James and Dawne Hockett are missionaries in the capital of Swaziland, Mbabane. They graduated from Gilead in 1971 and 1970 respectively. James used the following example to show how missionaries have to adapt to different customs: “We were working in unassigned territory, and a chief wanted me to give a public talk. He called the people together. We were sitting in an area where construction work was in progress, and there were cement blocks lying about. The ground was damp, so I found a cement block to sit on, and Dawne sat down next to me on the block. One of the Swazi sisters approached Dawne and asked her to come and sit next to her. Dawne said that she was fine where she was, but the sister insisted. Afterward, it was explained to us that because some of the men were sitting on the ground, the women could not sit higher than the men. That is the custom in the rural areas.”

James and Dawne visited a school to speak to a teacher who had previously shown interest. She sent a boy out to tell them that it was not a convenient time to speak to her. They decided to talk to the boy, Patrick, and asked him if he knew why they were calling. After a discussion, they gave him the book Questions Young People Ask​—Answers That Work and started a Bible study with him. Patrick was an orphan and lived in a room attached to his uncle’s house. He had to care for himself, prepare his own food, and do part-time work to pay his school fees. He made good progress, was baptized, and now serves as an elder in the congregation.

James and Dawne Hockett