Worldwide Report

Africa and Islands Nearby

The continent of Africa is broken up into scores of countries. These are further divided by tribe and language. Outbreaks of violence between the ethnic groups is not unusual. But there are more than 636,000 people out of these nations, tribes, and language groups who are united in worship of the true God, Jehovah. They urge others to “fear God and give him glory,” and many are responding appreciatively to this encouragement.—Rev. 14:6, 7.

Some who were steeped in local superstition and witchcraft have broken free from all of that in order to serve Jehovah. In South Africa, when one door opened in response to their knocking, the Witnesses were confronted by a woman dressed in full Sangoma (witch doctor) regalia. They wanted to beat a hasty retreat, but the woman insisted that they deliver their message. One of the Witnesses used Deuteronomy 18:10-12 to show the Bible view of spiritistic practices. The witch doctor accepted the offer of a Bible study. She said that if she was convinced from her study of the Bible that  practicing as a Sangoma was against Jehovah’s wishes, she would stop.

After studying chapter 10 in the book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, along with the Bible, she burned all her paraphernalia related to witchcraft and started attending meetings at the Kingdom Hall. Though legally married, she had been separated from her husband for 17 years. Now she saw the need to correct that situation. Both are now dedicated, baptized Witnesses.

During the past year or so, some of the most thrilling news has come from Malawi. How Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide rejoiced when they heard that, on August 12, 1993, the 26-year ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses in Malawi had been lifted! This was followed, on November 15, 1993, by the registration of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society and, on February 25, 1994, by the lifting of the ban on literature of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Interestingly, it was just a few weeks after the registration of the Society that the headquarters of the Malawi Young Pioneers (MYP), who had so brutally mistreated Jehovah’s Witnesses, was destroyed. All their offices were closed down and many of them were hunted down and killed by the army. Others fled for their lives into Mozambique.

The brothers in Malawi are learning once again how to go from house to house, offer literature, and start home Bible studies. Right after the lifting of the ban on the Society’s literature, a country-wide campaign was arranged for April, during which the publishers distributed, in three languages, the tract What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe? More than 1,000,000 of these tracts were distributed.

For over 30 years, the handful of true Christians in São Tomé and Príncipe, off the west coast of Africa, were  persecuted, beaten and imprisoned because of meeting together for Bible study. But in 1993, Jehovah’s Witnesses there were granted religious freedom. Then, in January 1994 they enjoyed a three-day “Divine Teaching” District Convention in the finest, modern air-conditioned auditorium in the country. Excerpts from the program were even broadcast on National Radio.

After the Supreme Court in Zaire restored the legal status of Jehovah’s Witnesses, it became possible to hold district conventions in the country once again. With what response? One in Kinshasa early in the service year packed out the stadium with an attendance of over 70,000. At the first six “Godly Fear” District Conventions in 1994, attendance totaled 120,127, the baptism figure was 1,155, and there were still another 19 conventions in this series scheduled to be held.

In the Koumassi Prodomo Congregation, Côte d’Ivoire, is a ministerial servant who is known as a very mild-tempered brother. But he did not always have that reputation. Before learning the truth, he used to drink heavily, smoke, have bad associations, and often solved his problems with his fists. Those who knew him testify that it was best to be his friend or else to stay clear of him. But he says: “Jehovah had pity on me.” A Bible study was started with him. Gradually he made changes in his life and, in time, got baptized. But how complete was the change? One month before his baptism, this was put to the test when he was attacked by some men. He did not retaliate. Some weeks after his baptism, a similar thing happened. Again he gave evidence that he had put off the old personality that conformed to his former course of conduct, that he had been made new in the force actuating his mind, and that he had really put on a new personality reflecting Jehovah’s spirit.—Gal. 5:22-24; Eph. 4:22-24.

 Asia and Islands of the Pacific

In the Orient and the islands of the Pacific, among the 514,847 who are praisers of Jehovah are 152,343 who serve as pioneers.

In Japan, a pioneer who endeavored to make 100 return visits every month decided to start making return calls even on those who had not shown interest on his first call. With that in mind, he began to keep a record of everyone he met in the house-to-house work and then, within seven days, to call on them again. Each time he engaged in house-to-house witnessing, he would also endeavor to make five follow-up calls. He thoroughly prepared what he would say and carried out his service with complete confidence in the message he bore. By the month’s end he had made 241 of such calls. On one of them, he was able to start a study with a person who said: “I’ve always turned you people away. It’s the first time I’ve ever listened.” The loving persistence brought results. By month’s end he was reporting a total of ten Bible studies.

 The past few years have seen an influx of many aliens, especially from Asia, into New Zealand. Recently, Korean and Thai study groups have been formed, and the brothers are expecting, soon, the formation of a Chinese congregation in Auckland, where, it is reported, the Chinese population has risen to over 50,000. Other North Island cities such as Wellington and Palmerston North have also reported much interest within the Chinese communities.

Some Bible students have had good success when they responded to the suggestion that they introduce the truth to their relatives. In Tainan, Taiwan, a young housewife started to study. She lives with a large family, many of whom were prominent in the Presbyterian Church. Because her church often criticized the Witnesses for ‘attacking other religions,’ she carefully avoided doing this but concentrated on displaying Christian qualities. She had to ride her motorcycle ten miles [16 km] to the meetings but was regular in attendance. Soon, family members started to notice the changes she was making in her personality. As a result of this and her tactful witnessing, her sister-in-law began to study. Then her own husband agreed to look into what she was learning. Next, his brother and a cousin began to study. Then the mother-in-law showed interest in what the various members of the family were learning. The young woman then witnessed to her own parents, who live 200 miles [320 km] away. They started studying. The young woman, her husband, and two relatives have now been baptized, several other relatives are making fine progress in learning the truth, and another couple from the same church have just resigned so that they can share in the preaching work. What a blessing from Jehovah for recommending the truth to others both by word and by fine conduct!

In 1912, when C. T. Russell, the first president of the Watch Tower Society, visited Ceylon, as Sri Lanka was then  known, Matilda was only 12 years of age. She appears, seated on the ground second from the right in the picture on page 239 of the Proclaimers book. Later she served for several years with her husband as a special pioneer. Now 94, she is still busy witnessing. Recently she completed a year of auxiliary pioneer service. She is able to walk a little with a cane—enough to take advantage of the opportunities presented when neighbors, friends, relatives, salesmen, postmen, or anyone else calls. Still she has to do most of her witnessing with a pen. She finds names and addresses in the obituary columns in the daily paper and writes to some of these. How happy she is when replies of appreciation come!

In the Republic of Korea, 31 percent of the Witnesses are regular pioneers, and thousands more share in auxiliary pioneer service. Some territory is covered often. Yet, with pointed, one-sentence comments, publishers are getting positive results even at homes where people say they are not interested. To a Catholic woman who said she did not want to listen, a sister said: “I don’t know what kind of hope you have but”—pointing to the tract Life in a Peaceful New World—“I have the hope of living in this kind of a peaceful new world.” When an elderly lady said she was not interested, a sister pointed to the same tract and asked: “If you were invited to live in the paradise shown in this picture, would you not accept such an invitation?” Both of these calls led to home Bible studies, then meeting attendance, and now both women are progressing toward baptism.

A concerted effort is being put forth in Hawaii to reach people wherever or in whatever way they can be contacted—those who live in lock-out apartments, those at business, and people on streets, in parks, on beaches, and elsewhere. This has resulted in more territory maps for congregations and a more thorough coverage of territory. Telephone  witnessing has been fruitful. In this way a sister contacted a young man in the navy who lived in a lock-out apartment building. Sufficient interest was found to arrange for a brochure to be delivered to this man. The follow-up call was made by a brother who started a Bible study in the Live Forever book. As time went by, the man began witnessing to his roommates and his shipmates. In fact, he invited them (one at a time) to sit in on his study. Several weeks into the study, the man asked, “How will Jehovah find all those who want to know the truth before the end comes?” The brother replied: “Do you think it was just an accident that you were contacted by phone in a building that is inaccessible, has never been worked, and at a time that found you at home?” The man thought for a moment and said: “That’s interesting, because just before the phone call, I had wanted to know if there was a way to find out what the Bible really says.”

Can a Witness continue to preach even when faced with an extended hospitalization? This was the challenge that faced a sister on the island of Tarawa, Kiribati, in the central Pacific. Immediately she began placing the “Look!” brochure with as many of her fellow patients as would accept it. One patient, noting that our sister had regular visitors, asked whether these were all relatives. When it was explained that these were her spiritual brothers and sisters, including congregation elders, the woman was deeply impressed. She expressed great disappointment that during the three months of her hospital stay, none of the members of her religion had cared enough to visit her even though they knew that she was very sick. She asked for a Bible study. In time, her husband and mother also agreed to study. Our sister was able to leave the hospital briefly to attend a circuit assembly. What joy she had when a fellow patient and several family members of other patients joined her at that assembly!

 Europe

This past year in the countries of Europe, including Russia, which extends beyond the Ural Mountains and into the Orient, 248,763,468 hours were devoted to witnessing about God’s Kingdom. There were 89,578 in this part of the world who got baptized in symbol of their dedication to Jehovah. How are these people being reached with the good news?

In recent years, thousands of refugees have tried to get admittance into Belgium. This has opened up new fields of activity for the Belgian brothers. During the past three years, in a center that houses 480 refugees, the brothers have conducted 160 Bible studies with people from 43 countries. Groups of ten sometimes attend. The interest has been so great that the director of the center arranged a special office in which the brothers could conduct their Bible studies.

A young Catholic refugee from Slovakia requested that his Bible study be held twice a week. When he wrote to his  mother and witnessed to her, she visited the local congregation in Slovakia to find out what kind of people her son was associating with. Happily surprised, she accepted a Bible study, and so did her daughter. The young man also wrote to his fiancée. Her older sister tried to discourage her, but soon both of them were studying. As that young man in the refugee center kept on writing to his family, his letters were read by all the members of his family. Now ten Bible studies are being conducted with relatives in Slovakia.

Patience pays off—that is the conclusion of a pioneer sister in the Czech Republic. She relates: “A year ago, I started a study with a young lady. Her interest and attention span for considering Bible thoughts was only 10 to 15 minutes during the first two months. Several times she changed the day and hour of our study. But I never told her: ‘I do not have time,’ or, ‘This study is too short,’ though time is very precious to me and I often lost as much as two evenings in a week in order to have that study for just 10 minutes. But the patience paid off. After two months this young lady suggested that our studies last half an hour and, later, even a whole hour. Today she attends all the meetings, prepares for them, and gives comments. She left false religion and is working toward baptism.”

The Society’s video Jehovah’s Witnesses—The Organization Behind the Name is put to good use. A pioneer couple in the Faeroe Islands, between Iceland and Norway, have two videocassettes that they lend out. At one time they had 14 individuals on a waiting list to see the video. Some who borrow it show it to yet others. A retired schoolteacher who has subscribed for The Watchtower and Awake! for many years borrowed the video. When the brother returned to pick it up, the man was very enthusiastic and said that he had shown it to 14 people in the village. However, the brother could not  get the video back because it had been lent to a woman in a neighboring village. The brother was later told that this woman had shown it to 15 people in her village. Over Easter, the schoolteacher showed it to 6 more. The latest news was that the video had been lent to a fisherman. The former schoolteacher handed it to the fisherman on the condition that it should be shown to all 11 persons on board.

When conducting the meeting for field service one morning, an elder in Finland told the group: “We do not know where Jehovah will lead us in the service today, but it is of great importance that we be in the service because then Jehovah can use us in the way he wants.” Later, in the territory, the elder felt strongly that he should call on a certain home they were passing. His companion said that no one was living there, but the elder wanted to go anyway. They met a lady who said that she and her husband had moved in only a short time before. When the brothers told her that they were Jehovah’s Witnesses, she asked them to come into the house, and she explained that her husband would come home any minute. As they entered, she said: “I just prayed to God that he would direct one of Jehovah’s Witnesses to us, as we have just moved to this town. But how could you come so quickly? I offered my prayer only ten minutes ago.” When the husband came in, he also proved to be interested, and a study was started with them right away. Progress was rapid. They were baptized in May 1994.

Making a firm decision to put spiritual interests ahead of material concerns is an important step in growing to Christian maturity. That was true in the case of Jacques, a fisherman in France who works out of a port on the Mediterranean Sea. Jacques had been studying the Bible for only a short time with Jehovah’s Witnesses. He wanted to attend the summer  district convention, but it fell right in the middle of the very best fishing period of the year, the time when most fishermen work night and day to bring in the season’s catch. Moreover, Jacques had 12 employees working on his boat. How could he possibly explain that they would not be fishing for several days at the peak of the season? Although he was called a fool and suffered much ridicule, Jacques firmly put spiritual things first and attended the convention with his wife and their two young boys.

On the Monday following the convention, Jacques again took his boat and crew out to fish. When they drew in their nets, instead of the usual haul of 650 pounds [300 kg] or so of sardines, they were amazed to find nearly a ton of bream, highly prized and worth five times what they likely would have caught on the days they missed during the convention! None of the fishermen of the village could remember anyone ever taking such a catch as that!

A young man was witnessed to while he was on a wintertime ski-vacation. Although he was not really interested, he decided to attend a meeting in his hometown in the Netherlands, just to see what it was all about. After attending the Congregation Book Study for several weeks, he agreed to a Bible study using the Live Forever book. After a number of months, he also attended the Sunday meetings, but no real breakthrough was taking place as to a decision to serve Jehovah. The young man had been raised without belief in God. However, when he saw the video The Bible—Accurate History, Reliable Prophecy, it had a profound effect. He asked if he could keep the video for another week. At last he said: “God does exist, and the Bible is his Word.” From then on, progress was rapid, and he is now a zealous Witness of Jehovah.

 Middle and South America

What a fruitful field for disciple making this part of the world has become! During the past year, 1,613,268 home Bible studies were being conducted in these lands, and 91,126 students progressed to water baptism.

As a result of witnessing near Lake Titicaca, high in the Andes in Bolivia, our brothers have had some very fine experiences. They found that when they introduced themselves as Jehovah’s Witnesses in a rural community called Atahuallpani, many of the people would say they were Jesus Christ’s Witnesses. When asked why they had taken that name, they answered by referring to Acts 1:8. Following a positive discussion of many questions in the presence of the group’s pastors, including the Scriptural basis for the name Jehovah’s Witnesses, the publishers invited the group to the Kingdom Hall in Corpa.

Several weeks later, three of the pastors from the group actually came to the Kingdom Hall. After the meeting, they  spoke at length with the elders and invited them to their meeting place to explain more about our Bible teachings. The elders prepared a symposium on ‘Armageddon,’ ‘Who Go to Heaven,’ and ‘Paradise on Earth.’ There were about 50 of their members in attendance. After the talks, the chairman of their group spoke, informing all in attendance that they had been ‘misled and were practicing false religion.’ After that meeting, the pastors and several others warmly embraced the brothers. Many Bible studies were started with members of that group. At this writing, 25 of them have become baptized Witnesses and 10 more are making good progress with their Bible studies. Imagine the joy of this group of sincere persons when they realized that at last they had found the accurate knowledge of God’s life-giving truth!

In the eastern part of El Salvador, the brothers planned a visit to the far reaches of their rural territory in order to preach the good news. After walking for several hours along narrow paths, up and down hills, the brothers reached a small settlement that they had not visited previously. In one house, an 11-year-old blind boy came to the door and listened briefly. Then to the surprise of the brother, the boy stated, “I’m one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Was he really? How surprised the publisher was when the boy began to sing song number 32, “From House to House”! He knew it from beginning to end. He said he could also sing others, and he promptly started into number 105, “Hail Jehovah’s Firstborn!” Next he explained to the brother about the Paradise earth. How had this boy, living in such a remote place, learned all of this? From another little boy who could not even read. That boy’s mother worked for a Witness family in a large city, and the youngster had accompanied his mother to the meetings in the Kingdom Hall. When they went back to the little settlement where they lived, he related to his  blind friend all that he had heard. The blind boy has now moved to a larger town, where the brothers are busy helping him to make further progress in the truth.

A special pioneer in northern Brazil writes that when they arrived in their assignment, they learned that there were four publishers who would walk six miles [10 km] to get to the meetings, since there was no bus service on weekends. The pioneers decided to hold meetings in the town where those publishers lived. The first Sunday there were 40 persons present. For the second meeting, the number in the house was the same, but outside was the pastor of the Assembly of God church with 15 of his group. They were invited in, but they preferred to listen from outside. The pioneer relates: “At the end of the meeting, I went out to talk with them and answer their questions. I told the pastor that I too had been a pastor like him. He asked: ‘Then how can you be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses now?’ To answer his question, I invited him to our home, and he agreed. In a few weeks he and some of his group abandoned their church and began to study the Bible with us.”

For the first Memorial celebration in that town, 140 persons showed up a half hour early. Unfortunately, no sound equipment was available. A Catholic lady suggested that she try to borrow the equipment from her church. When she asked the priest about it, he said: “Is this for Jehovah’s Witnesses?” She answered: “No. There are only eight Witnesses. The sound system is needed for the more than 100 Catholics there!” That argument did not work. A Protestant lady made a similar suggestion, but the preacher said: “Not for Jehovah’s Witnesses!” The lady argued: “I and the rest of the members of the church contributed for it, and so we have a certain right to use it!” With that, he let them borrow it. Many new Bible studies were started following that Memorial. Everyone  in town was talking about how Jehovah’s Witnesses really help isolated persons.

One afternoon, on the Metro subway train in Caracas, Venezuela, a Witness was seeking a way to preach to a woman beside her. The Witness began to talk about how human society is changing and how that demands that we also adapt.

The woman agreed but said: “That’s what I say to my husband, but he’s stupid. He wants to raise our children in the old-fashioned way. He’s one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

The publisher decided not to identify herself as a Witness. Instead, she said: “The ones I know are excellent people. Tell me, is he a drunkard?” When the woman responded, “Oh, no!” our sister followed up with a whole list of points: “So; is he a drug addict?” “For sure he’s a womanizer and always comes home late.” “Well, does he teach the children bad words?” “I know. You have to work and keep him while he sits at home.” To each, the reply was a firm “No!” often with comments on his fine qualities. So the Witness said: “Well, then, I don’t understand. What is wrong with him?”

The woman thought for a few moments and then said: “Well, it’s that he takes the children to those meetings at the hall for two hours. But I’ve told him not to take them there again.”

“What do they say in these meetings?” the Witness asked. And then: “When your children don’t go to these meetings, what do they do?” Once again the Witness tried to help the woman to reason: “Do you think it’s better for them to watch television, with all its violence, war, murder, and immoral soap operas, than to learn about God? I’ll tell you the truth,” the Witness continued, “there are many pretty women around, career women, after a husband. They have to make  do with men as they are, with all sorts of faults. They turn out to be drunkards, drug addicts, promiscuous; they give them AIDS and other illnesses, and the women look miserable. What you’ve got is a saint; don’t you appreciate him? The truth is, I don’t understand you. If you don’t want him, I’ll have him! He’s the sort I’m looking for. If someone like him said to me, ‘Let’s go to the [Kingdom] Hall,’ I’d say: ‘Let’s go!’ and if he said: ‘We have to take the children,’ I’d be delighted. Appreciate what you have.” When the woman got off at her stop, she was smiling, and she thanked the Witness. We hope that she also followed the suggestion to find out what the meetings are all about.

The experience of a sister in Paraguay illustrates that it is wise to act with trust in Jehovah as we make plans to attend assemblies. The assembly was to be in the capital, 360 miles [580 km] away. Our sister had five young children, her husband had abandoned her some years before, and she had very little money. Nevertheless, she began saving what she could so that she would be able to attend with all her children. Yet, when the day for departure came, she still did not have enough to pay for the transportation. What could she do? Since it was a small town and things are dealt with in a cordial manner, she, along with her five children, went to the bus terminal. She explained to the one caring for tickets that she and her children needed to travel to the capital but that she had only enough money for two tickets. To her joy, the ticket clerk told her to board the bus with her family. Then, when collecting the money for the tickets after the trip had begun, he charged for only one ticket, her own. It was a first-class bus, the most expensive one in their town. How grateful that family was not to miss out on the spiritual food at the circuit assembly!

 North America and the Caribbean Islands

It was in this part of the world that Jehovah’s modern-day earthly organization began to develop more than 110 years ago. Extensive preaching of the good news has been done here, but the Master of the harvest has not said that the work is finished. Indeed, this past year, tens of thousands got baptized in these lands.

A pioneer in Grenada says that she felt rather discouraged at the prospect of having to go once again into territory that had been worked several times within the past month. But what happened? She writes: “When I called on Rossell (a 16-year old boy) that morning, he had a strange look on his face. At that time I wondered if he was all right. He later explained to me that the ‘strange’ look was due to his not expecting his prayer to be answered so quickly. You see, a week earlier, he sincerely prayed that God would show him the correct way to worship, and here I was talking to him about Jehovah.

 “Within a month, he began to attend all the meetings at the Kingdom Hall. He loves to read, and by the end of two months he had completed reading ‘Your Will Be Done on Earth,’ ‘The Nations Shall Know That I Am Jehovah’—How?, Revelation—Its Grand Climax At Hand!, Mankind’s Search for God, the Reasoning book, The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, the 1991 and 1992 Yearbooks, most of the available brochures, plus the current issues of the Watchtower and Awake! magazines. . . . He was baptized this past July at the district convention. He has truly realized the truthfulness of the words of the psalmist at Psalm 145:18: ‘Jehovah is near to all those calling upon him, to all those who call upon him in trueness.’”

Interestingly, Rossell had been living in the basement of that house for two years. During that time, neither he nor his aunt had been contacted by the Witnesses, though the territory is worked often. How important to be thorough in our coverage of territory!

A newly associated woman arriving for the final day of the “Godly Fear” District Convention on Antigua was let out of her car near the entrance to the Assembly Hall. Later that morning she discovered that she had lost her hand purse containing over $2,000 EC ($740, U.S.). She recalled seeing it last just before leaving the car. A careful retracing of her steps and a check with parking attendants proved unfruitful. The Witness who had invited her assured her that “if it was found in the lot or in the Assembly Hall, the friends will return it, because Jehovah’s Witnesses are honest and loving.”

The next morning the woman, remembering that inside the purse there was an uncashed check payable to herself, telephoned the business that had issued it. To her great  surprise, the businesswoman exclaimed, “A Jehovah’s Witness man just called asking if I knew you and where he could find you. He found your purse outside their convention yesterday.” The woman is more convinced than ever that Jehovah’s Witnesses are truly God-fearing.

Caring for family members who are ill is a responsibility of all Christians whether in full-time service or not. One of our sisters in Alaska figured out a way to continue pioneering even though her daughter’s health required her assistance at unexpected times. This limited her field service to telephone witnessing from her home. Then, after prayerful thought, she decided to carry a cellular telephone with her while in field service. In this way she could be away from home and yet “on call” when needed. She has enjoyed 28 years of pioneer service, and is not eager to let go of that precious privilege.

A sister from the island of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, found it necessary to take her newborn baby to Puerto Rico for medical attention. One day the head nurse took the sister into her office and said: “How is it that you can come every day to see your baby and do this for three months? The hotel bill must be very high. All the other mothers come over from the islands and then leave their babies here and have to return home.” The sister told her about the Hospital Liaison Committee, and she explained that a married couple had taken her into their home, looked after her, provided transportation to the hospital, and so forth. The nurse asked if she had known these people before. When the sister said, “No, but they are my brothers,” the nurse was amazed. Indeed, the whole staff were impressed. Said the head nurse: “This is the religion that the world needs today.”

 ‘Look! Fields White for Harvesting’

When emphasizing to his disciples the importance of the ministry for which he was training them, Jesus compared it to a harvest, saying: “Look! I say to you: Lift up your eyes and view the fields, that they are white for harvesting.” (John 4:35) Later he told them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. Therefore, beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.” (Matt. 9:37, 38) How fitting those words are now!

The report for the past service year shows that many lands are yielding an abundant harvest of joyful praisers of Jehovah. Among those that reported an increase of 20 percent or  more were Albania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Angola, and Mozambique.

Several positive developments have propelled a tremendous theocratic expansion in Mozambique during the 1994 service year. Of these the principal factor has been a massive influx of returning refugees from neighboring countries, mostly from Malawi. Four entire circuits moved back during 1993, at a time when Mozambique had only ten circuits for the whole country. Another factor was the reorganizing of congregations that, because of war conditions, had been cut off from communication with the organization. And many more interested ones are progressing to dedication and baptism.

At the city of Milange, in the province of Zambézia, a circuit assembly was held in November 1993. To their delight, 505 baptism candidates, one quarter of the 2,023 in attendance for Saturday morning, rose to their feet to answer the two questions propounded by the speaker. Then, with beautiful Mount Mlanje in view, this large group, singing Kingdom melodies in harmony, marched through the city center, past the Catholic church, and four miles [6 km] down the road, to the nearest river to be baptized as Witnesses of Jehovah.

Some sheeplike ones take hold of the truth quickly. A missionary recently assigned to Cambodia reports: “One Saturday while witnessing from house to house, I placed a brochure with a young woman. I demonstrated the Bible study arrangement and made an appointment to return in two days to continue the discussion. On Monday after our study, I explained about the meetings and gave her a meeting invitation slip. She looked at it and said, ‘See you tomorrow.’ So on Tuesday she attended the Congregation Book Study. At the conclusion I asked her, ‘Well, when will I see you again?’ ‘Tomorrow?’ she asked. ‘OK,’ I replied, and so we had our third study  on Wednesday. At the conclusion of that study, I asked, ‘Well, when will I see you again?’ She pulled out her invitation and said, ‘Tomorrow at the meeting.’ And so in the first week of contact she studied three times and attended all three meetings. She has continued to attend regularly.”

Comparison of the reports from Russia for August 1993 with June 1994 shows an increase of 49 percent in publishers and 87 percent in home Bible studies. Most of the new ones were helped on an individual basis. But in some areas, sizable groups have embraced the truth. A man living in a city near St. Petersburg received a copy of the Live Forever book from relatives in the Republic of Georgia. Because this young man shared what he learned, a group began to meet to study with the aid of the book. On the basis of what they learned, they destroyed their idols and made changes in their secular work. Then they set out to find Jehovah’s Witnesses in order to get help with organizing the preaching work in their area. Some pioneers came to help, and in just four days they started 50 Bible studies. Now there are 22 publishers in the city, 7 of whom are baptized, and each one is conducting nine or ten Bible studies. On the island of Sakhalin, far to the east, there has also been excellent response. In January 1991, there were just eight publishers on the island. Now there are more than 300 zealous publishers associated with six congregations.

Every year the branch in Colombia has a campaign to cover territory thoroughly and, with temporary special pioneers, to reach more towns in outlying areas. This year special pioneers were assigned to 33 towns in isolated parts of the country, especially on the eastern plains. This is a vast area that is mostly jungle with few roads connecting the isolated towns. In spite of the difficult conditions, their efforts resulted in the forming of 22 new groups. In one village a  brother met a man who said that his wife liked to read the Bible. Later he suggested that they also visit his neighbor. The neighbor in turn introduced them to another family who wanted to study. In six months five members of these three families got baptized, and now two of them are regular pioneers. Several other relatives and neighbors also started to study. Where there were no Witnesses 18 months ago, 80 are now attending public talks in their own Kingdom Hall.

Until recently, an isolated group in the interior of Guyana had only one baptized publisher, a sister. She has worked very hard among the people, who are Carib Indians. They have built a very nice open-sided Kingdom Hall that seats more than 500. It has sound equipment with battery-operated roving mikes. On Sundays they have the Congregation Book Study and Watchtower Study in the morning, beginning at 8:30. In the afternoon they have the Theocratic Ministry School and the Service Meeting. All of the parts have to be translated into Carib, an unwritten language. To get to the meetings, some walk 25 miles [40 km] the day before. Everybody is seated before the meetings begin, and though the seats are benches with no backs, there is a minimum of movement. On Wednesday nights, reading and writing classes are conducted in English with about one hundred attending. At the time of writing, four couples are planning to get legally married before the district convention. Another 16 have indicated that they are getting their lives in order so that they too can become dedicated servants of Jehovah.

Truly Jehovah is prospering his people. As foretold at Isaiah 9:3: “You have made the nation populous; for it you have made the rejoicing great. They have rejoiced before you as with the rejoicing in the harvesttime.” Wherever we live, whatever our circumstances, may all of us who are servants of Jehovah, the only true God, share as fully as possible in the grand work of Kingdom proclamation now being done.