I wuz born in 1934. My parents wen move from Switzerland to Timmins, one mining town in Ontario, Canada. About 1939, my maddah wen start fo read Da Place Fo Watch From magazine an wen go to da meetings of Witnesses Fo Jehovah. She wen take seven of us kids to da meeting. Wuz fas she we come one Witness Fo Jehovah.

My faddah wuz salty dat my maddah wen come one Witness, but she wen love da trut an wuz goin stick to Jehovah no matta wat. She wen do dat even in da early 1940’s wen oua work in Canada wuz kapu. She wen always treat my faddah good even tho he wen talk real mean to her. Her good exampo wen help me an my braddahs an sistahs fo serve Jehovah too. We wuz so happy wen my faddah wen change an he started fo be moa nice to us.

Summatime in 1950 I wen go da Theocracy’s Increase Big Kine Meeting in New York City. Afta meeting all da braddahs an sistahs from all ova da world an lissening to da intaviews of da Gilead grads, I wanted fo do moa fo Jehovah. Moa den eva, I wanted fo serve Jehovah full time. Az soon az I wen go home I wen apply fo come one regula pionea. Da Canada branch wen write me back an wen say dat firs I had fo get baptize. So I did on Octoba 1, 1950. One mont afta dat I wen come one regula pionea an get my firs assignment in Kapuskasing. Dat place wuz supa far from wea my family wen live.

Spring time 1951, da branch wen ask Witnesses who could talk French fo move to  one place in Quebec wea dey wen need French speaking publishas. Cuz I wen grow up talking English an French, I wen go an dey wen assign me to Rouyn. I neva kno anybody ova dea. All I had wuz da address dey wen give me, da one I wuz talking about earlia. But tings wuz all cherreh. Me an Marcel wen come close frenz an I had good fun serving in Quebec fo da nex four years. Ova dea I wen come one spesho pionea.

Wen I wuz in Quebec, I wuz excited fo get da invite fo go to da 26th class of Gilead in South Lansing, New York. I wen grad on February 12, 1956, an wen get assign fo go Ghana, b West Africa. But befoa I could go, I had fo go back Canada fo get da paypas I wen need fo go Ghana. I thought I wuz ony goin be dea fo two or three weeks.

I had fo wait seven monts in Toronto fo get dose paypas. During dat time, da Cripps ohana wen let me stay dea house. I wen get fo kno dea daughtah, Sheila, an we wen fall in love. Right befoa I wuz goin ask her fo marry me, my visa wen come in. Me an Sheila wen pray about um an we wen decide dat I should go my assignment. We wen keep writing lettas to each odda fo see if bumbye we could get married. Dat wuzn’t easy but layta on we wen kno dat wuz da bes choice.

Afta I wen travel fo one mont on one train, one cargo ship, an one plane, I wen finally get to Accra, Ghana. Ova dea I wuz assign az da districk ovaseah. So I had fo go all ova Ghana, da Ivory Coast (dey call um Côte d’Ivoire now), an Togoland (dey call um Togo). Mos of da time, I wen travel by myself in da jeep da branch wen let me use. I wen love visiting da braddahs ova dea!

On da weekends I had assignments at da big kine meetings fo da circuit. We neva  have Assembly Halls ova dea. So da braddahs wen build shade from bamboo poles an palm branches fo proteck dem from da sun. An cuz neva have icebox fo da cafeteria, dey wen keep live animals dea so dat dey could butcher um fo feed erybody.

Had some pretty funny stuff dat wen happen at dose big kine meetings. One time, dis missionary, Herb Jennings, c wuz giving one talk wen one cow wen run away from da cafeteria. It wen run in between da stage an da audience. Braddah Herb wen stop talking an da cow wen look all confused. Four strong braddahs wen rush um an take um back to da cafeteria, an erybody wen cheer.

On da weekdays I wen show da movie The New World Society in Action in da villages close by. Fo show da movie I wen put up one big white sheet in between two poles or two trees. Erybody wen love um. For plenny of dem, wuz da firs movie dey eva wen see. Dey wen clap so loud wen dey wen see da peopo getting baptize. It wen help erybody fo see dat dey wuz paht of one hui all ova da world.

Afta about two years in Africa, I wuz excited fo go da 1958 intanational big kine meeting in New York City. I wuz so happy fo see Sheila ova dea, who wen come all da way from Quebec, wea she wuz one spesho pionea. We wuz writing lettas to each odda da whole time, but finally we wuz togedda again an I wen ask her fo marry me. She wen say yes. I wen ask Braddah Knorr d if Sheila could go Gilead an come be wit me in Africa. He wen say ok. Finally Sheila wen come to Ghana. On Octoba , 1959 we wen get married in Accra. We had feel dat Jehovah really wen bless us fo putting him firs in oua lifes.

We wen get assigned to Cameroon in 1961. Da braddahs wen ask me fo help start up one new branch office ova dea, so I  wuz supa busy. Az one new branch servant, I had plenny fo learn. Den in 1965 we wen find out dat Sheila wuz hapai. Wuz hard fo tink of ouaselfs az parents. But right wen we started fo get excited about coming parents an goin back Canada, someting wen happen dat wen break oua heart.

Sheila wen get one miscarriage. Da docta wen tell us wuz one boy. Wuz ova 50 years ago, but we neva goin foget um. Even tho wen break oua heart cuz of wat wen happen, we wen stay in oua assignment dat we wen love so much.

Da braddahs in Cameroon wen suffa plenny cuz dey neva choose sides in political stuff. Tings wuz moa worse during election time. On May 13, 1970, da ting we wuz hoping wuzn’t goin happen, wen happen. Witnesses Fo Jehovah wuz banned. Da new branch dat we wen move in to ony five monts befoa, wen get take ova by da govament. In less den one week, all da missionaries, even me an Sheila, wen get kick outa da country. Wuz hard fo leave oua braddahs an sistahs ova dea cuz we wen love dem so much an we wen worry about wat wuz goin happen to dem.

We wen spen da nex six monts at da branch office in France. Ova dea I wen do eryting I could fo take kea da braddahs in Cameroon. In Decemba dat same year, we wen get assigned to da Nigeria branch dat wen take kea wat wuz goin on in Cameroon. Da braddahs an sistahs in Nigeria wen treat us supa good an we wen love serving ova dea fo da nex few years.

In 1973 we had fo make one real hard choice. Sheila wuz dealing wit some mayjah healt problems. Wen we wuz in New York fo one big kine meeting, she wen break down an tell me, “I pau awready! I tired an sick all da time.” Fo ova 14 years she wen serve wit me in West Africa. I wuz supa proud of all she wen do, but someting had fo change. Afta talking about um an praying real hard, we wen decide fo go back Canada wea we could take kea her healt moa betta. Leaving oua missionary assignment an da full time work wuz da mos hardes choice we eva had fo make.

Afta goin back Canada, I wen get one job wit one old fren who had one car dealership in one town north of Toronto. We wen rent one apartment, buy used furniture, an wen make da move witout goin into debt. We wen like keep oua life simpo so dat one day we could get back into da full time work. Wen blow oua mind cuz dat wen happen moa fas den we wen tink.

Wen dey wuz building da new Assembly Hall in Norval, Ontario, I wen voluntea fo help out on Saturdays. Afta a while, dey wen ask me fo be da Assembly Hall  ovaseah. Sheila’s healt wen get betta so we wen feel dat we could hando dis new assignment. So in June 1974, we wen go move into da Assembly Hall apartment. We wuz so happy fo work fo Jehovah full time again!

We so happy dat Sheila’s healt wen keep getting betta. Two years layta, we wen get into da circuit work in Manitoba. Ova dea wuz so cold. But da braddahs an sistahs wuz so warm. We wen learn dat it no really matta wea we serve, da mos importan ting iz dat we keep working hard fo Jehovah no matta wea we stay.

Afta a few years in da circuit work, in 1978, we wuz asked fo go serve at Canada Bethel. Litto while afta dat, I wen learn one hard but importan lesson. I had fo give one hour an a half talk in French at one spesho meeting in Montreal. Sad fo say, my talk wuz boring an one braddah from da service departmen wen counsel me about um. I kno now dat I not da bestes speaka. But I neva take da counsel he wen give me too good. We neva really get along. I wen tink da braddah wuz bein too hard on me, an he neva even tell me anyting good I wen do. I neva like da counsel cuz of how da braddah wen give um an how I wen feel about him. But dat wuz one mistake.

A few days afta dat, one braddah from da Branch Committee wen talk to me about wat wen happen. I wen admit dat I neva take da cousel too good an I wen say sorry. An den I wen talk to da braddah dat wen give me da counsel. He wuz nice an he wen fogive me. Wat wen happen wen teach me why I gotta be humbo, an dass someting I neva goin foget. (Smart Guys 16:18) I wen pray plenny about dis, an I try real hard fo neva have one bad attitude wen come to counsel again.

I been at Canada Bethel fo ova 40 years, an from 1985, I wen get fo be on da Branch Committee. In February 2021, my sweetheart Sheila wen mahke. Iz hard cuz I miss her so much, an now I get my own healt problems too. But serving Jehovah keep me busy, an da time stay flying by. (Teacha 5:20) Even tho I wen go tru some hard times, had way moa good tings dat wen happen. Wuz so good fo put Jehovah firs in my life an fo work fo him full time fo 70 years. I pray dat oua young braddahs an sistahs keep putting Jehovah firs too, cuz I kno da ony way fo have one good life iz fo serve Jehovah.