Brother Paul: For November 1985, we de go Liberia wey dey West Africa for our first missionary assignment, and me and my wife wey im name na Anne, really happy no be small. The aeroplane wey we enter stop for Senegal and my wife come talk say: “Na only about one hour remain before we go reach Liberia!” But before we know-am, them come announce say: “Make people wey de go Liberia come down from the plane. Problem dey Liberia because some people de try to use force take over the government.” We stay with other missionaries for Senegal for ten days. When we dey there, we de hear for news say for Liberia, them de use big-big truck pack plenty dead body, and government no de allow people waka for road for evening because of the problem and them de shoot anybody wey no obey.

Sister Anne: Me and my husband no de like where problem dey. The truth be say, since when I dey small, people know say I de fear well-well, and them de call me fear-fear Annie. I de even fear to cross road! But since na Jehovah work, we really want go Liberia.

Brother Paul: Them born me and Anne for the same area for England. My papa, my mama, and Anne mama de always encourage us to pioneer, so we start to pioneer as we just finish secondary school. Them really happy say we want use our life serve Jehovah full time. When I dey 19 years, them call me say make I come work for Bethel and after we marry for 1982, Anne join me for Bethel work.

Sister Anne: We really love Bethel, but e don tey wey e dey our mind to go serve for country wey them need more publishers to preach. As we come de work with some people for Bethel wey don serve as missionary before, this one come make the missionary work wey we don get for mind before, de hungry us no be small. We pray about this matter every night for three years. So for 1985 when them invite us for the 79th class of Gilead school, we happy well-well. After the school, them send us go Liberia, for West Africa.

Brother Paul: We enter the first aeroplane wey them allow go Liberia. When we reach Liberia, you go just know say problem dey the place. Fear dey everywhere and government no de allow people to comot for house for evening. People de fear sotey if motor just make one kind noise, them go run. To make our  mind come down, me and my wife de read some place for the book of Psalms together every night. Even with all this problems, we still love our assignment. My wife de go preaching everyday, and I dey bethel de work with Brother John Charuk. a I really learn plenty things from-am because e don stay Liberia for long time and e know the condition of the brothers and sisters for there well-well.

Sister Anne: Wetin help us quick love our assignment for Liberia? Na because of our brothers and sisters. Them really show us love and them hold Jehovah tight. We love them too and them become our new family. Them de give us better advice and de encourage us. Preaching for Liberia really sweet. Householders go even vex if we quick leave their place. People de talk about Bible everywhere, even for road. E dey easy for us to join them as them de talk. Our Bible students come plenty well-well sotey e de hard us to fit study all of them. We really enjoy our preaching for there!

Brother Paul: Problem no too serious for the country for four years. But for 1989 everything come change as war start. The people wey de fight to take over the government capture the area wey Bethel dey for July 2, 1990. For three months we no fit call anybody even our family or brothers and sisters for world headquarters. Serious fight and problem de happen for everywhere, food no too dey, and them de use force sleep with women. The problem continue for 14 years and e affect the whole country.

Sister Anne: Some people for some tribe de fight and kill people for other tribes. The people wey de fight dey everywhere for street. Them get gun wey them de use fight and even the kind cloths wey them de wear fit make person fear. Them still de enter people house and de take anything wey them want. Them just de kill people like fowl. The people block road and them de kill people wey de try to pass and put their dead body ontop each other for the road. This one even happen near bethel. Some of our brothers and sisters dey among the people wey them kill, them even kill two missionaries.

Our brothers and sisters ready to put their life for danger as them hide other brothers and sisters wey come from the tribe of the people wey them de kill. Missionaries and Bethelites still do the same thing. Some brothers and sisters wey run come Bethel because of the fight de sleep for downstairs, and other ones de follow us sleep for our rooms for upstair. One family wey them be seven, even follow us sleep for our room.

Brother Paul: Everyday, the people wey de fight the government de try to enter Bethel to check if we de hide anybody. Anytime wey this one happen, two brothers go go gate go talk to the people wey de fight  and one brother and one sister go de look from window. If the two brothers wey go the gate put their hands for front, e mean say everything dey okay. But if them put their hand for back, e mean say the people wey de fight de really vex and ready to cause problem. So the brother and sister wey de look from window go run go hide the brothers and sisters wey run come Bethel.

Sister Anne: One day, the brothers for the gate no fit stop the people wey de fight make them no enter bethel. I lock myself and one sister inside bathroom wey get cupboard wey person fit hide put and you no go see the person even if you open the cupboard. I come hide the sister for inside that place for the cupboard. The people wey de fight come upstair and them carry big-big guns. Them de vex and de use force de nack our door. My husband try to make them no enter the room so e beg them say: “My wife dey inside bathroom.” As I de try to close the place for the cupboard wey the sister hide, e come de make noise and e still take some time to fit arrange the things wey dey inside the cupboard. I dey sure say the people go come de wonder wetin I de do since. This one come make me de fear and I start to shake well-well. I know say I need to calm down before I open the door so that them no go suspect me. So wetin I go do? I pray to Jehovah and really beg-am to help me. So I open the door and I dey calm as I de greet them. But one of them push me comot and e just waka go where the cupboard dey. E open-am, and scatter everything wey dey the cupboard as e de check. E no fit believe im eye say e no see anybody. Im and im men come go check the other rooms and inside the ceiling, but them no still see anybody.

Brother Paul: For many months, we no get plenty food to eat. Plenty times, we no de get anything to chop for morning, but Bethel morning worship just be like morning food for us. All of us know say if we de read and study Bible, e go help us get the power to fit face our problem everyday.

We know say if our food and water finish and we comot from Bethel to fit get them, we no go fit protect the brothers wey we hide and them fit come kill them. Many times, Jehovah de give us wetin we need for the correct time and for wonderful way! Jehovah really take care of us and e help us fit dey calm.

The condition of the country continue to bad more-more, but the truth continue to give us hope. Many of our brothers and sisters run for their life plenty times, but their faith continue to dey strong and them dey calm even with all this problem. Some of them even talk say as them de endure the war, e de “train them for the great tribulation.” Elders and some young brothers no fear to do their best to help brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters wey run go other areas, help each other and start to preach for the place wey them run go. Them use anything wey them see for bush take make Kingdom hall and do meetings for there. As the brothers and sisters de do meetings and preach to people, e really help them for this hard time. When we de share food, clothes and other things wey brothers go need, many brothers and sisters  de ask for preaching bag instead of clothes! This one really touch us no be small! Many people wey the war don really affect, ready to hear the good news. Them really surprise say Jehovah people de happy and de show love to each other for this hard time. (Matt. 5:​14-16) Because of the way brothers and sisters de put body for the preaching work, even some of the people wey de fight come join Jehovah organization.

Brother Paul: E get sometimes wey we need to comot from Liberia. Three times wey we comot, we quick come back. But, two times wey we comot, na one year we spend before we come back. Wetin one missionary sister talk really explain how we de feel when we de comot. E talk say: “For Gilead school them teach us say make we de put all our heart for our assignment and na wetin we do be that. So, when we de comot de leave our brothers and sisters for this kind condition, e really pain us well-well!” But we happy say we fit still do many things to support the preaching work for Liberia and help brothers and sisters for there, from the countries wey we go wey no too far from Liberia.

Sister Anne: For May 1996, four of us de drive comot from the branch with one branch motor. We carry many important document wey get information about the work for Liberia. We be want drive 16 kilometers (10 miles) go another place wey dey safe for town. As we de comot, the people wey de fight attack our area. Them shoot gun for air, stop us, and drag three of us comot from the motor. But my husband still dey inside the motor when them drive-am comot. Cold just catch us for there. We no know wetin to do and we just stand for there. But we come see my husband de waka meet us and blood de comot from im head. When we first see-am, we think say them don shoot-am for head, but we come think-am again say, if to say them shoot-am, e for no fit waka! Na one of the people nack-am for head when e de push-am comot from the motor. We happy say na small wound e get for head.

Them park one army truck near us and people wey de fear full inside. Because space no dey inside the truck, we climb the truck for outside and just manage hold one small place for outside the truck. The driver use speed drive the truck comot sotey we almost fall. We beg-am make e stop but because e de fear, e no gree listen to us. Na small thing remain, we for fall. But when the truck come reach where e de go, we don really tire because we use all our power hold the truck since, and our body just de shake because we really fear.

Brother Paul: Our clothes don dirty and them don tear. We just de look each other de surprise say we still dey alive. We sleep for open field near one helicopter wey bullets don almost scatter finish. But the helicopter carry us go Sierra Leone the next day. When we reach Sierra Leone we really happy say we dey alive, but we worry well-well about our brothers wey still dey Liberia.

Sister Anne: When we reach Bethel wey dey Freetown for Sierra Leone, we dey safe and the brothers really take good care of us. But I come de remember the bad things wey don happen for Liberia wey I see when I dey there. Everyday, I de always fear say bad thing go happen and I no fit de think well. Many times, I de wake up for night and I go de fear say bad thing go happen. E de even hard me to breathe well. My husband go just hold me and pray with me. We go come sing Kingdom melody until I stop to fear. I be de think say I don de craze and say I no go fit do missionary work again.

I no go fit forget wetin come happen. That week, we receive the Awake! of June 8, 1996 and the Watchtower of May 15, 1996. The Awake! Get one article wey the topic na “Coping With Panic Attacks.” The Awake! make me really understand wetin de happen to me. The Watchtower get one article wey the topic na “Where Do They Get Their Strength?” And picture of one butterfly wey im wing don injure dey inside the Watchtower. The article compare us to butterfly wey fit continue to fly even when im wing don injure. E talk say, even if we dey weak because say bad things happen to us, Jehovah go fit help us continue to help our brothers and sisters. Jehovah use this two articles give me the power wey I need that time. (Matt. 24:45) I look for other articles like this and I keep them together and them really help me. After some time, I no come too de fear like before.

Brother Paul: Anytime wey we go back to Liberia after we don comot, we really de happy. When 2004  don de end, we don spend almost 20 years for our assignment for Liberia. That time, the war don end. Them don de plan to do construction work for the branch office. But, before you know-am, them change our assignment.

This one really hard for us. We really love our brothers and sisters for Liberia. Them just be like our family, and we no want leave them. But we don see how Jehovah help us when we leave our family go Gilead school, so we accept this new assignment. This our new assignment go carry us go Ghana and e no too far from Liberia.

Sister Anne: We cry well-well when we de comot from Liberia. E get one brother wey old pass us and im name na Frank. E really surprise us when e tell us say: “Una must forget about us!” E explain say: “We know say una no go ever forget about us oh, but una go need to love the brothers and sisters for Ghana with all una heart. This una new assignment na from Jehovah, so make una use all una heart care for the brothers and sisters for there.” Wetin the brother talk help us fit make new friends for Ghana even though say plenty people no know us for there and everything dey new to us.

Brother Paul: Before you know, our brothers and sisters for Ghana come be like new family to us. Plenty people de worship Jehovah for there! We learn plenty things from them because them get strong faith and them hold Jehovah tight. After we don spend 13 years for Ghana, we get another assignment. Them send us go the East Africa branch for Kenya. Even though say we really miss our friends for Ghana, e no hard us to make new friends for Kenya. And just as e be for Ghana and Liberia, we get plenty work to do for Kenya.

Sister Anne: I don face many problems and sometimes, some of them really make me fear. When we live for place wey no dey safe and we face plenty problem, e fit make us sick, make us fear, and make life tire us. We no de expect say Jehovah go do miracle to protect us from all this things. Even until now, if I hear gunshot, e de put fear for my body. But I receive help from all the things wey Jehovah de use give us power. For example, e de use our brothers and sisters help us. I don see say when we de study, de pray, go meetings, and de preach, Jehovah fit help us to stay for our assignment.

Brother Paul: Sometimes, people de ask us say: “Una love una assignment?” The truth be say some countries really fine, but things fit change at once and e no go dey safe. So wetin we love pass the country, na our brothers and sisters. Even though say we no come from the same place, all of us love Jehovah. We think say them send us to encourage them, but the truth be say, na them de really encourage us.

The way brothers and sisters for the whole world de do things as one, na big miracle. So far say we dey part of any congregation, we get family and we go feel safe. We dey sure say if we continue to trust Jehovah, e go continue to help us endure no matter wetin happen.—Phil. 4:13.