00:00:01 Over the past few years, we have all looked forward
00:00:04 to what has affectionately been called
00:00:07 The Inside Story.
00:00:10 This time it will be conducted by another one of the Gilead instructors,
00:00:15 Brother Richard Chilton.
00:00:17 Take it away, Brother Chilton!
00:00:45 Welcome to this edition of The Inside Story.
00:00:50 At Joshua 24:15,
00:00:53 the tribes of Israel were instructed
00:00:56 to “choose for [themselves] . . . whom [they would] serve.”
00:01:01 Well, our four guests today
00:01:03 have had to make some choices of their own
00:01:06 —choices that no doubt contributed
00:01:09 to their qualifying to attend the 149th class of Gilead.
00:01:14 Let’s learn more about the choices they made
00:01:17 and who helped them to do so
00:01:20 as we meet our first guest,
00:01:22 Brother Sung-hee Lee from South Korea.
00:01:32 Welcome, Sung-hee.
00:01:33 Thank you.
00:01:34 Please have a seat.
00:01:37 Well, Sung-hee, you come from a family of worshippers
00:01:40 who have been faithfully serving Jehovah for three generations.
00:01:44 Tell us about them.
00:01:45 Yes.
00:01:46 It began with my grandmother.
00:01:48 She was the first to become a Witness back in 1970.
00:01:52 I’m so grateful to Jehovah that all in my family
00:01:55 —my parents, my sister and her husband,
00:01:59 and my brothers and their wives— are all faithfully serving Jehovah
00:02:03 to this day.
00:02:05 Well, that’s certainly a wonderful heritage to be a part of.
00:02:08 Now, your current assignment is at the branch office in Korea.
00:02:12 How long have you been serving there?
00:02:15 Well, if you count the first one and a half years I served at Bethel,
00:02:19 that would be nine and a half years.
00:02:22 I say that because I was reassigned.
00:02:26 I actually left Bethel to go to prison.
00:02:29 Well, now, that’s not something we typically hear
00:02:32 as a reason for leaving Bethel, is it?
00:02:34 What happened?
00:02:36 You see, in South Korea, all males become eligible
00:02:39 for military conscription when they turn 19,
00:02:43 and a draft notice comes sometime after that.
00:02:46 As for us, Jehovah’s Witnesses,
00:02:48 because we refuse military service,
00:02:50 the result would be a year and a half sentence in prison.
00:02:54 But you may not go right away.
00:02:56 Now, that’s interesting.
00:02:58 What would be the factors that would determine
00:03:01 when your prison sentence would actually begin?
00:03:05 From the time you receive a draft notice until you actually go to prison,
00:03:09 especially in recent times,
00:03:11 that time period was unknown and different for each brother.
00:03:16 A lot depended on the judge you got.
00:03:19 As for me, I had to wait five years
00:03:22 from the time I first appeared in the court
00:03:25 until I finally went to prison.
00:03:29 Well, was that frustrating for you to, in effect,
00:03:32 have your life be placed on hold for five years?
00:03:36 Honestly, yes.
00:03:38 But understanding that I could go to prison at any moment,
00:03:43 I had to make a choice
00:03:45 —a choice as to how I was going to spend my time.
00:03:50 Do I use that time
00:03:52 just staying at home doing nothing and planning nothing,
00:03:55 since I could go into prison at any moment?
00:03:59 Or do I use that time to earn some money
00:04:02 for the time when I’m finally released from prison?
00:04:05 Or
00:04:06 do I use my life to the full, pursuing spiritual things first
00:04:10 while I could do so freely?
00:04:13 Well, that’s quite the situation to be in.
00:04:15 What was your thought process through that?
00:04:18 What did you decide to do given those circumstances?
00:04:22 So the first thing I did was pray.
00:04:26 I prayed and prayed.
00:04:28 And while doing research, I came across an article
00:04:32 in a December 1, 2004, issue of The Watchtower,
00:04:37 which was entitled “Trusting in Jehovah’s Loving Care.”
00:04:41 In that article, there was a quote that said:
00:04:44 “We should plan ahead as if Armageddon
00:04:47 “would not come in our lifetime
00:04:49 but [live] our life as if it would come tomorrow.”
00:04:53 Well, that was the answer I needed.
00:04:56 So I decided to plan ahead
00:05:00 as if my prison term wasn’t coming tomorrow.
00:05:04 OK.
00:05:05 So given those options
00:05:08 that you mentioned to us a minute ago,
00:05:10 what did you decide to do?
00:05:14 So I decided to pioneer.
00:05:17 I also volunteered
00:05:19 at the international convention.
00:05:21 Here I’m welcoming the delegates as they arrive to their hotel.
00:05:25 I also even got accepted to Bethel.
00:05:29 Here I’m working in my assignment.
00:05:32 And here are the brothers and sisters working in the Computer Department,
00:05:35 where I work.
00:05:37 How nice!
00:05:39 Well, let me ask you, how do you feel, Sung-hee, that you benefited
00:05:43 by choosing to pursue spiritual pursuits
00:05:46 while you were waiting for those five years?
00:05:48 Pioneering and Bethel service
00:05:51 really helped me to prepare my heart for the time
00:05:54 when the call finally came to go to prison.
00:05:57 And it was during this period that I really grew spiritually.
00:06:02 Well, I guess pioneering and Bethel
00:06:04 can have that positive effect on a person, can’t it?
00:06:08 But the day did finally arrive —didn’t it?—
00:06:12 when you had to leave and begin your prison sentence.
00:06:15 We can only imagine what
00:06:17 a sobering moment that was for you.
00:06:19 Do you mind telling us about it?
00:06:21 Yes.
00:06:22 When the day came,
00:06:24 many in the Bethel family came outside
00:06:27 to wave me off and to cheer me on.
00:06:30 It was a moment that I’ll never forget.
00:06:33 One brother, he even said he would always remember me in his heart,
00:06:37 and I really cherish what he said to me.
00:06:42 Well, that was very encouraging, no doubt.
00:06:45 Do you mind talking about how life was
00:06:48 for you in prison?
00:06:51 There were definitely moments when I felt anxious.
00:06:55 But my three fleshly brothers and many other Korean brothers
00:07:00 also served their time in prison.
00:07:03 And their choices and experiences
00:07:06 helped me decide how I was going to spend my time in prison.
00:07:11 So I decided to make a list right away
00:07:13 of what to do while in prison.
00:07:17 I made some spiritual goals such as reading the Proclaimers book
00:07:21 and reading other publications.
00:07:23 And a group of about seven to eight brothers in the same prison cell,
00:07:28 we discussed the daily text together
00:07:31 every day in the evening.
00:07:34 We called it evening worship, similar to morning worship in Bethel.
00:07:38 Well, that was certainly a wise use of the time that you had there.
00:07:42 What can you tell us about the current situation in South Korea
00:07:47 for our brothers in connection with military service?
00:07:51 Just a few months ago, the authorities adopted alternative service
00:07:56 for proven conscientious objectors.
00:07:59 Under this arrangement, you are not labeled as a convicted criminal.
00:08:03 And you don’t live in a prison cell
00:08:05 but live in a more communal living arrangement.
00:08:09 But there is one thing about this alternative service:
00:08:12 Instead of your prison sentence being a year and a half,
00:08:15 you have to do alternative service for three years.
00:08:20 Wow! OK, double the time.
00:08:23 You know, our hearts really go out to our brothers and our sisters
00:08:27 who have served time in prison “for righteousness’ sake.”
00:08:33 But you were able to complete your prison sentence.
00:08:36 What was next for you once you were a free man?
00:08:39 Without hesitation, I immediately filled out
00:08:42 another application to return to Bethel,
00:08:45 and I was accepted to return to Bethel.
00:08:49 Well, good for you.
00:08:50 We’re glad that worked out.
00:08:52 If we could just circle back for just one moment.
00:08:55 You had mentioned
00:08:58 that there was one thing in particular that was especially helpful to you
00:09:03 that helped you endure that difficult time in prison.
00:09:07 Do you mind telling us about it?
00:09:09 Of course.
00:09:11 Many brothers and sisters around the world
00:09:14 wrote to us brothers in prison.
00:09:18 And I personally received a number of them.
00:09:22 In fact, I brought some of them here,
00:09:27 right here, with me.
00:09:35 That someone
00:09:37 who never met me, who never knew me,
00:09:40 wrote such encouraging,
00:09:42 comforting letters, . . .
00:09:44 Yes.
00:09:44 . . . it really warmed my heart
00:09:46 and really comforted me.
00:09:48 It made me feel that I’m never alone
00:09:50 wherever I am in the world
00:09:54 and that I was part of a very special,
00:09:56 close, loving, international brotherhood.
00:10:00 So I read them over and over again,
00:10:03 and I saved all of these letters.
00:10:07 Oh, that is so encouraging, Sung-hee.
00:10:09 But I have to ask you, why did you bring these letters with you to New York?
00:10:16 Actually, some of these letters came
00:10:20 from Bethelites right here
00:10:21 at world headquarters.
00:10:23 I wanted to meet them in person
00:10:26 and tell them how much I appreciated
00:10:28 all those letters and prayers
00:10:31 and how they really helped me to get through my time in prison.
00:10:35 We could certainly understand if those would have been
00:10:37 some tearful reunions for you.
00:10:41 Well, in conclusion, Sung-hee, I just have one last question for you.
00:10:46 You had mentioned earlier that when you were deciding
00:10:49 what you were going to do with the time you had before going to prison,
00:10:52 you said that the first thing that you did was pray.
00:10:56 Why was prayer so important to you?
00:11:00 Through these experiences, I’m absolutely confident
00:11:04 that Jehovah both hears and answers our prayers
00:11:08 when we are faced with choices.
00:11:11 And also I am confident that by means of the prayers
00:11:15 that were offered in my behalf,
00:11:17 Jehovah helped me to stick to the choices that I had made
00:11:22 to stay loyal to him.
00:11:24 So please keep praying for our brothers in prison
00:11:27 wherever they are in the world.
00:11:29 And please keep writing them letters.
00:11:33 Well, I can assure you, Sung-hee,
00:11:35 we’ll continue to do just that.
00:11:38 Thank you so much for sharing your encouraging experience with us.
00:11:42 It really touched our hearts.
00:11:45 Well, next on our program,
00:11:48 we’re going to go all the way to West Africa,
00:11:51 where our next guests will be coming from, the country of Senegal.
00:11:55 We’ll meet Alain and Achaïe Tendeng.
00:12:05 Well, Alain and Achaïe, welcome.
00:12:08 Nice to have you with us on The Inside Story.
00:12:10 Thank you.
00:12:12 It’s a pleasure to have you.
00:12:13 Now, I understand that your current assignment
00:12:16 has you serving at the branch office in Senegal, West Africa.
00:12:21 Now, Alain, Senegal is your home,
00:12:24 born and raised.
00:12:25 But, Achaïe, I understand that you come
00:12:28 from the neighboring country of Mali.
00:12:31 In fact, I was told that your mother
00:12:34 comes from a very interesting part of the country of Mali.
00:12:38 Can you tell us about it?
00:12:40 Yes.
00:12:41 My mother is from Timbuktu.
00:12:43 In fact, when I was young,
00:12:45 she took me there to visit her family.
00:12:49 Now, Achaïe, you are probably the first person that we have ever met
00:12:53 that has actually been to Timbuktu.
00:12:56 What is it like?
00:12:58 Well,
00:12:59 as you can see on the screen,
00:13:01 that is what the region of Timbuktu looks like.
00:13:04 It is in the Sahara Desert,
00:13:06 which stretches on for thousands of kilometers.
00:13:10 Well, it’s obviously a very vast territory.
00:13:12 But what can you tell us about the people of the Timbuktu region?
00:13:17 The people there live a nomadic lifestyle
00:13:20 and are nearly all Muslims.
00:13:23 Actually, both my two parents are from a Muslim background.
00:13:28 Now, that’s quite interesting.
00:13:30 Given that background, what were some of the challenges
00:13:34 that you had to face in becoming one of Jehovah’s Witnesses?
00:13:38 Although I got baptized at 15 years of age,
00:13:42 I didn’t always make the best choices in my teen years,
00:13:46 and I had to suffer the consequences of those choices.
00:13:50 However, in my early 20’s,
00:13:53 I decided to build a strong
00:13:55 and personal relationship with Jehovah.
00:13:58 To be able to do so, I received help
00:14:01 from spiritually mature brothers and sisters,
00:14:05 such as pioneers, elders,
00:14:09 missionaries.
00:14:11 For example, this is my spiritual mother on the left side of the screen
00:14:16 and, on the right side of the screen, her missionary companion,
00:14:20 who is still serving in Mali faithfully
00:14:23 for 45 years now.
00:14:26 All of these mature persons helped me
00:14:29 to see the value of personal study
00:14:32 and “thinking ability.”
00:14:35 Once I got this good habit of reasoning on Bible principles,
00:14:40 I could make good choices that pleased Jehovah,
00:14:44 such as leaving my well-paying job
00:14:47 and starting pioneering.
00:14:49 It was not easy, however,
00:14:51 because there was still this family pressure
00:14:55 for me to get a good job and earn a good living.
00:15:00 But I’m still striving to try to make good decisions
00:15:03 that please Jehovah.
00:15:06 Well, that’s encouraging.
00:15:07 In spite of the pressures that you had to face,
00:15:11 you obviously continued making good decisions,
00:15:13 because you were eventually appointed to serve
00:15:16 as a special pioneer—weren’t you?— in the southern part of Mali
00:15:19 in a region called Sikasso.
00:15:23 Tell us about that, please.
00:15:25 Yes, I was so happy there.
00:15:27 The preaching work was wonderful.
00:15:30 I really enjoyed it.
00:15:32 And this is the Kingdom Hall where I served.
00:15:37 And one day, we received a visit from a circuit overseer
00:15:40 —a single circuit overseer.
00:15:43 OK.
00:15:43 Now, I could see when you made that comment, you looked over at Alain.
00:15:48 So we can only assume that, Alain,
00:15:51 you were this young, handsome,
00:15:54 single circuit overseer
00:15:56 who visited Achaïe’s congregation in Sikasso.
00:15:59 Is that right?
00:16:00 Well, I visited the congregation.
00:16:03 But we had already met previously at a circuit assembly.
00:16:07 So we knew each other.
00:16:10 But at the time, there was nothing special going on.
00:16:14 OK.
00:16:14 Well, thank you for the clarification.
00:16:17 We appreciate that.
00:16:19 But since we’re now talking to you, Alain,
00:16:22 maybe we can hear a little bit about your story.
00:16:25 Did you always want to be a circuit overseer?
00:16:28 Well, no.
00:16:30 In fact, when I was a boy,
00:16:33 I wanted to become a Catholic priest.
00:16:35 Oh, really?
00:16:36 Yes.
00:16:38 Being raised in a Catholic family,
00:16:41 at 13, I went to get training
00:16:46 by one of the Catholic religious orders.
00:16:49 But after just the one year of training, I chose to leave.
00:16:56 Although I left,
00:16:58 I still had a love for the Bible.
00:17:01 One day, I went to one of my friends
00:17:05 to see if he would like to play soccer with me.
00:17:09 But he was about to have a Bible study
00:17:11 with one of Jehovah’s Witnesses who was a missionary.
00:17:15 So I decided
00:17:18 to stay and listen.
00:17:20 Over time, I came to really love
00:17:23 what I was studying in the Bible.
00:17:27 And eventually
00:17:29 I got baptized at the age of 17, as shown here.
00:17:35 Wow!
00:17:36 Now, that’s quite interesting.
00:17:37 You had mentioned to me before
00:17:39 that your parents are not Jehovah’s Witnesses.
00:17:42 How did they respond to your becoming baptized as one?
00:17:48 Well, it was not easy for them to accept.
00:17:51 They had an expectation of me
00:17:54 helping support the family financially.
00:17:58 At the same time, I really wanted to pioneer.
00:18:02 So it took several years and much struggling,
00:18:06 but eventually I was able to enter into the pioneer service.
00:18:12 Was there anyone in your life at that time
00:18:16 who helped you to stay spiritually focused
00:18:19 as you were trying to achieve these spiritual goals?
00:18:22 Oh, yes.
00:18:23 Like Achaïe, while working
00:18:26 toward entering into the pioneer service,
00:18:29 I too chose to associate
00:18:33 with spiritually strong ones in the congregation.
00:18:37 Missionaries, like this couple,
00:18:42 helped me to see the importance
00:18:47 of putting and keeping
00:18:50 spiritual things first in life.
00:18:52 And this helped me to remain focused.
00:18:55 Eventually, I was able to serve in unassigned territory.
00:18:59 Going throughout the territory with my motorbike
00:19:02 was a really good time
00:19:05 that I enjoyed there.
00:19:07 Oh, you know, I’ve always wanted one of those.
00:19:09 Yes.
00:19:10 And later I was invited to attend the School for Single Brothers.
00:19:15 And after that, I was trained in the circuit work.
00:19:20 And this couple shown here is the missionary couple
00:19:24 who first started my Bible study.
00:19:28 He’s the one who provided the training for the circuit work.
00:19:33 Oh, we can only imagine that they must have been so proud of you,
00:19:35 to see the spiritual progress that you had made.
00:19:39 But now let’s fast forward just a little bit in the story.
00:19:44 At this point, now, you’re serving as a circuit overseer.
00:19:47 Achaïe is serving as a special pioneer in Sikasso.
00:19:52 And, Achaïe, you’ve been sitting there so patiently waiting.
00:19:57 Thank you, by the way.
00:19:58 Would you like to continue the story?
00:20:00 Yes.
00:20:01 When we got to know each other better,
00:20:04 we decided to get married.
00:20:06 In fact, we were married in Senegal on a Tuesday,
00:20:10 and later that same week, we had to be
00:20:14 in Guinea-Bissau for the circuit assembly.
00:20:17 OK, if we could just pause for just a moment here.
00:20:20 So if we’re understanding this,
00:20:23 Alain, please, please tell us
00:20:26 that there were no circuit overseers or substitute circuit overseers
00:20:30 available in all of West Africa
00:20:33 who could cover that circuit assembly for you.
00:20:35 You were married four days and had to be in another country for an assembly?
00:20:40 There was no one
00:20:42 who could take care of that assembly for you?
00:20:44 Really?
00:20:45 Brother Chilton, that was fine.
00:20:48 As you already know, the blessings of Jehovah
00:20:51 are far beyond any sacrifices we can make in his service.
00:20:54 We really loved that work.
00:20:57 We loved being with our brothers and sisters.
00:21:00 Oh, yes, we really loved to preach with them.
00:21:04 You can see in this picture—
00:21:06 Preaching with them —it’s really so special to us.
00:21:09 Seeing them in this picture even brings very nice memories.
00:21:13 Yeah.
00:21:14 We enjoyed also being with them in their homes,
00:21:18 seeing their strong faith, and seeing their love for Jehovah
00:21:22 despite the challenges they were facing.
00:21:25 We really came to love them very much.
00:21:28 Well, just taking a look at your happy smiles in that picture there,
00:21:33 we can see that you not only loved the work
00:21:36 but that you loved the people that you were serving.
00:21:40 But as we know, changes come, don’t they?
00:21:45 And you received the change of assignment from the circuit work
00:21:49 into Bethel in Senegal.
00:21:52 In fact, I understand this picture
00:21:54 was taken just two months before you came to New York
00:21:57 to begin your Gilead training.
00:21:59 It’s with Brother Splane providing a shepherding visit to your Bethel family
00:22:04 —beautiful family, by the way.
00:22:08 Now, from our previous discussions, it became very clear to me
00:22:12 how much you both love and appreciate the young people
00:22:17 who are in our organization.
00:22:19 From your personal observations,
00:22:23 what would you say were the things that you saw as key elements
00:22:28 to their achieving spiritual success,
00:22:31 from your own observations?
00:22:34 What I have observed
00:22:37 is that young ones who make the truth their own
00:22:41 and who keep their spiritual routines
00:22:43 to be able to continue building
00:22:46 a spiritual, personal relationship with Jehovah
00:22:50 and who continue to associate
00:22:53 with spiritually mature brothers
00:22:55 who can help them keep their focus
00:22:58 are those who are more successful
00:23:01 in their Christian course of life.
00:23:04 I really pray to Jehovah that all our young ones
00:23:08 may have this same experience
00:23:11 —that they may “taste and see that Jehovah is good,”
00:23:15 as mentioned at Psalm 34:8.
00:23:19 If they do, they can see that Jehovah is able
00:23:22 to open doors for them where they think that there is no door to be opened.
00:23:27 And that will lead them to a long and satisfying life
00:23:31 without any regrets.
00:23:34 Oh, those are some beautiful comments.
00:23:36 Thank you very much for that, Achaïe.
00:23:38 What about you, Alain?
00:23:39 Well, looking back,
00:23:41 I can see that Jehovah has really been kind and good to us.
00:23:46 He has provided brothers and sisters, mature ones,
00:23:51 who helped us to have the courage
00:23:55 to put him first in our lives.
00:23:58 Their choices encouraged us
00:24:01 to make good choices.
00:24:03 And Jehovah has blessed us in ways
00:24:07 we could never foresee.
00:24:10 And we are confident that he will do
00:24:12 the same with all our brothers and sisters,
00:24:16 including young ones
00:24:18 who courageously put Jehovah first in their lives.
00:24:24 Well, we thank you both so much
00:24:27 for your encouraging comments.
00:24:29 And our prayer will be that Jehovah continues to bless you both
00:24:34 as you both keep making wise decisions in his service.
00:24:38 Thank you so much for joining us today.
00:24:40 Thank you. Thank you.
00:24:42 Well, last but certainly not least,
00:24:46 we go all the way to the country of Ukraine
00:24:50 to meet our next, final guest on our program.
00:24:53 Let’s give our attention as we meet Brother Anzhel Tkachuk.
00:25:05 Welcome, Anzhel.
00:25:07 Thank you.
00:25:07 It’s a pleasure to have you with us on The Inside Story today.
00:25:12 Now, Anzhel, it’s often been said
00:25:15 that a person’s story
00:25:18 takes us on a journey of a lifetime.
00:25:21 Your story, however, my friend,
00:25:23 takes us on a journey of several lifetimes.
00:25:27 Isn’t that true?
00:25:28 Yes.
00:25:29 You know, my great-great-grandfather
00:25:31 and great-great-grandmother
00:25:32 were the first Jehovah’s Witnesses
00:25:34 in my family.
00:25:35 And here you can see them
00:25:36 in the 1940’s in Ukraine.
00:25:39 Well, that is definitely
00:25:41 a wonderful heritage to be a part of.
00:25:44 Would you say, Anzhel, that the choices
00:25:47 that members of your family made over the years
00:25:50 had a direct bearing on your being here
00:25:53 attending the 149th class of Gilead?
00:25:56 Definitely yes.
00:25:57 You know, they were serving Jehovah for many, many years.
00:26:01 They had a very hard but interesting life,
00:26:04 a life full of many different stories.
00:26:07 For example, when my great-grandfather was exiled to Siberia
00:26:12 because of being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses,
00:26:14 my great-grandmother would send him magazines
00:26:18 hidden in bottles of pork fat.
00:26:22 You said pork fat.
00:26:25 OK, now, that sounds pretty interesting.
00:26:27 Can you tell us more about this “secret pork fat recipe”
00:26:31 of your great-grandmother?
00:26:32 OK, so my mom took some photos
00:26:36 and sent them to me to explain how it was done.
00:26:39 So as you can see here, first this fat was melted
00:26:44 so that you could have liquid fat;
00:26:47 then we needed to wait so that this fat would become hard and thick.
00:26:52 Then a magazine was wrapped in linen
00:26:55 and a hole was made into the fat.
00:26:59 And then this wrapped magazine was put in the hole,
00:27:02 and more fat was put on top
00:27:05 to hide this magazine, and now it’s done.
00:27:09 Now you have both physical and spiritual food in one bottle.
00:27:13 Well, there it is, everything you need to survive in Siberia, right?
00:27:18 Well, let me ask you, did the guards in Siberia
00:27:22 ever find those magazines hidden in pork fat?
00:27:25 Sadly, yes.
00:27:27 And that’s why they added an additional five and a half years
00:27:32 to my great-grandfather’s exile time in Siberia.
00:27:35 But soon, his son, my grandfather
00:27:38 was exiled to Siberia too.
00:27:41 And here you can see my great-grandfather on the left
00:27:45 and my grandfather on the right.
00:27:47 Well, now you shared with us some details about your great-grandfather.
00:27:51 What can you tell us about your grandfather, depicted on the right?
00:27:55 You know, he was so zealous for Jehovah.
00:28:00 While in Siberia, he was helping in supplying Bible literature
00:28:03 for local brothers and sisters
00:28:06 though it was not always safe to do it.
00:28:09 Well, clearly they were both courageous men.
00:28:12 When were your family members allowed to leave Siberia
00:28:16 and return to Ukraine?
00:28:18 It was in 1967/1968.
00:28:21 And it was then when my grandfather started
00:28:25 to reproduce Bible magazines and books,
00:28:28 and the whole family helped.
00:28:30 That’s amazing!
00:28:33 Were there any particular methods
00:28:35 that they used to accomplish this?
00:28:38 They used several different methods.
00:28:40 For example, they used
00:28:41 a special photo machine like you see here
00:28:44 to make photos of the magazines.
00:28:47 This and machines similar to these machines
00:28:50 were used to make,
00:28:52 so to say, “handmade” literature.
00:28:55 Well, just looking at those photos,
00:28:57 we could see
00:28:59 that the men in your family were both courageous and zealous.
00:29:04 Yes, they were.
00:29:05 But so were the women in our family.
00:29:08 Here in this photo, you can see my great-grandmother with her daughter,
00:29:12 and it was she who sent
00:29:15 these magazines hidden in the bottles of pork fat.
00:29:19 And here you can see my grandmother on my mother’s side.
00:29:23 She was a Witness too.
00:29:25 And here you can see her with her children.
00:29:28 And this little girl with a guitar is my mom.
00:29:33 And, you know, once the government
00:29:35 wanted to separate them.
00:29:38 They wanted to have a public hearing
00:29:40 to take all her children away.
00:29:43 Why they wanted to do it was because it was when in the Soviet Union
00:29:48 all children were forced to support political ideas of the government.
00:29:53 But my grandmother’s children chose not to do it.
00:29:57 Now, that’s interesting;
00:29:59 the children made this choice.
00:30:02 But what about your grandmother when she was forced to make this choice
00:30:05 between what the Communist Party was dictating
00:30:09 and what Jehovah said, what did she do?
00:30:13 She wanted to prove and to show that she was a good mother
00:30:17 and that she was a good mother because she was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses,
00:30:21 because she believed in God.
00:30:24 And, you know, even during this hearing,
00:30:26 one woman stood up and screamed,
00:30:29 “Don’t listen to her, as you will become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses too!”
00:30:33 But people said, “No, we want to hear more.”
00:30:37 So she kept going.
00:30:39 And when she finished,
00:30:41 all the people voted in her favor
00:30:44 that she could keep all her children with her.
00:30:47 And here you can see my grandmother years later
00:30:51 with her family—children and grandchildren.
00:30:55 Wow! That is an absolutely incredible story!
00:31:00 Obviously, Jehovah blessed her for her loyal efforts there.
00:31:04 But, now, Anzhel,
00:31:05 as you reflect upon the decisions
00:31:09 that members of your family have made,
00:31:12 how have their decisions affected you?
00:31:15 You know, they helped me to love Jehovah with all my heart
00:31:20 and to put him always first in my life.
00:31:25 Can you provide us an example of that?
00:31:28 Yes, for example, in Ukraine
00:31:31 all young men are required to do military service.
00:31:35 But I, like many other brothers, chose not to do it.
00:31:38 I chose civilian, or alternative, service instead.
00:31:42 So I was still living at home.
00:31:44 And the government gives you any work that they want,
00:31:49 and you need to do it for two years.
00:31:52 If you don’t mind my asking, what job did they give you?
00:31:57 So, OK, they sent me to clean sewers
00:32:00 and water systems.
00:32:02 So I needed to go inside these tanks, which were so filthy,
00:32:07 and I needed to clean them out.
00:32:09 And for me, it was really very hard work.
00:32:13 And sometimes I felt very sad about my situation.
00:32:17 Yeah.
00:32:19 We’re so sorry, Anzhel, that you had to go through that.
00:32:22 But we certainly appreciate your loyalty to Jehovah at the same time.
00:32:27 What helped you to get through
00:32:30 that difficult period in your life?
00:32:32 For me, it was my family.
00:32:35 I would think about my grandfather, grandmother,
00:32:39 great-grandfather and great-grandmother.
00:32:41 And I thought: ‘They showed me how to do it.
00:32:45 ‘They showed me how to go through it.
00:32:48 They showed me that with Jehovah’s help, I can do it.’
00:32:54 Well, you have learned some very powerful lessons from your family.
00:32:59 And now here you are at Gilead.
00:33:03 You’ve completed your Gilead training.
00:33:05 And we can only imagine how proud and happy your family must be for you.
00:33:10 Can you tell us, though, what has been the highlight for you
00:33:14 from your Gilead training?
00:33:17 Yes, Gilead has helped me to see more,
00:33:22 to understand more, and to feel more
00:33:26 —to see more this wonderful history of Jehovah’s people
00:33:30 (this wonderful heritage that we all have),
00:33:34 to understand more these wonderful, deep Bible gems
00:33:39 (Bible lessons for my life),
00:33:42 and to feel more of Jehovah’s love
00:33:45 and the love of the brothers and sisters, especially here.
00:33:49 You know, my family, they had just a few magazines,
00:33:53 a few books, and a songbook,
00:33:56 but it was enough for them
00:33:59 to build strong faith in Jehovah.
00:34:02 So in the new world,
00:34:04 I want to see all of my big, big family.
00:34:07 And I want to share with them these wonderful gems
00:34:10 I learned here in Gilead while they were sleeping.
00:34:14 And I want to say to them, “Thank you
00:34:17 for setting such a good example of faith for me.”
00:34:21 Anzhel, you have certainly touched our hearts
00:34:25 by means of that beautiful story.
00:34:28 Thank you for sharing your family legacy with all of us.
00:34:33 We really appreciated that.
00:34:35 Thank you.
00:34:37 Well, as we mentioned in our opening comments,
00:34:41 when the tribes of Israel were instructed
00:34:44 to choose for themselves whom they would serve,
00:34:48 their response is recorded at Joshua 24:18,
00:34:53 where they said: “We too will serve Jehovah,
00:34:58 because he is our God”
00:35:01 —a wise choice, indeed!
00:35:04 As we’ve learned from the experiences
00:35:06 shared by our four guests today,
00:35:09 the choices that we make do matter.
00:35:13 They matter to us,
00:35:16 to our family members,
00:35:18 to our worldwide brotherhood,
00:35:21 and especially to our loving God, Jehovah.
00:35:24 We hope that you have been both encouraged and motivated
00:35:28 by the experiences you’ve heard today.
00:35:31 Until we meet again on our future edition of The Inside Story,
00:35:36 please enjoy this brief, little snapshot
00:35:40 of Class 149.
00:36:06 We were not disappointed.
00:36:08 Thank you, Brother Chilton, along with the students who assisted you.
