Paul: We wuz so excited! Wuz Novemba 1985, an we wuz flying to Liberia in West Africa fo start working az missionaries. We had stop ova in Senegal. Anne tell, “Ony one moa hour an we goin be in Liberia!” Den we had hea ova da speaka, “Guys who goin Liberia gotta get off da plane. Some peopo wen try fo ovathrow da govament dass why we no can land in Liberia.” Fo da nex ten days, we had stay wit missionaries in Senegal. We wen hea in da news dat choke peopo wuz killed an dat da govament no wen let peopo leave dea house at nite or else da govament guys wuz goin shoot dose who no lissen.

Anne: We not da kine peopo fo go an try out new tings. Since I wuz one kid, I wuz sked all da time, so peopo wen give me da nickname, Anxious Annie. I wuz sked fo even cross da street! But we still wanted fo go Liberia even if wuz goin be dangerous.

Paul: Me an Anne wen grow up in da same area in da West paht of England. My parents an Anne’s maddah wen always encourage us fo pionea, so both of us wen start fo pionea right afta high skool. Dey wuz real happy dat we wanted fo use oua life fo work fo Jehovah full-time. Wen I wuz 19, I had get call up fo go Bethel, an Anne wen join me afta we wen get married in 1982.

Anne: We wen love fo work at Bethel, but we always wanted fo live an preach wea dey wen need moa help. Working wit braddahs an sistahs at Bethel who wuz missionaries befoa wen make us like be missionaries too. We wen pray to Jehovah ery nite fo three years about how we wen like come missionaries. In 1985, we wuz so stoked fo get one invite fo go to da 79th class of Gilead! Dey wen assign us fo go Liberia, West Africa.

Paul: We got on da firs flight dat could get us back to Liberia. Peopo ova dea wuz sked an dey still yet no could leave dea house at nite. Wen one car backfire, peopo would scream an run away. Fo stay calm, we wen read togedda pahts of Songs Fo God ery nite. Even tho tings wuz ruff in da country, we wen love oua assignment. Anne wuz  one missionary in da field, an I wen work at Bethel wit John Charuk. a Cuz he wen live Liberia long time, he had kno real good da hard times oua braddahs an sistahs wuz goin tru an dat wen help train me.

Anne: Wat wen make us love Liberia so much? Wuz oua braddahs an sistahs. Dey wen show us so much love an dey wuz faitful. We wen come real close wit dem, dey wen come oua new family. Dey wen give us good kine advice an had build us up spiritually. Preaching ova dea wuz unreal. Da guys we preach to love fo talk story an dey come all irraz if we try fo leave too early! Peopo talk about da Bible all da time, even on da streets. You can jus go up an jump in wit dem while dey talking story. Had so much Bible studies, we neva have nuff time fo study wit all dem. Dat wuz one good problem fo have!

Paul: Fo four years da country had some peace. But den in 1989 one real bad civil war wen start. On July 2, 1990 da rebel guys wen take control of da area aroun Bethel. But fo three monts we no could call anybody outside da country, not even oua families or world headqwatahs. Tings wuz all nutz an outa control, ony had litto bit food an plenny wahines wuz getting raped. Fo 14 years da whole country had fo go tru dese hard times.

Anne: Dey wuz guys in some tribes fighting an killing guys in odda tribes. All ova da streets had soldiers wit guns. Dey wuz wearing funny kine clothes an dey would break into houses an take wateva dey like. Fo some of dose guys, killing peopo wuz jus like killing chickens. Dey wen make road blocks an plenny times dey wen kill peopo dat wen like go tru. Dey had pile up dead guys on top each odda, even had some close by Bethel. Some of oua braddahs an sistahs wen get killed, two of um wuz oua close frenz who wuz missionaries.

Weneva da soldiers wen find peopo dat wuz paht of da odda tribes, dey wen kill dem. Oua braddahs wen risk dea life fo hide an proteck dea braddahs an sistahs from odda tribes. Missionaries an guys at Bethel wen do da same ting. At Bethel, some of da braddahs an sistahs dat wuz on da run wen sleep downstairs an oddas wen sleep upstairs in oua rooms wit us. We had share oua room wit one family of seven.

 Paul: Ery day da soldiers wen try fo get in fo see if we wuz hiding peopo. We had four guys az security watching out, two wen watch from one window an two wen watch from da outer gate. If da guys by da gate wen keep dea hands in front dem, dat wen show eryting wuz all good. But if dey wen put dea hands behind dea back, dat wen mean da soldiers wuz getting all nutz, an da guys at da window had fo go hide oua frenz real fas.

Anne: One day, da braddahs no could stop some angry soldiers from getting in. Me an one sistah wen lock ouaself in da bathroom so dat she could hide in one small hiding place undaneat da cabinet. Da sistah wen squeeze herself in dea. Da soldiers wen come upstairs wit dea machine guns. Dey wuz pounding on oua door. Fo stall um, Paul wen tell um, “My wife stay using da bathroom.” Moving aroun stuff in da cabinet fo cova up da hiding spot wen make plenny noise an wen take some time. So I wen come sked an my whole body started shaking. I wen kno I had fo calm down. So I had pray to Jehovah an ask him fo help me. I wen unlock da door an somehow I wuz all calm. One of dem wen push me outa da way, go strait to da cabinet, open um, an wen move stuff aroun. He wuz tripping out cuz he neva find notting. So den him an his guys wen go search da odda rooms an da attic, but dey neva find notting dea eidda.

Paul: Fo monts, had ony litto bit food fo eat. But oua spiritual food wen keep us goin. Morning worship at Bethel wuz like oua “breakfast,” but we wuz tankful dat it wen give us da powa fo hang in dea an keep goin.

We had kno dat if we had fo leave fo get food an watta, nobody wuz goin be able fo proteck da guys dat wuz hiding an dey could get killed. Plenny times Jehovah wen give us jus wat we need at da right time an in ways we neva expeck! Jehovah wen take kea us an wen help us fo stay calm.

Even tho tings wen get moa an moa worse in da country, da trut wen shine like one light an had give all us hope. Plenny times oua braddahs an sistahs had fo run fo dea life, but dey wen keep dea fait strong an keep calm in dose dark times. Some of dem wen tell dat dis wen “make dem ready fo hando da big trouble.” Eldas an young braddahs no wuz sked fo step up an do eryting dey could fo help da braddahs an sistahs. Braddahs an sistahs who had fo bag to odda areas wen help each odda an dey had start fo preach ova dea. Dey wen use wateva dey could find in da fores fo make simpo Kingdom Halls fo have meetings. In dose hard times, goin meetings an preaching wen give da braddahs an sistahs hope an wen build dem up plenny. Wen giving out food,  clotheses, an odda stuffs, plenny of oua braddahs wen ask fo book bags fo preach radda den clotheses. Plenny peopo who wuz mess up from da war wanted fo hea da good kine tings. Dey no could believe how happy an how much love da Witnesses had, dey wen shine like one light in dark times! (Mat 5:14-16, NWT.) Cuz oua braddahs an sistahs wen go all out fo each oddas, some of da real mean soldiers wen come oua braddahs.

Paul: Sometimes we had fo leave Liberia. Three times we had fo leave fo one short time an two times we had fo leave fo da year. One missionary sistah wen tell real good how we wen feel, “In Gilead dey wen teach us fo love oua braddahs an sistahs in oua assignment wit all oua heart, an dass wat we did. So fo leave oua braddahs behind wit all dese hard times, it wen break oua hearts!” But we wuz happy dat we could still help an support oua braddahs an sistahs in Liberia from odda countries.

Anne: In May 1996, four of us wen go in one Bethel car dat wuz pack wit plenny paypas wit importan info about da work in Liberia. We wanted fo drive 10 miles to one place moa safe on da odda side of town. But outa nowea had one attack wea we wuz. Angry soldiers wen shoot into da air, stop us, throw three of us out, an drive off in da car wit Paul still inside. We wuz in shock. But den, Paul wen come outa da crowd wit blood dripping from his head. At firs, we thought he got shot, but den we figga no can cuz he wuz walking! One soldier wen hit him fo get him outa da car. But good ting wuz ony one small cut.

Close by had one army truck dat wuz max out wit peopo dat wuz all sked an wuz about fo leave. We had grab onto da outside of da truck wit jus oua fingatips. Da driva wen fly down da road an we almos wen fall off. We had yell fo him stop but he wuz too sked an wen keep goin. I donno how but we wen hold on an wen we had get dea, oua bodies wuz shaking an oua muscles wuz all soa.

Paul: We had look at each odda in oua dirty bus up clothes, an we no could believe dat we wuz still alive. We wen sleep in one field nex to one sketchy bus up helicopter dat wuz covered wit bullet holes, an we wen fly in um to Sierra Leone da nex day. Wen we got to Sierra Leone, we wuz tankful fo be alive but we wen worry plenny bout oua braddahs an sistahs in Liberia.

Anne: Wen we had get to Bethel in Freetown, Sierra Leone, we wuz safe an dey wen take kea of us. But I wen start fo have flashbacks of Liberia. Eryday I wuz sked all da time, tinking someting bad wuz goin happen, I no could tink strait, an eryting aroun me neva seem real. Plenny times at nite, I would wake up shaking an I had feel like someting bad wuz goin happen. An wuz hard fo breathe. Paul would hold me an pray wit me. We would sing Kingdom songs til I wen stop shaking. I wen feel like I wuz goin pupule an no could be one missionary anymoa.

I neva goin foget wat happen nex. Dat same week I wen get two magazines. One wuz da June 8, 1996 Awake! dat had da article “Coping With Panic Attacks.” Now I wen kno why I wuz feeling dat way. Da secon one wuz da May 15, 1996 The Watchtower dat had da article “Where Do They Get Their Strength?” It wen show one picha of one butterfly wit one broken wing. Da article talk about how one butterfly can keep flying even wen its wing stay broke. But den it tell, like dat butterfly, even if we feel all soa inside cuz of da bad tings dat wen happen in oua life, Jehovah can give us his spirit fo keep helping oddas. Dese articles wen give me da powa from Jehovah I wen need at da right time. (Mat 24:45, NWT) Fo moa help, I wen look fo odda articles about dis fo colleck um an keep um in one folda. Ova time, my anxiety neva bodda me az much az befoa.

Paul: We wuz always happy wen we had chance fo go back home to Liberia. By da end of 2004, we had been in oua assignment fo almos 20 years.  Da war wuz pau an now dea wuz plans fo do construction at da branch. But den dey wen ask us fo take on one new assignment.

Dis wuz supa hard fo us. We wuz so close to oua spiritual family, how we wuz goin hando dis change? We awready wen see befoa how Jehovah wen help us fo leave oua families wen we had go Gilead, so we wen accept da new assignment. We wuz goin Ghana, one country close by.

Anne: We wen cry a lot wen we had leave Liberia. We wuz surprised wen Frank, one solid olda braddah had tell us, “You gotta forget about us!” Den he tell, “We kno you not goin foget about us, but you gotta love yoa braddahs and sistahs in Ghana wit all yoa heart. Dis assignment iz from Jehovah, so take good kea of dem ova dea. Wat dis braddah wen tell wen help us fo be ready fo make new frenz in one country wea we neva kno anybody.

Paul: Neva take long fo us love oua braddahs an sistahs in Ghana. Get choke Witnesses ova dea! We had learn plenny from oua new frenz who wuz loyal an had strong fait. But afta 13 years in Ghana, we had get one odda surprise. Dey wen ask us fo serve at da East Africa branch in Kenya. Of course we wuz goin miss oua frenz in Ghana an Liberia, but we wen make new frenz fas wit da braddahs an sistahs in Kenya. An jus like in Ghana an Liberia, we get plenny work fo do in Kenya.

Anne: In my life, I had go tru supa hard times wea I wuz real sked. Living in dangerous places, or goin tru diffren kine problems can affeck oua healt an da way we feel inside. We no can expeck Jehovah fo proteck us from all dese tings. Even now wen I hea gun shots, I feel sick to my stomach an my hands go numb. But I wen learn fo make good use of all da ways Jehovah give us powa, like da help we get from oua braddahs an sistahs. If we stick to one regula spiritual skedule, Jehovah can help us stay in oua assignment.

Paul: Sometimes peopo ask us, “You love yoa assignment o wat?” Countries can be beautiful, but dey can also come sketchy an have plenny danger. So wat we love moa den da country? Da braddahs an sistahs, oua ohana. Even if we come from all ova, we tink an feel da same way about Jehovah. We had tink we wuz goin dea fo build dem up, but da trut iz, dey da ones who wen make us moa strong.

Da worldwide braddahood iz one miracle from Jehovah! We get family erywea! Az long az we paht of one local hui, we get one family an one place we can feel safe. We kno fo shua dat if we trus Jehovah now an foeva, he goin give us da powa fo wateva we need.​—Php 4:13, NWT.