00:00:05 Twenty-twenty was a year of unprecedented change.
00:00:09 The coronavirus pandemic
00:00:11 has taken a grim toll around the world.
00:00:14 In some parts of the world, the coronavirus is . . .
00:00:17 beginning to spread more quickly.
00:00:23 This global pandemic has thrown the world
00:00:27 into a state of uncertainty.
00:00:32 On a global scale, it was unlike anything
00:00:36 Jehovah’s people had yet experienced in the 21st century.
00:00:40 Everyday life for many of us
00:00:43 has been disrupted in ways we might never have imagined.
00:00:51 We’ve made dramatic adjustments to our activities all over the world.
00:00:56 Learn how to use new apps like Skype®
00:00:59 and Zoom—what’s that?
00:01:03 It changed how we attended meetings,
00:01:05 engaged in the ministry, and visited with friends.
00:01:09 For some of us,
00:01:10 this may have been the very first time we ever held
00:01:13 a Memorial in our home.
00:01:16 And although attending in smaller groups may have been even closer
00:01:20 to how the Memorial was observed in earlier times,
00:01:23 for most modern-day servants of Jehovah,
00:01:26 this was likely a unique experience.
00:01:33 Then, during the summer,
00:01:35 we enjoyed a full convention program,
00:01:38 with talks delivered directly
00:01:40 from Governing Body members
00:01:42 and their helpers,
00:01:43 and in most cases,
00:01:44 again, streamed right into our homes.
00:01:54 Yes, despite the various challenges
00:01:56 and difficulties experienced in 2020,
00:01:59 Jehovah’s organization continued undaunted
00:02:03 providing the right food at the right time.
00:02:06 But why was this convention
00:02:08 unlike any other in our organization’s history?
00:02:12 What were the challenges?
00:02:14 And most important, what have been the benefits?
00:02:21 On March 11, 2020,
00:02:24 the World Health Organization
00:02:26 made the assessment
00:02:27 that COVID-19 could be characterized
00:02:30 as a pandemic.
00:02:31 At that point, we had no idea
00:02:34 as to what governments
00:02:35 were going to do worldwide.
00:02:37 Would they allow our brothers
00:02:39 to meet in Kingdom Halls?
00:02:41 Would they allow our brothers to meet in larger venues?
00:02:44 We had no idea whatsoever.
00:02:47 The Governing Body approved a letter to all branches
00:02:50 canceling all live conventions worldwide.
00:02:54 And the idea was for us to prerecord a program
00:02:58 that could be used in any location
00:03:01 around the world so that they would at least have
00:03:04 the program of the regional convention.
00:03:07 We wanted to ensure
00:03:09 that this spiritual food got out there
00:03:11 to all of our dear brothers and sisters.
00:03:13 More important, we wanted to make certain
00:03:16 that this program went forward, because it honors Jehovah.
00:03:20 He’s the Source of the joy that we have.
00:03:23 So, very quickly, speakers were each assigned two convention parts.
00:03:27 They had to prepare them,
00:03:28 and it was scheduled to have all these talks
00:03:31 recorded during the last two weeks of April.
00:03:34 Giving a talk at an open arena
00:03:36 or at a large event,
00:03:38 you have the opportunity of getting
00:03:41 feedback from the audience.
00:03:43 If you say something that impresses the audience
00:03:46 or makes them happy, seeing the smiling faces there,
00:03:50 somehow that really stirs up our presentation
00:03:53 and helps us to make it more lively and meaningful.
00:03:56 But being in the basement of the office building,
00:04:00 looking at a camera with nobody else in the room,
00:04:05 knowing that it’s just a couple of persons
00:04:07 recording it in another room certainly is
00:04:10 a very different way to present a talk.
00:04:13 And Jehovah has allowed us to endure this time of pandemic,
00:04:18 but he also had to know —and we’re convinced he knew—
00:04:23 that we could still make this “Always Rejoice”! program happen
00:04:28 because we would use the tools available to us, and he would help us.
00:04:33 And that’s exactly what we did.
00:04:40 Next, let’s take a closer look at some additional challenges faced
00:04:44 once the talks were recorded.
00:04:46 We had the opportunity to hear from some of the departments involved.
00:04:51 Brothers,
00:04:53 how did the team adapt to the challenges?
00:04:57 Well, the reaction, initially, was that we were very excited.
00:05:00 We love to try new things,
00:05:02 and this was a huge opportunity
00:05:04 to do just that.
00:05:05 But then as we had more meetings about it,
00:05:07 we found out what was going to be involved.
00:05:09 We suddenly got very nervous
00:05:11 because we found out about all the translation
00:05:13 and how soon everything had to be finished.
00:05:15 What impact did that have?
00:05:18 Audio/Video Services had never produced
00:05:20 an online program of this size before.
00:05:22 You’re talking
00:05:23 an 18-hour online regional convention that had to be produced
00:05:27 in a very short time.
00:05:28 Most years,
00:05:30 we just translate the outlines,
00:05:31 which are relatively easy,
00:05:33 and then we translate
00:05:34 all the convention videos and dramas.
00:05:37 But this year,
00:05:38 the translators not only had to do that work of translating the videos
00:05:43 but they had to translate the scripts for each talk and then arrange
00:05:48 for recording all of those talks.
00:05:50 It was a tremendous amount of work.
00:05:52 Some of us were saying:
00:05:54 “Can we postpone it?
00:05:55 “Can we ask
00:05:57 “to write back and say,
00:05:58 ‘Brothers, please, can we do it later?’”
00:06:01 because we just thought
00:06:02 it was impossible to do.
00:06:05 The government in India
00:06:07 had announced a complete lockdown,
00:06:09 so overnight
00:06:11 we were without our offices,
00:06:13 our computer equipment,
00:06:15 our recording studios,
00:06:17 the level of connectivity we enjoyed.
00:06:20 We felt like a carpenter who’s asked to produce furniture
00:06:26 but has no access to his toolbox or his workshop.
00:06:31 That is a lot to contend with.
00:06:34 What are some unique solutions
00:06:38 that the teams came up with to meet those various challenges?
00:06:41 Well, there were amazing solutions.
00:06:44 One of the things that impressed me
00:06:46 was the recording studios that were made.
00:06:56 Normally the translators go into the RTO
00:06:58 or the branch to do the recording,
00:07:01 but now they had to make hundreds of makeshift studios in their homes.
00:07:06 How would translators accomplish the work
00:07:08 outside the branch with the power coming in and out?
00:07:12 Well, the brothers would wait,
00:07:14 and as soon as the power came, they would start working,
00:07:18 no matter what time it was in the day.
00:07:21 Our brothers are so dedicated that they accomplished the work.
00:07:26 Very touching.
00:07:28 Our brothers who do sign language recordings
00:07:30 had to record
00:07:31 in front of a camera,
00:07:33 but they also ideally needed
00:07:34 to have a background behind them
00:07:38 that was bright green or bright blue
00:07:43 so that their signing could be superimposed
00:07:45 onto another video.
00:07:47 And so some brothers were able to get a cloth.
00:07:50 Many of our brothers painted a wall in their house
00:07:54 this bright chartreuse color.
00:07:56 Admirable ingenuity—thank you.
00:07:58 One of the most interesting solutions
00:08:01 was that many of the translators around the world
00:08:04 in different branches would go
00:08:07 into their car late at night
00:08:09 when all the noise had subsided
00:08:11 in the neighborhood, and they would do the recording
00:08:14 inside the car.
00:08:15 Thank you and everyone working with you for being so willing to adapt.
00:08:19 In your opinion,
00:08:21 what made all of this possible?
00:08:24 Despite a global pandemic,
00:08:26 despite a lockdown
00:08:28 —none of those things
00:08:29 mattered to Jehovah’s organization.
00:08:31 What has shut down various other things throughout the world
00:08:35 proved to be no obstacle for Jehovah and his earthly organization.
00:08:40 And what a beautiful thing it is
00:08:42 to see this program be something that’s enjoyed by everyone worldwide!
00:08:47 Here, despite the conditions going on in the world around us,
00:08:51 Jehovah’s people are moving forward.
00:08:53 And you really see the fulfillment of Malachi 3:18,
00:08:57 where it says that ‘you will see a distinction
00:09:00 between those serving Jehovah and those who don’t.’
00:09:03 Everyone who had a part in this
00:09:05 —the thousands of brothers and sisters around the world
00:09:08 who had a part in bringing these convention programs
00:09:12 to our brothers and sisters—
00:09:14 they’re just normal people like you and me,
00:09:16 but Jehovah uses normal people
00:09:19 to accomplish incredible things.
00:09:22 This convention has been a landmark convention
00:09:26 because of the content and the beautiful theme,
00:09:29 but we’ll also remember it for the way Jehovah helped us
00:09:33 to produce it in so many languages
00:09:36 for our brothers and sisters in the country and around the world.
00:09:40 Well, in translation, we like verbs,
00:09:43 and in Jehovah’s name, there’s a verb:
00:09:46 “He Causes to Become.”
00:09:49 This 2020 convention was proof
00:09:53 that Jehovah causes whatever he wants
00:09:57 to become to accomplish his purpose,
00:10:00 because if there’s a convention that Jehovah used
00:10:03 to give glory to his name, this is it.
00:10:07 What beautiful conviction!
00:10:09 Thank you, brothers.
00:10:13 Yes, Jehovah’s spirit helped ensure
00:10:15 that the work was accomplished in spite of many challenges,
00:10:19 but what were some of the blessings experienced once the work was done?
00:10:30 Because the convention is being presented by means of video,
00:10:33 it’s possible to pause at any time when necessary
00:10:36 just to go back a little bit to watch something
00:10:38 that maybe we didn’t quite get.
00:10:40 And maybe even because sometimes our minds drift,
00:10:43 it’s good, because we can go back and rewatch it.
00:10:46 And in this way, we get even more benefit from the program.
00:10:52 I cannot imagine
00:10:54 a convention more international than this one.
00:10:57 We saw how the brothers were able
00:10:59 to make a difficult situation turn out well
00:11:02 —that is, we’re together,
00:11:04 even if we’re physically apart from each other.
00:11:07 We are united at this convention.
00:11:19 Volunteers were sent by the elders to travel
00:11:23 and obtain the videos due to lack of Internet in our village.
00:11:28 We traveled about 46 kilometers on foot.
00:11:36 Sometimes we would leave early in the morning
00:11:38 or late in the evening, even traveling at night
00:11:41 in order to obtain the videos.
00:11:44 But with Jehovah’s blessing, we overcame
00:11:47 all of these challenges.
00:11:57 I lost my dearest wife
00:11:59 about two months before the convention started.
00:12:02 It was cancer.
00:12:05 We had been married for 14 years,
00:12:07 and she was only 47.
00:12:12 She was my greatest partner in Jehovah’s service,
00:12:16 so this left me with a gaping hole.
00:12:26 The theme of the convention, “Always Rejoice”!
00:12:30 came just at the right time for me.
00:12:33 I know it was Jehovah’s wonderful gift to me.
00:12:37 Throughout the convention, I could see that Jehovah had sent
00:12:40 all the members of the Governing Body and its helpers to me personally.
00:12:45 I can’t think of a better gift.
00:12:55 I really enjoyed the audio descriptions
00:12:59 because I am someone who is legally blind,
00:13:02 and the audio descriptions just opened up a whole new world for me.
00:13:06 Ben walks out of the room as his coworkers shake their heads.
00:13:13 So it was really amazing to have the videos being described.
00:13:18 And for me, I felt like I could now “see”
00:13:23 what was happening.
00:13:25 A lot of what the audio descriptions described
00:13:28 are things that I normally would have been curious about
00:13:32 and would have been asking somebody to help me understand.
00:13:35 I had tears in my eyes
00:13:38 knowing that the Governing Body loves us this much.
00:13:45 I speak Korean.
00:13:48 I speak Japanese.
00:13:51 We made a Japanese section and a Korean section
00:13:54 like what we would have at international conventions.
00:13:58 In order to watch the convention simultaneously, we would count
00:14:01 one, two, three and start playing our videos at the same time.
00:14:05 This way we were able to watch and sing together.
00:14:08 It really felt like an international convention.
00:14:12 Something that I thought I would miss a lot were the Kingdom melodies.
00:14:15 So then I wondered: ‘How is this going to work at home?
00:14:18 ‘There won’t be a crowd, everyone singing together.
00:14:21 How’s it going to be?’
00:14:23 I thought I would really miss it, but then my family and I agreed
00:14:26 to sing the Kingdom melodies loudly, and it worked!
00:14:29 I have never seen my family sing so loudly.
00:14:42 We have three children, and all five of us
00:14:45 here at home got COVID-19.
00:14:47 And all during the time that the convention was being shown,
00:14:50 we were all exhibiting symptoms.
00:14:53 It was a really hard time.
00:14:54 Our family was so encouraged by the convention program this year.
00:14:59 My wife, Marisa, even said that to her,
00:15:02 it was as if the talks the brothers gave
00:15:04 were like hearing advice from a close friend
00:15:07 who was sitting right next to you
00:15:09 like they were right in the same room with us.
00:15:15 The convention is very positive;
00:15:19 it’s contagious.
00:15:21 It has really touched our hearts.
00:15:24 I truly feel the convention has touched my heart deeply.
00:15:28 Both my mom and my dad, who are right now struggling
00:15:31 with very serious illnesses,
00:15:34 were able to join me,
00:15:36 my brother, and my sister-in-law,
00:15:38 and we were together as a family in our living room.
00:15:42 We got to sing together and watch the assembly together,
00:15:47 which otherwise just would not have been possible.
00:15:50 Despite the struggles,
00:15:52 despite the limitations
00:15:55 that we may be facing,
00:15:57 none of that has stopped Jehovah from reaching out
00:16:01 and even being in our own living rooms during this convention.
00:16:07 Jehovah transforms something
00:16:09 that Satan is using right now to take away our joy
00:16:13 into something that gives us joy.
00:16:15 Think about it:
00:16:17 We’re watching the same spiritual program
00:16:20 at the same time with the same speakers, brothers from the Governing Body.
00:16:24 We never imagined that we would have this opportunity.
00:16:29 OK, are we all set?
00:16:40 OK, we’re ready whenever you are if you want to go ahead.
00:16:46 We are delighted that you could join us for this opening session
00:16:49 of the “Always Rejoice”! Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
00:16:56 And when everything around you is chaotic,
00:16:59 the one thing you have is your relationship with Jehovah.
00:17:07 “I will walk in your truth.
00:17:11 Unify my heart to fear your name.”
00:17:43 But we discovered something we had lost
00:17:46 —joy.
00:17:57 No matter what terror, no matter what trial may come upon us now
00:18:01 or in the future, we will be able to continue to rejoice
00:18:06 in Jehovah’s acts of salvation.
00:18:16 While 2020 seemed to be anything but a time for rejoicing,
00:18:19 this year’s convention proved
00:18:22 that no matter what the circumstance we are in,
00:18:25 Jehovah will continue to feed us,
00:18:28 and we will continue to worship him.
00:18:32 Thanks to Jehovah, we experienced
00:18:36 the truthfulness of Philippians 4:4,
00:18:40 that no matter the trail or difficulty,
00:18:43 we will “always rejoice in the Lord.”
