I was born on Decemba 22, 1929, close by Bastogne, in da Belgian Ardennes, in Noville, one small village dat had nine farms in um. I get good memories growing up on da farm wit my parents. Me an my younga braddah Raymond wen milk oua cows by hand eryday an help wit da harvest. Erybody in oua small village wen work togedda fo help each odda out, an dat wen make us close.

My parents, Emile an Alice, was strong Catholics. Dey wen go Mass ery Sunday. But aroun 1939, pioneas from England wen come to oua village. Dey wen ask my faddah if he wanted da Consolation magazine (da one called Wake Up! now) all da time. Fas my faddah wen see dat wat da magazines was saying was da trut, an he wen start fo read da Bible. Wen he wen stop going Mass, da neighbas dat used to be nice, wen go turn agains us. Dey wen argue all da time wit my faddah an presha him fo stay one Catholic.

It wen hurt me fo see my faddah have fo go thru dis. Dat wen make me pray to God fo help, an dass da prayer dat I was talking about earlia. Wen da neighbas wen stop giving my faddah hard time, I was so happy an I wen know dat Jehovah was “da one dat lissen wen us guys pray.”

On May 10, 1940, Nazi Germany wen invade Belgium an plenny peopo wen dig outa da country cuz a dat. Oua family wen go to da south part of France. On oua way dea, sometimes was dangerous cuz we wen  go places wea da German an French armies was fighting each odda.

Wen we had go back to oua farm, we wen see dat mos of oua stuff had get rip off. Ony oua dog, Bobbie, was ova dea. Dis kine stuff wen make me tink, “How come get war an suffaring?”

Wat wen help us out plenny is aroun dat time, braddah Emile Schrantz, a one solid pionea elda, wen come visit us. He wen explain from da Bible how come peopo suffa an wen ansa my odda big questions. I wen come moa close to Jehovah an I wen know fo shua dat Jehovah is one loving God.

Even befoa da war was pau, oua family wen spen moa time wit odda Witnesses. In August 1943, Braddah José-Nicolas Minet wen visit oua farm fo give one talk. He wen ask, “Who like get baptized?” My faddah wen raise his hand, an me too. We wen get baptized in one small riva by oua farm.

In Decemba 1944 da German army wen start dea las mayjah attack of World War II in Western Europe. Dat was called da Battle of da Bulge. We wen live close by wea da battle was happening, so fo about one month we had fo stay in da basement of oua house. One day wen I wen go outside fo feed da animals, dey was firing stuff an someting wen hit da barn an wen blow up da roof. One American soldier in da stable by me wen yell, “Get down!” I wen run an lay down by him an he wen put his helmet on top my head fo proteck me.

Afta da war, we was able fo stay in contack wit da braddahs an sistahs about 56 miles north of us in Liège. Afta a while we wen start one small study group in Bastogne. I started fo work in da tax business an had chance fo study law. Layta on I wen work in one govament office. In 1951 we wen put togedda one smalla big kine meeting in Bastogne. Ony about 100 peopo was dea, an one of um was  one pionea sistah, Elly Reuter. She wen ride her bike 31 miles fo go. We wen fall in love an get engaged. Elly had get invited fo go to Gilead School in da United States. She wen write to world headqwatahs fo tell how come she couldn’t go. Braddah Knorr, who was taking da lead fo Jehovah’s peopo, wen tell her dat maybe one day she could go Gilead wit her husband. In February 1953 we wen get married.

Dat same year, me an Elly wen go Yankee Stadium in New York fo go to da New World Society Big Kine Meeting. Dass wea I met one braddah who wen offer me one good job an fo move to da United States. Afta praying to Jehovah about um, me an Elly wen choose fo turn um down an go back to Bastogne in Belgium fo help out one small group dea dat ony had ten guys inside um. Da nex year, we was blessed wit oua litto boy, Serge. Sad fo say, seven months layta, Serge wen get sick an mahke. We wen pray to Jehovah an tell him how sad we was, an we wen come strong cuz of oua solid hope dat he going come back alive again.

In Octoba 1961, I was able fo find one part time job dat wen let me pionea. Dat same day, I wen get one phone call from da branch servant in Belgium. He wen ask me if I can start fo serve az one circuit servant (dass one circuit ovaseah now). I wen ask, “We no can be pioneas firs befoa doing dis?” Da braddahs sed can. Afta pioneering fo eight months, we wen go into da circuit work in Septemba 1962.

Afta we was in da circuit work fo two years, we was invited fo go work at Bethel in Brussels. We wen start dea in Octoba 1964. In dis new kuleana, we wen get choke blessings. Right afta Braddah Knorr wen visit oua Bethel in 1965, I was shock wen dey wen choose me fo be da branch servant. Layta on, me an Elly wen get invited fo go da 41st class of Gilead School. Wat Braddah Knorr wen say 13 years earlia wen come true! Afta we wen graduate, we wen go back to Belgium Bethel.

Ova da years, was unreal fo see dat I could use wat I wen know about da law fo help fight fo da legal rights of oua braddahs in Europe an odda places. (Php 1:7) Cuz a dis I wen get fo meet officials from ova 55 countries wea oua work get limits on top um, o stay kapu. Instead a telling dem about all da stuff I know wen come to da law, I tell dem I one guy dat serve God. I always ask Jehovah fo show me wat fo do cuz I know dat, “Wen one king guy gotta make up his mind wat fo do, Da One In Charge, he da One stay in charge a wat da  king pick . . . He make da watta go wea eva he like make um go.”​—Smart Guys 21:1.

Someting I still rememba was one conversation I had wit somebody who was part of da European Parliament. I wen try plenny times fo talk to him, an he finally sed can. He wen tell, “I give you five minutes, an dass it!” I wen put my head down an started fo pray. Da guy was kinda nervous an wen ask me wat I was doing. I wen raise my head up an sed, “I tank God cuz you one a his workas.” He wen ask, “Wat you mean?” I wen show him Fo Da Rome Peopo 13:4. Cuz he was one Protestant, da Bible wen catch his attention. Wat wen happen? He wen talk to me fo half an hour, an we had one real good meeting. He even wen tell me he respeck da work Witnesses Fo Jehovah do.

Ova da years Jehovah’s peopo wen fight plenny legal battles in Europe wen come to not choosing sides, child custody, taxes, an odda stuff. Was awesome fo be part of plenny of dem an fo see how Jehovah wen make eryting work out fo his peopo. Witnesses Fo Jehovah had win ova 140 cases in da European Court of Human Rights!

In da 1990’s, I wen work wit Braddah Philip Brumley, from world headqwatahs, an Braddah Valter Farneti, from Italy, fo try get moa freedom fo worship fo oua braddahs in Cuba, wea had limits on top oua work. I wen write to da Cuban embassy in Belgium an wen meet wit somebody who was pick fo help us. In oua firs meetings we wasn’t able fo clear up da stuff dey neva undastan dat wen cause dem fo put limits on top oua work.

Afta we wen pray to Jehovah fo direck us, we wen ask if we could ship 5,000 Bibles to Cuba, an dey wen let us. Da Bibles wen get dea safe an dey wen give um to da braddahs, so we wen figga dat Jehovah wen bless wat we was doing. Den we wen ask if we could send 27,500 moa Bibles. Da govament sed can. Wen make me so happy fo help oua braddahs an sistahs in Cuba fo have dea own copy of da Bible.

I wen visit Cuba plenny times fo help out wit da legal stuff fo oua work. Thru all dat, I was able fo build good relationships wit da govament guys in charge.

In 1994 moa den 1,000,000 peopo wen get killed wen dey wen try wipe out da Tutsi in Rwanda. Sad fo say, some of oua braddahs an sistahs wen get killed too. Soon one group of braddahs was asked fo take kea all da stuff da braddahs an sistahs dea wen need.

Wen we had get to da capital in Kigali, da translation office ova dea an all oua literature had choke bullet holes inside um. We wen hear plenny stories about oua braddahs an sistahs who wen get killed wit machetes. We wen also hear how oua braddahs an sistahs wen show love fo each odda. Like how one Hutu family wen hide one Tutsi braddah in one hole unda da groun fo 28 days an wen proteck him. In one a da meetings in Kigali, we wen work hard fo encourage an comfort ova 900 braddahs an sistahs.

Nex we wen cross ova to Zaire (dass da Democratic Republic of da Congo now) fo look fo one big group of Rwanda Witnesses who wen dig out to da refugee camps by da city of Goma. We couldn’t find dem so we wen pray to Jehovah an ask him fo help us find dem. We wen see somebody coming toward us an wen ask him if he wen know any Witnesses Fo Jehovah. “Yeah! I one Witness!” he wen say. “I go take you guys to da relief committee.” Afta we had one good meeting wit da relief committee, we wen go meet 1,600 refugees fo give dem encouragement an comfort. We also we read to dem one letta from Jesus Luna Guys. Da braddahs an sistahs was so happy fo hear wat dey wen say, “You always in oua prayers. We know Jehovah not going foget you.” Dese words from Jesus Luna Guys was true. Today, get ova 30,000 Witnesses Fo Jehovah doing good in Rwanda!

Afta being married fo almos 58 years, I wen lose my honey Elly in 2011. I wen tell Jehovah how sad I was an he wen take kea me. Sharing da trut wit my neighbas wen help me too.

Even tho I ova 90 years old, I still preach ery week. I happy fo help da Legal Departmen at da Belgium branch, fo share da stuff I wen go thru wit oddas, an fo shepherd da young peopo in da Bethel ohana.

I wen say my firs prayer to Jehovah 84 years ago. Dat was da start of one awesome life getting close to him. I so happy dat thru my whole life Jehovah wen lissen to my prayers.​—Songs 66:19. b