• Eager to Serve Jehovah—No Matter Where
    The Watchtower—2013 | July 15

    • Never before had I preached on my own. I was so nervous that my legs were shaking each time I went out. To make matters worse, the territory was extremely unreceptive. Some people were outright aggressive and threatened to beat me up. During the first month of my pioneer service, I placed only one booklet!​—Markus.

      THAT was in 1949, more than 60 years ago, but my story begins many years earlier.

  • Eager to Serve Jehovah—No Matter Where
    The Watchtower—2013 | July 15

    • On January 1, 1949, I began pioneering and was assigned to Borculo, in eastern Netherlands, where there was a small congregation. I had to travel some 80 miles (130 km) to get there, so I decided to go on my bicycle. I thought it would take me about 6 hours, but because of the heavy rain and a strong headwind, it took 12 hours, even though I took the train for the final 55 miles (90 km)! Late in the evening, I at last reached my destination, the home of a Witness family with whom I stayed while I pioneered in that area.

      In those postwar years, people had few possessions. All I had was one suit and a pair of pants​—the suit too big, the pants too short! As I mentioned in the introduction, the first month in Borculo was difficult, but Jehovah blessed me with several Bible studies. After nine months, I was assigned to Amsterdam.