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00:00:01 First Corinthians 13:4, 7 tell us: 00:00:05 “Love is patient and kind” and “bears all things, 00:00:09 believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 00:00:14 Our dramatization helped us to see how love can adapt 00:00:17 to changing needs and circumstances. 00:00:20 But wouldn’t it be nice to talk with some real-life examples 00:00:24 of those who have developed such skills? 00:00:26 Well, we have a special treat. 00:00:30 A longtime faithful couple has joined us in the studio 00:00:35 —William and Angela Samuelson, 00:00:37 who serve at Patterson Bethel in the United States. 00:00:40 Now, of course, we’ve known each other for decades, 00:00:44 and I know you as Bill and Angie, 00:00:47 so that’s the way I’ll refer to you. 00:00:49 So nice that you could be here and be interviewed. 00:00:53 What’s helped you both maintain a happy marriage? 00:00:57 Well, we work as a team, so we always check 00:01:00 with each other before making decisions, 00:01:03 even in areas where we wouldn’t necessarily have to 00:01:06 —it would be OK to go ahead. 00:01:08 But just out of respect, 00:01:10 we talk with each other about any decisions that we make. 00:01:14 And, you know, Brother Morris, we’ve been married 60 years now, 00:01:18 and we’ve never really had a real serious argument. 00:01:22 We’ve had some disagreements but nothing ever serious. 00:01:26 And whenever we have those kind of words, why, we never use 00:01:31 demeaning language or say derogatory things about each other, 00:01:35 and that makes me very happy. 00:01:38 Yeah, that’s commendable. 00:01:39 Early in our marriage, there was one occasion 00:01:43 when Angie was upset with me about something 00:01:45 —it could’ve been anything— 00:01:47 and in the conversation, it obviously showed in her tone of voice. 00:01:52 So I explained to her that she could say anything she wanted 00:01:55 as long as she smiled when she said it. 00:01:59 Well, she tried, and we both had a good laugh. 00:02:02 It’s very hard to stay mad when you’re smiling. 00:02:05 Smiling—very, very good advice. 00:02:08 What about in the congregation? 00:02:09 How have you been able to show each other honor there? 00:02:13 Well, when we have assignments 00:02:15 from the platform, either of us, we work together. 00:02:20 Angie is much better 00:02:23 with grammar and pronunciation than I am, 00:02:27 and so I’ll check with her to make sure 00:02:29 that I’m saying things as correctly as possible. 00:02:32 And she checks with me 00:02:34 on prophetic significance, for example, 00:02:37 or theocratic understanding or procedure and timing. 00:02:42 Yes, and something that’s very important 00:02:45 is when we do check with each other, we’re not thin-skinned 00:02:49 about the advice that we want to give each other. 00:02:53 I’ll call it advice. 00:02:55 And that makes life a lot easier. 00:02:58 We don’t get angry because we’ve been told 00:03:00 we need to improve on something. 00:03:02 That’s excellent. 00:03:03 You also spent a long time 00:03:05 in the traveling work before coming to Bethel. 00:03:08 We knew you in the traveling work —early ’70’s and then later 00:03:12 when we were down South and you were assigned down there. 00:03:15 What did you learn about showing honor 00:03:17 in that avenue of service? 00:03:20 Well, as you say, we were in the traveling work 00:03:22 for 33 years, just over. 00:03:25 And for most of those years, we would have other assignments. 00:03:29 I would be working with the district 00:03:31 —now regional— convention organization 00:03:34 or other assignments, 00:03:36 and it meant that Angie would be alone 00:03:38 in the congregation. 00:03:40 She never complained; 00:03:42 nor did she become unduly inquisitive about my assignment, 00:03:46 which sometimes would’ve been confidential. 00:03:50 When we had an unexpected move that came up, 00:03:53 a change of assignment somewhere, 00:03:56 Angie would just pack and be ready to go. 00:03:58 That’s right. That was my job—packing. 00:04:03 And in the field ministry, Brother Morris, 00:04:05 we would usually be in separate car groups 00:04:08 because Bill would work with the brothers and I would work with the sisters. 00:04:11 And I really appreciated the fact 00:04:13 that he always made sure I had a safe driver. 00:04:16 It worked out most of the time. 00:04:19 And if we had a territory that was a little scary, 00:04:23 why, he made sure that we were safe in the territory. 00:04:27 So I appreciated that very much. 00:04:29 In one congregation, 00:04:31 (you know, things don’t always go the way we plan) 00:04:35 the brother scheduling the meals 00:04:37 had scheduled two families 00:04:40 for the same noon meal for us. 00:04:43 The one sister was deaf; 00:04:45 and she had always had the traveling brother on a certain day; 00:04:49 and she didn’t hear when she was told it wouldn’t be that day. 00:04:52 So she had gone ahead and prepared a meal. 00:04:55 In the meantime, we had been assigned to another home, 00:04:58 where they served us a full course 00:05:01 —or courses— of an Italian meal. 00:05:03 While we were eating, we found out 00:05:05 that the other sister was waiting for us. 00:05:07 She would’ve been highly offended if somebody didn’t come. 00:05:10 So I went to the Kingdom Hall 00:05:12 and handled the meeting for field service after the meal, 00:05:15 and Angie went to the sister. 00:05:17 That sister would probably still be mad at me if Angie hadn’t gone. 00:05:21 Boy, was I sleepy that afternoon after two big meals. 00:05:25 I bet. Well, you handled that very Christlike. 00:05:29 Now, as we mentioned, your current assignment is here at Bethel. 00:05:33 How have you navigated the unique challenges 00:05:36 of this form of service while still honoring one another? 00:05:41 Well, as you know, we work in different departments, 00:05:44 but we respect that some things 00:05:47 are confidential to that department. 00:05:50 So we don’t make the work of our department 00:05:53 a major part of our conversation. 00:05:55 We could have an energy problem 00:05:58 at the end of the day after working all day, 00:06:00 so Bill is very considerate about accepting too many social invitations. 00:06:04 Isn’t that nice? 00:06:05 And so we respect each other’s limitations 00:06:08 when it comes to physical 00:06:10 and just energy in general. 00:06:13 Well, that’s certainly honoring each other. 00:06:16 Well, Bill and Angie, 00:06:18 those were practical and encouraging comments. 00:06:21 We really thank you so much 00:06:23 for taking the time and allowing us to interview you, 00:06:26 and we really appreciate your good example all these decades. 00:06:30 Well, thank you. 00:06:31 Thank you.
00:00:01 First Corinthians 13:4, 7 tell us: 00:00:05 “Love is patient and kind” and “bears all things, 00:00:09 believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 00:00:14 Our dramatization helped us to see how love can adapt 00:00:17 to changing needs and circumstances. 00:00:20 But wouldn’t it be nice to talk with some real-life examples 00:00:24 of those who have developed such skills? 00:00:26 Well, we have a special treat. 00:00:30 A longtime faithful couple has joined us in the studio 00:00:35 —William and Angela Samuelson, 00:00:37 who serve at Patterson Bethel in the United States. 00:00:40 Now, of course, we’ve known each other for decades, 00:00:44 and I know you as Bill and Angie, 00:00:47 so that’s the way I’ll refer to you. 00:00:49 So nice that you could be here and be interviewed. 00:00:53 What’s helped you both maintain a happy marriage? 00:00:57 Well, we work as a team, so we always check 00:01:00 with each other before making decisions, 00:01:03 even in areas where we wouldn’t necessarily have to 00:01:06 —it would be OK to go ahead. 00:01:08 But just out of respect, 00:01:10 we talk with each other about any decisions that we make. 00:01:14 And, you know, Brother Morris, we’ve been married 60 years now, 00:01:18 and we’ve never really had a real serious argument. 00:01:22 We’ve had some disagreements but nothing ever serious. 00:01:26 And whenever we have those kind of words, why, we never use 00:01:31 demeaning language or say derogatory things about each other, 00:01:35 and that makes me very happy. 00:01:38 Yeah, that’s commendable. 00:01:39 Early in our marriage, there was one occasion 00:01:43 when Angie was upset with me about something 00:01:45 —it could’ve been anything— 00:01:47 and in the conversation, it obviously showed in her tone of voice. 00:01:52 So I explained to her that she could say anything she wanted 00:01:55 as long as she smiled when she said it. 00:01:59 Well, she tried, and we both had a good laugh. 00:02:02 It’s very hard to stay mad when you’re smiling. 00:02:05 Smiling—very, very good advice. 00:02:08 What about in the congregation? 00:02:09 How have you been able to show each other honor there? 00:02:13 Well, when we have assignments 00:02:15 from the platform, either of us, we work together. 00:02:20 Angie is much better 00:02:23 with grammar and pronunciation than I am, 00:02:27 and so I’ll check with her to make sure 00:02:29 that I’m saying things as correctly as possible. 00:02:32 And she checks with me 00:02:34 on prophetic significance, for example, 00:02:37 or theocratic understanding or procedure and timing. 00:02:42 Yes, and something that’s very important 00:02:45 is when we do check with each other, we’re not thin-skinned 00:02:49 about the advice that we want to give each other. 00:02:53 I’ll call it advice. 00:02:55 And that makes life a lot easier. 00:02:58 We don’t get angry because we’ve been told 00:03:00 we need to improve on something. 00:03:02 That’s excellent. 00:03:03 You also spent a long time 00:03:05 in the traveling work before coming to Bethel. 00:03:08 We knew you in the traveling work —early ’70’s and then later 00:03:12 when we were down South and you were assigned down there. 00:03:15 What did you learn about showing honor 00:03:17 in that avenue of service? 00:03:20 Well, as you say, we were in the traveling work 00:03:22 for 33 years, just over. 00:03:25 And for most of those years, we would have other assignments. 00:03:29 I would be working with the district 00:03:31 —now regional— convention organization 00:03:34 or other assignments, 00:03:36 and it meant that Angie would be alone 00:03:38 in the congregation. 00:03:40 She never complained; 00:03:42 nor did she become unduly inquisitive about my assignment, 00:03:46 which sometimes would’ve been confidential. 00:03:50 When we had an unexpected move that came up, 00:03:53 a change of assignment somewhere, 00:03:56 Angie would just pack and be ready to go. 00:03:58 That’s right. That was my job—packing. 00:04:03 And in the field ministry, Brother Morris, 00:04:05 we would usually be in separate car groups 00:04:08 because Bill would work with the brothers and I would work with the sisters. 00:04:11 And I really appreciated the fact 00:04:13 that he always made sure I had a safe driver. 00:04:16 It worked out most of the time. 00:04:19 And if we had a territory that was a little scary, 00:04:23 why, he made sure that we were safe in the territory. 00:04:27 So I appreciated that very much. 00:04:29 In one congregation, 00:04:31 (you know, things don’t always go the way we plan) 00:04:35 the brother scheduling the meals 00:04:37 had scheduled two families 00:04:40 for the same noon meal for us. 00:04:43 The one sister was deaf; 00:04:45 and she had always had the traveling brother on a certain day; 00:04:49 and she didn’t hear when she was told it wouldn’t be that day. 00:04:52 So she had gone ahead and prepared a meal. 00:04:55 In the meantime, we had been assigned to another home, 00:04:58 where they served us a full course 00:05:01 —or courses— of an Italian meal. 00:05:03 While we were eating, we found out 00:05:05 that the other sister was waiting for us. 00:05:07 She would’ve been highly offended if somebody didn’t come. 00:05:10 So I went to the Kingdom Hall 00:05:12 and handled the meeting for field service after the meal, 00:05:15 and Angie went to the sister. 00:05:17 That sister would probably still be mad at me if Angie hadn’t gone. 00:05:21 Boy, was I sleepy that afternoon after two big meals. 00:05:25 I bet. Well, you handled that very Christlike. 00:05:29 Now, as we mentioned, your current assignment is here at Bethel. 00:05:33 How have you navigated the unique challenges 00:05:36 of this form of service while still honoring one another? 00:05:41 Well, as you know, we work in different departments, 00:05:44 but we respect that some things 00:05:47 are confidential to that department. 00:05:50 So we don’t make the work of our department 00:05:53 a major part of our conversation. 00:05:55 We could have an energy problem 00:05:58 at the end of the day after working all day, 00:06:00 so Bill is very considerate about accepting too many social invitations. 00:06:04 Isn’t that nice? 00:06:05 And so we respect each other’s limitations 00:06:08 when it comes to physical 00:06:10 and just energy in general. 00:06:13 Well, that’s certainly honoring each other. 00:06:16 Well, Bill and Angie, 00:06:18 those were practical and encouraging comments. 00:06:21 We really thank you so much 00:06:23 for taking the time and allowing us to interview you, 00:06:26 and we really appreciate your good example all these decades. 00:06:30 Well, thank you. 00:06:31 Thank you.
