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00:01 There’s something common to every successful marriage 00:04 between two Christians. 00:06 It is their putting Jehovah first 00:08 and supporting each other’s personal dedication to God. 00:12 This is certainly true with Viv and Ann Mouritz, 00:15 serving in the Australasia branch. 00:18 They’ve been married for 65 years 00:22 and have a combined 131 years 00:25 in full-time service. 00:27 Listen to their advice for younger ones 00:30 deciding what to do in Jehovah’s organization. 00:35 I started pioneering in November 1948. 00:38 That’s a while ago now. 00:40 And that’s what I thought I would do—pioneer. 00:47 So I said, “Well, Jehovah, if I do what you ask me, 00:52 “I accept whatever assignment you give me, 00:54 “and I’ll just go where you send me, 00:56 and I won’t seek an assignment, but I won’t refuse one.” 00:59 That’s all I intended to do as far as I knew, 01:01 but then I had only been pioneering about a year 01:04 when I got this envelope, and the letter said: 01:06 “Please fill in the enclosed form.” 01:08 It was an application for Bethel, and I thought, 01:10 ‘Goodness, I didn’t think of Bethel. 01:12 I told Jehovah I’d go where he sent me, so don’t argue, just do it.’ 01:18 I was working in the printery cleaning out old ink tins 01:22 and making schedules for printing and so on. 01:25 And then I got to work on the press too, 01:28 but I wasn’t there very long when they moved me to the office. 01:34 Well, you learn a lot in Bethel. 01:36 You learn how to live with your brothers, 01:38 which you’re not used to. 01:40 You learn about Jehovah’s organization —you see how it operates. 01:45 I had the privilege of working alongside brothers who had lots of experience. 01:51 I got assigned to Metropolitan Congregation. 01:54 That’s where Ann was. 01:56 Yeah, we got married in October 1951, 01:59 and two weeks later, 02:01 I started pioneering. 02:05 I was 20 at that time when we started circuit work, 02:09 and I’d only pioneered for a year; 02:12 so of course I was very worried 02:14 and scared about having to witness with sisters 02:18 that had pioneered for years and some of them even of the anointed. 02:23 I cried halfway to Melbourne. 02:27 We got very close to the brothers and sisters 02:30 and especially to the children, so we really loved that. 02:33 And then we got the opportunity to go 02:36 to New York to the international convention 02:39 in 1958. 02:42 When the Society found out we were going, they sent us 02:45 an application for Gilead, and we thought, ‘Oh, my goodness. 02:48 How can we do that?’ 02:51 So we said, “Well, we don’t say no.” 02:56 After the ‘58 convention, 02:58 we were assigned to special pioneer 03:00 in Canada for six months. 03:03 Brother Knorr said we were in cold storage, 03:05 so there were about 40 of us 03:07 from British Commonwealth countries. 03:09 So that was a good experience too. 03:12 We saw winter for the first time. I did, anyway. 03:16 And we took pictures of snow and ice and icicles 03:19 to show in our assignment when we got into India or Africa or somewhere. 03:24 And Jehovah had a sense of humor; he sent us to Finland. 03:29 Well, the schooling you get from Gilead 03:31 or the other schools 03:33 helps you to see Jehovah’s organization 03:36 and how it works. 03:40 We didn’t know a lot about Finland except that we knew it was cold 03:43 and clean 03:49 and a long way from Australia. 03:51 Being so far from Australia, 03:55 we knew that we wouldn’t be able to get home 03:57 to see our families, not for a long, long time. 04:04 When we moved into Finland, the brothers 04:06 in Russia and those countries were under ban. 04:10 They needed spiritual food, 04:12 and so it had to be supplied to them. 04:16 So we used to send people in as tourists, and they would meet 04:19 the brothers there and deliver the food to them. 04:24 Without Jehovah’s blessing and his spirit, 04:26 we couldn’t have done it at all. 04:29 It’s amazing to think that the amount of spiritual food 04:32 that got in there, they translated it, 04:35 and they made it available. 04:37 And we did that for over 20 years 04:39 without any mishaps. 04:42 It couldn’t happen without Jehovah’s blessing. 04:45 Leaving Finland was not easy, of course. 04:47 We had mixed feelings, 04:49 but, actually, I saw Jehovah’s hand 04:52 in the assignment 04:54 because we really got back to Australia 04:57 at a time when my parents were needing help, 04:59 so we didn’t have to leave Bethel 05:02 or full-time service to give that help. 05:05 We were asked to go to Russia in 1999. 05:08 That turned out to be two and a half years. 05:11 I was a little apprehensive about going to Russia, 05:14 but it was really one of the most memorable assignments 05:17 we’ve ever had. 05:20 In Russia, the brothers were not used to house-to-house work 05:23 because of all the years under ban. 05:27 And that was quite different because you go to the door; 05:29 you can’t just strike up a conversation. 05:32 The person wants to know why you are there. 05:34 And you can’t make 05:35 a return visit on someone you met on the street 05:37 —well, you don’t know where he lives. 05:39 If you’ve called at his house, you do, and you can make a return visit. 05:42 The brothers saw the advantage of that. 05:44 But they had to learn. It was a new thing. 05:48 Circuit overseers had to learn how to visit congregations, 05:51 and Polish brothers came in and helped a lot with that 05:55 —did circuit work— but they too had to learn. 05:59 So it was a big change for them 06:01 to come from working under ban all their lives 06:04 to now working the way the rest of the world does. 06:10 The best decision I ever made 06:12 was to put my life in Jehovah’s hands, 06:14 and to say, “You decide 06:16 where I go and what I do.” 06:20 I’ve had the feeling all along, and it’s proven true so far, 06:23 that everything I have done 06:25 has been training for something else. 06:28 So, what I’m doing now is still training. 06:30 It must be for the new world because I haven’t got 06:32 much time left in this one. 06:34 What will it be? Well, who knows? 06:41 So my recommendation to everyone is: 06:43 Don’t decide for yourself. 06:45 Let Jehovah do it. 06:50 Brother and Sister Mouritz always looked to Jehovah 06:52 for their assignments. 06:54 For Brother Mouritz, that’s meant serving 06:57 on the Branch Committees in Finland, India, 07:00 Russia, Poland, Ukraine, 07:02 and Australasia 07:04 and the privilege of making visits 07:06 to more than 70 countries 07:08 as a representative of world headquarters. 07:12 We can certainly pursue any form of service 07:15 that our circumstances allow. 07:17 But when we pray for Jehovah’s direction, 07:20 we rely on him to send us 07:22 where it benefits his organization 07:24 and ourselves the most.
00:01 There’s something common to every successful marriage 00:04 between two Christians. 00:06 It is their putting Jehovah first 00:08 and supporting each other’s personal dedication to God. 00:12 This is certainly true with Viv and Ann Mouritz, 00:15 serving in the Australasia branch. 00:18 They’ve been married for 65 years 00:22 and have a combined 131 years 00:25 in full-time service. 00:27 Listen to their advice for younger ones 00:30 deciding what to do in Jehovah’s organization. 00:35 I started pioneering in November 1948. 00:38 That’s a while ago now. 00:40 And that’s what I thought I would do—pioneer. 00:47 So I said, “Well, Jehovah, if I do what you ask me, 00:52 “I accept whatever assignment you give me, 00:54 “and I’ll just go where you send me, 00:56 and I won’t seek an assignment, but I won’t refuse one.” 00:59 That’s all I intended to do as far as I knew, 01:01 but then I had only been pioneering about a year 01:04 when I got this envelope, and the letter said: 01:06 “Please fill in the enclosed form.” 01:08 It was an application for Bethel, and I thought, 01:10 ‘Goodness, I didn’t think of Bethel. 01:12 I told Jehovah I’d go where he sent me, so don’t argue, just do it.’ 01:18 I was working in the printery cleaning out old ink tins 01:22 and making schedules for printing and so on. 01:25 And then I got to work on the press too, 01:28 but I wasn’t there very long when they moved me to the office. 01:34 Well, you learn a lot in Bethel. 01:36 You learn how to live with your brothers, 01:38 which you’re not used to. 01:40 You learn about Jehovah’s organization —you see how it operates. 01:45 I had the privilege of working alongside brothers who had lots of experience. 01:51 I got assigned to Metropolitan Congregation. 01:54 That’s where Ann was. 01:56 Yeah, we got married in October 1951, 01:59 and two weeks later, 02:01 I started pioneering. 02:05 I was 20 at that time when we started circuit work, 02:09 and I’d only pioneered for a year; 02:12 so of course I was very worried 02:14 and scared about having to witness with sisters 02:18 that had pioneered for years and some of them even of the anointed. 02:23 I cried halfway to Melbourne. 02:27 We got very close to the brothers and sisters 02:30 and especially to the children, so we really loved that. 02:33 And then we got the opportunity to go 02:36 to New York to the international convention 02:39 in 1958. 02:42 When the Society found out we were going, they sent us 02:45 an application for Gilead, and we thought, ‘Oh, my goodness. 02:48 How can we do that?’ 02:51 So we said, “Well, we don’t say no.” 02:56 After the ‘58 convention, 02:58 we were assigned to special pioneer 03:00 in Canada for six months. 03:03 Brother Knorr said we were in cold storage, 03:05 so there were about 40 of us 03:07 from British Commonwealth countries. 03:09 So that was a good experience too. 03:12 We saw winter for the first time. I did, anyway. 03:16 And we took pictures of snow and ice and icicles 03:19 to show in our assignment when we got into India or Africa or somewhere. 03:24 And Jehovah had a sense of humor; he sent us to Finland. 03:29 Well, the schooling you get from Gilead 03:31 or the other schools 03:33 helps you to see Jehovah’s organization 03:36 and how it works. 03:40 We didn’t know a lot about Finland except that we knew it was cold 03:43 and clean 03:49 and a long way from Australia. 03:51 Being so far from Australia, 03:55 we knew that we wouldn’t be able to get home 03:57 to see our families, not for a long, long time. 04:04 When we moved into Finland, the brothers 04:06 in Russia and those countries were under ban. 04:10 They needed spiritual food, 04:12 and so it had to be supplied to them. 04:16 So we used to send people in as tourists, and they would meet 04:19 the brothers there and deliver the food to them. 04:24 Without Jehovah’s blessing and his spirit, 04:26 we couldn’t have done it at all. 04:29 It’s amazing to think that the amount of spiritual food 04:32 that got in there, they translated it, 04:35 and they made it available. 04:37 And we did that for over 20 years 04:39 without any mishaps. 04:42 It couldn’t happen without Jehovah’s blessing. 04:45 Leaving Finland was not easy, of course. 04:47 We had mixed feelings, 04:49 but, actually, I saw Jehovah’s hand 04:52 in the assignment 04:54 because we really got back to Australia 04:57 at a time when my parents were needing help, 04:59 so we didn’t have to leave Bethel 05:02 or full-time service to give that help. 05:05 We were asked to go to Russia in 1999. 05:08 That turned out to be two and a half years. 05:11 I was a little apprehensive about going to Russia, 05:14 but it was really one of the most memorable assignments 05:17 we’ve ever had. 05:20 In Russia, the brothers were not used to house-to-house work 05:23 because of all the years under ban. 05:27 And that was quite different because you go to the door; 05:29 you can’t just strike up a conversation. 05:32 The person wants to know why you are there. 05:34 And you can’t make 05:35 a return visit on someone you met on the street 05:37 —well, you don’t know where he lives. 05:39 If you’ve called at his house, you do, and you can make a return visit. 05:42 The brothers saw the advantage of that. 05:44 But they had to learn. It was a new thing. 05:48 Circuit overseers had to learn how to visit congregations, 05:51 and Polish brothers came in and helped a lot with that 05:55 —did circuit work— but they too had to learn. 05:59 So it was a big change for them 06:01 to come from working under ban all their lives 06:04 to now working the way the rest of the world does. 06:10 The best decision I ever made 06:12 was to put my life in Jehovah’s hands, 06:14 and to say, “You decide 06:16 where I go and what I do.” 06:20 I’ve had the feeling all along, and it’s proven true so far, 06:23 that everything I have done 06:25 has been training for something else. 06:28 So, what I’m doing now is still training. 06:30 It must be for the new world because I haven’t got 06:32 much time left in this one. 06:34 What will it be? Well, who knows? 06:41 So my recommendation to everyone is: 06:43 Don’t decide for yourself. 06:45 Let Jehovah do it. 06:50 Brother and Sister Mouritz always looked to Jehovah 06:52 for their assignments. 06:54 For Brother Mouritz, that’s meant serving 06:57 on the Branch Committees in Finland, India, 07:00 Russia, Poland, Ukraine, 07:02 and Australasia 07:04 and the privilege of making visits 07:06 to more than 70 countries 07:08 as a representative of world headquarters. 07:12 We can certainly pursue any form of service 07:15 that our circumstances allow. 07:17 But when we pray for Jehovah’s direction, 07:20 we rely on him to send us 07:22 where it benefits his organization 07:24 and ourselves the most.
