BALA KU Afrikaans Albanian Amharic Arabic Armenian Aymara Azerbaijani Azerbaijani (Cyrillic) Baoule Bashkir Batak (Karo) Batak (Simalungun) Bengali Biak Bicol Bislama Bulgarian Catalan Cebuano Chichewa Chinese Mandarin (Simplified) Chinese Mandarin (Traditional) Chitonga Chitonga (Malawi) Chitumbuka Chiyao Chokwe Chuvash Cibemba Cinyanja Croatian Czech Dangme Danish Drehu Dutch Efik English Estonian Ewe Fijian Finnish Fon French Ga Georgian German Greek Guarani Gun Haitian Creole Hausa Hebrew Hiligaynon Hindi Hiri Motu Hungarian Ibanag Icelandic Igbo Iloko Indonesian Isoko Italian Japanese Javanese Kabiye Kazakh Kikamba Kikaonde Kikongo Kikuyu Kiluba Kimbundu Kinyarwanda Kirghiz Kiribati Kirundi Kisonge Kongo Korean Kurdish Kurmanji (Caucasus) Kurdish Kurmanji (Cyrillic) Kwangali Kwanyama Lingala Lithuanian Luganda Lunda Luo Luvale Macedonian Malagasy Malay Malayalam Maltese Mam Mambwe-Lungu Mauritian Creole Maya Mbunda Mizo Myanmar Nahuatl (Northern Puebla) Ndebele Ndebele (Zimbabwe) Ndonga Nepali Ngangela Nias Niuean Norwegian Nyaneka Nzema Oromo Ossetian Pangasinan Papiamento (Aruba) Papiamento (Curaçao) Persian Polish Portuguese Quechua (Ancash) Quechua (Ayacucho) Quechua (Bolivia) Quechua (Cuzco) Quichua (Imbabura) Rarotongan Romanian Russian Samoan Sango Sepedi Serbian Serbian (Roman) Sesotho (Lesotho) Sesotho (South Africa) Setswana Seychelles Creole Shona Silozi Sinhala Slovak Slovenian Solomon Islands Pidgin Spanish Sranantongo Swahili Swahili (Congo) Swati Swedish Tagalog Tahitian Tamil Tatar Tetun Dili Thai Tigrinya Tiv Tojolabal Tok Pisin Tongan Tshiluba Tsonga Turkish Twi Tzotzil Ukrainian Umbundu Urdu Urhobo Venda Vietnamese Wallisian Waray-Waray Wayuunaiki Xhosa Yoruba Zande ZuluNgiyakuthanda ukudlala labasakhulayo abasebandleniIlandiswa nguSamuel HamiltonUMNYAKA WOKUZALWA: 1928ILIZWE AZALELWA KULO: ECOSTA RICAIMBALI: NGANGIKUTHANDA KAKHULU UKUDLALA IMIDLALO LOKUBHEJANgakhulela ePuerto Limón, idolobho elisempumalanga kweCosta Rica. Sazalwa saba ngu-8 emulini yangakithi mina ngingowesi-7. Ubaba wafa ngileminyaka engu-8 yikho umama wasikhulisa eyedwa.Ngangiwuthanda kakhulu umdlalo we-baseball kusukela ngisesemncane. Sengibanga iminyaka engu-20 ngajoyina iqembu elicathulayo. Ngesikhathi ngidlalela iqembu leli, omunye umqeqetshi wangicela ukuthi ngiyedlalela iqembu elaziwayo eNicaragua. Kodwa ngalesosikhathi umama wayengezwa kuhle futhi yimi engangimnakekela yikho ngala ukuyahlala eNicaragua. Ngemva kwesikhathi omunye umqeqetshi wangicela ukuthi ngidlalele iqembu lelizwe lethu, elalilabanye ababekhethwe kwamanye amaqembu acathulayo. Ngalesosikhathi ngavuma. Ngadlalela iqembu lelizwe kusukela ngo-1949 kwaze kwaba ngu-1952 futhi ngadlala imidlalo eminengi eCuba, eMexico laseNicaragua. Ngangiyingcitshi kakhulu ekuqageni ibhola futhi ngake ngadlala imidlalo engu-17 ngingenzanga iphutha. Ngangikholisa kakhulu nxa abasekeli bememeza ibizo lami ngesikhathi ngidlala.Okudanisayo yikuthi ngangingaziphathanga kuhle. Ngangilentombi eyodwa engangithandana layo kodwa ngilamanye amankazana eceleni. Ngangiyindlamanzi, okokuthi kwelinye ilanga ngavuka ngisembhedeni wami kodwa ngingasakhumbuli ukuthi ngifike njani endlini. Ngangidlala imidlalo yokubheja okuthiwa yi-domino lelotho.Ngesikhathi ngisakholisa ubutsha bami, umama waba nguFakazi kaJehova. Wazama ukuthi lami ngilandele kodwa kwehlula ngoba ngangiphathekile kakhulu ngokudlala i-baseball. Nxa ngisenkundleni sasitshaya seqe isikhathi sokudla ngingezwa lokuthi ngilambile. Ingqondo yami yayiyabe isithethwe ngumdlalo lo ngoba ngangiwuthanda kakhulu.Ngathi ngileminyaka engu-29 ngalimala kubi ngizama ukuqaga ibhola. Sengisizwa ngcono ngahle ngayekela ukudlalela iqembu lelizwe. Lanxa kunjalo ngaqhubeka ngiqeqetsha iqembu labasacathulayo elalidlalela duzane langekhaya.Ngo-1957 ngamenywa emhlanganweni waboFakazi bakaJehova owawusenkundleni engake ngadlalela kiyo i-baseball. Sengihlezi enkundleni ngananzelela ukuthi oFakazi babeziphatha ngendlela engafanani laleyo engangiyibona nxa kudlalwa i-baseball. Ngesikhathi kulomdlalo kwakusiba lomsindo lokuxokozela kodwa oFakazi babelenhlonipho. Engakubonayo kwangenza ngafunda iBhayibhili laboFakazi futhi ngaqalisa lokuya emhlanganweni yabo yebandla.Kwangithinta kwamancane konke engangikufunda eBhayibhilini. Ngokwesibonelo, uJesu wathi ngezinsuku zokucina abafundi bakhe babezatshumayela izindaba ezinhle zoMbuso kaNkulunkulu emhlabeni wonke. (UMathewu 24:14) Ngafunda lokuthi amaKhristu eqiniso kawatshumayeli efuna ukuthola imali ngoba uJesu wathi: “Lamukelisiwe kungelambadalo, lani phanini kungelambadalo.”—UMathewu 10:8.Ngesikhathi ngifunda iBhayibhili ngangiqathanisa lokhu elalikutsho lalokho engangibona oFakazi bakaJehova bekwenza. Ukusebenza kwabo gadalala emsebenzini wokutshumayela izindaba ezinhle zoMbuso kaNkulunkulu emhlabeni wonke kwangithinta kakhulu. Ngabona lokuthi babelandela umlayo uJesu awunika amaKhristu wokuthi kumele aphane. Amazwi kaJesu engawabala kuMakho 10:21 athi, ‘ngimlandele’ yiwo angenza ngafuna ukuba nguFakazi.Kwathatha isikhathi ukuthi ngitshiye konke engangikwenza. Ngokwesibonelo ngasengileminyaka eminengi ngibheja. Kodwa ngafunda eBhayibhilini ukuthi uNkulunkulu uyakuzonda ukuthi abantu bakhonze unkulunkulu ‘weNhlanhla’ lokuthi babe yizihwaba. (U-Isaya 65:11; KwabaseKholose 3:5) Yikho ngahle ngatshiyana lokubheja. Sengileviki ngitshiye ukubheja ilotho inamba engangitshona ngiyidlala yawina. Abantu bangenza isithutha ngoba angizange ngidlale njalo bangincenga ukuthi ngiphinde ngidlale kodwa ngala. Angizange ngiphinde ngibuyele.Ngenxa yendlela entsha engasengiphila ngayo ngabaphakathi kwesinye isilingo ngelanga engabhaphathizwa ngalo emhlanganweni omkhulu waboFakazi bakaJehova. (Kwabase-Efesu 4:24) Ngathi ngibuyela ewoteleni lapho engangihlala khona ngathola intombi engake ngathandana layo ingimelele emnyango wendlu yami. Yangincenga yathi: “Buya Sammy sizikholisele!” Ngahle ngala masinyane. Ngayikhumbuza ukuthi ngasengiphila impilo entsha ngilandela lokho okutshiwo eBhayibhilini. (1 KwabaseKhorinte 6:18) Yamangala kakhulu yaqalisa ukweyisa lokuchothoza lokho iBhayibhili elikutshoyo ngokuziphatha. Yasingincenga ukuthi siqalise futhi ukuthandana. Ngangena endlini yami ngazikhiyela. Lamuhla ngiyathaba ukutsho ukuthi kusukela ngaba nguFakazi ngo-1958 ngenelisa ukunamathela empilweni entsha engayikhethayo.Angeke ngizibale ngiziqede izibusiso engizitholileyo ngenxa yokulandela iseluleko esiseBhayibhilini. Ezinye izibusiso engilazo yikuthi sengilabangane beqiniso, ngiphila impilo elenjongo futhi ngiyathokoza.Ngilokhu ngisayithanda i-baseball kodwa angisayiqakathekisi kakhulu. Ngesikhathi ngidlala ngangisaziwa futhi ngilemali kodwa konke lokhu kwanyamalala njengamazolo! Ubuhlobo esengilabo loNkulunkulu kanye labazalwane abusoze buphele. IBhayibhili lithi: “Umhlaba lezinkanuko zawo kuyadlula, kodwa umuntu owenza intando kaNkulunkulu uphila kuze kube nininini.” (1 Johane 2:17) Khathesi angimthontisi uJehova uNkulunkulu kanye labantu bakhe.
