Jehovah Been Training Me From the Time I Wor Young

But let me start my story from the beginning. I wor born during World War II in Calgary, Canada. About 75 years ago, one young pioneer brother name Donald Fraser knock on our door and my ma agree to study the Bible. She really like the truth she wor learning from the Bible. But because she wor seriously sick, she not use to go to meeting all the time. She still make progress and get baptize in 1950. After two years, she pass away. Da time, my pa wor not Jehovah witness yet, but he agree for one brother to give the funeral talk.

Few days after the funeral, one older anointed sister name Alice invite me to the meeting. She knew me because I use to go to the weekend meetings with my ma anytime she wor able to go. So I ask my pa to allow me to go and he agree. And he also decide to go with me “just da one time” to tell the brother who give the funeral talk thank you. Da night, they wor having the Theocratic Ministry School and Service Meeting. It wor my pa first meeting and it wor really the best meeting for him. And da because he learn in school how to be good speaker. So it really surprise him to see how they give good-good talk dem to the meeting. My pa decide to attend da meeting every week. Small-small, he start attending all the meetings.

During da time, the Theocratic Ministry School servant use to start the meeting by calling the names of the brother dem who wor on the school. And when he call the name, the person will say, “Present.” So one night, I tell the brother say he mon call my name during the next meeting. The brother tell me thank you, but he not ask me if I understand what it mean.

I not know da telling the brother to call my name mean da I wanted to be on the school. I just wanted him to call my name too! The next week, he call my name. I wor happy and I say, “Present.” After the meeting, the brother and sister dem tell me thank you. Then after some weeks, I get my first assignment da I wor talking about from the beginning of this story.

I wor scare! During da time, the student talk dem use to be six to eight minutes. They wor not having any Bible reading assignment. My pa help me to prepare the talk and he make me to practice it 20 times. After I give the talk, the overseer give me counsel da really help me. From da time, Jehovah na use my pa, mature brother and sister dem, and His organization to train me.

JEHOVAH CONTINUE TO TRAIN ME

When I start preaching, da Alice who I talk about before, train me. During da time, we use to read three scriptures to the householder and then give the person one bound book. When it wor my time to preach, Alice will introduce herself and start talking with the person. Then she will tell me to read the first scripture. From there, I will continue talking with the person. Then I will read the second and the third scriptures, and give the publication. After some time, I learn how to start talking with people by myself. After my pa get baptize in 1954, he start helping to train me in field service. He wor single parent but he do his best to help me to love Jehovah. He never use to play with his meeting and field service business. I always knew da we will attend all the meetings and go field service on Saturday and Sunday.

I learn plenty things during my 12 years in school da na help me throughout my life. For example, I learn plenty things about math and English. The English class I took and the class on how to write story na help me in my assignment with the Writing Department now-now.

People can always ask me why I love music. My ma and pa use to like music too. When I wor seven years old, I start learning how to play piano. But my teacher wor thinking da I wor not good at playing piano. So she tell my pa da I mon stop learning it. Now I understand why I wor not really interested in learning how to play piano.

After few months, my pa find different teacher for me. This time around, I learn how to play piano and how to sing. And I really did well. When I wor small boy, I wor having good voice and I win some singing competition dem. My goal wor to be music teacher da wor coming help me to get enough money to support myself and pioneer. But later on, I get to know da to get da degree I wor coming spend plenty time studying about music and taking different-different exams. So I stop the school and start regular pioneering in 1963.

PIONEERING MAKE ME HAPPY

After I pioneer for one year, I wor assign as special pioneer to Kapuskasing, Ontario. My pioneer partner wor Daniel Skinner and he wor older than me plenty years. He teach me plenty thing about how the congregation organize. They appoint me to serve on the Congregation Service Committee when I wor 20 years old, so I wor having plenty things to learn. I happy da the organization still stressing da it important to train young brothers. If young brother dem work hard, Jehovah can use them even if they very young!

Sometime, it use to be hard to live in Kapuskasing. In winter time, the place use to be cold bad way. Most of the time, me and Dan use to walk to go everywhere. But one of the thing da make me happy in my assignment, da the time I meet one sister name Linda Cole, who later on become Linda Splane.

Linda wor having zeal for the preaching work and she wor having plenty good-good return visits. She wor free handy, kind, and she use to like to be around other people. Her ma, Goldie wor faithful Jehovah Witness. From the beginning her pa, Allen, wor against the truth. Even though Allen wor against the true, Goldie always use to carry Linda and her two brothers, John and Gordon, to the Kingdom Hall and train them in field service. Goldie, Linda, John, and Gordon serve as pioneers. After some years, Allen take the truth and work hard in the congregation.

In 1965, they invite me to attend the Kingdom Ministry School in Canada Bethel for one month to get more training. When I wor in the school, they say I mon apply to attend Gilead. I never think about doing missionary work before. I wor thinking da I not able to do it. But I fill the form and they accept me to attend the 42nd class. In Gilead, our teacher dem always use to tell us how we doing in the school. The first thing they tell me da for me to learn everything about the organization while I wor in the school. I wor just 21 years old, so da wor good advice for me.

One of the thing we learn in Gilead wor how to work with radio and TV stations and newspaper. I really enjoy learning about it. But I not know da it wor really coming to help me in the future. Later on, I will explain how it help me.

THEY ASSIGN ME TO SENEGAL

Few days after our graduation, me and my missionary partner Michael Höhle, wor on our way to our assignment in Senegal, Africa. During da time, they wor having about 100 publishers in the country.

After I spend some months in my assignment, they invite me to work to the branch office one day every week. The “branch office” da wor just one room in one of the missionary home. Even though the place wor simple, Emmanuel Paterakis who wor the branch servant, always remind me da the branch wor representing Jehovah organization in da country. One day, Brother Paterakis say da we mon write one letter to all the missionary dem to encourage them. During da time, it wor not easy to do photocopy and it wor also expensive. So we type all the letter dem one by one on the typewriter. Da wor hard work because we suppose to make sure da one mistake seh mon not be in any of the letter!

Late da evening when I wor ready to go back to the missionary home where I wor staying, Brother Paterakis give me one envelope. He say, “David, the Organization write this letter to you.” Later on when I open the envelope, I saw one of the letter da I type! This particular thing teach me to respect the organization whether the branch big or it small.

I make friend with plenty people in the congregation and I use to spend time with dem Saturday in the evening. We really use to be happy! We can still talk with each other today. And because I use to speak French in Senegal, it can help me when I go visit other branch office dem around the world where they can speak French.

In 1968, me and Linda get engage. I try to find part-time work so me and Linda can pioneer together in Senegal. But the people not use to give work to foreigners only to their citizen dem. Finally, when I went back to Canada, we get marry. And they assign us as special pioneer in one small city to the border of Quebec they call Edmundston in New Brunswick.

WE PIONEER IN NEW BRUNSWICK AND QUEBEC

No local publisher wor in town and da just few people wor studying the Bible. Da the Catholic church wor controlling the people and everything they use to do. Almost all the house dem wor having sign board da say, “No Jehovah Witness allow here.” During da time, we not use to worry about this kindna sign board. So we just use to go to any house, whether it get the sign board or it not get it. Every week, the Catholic church use to write in the newspaper and say: “Yor let go find Jehovah Witnesses and get rid of them.” But we wor only four Jehovah Witness in Edmundston. Da wor me and my wife Linda and Victor Norberg and his wife Velda. So we knew da we the one they wor talking about!

I will never forget about the first time the circuit overseer visit us. After he spend the week with us, he say, “Maybe the only thing yor able to do while yor here da to help people to change the way they think about Jehovah Witnesses.” From da time, we focus on doing what he say and we wor successful! Small-small, people start seeing the difference between Jehovah Witnesses who wor humble and the Catholic church leader dem who wor proud. Now-now, they get one small congregation in da city.

After we spend about one year in da assignment, they assign me and Linda to help one big congregation in Quebec City. We spend six happy months with the brother and sister dem there who wor free handy. Then they assign us in the circuit work.

We serve in the circuit work in the province of Quebec for the next 14 years. We really enjoy it! The preaching work in Quebec wor having good result. So it wor common to see more than one family in the congregation studying and making progress to be Jehovah Witness.

WE REMEMBER OUR FAITHFUL BROTHER AND SISTER DEM

It not hard to love the French-Canadian brother and sister dem. They honest, always happy and they get zeal. But, it wor not always easy for them to take the truth, because their family member dem use to go against them bad way. Some of our young brother and sister dem who parents not Jehovah Witness tell dem say, “You either stop studying with Jehovah Witnesses or you move from in my house!” But this brother and sister dem remain loyal to Jehovah. And we know da Jehovah happy with them for remaining loyal!

Let me also talk about the faithful regular and special pioneer dem who serve in Quebec for plenty years. Most of them came from different-different part of Canada. They learn French and they also learn about the people culture. Da the Catholic church wor controlling most of the people dem who wor living in da area.

Most of the time, they use to assign special pioneers to far-far area dem where no publisher wor eh. And because the people living in this area dem use to hate Jehovah Witnesses, it wor hard to find house to rent and even part-time work to do. Even some people who just get marry use to stay in house with four to eight person so they can share the rent among theirself. They wor not able to live on their own. This faithful pioneer dem really use to work hard. When they start studying with somebody, they use to do their best to help the person. Now-now, plenty Jehovah Witnesses in Quebec, so most of this pioneer dem gone to other area dem where they need more people to preach.

When we use to go visit congregations in the circuit work, we always try to work with teenagers on Saturday morning. This one help us to see for ourself the problem dem they wor going through. Some of the teenagers we use to work with serving in other countries as missionaries or in other assignment dem.

During da time, some congregation dem wor not able to help us to buy gas and food when we visit dem. So by the time the month end, we not use to be having enough money. Like da, we just use to depend on Jehovah, because he wor the only person who knew what we wor going through. And he always use to help us. Some kindna way, we always use to manage and still go do our visit from congregation to congregation.

LESSONS I LEARN FROM OTHER FAITHFUL BROTHER DEM

When I wor in Quebec, we wor having plenty opportunity to preach on radio and TV. So I wor really happy da I learn about how to do it when I wor in Gilead. They always use to assign me to work with Léonce Crépeault. He wor circuit oversee too and he really knew how to work with radio and TV station. When we use to meet important people who knew how to work with radio and TV station, he never use to show da he know plenty about it. But he just use to say: “Sir, me and my brother not know much about how to speak on TV and radio, we only know how to preach. But our organization assign us to let people know about the big convention da Jehovah Witnesses will be having. We will be happy for any help you give us.” Because he wor humble, plenty people to the radio and TV station dem wor willing to help us.

Later on, the branch office assign me to work with Brother Glen How. He wor one of our lawyer who use to handle hard-hard case dem da will be on the news. I benefit from the training I get when I wor in Gilead and from working with Léonce. Da wor real privilege for me to work with Brother How. He not use to be scary when he defending the organization in court and he wor also having deep love for Jehovah.

In 1985, they assign us to one circuit da wor not far from my pa home in western Canada. And this one allow us to be able to take care of him. He pass away after three months. We continue serving in the circuit work in western Canada until 1989. Then we wor surprise when they invite us to serve in the branch office in America. Da mean we wor not coming be doing circuit work again. We serve in the circuit work for almost 19 years. When we wor in the circuit work, we stay in plenty different homes and eat the food da the brother and sister dem use to provide for us. We really grateful to all the brother and sister dem who share their home and food with us!

WE MOVE TO AMERICA

When we reach to Brooklyn, I wor assign to work in the Service Department. I will always be grateful for the training I get from there. One of the lesson I learn, wor to make sure to not think da I understand something before I learn everything about it. Then in 1998, I wor assign in the Writing Department and da where I eh, still learning how to write. For some years, I wor having the privilege to help Brother John Barr, who wor the coordinator for the Writing Committee. I will always value the training I get and the time I spend working with him. He wor having good Christian quality.

Da real blessing to work with the humble brother and sister dem in the Writing Department. They can always ask Jehovah to help them in their assignment. And they know da anything they do, da Jehovah spirit help them to do it and not because they get talent.

Da also privilege for me and Linda to be able to visit our faithful brother and sister dem in 110 countries. We na see for ourself the love the missionaries, the Branch Committee members, and other full-time servant dem get for Jehovah. And we also na see how the brothers and sisters in this country dem get zeal. They continue to put Jehovah Kingdom first in their life even though they suffering because things hard and because of war and persecution. We sure da Jehovah really love them!

Linda really na help me in all my assignment. She really love people and always looking for ways to help them. She really know how to start talking with people. She na help plenty people to know Jehovah and she even na help some people to come back in the truth. Linda da real gift from Jehovah! Because we getting old, younger brother and sister dem can help us when we traveling and to do some other thing dem..—Mark 10:​29, 30.

I really grateful for the 80 years I na spend. I agree with the psalmist who say: “O God, you have taught me from my youth, and until now I keep declaring your wonderful works.” (Ps. 71:17) And da just what I want continue doing so long I living.