A few years after our family moved to the town of Roodepoort, South Africa, my father died. In 1947, at the age of 16, I was working full-time at the government’s telephone service to help support our family. One day when I was at home, an elderly man came to our door and offered us a subscription to The Watchtower. We subscribed, just to be nice to him.

 Soon, however, we became interested in gaining accurate Bible knowledge. My mother, who belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church when she was younger, could see the difference between what the Bible teaches and what the church taught. We accepted a Bible study and soon began attending congregation meetings. In 1949, I was the first member of our family to be baptized. I continued working secularly for a few years, but I wanted to do more in serving Jehovah.

 In 1954, I started regular pioneering, and I asked the South Africa branch office where I could be of greater use. The branch office recommended the city of Pretoria and arranged for another pioneer sister to join me there. Our shared accommodations were fairly comfortable, and I can still remember the delicious koeksisters—plaited deep-fried doughnuts dipped in syrup—that were sold nearby.

 After my pioneer partner got married, the branch servant, Brother George Phillips, asked if I would like to serve as a special pioneer. I gladly accepted the invitation.

 I started my first special pioneer assignment in 1955, in the town of Harrismith. My new pioneer partner and I struggled to maintain suitable accommodations. For example, the local church found out about us and coerced our landlady into asking us to leave.

 Later, I was assigned to Parkhurst, in Johannesburg. There I was joined by two missionary sisters. Later, one got married, and the other one was assigned elsewhere. A dear sister named Eileen Porter took me in, even though she and her family didn’t really have room for me. I slept in a little alcove that was separated from the rest of their house by a curtain. Eileen was kind and encouraging, and I felt very comfortable with her. I was impressed by her zeal for the truth, despite her household responsibilities.

 Soon I was assigned to Aliwal North, a town in the Eastern Cape province, to work along with a sister named Merlene (Merle) Laurens. The two of us—in our 20’s at the time—were encouraged by the example of an older sister named Dorothy, whom we fondly called Auntie Dot. In her younger years, she had experienced a bad attack by dogs while she was out preaching, but that did not dampen her zeal.

 In 1956, Merle left to attend the 28th class of Gilead. How I wished that I could join her! However, Auntie Dot took good care of me, and we became close friends despite our age difference.

 Imagine how happy I was when I, like Merle, was invited to Gilead School! Before my departure, I spent about eight months in a town called Nigel, working along with Kathy Cooke, a Gilead graduate. Kathy built my anticipation for what lay ahead, and in January 1958, I left for New York.

 At Gilead, I shared a room with Tia Aluni, a Samoan sister, and Ivy Kawhe, a Maori sister. When I was in South Africa, the apartheid government kept whites separate from other races, so it was a novelty for me to have these sisters as roommates. I quickly grew fond of them, and I was excited to be part of such a cosmopolitan class.

 One of our Gilead instructors was Brother Maxwell Friend. He gave training that was quite intense at times. There were three lights in his classroom, and they were marked “Pitch,” “Pace,” and “Power.” While a student was presenting a talk or a demonstration, Brother Friend would switch on one of the lights if he felt that the presentation was lacking in some way. Being reserved, I was often on the receiving end of the dreaded lights, which sometimes moved me to tears! Still, I was fond of Brother Friend. Sometimes when I was busy with my cleaning assignment between class sessions, he would kindly bring me a cup of coffee.

 As the months passed, I wondered where I would be assigned. My former pioneer partner Merle had already graduated from Gilead and had been assigned to Peru. She suggested that I ask Brother Nathan Knorr, who was taking the lead in the work at the time, about whether I could be a replacement for her missionary partner, who was soon to be married. Brother Knorr visited the Gilead facility every few weeks, so it was easy to get to speak with him. When I graduated, I was assigned to Peru!

 I was so happy to be reunited with Merle in Lima, Peru! I had productive Bible studies right from the start, even though I was still learning Spanish. Later, Merle and I were assigned to Ayacucho, high up in the mountains. I must admit that it was a tough assignment. I had learned some Spanish, but many people there spoke only Quechua, and it took time for us to get used to the high altitude and its thin air.

 I felt as though I hadn’t accomplished much in Ayacucho, and I wondered whether the truth would ever grow in that region. Today, however, the city of Ayacucho is home to more than 700 publishers as well as a remote translation office for the Quechua (Ayacucho) language.

 In time, Merle married a circuit overseer named Ramón Castillo, and in 1964, Ramón attended a 10-month course at Gilead. In his class was one of my former Gilead classmates, a young man named Fu-lone Liang, who was then serving in Hong Kong but had been invited back to Gilead for additional training in connection with branch responsibilities. a Fu-lone asked Ramón how I was doing in Peru, and afterward Fu-lone and I started writing to each other.

 Early on, Fu-lone made it clear that our corresponding with each other meant that we were dating. In Hong Kong, Harold King, a fellow missionary, made regular trips to the post office, so he agreed to mail Fu-lone’s letters for him. Harold would draw little pictures and write brief notes on the envelopes containing Fu-lone’s letters to me, with remarks such as, “I will try to get him to write more often!”

 After writing to each other for about 18 months, Fu-lone and I decided to get married. I left Peru after having served there for about seven years.

 On November 17, 1965, Fu-lone and I got married. I enjoyed my new life in Hong Kong, living at the branch office with my husband and two other couples. While Fu-lone did translation work at the branch during the day, I was out preaching. Learning Cantonese was hard, but the other missionary sisters and my dear husband patiently helped me. Conducting Bible studies with young children while learning the language also helped to reduce some of the pressure.

 After some years, Fu-lone and I moved to a missionary home in another part of Hong Kong called Kwun Tong, so that Fu-lone could teach Cantonese to newly arrived missionaries. b I enjoyed the ministry so much in that area that on many days I didn’t want to come home!

 In 1968, I was thrilled to receive the new study publication The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. It was simpler than a previous study publication “Let God Be True,” especially for students who were unfamiliar with the Bible and Christianity.

 However, I made the mistake of assuming that students were accepting the truth simply because they were able to answer the printed questions in the publication. In one case, without my realizing it, one of my Bible students completed the entire Truth book and still didn’t believe in God! I learned to try to interact more with students to find out how they felt about what they were learning.

 After a few years in Kwun Tong, we moved back to the branch, and Fu-lone started serving as a member of the Hong Kong Branch Committee. Over the years, I worked in housekeeping and at the reception desk. Fu-lone occasionally had to travel for confidential theocratic assignments where I couldn’t accompany him, but it was a privilege for me to support him as he cared for his responsibilities.

 Sadly, in 2008 my whole life changed overnight. While my dear Fu-lone was away on a trip, he died unexpectedly, not long before the Memorial of Jesus’ death. I was devastated. Brothers and sisters rallied to support me, and during the Memorial talk, I kept myself together by helping an interested person look up the scriptures that were being read. I drew strength from one of Fu-lone’s favorite scriptures, which says: “I, Jehovah your God, am grasping your right hand . . . ‘I will help you.’”—Isaiah 41:13.

 Seven years after Fu-lone’s death, the brothers in Hong Kong recommended that I move to a larger branch, where my health could receive closer attention. Therefore, in 2015, I moved to the South Africa branch, which is only a short distance from where I first got the truth back in 1947.

 I have had many happy years in Jehovah’s service, and I feel that Jehovah has blessed my willingness. I still hear from former Bible students who are serving Jehovah faithfully, and I have seen how Jehovah can bless seemingly small contributions to the preaching work. For example, the publishers in Peru grew from about 760 in 1958 to about 133,000 in 2021, and the publishers in Hong Kong from some 230 in 1965 to 5,565 in 2021.

 Because of my age, I cannot do what I used to do. But my willingness is still there, and I look forward to displaying that same spirit in Jehovah’s new world, when many helping hands will be needed and when I will be eager to say: “I am willing to go.”