“At first, I found it difficult to be so far away from my family,” says Diane, from Canada. Now in her early 60’s, she served as a missionary in Ivory Coast (now Côte d’Ivoire) for 20 years. “I asked Jehovah to help me love the people in my assignment. One of my instructors at Gilead, Brother Jack Redford, explained to us that at first we might be disturbed, even shocked, by the conditions in our assignment, especially when coming face-to-face with severe poverty. But he said: ‘Don’t look at the poverty. Look at the people, at their faces and their eyes. Watch their reaction when they hear Bible truths.’ That’s what I did, and what a blessing it was! When sharing the comforting Kingdom message, I would see the people’s eyes light up!” What further helped Diane to adjust to serving abroad? “I drew close to my Bible students and felt the deep joy of seeing them become faithful servants of Jehovah. My assignment became my home. I gained spiritual mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, just as Jesus promised.”​—Mark 10:29, 30.

Heidi, from Germany, now in her early 70’s, has been serving as a missionary in Ivory Coast (now Côte d’Ivoire) since 1968. “The greatest joy I have received,” she states, “is to see my spiritual children ‘go on walking in the truth.’ Some of my former Bible students are now pioneers and congregation elders. Many of them call me Mama or Grandma. One of these elders and his wife and children view me as family. So Jehovah has given me a son, a daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren.”​—3 John 4.