“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.

In 1993, Ute, from Germany, now in her early 50’s, was assigned to serve as a missionary in Madagascar. She relates: “At first, I struggled to learn the local language, to adjust to the humid climate, and to cope with malaria, amoebas, and parasitic worms. But I received a lot of help. The local sisters, their children, and my Bible students patiently helped me to master the language. My missionary partner lovingly cared for me when I was sick. But most of all, Jehovah helped me. I regularly poured out my anxieties to him in prayer. Then I patiently waited​—sometimes for days, sometimes for months—​for my prayers to be answered. Jehovah solved every problem.” Ute has now been serving in Madagascar for 23 years.