A young German Witness named Franziska arrived in England in the spring of 1968 to work as an au pair, a girl who does domestic work in return for room and board and the opportunity to learn the family’s language. After attending the “Good News for All Nations” District Assembly that year, she enthusiastically enlarged her share in the field ministry and presented the newly released book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life to other au pair girls living nearby. As a result, she started four Bible studies. One of these students was a Swiss girl with whom Franziska studied in German. When the girl began to attend the meetings of the congregation, she could see for herself the love in Jehovah’s household. (John 13:35) By the following year, this interested girl had made such good progress that she dedicated her life to Jehovah and got baptized. She later became a pioneer and even helped her own mother to accept the truth. But this was only the start of Franziska’s efforts to witness to au pair girls.

“Whenever I call from house to house and meet an au pair girl,” Franziska relates enthusiastically, “I tell her that I was an au pair girl once. Immediately, we have a common bond. What I always emphasize is that when I came to England, I didn’t know anybody apart from one sister. Nevertheless, I was made to feel welcome in the congregation. So I always try to get them quickly involved with the congregation so that they can see that we are one big family.”

In 1974, Franziska married Philip Harris, and together they now serve at London Bethel and with the Northwood Congregation. Franziska has been visiting one house in that territory for over 13 years. She explains: “Bethel received a letter from a French au pair girl asking for a Witness to call. Witnesses in France had given her the book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, and she wanted to know more. Although her English was still limited, I could see that Nathalie was thirsting for the truth. She made good progress and soon attended meetings.” Before returning to France, Nathalie became a Kingdom publisher, and now she and her husband serve as pioneers in the Arabic field there.

The family who employed these au pair girls had a system. Before one au pair girl left, the next one would arrive. For a few days, the former au pair girl taught the new employee the jobs to be done in the home. When Nathalie was about to leave, Franziska advised: “Before you return to France, tell the next au pair girl how the Bible study has really helped you, and see if she’s interested.” The next au pair girl was Isabelle, also from France, and, yes, she was interested. Franziska studied with her too. Isabelle was followed by a second Nathalie, who soon began to attend meetings. When she returned to France, she got baptized as well.

Another girl, Gabriela, came from Poland. She had never had any meaningful contact with Jehovah’s Witnesses, and she told Franziska that she did not like Germans because of the bad reputation they had in Poland. Franziska explained that Jehovah’s Witnesses never engaged in warfare. “During World War II, you would never have found any of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the army,” she reasoned. “Did you know that we were persecuted? We were in concentration camps because we refused to heil Hitler and to support the Nazi regime.” Gabriela expressed amazement, and her anti-German feelings soon disappeared. Following a regular Bible study with Franziska, Gabriela became an unbaptized publisher and later symbolized her dedication to Jehovah at a convention in Twickenham. Over the years, Franziska has conducted Bible studies with 25 au pair girls from ten different countries and has had the joy of introducing them to Jehovah’s loving family.

[Picture on page 79]

Franziska Harris shows special interest in au pair girls