When family reunites, the first thing out of the mouth is usually the story of what was survived. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan records Moses's account to Jethro in condensed form: "Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Mizraee on behalf of Israel; all the hardship they had found in the way, at the sea of Suph, and at Marah, and at Rephidim, and how Amalek had fought with them, and the Lord had delivered them" (Exodus 18:8).
The Aramaic preserves a careful order — a three-part testimony. First, what God did to Pharaoh and the Egyptians: the ten plagues. Second, what God did at the Sea of Suph (the Red Sea crossing), at Marah (the bitter water turned sweet in Exodus 15:23-25), and at Rephidim (the water from the rock). Third, the Amalek battle just concluded.
Notice what Moses emphasizes. He does not dwell on his own leadership. He dwells on the hardship — "all the hardship they had found in the way." The story includes the suffering because the deliverance is only meaningful against the backdrop of the trouble.
Jethro is a former priest of seven faiths. He has heard many religious stories. What moves him is that this story does not airbrush its pain. The takeaway: honest testimony names the suffering and the rescue. Either half, told alone, would be a different religion.