Jehovah Help Us to ‘Grow for Where E Put Us’

Brother and Sister Kassholm attend Gilead School for 1979 and since that time, them don assign them go different-different place. Them don serve for Iran, Mauritius, Myanmar, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zaire. When them go Gilead School, Brother Jack Redford wey be one of their instructor give them one advice wey help them fit de adjust all the times wey them change their assignment. Make them tell us about-am.

Brother Mats, abeg na you go first tell us how you learn the truth.

Brother Mats: My papa de live for Poland when them de fight World War II, and e see plenty bad things wey them de do for Catholic Church. But e de always talk say, “The true religion must dey somewhere!” After some time, I see say my papa correct. I buy many secondhand book that time. One of them na one blue book wey the name na The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. The name of the book really make me want know wetin dey inside, so I read the book finish that night. When morning reach, I know say I don see the true religion!

From April 1972, I start to read plenty of Jehovah Witness book and them answer the questions wey I get about Bible. Wetin happen to me just be like wetin happen to the business man wey Jesus talk about for one example. The man see one pearl wey get high value and e sell everything wey e get to fit buy-am. Na so me too leave all the plans wey I get before to go university to become doctor. I do this one so that I go fit serve Jehovah. (Matt. 13:​45, 46) I baptize for December 10, 1972.

My papa, mama, and my junior brother baptize the next year. I become regular pioneer for July 1973. E get one fine sister wey im name na Ann-Catrin for our congregation that time. The sister na regular pioneer and e really love Jehovah. We fall in love and we marry for 1975. After our marriage, we spend four years for one town wey im name na Strömsund for Sweden. The place fine well-well and plenty people for there want learn Bible.

Sister Ann-Catrin: My papa learn the truth when e don almost finish school for one university for Stockholm. That time, I dey 3 months but my papa de carry me go meeting and preaching. My mama no like this thing wey my papa de do and e try to prove say Jehovah Witness no be the true religion. But my mama no fit prove-am, so after some time my mama baptize too. I baptize when I dey 13 years, and I start to pioneer when I dey 16 years. Them need publishers to preach for one place wey the name na Umeå. I serve for there and after, I become special pioneer.

After we marry, we help plenty people learn the truth. One of them na one girl wey never reach 20 years and im name na Maivor. E de play sport and na wetin e want continue to do for im life. But e change im mind and start to serve Jehovah. Maivor and my junior sister later become pioneer partner. The two of them attend Gilead School for 1984 and them de serve as missionary for Ecuador.

For the different-different assignments wey una get as missionary, how una follow the advice to “grow for where Jehovah put una”?

Brother Mats: Them change our assignment plenty times, but one thing wey really help us adjust na say we do our best to copy Jesus example, especially the way e de carry body down. (Col. 2:6, 7) For example, instead make we expect the brothers and sisters to start to do things the way we de do-am, we try to understand why them de do wetin them de do. We still try to learn how them de see things and how them de do things for their area. The more we de copy Jesus example, the more e dey easy for us to adjust and to de happy for our assignment.—Ps. 1:2, 3.

Sister Ann-Catrin: If them comot tree from one place and plant-am for another place, e go need sun to fit grow again. Jehovah really show us say na im be our “sun.” (Ps. 84:11) Jehovah bless us with plenty brothers and sisters wey really show us love. For example, for our small congregation wey dey Tehran for Iran, the brothers and sisters really care for us and show us love the way people for Bible time de show love. We really like to stay for Iran, but for July 1980, them ban our work for that country and them give us 48 hours to comot from the country. Them come send us go serve for Zaire for Africa, (na this country them de call Congo-Kinshasa now.)

I cry when I first hear say our next assignment na for Africa. I don hear say plenty sickness and snake full Africa and this one really make me fear. But one brother and im wife wey be our friends don serve for Africa for many years. Them tell us say: “Make una no fear, una never reach Africa before, but we know say una go like-am.” And na so e really happen. Brothers and sisters for Africa get love for people and them sabi welcome person well. In fact after we don spend six years for Zaire and we need to comot because them ban our work for there, I come de pray to Jehovah say, “Abeg make we still stay for Africa.”

How Jehovah don bless una?

Brother Mats: Because of our assignment, we don get many friends wey be missionary and them come from different-different place. Apart from this one, for some place wey we serve, we get plenty Bible students. Me and my wife get like 20 Bible students each! Another thing be say, I no go ever forget the love wey the brothers and sisters for Africa show us. When we de serve different congregations for Tanzania, we de park our bus near the house of brothers and sisters and we de sleep inside the bus. Them de really show us love as them de do their best to give us everything wey we need even though say things hard for them. (2 Cor. 8:3) E get something wey we de really enjoy that time and we de call-am “story time.” For the story time, me and my wife go sitdown and talk about the things wey happen that day and we go thank Jehovah for wetin e do for us.

Sister Ann-Catrin: For me, I de see-am as big blessing as I don know brothers and sisters from different-different part of the world. We learn many new language, like Farsi, French, Luganda, and Swahili. We still learn new things about many culture. We help many people start to serve Jehovah and we train them for Jehovah work. We meet better friends, and we work together with them as we de serve Jehovah.—Zeph. 3:9.

We still see plenty fine-fine things wey Jehovah don make. Every time wey we receive new assignment, we de look-am as if we de travel with Jehovah and na im de guide us. Jehovah don teach us plenty things wey we no go ever fit learn by ourself.

Wetin be some problems wey una don face, and wetin help una to fit endure?

Brother Mats: We sick plenty times and one of the sickness na malaria. E even get sometimes wey my wife start to sick at once and them need to do operation for-am. We still worry many times about our papa and mama because them don old. But we really happy say my junior brother and my wife junior brothers and sister help to care for them. Them dey patient, show love, and them de happy as them de do this work. (1 Tim. 5:4) Even though say we de support them from the far place wey we de serve, sometimes, we de feel bad say na only that one we fit do.

Sister Ann-Catrin: For 1983 when we de serve for Zaire, I come get cholera. The doctor tell my husband say, “Carry your wife comot from this country today!” The next day, we enter plane wey de carry load go Sweden because na the only plane wey de go Sweden that day.

Brother Mats: We cry because we think say we no go fit continue our missionary work again. Even though say the doctor make us feel say e go hard for my wife to well, we really happy say my wife well. And after one year, we go back to Zaire go serve for one Swahili language congregation for Lubumbashi.

Sister Ann-Catrin: When we de serve for Lubumbashi, I get miscarriage. Even though say we no plan to born pikin, e really pain me when I get miscarriage. But Jehovah bless us for way wey we no expect that time. Jehovah bless us with plenty Bible students and them plenty pass the ones wey we don get before. Before e reach one year, the number of publishers for the congregation don grow from 35 to 70, and the number of people wey de attend meeting grow from 40 to 220. We really dey busy for the preaching work and Jehovah bless our work and this one really make me happy. Even with this one, sometimes, we still de think and talk about our pikin wey die for the miscarriage, and we de wait to see how Jehovah go really comfort us for Paradise.

Brother Mats: After some time, my wife start to dey weak and e de tire well-well. For the same time, I come get one sickness wey them de call colon cancer and them do operation for me. But now I don dey okay and my wife self de do im best for Jehovah work.

We don see say no be only us de face problems. After the war wey them fight for 1994 for Rwanda, we go see brothers and sisters for camps wey them de stay as them run because of the war. When we see as them de endure and continue to get strong faith, and care for each other, e remind us say Jehovah get the power to help im people endure any problem.—Ps. 55:22.

Sister Ann-Catrin: We face another problem when we attend branch dedication for Uganda for 2007. After the dedication, me, my husband, and about 25 other missionaries and Bethelites de travel go Nairobi for Kenya. Before we reach the border for Kenya, one lorry wey de come from front just comot from im lane, enter our front, and jam us. The driver and five brothers and sisters die as the accident just happen, and one sister later die for hospital. E de really hungry us to see them again!—Job 14:​13-15.

After some time, the wounds wey I get for the accident heal, but me, my husband, and some other brothers and sisters still de fear sometimes because of the accident. For me, the fear de come for night and I go just shock wake up. E go just be like say na heart attack de do me. This one de really make me fear. But we de always pray to Jehovah and de read some verse for Bible wey we really like and this one de really comfort us. We still meet doctors wey sabi treat this kind problem and this one really help us. Now, the accident no de make us fear like before again, and we de beg Jehovah make e help us to fit comfort other brothers and sisters wey de face this kind problem.

When you de talk about how una fit cope with the problems wey una face, you talk say Jehovah carry una “like egg.” Wetin you mean?

Brother Mats: Swahili people de talk say “Tumebebwa kama mayai mabichi,” and this one mean say “Them carry us like egg.” Just as person de sofri carry egg make e no break, na so Jehovah don show us love and support us for all our assignment. E no get anytime wey we no get wetin we need. Sometimes, we de even get pass wetin we need. One way wey Jehovah use show us im love, na the way the Governing Body de support us.

Sister Ann-Catrin: Make I talk about one time wey Jehovah support us. One day, them call me from Sweden say my papa dey for hospital and say the sickness serious. My husband be get malaria and e just de well that time. We no even get money to travel go Sweden, so we come decide say we go sell our motor. But one brother and im wife wey hear wetin happen call us for phone and them say them go pay the money wey one of us fit use travel. Then another sister wey don old still call us to give us money. The sister be don de save money for one box and e write ontop the box say the money na “For anybody wey go need-am.” Na so Jehovah use this two phone call take help us fit travel that time!—Heb. 13:6.

Una don spend 50 years for full-time service together. Wetin una don learn for all this years?

Sister Ann-Catrin: I don learn say we go fit really “dey strong if [we] dey calm and show say [we] trust” Jehovah. (Isa. 30:15; 2 Chron. 20:​15, 17) Because we really do our best for Jehovah work, Jehovah don give us blessings wey we for no fit get for any other place.

Brother Mats: The main lesson wey I don learn na to de trust Jehovah for any condition wey I dey, and to wait and see how e go help me. (Ps. 37:5) And e no get any time wey e don fail me. We still de see how e de help us now as we de serve for Bethel for Myanmar.

Our prayer be say make Jehovah show the kind love wey e don show us to many young brothers and sisters wey want do more for im work. We dey sure say them go really feel Jehovah love if them allow Jehovah to help them grow for anywhere wey e go put them.