The Bible Changes Lives

"I learned many surprising things from the Bible." -Isakala Paeniu
YEAR BORN:  1939

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: TUVALU
HISTORY: POLITICIAN

MY PAST: I was born on Nukulaelae, a beautiful Pacific islands was dominated by pastors who received  their religious training in college in Samoa.  It was the duty of the island people to feed the pastors and their families daily, to provide accommodations for them, in fact, to give them the best of everything.  Even if the islanders did not have enough food for their own families, they were obligated to provide for the pastors.

The pastor on my island ran the village school and taught religion, math and some geography.  I recall seeing the pastor beat students so badly that they were covered in blood.  No one, however, dared protest, not even the parents.  The pastor was revered as if he were God himself.

When I was ten, I left home to go to the only government school in the area, which was on another island.  When I graduated, I joined the civil service.  At the time, the islands were part of the British colony known as Gilbert and Ellice islands.   I worked in various departments before becoming the editor of the government weekly news sheet.  All was going well until I published a letter from a reader that criticized the money being spent in preparation for a visit by the Prince of Wales.  The letter writer had used a false name, and my superior demanded to know the real name of the person.  I refused to tell him, and this confrontation became widely known.

Soon after that incident, I left the civil service and went into politics.  I won an election in Nukulaelae and was appointed to be the Minister of Commerce and Natural Resources.  Later, when he people from the Kiribati (formerly Gilbert) and Tuvalu (formerly Ellice) islands were gaining independence from Britain, the governor offered me the post as head of the Tuvalu administration.   However, I didn't want to be seen as connected with colonial rule.  So I turned down the offer and without that backing ran in the general election for the top political post.  I lost. After that, I returned with my wife to my home island and decided to live the normal village life.

HOW THE BIBLE CHANGED MY LIFE:

Sunday in the islands was the Sabbath and considered as holy by everyone but me.  That was my day for sailing and fishing.  I did not want to be known , as a religious person.  My father told me how disappointed he and others  were by my actions.  But I was determined not to come under the influence of the church.

On one of my trips to Funafuti-the island on which the capital of Tovalu is located-my younger brother invited me to join him in attending a meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses.  Later, a Witness missionary gave me a stack of Watchtower and Awake! magazines to read.  He also gave me a book that exposed the pagan origins of the doctrines that many so-called Christian churches teach.  I read that book several times.  I learned many surprising things from the Bible, including the fact that Christians  are not obliged to keep the weekly Sabbath.  I shared these points with my wife,and she immediately stopped attending church.

I, however, had vowed to have nothing to do with religion.  Almost two years passed but I could not forget the things I had learned.  Eventually, I wrote to the missionary on Funafuti, telling him that I was ready  to make a change.  He hopped on the next available boat and came to help me learn more about the Bible.  My father was furious when he found out that I wanted to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses.  But I told him that I had learned so much about the Bible from the Witnesses that I had made up my mind.

HOW I HAVE BENEFITED: In 1986, I was baptized  as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and my wife was baptized a year later.  Our two daughters also learned what the Bible teaches and decided to become Jehovah's Witnesses.

Now I have the  pleasure of belonging to a religious group who, like the first-century Christians, have no clergy-laity distinction.  (Matthew 23:8-12)  They also humbly follow Jesus' example and preach to others about God's Kingdom government.  (Matthew 4:17) How thankful  I am to Jehovah God for allowing me to learn the truth about him and his people!

Next time: Conclusion of The Bible Changes Lives

The Watchtower, 2011