Because of obstacles to entering the country, Rosa May Dreyer and Shirley Hendrickson served for two years near the Texas-Mexico border. During that time they were learning some Spanish. Shirley, though a cheerful person, remembers that their territory there was difficult. So she was delighted with what she found in Mexico City. In the beginning, no local publishers were assigned to accompany them as they had expected. Instead, someone took them to a corner and said, “Here is your territory,” without any on-the-spot training. Furthermore, their knowledge of Spanish was limited. Nevertheless, instead of getting discouraged, they carried on their activity as well as they could. Shirley says about those times: “I remember the first building I went into, trembling a little, and at the first four doors I placed the four books I was carrying and had to return home for more literature. With that I took heart and never had any more trouble.” A few years ago, Shirley attended the wedding of a granddaughter of a woman with whom she had conducted a Bible study during her early years in Mexico. What a joy to find 50 descendants of that family serving Jehovah! One had served as a traveling overseer, and another one was a member of the Bethel family.

Shirley and Rosa May were service companions from 1937 (before going to Gilead together) until 1991, when “Rosita” died in her assignment in Mexico. Fifty-four years of service—nearly all of it together!

[Pictures on page 202]

Shirley Hendrickson (left) and Rosa May Dreyer—service companions for over 50 years