“They Are Always Holding Hands”

This is a love story. The love story of Dennis and Mavis Matthews – their affection for each other, their devotion to Jehovah, and their dedication towards their assignments.

They are always holding hands

“They are always holding hands,” says Ceri, a carer in Jah-Jireh. Dennis and Mavis have been married for 70 years and have spent their marriage and their lives in faithful service to Jehovah. Having started their full-time career as young ones to spending 42 years together in the traveling work and encouraging us all at Jah-Jireh despite their age, Dennis and Mavis have a wealth of experiences. They share it with us in this life story.

A Firm Foundation

Dennis’ love for Jehovah began at a young age. His father had been contacted by one of the Hopley brothers, who had just returned to England from their missionary assignment in India. He took to the truth immediately and helped Dennis and his brother Arthur grow in their love for Jehovah. Both boys were baptized when they were teenagers and began a long and rewarding journey in Jehovah’s service.

Soon Dennis was assigned as a special pioneer to Hemsworth. Sadly, around that time Arthur was sent away to prison because he refused to go to war. After a three-month long sentence, Arthur hurried back to join Dennis in the pioneering work. Within a few months however, Dennis was assigned to Ireland. The brothers parted ways as their assignments took them to different places.

Arthur would go on to marry Olive and serve as a Branch Committee Coordinator for Ireland for many years. Olive recalls those wonderful years in her life story.

Mavis was a youngster too when her father was contacted by Billy Clark, a zealous pioneer from Warrington. “I used to hear my dad asking questions and I used to think ‘I don’t know why dad asked that. You can’t find an answer to that.’ But Billy would always turn to the Bible and give an answer.” She fondly recalls how Billy would ask her to learn the names of the Bible books – 5 every week. The names impressed on her mind then, still help her find Bible books quickly to this day. She deeply appreciates the early interest they took in her.

One of Mavis’ early memories in the truth is being part of the 12,000 in attendance at the five-day national convention on September 3-7, 1941 in Leicester’s De Montfort Hall. She remembers sitting near the platform on the last day of the convention, “Children’s Day.” The recording of Brother Rutherford’s talk “Children of the King” was a convention highlight. We can imagine her paying rapt attention as 71-year-old Rutherford said in a fatherly tone: “All of you . . . children who have agreed . . . to obey God and his King, please stand up.” As the children all rose, he continued: “All of you who will do what you can to tell others about God’s kingdom . . . , please say Aye.”

Mavis lived by that “Aye” all her life. That historic convention and the book release “Children” had made a deep impression on Mavis.

The fine foundation that Dennis and Mavis received as children would help them pursue spiritual goals and have a long successful career in fulltime service.

A Vintage Love Story

Dennis and Mavis as newly weds

Mavis’ eyes twinkle as she describes their meet-cute. Mavis was an eager special pioneer finding joy in her ministry in England and Dennis was on his assignment in Ireland. “Then we had a circuit assembly in 1947,” she smiles. “We used to do ministry on Saturday mornings. On Saturday morning, a group of us sisters were waiting to be assigned territory. We were asked to wait for a brother to come and assign us territory ... and there was Dennis.”

Dennis had come over from Ireland for the assembly and to see his brother Arthur. He had seen Mavis’ photograph at her father’s house some time ago and had heard of her. With that as an ice-breaker, the two got chatting. Another opportunity to talk would come when they were assigned seats together on a bus arranged to take pioneers to Earl’s Court for the ministry. The next year, they would meet again for the special convention and start writing to each other. These were the days when you had to wait three months for a letter to arrive!

Through these letters, they shared their experiences in their assignments, their spiritual goals and slowly their friendship blossomed into love. They were married on 25th February 1950. Thus began a journey together that would take them to faraway lands, through challenging assignments and rewarding experiences.

Fighting the Fine Fight in Cyprus

Setting sail to the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead

After two years of marriage, Dennis and Mavis were invited to attend the Gilead school and in 1953 they would be sent on an action-packed assignment to Cyprus.

Gilead Graduation Class of 1953

Cyprus was a beautiful city but the assignment came with its fair share of challenges. Don Rendell, who was overseeing the work in Cyprus at the time, paints us a vignette of the situation: “There were about 100 Witnesses in Cyprus at that time, and they had to fight hard for their faith. Mobs led by priests of the Greek Orthodox Church interrupted our assemblies, and it was a new experience for me to be stoned when witnessing in rural areas. I had to learn to make a quick retreat! In the face of such violent opposition, it was faith strengthening to have more missionaries assigned to the island. Dennis and Mavis Matthews along with Joan Hulley and Beryl Heywood joined me in Famagusta …”

Looking back to the days of placards and looking ahead to the New World

Their time in Cyprus was filled with adventure. Apart from the fierce opposition from the Church, there were local militia to contend with too. In the 1950s, EOKA, a nationalist guerrilla organisation was established to mount a military campaign to end the status of Cyprus as a British crown colony. Sentiments were high against the British. Mavis recollects an incident involving a bomb at the local post office. “We had just collected our mail as we were coming back to the missionary home from ministry in the morning. We heard a bomb go off just as we arrived home. Immediately after that one of the lads from the EOKA movement on a motor bike threw a bomb just next to the house.” Startled as they were, they continued in their assignment.

Gradually the locals began to identify the Witnesses as different from the British they were fighting against. “They knew Jehovah’s Witnesses were not involved in government affairs,” Mavis continues. “They wanted peace. Once when we were coming home from an assembly in a village where the EOKA movement was quite strong, we saw some men sitting outside coffee shops where they play cards and drink. One said to the other “Eínai Angliká” (The English are coming). The other one dismissed him saying “den eínai oi Ángloi, eínai oi Thousanders” (No they are not the English, they are the Thousanders.) That is what they called the brothers as they believed in the Thousand Year Reign.”

Though there were trials, there were also many joys. There were many who responded to the good news. A particular incident they remember was having a study with a lady who was from a Middle Eastern background. The lady progressed and was baptized. “We had the baptism service in her home as they owned the land that went down to the sea,” says Mavis. “She got baptized in the sea with her fleshly brother. It was quite astounding news in the town when they became Witnesses.”

“One of the happiest memories in the truth for me,” she continues “has been when we went to special pioneer assignments and we had no bible studies, no ministry being done at all and then being able to get bible studies going with people; and being in an assignment and seeing a congregation formed in that very area and to see years later how they have grown.”

From a hundred publishers in Cyprus to 41 congregations, the work in Cyprus has come a long way and Dennis and Mavis’ contribution in its early years will be long remembered.

Nuggets of Wisdom

After 5 years of service in Cyprus, they returned to England. In 1959, the branch assigned them in the circuit work. They lived in Bristol Assembly Hall for three years as they covered the circuit from Fishgaard to Cornwall.

After 70 years of marriage and 42 years in the traveling work together, 18 of which were in the district work, Dennis and Mavis look back at their rewarding career and successful marriage with deep appreciation for the lessons they learned.

“The most important lessons in Jehovah’s service,” says Dennis, “has been to keep faithful to Jehovah serving him to the best of our abilities and circumstances and that’s been really the way of our life from when we first got to know the truth and it’s been a great blessing.”

“Accept assignments as coming from Jehovah,” says Mavis of what she has learned in these many years of service. “Even though there seem to be obstacles in the way, learn that Jehovah knows what is best for us and he can help us overcome obstacles that we thought we couldn’t overcome.”

Dennis and Mavis became part of the Jah-Jireh family in June 2020 and continue to serve Jehovah faithfully and encourage us all. It is beyond encouraging for us to see this wonderful couple taking us on a journey with them to explore the many memories they have made in Jehovah’s service and in their marriage. As they share their hope for the future, you can see how real it is to them. They look forward to the time when we all will be happily together in the new world in “the biggest convention we have ever been to!”

Having shared their wonderful experience with us in this video, they get ready to take a stroll in the garden. We can’t help but smile as Dennis takes Mavis’ hand.