FOR Bethel, plenty young brothers and sisters de always call me “Daddy,” “Papa,” or “Uncle.” I dey 89 years, and I de happy as them de call me like that. E show the kind love wey they get for me. I de see-am as part of the blessing wey Jehovah give me for the 72 years wey I don dey full-time service. And because I don learn plenty things for all this years, I fit tell this young brothers and sisters with all my heart say, if they no tire, or allow their hand drop, God go bless them for their work.​—2 Chron. 15:7, ftn.

My papa and mama comot for Ukraine go stay for Canada. They stay for one town wey the name na Rossburn, for the province of Manitoba. My mama born 8 boys and 8 girls, twins no dey among the children and I be number 14. My papa love Bible and every Sunday morning e de read-am make we de listen. But my papa see religion as business. And many times, e go make fun say, “I no know who pay Jesus when e de preach and teach.”

Among my brothers and sisters, 8 accept the truth, 4 boys and 4 girls. My sister wey her name na Rose, pioneer until the time wey she die. E use the last days of her life to encourage everybody make they follow wetin Bible de talk. E talk say: “I want see wuna for inside new world.” Ted na my big brother, before e come be Jehovah Witness, e de always preach about hellfire. Every Sunday morning, e go preach for radio, de shout for people say sinners go burn forever inside hell wey the fire no de quench. But e come change and de serve Jehovah well.

One day for June 1944 when I come back from school, I see one small book ontop our dining table. The name of the book na The Coming World Regeneration. * I read the first page, then I go for the second page and I just continue to read more. When I read the book finish, I decide say na Jehovah I want serve just as Jesus do.

How the book manage reach our house? Na Steve my big brother buy the book. E talk say two men come our house come “sell” book. My brother say: “I buy that one because e cheap.” The next Sunday, the two men come our house again. They  tell us say they be Jehovah Witness, and them de use Bible answer question wey people de ask. E sweet us because from small pikin, our papa and mama teach us to respect Bible. The two men still tell us say Jehovah Witness go get convention for one town wey the name na Winnipeg. I decide say I go attend the convention. One of my sister de stay for that town, her name na Elsie.

I ride my bicycle for about 200 miles (320 km) go Winnipeg. But I stop for road, for one town wey the name na Kelwood. Na this town the two men wey they come our house de stay. For there, I go meeting and I learn wetin be congregation. I still learn say everybody, whether na man, woman, or young person suppose to teach people Bible from house-to-house just like Jesus.

For Winnipeg, I meet Jack, one of my big brother. E travel from northern Ontario come attend the convention too. The first day of the convention, one brother announce say baptism go dey. Me and my brother Jack, baptize for that same convention. We decide say if we fit, we go start to pioneer just after our baptism. Just after that convention, Jack begin pioneer. I go continue my school, and that time I dey 16 years. But the next year, I begin pioneer too.

When I begin pioneer, the name of my pioneer partner that time na Stan Nicolson. We pioneer together for one town wey the name na Souris. This town dey for the province of Manitoba. E no take long time before I see say things no de always easy for pioneers. We notice how our money de finish, but even with that one we still continue our preaching work. One day, after we don preach the whole day and de come back, all our money don finish and hungry de catch us. We surprise as we meet one big bag of food for the front of our door. Till today, we no know who put the bag for there. That evening, we chop like say we be king. This na big blessing because we no allow make our hand drop! The truth be say, for the end of that month, I add weight and I never ever get that kind weight before for my life.

After some months, they send us make we go serve for one town wey the name na Gilbert Plains. E dey about 150 miles (240 km) north of Souris. All congregation that time de get one board for platform. Every month, them de write wetin congregation don do for preaching work. For one month, preaching for my congregation drop. So I give one talk to help the brothers see say they need to preach more. After the meeting, one old pioneer sister wey her husband no be Jehovah Witness come meet me. With tears for her eye she tell me say, “I try, but I no fit do pass the one wey I do.” Then I begin cry too and I beg her make she no vex.

E de easy make young brothers do that kind mistake wey I do. And wetin they do go make them feel bad after. But I don learn say when this one happen, make person no allow e hand drop. Instead, make e learn from e mistake and continue with e fine work because e go get blessing from God.

Na big blessing for me to attend the number 14 class of Gilead School! That time, I dey 21 years and we graduate for February 1950. They send about 25 brothers and sisters among the 103 student go Canada. They go serve for the province of Quebec, the language for there na French. And that time for Quebec, leaders for religion de attack Jehovah Witness people no be small. They send me go one town wey the name na Val-d’Or. The place get gold. One day, plenty of us go preach for one village wey e no too far from Val-d’Or. The name of this village na Val-Senneville. The priest for there threaten say e go do us bad if we no leave the village quick-quick. So I carry the matter go court. Court say make the priest pay fine. *

That court case and plenty other problem like that one, na part of our struggle so that they fit allow us do our work for there. E don pass 300 years wey Roman Catholic Church de control things for  the province of Quebec. Leaders for religion and politicians join hand de attack Jehovah Witness. Things no easy for us that time and we no plenty, but we no allow make our hand drop. People for Quebec wey they want learn Bible begin study. I study with plenty people and they come accept the truth. Na 10 people dey for one family wey I study with. Everybody for that family begin serve Jehovah. The strong heart wey this family get make plenty other people leave Catholic Church. We continue with our preaching, and as time de go, we come dey free!

For 1956, they send me make I go serve for Haiti. Plenty new missionary for Haiti de struggle to speak French. Even with that one, people still de listen to them. One of the missionary na Stanley Boggus. E talk say, “E surprise us as people do everything wey they fit do to help us make we fit talk with them.” I know small French before because I learn-am when I dey Quebec. But e no take long time, we notice say many of the brothers for there de only use language wey the name na Haitian Creole. So if we the missionary want really succeed for our preaching, we need to learn the language. We learn-am, and we see the blessing.

Governing Body come accept make we translate Watchtower and other books for Haitian Creole. Na so we continue to help the brothers. The number of people wey them de come meeting begin go up quick-quick. For 1950, na 99 publishers dey Haiti that time. But for 1960, the number go up pass 800 publishers! That time, they send me make I go serve for Bethel. For 1961, I dey among the teachers for Kingdom Ministry School. This one really sweet me for heart. We train elders and special pioneers. And all the student for that class na 40. For the convention for January 1962, we help brothers make they see say they fit do more for preaching. And they appoint some of them as special pioneers. This arrangement come for the right time because problem dey road de come.

For January 23, 1962, just after that convention, they come arrest me and Andrew D’Amico for branch office. They seize all the January 8, 1962 Awake! for French language. This Awake! talk wetin  some French newspapers write about people for Haiti, say them de practice voodoo. (Voodoo na one kind demon worship.) Some people vex with wetin we talk inside the Awake! and they think say na for branch we write about that topic. Some weeks after, they send all the missionary go back to their country. * But the brothers wey they train continue with the work, and they do-am well. Today, I de glad as the brothers no tire and how their faith continue to grow. Now, they even get New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures for Haitian Creole. This one na something wey we for only dream about before.

After I don serve for Haiti, they send me make I go Central African Republic as missionary. After some time, I serve as traveling overseer and then as branch overseer for there.

That time, the condition of plenty Kingdom Hall no be like the ones of today. I learn how to collect grass from bush and how to use-am make roof. Many people wey them de pass surprise as I de do this work. Because of this one, the brothers begin put their mind more-more to build and maintain Kingdom Halls. Leaders for religion de laugh us that time because their church get zinc but our own get grass. But we no tire, we continue to build this kind Kingdom Hall. That laugh come stop when one strong breeze blow for the capital wey the name na Bangui. The breeze remove the zinc ontop their church and troway-am for road. But the grass roof for all our Kingdom Hall no shake. We build new branch office and missionary home so that we go fit really care for the preaching work. And na just five month we use build-am. *

For 1976, they ban our preaching work for Central African Republic. So, they send me make I go serve for N’Djamena, wey be the capital of Chad. But something good happen to me for there. I meet Happy, one special pioneer sister from Cameroon wey she really love Jehovah. We marry for April 1, 1978. That very month, civil war start and we run go south of the country, like plenty other people. When the fight finish, we go back to our house. When we reach there, we notice say one group of people wey they get gun don de use our house as their headquarter. We no see any of our book again. No be only that one, we no still see the wedding gown of my wife and our wedding gifts. But we no allow that one make our hand drop. We still get each other, and hope to continue with the work.

After about two years, we get freedom to do our preaching work again for Central African Republic. So, we go back and continue with traveling work. That time, our house na bus. E get bed wey we fit fold, and drum wey we fit put plenty water inside (200 liters). Fridge and one gas cooker dey the bus. The fridge no de use electric. To travel that time no easy. One day as we de travel, police stop us for different-different checkpoint, reach at least 117 times.

Many times, the weather de hot no be small (50°C). Sometimes for assembly, e no de easy make we get water wey we go use for baptism. So, the brothers dig hole for some place wey river dey before but the water don dry, and small-small, they gather water wey we use for baptism. Many times, na inside drum we de baptize people.

For 1980, they carry us go Nigeria. And for two-and-a-half years, we help the brothers prepare to build new branch. One warehouse wey the brothers don already buy get upstair for inside. Their plan na to remove the building, part by part, and build-am for our own land. One morning, I climb go up so that I go help the brothers with the work. Around afternoon, I begin come down, and I follow the same road wey I pass go up. But because they don remove plenty part of the building, I miss  my step and I fall. That time my condition dey like e really serious. But after, doctor do X-ray and check me. E tell my wife say make she no worry, after one or two weeks, I go dey fine.

For 1986, we go Côte d’Ivoire and do traveling work for there. Sometimes, the work de take us go Burkina Faso. This country no far from Côte d’Ivoire. I no ever think say after some years, we go go stay for Burkina Faso for some time.

I leave Canada for 1956, but for 2003 I go back and I serve for Bethel with my wife, Happy. This one make-am 47 years wey I leave Canada. We be citizen for Canada, but we feel say Africa na our home.

For 2007, when I dey 79 years, we go Africa again! They send me make I go serve as member of the Country Committee for Burkina Faso. After, they come use the office do remote translation office and na Benin branch de direct the work. Then for August 2013, they send us go Bethel for Benin.

Even as I no too strong as before, I still love to go preaching. For the last three years, the elders and my wife don really support me. With their help, I dey happy to see my two Bible student baptize. Their name na Gédéon and Frégis. Now them de use all their heart serve Jehovah.

Now they don send me and my wife go the branch for South Africa. For there, the Bethel family de care for me as I don old. South Africa na the number seven country for Africa wey I don serve. Then for October 2017, we receive one special blessing. They invite us to attend the dedication of our headquarter for Warwick, New York. We no go forget that wonderful time!

Page 255 for 1994 Yearbook talk say: “All the people wey them don endure and do the work for many years, we de encourage wuna say: ‘Make wuna no tire and make wuna no allow wuna hand drop down, because God go bless wuna for the work wey wuna de do.’​—2 Chron. 15:7.” Me and my wife don decide to follow this better advice and we de encourage other people make they do the same thing.