I was born in 1955, an I had two olda braddahs. I wen grow by da watta in da south of Finland, in one place call Vantaa.

My maddah wen get baptize az one Witness Fo Jehovah few years befoa I was born. But my faddah neva like da trut an he neva let my maddah study wit us o take us to da meetings. So wen my faddah no was aroun, she would teach us Bible truts.

From small kid time, I wen choose fo stan up fo Jehovah. Like one time wen I was seven, my teacha wen come all mad cuz I neva like eat da verilättyjä (Finnish blood pancakes). She wen squeeze my face fo open my mout an try force me fo eat da pancake. But I wen wack da fork wit da pancake outa her hand.

Wen I was 12 my faddah wen die. Afta dat, I was able fo go meetings wit da local hui. Da braddahs in da local hui wen show me love an aloha, an dat wen help me fo grow spiritually. I wen start fo read da Bible eryday an wen start fo study moa betta. Cuz a dis, I was able fo get baptize wen I was 14, on August 8, 1969.

I wen start fo pionea afta I wen graduate. An afta coupo weeks, I wen  move to Pielavesi, in da middo of Finland, fo preach wea dey need moa help.

In Pielavesi I wen meet da wahine dat wen come my wife, Sirkka. She wen catch my eye cuz she love Jehovah real plenny an was humbo. She neva kea about fancy stuffs an she neva try fo be all dat. We both wanted fo go all out fo Jehovah an do wateva he ask us fo do. We wen get married on March 23, 1974. Instead of going on one honeymoon, we wen go Karttula fo preach, cuz ova dea dey wen need even moa help.

Right from da start wen we was married, Jehovah wen show us he was going take kea wat we need, if we make spiritual tings numba one in oua life. (Mat 6:33, NWT.) Like in Karttula, we neva have one car, we ony had bikes. But wen winter time come, stay supa cold. Da local hui had one big territory fo work, so we was going need one car. But we neva have money fo buy one.

Outa no wea my olda braddah wen come visit us. He wen give us his car. Da insurance was paid awready an we ony had fo buy gas. So now we had da car we wen need.

Jehovah wen show us he going be da one fo hando an take kea wat we need. We jus had fo put spiritual tings firs in oua life.

Wen we had go Pionea Service School in 1978, Raimo Kuokkanen, a one of da teachas, wen tell us we should go Gilead School. So we wen start fo learn English cuz we wanted fo be ready fo go to da school. But in 1980, befoa we wen sign up fo da school, we had get one invite fo go da branch office in Finland. At dat time, Bethel guys no could sign up fo go Gilead. But we wanted fo do wateva Jehovah like us fo do, an we neva like be picky. So we had accept da invite an wen go. Still yet, we wen keep learning English jus in case we get da chance fo go Gilead.

 Layta on, Jesus Luna Guys had tell Bethel guys could go sign up fo Gilead. Right away we wen sign up. We was happy at Bethel but we jus wanted fo be ready so dat Jehovah can use us weaeva he need. We got fo go Gilead an wen graduate da 79th class in Septemba 1985. From da school, dey wen send us to Colombia.

In Colombia, oua firs job was at da branch office. I wen try my bes ova dea, but afta one year at da branch, I wen feel like we needed fo change um up. Dis was da one an ony time in my life I had eva ask fo change up my kuleana. Den afta dat, dey wen send us out in da field az missionaries to da city of Neiva, in Huila.

I had always love fo go preaching. Az one single pionea in Finland, I wen go preach all day, from early in da morning til late at night. Wen we firs had get married, me an Sirkka would go preach all day. Wen we had fo go preach in places dat was far from home, sometimes we go sleep in oua car. Dis had save us time an wen help us fo start early da nex day.

Now az missionaries we had get da same kine feeling we had befoa fo go all out fo preach. Oua local hui had grow, an da Colombia braddahs an sistahs was supa tankful, respeckful, an loving.

Neva have Witnesses in da towns aroun Neiva. I was worried how da guys dea was going get preach to. But cuz of da rebels fighting, dese areas no was safe fo guys dat no was locals. So I wen pray dat somebody from one of dese towns go come one Witness. I wen tink dat somebody had fo live in Neiva fo learn da trut. So anodda ting I wen pray is fo somebody get baptize, come solid spiritually, an go back his hometown fo preach. I shoulda known Jehovah was going work tings out way moa betta den wat I tink.

Litto bit afta dat, I wen start fo study da Bible wit one guy name Fernando González. He had live in Algeciras, one of da towns dat no moa Witnesses. Fernando would travel ova 30 miles to Neiva fo work. Ery time he wen make ready fo his study an right away he wen start fo go all da meetings. From da firs week he wen study, Fernando wen get togedda wit peopo from his hometown an had teach dem wat he wen learn from da Bible.

Six months afta Fernando wen start fo study, he wen get baptize in January 1990. Afta dat, he wen come one regula pionea. Now dat Algeciras had one local Witness, it was safe enuff fo da branch send spesho pioneas to da area. In February 1992, dey wen make one local hui in dat town.

Fernando ony wen preach in his hometown? No! Afta he wen get married, him an his wife wen move to San Vicente del Caguán, anodda town wea neva have Witnesses. Ova dea dey wen help start one  local hui. In 2002, Fernando wen come one braddah fo da circuit. Him an his wife Olga, still yet stay in da traveling work today.

From wat I had go thru, I wen learn how importan it is fo pray specific kine wen come to oua work fo Jehovah. Jehovah going do wat we no can do. Cuz dis not oua harves, is his.​—Mat 9:38.

In 1990 we wen get da kuleana fo do da traveling work. Da capital city of Bogotá was da firs circuit we was in. We was sked we no was going do one good job. Me an my wife jus regula peopo, we no moa notting spesho about us. An we no was used to living in one busy city. But we had see Jehovah’s promise come true, from Fo Da Philippi Peopo 2:13, “God, he da One stay make you guys like do da tings he like you fo do. An he help you guys fo do um.”

Layta we wen get move to one circuit in Medellin, da city I wen talk about befoa. Peopo ova dea was so used to action in da streets it neva bodda dem. Had dis one time, I was studying da Bible wit somebody, an dese guys started fo shoot at each odda right outside da house. I wen like drop to da groun but da Bible learna jus wen keep reading da paragraph, like notting was happening. Wen he pau read, he tell he gotta do someting real fas, an had go outside. Afta dat he had come back wit his two small keiki an tell, “Sorry aah, I had fo go get my kids.”

We had odda close calls. One time wen we was preaching door to door, my wife wen run to me an she had look supa sked. She wen tell, somebody had try fo shoot her. Dat wen make me sked. But we wen find out da guy no was trying fo shoot Sirkka, he was shooting at one guy dat was walking pass her.

Ova time, we had learn how fo hando da action in da streets. We wen come strong cuz we had see how da local Witnesses dea wen hando tings like dis o even worse. We had figga, if Jehovah help dem, den he going help us too. Erytime we make shua fo lissen to da advice from da local eldas, try oua bes fo be safe, an den we leave da res to Jehovah.

Sometimes tings no was az bad az we thought. One time, wen soun like two wahines was screaming at each odda outside da house I was at. I neva kea about wat was going on but da person I was talking to wen get me fo come ova to da lanai. I wen see, no was two ladies yelling at each odda but was two parrots copying da neighbas.

In 1997, I wen get da kuleana fo teach at da Ministerial Training School. b I wen  always love fo go to da schools dat Jehovah’s hui get, but I neva wen tink I was going get da awesome chance fo teach one.

Layta on I got fo work az one districk ovaseah. But wen Jehovah’s hui wen change an neva have districk ovaseahs anymoa, I wen go back to working fo da circuit. So good fo be one teacha an one braddah fo da circuit fo ova 30 years now. All dis kuleana had bring me plenny blessings. But dat no mean eryting was duck soup. Let me tell you wat I mean by dat.

I one tough guy. Dis wen help me wen I get hard time. But sometimes I wen go overboard wit trying fo make tings in da local hui all good. Had times I wen tell oddas fo show love an aloha an be flexible wit oddas. But you know wat da funny ting is, I no was even doing um myself.​—Rome 7:21-23.

Cuz I no stay perfeck an I jam up, sometimes ony junk I feel. (Rome 7:24) One time I wen pray to Jehovah, maybe az bes fo me go back home to Finland an no be one missionary anymoa. Dat same night, I wen go one meeting. Wat I wen hear ova dea wen help me fo see I should stay wea I at an jus work on myself. Still yet I tink about how awesome was fo Jehovah ansa dat prayer. Not ony dat, I supa tankful how he wen help me fo get ova da tings I get hard time wit.

Me an Sirkka stay supa tankful dat Jehovah wen give us da awesome chance fo use mos of oua life fo work full time fo him. I mahalo Jehovah plenny fo having one supa loving an faithful wife all dese years.

Pretty soon I going be 70 an I going have fo stop working az one field instructor an traveling ovaseah. But dis no bum me out. You know why? Cuz I know fo shua dat da bes way fo show how awesome Jehovah stay, is fo be humbo an tell good tings about him cuz we love him. (Mic 6:8; Mar 12:32-34) We no need one spesho kuleana fo do dat.

Wen I tink back about da good fun I had working fo Jehovah, I figga I neva get um cuz I was moa betta den oddas, o supa spesho. Jehovah neva have fo use me, but he wen let me do dese tings fo him, even tho I wen jam up plenny. I ony could do um cuz Jehovah wen help me. Cuz wen I no could hando, I wen see how strong Jehovah stay.​—2 Cor 12:9.