaot!” Distrik Convention long Sofia. For kasem Bible long languis bilong mi hem barava spesol samting! Datwan bae helpem staka pipol moa for lanem tru samting long Bible long Bulgaria.

Nomata mi no savve duim staka samting for preachim gud nius abaotem Kingdom bilong God, mi hapi tumas for storyim tru samting long Bible witim olketa neiba and eniwan wea kam long haos bilong mi. Wanfala taem, mi stap long varanda long haos bilong mi and kolem neiba wea wakabaot go pas. Hem kam long haos, and mi storyim samfala samting long Bible for encouragem hem, and bihaen datwan hem hapi for studyim Bible. Mi barava hapi tumas taem hem baptaes and kamap spiritual sista bilong mi. Mi hapi for helpem fofala pipol for dedicate long Jehovah.

Wei for go evritaem long olketa Christian meeting for hipap witim winim wan handred brata and sista wea olsem famili bilong mi strongim mi and mekem mi barava hapi. From mi stap long kantri wea no eni spesol transport for olketa olo and disable, datwan mekem hem no isi for mi go long olketa kongregeson meeting. Mi tinghae tumas long wei wea wanfala young brata barava lovem and helpem mi. Long evri meeting, hem savve karem mi go long car bilong hem and karem mi moa from car go long Kingdom Hall, and bihaen meeting finis, hem duim sem samting tu. Mi thankiu long Jehovah for kamap part long spiritual famili wea lovem mi!

Taem mi ting go bak, mi lukim staka samting wea kamap long laef bilong mi hem barava difren from goal wea mi laek kasem taem mi young. Wei for worshipim Jehovah nao mekem mi hapi tumas and mekem mi garem nambawan hope for future. Mi tinghae long promis bilong God hao long paradaes earth, “man wea kripol bae klaemap olsem wanfala deer.” (Isaiah 35:6) Mi barava luk forward long taem wea mi bae no needim wheelchair, from mi kamap healthy and strong.

[Blurb long page 30]

‘Wei for go evritaem long olketa Christian meeting mekem mi barava hapi’

[Blurb long page 31]

‘Wanfala barava spesol samting long laef bilong mi hem taem mifala kasem New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures long languis long Bulgaria’

[Piksa long page 29]

Mi start for duim show long circus taem mi 15 year