Preaching for Decades in One of the Hottest Countries in the World

When I was 16 years old, I had questions about religion. For example, one day I asked a priest why Catholics and Protestants don’t have the same beliefs about the Virgin Mary. He replied that I would need to read the Bible to find out. Right then, I decided to do so.

Sometime after that, two women came to our house offering books about the Bible. My mother told them that she was not interested. But after she closed the door, I told her that I was interested. So she called them back, and we accepted the books from them.

The two women were Jehovah’s Witnesses, and they continued visiting my mother. Soon she started studying the Bible, and she got baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1962. My grandmother also studied the Bible, and she got baptized in 1964. At that time, however, I was reluctant to study with the Witnesses because there was so much prejudice against them in my hometown of Millau, France.

Giving Emotional and Practical Help

When I was 15, I loved reading books about doctors, nurses, and the work that goes on inside hospitals. The more I read, the more I felt drawn to that world. I always wanted to help people, and nursing felt like a meaningful way to do that. So I decided to make it my career.

After graduating from high school, I enrolled in a school that provided specialized training. The school was in Paris, and I moved there from Millau. In my first year, I learned the fundamentals of nursing. Then, over the next two years, I learned how to provide emotional and practical support to those who needed extended care.

After completing my training, I spent five and a half years helping patients prepare for their discharge from the hospital. Then, after they went home, I continued helping them by providing follow-up care. I truly enjoyed helping others, and this work gave me a sense of purpose.

Not long after I moved to Paris, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses came to my door. Since I was not home when the sister came, she left a note under my door inviting me to attend a local congregation meeting. I went to the meeting, where I was warmly welcomed. I found the sister who left the note, and I agreed to study the Bible with her. I wanted to understand the Bible, and now that I was in a new setting, I could study with the Witnesses without feeling judged by people in my hometown.

I was deeply moved by my study of the Bible. I learned that Jesus recognized his Father, Jehovah, as the one true God. Therefore, we should not worship Mary; Jehovah alone deserves our worship. (Matthew 4:10; John 17:3) I realized that Jehovah had drawn me to himself and to his Son, and I was amazed that I had recognized the truth when so many others did not. (John 6:44) I was convinced that those who worship Jehovah “must worship with spirit and truth.” (John 4:24) As a result, I was determined to worship Jehovah the way that he wanted. In 1965, I got baptized at the international convention in Charleroi, Belgium.

Giving Spiritual Help

I loved the truth and wanted to do all I could to help others learn from God’s Word. When my work contract ended, I began serving as a vacation pioneer (now called an auxiliary pioneer). Then, on April 1, 1974, I was appointed as a special pioneer.

Not long after that, a close friend of mine and her husband traveled to Mali to see if they could serve there. Instead of returning to France, they decided to stay in Mali.

Soon afterward, my friend wrote and told me that special pioneers were needed there. I asked her, “Can you see me serving as a special pioneer in Mali?” She replied, “Yes!” So I decided to try it out. Although no one wanted to come with me, my friend said, “You can come and live with us.”

With that reassurance, I wrote to the Senegal branch, which cared for the work in Mali, and soon I received the reply that I could start serving in Mali in April 1975.

A Challenging Start in Mali

I arrived in Mali on March 26, 1975, during the hottest time of the year. When I got off the airplane and walked toward the terminal, I felt as if I had walked into an oven; the heat seemed unbearable! I learned that the Sahara Desert covers a large part of Mali and that from March to May, the temperature in Mali can exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104°F)!

In addition to the heat, I had to adapt to many other things that were different from what I had known. For example, I saw a lot of poverty. Many people suffered from illnesses and disabilities that were difficult to treat because of limited access to health care. Also, the food was strange to me. I knew nothing about mangoes, and when I arrived, they were in season. Although I came to enjoy mangoes, at first it seemed as if mango and rice or rice and mango were served at every meal.

Because of the challenges I faced in my new assignment, I became anxious and overwhelmed. I was not eating or sleeping well. I kept asking Jehovah to help me, and I tried my best to adapt to my new surroundings.

After serving in Mali for a year, I took six weeks off and went back to France. There, a doctor examined me and made recommendations that proved helpful. I remember that one brother asked me if I was going to return to Mali. His question caught me off guard, and frankly, it irritated me. Why? Even though life in Mali was challenging, I was determined to return. Despite the difficulty of adjusting to life there, I had grown to love the country and the people.

Keeping Focused on the Ministry

When I returned to Mali, I knew what to expect. This, along with many prayers for Jehovah’s support, helped me stay well and focus on the ministry. In 1978, the branch invited me to continue serving in Mali as a missionary.

Although Mali is rated as one of the hottest countries in the world, there was no air conditioning where I lived. At first, we did not even have a refrigerator. I learned from the local brothers and sisters how to cope with the heat. We took a nap during the hottest part of the day and preached in the evening.

The heat often made it difficult to sleep at night. Sometimes I would take my mattress up to the flat roof of the missionary home, where it was a little cooler. Later, I moved to a different home, where I slept under a mosquito net in a small bedroom. During the hottest time of the year, I would get up, take a shower, and then go back to bed. I would repeat this several times during the night so that I could get a few hours of sleep at a time.

I often preached alone because there was so much territory and so few publishers to work it. The people were receptive and listened with interest. Many times, I conducted Bible studies late into the night in the dim light of kerosene lamps. Their sincere interest encouraged me to keep focusing on the preaching work.

Let me tell you about one of the women I studied the Bible with. Mariama was a delightful young woman. She loved to cook, and she generously invited others to taste what she made. She was active in her religion—even encouraging others to observe its rituals.

As she studied, Mariam gradually realized that the Bible is God’s Word and she grew to love both Jehovah and Jesus. In time, her husband noticed how studying the Bible was touching her heart. From that time on, he violently opposed her. But Jehovah helped her deal with this challenge, sometimes in unusual ways.

For example, on several occasions Mariam’s husband called her to join him for morning prayers. But just then, her baby would start crying, and her husband would tell her to go feed the baby. On the day of her baptism, her husband suspected something and said, “I am not letting you leave the house today.” At that moment, a lifelong friend, someone her husband had not seen for 15 years, came to visit. The two were thrilled to see each other. The visitor said to Mariam: “You have to let me keep your husband for the day. I want him to come with me.” Mariam gladly agreed, and as a result, she was able to attend the assembly and get baptized. To this day, Mariam continues to serve Jehovah faithfully.

A Good Life Preaching in Africa

Jehovah has shown his love for me and has helped me remain spiritually strong. Ever since I learned the truth, I have seen how he has guided my life, including the privilege of serving in Mali for so many years. I have also seen how well Jehovah cares for his people by means of his marvelous organization. It is clear to me that Jehovah is using the Governing Body to express his love for us. Because of all this, I love Jehovah even more than when I first learned the truth, and my love for him continues to grow.

Some have asked why I have remained single all these years. I never decided that I wanted to serve Jehovah as a single person. The truth is, I would have loved to have married a fine brother with whom I could share a life in full-time service. But such a brother, with the same goals, never came into my life.

In 2022, I was asked to move to Senegal, where I continue to serve Jehovah as a single sister. But I must mention that I have never been alone. Jehovah has always been by my side. In addition, I have many friends and loving brothers and sisters in the congregation who surround me. Because of my age, each week a sister helps me with cleaning and shopping, and when it is dark, young brothers walk me home after the meetings. Nothing could have brought me more joy than spending my life helping humble people come to an accurate knowledge of God.