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00:01 Have you, though, ever felt alone in your assignment, 00:04 even if for just a few hours in the ministry? 00:08 Brother Pontien Mukanga may have felt that way early in his assignment. 00:13 He was the first circuit overseer for all of what is now 00:17 the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo. 00:23 He traveled great distances to visit the few brothers throughout the territory. 00:28 Listen to what encouraged him the most to keep going. 00:34 In 1960, 00:36 I was made a circuit overseer for the whole of Congo. 00:42 I was so happy to receive this privilege. 00:45 But I was shocked and scared. 00:48 The assignment was huge. 00:51 Congo is a vast country. 00:54 I was afraid to go to places I didn’t know. 00:59 I felt overwhelmed, so I turned to Jehovah. 01:05 Sometimes I had to go through savannahs and across the jungle. 01:09 There were wild animals. 01:12 One day, I climbed up a tree to find a place to sleep. 01:16 I tied myself to a branch with my belt. 01:19 I was afraid I would be taken by a boa snake. 01:24 I was afraid of getting lost in the forest. 01:29 Visiting the brothers was very difficult. 01:32 Sometimes the journey took many days. 01:35 I remember one day, I left my house 01:38 to visit the brothers to encourage them. 01:44 I left at 5:30 in the morning, 01:46 and I arrived at 7:30 that night. 01:50 I had to push my bicycle through sand 01:53 for up to 13 miles (21 km) or even more. 01:56 Other times, we traveled by truck. 01:59 That was not easy. 02:01 You had to climb on top of the truck. 02:05 I had to hold on tight so as not to fall. 02:10 Congregations, isolated groups were far away from one another. 02:15 There were no phones at that time either. 02:18 Even though they did not know I was coming, 02:21 they made me feel so welcome. 02:26 The brothers were really very hospitable. 02:31 When I arrived, 02:33 I was exhausted but so happy to see the brothers. 02:40 The Kitawala was a religion. 02:44 They sent many letters to the Belgium branch 02:46 asking to be recognized as Jehovah’s Witnesses. 02:51 These people used 02:53 our publications and used the name Watch Tower. 02:59 It created a lot of confusion. 03:03 To clarify the matter, 03:06 the organization prepared a booklet. 03:10 My mission was to check whether 03:12 there were any genuine Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kisangani. 03:19 We found out that these people were 03:21 not Jehovah’s Witnesses. 03:26 In all the confusion, people even tried to kill me 03:29 during the trip. 03:31 Fortunately, I managed to escape. 03:36 Since it was Jehovah who assigned me this privilege, 03:42 I was confident that he would always help me. 03:49 And today, I am very happy 03:52 to have at my side my children, my grandchildren, 03:55 and my great-grandchildren —all Jehovah’s Witnesses. 04:02 Jehovah has given me many blessings. 04:05 I am truly grateful. 04:08 What a joy to be used by Almighty God. 04:13 Through all these years, I have never lacked anything. 04:18 Jehovah has given me the strength 04:20 to serve him up until now—to the age of 86. 04:26 In everything and for everything, 04:29 my trust really is in Jehovah. 04:33 There were 46 publishers 04:35 in the whole of Congo. 04:37 Today, I hear there are more than 04:40 223,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses 04:42 in the Congo. 04:47 Today, when I see 04:50 the increase of Jehovah’s people, 04:56 to me it is like a miracle. 05:01 I thank Jehovah for allowing me to see 05:05 ‘the little one become a thousand’ 05:07 here in the Congo. 05:19 Brother Mukanga continues to serve as an elder at nearly 88 years old. 05:25 Can you imagine yourself experiencing both the joys 05:28 and difficulties he had as a circuit overseer? 05:33 He courageously visited the Kitawala religious groups 05:36 who claimed to serve Jehovah, 05:38 only to find some were violent and practiced immorality. 05:43 But it was his reliance on Jehovah 05:46 and watching Him turn the small group of brothers 05:49 into more than 200,000 that has kept him going.
00:01 Have you, though, ever felt alone in your assignment, 00:04 even if for just a few hours in the ministry? 00:08 Brother Pontien Mukanga may have felt that way early in his assignment. 00:13 He was the first circuit overseer for all of what is now 00:17 the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo. 00:23 He traveled great distances to visit the few brothers throughout the territory. 00:28 Listen to what encouraged him the most to keep going. 00:34 In 1960, 00:36 I was made a circuit overseer for the whole of Congo. 00:42 I was so happy to receive this privilege. 00:45 But I was shocked and scared. 00:48 The assignment was huge. 00:51 Congo is a vast country. 00:54 I was afraid to go to places I didn’t know. 00:59 I felt overwhelmed, so I turned to Jehovah. 01:05 Sometimes I had to go through savannahs and across the jungle. 01:09 There were wild animals. 01:12 One day, I climbed up a tree to find a place to sleep. 01:16 I tied myself to a branch with my belt. 01:19 I was afraid I would be taken by a boa snake. 01:24 I was afraid of getting lost in the forest. 01:29 Visiting the brothers was very difficult. 01:32 Sometimes the journey took many days. 01:35 I remember one day, I left my house 01:38 to visit the brothers to encourage them. 01:44 I left at 5:30 in the morning, 01:46 and I arrived at 7:30 that night. 01:50 I had to push my bicycle through sand 01:53 for up to 13 miles (21 km) or even more. 01:56 Other times, we traveled by truck. 01:59 That was not easy. 02:01 You had to climb on top of the truck. 02:05 I had to hold on tight so as not to fall. 02:10 Congregations, isolated groups were far away from one another. 02:15 There were no phones at that time either. 02:18 Even though they did not know I was coming, 02:21 they made me feel so welcome. 02:26 The brothers were really very hospitable. 02:31 When I arrived, 02:33 I was exhausted but so happy to see the brothers. 02:40 The Kitawala was a religion. 02:44 They sent many letters to the Belgium branch 02:46 asking to be recognized as Jehovah’s Witnesses. 02:51 These people used 02:53 our publications and used the name Watch Tower. 02:59 It created a lot of confusion. 03:03 To clarify the matter, 03:06 the organization prepared a booklet. 03:10 My mission was to check whether 03:12 there were any genuine Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kisangani. 03:19 We found out that these people were 03:21 not Jehovah’s Witnesses. 03:26 In all the confusion, people even tried to kill me 03:29 during the trip. 03:31 Fortunately, I managed to escape. 03:36 Since it was Jehovah who assigned me this privilege, 03:42 I was confident that he would always help me. 03:49 And today, I am very happy 03:52 to have at my side my children, my grandchildren, 03:55 and my great-grandchildren —all Jehovah’s Witnesses. 04:02 Jehovah has given me many blessings. 04:05 I am truly grateful. 04:08 What a joy to be used by Almighty God. 04:13 Through all these years, I have never lacked anything. 04:18 Jehovah has given me the strength 04:20 to serve him up until now—to the age of 86. 04:26 In everything and for everything, 04:29 my trust really is in Jehovah. 04:33 There were 46 publishers 04:35 in the whole of Congo. 04:37 Today, I hear there are more than 04:40 223,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses 04:42 in the Congo. 04:47 Today, when I see 04:50 the increase of Jehovah’s people, 04:56 to me it is like a miracle. 05:01 I thank Jehovah for allowing me to see 05:05 ‘the little one become a thousand’ 05:07 here in the Congo. 05:19 Brother Mukanga continues to serve as an elder at nearly 88 years old. 05:25 Can you imagine yourself experiencing both the joys 05:28 and difficulties he had as a circuit overseer? 05:33 He courageously visited the Kitawala religious groups 05:36 who claimed to serve Jehovah, 05:38 only to find some were violent and practiced immorality. 05:43 But it was his reliance on Jehovah 05:46 and watching Him turn the small group of brothers 05:49 into more than 200,000 that has kept him going.
