Soon after I was married, my mother’s brother came from America to visit us. He happened to bring with him one of the volumes of the Studies in the Scriptures, written by Charles Taze Russell. It was a publication of the Bible Students, who are now known as Jehovah’s Witnesses.

When Dimitris opened the book, he noticed a subject about which he had wondered since he was a child, “What happens to man when he dies?” In high school he had questioned a Greek Orthodox theologian about this very subject but had not received a satisfying answer. The clear and logical explanation provided in the publication delighted Dimitris so much that he went straight to the village coffeehouse, where menfolk in Greece customarily gather. There he related the things from the Bible that he had learned.

Our Stand for Bible Truth

About this time—in the early 1920’s—Greece was in the middle of another war. Dimitris was conscripted and sent to the Turkish mainland, in Asia Minor. He was wounded and was sent home. After he recuperated, I accompanied him to Smyrna, Asia Minor (now Izmir, Turkey). When the war ended suddenly in 1922, we had to flee. In fact, we barely escaped on a badly damaged boat to Samos. On arriving home, we knelt and gave thanks to God—a God about whom we still had only scanty knowledge.

Soon Dimitris was assigned to teach at a school in Vathy, the island’s capital. He continued to read the literature of the Bible Students, and one rainy night two of them from the island of Chios visited us. They had returned from America to serve as colporteurs, as full-time evangelizers were called. We put them up for the night, and they spoke to us about many things regarding God’s purposes.

Afterward Dimitris told me: “Penelope, I realize that this is the truth, and I must follow it. This means that I have to stop singing in the Greek Orthodox Church and that I cannot attend church with the schoolchildren.” Although our knowledge of Jehovah was limited, our desire to serve him was strong. So I replied: “I will not be an obstacle for you. Just move ahead.”

He continued rather hesitantly: “Yes, but if our course becomes evident, I will lose my job.”

My husband, impressed by the colporteur’s knowledge, asked: “How is it that you use the Bible with such ease?”

“We study the Bible systematically,” he replied. Opening his bag, he took out the study book The Harp of God and showed us how to use this book in such a study. We were so eager to learn that my husband and I, the colporteur, and two other men immediately accompanied the shopkeeper to his home. The colporteur handed each of us a copy of The Harp of God, and we began studying right away. We continued our study until well past midnight, and then as dawn approached, we began to learn the songs sung by the Bible Students.

Later that summer my husband and I symbolized our dedication by water baptism.

About that time Dimitris was fired from his teaching position, and because of the prejudice against us, it was almost impossible to find work. But since I could sew and Dimitris was a skilled painter, we were able to earn enough to make ends meet. In 1928 my husband, as well as the four other Christian brothers in Samos, was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment for preaching the good news. Being the only Bible Student free, I was able to supply food for them in prison.

To cope financially, my husband sold a plot of land so that I could continue therapy.

Soon after, the traveling overseer visited us. He was very sorry to see me in this condition and Dimitris without work. Kindly he helped us make arrangements to live in Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. We moved there in 1934, and Dimitris was able to obtain employment.

My husband served a total of almost a year in prison. When we set out for the ministry, we usually planned to spend the night under arrest at the police station. Yet Jehovah never abandoned us. He always provided the needed courage and strength to endure.

However, when my husband was in prison, I had to pass through this area to visit him. One rainy day a woman invited me into her home to inquire why my husband was in prison. I explained that it was for preaching the good news of God’s Kingdom and that he was suffering just as Christ had suffered.

Over the years Jehovah has rewarded the efforts of my husband and me to serve Him. The handful of Witnesses on Samos in the 1920’s have grown to two congregations and one group with about 130 publishers. And on the island of Lesbos, there are four congregations and five groups that include some 430 Kingdom proclaimers. My husband actively proclaimed God’s Kingdom until his death in 1977. What a privilege it is to see those whom we helped still remaining zealous in the ministry! Why, with their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, they make up a great crowd worshiping Jehovah unitedly!

With her husband in 1955