Nem Bilong Jehovah Long Pacific
FROM MAN FOR RAET FOR WEKAP! LONG FIJI
PIPOL wea hipap barava sapraes. Tufala man wea visitim Pacific island bilong olketa satem eye bifor tufala kaikaim feast wea olketa redyim. “Wanem nao iutufala duim?” pipol bilong island ask.
Tufala ansa: “Mitufala thankiu long God for olketa present Hem givim.”
“Wea nao God bilong iufala stap?” pipol bilong island ask.
“Long heven,” nao ansa olketa kasem.
“Wanem nao nem bilong Hem?”
“Jehovah.”
“Waswe, God bilong iufala savve kaikai?” olketa ask.
Tufala visitor ansa: “God hem wanfala Spirit. Hem no olsem iumi; Hem laef olowe. Hem nao wakem earth, skae, sea, and evriting. Hem wakem iumi tu.”
Pipol long island sapraes long olketa simpol truth hia and olketa laek savve why nao tufala stranger hia visitim island bilong olketa. Ansa bilong tufala hem simpol: “Mitufala kam for helpem iufala savve long trufala God Jehovah, and Son bilong Hem Jesus, Savior bilong iumi.”—From Darkness to Light in Polynesia.
Hu nao tufala stranger hia? Olketa Jehovah’s Witness? Nomoa. Tufala teacher or man for preach from Tahiti, wea kam long island bilong Mangaia (long southern Cook Islands) long June 15, 1824. Why nao tufala iusim datfala nem Jehovah? Waswe, tufala nomoa duim diswan? Ansa for olketa kwestin hia explainim reason why nem bilong Jehovah hem still barava important long staka Pacific island.
Olketa Iusim Evritaem Nem Bilong God
Staka missionary wea kam long Pacific from England and America long mek-19 century iusim nem Jehovah evriday taem olketa story and raet. Man for raetem history mistek for sei olketa firstfala missionary hia “olketa follower bilong Jehovah winim wei for sei olketa disaepol bilong Christ.”
Olketa missionary hia savve start raetem leta bilong olketa witim kaen toktok olsem: “Letem God, Lord Bilong Iumi Jehovah and Jesus Christ datfala king bilong peace, sevem iu.” Dastawe iumi no sapraes taem Albert J. Schütz, wanfala savveman saed long languis wea staka savve long hem, hem sei wanfala Fiji textbuk wea olketa pablisim long 1825 hem iusim wanfala English word nomoa. Hem nao datfala nem Jehova.
Disfala wei wea olketa firstfala missionary iusim nem Jehovah hem affectim pipol long Pacific long bigfala wei. Samfala wea lane from olketa missionary gogo kamap olketa missionary or olketa teacher and olketa sendem olketa go for spreadim message long olketa nara island. Datfala buk The Covenant Makers—Islander Missionaries in the Pacific, sei olsem abaotem tufala missionary from Tahiti wea kasem Mangaia island: “For tufala teacher hia from Tahiti, Jehovah nomoa only trufala God. Hem wakem full world and man hem part long creation bilong God. . . . [Olketa] talem hao Jehovah nomoa only trufala God and Son bilong Hem Jesus Christ hem Savior bilong olketa man.”
Taem olketa tekem Bible message go long olketa difren island, samfala firstfala missionary feisim bigfala danger from pipol long samfala island raf tumas. Taem hem storyim olketa hard samting wea kamap, datfala buk Mission, Church, and Sect in Oceania hem sei: “Strong faith long Jehovah planti taem winim feeling for fraet and lus hope.”
Wanfala example bilong kaen faith long Jehovah olsem hem kamap long 1823 taem olketa firstaem tekem Bible message go long island bilong Rarotonga, long Cook Islands. Missionary sailor John Williams kasem there and sendem tufala hasband and waef for teachim pipol long Rarotonga. Bat gogo fofala hia no agree long wanfala samting witim king wea barava drunk and diswan lead go long wei wea olketa killim olketa nogud. Pipol stealim evriting bilong olketa and olketa klosap lusim laef.
Bihaen olketa kasem bak ship, olketa missionary hia storyim hao olketa no meetim eni pipol wea raf olsem bifor. For stap klia from eni moa trabol, Williams disaed for lusim datfala island and for kam bak bihaen. Then wanfala young teacher, Papeiha, hem volunteer for preach seleva long disfala island. Hem sei: “Nomata raf pipol hia bae letem mi laef or killim mi dae, bae mi kasem olketa.”
Papeiha talem toktok wea staka taem kamap long olketa story abaotem olketa firstfala missionary: “Ko Jehova toku tiaki! Tei roto au i tona rima! (Jehovah hem shepherd bilong mi! Mi long hand bilong hem!)” Then, witim kaleko wea hem werem nomoa and wanfala buk wea garem samfala part bilong Bible long languis bilong Tahiti, hem jamp from ship and swim go long land. Olketa no killim hem dae and hem faendem staka wea acceptim olketa samting hem teachim.
Wanfala man from Rarotonga wea kamap missionary hem More Ta’unga. Long 1842 hem kamap first missionary for wakem missionary base long New Caledonia. Hem raet olsem abaotem wanfala man wea hem helpem and teachim for read and raet: “Hem isisi lanem olketa samting hia. No longtaem bihaen, hem sei long mi, ‘Mi laek prea.’ Bat mi talem hem for isisi nomoa. Bihaen, hem ask moa, ‘Plis letem mi prea?’ Then hem askem mi why nao mi no letem hem prea, so mi sei, ‘Iu mas lusim olketa idol bilong iu firstaem, then iu savve prea long Jehovah. Hem nomoa savve herem iu.’ So hem tekem kam basket witim evri god bilong hem insaed and sei, ‘Bonem. Distaem Jehovah nao bae God bilong mi.’ Hem kamap gud long wei for prea.”
Pipol Long Pacific Acceptim Jehovah
From wei for iusim nem bilong God hem normal wei bilong olketa missionary, iumi no sapraes hao pipol wea olketa preach long olketa start for acceptim Jehovah olsem God bilong olketa. Datfala buk Missionary Adventures in the South Pacific storyim wanfala big meeting wea kamap long wanfala island long north Pacific, bihaen datfala missionary ship Morning Star kasem long there. Datfala buk sei pipol long datfala island “vote long wei for apim hand, wea staka apim tufala hand and keepim ap for longtaem for strongim wei wea olketa barava chus for duim olsem, hao olketa bae lusim wei for worshipim idol and worshipim Jehovah. And tu, olketa agree for provaedem evriting olketa teacher needim. Olketa givim and dedicatem wanfala pis land long Jehovah for wanfala church and haos bilong pastor.”
Datfala buk Wiliamu—Mariner-Missionary—The Story of John Williams, sei olsem abaotem taem Malietoa, hae chief long Samoa, kamap Christian: “Malietoa story longtaem witim pipol bilong hem, wea hem promis front olketa for hem kamap man wea worshipim Jehovah, and for buildim church for worship bilong Hem. Hem orderim pipol wea stap long haos for lane abaotem Jehovah and Jesus Christ.”
Evriting wea happen hia affectim olketa Pacific island for longfala taem bihaen. Nomata distaem long olketa kantri olsem Fiji and Samoa, man no sapraes for herem nem bilong Jehovah long radio or lukim insaed niuspepa.
Hem affectim olketa long samfala nara wei tu. Long buk bilong hem Treasure Islands, wea olketa firstaem pablisim long 1977, Pearl Binder minim hao important nao nem Jehovah long pipol bilong Banaba. Pipol hia firstaem kam from Kiribati, bat olketa muvim olketa go long island bilong Rabi, long Fiji. Binder hem raet: “Winim wanem olketa tingim, olketa missionary wea kam long Banaba givim pipol bilong Banaba samting wea barava spesol tumas. . . . Biliv bilong olketa long Jehovah kamap main important samting long living bilong olketa, wea keepim olketa tugeta insaed seventi year bilong trabol wea kamap worse, and still distaem strongim olketa long spiritual wei long wei wea no eni difren samting fit for duim. Sapos olketa white man no bin storyim Jehovah long olketa (wea olketa white man seleva gogo no tinghae long hem) pipol bilong Banaba lus finis nao.”
Nem Bilong God Insaed Olketa Bible Transleison
Wanfala main goal bilong olketa firstfala missionary hem for wakem olketa Bible transleison wea isi for minim long olketa Pacific-island languis. From hard waka bilong olketa, Bible kamap long staka languis bilong Pacific. Hem kamap normal for olketa keepim nem Jehovah, long sem wei wea olketa keepim olketa nara Bible nem.
Wanfala strong Bible student bae interest long wei wea olketa firstfala transleita hia no just iusim nem bilong Jehovah taem olketa transleitim olketa Hebrew Scripture, bat tu long olketa Christian Greek Scripture, wea pipol savve kolem Niu Testament. Wanfala survey olketa duim long sevenfala Pacific-island languis faendem hao nem bilong Jehovah kamap long 72 difren verse long olketa Christian Greek Scripture. Olketa hia no just olketa transleison wea olketa duim insaed mek-19 century. Insaed diswan hem wanfala niu transleison long languis bilong Rotuma wea kamaot long 1999. Disfala Bible iusim nem bilong Jehovah insaed 48 verse bilong olketa Christian Greek Scripture.
Long end bilong mek-19 century, William Wyatt Gill, wanfala missionary wea stap longtaem long Pacific, raet olsem abaotem olketa firstfala transleison: “Bihaen mi iusim Rarotongan Bible for foti-tu year, mi fit for sei hem wanfala gud transleison. . . . Olsem tu for evri nara Pacific and New Guinea transleison, datfala holy nem ‘Jehovah’ hem stap, wea diswan strongim go moa wei wea living God hem difren from olketa samting wea heathen pipol worshipim.”
Why Olketa Iusim Nem Bilong God
Why nao olketa missionary, Bible transleita, and teacher iusim nem bilong God, Jehovah, long bigfala wei? Main samting nao hem from olketa need for showimaot Jehovah, datfala only trufala God, hem difren from staka false god wea pipol bilong Pacific worshipim. (John 17:3; 1 Corinthians 8:5, 6) Each wan long olketa god hia garem nem, and hem normal nomoa for pipol wea worshipim olketa for ask, “Hu nao God bilong iufala? Wanem nao nem bilong hem?” Sapos olketa talem languis word for “god” nomoa, diswan bae konfiusim olketa or maet mekem olketa tingim datfala Olmaeti hem nara god for joinim long olketa god bilong olketa nomoa. So hem shud no mekem iumi sapraes hao olketa firstfala missionary iusim nem bilong Jehovah planti taem.
Waswe, diswan minim evriwan wea iusim nem Jehovah really savve long hem? Nomoa. Hiram Bingham, wanfala missionary transleita and son bilong wanfala Hawaiian missionary wea garem sem nem wea staka savve long hem, hem lukim taem pipol bilong Abaiang (long Kiribati) distroem idol bilong olketa and singaot “wanfala God nomoa stap—Jehovah.” Bat Missionary Adventures in the South Pacific sei olsem abaotem diswan:
“Nomata olsem, Bingham savve hao wei wea olketa distroem datfala idol no minim pipol hia really acceptim yet Christian Wei. Olketa no savve long really mining bilong gospel, bat olketa just start.” Tru nao, moa samting hem insaed diswan winim wei for savve nomoa long nem Jehovah. Olketa tru Christian need for savve long Jehovah olsem wanfala person and obeyim hem long evri wei.—Romans 10:13-17.
Nomata faithful Moses, wanfala wea savve and iusim nem bilong Jehovah, need for kasem moa savve. Hem prea olsem: “Distaem, plis, sapos iu hapi long mi, mekem mi savve, plis, long olketa wei bilong iu, for mi savve long iu, mekem iu hapi long mi.” (Exodus 33:13) Tru nao, Moses laek savve moa samting winim nem bilong Jehovah nomoa. Hem laek savve long olketa fasin bilong Jehovah and hao for mekem hem hapi. From hem askem diswan, God givim Moses wanfala nambawan privilege, for lukim mining bilong nem bilong Jehovah showaot klia.—Exodus 33:19; 34:5-7.
Olsem tu distaem, staka thousand Jehovah’s Witness evriwea long Pacific distaem iusim olketa Bible wea olketa firstfala missionary transleitim for helpem pipol wea garem honest heart for savve no just mining long nem bilong Jehovah bat tu wanem hem askem from pipol wea worshipim hem “witim spirit and truth.” (John 4:23, 24) Tru nao, nem bilong Jehovah go ahed for kasem glory long “olketa island bilong sea.” From diswan, staka thousand putim hope long nambawan nem bilong hem.—Isaiah 24:15; 42:12; 51:5; Proverbs 18:10.
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Pipol bilong Pacific wea lanem nem bilong God from olketa first missionary bilong Christendom talemaot long nara pipol
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Palm tree and photo at left: From the book Gems From the Coral Islands
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John Williams
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Culver Pictures
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Papeiha
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Courtesy Institute of Pacific Studies, from Mission Life in the Islands of the Pacific, by Aaron Buzacott
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Olketa Jehovah’s Witness talemaot nem bilong God evriwea long world