Transcripts: Interviews and Experiences

Transcript: Laura Lee: Giving My All Despite Being Shy
[Aerial view of the former branch facilities in the UK]
Laura: My name is Laura. I’ve served at Bethel for eight years.
[She irons a shirt]
I’m from a village called Dinnington, and I have a twin sister. And we were very shy. I mean, really; I can’t stress how shy we were. Neither of us dared speak to anyone. My nana was a really big spiritual influence in my life. She got really ill, and she knew she was going to die, and she said: “‘Taste and see that Jehovah is good.’ “Please promise me you will try to put everything into serving Jehovah.” That affected me a lot.
[She reads her Bible]
I thought: ‘This is it. This is my chance.’ So, I went out every Saturday from that moment on, and I got baptized as soon as I could. I still couldn’t answer at the meetings because I was too shy. I still struggled to speak to people in the congregation. But in the ministry, I was fine. After pioneering five years, I got married. We were going to try our best to do full-time ministry for the rest of our lives. I really do love Bethel. I think there’s a real link between a good ministry and happiness at Bethel. So if you love the ministry, then Bethel is an excellent place. For the full eight years, I’ve been in the laundry. It’s a small team, there are only 40. I got to know everyone so well. I felt so integrated very quickly. They helped me to feel like I was part of a family.
[She walks with her husband]
Knowing every day that here at Bethel all our time and energy goes to serving Jehovah is so satisfying. You feel happy at the end of every day, even if you’re tired mentally or physically. You’ve done everything you can for Jehovah, and you can’t beat it, really.
[Her face lights up with a wide smile]
(Logo inside a White box. Black capital letters JW.ORG. Copyright 2018 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania)