“Jehovah Nao Strongim Mi”

Story bilong Joan Coville

Mi born long Huddersfield, long England long July 1925. Mi nomoa pikinini long famili bilong mifala and mi no mas healthy. Dadi bilong mi savve talem mi, “Taem eni smol samting kasem iu nomoa, iu sik nao.” Luk olsem Dadi hem tok tru!

TAEM mi pikinini, mi savve herem olketa bigman long lotu prea evritaem for peace, batawea, taem World War II hem kamap, olketa prea for win moa. Mi konfius nao and mi garem staka kwestin. Long datfala taem, Annie Ratcliffe hem kam long haos bilong mifala. Annie nomoa hem wanfala Witness wea stap long sem ples olsem mifala.

Mi Lanem Truth

Annie hem givim disfala buk Salvation for mitufala Mami and hem askem Mami sapos hem laek go long haos bilong hem for storyim Bible.a Mami askem mi for go witim hem. Mi tingim yet datfala firstaem wea mifala storyim Bible. Olketa story abaotem ransom, and mi barava laekem wanem mi herem. Mi kasem ansa nao long staka kwestin wea mi garem. Long week bihaen, mifala go moa. Olketa storyim profesi wea Jesus talem abaotem saen wea showimaot iumi stap long olketa last day. Taem mitufala Mami luksavve long olketa nogud samting wea gohed long datfala taem, mifala savve diswan nao hem truth. Long datfala sem day, olketa askem mitufala sapos mifala laek go long Kingdom Hall.

Mi meetim samfala young pioneer long Kingdom Hall. Wanfala nao hem Joyce Barber (distaem nem bilong hem Joyce Ellis), wea waka witim hasband bilong hem, Peter, long Bethel long London. Mi tingse evriwan nao pioneer, dastawe nomata mi go long skul yet, mi savve preach 60 hour evri month.

Bihaen faevfala month, long February 11, 1940, mitufala Mami baptaes long circuit assembly long Bradford. Dadi hem no againstim niu religion wea mitufala Mami joinim, bat hem nating kamap Witness. Long datfala taem wea mi baptaes, hem nao taem wea olketa startim wei for duim street witnessing. Mi duim datfala waka tu. Mi karem olketa magasin long basket and mi karem tu samfala saen wea garem toktok long hem. Long wanfala Saturday, olketa talem for mi nao standap long olketa stoa wea staka pipol nao kam. From mi savve fraet, long datfala taem hem olsem evri pikinini wea mi skul witim nao kam long ples wea mi standap!

Long 1940 kongregeson bilong mifala hem divaed long tufala and klosap evri young wan wea sem age olsem mi muv go long nara kongregeson. Mi no hapi long diswan so mi story long presiding overseer. Hem talem mi, “Sapos iu laekem samfala young wan for iu fren witim, iu go faendem olketa taem iu duim preaching waka.” Hem nao wanem mi duim! No longtaem bihaen, mi meetim Elsie Noble. Hem baptaes and mitufala fren kam kasem distaem.

Mi Pioneer and Mi Kasem Gud Samting

Taem mi finis skul, mi waka for wanfala accountant. Bat taem mi lukim olketa pioneer hapi tumas, gogo mi laek pioneer tu. So long May 1945, mi hapi tumas for kamap spesol pioneer. Long first day wea mi pioneer, hem rain big full day. Bat mi nating wari nomoa from mi hapi tumas for go preaching. From hem rain olowe, mi tingse bae mi sik, batawea from mi preaching evriday and mi exercise olowe taem mi raedem baesikol for go preaching, datwan hem strongim body bilong mi. Nomata mi thin and long full laef bilong mi, mi no hevi winim 42 kilo, no enitaem mi stop for pioneer. Long olketa year wea go pas, mi luksavve “Jehovah nao strongim mi.”—Ps. 28:7.

From olketa brata laek startim samfala niu kongregeson, olketa talem mi for go spesol pioneer long olketa taon wea no eni Witness stap long hem. Mi stap thrifala year long England then nara thrifala year long Ireland. Taem mi pioneer long Lisburn, long Ireland, mi study witim wanfala man wea waka witim pastor bilong Protestant church. Taem hem lanem olketa tru samting long Bible, hem storyim datwan long pipol wea kam long lotu bilong hem. Samfala pipol long lotu no hapi long diswan, so olketa talem olketa bigman long church. Olketa bigman hia laek savve why nao hem storyim olketa niu teaching hia. Hem sei hem mas talem pipol long church hao hem lanem olketa staka samting wea no stret. Famili bilong hem barava againstim hem, bat nomata olsem, hem dedicatem laef bilong hem long Jehovah and hem faithful for worshipim hem go kasem taem hem dae.

Long 1950 mi kasem mek-tu assignment for go long ples wea nem bilong hem Larne, long Ireland. Mi pioneer seleva long there for sixfala week from nara pioneer wea waka witim mi hem go long Theocracy’s Increase Assembly wea kamap long New York. Datfala taem hem barava no isi long mi from mi laek go tumas long datfala assembly tu. Nomata olsem, long datfala taem mi kasem samfala gud samting long preaching waka. Mi meetim wanfala man wea tekem wanfala buk bilong iumi long 20 year go finis. Hem readim buk hia staka taem finis gogo hem olsem hem baeheartim olketa toktok insaed. Then hem witim boy and gele bilong hem kam insaed long truth.

Mi Go Long Gilead Skul

Long 1951, mi witim tenfala pioneer long England go long mek-17 class long Gilead Skul. Datwan hem long South Lansing long New York. Mi barava laekem tumas wanem mi lanem abaotem Bible long olketa month hia! Long datfala taem, olketa sista no tekem tok long Theocratic Ministry Skul, bat taem mifala long Gilead, olketa sista savve tekem tok tu. Mifala savve seksek fogud! Taem mi givim first tok bilong mi, mi holem pepa long hand bilong mi and hem barava seksek. Brata Maxwell Friend nao hem wanfala teacher long datfala skul. Hem tok fani lelebet taem hem givim kaonsel long mi. Hem sei: “Iu barava seksek taem iu start for givim tok. Staka wea givim gudfala tok olketa seksek olsem tu. Bat iu seksek go kasem taem iu finisim tok bilong iu.” Long datfala skul, mifala evriwan lane gud hao for story front long class. Gogo, skul hem finis nao. Mifala evriwan kasem assignment for go long olketa nara kantri. Mi kasem assignment for go long Thailand!

“Kantri wea Pipol Savve Smile”

Mi luksavve Jehovah nao givim Astrid Anderson for waka witim mi olsem missionary long Thailand. Mitufala gogo long wanfala kago ship for sevenfala week for kasem Thailand. Taem mifala kasem kapitol taon, Bangkok, mifala lukim staka pipol long market and olketa pipol savve gogo long olketa river for go long olketa nara ples. Long 1952, namba bilong olketa pablisa long Thailand no kasem 150 yet.

Taem mifala lukim Wastaoa long Thai languis, mifala tingting olsem, ‘Bae iumi hard tumas for savve long languis hia!’ Hem no mas isi for savve wanem nao stret wei for talem olketa word. Mi tingim disfala word khaù Hem savve minim tufala samting. Sapos iu talem long wanfala wei, word hia hem minim “rice,” bat sapos iu talem sem word hia long narafala wei, hem minim “nius.” So taem mifala firstaem go preaching, mifala tingse mifala talem “gud nius,” batawea, samting mifala talem nao hem “gud rice”! Gogo mifala savve gud nao long languis hia.

Pipol long Thailand kaen tumas. Dastawe olketa sei Thailand hem Kantri wea Pipol Savve Smile. First assignment wea mifala kasem hem wanfala taon, Khorat (distaem hem Nakhon Ratchasima). Mifala stap tufala year long there. Then mifala go moa long nara taon, Chiang Mai. Staka pipol long Thailand followim Buddhist religion so olketa no savve long Bible. Taem mi stap long Khorat, mi study witim wanfala man wea boss long post office. Wantaem mitufala story abaotem Abraham wea stap bifor. From man hia herem disfala nem Abraham bifor, hem agree long wanem mi talem. Bat gogo mi luksavve man hia tingim wanfala nara Abraham, no datwan wea mi storyim. Man hia tingim Abraham Lincoln, wanfala president long America bifor!

Mifala hapi for lanem pipol long Thailand wea laek for savve long Bible. Bat mifala lane tu from wei bilong olketa for hapi nomoa nomata man no garem staka material samting. Datwan barava helpem mi bikos taem mifala stap long firstfala missionary hom long Khorat, mifala no garem eni wata and paoa. Mifala ‘savve hao for stap hapi evritaem nomata sapos mifala short long samting or mifala garem plande samting.’ Mifala lanem sem samting olsem aposol Paul from mifala luksavve hao ‘God nao mekem mifala strong.’—Phil. 4:12, 13.

Mi Kasem Niu Partner and Niu Assignment

Long 1945, mi go long London. Taem mi long there, mi witim samfala pioneer and Bethelite go lukluk long British Museum. Wanfala nao hem Allan Coville. No longtaem bihaen, hem go long mek-11 class long Gilead Skul. Hem kasem assignment for go long France then bihaen long Belgium.b Taem mi missionary yet long Thailand, hem askem mi sapos mi laek maritim hem. Mi talem hem, mi hapi for maritim hem.

Long July 9, 1955, mitufala marit long Brussels, long Belgium. Bifor mi savve ting olsem, sapos mi marit, mi laek go long Paris for lelebet holiday. So Allan hem planim for mifala go long Paris mekem mifala savve hipap tu long wanfala assembly wea bae kamap long there long week bihaen. Taem mifala kasem long there, semtaem nomoa olketa brata askem Allan for transleitim evri tok long assembly. Evriday hem go for assembly long early morning then long naet nao mitufala go bak long ples mitufala stap. So nomata mitufala go long Paris for holiday lelebet, mi lukim Allan nomoa taem hem standap long stage! Nomata olsem, mi hapi for lukim man wea mi maritim hem hapi for waka for helpem olketa brata and sista. Mi luksavve hao sapos hem tingim Jehovah evritaem long marit bilong mitufala, mifala bae hapi tumas.

From mi marit, mi kasem niu assignment tu long Belgium. Samting wea mi savve abaotem Belgium nao hem ples wea samfala war gohed long there bifor, bat gogo mi luksavve hao pipol long Belgium laekem tumas for stap gud. Mi lanem French languis tu, wea hem nao languis bilong pipol wea stap long south part long Belgium.

Long 1955, samting olsem 4,500 pablisa nao stap long Belgium. Mitufala Allan stap long there for samting olsem 50 year finis. Mitufala waka long Bethel and visitim olketa kongregeson tu. Taem mitufala stap long there for tu and haf year, mitufala raedem baesikol nomoa for kasem olketa ples nomata hem rain or nomoa. Long olketa year wea go finis, mitufala stap long winim 2,000 haos bilong olketa brata and sista! Mi meetim staka brata and sista wea olketa no mas healthy bat olketa gohed nomoa for worshipim Jehovah. Wei wea olketa gohed strong olsem hem barava strongim mi for no givap tu. Taem mifala stap witim wanfala kongregeson evri week, olketa barava strongim mifala tu. (Rom. 1:11, 12) Allan hem wanfala tru fren bilong mi. Toktok long Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10 hem barava tru tumas. Hem sei: “Tufala nao gud winim wanfala, . . . from sapos wanfala hem foldaon, narawan savve helpem hem for standap”!

Mi Kasem Gud Samting From “Jehovah Nao Strongim Mi”

Mitufala Allan hapi for helpem staka pipol for lane abaotem Jehovah and worshipim hem. Mi tingim wanfala taem long 1983. Mitufala kasem wanfala French kongregeson long Antwerp and mifala stap witim wanfala famili. Wanfala brata tu stap witim famili hia. Nem bilong hem Benjamin Bandiwila, wanfala young brata from Zaire (distaem hem Democratic Republic of Congo). Benjamin hem go long Belgium for go long wanfala big skul. Hem talem mitufala, “Mi barava laek garem kaen laef olsem iutufala, hao iutufala iusim full laef bilong iufala for Jehovah.” Allan talem hem: “Iu sei iu laek garem kaen laef olsem mitufala, bat iu aftarem waka long world. Hem olsem iu garem tufala goal nao!” From Allan tok stret olsem, datwan mekem Benjamin tingting nao abaotem laef bilong hem. Taem hem go bak long Zaire, hem pioneer, and distaem hem wanfala brata long Branch Komiti.

Long 1999, olketa operatim mi for aotem wanfala ulcer long body bilong mi. Bihaen long datwan, mi 30 kilo nomoa. Mi barava olsem ‘wanfala clay pot’ wea isi for brek. Nomata olsem, mi hapi tumas from Jehovah nao “givim strong long mi.” Bihaen mi operate, Jehovah helpem mi for gogo moa witim Allan long olketa kongregeson. (2 Cor. 4:7) Then long March 2004, Allan hem dae taem hem sleep. Nomata mi missim hem tumas, mi savve Jehovah no forgetim hem and datwan nao strongim mi.

Nomata distaem mi 83 year nao, mi hapi from mi duim full-taem service for 63 year finis. Mi savve go preaching yet, mi garem tu wanfala Bible study long haos and mi mekius long eni chance wea mi garem for story abaotem olketa nambawan samting wea Jehovah bae duim. Samfala taem mi savve ting olsem, ‘Sapos mi no pioneer long 1945, bae laef bilong mi hao?’ Long datfala taem health bilong mi hem no mas gud and luk olsem mi no fit for duim datfala waka nao. Mi barava hapi tumas hao datwan nating stopem mi for pioneer taem mi young! Mi barava luksavve hao sapos iumi putim Jehovah firstaem, hem nao bae strongim iumi.

[Olketa Footnote]

[Piksa long page 18]

Missionary partner bilong mi, Astrid Anderson (long raet saed)

[Piksa long page 18]

Mi witim hasband bilong mi long 1956

[Piksa long page 20]

Mi witim Allan long 2000