Quiet Strength - Life Story of Jacqueline Rogers

“Why would you want to interview me?” Jackie says as we sit down with her. “I’m no one special.” Well, that speaks volumes about the kind of person Jackie is – quiet, shy, humble, and yet underneath all that is a courageous, faithful woman whose inner strength and love for Jehovah is a lesson for all of us. Here is the story of Jacqueline Rogers.

Finding the Truth

Born in Switzerland, Jackie had a happy childhood. Her family belonged to the Reformed Church based on the practices set down by John Calvin. She does remember however that a sister visited them every Sunday afternoon to deliver the Watchtower. Her family didn’t study then, and all that she remembers is the picture of the Watchtower on the magazine. The seed that was sown there would only take root many years later in England.

Jackie moved to England as a young adult and got busy with studies and life. Jehovah never forgot her though. Years later, a sister knocked on the door. Jackie remembers that conversation like it was yesterday “A sister knocked on the door and said would you like to live forever … I thought that was a joke so I said ‘no thanks,’” she giggles. “She asked me if I wanted to have a Bible study and I was about to go to college for about 9 months so I said I just wouldn’t have time. ‘Well,’ she said ‘I will come and see you in nine months.’ And she did!”

It took Jackie 5 years to make the decision to get baptized in 1987. “I think mainly because of my background I needed to sort out whether this was just a passing interest,” she says. “And all the decisions that I had taken till then were not strictly my own. Before, my parents decided things and then when you got married there are two of you making decisions. This had to be my own decision. I would have been very happy to stand on the board and someone push me on the board you see but nobody wanted to do that. I had to take my own decision.”

Her husband wasn’t interested in the truth then but was “won without a word” and got baptized in 2019.  

Overcoming Shyness and Making Progress

As a child, Jackie had to be hospitalized for a long while and that affected her deeply. “When I got out of hospital, I had a great fear of crowds. It was very difficult to socialize with people,” she says.

“You know the first meeting I went … it took me a long time to actually get to the meeting,” she recollects. “You know I needed to be taken by the hand and this sister was so good. She was there. She knew it was difficult for me. You know if she hadn’t been there, I probably would have turned the car round and gone home.”

Despite her fears and limitations, Jackie made progress. Her fears didn’t vanish overnight though. She remembers working with a circuit overseer in ministry once. “I wouldn’t work with anybody but my study conductor, so I was a bit worried at the time when he asked me to work with him,” she remembers. “He was kind and did all the calls and then we went back to the car to write down the returns I was going to make. ‘It’s important to place magazines’ he said ‘but love people. Love people - that’s the main thing.’ I thought that was very good advice.”

After a lifetime of overcoming shyness and standing firm for Jehovah, this is her nugget of wisdom for us: “When you do things Jehovah’s way, it’s always successful.”

Living in Jah-Jireh

Jackie is a resident of Jah-Jireh and we love having her with us. “I’m very content here,” she says. “You know the carers and the staff … they are always so jolly all the time. I think it’s marvelous you know.”

Watch her video as she tells us a bit about herself and how life is in Jah-Jireh.