Mifala Depend Long Jehovah and Garem Gudfala Laef

FIRSTAEM wea dadi and mami bilong mi meet hem long 1919 long datfala convention bilong International Bible Students long Cedar Point, Ohio, U.S.A. Long datfala sem year nomoa, tufala marit nao. Mi born long 1922, and brata bilong mi Paul long 1924. Waef bilong mi Grace hem born long 1930. Dadi and mami bilong Grace hem Roy and Ruth Howell and tufala and olketa grani bilong hem evriwan Olketa Bible Student. Olketa grani bilong hem savve gud tu long Brata Charles Russell.

Mitufala Grace meet long 1947 and mifala marit long July 16, 1949. Bifor mifala marit, mifala story gud abaotem olketa goal bilong mifala for future. Mifala disaed for duim full-taem service and no garem pikinini. Long October 1, 1950, mifala start for pioneer. Then long 1952, mifala kasem assignment for duim circuit waka.

TRAVELING WAKA AND GILEAD SKUL

Mitufala luksavve mifala needim help for duim disfala niu assignment. Mi lane from olketa brata wea duim disfala waka for longtaem finis, and mi lukaotem samwan for helpem Grace tu. Mi story witim Marvin Holien, wea mi savve gud long hem for longtaem and wea duim traveling waka bifor. Mi sei: “Grace hem young and hem needim help. Waswe, iu savve long eniwan wea savve trainim hem?” Hem sei: “Ia, Edna Winkle hem sista wea pioneer for longtaem and hem savve helpem hem.” Bihaen, Grace sei olsem abaotem Edna: “Hem helpem mi for no fraet for story long pipol, hem savve hao for ansarem man wea no agree long wanem hem storyim, and hem teachim mi for lisin gud long haosholder mekem mi savve long stret samting for talem. Hem barava trainim mi gud!”

Mitufala Grace duim circuit waka long Iowa, and tu long samfala part long Minnesota and South Dakota. Then mifala kasem assignment for duim New York Circuit 1, wea insaed diswan hem Brooklyn and Queens. Mifala still tingim yet hao mifala no feel olsem mifala fit for duim datfala assignment. Insaed datfala circuit hem Brooklyn Heights Kongregeson, wea Kingdom Hall bilong olketa hem long Bethel, and staka Bethelite nao attendim datfala kongregeson. Bihaen first service tok wea mi givim, Brata Nathan Knorr hem sei long mi: “Malcolm, kaonsel wea iu givim long mifala hem barava fitim. Iu mas no forget, sapos iu no givim kaonsel for helpem mifala, iu no helpem nao organization bilong Jehovah. Gohed long gudfala waka wea iu duim.” Bihaen long meeting, mi storyim datwan long Grace. Bihaen, mitufala go bak long rum wea mifala stap long hem long Bethel. From mifala warim evri samting hia mifala barava taed and krae nao.

Bihaen tu-thri month, mifala kasem leta for attendim mek-24 class bilong Gilead Skul, wea bae graduate long February 1955. Bifor mitufala go long Gilead, olketa talem maet datwan hem no for trainim mifala for duim missionary waka bat for helpem mifala long traveling waka. Gilead Skul hem nambawan privilege and hem teachim mifala for mas hambol.

Bihaen Gilead, mifala kasem assignment for duim distrik waka. Insaed distrik bilong mifala hem Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Then long December 1955 mifala sapraes for kasem wanfala leta from Brata Knorr. Hem sei: “Iutufala mas tok stret long mi. Talem mi sapos iufala willing for kam long Bethel and stap long hia . . . or sapos iufala willing for stap long Bethel for lelebet taem, and then kasem assignment long nara kantri. Or talem kam tu sapos iufala laek gohed long distrik and circuit waka.” Mitufala talem hem bae mifala willing for duim eni assignment wea mifala kasem. No longtaem bihaen, olketa talem mifala for go long Bethel!

OLKETA YEAR WEA MIFALA ENJOYIM WAKA LONG BETHEL

Samting wea mi enjoyim taem mi waka long Bethel hem assignment for givim olketa tok long olketa kongregeson, convention, and assembly long staka ples long United States. Mi help for trainim staka young man wea bihaen olketa kasem samfala responsibility moa long organization bilong Jehovah. Gogo mi secretary bilong Brata Knorr long office wea organizem preaching waka evriwea long world.

Mi barava enjoyim olketa year wea mi waka long Service Department. For staka year Thomas Sullivan hem overseer bilong datfala department and mi enjoyim wei for waka witim hem. Mi lanem staka samting tu from olketa narawan. Wanfala long olketa hem Fred Rusk wea kasem assignment for trainim mi. Mi tingim wantaem wea mi askem hem olsem: “Fred, why nao iu changem staka samting long samfala leta wea mi raetem?” Hem laf and sei: “Malcolm, taem iu talem samting and hem no klia, iu savve explainim moa bihaen, bat taem iu raetem samting wea kam from Bethel, hem mas klia and stret.” Then hem tok kaen olsem long mi: “Iu no wari. Iu duim gudfala waka and gogo bae iu olraet.”

Long olketa year wea mifala stap long Bethel, Grace duim olketa difren assignment and wanfala nao hem waka for klinim olketa rum long Bethel. Hem enjoyim datfala waka. Kam kasem distaem, taem mifala meetim samfala brata wea stap long Bethel long datfala taem, olketa smile and sei long Grace: “Iu trainim mi gud for stretem bed and mami bilong mi barava hapi long datwan.” Grace enjoyim tu wei for waka long Magasin, Correspondence, and Tape Duplicating department. Olketa assignment hia helpem hem for luksavve nomata wanem nao iumi duim long organization bilong Jehovah hem wanfala privilege and blessing. Kam kasem distaem, hem garem datfala sem tingting.

SAMFALA CHANGE WEA MIFALA MAS DUIM

Long samting olsem 1975, mifala luksavve mami bilong mi and dadi and mami bilong Grace needim help from olketa olo nao. Gogo mitufala mas disaedem wanem mifala bae duim. Mitufala no laek for lusim Bethel and olketa brata and sista wea mifala lovem. Nomata olsem, mi tingse hem responsibility bilong mi for lukaftarem parents bilong mitufala. So gogo mitufala lusim Bethel bat mifala hope wanday bae mifala kam bak.

For kasem need bilong mifala, mi waka long wanfala insurance company. Taem mi kasem training, wanfala manager sei long mi: “For disfala bisnis gohed gud, iumi mas visitim pipol long haos bilong olketa long evening. Long datfala taem nao pipol stap long haos. Hem barava important for go evri evening and visitim pipol.” Mi sei long hem: “Mi sure iu talem tru samting, and mi respectim tingting bilong iu. Bat mi garem olketa Christian responsibility tu wea mi duim olowe, and hem hard for mi misstim. Mi talem hem samfala evening bae mi savve visitim pipol, bat evri Tuesday and Thursday evening mi garem olketa important meeting for go long hem.” Jehovah barava blessim mi bikos mi no letem waka for selen mekem mi misstim eni meeting.

Mifala stap witim mami bilong mi taem hem dae long wanfala nursing hom long July 1987. Nurse hem sei long Grace: “Mrs. Allen, iu go bak rest long haos. Evriwan savve iu lukaftarem gud mami-in-law bilong iu. Iu mas hapi bikos iu traem best bilong iu.”

Long December 1987, mifala raetem application for waka long Bethel moa, ples wea mifala laekem tumas. Bat tu-thri day bihaen nomoa, mifala faendaot Grace garem colon cancer. Bihaen hem operate and kamap gud, doctor sei cancer hia finis nao. Long datfala taem tu mifala kasem leta from Bethel wea sei hem bae gud for mifala gohed waka witim kongregeson. Mifala disaed strong for gohed long waka bilong Jehovah.

Gogo mi kasem waka long Texas. Mifala disaed weather long there bae fitim mifala from hem no cold tumas. Samting olsem 25 year nao mifala stap long Texas and mifala barava fren gud witim staka kaenfala brata and sista long hia.

WANEM MIFALA LANEM

Grace still kasem samfala problem witim colon cancer, and tu, hem kasem thyroid cancer, and breast cancer. Bat no enitaem hem komplen abaotem samting wea kasem hem, and hem evritaem respectim hedship and willing for sapotim mi. Staka savve askem hem olsem: “Wanem nao mekem iutufala garem gudfala marit and hapi?” Hem talem fofala reason hia: “Mitufala best fren. Mitufala story tugeta evriday. Mitufala laekem tumas for spendem taem tugeta. And mifala mas stretem eni feel nogud bilong mifala long sem day bifor mifala sleep.” Hem tru, samfala taem mifala duim samting wea narawan feel nogud long hem, bat mifala forgivim each other and datwan nao help for mekem marit hapi.

Nomata mifala kasem staka hard samting, mifala lanem olketa samting hia:

1. Trust long Jehovah evritaem and acceptim wanem hem letem for happen. No depend long savve bilong iuseleva.—Prov. 3:5, 6; Jer. 17:7.

2. Depend long Bible for leadim iu long evri samting. Hem barava important for obeyim Jehovah and olketa law bilong hem. Iumi no savve hafhaf, iumi obey or iumi no obey.—Rome 6:16; Heb. 4:12.

3. Wanfala samting wea important winim eni nara samting hem for Jehovah hapi long iumi. Olketa samting wea hem laekem nao mas first samting long laef bilong iu, no selen.—Prov. 28:20; Eccl. 7:1; Matt. 6:33, 34.

4. Prea long Jehovah for helpem iu for busy long waka bilong hem and duim gud datwan. Tingim wanem iu fit for duim, no wanem iu no fit for duim.—Matt. 22:37; 2 Tim. 4:2.

5. No forget, organization bilong Jehovah nomoa kasem blessing bilong hem, and hem nomoa organization wea hem iusim.—John 6:68.

Mitufala Grace marit for klosap 65 year, and mitufala evriwan worshipim Jehovah for winim 75 year finis. Insaed olketa year hia, mitufala barava enjoyim wei for worshipim Jehovah tugeta. Prea bilong mitufala hem for evri brata and sista for depend long Jehovah tu and garem gudfala laef.