00:05 Before I started pioneering,
00:07 I was really nervous that I wouldn’t be able to get my time in every month.
00:11 It was a bit hard when I started pioneering because I didn’t have a car.
00:15 My boss, he didn’t give me part-time work.
00:18 I found it really hard to balance schoolwork
00:21 and pioneering at the same time.
00:23 My biggest struggle was fear of man, so that really hindered me
00:26 because I wasn’t very good at talking to people.
00:28 Having a good routine was a struggle.
00:31 My brother and I are the only ones in the truth.
00:35 My family didn’t understand
00:37 why we wanted to go preaching.
00:40 I didn’t think that I’d make a good pioneer.
00:42 I’ve had Type 1 diabetes since I was five.
00:45 So I was always worried about whether or not
00:48 I could balance that health condition with pioneering.
00:51 The challenges don’t seem that big now,
00:54 but back at that time they were a really big deal.
00:57 But the coolest thing was how Jehovah helped me.
01:00 Prayer to Jehovah helped me overcome my fears.
01:03 My family was a massive help from Jehovah.
01:06 Because my dad was the one who first encouraged me to pioneer,
01:09 when I did start pioneering, he promised that I would have
01:12 the full support of my family.
01:14 When I spoke to brothers and sisters who spent their youth
01:18 in the full-time service that really helped me
01:20 because it was really encouraging, and it really motivated me
01:24 to want to make my own memories and my own experiences
01:26 in the full-time service.
01:28 So there were practical things I could do.
01:31 I didn’t have a car; I just walked or I caught the bus.
01:34 I had to work out what my priorities were first.
01:37 So I had to find out how many hours would I have to go witnessing every week.
01:41 So then I just sat down and I looked at every day
01:43 and planned out which days I could go witnessing,
01:45 which days I had to go to school,
01:47 and also allocated time so that I could do my homework and study.
01:50 Having a schedule was really good
01:52 because I could see it all out in front of me,
01:54 and I could see that the hour requirement
01:56 was actually attainable, so that made it a lot less daunting.
01:59 I first set short-term goals of pioneering in the special months of activity.
02:03 Then I was able to begin continuous auxiliary,
02:06 and then eventually I started regular pioneering.
02:09 One of the best things I did to prepare myself for pioneering
02:12 was to auxiliary pioneer beforehand.
02:14 It really set me up to be able to overcome
02:17 any challenges that I faced while I was pioneering.
02:20 I thought about Malachi 3:10.
02:23 I knew I trusted in Jehovah,
02:25 but this was my chance to test him out.
02:27 I prayed, put my trust in Jehovah,
02:30 and put my application in.
02:32 After my form was in for pioneering,
02:35 a brother, with time, a brother called me and offered me work.
02:38 I had unemployment for three months,
02:41 which wasn’t a good time.
02:44 But during that time, I had Jehovah as my main focus.
02:48 And so he supported me, and he didn’t let me down.
02:51 Asking brothers and sisters to come
02:53 and work with me, maybe on days that I knew
02:55 that I wouldn’t get as much support, really helped.
02:57 That helped me to organize my hours a little bit more,
03:00 and also I’d get to know my brothers and sisters more as well.
03:04 One of the greatest joys of pioneering has been to pioneer with Mum.
03:07 And we had the privilege of going
03:10 to the pioneer school together, which was really special.
03:13 Psalm 16:8 reminds me
03:16 that Jehovah is right beside me.
03:19 When I’m preaching, it’s like Jehovah is holding my hand.
03:23 So with full-time service, I love making Jehovah happy.
03:27 With everything that he has given me, I’m finally able to give something back.
03:31 Looking back —pioneering—
03:33 it was the best decision I’ve ever made.
03:34 It’s opened up so many different avenues
03:37 of service to Jehovah,
03:38 and it helped me also to have that real desire
03:40 to want to stay in full-time service.
03:43 Helping someone on the road to everlasting life,
03:46 it’s the best feeling ever; and it’s really irreplaceable.
03:52 The only thing I can say,
03:55 “As a young person, start pioneering!”
