… Why I converted to Jehovah’s Witness – 91-year-old man
Excitement as the 2024 Jehovah witness regional convention ended in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital with Elijah Adeoye Sodeke, a ninety-one-year-old narrated why he decided to devote the rest of his life to preaching the good news about God’s kingdom as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
At the eleventh series of the 2024 Convention held at the Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ifatumo, Ibadan, the nonagenarian recalled that it is exactly where he has been yearning to be all these years , expressing joy for eventually becoming one of the kingdom proclaimers .
Thousands of delegates attended this year’s Regional Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses, split into eleven series at the Ifatumo Assembly Hall, Ibadan.
Starting from the weekend of September 13, 2024, the Convention which was held in Yoruba, English, Pidgin (West Africa) and Nigeria Sign language ended on December 15, 2024.
The 2024 Regional Convention with the theme, ‘Declare the Good News’, held simultaneously across major cities in the world, attracted no fewer than 35,000 delegates from Oyo, Ogun, Kwara and Osun states to the ancient city of Ibadan.
Last year, nearly 13 million people attended more than 6,000 three-day conventions worldwide.
Gill Adekannbi, the Regional Spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses, said: “There is no doubt that these conventions are a highlight of the year for thousands of people who want to experience some positivity in their lives, and we are happy to enjoy the program once again in this welcoming and hospitable city.”
One of the delegates, Pa Sodeke who could not hide his joy of being one of the newly baptised members of the global organisation at the gathering, noted that his happiness stemmed from the fact that it was a big privilege to be among those who will benefit from Jehovah’s blessings in the new world to come.
He said: “I’m so happy I got baptised today; the reason is because I will have the privilege to be among those who will benefit from Jehovah’s blessings in the new world to come.
“I’m determined to be obedient to God’s commandments. The preaching work is the work Jesus brought to the earth and that good news is what I will tell others; so, they can also become disciples of Jesus and benefit from his blessings.
He explained how he became submissive to rigorous bible study to gain needed knowledge of God’s word, adding that he learnt valuable lessons from the convention, especially on how to serve God with spirit and truth.
A volunteer, Awoyemi Theophilus Olalekan who expressed joy for the opportunity he had to work as a volunteer at the Convention, said, “I have the privilege of working with Lost and Found Department in series of convention, here in Ifatumo Assembly ground of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“We are happy to work with people who are willing to serve Jehovah. The department is saddled with the responsibility to receive lost items and give them back to their owners. Let me relate an experience; A friend came for the first time to our convention; he lost his pad and phone at the car park. A convention delegate saw them and brought them to the department. The man came there, and they were given back to him after ascertaining he was the owner. He was so amazed. I was so happy to be part of volunteers who worked with this department. The man was so much touched that we still have some group of people who would return lost items at no cost. This shows the type of God we are serving – a God of truth!”
Another volunteer, Olaosebikan Dipo who worked at the Audio/Video Department described volunteer work as a self-sacrificing job.
“We normally come at least a day before the Assembly. So, we do come on Thursday for test of our equipment to be sure that everything is okay. And on the very day of the Convention, we come early to test the equipment again because electrical things are somehow sensitive. You might have done it yesterday, but today when you get there, it may disappoint,” he said.
Also, Ezekiel Abayomi Soyomi, a volunteer, said, “It was a great privilege to serve as the program overseer for this convention, I’m privileged to also work with members of the convention committee who are in charge or responsible for the oversight of this program. So, many brothers and sisters who have also worked in this department and other departments have contributed immensely for the success of this program.
“We have more than eleven departments where brothers and sisters have made themselves available to contribute to the ongoing program. We appreciate the spirit shown by these brothers and sisters who willingly volunteered themselves; they’ve expended their time, their resources and their energy to see to it that this convention runs smoothly.”
The 2024 convention programme provided the delegates with necessary resources to strength mental health resilience within families and also emphasised practical biblical principles to face everyday life challenges.
For the smooth running of the entire convention, adequate provisions were put in place that allowed many volunteers to work at different department such as First Aid, Car Park, Cleaning, Programme and so on.
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