Welcome to this edition of The Inside Story.
Today we will get to know 6 of the 48 students representing the 156th class of Gilead.
To my left, I have Sister Hanta Razafimandimby from Madagascar.
Next to Hanta is Adalia and Mannie Luna from the United States.
To my far right is Shimon and Yoshi Hori from Japan.
And last but not least, we have Brother Marco Caproni from Italy.
Welcome to all six of you, and we look forward to hearing what you have to share with us today.
Why don’t we start by first hearing how long you’ve been in your respective Bethels and what your current assignments are. Why don’t we start with you, Hanta?
I’ve been serving at the Madagascar Bethel for 24 years, and currently I’m serving on one of the translation teams there.
Excellent. Adalia?
We are currently serving in the United States branch, at the Wallkill complex for about 13 years. And my assignment is actually a split assignment between Food Service and the Health Care Department.
OK. Very good. Mannie?
And I, along with Adalia, have been serving at the United States branch for about 13 years, and I currently work with the Service Department.
Very good. Let’s switch over to you, Shimon, please.
I have been in the Japan branch for 16 years, and my assignment is the Computer Department.
OK. Very good. And Yoshi?
And I’ve been in the Japan branch for six years, and now I serve in the Legal Department.
OK. Very good. And, please, Marco.
I’ve been serving in the Italy branch in Rome for 18 years and, actually, I’m serving in the Public Information Department.
Excellent.
Well, now that we’ve had a chance to learn a little bit about you, let’s start off with Shimon.
Shimon, I understand that you were baptized at ten years of age.
Yeah.
Can you tell us about what your father did to help you make spiritual progress at such a young age?
Well, my father was very creative.
Hmm. Explain.
For example, as a family, we enjoyed playing a game named Bible golf.
OK.
It’s a simple game. The winner is whoever can open to a specific Bible verse in the fewest attempts. So if I can open the verse in the first attempt, it’s a hole in one. Three attempts, it’s a birdie—something like this.
Another game I can still remember is the Jehovah’s Witnesses game of life, which is a board game with two circles on it. You can start from the outside circle, which represents non-Witness life. If you progress properly—Bible study, dedication, assembly or convention—you can enter into the inner circle, which represents the Witness life.
Non-Witness life—OK.
But there is a time limit called Armageddon. So when the alarm goes off, you can enter into Paradise if you are in the inner circle. It’s so much fun because there are also stumbling blocks along the way.
OK.
And your father came up with this game?
Yes.
Wow! Obviously, he was very creative. Did he do anything else to help you?
Well, when the Knowledge book came out, he asked me and my sister if we wanted to get baptized within six months. And we said yes. From then on, each morning he would leave the house, knock on the door, introduce himself as Brother Hori, and conduct a Bible study with us. And we had to serve tea for him.
Now I understand he wanted to teach us that a Bible study is a serious thing in our life.
It’s unique, but I was able to get baptized within a year.
Well, obviously it worked because here you are with us today.
Well, once you were baptized, was it always smooth sailing for you, Shimon?
Honestly, no, not always. As I grew older, I started struggling because I wanted to be exemplary in the congregation but I liked computers very much, so I wanted to be an engineer in an IT company.
Mhm. Big dreams, huh?
Yeah.
OK.
But eventually, the Timothy drama came out. And in that drama, the apostle Paul encouraged Timothy not to use his skill in Satan’s world but for Jehovah. That was the turning point for me. Instead of pursuing secular work, I started pioneering, and then I came to love it.
Oh, wise choice.
Let’s talk to your wife, Yoshi, for just a moment. Now, Yoshi, you were born in Japan. But I understand that you and your family moved around a bit. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Yes.
So my father (he wasn’t a Witness at the time), his work necessitated that we move around quite a bit. So I remember I was five when we were living in Osaka, in Japan. Then we moved to London, in Britain. We were there for four years, and then after that, we all moved to Scotland. So I lived in Glasgow for five years. After that, we all moved back to Tokyo. And later, when I was an adult, I moved on my own to serve where the need was great in Tanzania. I stayed there for six years, and after that, I moved back. And now we’re here.
And we’re happy to have you.
Well, now, you’ve gotten to live in some pretty fascinating places over those years. What did you learn about yourself and culture from living in those places?
Well, you know, when I was young, I honestly didn’t really appreciate it. But now that I’ve grown older, I feel that it’s taught me to understand that there are so many different ways of looking at something and so many different ways of doing something. But, actually, all of them are really, really good. And it’s a blessing to have so many different personalities with us. And I just love working with this variety of brothers and sisters now.
Well, obviously, looking back on it, you learned quite a bit. Thank you for sharing that.
Let’s switch over to you now, Hanta. Now, I understand that you were not raised as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Can you tell us a little bit about your background, please?
I was raised in a religious family. We used to go to a Protestant church every week, and my siblings and I even attended Sunday school for a while.
OK.
Now, although your father never became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, how was he instrumental in leading you to the truth?
My father welcomed anyone who knocked at our door in the name of religion. And Jehovah’s Witnesses were among these people. Every time they stopped by, they would leave magazines, books, brochures. And what I really appreciated in those publications is God’s promise of a paradise earth. I really liked the pictures of Paradise in those publications, so much so that my siblings and I would trace those pictures, paint them, and hang them on the wall.
Your parents were OK with you redecorating like this?
One day, our father bought the Live Forever book from the Witnesses. And it was then that a Bible study was started. From the first meeting I attended, I was so impressed by the warm welcome I received that I said to myself, ‘I want to belong to these people.’
Ah.
Eventually, all my siblings and I, along with our mother, embraced the truth. Actually, one of my brothers and I got baptized together on the same day.
Ah, that must have been really special for you. Thank you for sharing that with us, Hanta.We’ll come back to you. Let’s go over to Adalia now. Now, Adalia, you were born, raised, and spent your early teenage years in Brooklyn, New York. How was that for you, growing up around world headquarters?
It was a beautiful, positive experience. Getting to see self-sacrificing brothers and sisters give all they could to Jehovah and also to see how happy and excited they were in their service was a beautiful example. This helped instill in me goals and really plant seeds and put in me the desire to want to live that same kind of life.
Oh, we could understand that. Now, eventually, you and your family moved to Florida. That’s where you met Mannie. You two were eventually married. You should have stayed in Brooklyn, see? But you met Mannie, and you two were married. What next?
So shortly after we got married, before our first-year anniversary, we started regular pioneering. Then after that, we were invited to serve where the need is great in a very rural part of Florida—kind of the orange grove region. It’s very different from where we both grew up. We were both used to the city life. But we went to that area and immersed ourselves in the congregation—a beautiful, young congregation—which worked hard in the ministry. And we grew to really love those brothers. And Jehovah blessed the hard work that was being done in that area.
How long were you there?
We were there for ten years. And during that time period, that one congregation that we were in actually turned into five congregations.
Wow! Five congregations over ten years, excellent! Now, Mannie, clearly you and Adalia—you were busy in Jehovah’s service. Was that the end of the extent of your pursuing theocratic goals?
No, not at all. Adalia and I made an effort to live a simple life so that we could give all we could to Jehovah without any distractions, and that allowed us to pioneer. It also allowed us to move to that area where there was a greater need. But to further make ourselves available, we applied to Bethel several times.
OK, that’s a little nebulous—several times. How many times did you apply to Bethel?
It was about only 12 times.
Twelve times? What part of no did you not understand?
Perseverance.
Please tell us what caused you to keep applying when you weren’t receiving a response to come?
Yeah, as you can see, certainly we were very persistent. We wanted to keep our options open and allow Jehovah to decide where we would serve. But, you know, when we look back at it, we realize that applying to Bethel all those times and not getting accepted was just simply because it wasn’t our time.
Hmm, what do you mean by that, wasn’t your time?
Well, you see, there we were in our assignment but wanting to be at Bethel. Jehovah knew we had a lot to learn, and he allowed that assignment to give us the training that we needed. And those 12 applications, or those 12 times that we applied, taught us a lot. It taught us patience, taught us to wait on Jehovah, taught us appreciation. So even though we wanted to make ourselves available to do more by means of Bethel service, there were a lot of lessons that we still needed to learn. We needed to learn to focus on, love, and appreciate the privileges we already had up to that point in order to be able to fully appreciate our future Bethel assignment. And what a blessing it was being with those brothers and sisters for those years and being able to witness that growth! It was amazing! And we fondly look back at it, and these certainly are memories that we truly treasure.
Well, those are some valuable lessons that you learned. We’re glad that Jehovah gave you that training. We’re sure it will serve you well. Let’s shift over to you now, Marco. Would you mind telling us a little bit about your family background?
Sure. So growing up, I was raised as a Catholic, and I used to go every Sunday to the church.
Yeah.
But then when I was 17 years old, my uncle began to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. And observing the big changes that he made in his life for good and how happy he became made me really curious about the Bible. What a powerful book it is, to change life in such a way! And so I accepted to study the Bible as well. And when I was 19 years old, I got baptized. And later on, I started to serve as a regular pioneer. I attended the Ministerial Training School, or MTS. And yes, as I told you, for the last 18 years, I’ve been serving at Bethel in Rome.
OK, excellent. Now, during your time here at Gilead, it became clear that you have a real love for history, Marco. We all saw it. Was there anything that was part of the Gilead curriculum that particularly caught your attention?
Yes, here at Gilead we have many artifacts on display. But there is something in particular that caught my attention, and I brought it here to show you.
Oh, really? Does the Gilead Office know that you have this?
I will bring it back soon.
All right. What do we have?
It’s a coin.
OK. Tell us about it.
This coin is an authentic coin minted by Emperor Nero in 66 C.E. He wanted to celebrate a period of peace. In fact, if you look carefully on one side, you can see a door. This door is the door of an ancient temple in Rome. And this door was kept closed during a period of peace. And in fact, Nero wanted to boast that he was capable of bringing peace to the empire. But this was 66 C.E., and the prophecy of Jesus about the destruction of Jerusalem had to be fulfilled. A few months after minting this coin, Nero was forced to send a military army down to Judea to settle the Jewish revolt with Cestius Gallus. And these facts, we know, led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 C.E. So, you see, a coin like this can remind us of a precious lesson: that Bible prophecies are always fulfilled, even though the propaganda of this world can say differently.
Nice lesson. I see that you liked this story.
Would you like to know more about Bible history and Rome?
Of course. I have a short video to watch together.
Let’s see it.
Visiting some of the archaeological sites of Italy can help us to imagine what life was like for the early Christians.
Would you like to come with me for a quick tour?
Let’s begin here.
Located about ten kilometers, or six miles, west of Naples was the ancient port city of Puteoli. Today, it is known as Pozzuoli. In about 59 C.E., the apostle Paul arrived here by boat as a prisoner. From here, Paul would now begin the long journey to Rome, where he would eventually stand before Caesar himself.
One of the most famous Roman highways is called the Appian Way. It averages 6 meters, or 20 feet, in width and was paved with large lava blocks. It was on this very road that Paul traveled to the city of Rome.
Along the way, Paul eventually came to a busy trading center known as the Marketplace of Appius, and a little further north was a rest area (like an inn) known as Three Taverns. Having heard about Paul’s coming, Christians from Rome organized a group of brothers to meet the apostle at both of these stops. Acts 28:15 tells us that upon seeing them, Paul “thanked God and took courage.”
Next, we come to the impressive ruins of Ostia Antica. This was Rome’s most important port. It is about 25 kilometers, or 16 miles, southwest of Rome. We get a glimpse of Roman life back then with its multistory apartment buildings, known as insulae, along with temples, theaters, thermal baths, and shops.
Walking through the old streets, it’s easy to imagine our brothers witnessing to the people. Perhaps they stopped to eat at a food shop similar to this one called thermopolium, where you could buy bread, wine, roasted meat, cheese, and have some refreshment.
Next, we arrive in Rome, where perhaps the most well-known monument stands. Yes, you guessed it, the Colosseum. The mammoth structure was built in the first century C.E. with a seating capacity estimated to be from 40,000 to 87,000 persons. This was Rome’s entertainment center.
There were mainly two types of games, or exhibitions: combat between two gladiators and the hunting of wild animals. Criminals were also put to death here. Interestingly, entry to the Colosseum was free. This was part of the policy of the emperors, who offered free entertainment in order to keep the people under control. In reality, these spectacles were like a drug that corrupted people’s consciences. True Christians back then courageously refused to take any part as spectators.
By the way, do you know where the Romans got the funds to build this huge stadium? They came from the conquest of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.
In fact, there is even an inscription at the Colosseum that reads: “The Emperor Titus Caesar Vespasian Augustus ordered the new amphitheater to be made from the proceeds from the sale of the booty.”
To remember this important event, Emperor Domitian had a triumphal arch built in honor of his brother Titus, who conquered Jerusalem and later became emperor. If you look carefully, you can see a bas-relief with a scene of Roman soldiers carrying the spoils from Jerusalem with the lampstand taken from Jehovah’s temple.
The arch stands today as a clear fulfillment of Jesus’ words about the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. So, you see, if we use the Bible as a map, even the stones can be silent witnesses that the Bible is a book of true history, true life, and true prophecies.
I hope you enjoyed the tour.
Thank you for taking us on that wonderful tour, Marco. After seeing that video, we all want to go to Italy ourselves—don’t we?—to see those sites in person. Be prepared.
So, Mannie, let’s come back to you now. What has been the highlight of your Gilead training?
You know, I wasn’t raised in the truth. So as a teenager, I was interested in making sure I improved my situation by means of secular education. I thought education was the answer. I thought it was my ticket out. And, boy, did Jehovah fool me.
How so?
Well, secular education wasn’t the answer, but education was. Jehovah knew I needed the very best education—divine education.
And the truth is that what I’ve learned from our Grand Instructor, Jehovah, surpasses by far anything that the secular education could have provided me with. It’s truly helped me see that, in fact, the education that Jehovah provides us with makes us better people.
So in Gilead School, I have been able to appreciate how Jehovah has continued to train us and provide us with something that’s helpful, not only to myself but to others. And honestly, I’m really grateful that I’ve had this opportunity to get better acquainted with my heavenly Father.
Ah, well stated. Now, tell us, a final question to you, how do you plan on using in your assignment what you’ve learned at Gilead?
I would tend to steer, or guide, myself toward guidelines. But Gilead has taught me that while guidelines are important, I can’t lose sight of what’s more important to Jehovah, and that’s people.
Yes.
And Jesus knew that, and he saw that. Therefore, I want to imitate Jesus in my dealings with people. When he was on earth, who knew the rules better than Jesus? Yet, what was his focus? People. He put people first. He loved them. He didn’t hold that against them.
In my assignment, I hope to imitate Jesus fully in that I can balance guidelines with principles but never lose sight of loving Jehovah’s people.
Ah, that’s beautiful, a nice lesson learned. Thank you for sharing that. In fact, why don’t we get an expression from the rest of you on those very same questions?
How about you, Adalia? What has been the highlight of your Gilead training?
To be honest with you, Brother Chilton, I came to Gilead very scared and apprehensive of the unknown.
We understand.
Not knowing what our future assignment might be was very unsettling to me. But after several lessons, I feel positive and better equipped for what the future holds for us. We did a deep dive into the Sermon on the Mount, and one particular illustration touched me.
At Matthew 7:9, 10, Jesus asks: ‘Which father, when his son asks for a fish, would hand him a serpent?’ Now, his listeners understood that a fish could resemble a serpent, so the illustration took on a little bit more meaning. Even though a son could have been initially deceived if he received a serpent, a loving father would never do such a thing.
No.
So I realized that my heavenly Father, Jehovah, would never give me something bad and make it appear as something good. So after meditating on this, I realized that Jehovah will only give me something that will be beneficial for us. And whatever he asks, it will only be for my eternal happiness.
Ah, that’s beautiful.
Yeah, we pray that you have success in that. And the final question for you, Adalia, how do you hope to use in your assignment what you’ve learned at Gilead?
I know our brothers and sisters are going through a lot. I want to be able to help strengthen their faith the way mine has been upbuilt by sharing with them things that I’ve learned in school and also just by being a living example for them and also making sure that they understand that whatever challenge or trial that they face, Jehovah will sustain them.
There’s no doubt about it.
So with all that being said, I know that we’re ready for whatever the future holds for us. And the way my faith has been strengthened—it’s my treasure, my possession, that I’m never going to let go of.
Oh, that’s beautiful. Thank you for sharing with us.
Hanta, let’s ask you that question, what has been the highlight of Gilead training for you?
I’ve learned many times—I’ve read in our publications many times—that Jehovah never fails to reward his faithful ones. But Gilead helped me to understand that more fully.
How do you mean?
For example, Jehovah used Nebuchadnezzar to conquer Tyre. But Nebuchadnezzar and his men did not get many things, many riches from Tyre. So it was as if Jehovah told him: ‘Nebuchadnezzar, thank you very much for your labor to me. Here I give you treasures from Egypt.’
Nebuchadnezzar was not His servant, but He rewarded him for the labor he did for Him. So if Jehovah can do that to someone who is not worshipping Him, how much more so will He reward those who are loyal to Him? So that really strengthened me.
Oh, what a beautiful lesson learned! Thank you. Thank you for sharing that.
And a final question to you, Hanta, how do you plan on using what you’ve learned in your assignment from what you’ve gathered here at Gilead?
Yes, when a sister comes to me with her problem, I quickly think of a solution, even when the sister is still speaking.
Oh.
But Gilead has taught me to listen and to show empathy. The person may not need the solution at all. Maybe what she needs is a listening ear. But when help is needed, I’m determined to use Bible principles to reason with the person and allow the person to draw the conclusion. So I’ll allow the person to draw the conclusion herself.
We wish you success in that, Hanta. Thank you so much for sharing that with us.
Shimon, let’s go over to you. What has been the highlight of your Gilead training?
For me, the Growing Spiritually course lessons had a huge impact. I even changed my prayer a little bit.
For example, I used to pray to Jehovah, “Please help me to show love to my wife and friends and brothers and sisters.”
Good prayer. Good prayer.
But now I understand what love is specifically.
Love is an unselfish quality, focusing on doing good to others regardless of the merit of the recipient or any benefit I could get back.
So now I know that when I pray to Jehovah to show love, I am asking for help to be a more unselfish person.
Ah, that’s beautiful.
That’s a good lesson you’ve learned.
Now, tell us, how do you plan on using in your assignment what you’ve gathered here at Gilead?
Yeah, you know, Brother Chilton, the Gilead training made me understand why I loved computers so much.
OK. We have to know more on that one.
What do you mean?
Because I can program the computer how to work, and they will just work.
But people are not like that; they are unpredictable, and they don’t always do what I want them to do.
So because of this, when I am focusing on something technical, it is not always easy for me to switch my mind to love people.
So my goal is to love people the way Jehovah loves them, remembering they are doing their best — as I am.
Ah, a good lesson learned.
Thank you for sharing that with us.
Let’s talk to your wife now.
Yoshi, what has been the highlight of your training?
Yeah, well, I’m seeing the fruitage of the spirit in a way that I never thought of before.
Can I give an example?
Please.
So our culture is generally viewed as being humble and polite.
Gilead has taught me that that kind of humility, though, is not a result of the holy spirit, or a fruitage of the holy spirit.
Gilead has taught me that humility, love, kindness — all those good qualities — they have to come from much, much deeper down, not culture or your natural tendency or personality.
It has to be driven by Jehovah, by his holy spirit, for it to be a fruitage of the holy spirit.
And that understanding of Jehovah helping us in our good points — that just really blew my mind.
OK, nice.
So how do you plan on using in your assignment what you’ve learned at Gilead, Yoshi?
Yes.
So the holy spirit’s power is very strong.
So my goal when I get to my new assignment is to be able to expand my comfort zone, widen out, with Jehovah’s help, so that I can be more people-oriented and that I can be comfortable with people.
And I hope they’ll be comfortable with me too.
Ah, we have every confidence that they will be.
Well done, Yoshi.
Thank you.
Now, finally, Marco, you’re our last one here.
So, what has been the highlight of your Gilead training?
I think that Gilead helped me to love the Bible even more.
I realized that when digging into it, the more I studied the Bible, the more I found new things to learn that I didn’t imagine.
And I could compare the Bible now to a suitcase with a double or triple bottom layer and full of things because the more I look into it, the more I can take out more things that maybe I didn’t see at the beginning.
So the lesson for me is that when I study the Bible, I should slow down — take my time to meditate, to find the different angles, to study all the aspects — because nothing in the Bible is random or written by chance.
Nice, nice lesson you’ve learned there.
And how do you plan on using in your assignment what you’ve learned?
Yes, I think to be aware of how rich the Bible is will help me in any assignment.
I’m more convinced that in any circumstance I will face in the future (new circumstances could be challenging or unexpected), I think that the only thing I have to do is to go back to the Bible and look for a similar situation or a lesson or a Bible principle that can apply because I’m sure that Jehovah as a loving Father has already written in the Bible everything that I need.
Excellent. Well done.
And we’ll pray for your success in that too, Marco.
Well, we have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the six of you better, and we appreciate so much you sharing with us your personal expressions.
We echo the words of the apostle Paul, written at 2 Timothy 4:22, when he said: “The Lord be with the spirit you show. His undeserved kindness be with you.”
It is our prayer that Jehovah’s rich blessing continue upon you six and the rest of your Gilead class — 156.
And to all of you in our viewing audience, thank you for joining us.
We look forward to being with you again on the next edition of The Inside Story.
https://www.jw.org/en/library/videos/#en/mediaitems/VODPgmEvtGilead/pub-jwb-119_2_VIDEO
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