Life Story

My Share in the Advancement of Global Divine Education

AS TOLD BY ROBERT NISBET

King Sobhuza II of Swaziland welcomed my brother George and me to his royal residence. The year was 1936, but I still recall our conversation vividly. How I came to have this extended conversation with a king was all part of my long association with a great Bible education work. Now in the 95th year of my life, I look back with fondness on my share in that work, which took me to five different continents.

Encouragement From Brother Rutherford

My desire to have a greater share in the education work led me to enroll in the full-time pioneer ministry in 1931. I was to start immediately following a convention in London. During one lunch break, however, Brother Joseph Rutherford, who had oversight of the work at the time, asked to speak with me. He had plans for a pioneer to go to Africa. “Would you be willing to go?” he asked. Though taken a little by surprise, I managed to say quite firmly: “Yes, I’ll go.”

In those days our main goal was to distribute as much Bible literature as possible, and that meant being constantly on the move. I was encouraged to remain unmarried, as were most of the brothers in responsible positions of oversight at that time. My territory began in Cape Town, on the southern tip of Africa, and extended along the eastern side of the continent, including the coastal islands of the Indian Ocean. The western boundary took me across the hot sands of the Kalahari Desert and up to the source of the Nile River at Lake Victoria. With a partner, I was to spend six months each year in one or more of the African countries located in this vast area.

Two Hundred Cartons of Spiritual Riches

When I arrived in Cape Town, I was shown 200 cartons of literature destined for East Africa. The literature was printed in four European and four Asian languages, but none of it was in any of the African languages. When I inquired why all this literature was there before I even arrived, I was told that this had been intended for Frank and Gray Smith, two pioneers who had recently gone to Kenya to preach. Almost as soon as they arrived in Kenya, both contracted malaria, and sadly, Frank died.

Though this news was sobering, it did not deter me. My partner, David Norman, and I left Cape Town by ship for our first assignment, some 3,000 miles [5,000 km] away in Tanzania. A travel agent in Mombasa, Kenya, looked after our store of literature and forwarded cartons to any destination requested by us. Initially, we witnessed in the business districts​—the shops and offices—​in each town. Part of our literature supply consisted of sets of 9 books and 11 booklets, which because of their different colors came to be known as rainbow sets.

We next decided to visit the island of Zanzibar, some 20 miles [30 km] off the eastern coast. For centuries, Zanzibar was a center of slave trade but was also famous for cloves, which we could smell everywhere in the town. Finding our way around was a little daunting, for the town was laid out without any plan. Streets twisted and turned in a bewildering manner, and we found it easy to lose our sense of direction. Our hotel was comfortable enough, but it had studded doors and thick walls and looked more like a prison than a hotel. Yet, we had good results there and were happy to find that Arabs, Indians, and others willingly accepted our literature.

Trains, Boats, and Cars

Traveling in East Africa in those days was not easy. For example, on our way from Mombasa to the highlands of Kenya, our train was stopped by a locust plague. Millions of locusts covered the land and the train tracks, making them too slippery for the locomotive’s wheels to sustain traction. The only solution was to wash the tracks ahead of the train, using steaming hot water from the locomotive. In this way, slow progress was made until we eventually got clear of the swarm of locusts. And what a relief when the train began to ascend into a higher elevation and we were able to savor the cooler climate of the highlands!

While the coastal towns were readily accessible by train and boat, the rural areas could best be reached by car. I was happy when my brother George joined me, for then we were able to purchase a fairly large panel van, big enough to be outfitted with beds, a kitchen, a storage area, and mosquito-proof windows. We also had loudspeakers fitted to the roof. Thus equipped, we were able to do house-to-house witnessing during the day and invite people to our evening talks held in the market squares. A popular recording we played was entitled “Is Hell Hot?” We made one journey from South Africa to Kenya, a 2,000-mile [3,000 km] trip in our “mobile home,” and were glad by this time to have a variety of booklets in several African languages, which the local people excitedly accepted from us.

A pleasant experience for us was that on trips like this, we were able to see much African wildlife. Of course, for our safety we stayed inside the van after dark, but it was quite faith-strengthening to see such a variety of Jehovah’s animal creation in their natural state.

Opposition Begins

While we were cautious with the wild animals, this was nothing when compared with what we needed to do in facing various government officials and some irate religious leaders who began to oppose our Kingdom-preaching work quite openly. One major problem we had to contend with was that of a fanatic who called himself Mwana Lesa, meaning “Son of God,” and his group known as Kitawala, which unfortunately means “Watchtower.” Some time before we arrived, this person had drowned numerous Africans, claiming to be baptizing them. He was eventually arrested and hanged. Later, I had the opportunity to talk with the hangman to explain that this man had had nothing to do with our Watch Tower Society.

We also had difficulties with many Europeans who, mainly for financial reasons, were not happy with our educational work. One warehouse manager complained: “If the white man is to remain in this country, the African must not discover how his cheap labor is being exploited.” For the same reason, the chief of a gold-mining company ordered me out of his office in no uncertain terms. Then he angrily escorted me all the way to the street.

No doubt largely influenced by such religious and commercial opposers, the government of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) eventually ordered us to leave the country. We appealed this decision and were successful in being allowed to stay, on condition that we did not preach to Africans. The reason given by one official was that our literature was “unsuited to the African mind.” In other countries, however, our educational work among Africans went unhindered, was even welcomed. One of these countries was Swaziland.

A Royal Welcome to Swaziland

Swaziland is a small, self-governing country of 6,704 square miles [17,364 sq km] located inside South Africa. It was here that we met the very articulate King Sobhuza II, mentioned at the outset of this account. He had a fine command of the English language, which he acquired while attending a British university. Dressed informally, he made us very welcome.

Our conversation with him centered on the earthly Paradise that God purposed for rightly disposed people. Though not greatly interested in that subject, he made it clear that a related matter was very much on his mind. The king was devoted to improving the living standards of the poor and uneducated people. He disliked the activities of many missionaries of Christendom, who appeared to be more interested in church membership than in education. The king, however, was familiar with the activity of several of our pioneers, and he commended us for our Bible education work, especially since we were willing to do this without requiring payment or other obligations.

Bible Education Accelerates

In 1943 the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead was established for the training of missionaries. Emphasis was placed on following up all interest found rather than mainly concentrating on the placing of Bible literature. In 1950, George and I were invited to attend the 16th class of Gilead.