They Offered Themselves Willingly​—In Oceania

RENEÉ, a sister in her mid-30’s, grew up in a family of zealous Witnesses in Australia. “We moved many times to help in areas where there was a greater need for Kingdom preachers,” she says. “Dad and Mum made things interesting, exciting, and fun! When I had two children of my own, I wanted them to have that same kind of life.”

Reneé’s husband, Shane, a brother in his late 30’s, had similar spiritual goals. He explains: “After the birth of our second child, we read in The Watchtower about a family of Witnesses who had gone to the southwestern Pacific in their yacht to preach in the islands of Tonga.a That article prompted us to write to the Australia and New Zealand branch offices of Jehovah’s Witnesses to ask where there was a greater need for Kingdom preachers.b In response, we were invited to move to Tonga​—the very place we had read about!”

After Shane, Reneé, and their children, Jacob and Skye, had lived in Tonga for about a year, a succession of riots forced them to return to Australia, but they kept in mind their goal of expanding their ministry. In 2011, they moved to Norfolk Island, a tiny Pacific island about 900 miles (1,500 km) east of Australia. How did that move turn out? Today, 14-year-old Jacob says, “Jehovah not only looked after us but he also made the ministry fun!”

In 2011, Benjamin and Carolyn and their two preschool daughters, Jade and Bria, moved from Queensland, Australia, back to Timor-Leste, a small country on Timor Island in the Indonesian archipelago. “Carolyn and I had previously served in Timor-Leste as special pioneers,” says Ben. “The witnessing was awesome, and the brothers were very supportive. It broke our hearts to leave. We were determined to return. When our children came along, we postponed our plans but did not change them.” Carolyn adds: “We wanted our children to be surrounded by missionaries, Bethelites, and special pioneers and to receive the best possible spiritual experience.”