Even Though I Wor Get Shame Face I Become Missionary

I wor born in Vienna, Austria in 1951 and my family wor Catholic. I use to be shame to talk with people, but I always use to pray to God. When I wor nine years old, my pa start studying with Jehovah Witnesses; and my ma join him later on.

It not stay long, we start attending meeting in the Döbling Congregation in Vienna. Our family use to do plenty things together. We use to read and study the Bible together, go to meetings, and volunteer to assemblies. From the time I wor small, my pa help me to get deep love for Jehovah. In fact, he use to pray for me and my sister to be pioneers. But during that time, pioneering wor not my goal.

STARTING FULL-TIME SERVICE

I get baptize in 1965 when I wor 14 years old. But it use to be hard for me to preach to people I not know. I also use to think that other young people wor better pass me and I really wanted them to like me. So when I get baptize, it not stay long I start making friend with people who not serving Jehovah. Even though I use to like their friendship, but my conscience use to bother me because I wor spending plenty time with people who wor not Jehovah Witness. But it wor really hard for me to stop going around them. Wetin help me?

Around that time, one 16-year-old girl name Dorothée become publisher in our congregation. The zeal she wor having for preaching from house-to-house really touch my heart. I wor older than her small, but I not use to go field service all the time. I start thinking: ‘My parents that Jehovah Witness, but Dorothée that the only Jehovah Witness in her family. She taking care of her ma who sick but still she always in field service!’ Her good example encourage me to do more for Jehovah. It not stay long, me and Dorothée start pioneering together. First, we start auxiliary pioneering, then later on, we start regular pioneering. Because Dorothée use to like preaching, myself too I start liking it. She help me to start my first Bible study. After some time, it wor easy for me to talk to people from house to house, on the street, and anywhere.

The first year I start regular pioneering, one brother name Heinz came to our congregation. He learn the truth when he went to visit his brother in Canada, who wor Jehovah Witness. They assign Heinz to our congregation in Vienna as special pioneer. I use to like him. But he wanted to be missionary, and I not wanted to be missionary. That the reason why I not show him from the beginning that I like him. But later on, me and Heinz start dating. We get marry and we start pioneering together in Austria.

I START SETTING THE GOAL TO BE MISSIONARY

Heinz always use to tell me that he want be missionary. He never use to make me feel that I must be missionary. But he help me to think about it by asking me question like, “Since we not get children, you think we can do more for Jehovah?” Because I wor get shame face, I wor scare to be missionary. That true I wor pioneering, but to be missionary wor looking too hard for me. But Heinz wor patient with me and he continue helping me to think about becoming missionary. He also encourage me to focus more on helping people than to be worrying about myself. His advice really help me.

Small-small, I start getting the desire to be missionary, so we apply for Gilead School. But one brother to the branch say I must learn English good-good, so I follow his advice. They give us assignment to go to one Yugoslavian congregation in Salzburg, Austria. We preach in that area for seven years and my husband wor circuit overseer for one year. Even though the Serbo-Croatian language wor hard, we wor having plenty Bible studies.

Then in 1979 the brother dem ask us to act like we going for vacation in Bulgaria. We wor not able to preach there because the government put stop to our preaching work. But when we wor going, we hide some of our literature dem to carry for the five sister dem who living in Sofia, the capital city. I wor really scary, but Jehovah help me with this assignment. This five sister dem wor really brave and happy even though the police could arrest them anytime. This one make me brave to do my best to do anything that Jehovah organization ask me to do.

After some time, we apply for Gilead again, and this time they accept us. We wor thinking that they wor coming send us to America to attend the school in English. But in November 1981, the organization also start having the school in the branch office in Wiesbaden, in Germany. And because the class wor in German, it wor easy for me to understand it. But where place they wor coming assign us?

PREACHING IN COUNTRY WHERE THEY FIGHT WAR BEFORE

They assign us to Kenya! But the branch office in Kenya ask us if we want serve in Uganda. Ten years before this one, Idi Amin overthrow the government in Uganda and take over the country. When he wor ruling, he kill plenty people and the country wor hard. Then in 1979 another group overthrow his owner government. Now you can see why I wor scare to go to this country where they fight war before. But Gilead already help us to trust in Jehovah. So we agree to go.

Life in Uganda wor too hard. Plenty thing dem like water supply and city current stop working. People wor not even able to use their phones because the network wor down in the country. People just use to shoot other people and steal things, especially in the night. So when it dark, everybody will stay home and even be praying that nobody will come steal from them or kill them. Even though life wor hard, the brother and sister dem wor having strong faith and they wor happy serving Jehovah!

In 1982, me and Heinz move to Kampala, Uganda capital city. We spent the first five months with Sam and Christina Waiswa. They wor having five children and four relatives staying with them. Brother and Sister Waiswa and their family only use to eat one time everyday, but they wor still willing to share the small they wor having with us. When we wor with them, me and Heinz learn plenty good-good things from them that help us in our missionary work. For example, we learn how to not waste the water when we taking bath so we can keep that same water to flush commode. In 1983, me and Heinz move on our own to one house in Kampala where it wor safe to live.

We really use to enjoy the field service. I remember that in one month we place more than 4,000 magazines! But the best thing, that the way the people wor willing to listen. They wor having respect for God and they wanted to talk about the Bible. Me and Heinz use to be having 10 to 15 Bible studies. And we learn plenty things from our Bible student dem. For example, even though they use to walk far distance every week to attend the meetings, they never use to complain and they wor always happy.

In 1985 and 1986, they fight two more wars in Uganda. Most of the time, we use to see children carrying big-big guns and controlling checkpoints. During that time, we always use to ask Jehovah to help us to be wise and to not be scary when we preaching. And Jehovah answer our prayers. And most of the time, when we see somebody who show interest, we not use to be scare again.

We also use to enjoy preaching to foreigners. For example, we study with one marry couple from Tatarstan (Central Russia) name Murat and Dilbar. Murat wor doctor. Two of them get baptize and they still faithful to Jehovah. Later on, I meet one woman from Ukraine name Tatjana Vileyska who wor thinking about killing herself. After Tatjana get baptize, she move back to Ukraine and later on start helping to translate our publication dem.a

NEW ASSIGNMENTS

In 1991 when me and Heinz wor on vacation in Austria, the Branch office tell us that we get new assignment to go to Bulgaria. For plenty years the government stop our preaching work in some countries in Europe. But things change and they allow Jehovah Witnesses to start preaching in this country dem. And Bulgaria wor one of them. I talk before about how me and Heinz use to hide literature to carry in Bulgaria the time the government stop our work. But now, they sending us there to preach.

They tell us to not go back to Uganda. So we not go back to pack our things or to tell our friend dem bye-bye. We went straight to the Branch in Germany, get in one car, and travel to Bulgaria. They assign us with one group in Sofia that wor having 20 publishers.

We face some new problem dem in Bulgaria. The first one that, we wor not able to speak the language. Beside that one, that only two publications they wor having in this language. That The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life and My Book of Bible Stories. So it wor hard for us to start Bible studies. Even though this problem dem wor there, our small group wor having zeal and they wor making progress. The Orthodox Church wor not happy to see us preaching so they start persecuting us.

In 1994 the government say that they will not accept Jehovah Witnesses to be religion in Bulgaria again. They even arrest some of our brother dem. They use to talk plenty lie-lie thing dem about us in the news. They say Jehovah Witnesses can allow their children to die because they can’t take blood and they can also convince other Jehovah Witnesses to kill theirself. So this one make it hard for me and Heinz to preach. When we use to be in field service, people use to yell at us, call the police on us, and even chunk us with things. It wor not possible for the brother dem to send publication in the country. It wor hard to find place to rent for our meeting. One time when we wor having our convention, the police people even come there and stop it. Me and Heinz wor not use to this kindna hatred because the people in Uganda wor friendly and that what we wor use to! Wetin help us to continue to be happy in this assignment?

Spending time with our brother and sister dem really help us. They wor happy that they na find the truth and they wor grateful for the way we wor helping them. We wor together and we use to help each other. Me and Heinz learn from the thing dem that happen to us. We learn that we can be happy in any assignment if we continue to love people.

But after some time, things start getting better. In 1998 the government accept our organization to be religion in the country again. And it not stay long we start getting plenty publications in Bulgarian. Then in 2004 they dedicate the new branch office building. Now-now we get 57 congregations in Bulgaria, and 2,953 publishers. And in 2024, 6,475 persons attend the Memorial. First, we wor only having five sisters in Sofia, but now-now we get nine congregations! We na see for true-true how “the little one . . . become a thousand.”—Isa. 60:22.

PROBLEM DEM I PASS THROUGH

I na suffer from different-different sickness. The doctor dem na find cancer in my body plenty time. One time, they even find some in my head. They give me strong cancer treatment and I went to India and they do operation on me for 12 hours to take out most of it. After the operation, we stay for some time to the branch in India. When I get better, we went back to our assignment in Bulgaria.

When I wor going through my sickness, Heinz too start suffering from some kindna sickness. This sickness make it hard for him to walk, talk, or even move his body. When this sickness wor getting serious, that the more time he start depending on me for help. Sometime I use to be tire and I use to worry that I will not be able to continue taking care of him. But one young brother name Bobi use to carry him field service all the time. Bobi not use to be embarrass because of Heinz sickness. When I wor not able to help Heinz, Bobi wor always there to help him. Even though Heinz and myself decide to not born children because we want do more for Jehovah, we feel that Jehovah give us Bobi as our son!—Mark 10:​29, 30.

Heinz too suffer from cancer. My dear husband die in 2015. I miss my husband bad way. I not even believe it that he na die. But when I think about him, it can be just like he still living! (Luke 20:38) Most of the time during the day, I can think about the way he wor kind to me and the good advice he use to give me. I really grateful for all the years we serve Jehovah together.

I HAPPY FOR THE WAY JEHOVAH HELP ME

Jehovah really help me to bear all my problem dem. He help me to not be having shame face and to be missionary who love people. (2 Tim. 1:7) I want tell Jehovah thank you that me and my small sister in full-time service. Now-now, she and her husband doing circuit work in Europe. Jehovah answer my pa prayer!

Studying the Bible na really make my heart to lay down. When I going through problem, I na learn to pray to Jehovah “with my whole heart,” the same way Jesus use to do. (Luke 22:44) One way Jehovah can answer my prayers that through the brother and sister dem in my congregation in Sofia. They kind to me and they can show me love. They can invite me to spend time with them and they can always tell me that they love me. All this one dem can really make me happy.

Most of the time, I can think on the resurrection. I can imagine my parents standing in front of our house, looking beautiful just like the time they get marry. I can see my sister cooking to welcome them back. Then I can see Heinz standing right near his horse. When I think on this thing dem, it can help me to be happy and bear my problem.

When I think about all the good-good thing dem Jehovah na do for me and he still doing for me, I can feel just like David who say: “Where would I be if I did not have faith that I would see Jehovah’s goodness in the land of the living? Hope in Jehovah; be courageous and strong of heart. Yes, hope in Jehovah.” Psalm 27:​13, 14