• Disabled Persons Who Are Able Preachers
    The Watchtower—1986 | November 15

    • Three Brothers Who Share

      The three Tanizono brothers are in their 40’s and have the limb-girdle type of muscular dystrophy. Before learning the truth, they centered their lives around secular work, hoping to forget the gradual debilitation and premature death characteristic of this disease. Each of them began a separate study of the Bible and came to a knowledge of the truth. To show their appreciation to Jehovah, what could they do to enlarge their service? The younger brother, Toshimi, tells us:

      “I lived with my oldest brother, Akimi, and his wife until 1979. No longer able to care for myself, I then joined my brother Yoshito in an institution. There I began to serve as an auxiliary pioneer and during the next five years studied the Bible with some 12 children in the ward. One of those children was forced to stop studying when he was opposed by his parents, but they relented when he begged them to let him study again. He died at age 16 with a sure hope of a resurrection. About a year later, I received a phone call from the formerly opposed parents. They were having some problems with their younger daughter and felt that a study would help her.

      “My brother Yoshito and I wanted to be regular pioneers. But could we make the required yearly goal of 1,000 hours? True, it was a matter of increasing our time spent in the ministry by only 30 more hours each month. But would our bodies hold up? Then again, we thought, ‘If we don’t do it now, we will get to the point where we can’t.’ Paul’s words at 1 Corinthians 9:16 repeatedly came up in our discussions. ‘Really, woe is me if I did not declare the good news!’ Certainly, we have the obligation to preach the good news whether we have good health or not. So we submitted our applications and began regular pioneering on September 1, 1984.”

      Yoshito adds: “When I tried ‘temporary’ pioneering in January 1976, I damaged my health and had to be confined to bed for two months. My worst fear was that regular pioneering would cause me to get sick and force me to miss meetings. Happily, by August 1985 I was able to reach my goal in hours for the year, and I hadn’t missed one meeting because of my pioneering!”

      Toshimi comments: “Our main means of accomplishing our ministry is through letter writing. We write to not-at-homes, friends, relatives, unbelieving family members of those in the congregation, and residents of a mountain territory covered in the house-to-house ministry only twice a year. We preach informally to doctors, nurses, student workers, and other patients. So far, six patients have learned the truth. Three of them became Kingdom publishers and were awaiting baptism when they died. We enjoy physical benefits from keeping busy, mental satisfaction from knowing we are doing the preaching work, and heartfelt joy from encouraging others.”

      Yoshito adds: “As congregation elders, we can both speak from experience to those who are reaching out for pioneer service. When we submitted applications to become pioneers, two older sisters in the congregation were also moved to join the ranks. I am especially happy to say that in the spirit of Psalm 119:71, my former negative way of thinking has changed to Jehovah’s way. Yes, ‘It is good for me that I have been afflicted, in order that I might learn God’s regulations.’”

      Now, the older brother speaks up. Akimi says: “It is through the kindness of the brothers and my loving, supportive wife that I can do what I do in a theocratic way. I cannot walk even one step. For 14 years now, the brothers have tirelessly helped me to every meeting and assembly. From the time I began to study, pioneer experiences were the center of conversation when the young folks got together for association. As suggested in Our Kingdom Ministry, I decided to try pioneering for one year. With some misgivings about my physical condition, I made the promise to Jehovah in prayer, and I have renewed that promise every year for five years. In field service, I use a three-wheeled bike designed for disabled persons. With it I can get close to the doorway of many houses. I often sit in areas where there are a lot of pedestrians. If only a few go by, I pray right there for someone to witness to, and along comes a person with a hearing ear. Bible students come to my home to study, and I have been able to help eight persons to advance to baptism.

      “As presiding overseer and Theocratic Ministry School overseer, I arrive at the meetings early so that I am on hand to greet the brothers. Because I can’t call freely at their homes, effectively using time before and after meetings is vitally important. I also often use the telephone for shepherding work.

      “In the last four or five years, my muscle power has significantly diminished. By nighttime, I literally can’t move a muscle, and the tension has built up to such an extent that I feel as if a great pressure is on me in bed. My wife gently shifts my limbs so that I can get some relief. It is at times like these that the brothers’ warm and loving words help me keep a smiling face that I hope reflects the condition of my heart and not my body.”

      The progress of this disease cannot now be stopped. But the Tanizono brothers do feel that keeping their bodies busy in the field service, being aware of the householder and his needs, working closely with fellow believers, and experiencing the sense of fullness from service to God as pioneers have helped to keep the progress of the disease to a minimum. How thankful they are to Jehovah!

      Disabled but Determined

      Physical disabilities have not dampened the love and zeal that these able preachers have for the full-time ministry. Their determination is similar to that of the apostle Paul, who wrote: “We do not give up, but even if the man we are outside is wasting away, certainly the man we are inside is being renewed from day to day.”​—2 Corinthians 4:16.