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00:00:01 I started pioneering in 1978, straight out of school. 00:00:06 And then after 17 years, 00:00:08 I had to stop because I could no longer meet the hour requirement. 00:00:12 At one of the conventions, I saw 00:00:15 some sisters interpreting the program into sign language. 00:00:19 And so I thought that even if I couldn’t continue pioneering, 00:00:23 I could do something more in Jehovah’s service 00:00:26 by learning sign language, and so I started to do that. 00:00:30 Because I was deeply grateful to Jehovah 00:00:32 for all he had done for me, 00:00:34 I resumed pioneering again 00:00:37 in September 2009. 00:00:39 And then I had the added blessing 00:00:42 of now pioneering in the sign-language field. 00:00:45 One day I met Cecilia. 00:00:48 She suffers from a genetic syndrome called 00:00:52 Usher Syndrome, which causes deafness 00:00:55 coupled with tunnel vision 00:00:58 that can, over time, lead to blindness. 00:01:02 Because of that disability, 00:01:04 it made her extremely shy. 00:01:07 So it was very difficult to communicate with her. 00:01:10 I started studying with her 00:01:12 in October 2009, 00:01:15 and very quickly she started attending meetings. 00:01:19 I would fetch her for the meetings and then drop her off at home afterward. 00:01:23 I lived about five minutes from the Kingdom Hall, 00:01:26 but she was thirty minutes away. 00:01:29 And I quickly realized 00:01:31 that she would also need to put in effort 00:01:35 to get to the meetings in order to make progress. 00:01:38 Cecilia lived close 00:01:40 to where she could catch a taxi 00:01:43 up to the train line, 00:01:45 and then it would be two train journeys 00:01:47 to get to the Kingdom Hall. 00:01:49 So it would take her, each way, 00:01:51 an hour and a half to two hours. 00:01:54 She also lived in a notoriously unsafe area 00:01:59 because of gang violence. 00:02:01 But I knew that Cecilia was 00:02:04 strong-willed enough and independent enough, 00:02:07 in spite of her timidity and reticence, 00:02:12 to be able to get herself to the meetings. 00:02:15 Cecilia was attending meetings regularly. 00:02:18 But instead of a skirt, 00:02:20 she wore pants to the meetings. 00:02:23 So I chatted to Nancy, 00:02:25 a sister who at the time was accompanying me 00:02:28 to her study most weeks, 00:02:30 so that we could try and figure out a way of helping her 00:02:33 to make the change she needed to make. 00:02:35 It took about a year 00:02:37 of gently showing pictures 00:02:41 and reviewing the Bible principles, 00:02:43 but eventually she did get the point. 00:02:45 One of the weekends that she was staying over, 00:02:48 I went into her room, 00:02:50 and on her bed, neatly laid out, 00:02:52 was a skirt and top 00:02:54 ready for the meeting. 00:02:56 I thanked Jehovah at that point 00:02:59 because, finally, our patience had been rewarded. 00:03:03 We had all of our meetings on a Saturday 00:03:06 with a lunch break in between when we would associate, 00:03:10 but we noticed that Cecilia was isolating herself. 00:03:14 To reinforce for Cecilia 00:03:17 the principle at Acts 20:35, 00:03:20 a friend came up with the good idea of helping her 00:03:24 to bake cookies the day before the meeting. 00:03:27 Cecilia shyly offered the cookies to each person there 00:03:31 during the lunch break, 00:03:33 and it elicited such a warm response 00:03:35 from the brothers and sisters and friends there. 00:03:38 It really drove home the point for Cecilia, 00:03:41 and it was beautiful to see her, after that, come out of her shell. 00:03:46 In July 2014, 00:03:49 Cecilia gave her first student talk, 00:03:53 and in that month she also started publishing. 00:03:57 There have been challenges, particularly 00:04:00 with learning sign language but even more so 00:04:03 in getting to understand the deaf culture 00:04:08 —the way that they think— and also financial hardships. 00:04:11 But the challenges and the sacrifices 00:04:16 were far outweighed by the blessings. 00:04:20 A day that’s etched in my memory 00:04:23 is the day that she told me she wanted to get baptized. 00:04:27 Cecilia has really become like a daughter to me, 00:04:31 and I’m so proud of the enormous strides that she made in the truth. 00:04:36 In October 2015, she was baptized, 00:04:40 and I cried with joy that day. 00:04:43 I’ve been pioneering now for 28 years. 00:04:46 And over that time, particularly since I started again 00:04:50 (and with Cecilia), 00:04:52 many, many, many brothers and sisters in the congregation helped me. 00:04:57 They accompanied me to her study; 00:05:00 they became friends with her; 00:05:02 they took over when I went away. 00:05:04 I could never have done it on my own. 00:05:07 Above all, 00:05:09 Jehovah has helped me to cultivate qualities 00:05:12 like patience, self-control, 00:05:16 humility, compassion. 00:05:18 It was really wonderful to play a small part 00:05:22 —such a privilege— to help Cecilia 00:05:25 to become part of Jehovah’s family.
00:00:01 I started pioneering in 1978, straight out of school. 00:00:06 And then after 17 years, 00:00:08 I had to stop because I could no longer meet the hour requirement. 00:00:12 At one of the conventions, I saw 00:00:15 some sisters interpreting the program into sign language. 00:00:19 And so I thought that even if I couldn’t continue pioneering, 00:00:23 I could do something more in Jehovah’s service 00:00:26 by learning sign language, and so I started to do that. 00:00:30 Because I was deeply grateful to Jehovah 00:00:32 for all he had done for me, 00:00:34 I resumed pioneering again 00:00:37 in September 2009. 00:00:39 And then I had the added blessing 00:00:42 of now pioneering in the sign-language field. 00:00:45 One day I met Cecilia. 00:00:48 She suffers from a genetic syndrome called 00:00:52 Usher Syndrome, which causes deafness 00:00:55 coupled with tunnel vision 00:00:58 that can, over time, lead to blindness. 00:01:02 Because of that disability, 00:01:04 it made her extremely shy. 00:01:07 So it was very difficult to communicate with her. 00:01:10 I started studying with her 00:01:12 in October 2009, 00:01:15 and very quickly she started attending meetings. 00:01:19 I would fetch her for the meetings and then drop her off at home afterward. 00:01:23 I lived about five minutes from the Kingdom Hall, 00:01:26 but she was thirty minutes away. 00:01:29 And I quickly realized 00:01:31 that she would also need to put in effort 00:01:35 to get to the meetings in order to make progress. 00:01:38 Cecilia lived close 00:01:40 to where she could catch a taxi 00:01:43 up to the train line, 00:01:45 and then it would be two train journeys 00:01:47 to get to the Kingdom Hall. 00:01:49 So it would take her, each way, 00:01:51 an hour and a half to two hours. 00:01:54 She also lived in a notoriously unsafe area 00:01:59 because of gang violence. 00:02:01 But I knew that Cecilia was 00:02:04 strong-willed enough and independent enough, 00:02:07 in spite of her timidity and reticence, 00:02:12 to be able to get herself to the meetings. 00:02:15 Cecilia was attending meetings regularly. 00:02:18 But instead of a skirt, 00:02:20 she wore pants to the meetings. 00:02:23 So I chatted to Nancy, 00:02:25 a sister who at the time was accompanying me 00:02:28 to her study most weeks, 00:02:30 so that we could try and figure out a way of helping her 00:02:33 to make the change she needed to make. 00:02:35 It took about a year 00:02:37 of gently showing pictures 00:02:41 and reviewing the Bible principles, 00:02:43 but eventually she did get the point. 00:02:45 One of the weekends that she was staying over, 00:02:48 I went into her room, 00:02:50 and on her bed, neatly laid out, 00:02:52 was a skirt and top 00:02:54 ready for the meeting. 00:02:56 I thanked Jehovah at that point 00:02:59 because, finally, our patience had been rewarded. 00:03:03 We had all of our meetings on a Saturday 00:03:06 with a lunch break in between when we would associate, 00:03:10 but we noticed that Cecilia was isolating herself. 00:03:14 To reinforce for Cecilia 00:03:17 the principle at Acts 20:35, 00:03:20 a friend came up with the good idea of helping her 00:03:24 to bake cookies the day before the meeting. 00:03:27 Cecilia shyly offered the cookies to each person there 00:03:31 during the lunch break, 00:03:33 and it elicited such a warm response 00:03:35 from the brothers and sisters and friends there. 00:03:38 It really drove home the point for Cecilia, 00:03:41 and it was beautiful to see her, after that, come out of her shell. 00:03:46 In July 2014, 00:03:49 Cecilia gave her first student talk, 00:03:53 and in that month she also started publishing. 00:03:57 There have been challenges, particularly 00:04:00 with learning sign language but even more so 00:04:03 in getting to understand the deaf culture 00:04:08 —the way that they think— and also financial hardships. 00:04:11 But the challenges and the sacrifices 00:04:16 were far outweighed by the blessings. 00:04:20 A day that’s etched in my memory 00:04:23 is the day that she told me she wanted to get baptized. 00:04:27 Cecilia has really become like a daughter to me, 00:04:31 and I’m so proud of the enormous strides that she made in the truth. 00:04:36 In October 2015, she was baptized, 00:04:40 and I cried with joy that day. 00:04:43 I’ve been pioneering now for 28 years. 00:04:46 And over that time, particularly since I started again 00:04:50 (and with Cecilia), 00:04:52 many, many, many brothers and sisters in the congregation helped me. 00:04:57 They accompanied me to her study; 00:05:00 they became friends with her; 00:05:02 they took over when I went away. 00:05:04 I could never have done it on my own. 00:05:07 Above all, 00:05:09 Jehovah has helped me to cultivate qualities 00:05:12 like patience, self-control, 00:05:16 humility, compassion. 00:05:18 It was really wonderful to play a small part 00:05:22 —such a privilege— to help Cecilia 00:05:25 to become part of Jehovah’s family.
