History Bilong Iumi
“Mi Start for Barava Enjoyim Datfala Colporteur Waka”
LONG 1886, olketa long Bible Haos long Allegheny, Pennsylvania, America, sendem wan handred copy bilong datfala buk Millennial Dawn Volume 1 long Chicago, Illinois. Charles Taze Russell garem plan for putim olketa buk hia long olketa buk stoa. Wanfala bisnis for salem olketa lotu buk wea big tumas long America, hem agree for tekem olketa buk hia. Bat tufala week bihaen, olketa sendem olketa buk hia kam bak long Bible Haos.
Wanfala pastor wea staka pipol savve long hem, hem kros taem hem lukim datfala buk Millennial Dawn long olketa sem stoa wea salem olketa buk bilong hem. Hem talem olketa wea ownim stoa sapos olketa no aotem datfala buk, bae hem and olketa narafala pastor tu bae aotem evri buk bilong olketa from olketa stoa hia and salem long nara stoa. Man wea ownim stoa hem sorre bat hem sendem olketa copy bilong Millennial Dawn go bak. Olketa long Bible Haos putim advertisement for olketa buk hia long olketa niuspepa tu. Bat olketa wea againstim diswan forcem olketa niuspepa for cancelim olketa advertisement hia. So hao nao bae olketa wea lukaotem truth kasem disfala niu buk?
Olketa colporteur nao givimaot olketa buk hia.a Long 1881, Zion’s Watch Tower magasin hem ask for 1,000 man for preach wea savve waka for givimaot olketa Bible buk full-taem. Nomata namba bilong olketa colporteur hia hem samting olsem 300 nomoa, olketa givimaot olketa buk hia wea storyim truth long staka ples. Kasem 1897, olketa colporteur duim bigfala haf long waka for givimaot samting olsem wan million long olketa buk hia. Staka long olketa iusim lelebet selen wea olketa kasem taem olketa offerim buk or subscription for Watch Tower for peim kaikai and samting wea olketa needim.
Hu nao olketa colporteur hia? Samfala start for duim disfala waka taem olketa teenager nomoa. Samfala narawan olketa mature man. Staka nao singol, staka marit bat no garem pikinini, and staka famili join insaed disfala waka tu. Olketa regular colporteur duim diswan full taem and olketa auxiliary colporteur duim wan or tufala hour evri day. Samfala no savve duim disfala waka bikos olketa sik or bikos long living bilong olketa. Long wanfala convention long 1906, wanfala speaker hem sei olketa wea savve duim disfala waka no need for garem “bigfala education, bigfala savve, or savve tumas hao for story.”
Long staka kantri, pipol olsem duim barava bigfala waka. Wanfala brata sei hem offerim samting olsem 15,000 buk insaed sevenfala year. Nomata olsem, hem sei, “Mi no duim disfala colporteur waka for salem olketa buk, bat mi duim diswan for talem pipol abaotem Jehovah and abaotem truth.” Long evri ples wea olketa colporteur go olketa seed bilong truth start for grow and olketa Bible Student kamap staka.
Olketa bigman bilong religion tok spoelem olketa colporteur, and sei olketa hia man for salem buk nomoa. Long 1892, Watch Tower hem sei: “No staka pipol luksavve [olketa hia] barava wakaman bilong Lord, and olketa no luksavve Lord hem tinghae long olketa [colporteur] hia wea hambol and duim bigfala sakrifaes.” Olsem wanfala colporteur hem talem, laef bilong olketa hem barava no isi. Staka long olketa hia no garem trak so olketa mas wakabaot or raedem baesikol. Taem olketa colporteur no garem selen olketa exchangem olketa buk for kaikai. Long end long day, olketa taed bat hapi. Olketa savve sleep long tent or rum wea olketa rentim. For sevem taem and selen, samfala garem wagon wea horse savve pullim wea olketa kolem Colporteur Wagon. Datfala wagon hem ples wea olketa savve stap.b
Start long 1893, long convention long Chicago, program hem garem olketa spesol session for olketa colporteur. Olketa tok hia garem olketa experience, storyim olketa idea long hao for duim preaching waka, and talem olketa gudfala advaes tu. Wantaem, Brata Russell encouragem olketa hia wea preach for kaikai gud long morning, drinkim milk, and long day wea hot, drinkim schweppes wea olketa putim ice-cream insaed.
Olketa colporteur wea lukaotem preaching partner pinim wanfala yellow ribbon long kaleko bilong olketa. Olketa niu colporteur savve waka tugeta witim olketa wea garem savve for duim datfala waka. Luk olsem olketa barava needim training, bikos wanfala niu colporteur wea fraet hem sei olsem taem hem offerim olketa buk long wanfala woman: “Ating bae iu no interest nomoa long olketa buk hia.” Nomata olsem, datfala woman tekem olketa buk hia, gogo, hem baptaes nao.
Wanfala brata hem ask, ‘Waswe, mi shud keepim waka bilong mi and donatem $1,000 (U.S.) evri year for sapotim waka evriwea long world, or mi shud lusim waka for selen mekem mi savve duim colporteur waka?’ Olketa brata sei Lord bae blessim hem nomata wanem hem duim, bat hem bae kasem bigfala blessing sapos hem duim waka bilong Lord. Mary Hinds hem storyim colporteur waka and hem sei, “hem best wei for duim gud samting for staka pipol.” And Alberta Crosby wea savve shame tumas hem sei, “Mi start for barava enjoyim datfala colporteur waka.”
Olketa colporteur garem staka spiritual grani and famili member wea gohed faithful for worshipim Jehovah distaem. Sapos no eniwan long famili bilong iu hem colporteur or pioneer long bifor or distaem, waswe, iu savve pioneer? Olsem olketa colporteur bifor, bae iu tu barava enjoyim datfala waka.
[Olketa Footnote]
a Bihaen 1931, olketa no kolem olketa hia “colporteur” bat kolem olketa “pioneer.”
b Moa information abaotem kaen wagon olsem bae kamap long nara magasin bihaen.
[Blurb long page 32]
Olketa no need for garem “bigfala education, bigfala savve, or savve tumas hao for story”
[Piksa long page 31]
A. W. Osei, wea hem wanfala colporteur long Ghana, long samting olsem 1930
[Olketa piksa long page 32]
Antap: Tufala colporteur, Edith Keen and Gertrude Morris long England, long samting olsem 1918; long daon: Stanley Cossaboom and Henry Nonkes long America, witim olketa emti case bilong olketa buk