00:00:09 That’s a heavy one, Son.
00:00:10 Let me help you.
00:00:11 I can do it, Papa.
00:00:13 You’re going to hurt yourself, Son.
00:00:14 Now, I need someone to prepare the talking machine.
00:00:17 I can do it.
00:00:18 Off you go, then.
00:00:23 I was born on December 4, 1916,
00:00:28 at a place called Sharon, Pennsylvania.
00:00:30 I’m 102 years old.
00:00:40 My father took the “Photo-Drama of Creation” around.
00:00:46 I’m very appreciative of my parents, what they did.
00:00:52 In 1931, I attended the convention in Columbus, Ohio,
00:00:57 and I already knew my grand Helen.
00:01:02 And when Brother Rutherford announced
00:01:04 the new name of Jehovah’s Witnesses, she got real enthused about it.
00:01:11 So the first thing I did when I got into my pioneer work was write to Helen.
00:01:15 Such a letter she wrote!
00:01:17 She said, “You didn’t tell me the answer to the question I wanted to know.”
00:01:22 It was whether I was a pioneer or not.
00:01:24 I wrote, “I am a pioneer, and I hope I always will be.”
00:01:32 And then we got a letter from Brooklyn,
00:01:35 asking us if we were willing to go in the traveling work.
00:01:39 And we accepted, and so we went to west Kentucky.
00:01:42 Aubrey and Bertha Bivens were both from Kentucky too.
00:01:47 Do you know how it is when a couple of brothers
00:01:49 are good friends and their wives are good friends?
00:01:57 When we went to Gilead, we were already good friends.
00:02:04 But then a surprise came: We were assigned to Guatemala.
00:02:13 And would you believe it?
00:02:15 We were assigned with the Bivens in the missionary home!
00:02:19 So when they were assigned to Puerto Barrios, it was a sad thing.
00:02:24 It was a real heartbreaker to separate from the Bivens.
00:02:35 Then we were assigned back to Guatemala City
00:02:39 to the branch office.
00:02:41 We had an active life.
00:02:44 We had many years of blessings.
00:02:51 We were very good as husband and wife.
00:03:00 And when my wife was sick, it was very sad.
00:03:17 If I’ve come to the end of my life,
00:03:21 I beg Jehovah to take care of my David.
00:03:25 Thank you for him, Jehovah,
00:03:29 and for our marriage.
00:03:32 So wonderful and so happy!
00:03:52 The day Sister Helen passed away, I went to his room.
00:03:55 And I was thinking: ‘I want to tell David that he is not alone
00:04:00 ‘—that I can accompany him if he wants me to.
00:04:03 And I’ll be his traveling companion whenever he needs me.’
00:04:09 I think he knew he’d had an incredibly good life with Sister Helen
00:04:13 —a wonderful life— but also that he had to keep on going.
00:04:17 He never isolated himself.
00:04:22 After Sister Helen died, Brother David kept on serving
00:04:24 on the Guatemala Branch Committee for another 18 years.
00:04:32 Then Brother David moved to the Assembly Hall in San Lucas.
00:04:36 I think living in the Assembly Hall has done Brother David a lot of good.
00:04:40 Every weekend he has the opportunity to associate with the brothers and sisters.
00:04:50 We have assemblies.
00:04:51 And they’re not my assemblies, but I know many of the people.
00:04:54 So I go down and say hello to them.
00:04:57 It’s like the Bible says about the Christians
00:04:59 —that is what made the difference— that they loved each other.
00:05:11 Well, it’s wonderful.
00:05:12 I have lots of friends too.
00:05:23 My precious one,
00:05:25 I ask you to put this text on your desk.
00:05:33 It applies to you and your long years of service to Jehovah.
00:05:43 Hebrews 6:10 says:
00:05:47 ‘God is not unrighteous so as to forget your work
00:05:52 and the love you’ve shown for his name.’