Awake! September 22, 1995 p19-23
Many Hardships, Many Blessings
I got a part-time job working 20 hours a week-11 hours one day and 9 the next-and I continued special pioneering. I learned quickly how to take advantage of thrift shops. My winter wardrobe was four skirts for a dollar. My winter coat was $1.50. I worked scrubbing floors to be able to buy a pair of $20 boots. All of us had to struggle. To try to save money, I opened a savings account. Sometimes I would deposit 25 cents and then withdraw it for gas. I think the bank tellers hated to see me come in. They eventually closed my account-it always had so little money in it. I would pull into a full-service gas station and get 25 cents worth of gas. After a while I think the attendants let out a heavy sigh whenever I pulled in. There were times we didn't have any money for gas. Many times we would get in the car, knowing that we were low on fuel but knowing also that we had a Bible study to get to. Sometimes when we would go to the post office, in our mail we would find a dollar from someone-just enough to help us get by. Through all the troubles, we could see Jehovah's hand in our life. It was so touching.
I can remember collecting discarded bottles just to put stamps on letters. I saved three months for a pair of $8 shoes. Then the most personal thing happened to me. I was literally down to two pairs of underwear. I prayed to Jehovah and told him that I felt this wasn't something really appropriate to pray for but that I didn't know what I was going to do. Two weeks later, I received a package with 17 pairs of panties, a slip, a blouse, and other items! All from someone I hadn't heard from for a year.