Worldwide Report

▪ ASIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Number of lands: 47

Population: 3,896,182,946

Number of publishers: 582,360

Number of Bible studies: 453,069

Kyrgyzstan: Svetlana, an auxiliary pioneer, could never find anyone at a particular home in her territory. As she was passing by it one day, she was thinking to herself that there was no point in calling there, since no one would be at home. Still, she decided to try again and was pleasantly surprised to meet a young woman. The woman was elated to see one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and said that she had studied the Bible but had lost contact with the brothers. Svetlana asked the woman if she would like to receive the magazines  regularly, to which she replied that she needed not just the magazines but a regular home Bible study! The study was started immediately, and now this interested person is attending Christian meetings.

Japan: Two sisters working business territory entered the office of a lawyer who is well-known for helping the underprivileged. They were quickly turned away by a woman who said that she was busy but who accepted the magazines. This woman was alone when the sisters managed to meet her again. Before they could greet her, she angrily demanded: “Why are children without sin murdered? Why is the world like it is? I want convincing explanations! If you have the answers, tell me!” During the next hour as they discussed the issue of universal sovereignty, the woman’s demeanor gradually changed. She thanked the sisters for using the Bible to answer the questions she thought no one could answer. As the sisters left, the woman gave them her home address and telephone number and said: “I usually give this only to people I’m extremely close to, but you are different. I want to talk to you again. What we have discussed is no ordinary matter.” A Bible study was started.

Nepal: A woman attended church for many years but was dismayed at the greed and bickering that she witnessed among its members. Though her husband had become a pastor, a conflict arose over donations, and he was expelled. He began drinking heavily and stopped supporting the family. The woman became desperate in her search for the truth and prayed every day. To support her family, she started working at a wastepaper collection center. One day while sorting through books, magazines, and newspapers, she found the book United in Worship of the Only True God. She hid it in her clothes and took it home. She read  the book daily and continued to pray. One day Bishnu, a special pioneer sister, knocked on her door. The woman liked what Bishnu had to say and invited her in. Gradually, the woman noticed similarities between what Bishnu told her and what the book said. She eventually showed Bishnu the book and was happy to know that it is one of our books. Now she is studying the Bible regularly and attending all the meetings with her children.

Sri Lanka: Even though he was not yet an unbaptized publisher, Punchibanda decided to share the Kingdom message informally with others. He spoke to a street beggar who explained that his eldest daughter had suffered and died from a disease. They had gone to an Assemblies of God church hoping for a miracle cure, but nothing had happened. Punchibanda explained that God does not perform healings today but that curing of disease will come under God’s Kingdom. He gave the beggar magazines on this subject. Later, he invited the man to the Kingdom Hall. The beggar went home and told his family about the invitation and showed them the magazines. His wife explained that she too had received magazines and had been invited to the Kingdom Hall. This man decided to go to the Kingdom Hall himself first. There the brothers and sisters warmly welcomed him. Now he, his wife, their son, and two daughters all attend meetings and rejoice in association with Jehovah’s people.

Lebanon: A special pioneer sister who originally came from the Philippines relates: “I met a Filipino lady while engaging in street witnessing. I visited her at work and was able to conduct a Bible study with her. She had many questions; at times she would not even allow me to finish answering one question before she raised another. Eventually,  however, she received opposition from her close friends who were active members of their church. Sadly, she bowed to the opposition and stopped studying the Bible, though I encouraged her not to give up. Nevertheless, I said to myself, ‘If she is sheeplike, she will resume her study one day.’ A year elapsed, and I was still thinking of her, so I decided to write to her and let her know that I cared about her and that I would be happy to see her again. She called, and I visited her. This time I saw that she was even more interested than before. The things we had previously discussed together were still in her heart, and she deeply appreciated them. She told me that she had been to many churches but that none taught the truth. So she resumed her study, progressed, and is now baptized. Her 12-year-old son is an unbaptized publisher.”

India: A sister writes: “While working from house to house, we noticed a young girl who on seeing us went into her house. Soon we met a man who ordered us to leave. As we were leaving, we noticed the girl talking to the man. Later, as we were waiting for the bus, the girl approached on her bicycle and said: ‘I know that Jehovah is the true God. Please teach me the Bible. I went inside my house to invite you in, but the house owner objected to this.’ We asked her how she knew that Jehovah is the true God. She said that two years earlier she was traveling on the bus when she saw what looked like a large Christian gathering. It was one of our district conventions. She got off the bus and attended the program all three days. She had been waiting for Jehovah’s Witnesses to come to her house. Seeing her interest, we took her to a sister’s house and started a Bible study. She began attending meetings regularly and is making good spiritual progress.”

 ▪ AFRICA

Number of lands: 56

Population: 781,767,134

Number of publishers: 1,015,718

Number of Bible studies: 1,820,540

Uganda: Lucy is a Witness who works in a large dispensary. Together with some workmates, she was called upon to swear to her innocence after an audit revealed that a large amount of money was missing. When it was Lucy’s turn to hold the Bible and deny guilt, she looked up Proverbs 15:3 instead and read it aloud: “The eyes of Jehovah are in every place, keeping watch upon the bad ones and the good ones.” After a moment of complete silence in the room, the culprit went up to the supervisor and confessed. The supervisor  suggested that in the future they all remember “Lucy’s scripture.” Lucy’s salary was later increased, and she was given the responsibility of keeping the keys to the dispensary.

Benin: Josué has endured much ridicule at school. When he gave a wrong answer in class, some classmates mocked him, saying, “Priest of Jehovah, how can you make a mistake?” Others joined in with mocking remarks, such as, “He spends too much time walking around with his briefcase.”

Josué admits, “I was especially afraid of meeting my classmates when I went out in the service on the weekend.” He prayed about the matter and consulted an elder, who encouraged Josué to go on the offensive by increasing his time in the field ministry and by boldly offering literature to his classmates. Josué reports threefold success. He says: “I now often serve as an auxiliary pioneer. Two classmates who used to make fun of me are now my Bible students. I have also improved my grades immensely.”

Ethiopia: About two years ago, Asnakech found a driver’s license and made an appointment to return it to the owner, a woman named Elsa. She was amazed at Asnakech’s honesty and wanted to give her some money. Asnakech refused the money and offered Elsa the brochure What Does God Require of Us? The next day Elsa started to study the Bible. She said that the name Jehovah was not new to her because her father, a priest, had told her about the name. After her whole family attended a district convention, her husband too started to study the Bible. However, when her father, the priest, found out, he was furious, calling Jehovah’s Witnesses good-for-nothing. Determined to continue her study, Elsa politely told her father that the Witnesses were not at all the way he described them. Dismayed, her father  took the Require brochure from his daughter without her knowledge. He read it several times and was touched. After that, when he gave passersby the customary blessing, he no longer did so in the name of the Trinity. Soon he was labeled “apostate,” and some wanted to beat him. Consequently, he moved to Addis Ababa, where he too started to study the Bible. Elsa has become a baptized Witness, along with seven members of her household. Her husband and child are also making good progress.

Côte d’Ivoire: Anderson left the brochure What Does God Require of Us? with a storekeeper who read the Bible regularly. Soon a Bible study was started. The man was particularly drawn to the lesson entitled “Family Life That Pleases God.” He explained: “I was unaware that each partner had a role to play in marriage. If I came home late, I wouldn’t put up with any remarks from my wife. I would tell her, ‘I am the man, and I can go out if I want to; you are the wife, and you look after the house.’ Now I return home immediately after work and help my wife with the chores.”

Kenya: A seven-year-old child who is in second grade heard about the coming visit of the circuit overseer. A week in advance, he approached the headmaster of his school and requested permission to attend the meetings on Tuesday afternoon. Permission was granted. However, the following day the young boy was sent home from school with the directive to return with his parents and the alleged visitor. Consequently, the circuit overseer went to the school along with the boy’s father. The headmaster was shocked to see that the visitor had really come and that he had walked for over an hour up steep hills to meet the headmaster. He accepted literature and has since been quite friendly and cooperative.

 Malawi: While engaging in field service, a brother was often harassed by a man on a bicycle. Upon seeing the brother preaching, the man would stop and try to start an argument. He even tried to take the brother’s Bible from him. One day the man rode by as the brother was conducting a Bible study. Reaching to adjust something on his bicycle, the man caught his hand in the spokes of the front wheel, badly injuring his fingers. Though the man was in severe pain, the only onlooker who helped him was the brother, who wrapped his fingers and made arrangements for him to be taken to the hospital. Later, the brother called at the man’s home. Embarrassed about his former behavior, the man confessed that his attitude had been affected by false rumors. He said: “You people worship the only true God. I never thought that you would treat me in such a kind way after the terrible way I treated you.”

Cameroon: A young sister was sitting in the crowded waiting room of a hospital when an old and sick man came in. Since all the seats were taken, the man was obliged to remain standing. The sister recalls: “I felt sorry for the man and gave him my seat. This caused a lot of murmuring throughout the room because in giving up my seat, I was also giving up my turn for a consultation. Soon a lady approached me and asked which religion I belonged to. I replied that I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. She praised me because in her opinion very few young people would act in this way. I took the opportunity to give her and the others a witness with the help of some tracts that I had with me. I was able to answer a good number of questions. Some to whom I spoke changed their ideas about Jehovah’s Witnesses and were more inclined to have the Witnesses visit them at their homes.”

 Togo: While working isolated territory, some brothers found a young man who expressed delight at meeting them. He showed them two notebooks in which he had hand copied the entire book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth and part of the book “Make Sure of All Things.” He had seen those books in the home of an evangelical pastor where he had lived for some time. The pastor had two bookshelves, one for his favorite books and one for books “without importance.” It was on this second shelf that the young man had found our books. After reading a few pages of one of them, he was captivated by the message. Since he could not take the book and did not know where to find another one, he copied it. When he began to tell others about what he had read, both his mother and the pastor opposed him. The brothers left literature with him and are helping him to progress spiritually.

South Africa: Thandi, a Witness, was asked by her employer to speak to a workmate named Bella, who was having marital problems. Bella’s husband, a policeman, had abused her physically and emotionally, so she had decided to divorce him. Thandi gave Bella two copies of the book The Secret of Family Happiness and encouraged her to give one to her husband. A week later, Thandi spoke to her and found out that her husband was reading the book and that their home had become peaceful. Three months later, Bella told Thandi that God had saved her marriage by means of prayer and the Family Happiness book. When Bella’s employer heard about this, she recommended that all 2,000 staff members get copies of the book. So far, Thandi has placed 96 Family Happiness books with fellow employees. The company made a donation to the worldwide work of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

 ▪ THE AMERICAS

Number of lands: 56

Population: 879,073,403

Number of publishers: 3,199,835

Number of Bible studies: 3,022,276

Venezuela: A family of Witnesses recently got a new telephone line in their house and a new number. Because of a technical problem, however, they began receiving phone calls from people who wanted to contact the local television station to talk to a lady astrologer, who was on hand. The family decided to make the best of the situation. With the help of the book Reasoning From the Scriptures, they prepared some information and a few Bible texts to share with these callers. Graciela, the mother, became an expert.  One day a caller said: “Hello. Are you the goddess of the stars?”

“Hello. My name is Graciela, what is yours?”

“Carmen.”

“Carmen, why do you want to talk to the goddess of the stars? Do you need help or advice?”

Carmen proceeded to tell our sister about a personal problem. In a warm tone, Graciela explained where we can get the best advice, and she read Carmen passages from the Bible. She then asked her, “Don’t you think we should go to our Creator if we need reliable guidance now and in the future?” Carmen then confessed that she had studied the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses in the past, so arrangements were made for her to resume her study. Subsequently, Graciela’s family has spoken to many others seeking help, often giving them a good witness, encouraging them to listen to the Witnesses when they call, and directing them to the local Kingdom Hall.

Colombia: In March of 2005, a sister who lives in Cali had her car stolen. It was found a few days later. She and her unbelieving husband waited at the car for the police to arrive, but when they delayed, the couple decided to take the car. However, because the vehicle had been used to commit a crime, the couple was stopped by the police, arrested, and sent to prison. As soon as the sister entered the prison, she began to preach, and in a short time, she started several Bible studies. One of the students was released but asked the sister to continue the study as soon as she was released. This student also told the man with whom she lived that she wanted to get married in order to please God.

Although the sister had recently prayed that she might find more time to preach, she never imagined that it would  be in jail! She received an offer to spend less time in prison, but because she felt protected by Jehovah and was content to preach, she refused it. After spending 45 days in prison, both she and her husband were set free. She said that her faith had been strengthened. During this time, her husband had received visits and help from the brothers. After 20 years of doing little spiritually, he began to attend meetings and expressed a desire to study the Bible. The sister now regularly visits the prison to conduct four Bible studies with female inmates. She feels grateful to Jehovah for having answered her prayers and for blessing her in so many ways.

Brazil: Up until two years ago, it was common to see Renildo, a blind man, begging in the markets in his hometown and in nearby cities. Though he did this to supplement his disability pension, begging proved to be a lucrative source of income, making it possible for him to own a car and a home with nice furniture and to buy an abundance of food that common people do not normally have in that impoverished area. A Bible study with Jehovah’s Witnesses progressively gave him a spiritual outlook on life, which moved him to make a courageous decision. After discussing with his wife and three children what they could do as a family to adjust to a lower income, Renildo stopped begging. Before long, he and his family made spiritual progress and were baptized at a district convention. Now Renildo is known, not as a beggar, but as a zealous publisher of the good news, spending an average of 40 hours a month in field service.

Ecuador: A pioneer regularly left the magazines in Chinese with the owner of a restaurant. That man was visited by a friend who also owns a restaurant. The friend saw  the magazines and read them. His interest was such that he wrote to the Hong Kong branch, asking for more magazines, a Bible, and the book Draw Close to Jehovah. He also requested a Bible study. Hong Kong contacted the Ecuador branch, and soon pioneers were at the interested man’s door with the literature he had requested. Four days later they returned. Had he read the literature? He said: “I started reading from Genesis and am up to the book of Ezekiel, but I have some questions. Why is Jehovah so good to us humans? Everything belongs to him, so why does he go to such great lengths to help mankind? What does he get out of it?” A Bible study was started, and the man began attending meetings right away. He stopped smoking and going to casinos. He even closes his restaurant to attend the meetings. The man is now at the point of becoming an unbaptized publisher and is teaching Chinese to the local brothers who want to help other Chinese-speaking people in the country.

 Honduras: In Guatemala in January 2005, a sister named Flor preached informally to a 15-year-old named Sebastián, who is a clown in a circus. He showed interest but had little time to talk. One day he fell from the top of the big tent, so he was laid up in a cast. He now had plenty of time to think about spiritual matters. Flor visited every day to answer his many questions. Soon his mother, Doris, a tightrope walker, also showed interest, and Flor began to study the Bible with her. Dalila, a trapeze artist, and Sofía, a dancer who had studied with the Witnesses in the past, joined in the study along with their daughters. So the group grew to seven persons. Flor conducted the study with all of them from five to seven times a week for two months.

When the time came for the circus to move on to Honduras, Flor encouraged the group to look for the Witnesses in the towns they visited so that they could continue their study and attend the meetings. When they reached the town of Copán, the Bible study was resumed by some special pioneers serving in that area. When the group moved on to the town of Gracias, another special pioneer conducted the study. When it was time for them to move on to the town of Santa Rosa de Copán, a missionary couple received a phone call asking them to care for the study for the following three weeks.

It is a unique study because seven to ten persons meet under the big circus tent. They study twice a week and prepare well, including the youngest, a nine-year-old girl named Julietta, who is a trapeze artist. When the group attends the meetings, they often have to leave immediately and run to change into their costumes in order to be on time for the show to begin. But they gladly make the effort.

 ▪ OCEANIA

Number of lands: 30

Population: 35,237,787

Number of publishers: 93,961

Number of Bible studies: 47,864

New Zealand: While reading a Bible-based brochure during her lunch break, a young sister named Cecilia was asked by a fellow worker what it contained. As Cecilia explained, 15 people gathered to listen, including her boss, who later invited her to his office. He told her that he was impressed by what he had heard. He also informed the staff that the lunchroom would become a Bible-discussion room and extended Cecilia’s lunch break from 30 minutes to 60 minutes so that she would have time to eat and discuss the  Bible. For four weeks, attendance at these discussions ranged between 9 and 15 people. Two of the women are now studying the Bible regularly, making good progress, and witnessing to family members and friends.

Tuvalu: Peteli, whose name in English means “Bethel,” is a 14-year-old girl who is almost totally deaf. She has relatives who are Jehovah’s Witnesses, so she had attended some meetings but did not benefit greatly because of being deaf and unable to read. On her own initiative, Peteli learned to lip-read. More recently, Dale, a missionary sister, began to study with her using the brochure Enjoy Life on Earth Forever! Dale used the pictures to teach Peteli about the Bible and the text to help her learn to read. This was especially challenging because Dale was a new missionary still learning the language, and Peteli needed help in learning where to place her tongue in order to pronounce words correctly. Peteli is eager and works hard. After just three months, she started to read. She and her teacher prepare comments for the meetings together. Peteli carefully practices beforehand and proudly comments at the meetings. She sits in the front row at the Kingdom Hall so that she can concentrate on the speaker’s lips. Dale writes: “Jehovah is becoming a real friend to Peteli, and her eyes often fill with tears when we talk about the time when ‘the very ears of the deaf ones will be unstopped.’”​—Isaiah 35:5.

Samoa: Elena, a pioneer sister, conducted a Bible study with a  Methodist woman whose house was opposite the local pastor’s house. The study was conducted in an open-sided part of the house, in full view of the pastor. One day while they were having the study, the pastor came to visit. The Bible student asked him what he wanted. The pastor replied: “I am looking for my piglet. I haven’t seen her for almost a month.” He then turned to Elena and asked, “Do you know why my piglet ran away from me?” Thinking that he was talking about a literal piglet, Elena suggested that the piglet might have run away because he was feeding her the same sort of food all the time. She suggested that he try feeding her something else. To Elena’s surprise, the pastor pointed to the Bible student and said, “She is my piglet!” He then added: “You have stolen her from me. You have to stop this study immediately and never ever do it again.” (Church pastors have enormous power in the villages of Samoa.) The woman cried. Elena tried to calm her down and explained that the Bible foretold that this sort of thing would happen to those who study the Bible.

Elena began to make adjustments in their schedule by changing the day, the time, and the place of the study. She explains: “Instead of having the study out front in the open Samoan house, we moved it to a tiny room at the back of the woman’s house. This was a very hot place, but at least the study could continue. We did this for two months. Then one day, after the opening prayer, the pastor came, catching us by surprise. I thought that he came to stop the study, but he had changed.”

He sat in on the study and even asked questions. After the study, he turned to the woman and said: “I want to tell you something. Last night we went to town, but on our way home, our car broke down near one of the other villages. A  young couple and another young man came to help fix the car. The car would not go, so they offered to drive us home after I left the car at their house. When I got into their car, I noticed Watchtowers and other publications. I began to think that maybe these people are from the same church as the woman who comes to visit you.”

Now the woman answered him: “Of course, you are right. They are Elena’s children.” He apologized and then said: “Keep doing what you are doing. Now I know that Jehovah’s Witnesses are very good and loving people. Forgive me for what I said. This kind of program would help people of my church change their attitudes.” From that day on, rather than having the study in the tiny, hot room at the back of the house, they have it in the cooler, open-sided front of the house, in full view of the pastor, who has not bothered them since.

Saipan: On this island, the truth of God’s Kingdom deeply touched the heart of a woman named Helen. She was studying the Bible with the help of a missionary and wanted to show her appreciation for the things she was learning. At the conclusion of one study session, Helen handed the missionary a small cloth bag and said, “I don’t have much, but I would like to give this as a contribution to the preaching work.” Inside the bag was a beautiful pearl from her home island of Pohnpei. Helen suggested that the pearl be sold to provide a donation. The pearl was of excellent quality, and the owner of a jewelry store gladly bought it for $100. The money was handed to Helen so that she could decide how much to contribute, but she pushed the money away, saying, “Just put it all in the box.” What motivated her generosity? As in the parable that Jesus once related, Helen had found a pearl of higher value, the Kingdom hope.​—Matt. 13:45, 46.

 ▪ EUROPE

Number of lands: 46

Population: 731,536,437

Number of publishers: 1,498,142

Number of Bible studies: 717,797

Belarus: Pavel and Mayya, a married couple serving as special pioneers, were attending the pioneer school. One evening they decided to take a walk together, not planning to engage in any preaching. Nevertheless, they took along the booklet Good News for People of All Nations. Upon noticing two foreigners, they decided to witness to them. They were able to find out that the two men were from Pakistan and spoke Urdu. Remembering that they had the booklet with them, they gave it to the men to read. One  of the two expressed interest and agreed to study the Bible. That very week he came to the congregation meeting. Association with Jehovah’s people has been a great source of encouragement to him, moving him to say, “In my three years in Minsk, this is the first time that I have met genuine Christians.” The man is continuing to study the Bible.

Britain: Richard is an elder who is blind and has a trained guide dog named Irvin. The door-to-door ministry proved to be a problem for Irvin because he was specially trained to remember every place that Richard visited. When Richard mentioned the situation to those who had provided the dog, they explained that this kind of ministry was too great a challenge for Irvin. They recommended that Richard have Irvin accompany him in business territory, where the dog would become familiar with the various locations he would visit on a regular basis. Richard had always found witnessing in business territory somewhat intimidating, but with Irvin’s help he soon became adept at this form of witnessing.

Hungary: A circuit overseer writes: “In May of 2004, we met a man named Csaba who was doing some gardening. He said that he was a member of a church council. After a brief conversation, we left. Two days later we returned with the Knowledge book and started a Bible study with him. At the end of the visit, he told us that he had problems with his stove. I said that I knew a brother who was skilled at such repairs and that I would forward Csaba’s number to him. When the brothers called to cultivate the interest, Csaba returned the book and discontinued the study. In the meantime, the brother whom I had recommended to help him fix the stove called him regarding the repair work. The brother spent three days fixing Csaba’s stove, and during  that time he talked to Csaba for hours about the truth. The man resumed his Bible study, and his wife joined in. By May of 2005, he was an unbaptized publisher. During my visit to the congregation, I accompanied him when he participated in the ministry for the first time. His spiritual progress was to a large extent due to the friendly, helpful attitude of the brothers and the difference he saw between the conduct of the Witnesses and that of those in his church.”

Belgium: A brother made return visits on a woman at a house situated on a street corner, and his conversations always took place at the doorstep. One day as the brother left this house, a man approached him and said: “My friends said that you Jehovah’s Witnesses are not people to associate with. But I defended you and said that this was not true. I must be honest with you. Many times when I was walking my dog, I stood around the corner and listened to the conversations you had with the woman at that house. You often talked about the resurrection and the Paradise. I would like to know more about this. My wife is in the hospital recovering from an attack in which she was stabbed 17 times. I feel desperate, and I really don’t know what to do anymore.” A home Bible study was started with this man.

Italy: Early one afternoon a brother was returning home from work. As he neared the house where he lived, two men on a motorbike overtook him. The one sitting behind the driver pulled out a gun and motioned for the brother to stop his car, which he did. Next, the gunman opened the car door and told the brother to get out and hand over all the money that he had in his pockets. The brother complied. Then the gunman slid into the driver’s  seat, ready to drive away. However, at seeing a Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses on the dashboard, he asked, “Are you one of Jehovah’s Witnesses?”

The brother answered, “Yes, why?” Without giving an answer, the man got out of the car, apologized for what had happened, and invited the brother to get back into his car. Meanwhile, the other robber told his partner to give back the money they had taken.

“Once again, we are very sorry,” said the man with the gun as he closed the car door for the brother. The men gave no reason for their change of mind, but they evidently respected the Witnesses.

Sweden: In April 2003 a publisher met a man who accepted the Knowledge book. The man was about 90 years old. In earlier years he had traveled throughout the country and taken pictures of many churches. Because of this he had been made an honorary member of a group in the Swedish Church. The publisher asked the man if he had noticed God’s name in any of the churches and showed him a picture of God’s name in one of the churches in Sweden. This aroused the man’s interest. He accepted a Bible study, which he enjoyed very much. He said: “I have read the Bible since I was a child, and I believed that I understood quite a lot. But I understood nothing compared with what I know now.” He soon started to attend meetings at the Kingdom Hall. In June 2005, at age 91, he had his first assignment in the Theocratic Ministry School​—a Bible reading. He is now an unbaptized publisher and is working toward baptism. He listened to Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2003 because of a TV program that had spoken against us. He wanted to know the truth about us, and now he does.

[Picture on page 43]

Svetlana, Kyrgyzstan

[Picture on page 47]

Lucy, Uganda

[Picture on page 52]

Graciela, Venezuela

[Picture on page 55]

Renildo with his family, Brazil

[Picture on page 57]

Dale and Peteli, Tuvalu

[Picture on page 57]

Cecilia, New Zealand

[Picture on page 58]

Elena, Samoa

[Picture on page 61]

Pavel and Mayya, Belarus

[Picture on page 61]

Richard and his dog, Irvin, Britain