EUROPE​—THEN AFRICA

We were assigned to serve in a part of Europe where the Kingdom work was opening up. In 1992 we arrived in Ljubljana, Slovenia, near where my parents were raised before they moved to Italy. War was still raging in areas of the former Yugoslavia. The branch in Vienna, Austria, as well as the offices in Zagreb, Croatia, and Belgrade, Serbia, had been overseeing the work in the region. Now each independent republic was to have its own Bethel arrangement.

That meant adapting to yet another language and culture. The locals would say, “Jezik je težek,” which means “The language is difficult.” How true that was! We admired the loyalty of brothers and sisters who readily accepted organizational adjustments, and we took note of how Jehovah blessed them. Once again, we saw how Jehovah always lovingly corrects matters and at the right time. Our years in Slovenia reinforced many lessons we had learned and taught us new ones.