Hi all! Here's the final winning submission. Enjoy!
HI YA SISTER!, submitted by K.H., USA
I am 70 years old and that greeting was made 55 years ago. The year was 1964 and my family, consisting of 8 siblings along with my Mother and Father, had just found a house to occupy in Lake Elsinore, CA. We had just moved to California from Michigan and had completed a one-month adventure living in tents at Lake Elsinore State Park. We left Michigan, with a good number of cars, trucks and assorted personalities, looking forward to starting a new life in the Golden State.
Truth be told, I’d say we resembled the “Grapes of Wrath” more than anything else. My Father had no job waiting, little money to feed his family, and no definite place to live. But my Mother had a dream. She had always wanted to move to California, the land of sunshine and opportunity, for her children. I had been “raised around” the Truth. What does that mean? Throughout the years, my Mother would invite the different sisters, that sporadically appeared at our doorstep, to have a study with her and anyone else in the house that was interested. My Mother studied with many sisters throughout my childhood, and was eventually baptized in 1970. We were a family that moved often. Even as a young child, I stopped being surprised at the knock on the door two weeks after we moved into a new home. Those Witnesses always seemed to find us. It seemed like we were being stalked, but in a good way.
I studied with an elderly anointed sister when I was eight years old. Later on, during my teenage years, I continued to respond to my Mother’s invitation. She would yell into thin air “Jehovah’s Witnesses are going to be in the living room on Wednesday at 3:00. Anyone who is interested, show up.” I usually showed up. My Mother didn’t drive, so there really wasn’t a way for us to get to a meeting. But the Witnesses were ALWAYS there throughout my childhood. My Mother died in 1996 shortly after my unbelieving Father came into the Truth. Seven of her nine children have dedicated their lives to Jehovah.
I was 14 years old and a freshman at Elsinore High School, on that beautiful Fall day in 1964. I bounced off the bus and walked down the dusty road to our home by the lake. I saw an older lady standing at the door talking to my Mother. I walked past them into the house, looked at the lady and said “Hi Ya Sister!” “Hello, she replied.” A few minutes later my Mother came into the house and asked me how I knew that lady was a Jehovah’s Witness. “Gee Mom, they’re all over the state of Michigan. I figure they must have a few of them in California!” In a huff I walked away. Little did I know, that through a series of starts and finishes, six years later, those “few” Witnesses would help lead me to baptism in 1970. So, for over 50 years now, I have loved saying “Hi Ya Sister!”
Thank you again to all who submitted stories and experiences. I enjoyed reading each and every one of them, and I plan on doing more of these contests in the future!
In other news, an exciting project that I've been teasing for a while now is nearly ready for a big announcement, so stay tuned right here for that!
