Full-Taem Service for Fifti Year Klosap Long Arctic Circle

FAMILI bilong mifala, wea mifala tenfala pikinini, stap long wanfala farm long Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland. World War II hem affectim laef bilong mifala olketa pikinini. Nomata haos bilong mifala hem farawe from front laen, olketa nogud samting wea happen long datfala war hem barava affectim mifala. Long naet, taem olketa bombim Oulu and Kalajoki, tufala taon wea no farawe tumas, mifala lukim skae hem red. Dadi and mami talem mifala olketa pikinini for haed taem mifala lukim olketa warplane flae go pas. So taem big brata bilong mifala, Tauno, hem story abaotem wanfala paradaes earth wea no eni nogud samting bae happen, mifala interest tumas long datwan.

Taem Tauno hem 14 year nomoa, hem lanem truth from olketa buk bilong Olketa Bible Student. Taem World War II hem start, olketa putim hem long prison bikos hem followim konsens bilong hem and no willing for joinim army. Olketa barava raf long hem long prison. Bat datwan strongim hem for gohed worshipim Jehovah, and taem hem aot from prison, hem gohed strong long ministry. Gudfala example bilong brata bilong mifala hem encouragem mifala for attendim meeting bilong olketa Witness long wanfala vilij klosap long mifala. Mifala attendim olketa convention tu, nomata mifala mas waka hard for kasem inaf selen for olketa gogo hia. Mifala plantim onion, harvestim frut olsem berry, and sewim kaleko for olketa neiba. From mifala garem staka waka for duim long farm, plande taem hem hard for mifala evriwan attendim sem convention, so samfala go long difren wan.

Samting wea mifala lanem abaotem Jehovah and plan bilong hem mekem mifala barava lovem hem, and mifala disaed for dedicatem laef bilong mifala long hem. Long 1947, mitufala evriwan baptaes. Annikki hem 15 year and Aili hem 17 year. Big sista bilong mifala, Saimi, hem baptaes tu long datfala sem year. Mifala study tu witim Linnea, sista bilong mifala wea hem marit finis. Hem and famili bilong hem tu kamap Jehovah’s Witness. Bihaen mitufala baptaes, mifala garem goal for pioneer, and samfala taem mifala auxiliary pioneer.

STARTIM FULL-TAEM SERVICE

Long 1955, mifala muv go long Kemi, wanfala taon long north. Nomata mitufala waka full-taem, mifala laek for pioneer bat no sure sapos mifala fit for kasem need bilong mifala. Mifala ting for sevem samfala selen firstaem. Long datfala taem nao mifala story witim datfala pioneer sista wea mifala storyim long start. Wanem datfala sista talem helpem mifala for luksavve nomata man no garem selen or no kasem help from famili, bat hem savve duim full-taem service. Samting wea barava important nao hem for iumi depend long Dadi bilong iumi long heven.

Long datfala taem, mitufala sevem inaf selen for sapotim mifala for tufala month. So long May 1957, nomata mifala fraet lelebet bat mifala apply for pioneer for tufala month long Pello, wanfala distrik long Lapland, wea stap antap long Arctic Circle. Bihaen tufala month, selen wea mifala sevem hem stap yet, so mifala apply for nara tufala month moa. Bihaen tufala month hia, mifala still garem datfala selen, so mifala sure nao Jehovah bae lukaftarem mifala. Bihaen 50 year wea mifala duim pioneer waka, mifala garem yet datfala selen wea mifala sevem! Taem mifala ting go bak, hem olsem Jehovah holem hand bilong mifala and sei: “Iu no fraet, bae mi helpem iu.”—Isa. 41:13.

Long 1958, circuit overseer bilong mifala sei for mifala muv go long Sodankylä, Lapland, for duim spesol pioneer waka long there. Long datfala taem, wanfala sista nomoa stap long datfala ples. Hao hem lanem truth hem difren lelebet. Son bilong hem go witim olketa long class bilong hem long Helsinki, kapitol bilong Finland. Taem class bilong hem wakabaot long datfala taon, olketa followim laen and hem nao last wan long laen. Wanfala olo sista givim hem wanfala Wastaoa, and talem hem for givim long mami bilong hem. Hem duim datwan, and semtaem mami bilong hem readim magasin hia, hem luksavve diswan nao hem truth.

Mifala rentim wanfala rum wea stap antap long wanfala sawmill. Mifala garem olketa meeting long datfala rum. Long firstaem, mitufala witim datfala sista and gele bilong hem nomoa attendim olketa meeting. Mifala savve readim tugeta information for olketa meeting. Bihaen, wanfala man wea study bifor witim olketa Witness kam waka long datfala sawmill. Hem and famili bilong hem tu start for kam long olketa meeting. Gogo, hem and waef bilong hem baptaes. Then, brata hia nao tekem olketa meeting bilong mifala. And tu, samfala man wea waka long sawmill start for attendim olketa meeting and acceptim truth. Samfala year bihaen, smol grup bilong mifala hem kamap wanfala kongregeson.

OLKETA HARD SAMTING WEA MIFALA FEISIM

Samfala territory bilong mifala stap farawe. Long hot season, mifala wakabaot, raedem baesikol, and padolem boat tu for kasem pipol long territory. Olketa baesikol nao barava helpem mifala long assignment. Mifala savve iusim olketa baesikol tu for go long olketa convention and for go lukim dadi and mami, wea tufala stap plande handred kilometer from mitufala. Long cold season, mifala savve tekem bas long early morning and go long wanfala vilij, and then wakabaot from haos tu haos. Bihaen mifala preach finis long datfala vilij, mifala wakabaot go long next wan. Snow hem deep and staka taem hem kavarem road tu. Plande taem mifala savve wakabaot followim road wea olketa horse wea pullim wagon olketa mekem long snow. Samfala taem mifala no savve lukim road bikos snow hem kavarem, and long end bilong cold season, snow hem soft and wet and mifala stragol for wakabaot.

From hem cold tumas and hem savve snow big, mifala mas werem wool kaleko. Mifala werem wool stockings and tu-thri socks wantaem and olketa longfala boot. Nomata olsem, plande taem boot bilong mifala fulap long snow. Taem mifala kasem ladder bilong eni haos, mifala aotem boot and sekem for aotem snow tu. Nara samting tu, end long coat bilong mifala hem savve tuwet taem mifala wakabaot long snow. Then taem weather hem cold fogud, end long coat bilong mifala hem kamap ice nao. Wanfala woman wea mifala wakabaot winim 11 kilometer for kasem haos bilong hem, hem sei: “Ating iufala garem strongfala faith, from iufala volunteer for kam long taem wea weather hem olsem.”

From territory hem farawe, staka taem mifala mas sleep long haos bilong pipol. Taem hem gogo for evening, mifala start for askem pipol sapos eni ples stap wea mifala savve sleep. Haos bilong olketa hem simpol nomoa, bat olketa kaen tumas and welkamim mifala, and feedim mifala tu. Staka taem bed bilong mifala hem skin bilong reindeer, moose, or bear. And samfala taem, mifala stap long olketa barava naes haos. Olsem example, wanfala woman wea garem big haos hem letem mifala stap long wanfala guest rum antap long haos, and bed wea mifala sleep insaed hem garem olketa naesfala white bedsheet. Long staka famili wea mifala stap witim, mifala savve storyim Bible witim olketa gogo hem leit naet nao. Long wanfala ples mifala stap long haos bilong wanfala hasband and waef. Tufala sleep long wansaed long rum and mitufala long narasaed. Man hia hem askem kwestin firstaem then waef bilong hem ask moa, so nomata mifala leidaon long dark, mifala gohed storyim Bible witim tufala go kasem midolnaet.

MINISTRY WEA MEKEM MIFALA SATISFAE

Lapland hem ples wea no staka samting grow long hem, bat hem luk naes tumas long olketa difren season long year. Bat samting wea mifala barava tinghae long hem nao hem pipol wea willing for lane abaotem Jehovah. Samfala long olketa hia hem olketa man wea kam long Lapland for duim logging. Samfala taem, taem mitufala go insaed haos bilong olketa, staka man nao sidaon insaed. Olketa strongfala wakaman hia hapi for herem message bilong Bible and tekem olketa buk tu.

Mitufala kasem staka nambawan experience. Wanday mitufala misstim bas, so mifala disaed for go long nara bas for go long difren vilij. Hem firstaem for mifala go preach long there. Long first haos wea mifala kasem, mifala meetim wanfala young woman wea sei: “Mi weitim iufala and iufala arrive nao.” Mitufala study witim sista bilong woman hia. Datfala woman askem sista bilong hem for pasim message for mifala go visitim hem long datfala day. Bat mitufala no kasem datfala message. Mifala startim Bible study witim datfala young woman, and olketa relative bilong hem wea stap klosap long hem tu. No longtaem bihaen, mifala study witim evriwan olsem wanfala grup, and samting olsem 12-fala nao savve kam for datfala study. Staka long datfala famili nao kamap Jehovah’s Witness.

Long 1965, mitufala kasem niu assignment for waka witim kongregeson long Kuusamo, klosap long Arctic Circle. Mitufala stap yet long datfala kongregeson distaem. Long datfala taem, kongregeson hia garem tu-thri pablisa nomoa. Firstaem niu territory bilong mifala hem no isi. Pipol strong long religion bilong olketa, and no laekem mifala. Nomata olsem, staka tinghae long Bible, so mifala storyim olketa samting long Bible wea olketa bae agree long hem. Mitufala isisi trae for savve gud long pipol, and bihaen tufala year, hem no hard tumas for startim Bible study.

BUSY YET LONG MINISTRY

Distaem mitufala no strong tumas for spendem full day long ministry, bat mitufala still go aot klosap evriday. Long 1987, taem Aili hem 56 year, nephew bilong mifala encouragem hem for kasem driving license, and datwan mekem hem moa isi for mifala kasem moa pipol long bigfala territory bilong mifala. Nara samting wea helpem mifala hem taem olketa wakem wanfala niu Kingdom Hall wea garem smol haos wea join witim, and mitufala go stap long there.

Mitufala hapi tumas for lukim staka pipol kam insaed long truth. Taem mifala start for duim full-taem service long north Finland, tu-thri pablisa nomoa stap long datfala part bilong Finland wea hem barava big. Distaem staka kongregeson nao stap long there insaed long wanfala circuit. Staka taem long olketa assembly and convention, samwan hem kam hello long mitufala and ask sapos mifala rememberim hem. Taem samfala long olketa hia pikinini, mifala studyim Bible witim samwan long haos bilong olketa. Nomata plande year bihaen, seed wea mifala plantim long datfala taem hem grow and garem frut nao!—1 Cor. 3:6.

Long 2008, mitufala spesol pioneer for 50 year finis. Mifala thankiu long Jehovah from hem helpem mifala for encouragem each other for gohed strong long disfala nambawan waka bilong hem. Laef bilong mitufala hem simpol nomoa, bat no enitaem mitufala short long eni samting. (Ps. 23:1) Taem mitufala ting go bak, mifala luksavve mifala wari nating nomoa taem mitufala hol bak long firstaem! Mifala hapi tumas bikos insaed olketa year hia, Jehovah hem strongim mifala olsem hem promisim long Isaiah 41:10, wea sei: “Mi bae strongim iu. Mi bae barava helpem iu. Mi bae barava hol strong long iu witim raet hand bilong mi.”