Determined to Be Missionaries
DETERMINATION brought 50 young men and women to the 69th class of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead. They were determined to be missionaries, and the training given at this school is designed to help them toward that end. Like other classes of Gilead, the 69th was an international one. The students came from 10 different lands. Their average age was about 30 years, and they had been serving as witnesses of Jehovah for an average of almost 12 years. For these students, September 14, 1980, was graduation day.
Illustrating the determination of these students is a young man who, along with his wife, had been serving for years in Ireland. “From the time I became a Witness in 1969,” he said, “I had the desire to be a missionary. Even before I was baptized, Gilead was my goal.” Their determination was such that “there was no way we could put it out of our minds.” They kept their goal in their prayers, applied each year to attend Gilead School and worked hard as full-time Bible teachers. Finally, their persistence paid off, and they were called to the 69th class of Gilead.
Determination was shown too by the willingness of students to give up secular careers in order to preach the good news of God’s kingdom full time. One student from Mexico had given up the career of engineering in electronics, even though he had only one year more of training left. A young woman student who had won a nursing scholarship gave up a career in that field because, as she said, “as a teacher of the Bible I could help people permanently.”
Some of the students had made remarkable changes in their lives. One from the United States had been a hippie. He said: “I was on drugs by the time I was about 15 years of age. I could see the futility of this system of things. Like my wife, I got involved in radical movements, also in running weapons to universities during the 1960’s.” However, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses talked to him about the coming destruction of worldly nations by God’s kingdom, explaining the thought in Daniel 2:44. “That was really ‘up my alley,’” he said, “and provided the spark for me to agree to have a Bible study.” As he progressed in Bible knowledge he gave up drugs. Little by little he cut his long hair. “I went to the barbershop seven different times, at $7 a haircut, but it was well worth it.” This couple made an interesting observation: “Most of our friends that we formerly associated with are either dead, in jail or have lost their mind from use of drugs.” How grateful they are that they made the necessary changes to please Jehovah!
Where have they been sent as missionaries? To 19 different lands, including Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Pakistan, India, Burma, Dominican Republic, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Zaïre, Liberia, Upper Volta, Japan and Hong Kong.
The desire of all the graduates of Gilead’s 69th class is to help others to know Jehovah, to appreciate the benefit of listening to his Word and to serve him with everlasting life in view.
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Watchtower Bible School of Gilead
In the list below, rows are numbered from front to back and names are listed from left to right in each row.
(1) Lightfoot, P.; Toney, M.; Burr, C.; Cropper, C.; Rajan, E.; Dique, C.; Reyna, I.; Lipham, C.; Harriman, L.; Tarver, M.; (2) Toney, L.; Miller, C.; Rajan, N.; Aleman, I.; Cropper, W.; Nilsson, C.; Jones, S.; Vidal, A.; Rainone, G.; Howard, B.; (3) Finch, L.; Aleman, F.; Miller, E.; Trcka, C.; Harriman, R.; Reyna, A.; Rodrigues, K.; Endepohls, B.; Rainone, A.; Miller, C.; (4) Kendall, P.; Somerville, R.; Jones, R.; Van Winkle, J.; Xavier, J.; Maurel, M.; Walmsley, R.; Lightfoot, M.; Dique, L.; Maurel, A.; (5) Finch, E.; Riley, O.; Frohmiller, P.; Nilsson, U.; Thant, C.; Lipham, P.; Trcka, P.; Van Winkle, N.; Gibson, B.; Miller, G.