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00:01 At times, world events may highlight 00:04 the importance of being punctual. 00:06 In May of last year, a wildfire overtook 00:09 the Canadian city of Fort McMurray, in the province of Alberta. 00:13 The brothers and sisters there benefited from promptly 00:17 following the direction they had received 00:19 from their local congregations. 00:30 There was a local needs part, 00:32 and we try to do it every year, 00:34 and this year it was at the perfect time 00:36 because the next week we had the fire. 00:39 And when the brother was reviewing, 00:41 he was saying it was a high fire-hazard year, 00:43 so be prepared. 00:45 And it was nice that the brothers were so obedient 00:47 and took that to heart and were ready. 00:51 It happened so quickly, 00:54 from being fine and safe to ‘We got to get out of here.’ 00:57 We started to hear the municipality saying 01:00 there are mandatory evacuations 01:02 for different neighborhoods. 01:04 So within noon, two o’clock, four o’clock, 01:07 90,000 people are in motion. 01:10 When you were standing outside, you could hear the helicopters going, 01:12 the sirens going. 01:13 The smoke was so thick and intense. 01:16 Both the left and the right were all in flames; 01:18 it was totally in flames. 01:21 Ugh, it was chaotic. 01:24 People running to their cars, seeing and looking 01:26 at the big cloud of smoke approaching them 01:28 and just the fright in their eyes. 01:32 It just came to mind: 01:34 During the local needs, the brothers said, 01:36 “If in case of an emergency, you have to follow directions. 01:38 “Listen to the local authorities 01:41 and listen to your local elders.” 01:44 Each elder for the field service groups 01:47 had to care for a small amount of people. 01:51 I was calling all the brothers and sisters 01:53 that I could to find out 01:55 where they were and if they were safe. 01:57 Every group overseer knew exactly 02:00 where everybody in his group was at all times. 02:03 One brother came to help my wife and the kids 02:06 to evacuate while I was at work. 02:09 So I felt very indebted to this brother 02:12 —that he acted in my behalf to get my family to a safe place. 02:15 To see the brothers OK and calm, it makes me calm. 02:23 It’s all gone, 02:25 and it went away overnight. 02:28 If we are to put our trust in such things— 02:32 Where are they now? 02:36 Although we’ve lost all this, 02:39 our relationship with Jehovah —we haven’t lost that. 02:47 We can’t salvage nothing . 02:49 Yeah. 02:50 Everything is gone. Gone—everything is gone. 02:53 Yeah, this is our basement. 02:56 People are always asking us, like, “Did you lose your home?” 03:00 And we’re like, “Yeah, we did.” 03:02 Seeing how quickly things can go, how things can disappear, 03:07 it helps you appreciate the things that are most important. 03:11 And not only do we have our own lives 03:14 but we still have our brothers and sisters 03:16 there with us. 03:20 When we escaped 03:22 and moved to Edmonton, 03:25 which is about a four-and-a-half-hour drive from here, 03:29 the friends opened their homes to us 03:31 in the middle of the night —2:30 a.m.— 03:33 and welcomed us. 03:34 They gave us food; they gave us clothing; 03:37 they gave us a place to stay. 03:40 That kind of hospitality really touched our heart. 03:42 We realized that we hadn’t missed anything. 03:56 Some of the friends, we haven’t seen them 03:58 since the disaster occurred 04:00 and to meet the friends again 04:02 —you know, about a month and a half after the disaster— 04:05 at the convention was really, really encouraging. 04:09 We see brothers that are working with different departments 04:12 here at the convention and also with the disaster relief committee 04:15 who have no home to go back to. 04:17 Yet, they’re so concerned about someone else 04:19 that they don’t even think about what they’ve really lost. 04:23 Although we’ve lost everything materially, 04:26 we have everything spiritually. 04:29 What is gone is gone. 04:32 What is important is our lives and our relationship with Jehovah. 04:55 The local needs part proved very helpful 04:59 for our brothers and sisters in Fort McMurray. 05:01 The part included direction about having a “go bag” 05:05 and keeping the gas tanks of their vehicles full. 05:08 Because of the distance to the nearest town 05:11 and the heavy traffic during the evacuation, 05:13 having a full tank of gas proved to be very timely advice. 05:17 Instead of procrastinating, 05:20 our brothers and sisters in Alberta followed the direction, 05:23 to their benefit.
00:01 At times, world events may highlight 00:04 the importance of being punctual. 00:06 In May of last year, a wildfire overtook 00:09 the Canadian city of Fort McMurray, in the province of Alberta. 00:13 The brothers and sisters there benefited from promptly 00:17 following the direction they had received 00:19 from their local congregations. 00:30 There was a local needs part, 00:32 and we try to do it every year, 00:34 and this year it was at the perfect time 00:36 because the next week we had the fire. 00:39 And when the brother was reviewing, 00:41 he was saying it was a high fire-hazard year, 00:43 so be prepared. 00:45 And it was nice that the brothers were so obedient 00:47 and took that to heart and were ready. 00:51 It happened so quickly, 00:54 from being fine and safe to ‘We got to get out of here.’ 00:57 We started to hear the municipality saying 01:00 there are mandatory evacuations 01:02 for different neighborhoods. 01:04 So within noon, two o’clock, four o’clock, 01:07 90,000 people are in motion. 01:10 When you were standing outside, you could hear the helicopters going, 01:12 the sirens going. 01:13 The smoke was so thick and intense. 01:16 Both the left and the right were all in flames; 01:18 it was totally in flames. 01:21 Ugh, it was chaotic. 01:24 People running to their cars, seeing and looking 01:26 at the big cloud of smoke approaching them 01:28 and just the fright in their eyes. 01:32 It just came to mind: 01:34 During the local needs, the brothers said, 01:36 “If in case of an emergency, you have to follow directions. 01:38 “Listen to the local authorities 01:41 and listen to your local elders.” 01:44 Each elder for the field service groups 01:47 had to care for a small amount of people. 01:51 I was calling all the brothers and sisters 01:53 that I could to find out 01:55 where they were and if they were safe. 01:57 Every group overseer knew exactly 02:00 where everybody in his group was at all times. 02:03 One brother came to help my wife and the kids 02:06 to evacuate while I was at work. 02:09 So I felt very indebted to this brother 02:12 —that he acted in my behalf to get my family to a safe place. 02:15 To see the brothers OK and calm, it makes me calm. 02:23 It’s all gone, 02:25 and it went away overnight. 02:28 If we are to put our trust in such things— 02:32 Where are they now? 02:36 Although we’ve lost all this, 02:39 our relationship with Jehovah —we haven’t lost that. 02:47 We can’t salvage nothing . 02:49 Yeah. 02:50 Everything is gone. Gone—everything is gone. 02:53 Yeah, this is our basement. 02:56 People are always asking us, like, “Did you lose your home?” 03:00 And we’re like, “Yeah, we did.” 03:02 Seeing how quickly things can go, how things can disappear, 03:07 it helps you appreciate the things that are most important. 03:11 And not only do we have our own lives 03:14 but we still have our brothers and sisters 03:16 there with us. 03:20 When we escaped 03:22 and moved to Edmonton, 03:25 which is about a four-and-a-half-hour drive from here, 03:29 the friends opened their homes to us 03:31 in the middle of the night —2:30 a.m.— 03:33 and welcomed us. 03:34 They gave us food; they gave us clothing; 03:37 they gave us a place to stay. 03:40 That kind of hospitality really touched our heart. 03:42 We realized that we hadn’t missed anything. 03:56 Some of the friends, we haven’t seen them 03:58 since the disaster occurred 04:00 and to meet the friends again 04:02 —you know, about a month and a half after the disaster— 04:05 at the convention was really, really encouraging. 04:09 We see brothers that are working with different departments 04:12 here at the convention and also with the disaster relief committee 04:15 who have no home to go back to. 04:17 Yet, they’re so concerned about someone else 04:19 that they don’t even think about what they’ve really lost. 04:23 Although we’ve lost everything materially, 04:26 we have everything spiritually. 04:29 What is gone is gone. 04:32 What is important is our lives and our relationship with Jehovah. 04:55 The local needs part proved very helpful 04:59 for our brothers and sisters in Fort McMurray. 05:01 The part included direction about having a “go bag” 05:05 and keeping the gas tanks of their vehicles full. 05:08 Because of the distance to the nearest town 05:11 and the heavy traffic during the evacuation, 05:13 having a full tank of gas proved to be very timely advice. 05:17 Instead of procrastinating, 05:20 our brothers and sisters in Alberta followed the direction, 05:23 to their benefit.
