For more than 20 years, 82-year-old Eunice Oguara, who lives in a nursing home in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, has battled with complications from an accident that resulted in immobility and pain. “It is an unpleasant situation. I cannot walk; I cannot use my hand even to pick calls,” she lamented.

Eunice has held on tight to the hope from the Scriptures that she has appreciated since she became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses some 58 years ago. “My Bible reading and meditation shows that the hope of having healthy bodies in the new world is sure,” said Eunice. “This is fortifying and comforting.”

Next month, Eunice will join millions of Witnesses worldwide, including around 400,000 Witnesses in local congregations in Nigeria, in inviting all to hear the solid reasons for confidence in the hope promised in the Bible during a Bible-based lecture to be held during the week of April 4, 2022.

“Living with the hope found in the Bible is so reassuring – even those who have lost loved ones in death are not hopeless,” said Olusegun Eroyemi, spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Nigeria. “God’s original purpose is for the paradise condition of the garden of Eden to be extended globally. His purpose has never changed and will soon be realised.”

Faith in these promises has helped 55-year-old Chuks Ejelonu, who lives in Lagos, the Nigerian economic hub, to see obstacles as stepping stones. He has been blind from when he was five months old. “Sometimes I feel a deep sense of loneliness, even when people are around me,” Chuks said. In the last 22 years, since he became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, he has been sustained by the hope found in the Bible. “That I will see with these eyes in the new world, appreciating colors, seeing the faces of friends and loved ones, in a world without sickness and suffering, gladdens my heart,” he added.

Mary Anyosah who lives in Delta State, South-South Nigeria, has been widowed for 26 years and recently lost her daughter. “The death of my daughter turned my world upside down. She was very caring and very attentive to my needs,” she said. For 56 years Mary has built her life around the hope she found in the Bible as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. “I’m sure that she will be resurrected along with my other loved ones I have lost in death,” she said.

Eroyemi, who related the above experiences in a statement dated march 24, 2022, said: “From April 1, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Nigeria and worldwide will open their Kingdom Halls as Covid-19 restrictions allow. Thus, a 30-minute programme, “Where Can You Find Real Hope?” will be held at a Kingdom Hall near your location. The public is also invited in-person the following week to the annual observance of Jesus Christ’s death, on the evening of April 15, 2022. Last year 698,762 in Nigeria joined in the virtual event.

“Admission to both programs is free, and no registration is required. Information on attending locally is available at www.jw.org”.

“These are difficult but not hopeless times,” said Eroyemi. “Attending one of these special events will provide the needed courage to look to the future with confidence in God’s promises.”

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