We Are the Sort Who Have Faith

Declaring the Good News in the Rice Fields of Taiwan

TAIWAN usually enjoys bountiful rainfall, which enables it to reap two good crops of rice each year. Occasionally, though, the rains do not come when they should, and the seedlings die. When this happens, does the farmer give up? No. He knows that perseverance is needed. He grows new seedlings and replants the fields. Then, if conditions improve, the farmer harvests a good crop. Spiritual planting and harvesting are sometimes very similar.

Persevering in the Spiritual Harvest

Over the years Jehovah’s Witnesses in Taiwan have worked hard to plant and harvest seeds of Scriptural truth in some areas that did not seem to be productive. One example is Miao-li County. There had been little response to the occasional efforts to witness in the area. So in 1973 a special pioneer couple were assigned to work there as full-time Kingdom proclaimers. Initially, some showed interest in the good news. However, that interest soon withered away. The special pioneers were then assigned to another area.

In 1991 two other special pioneers were assigned there. But again developments indicated that the climate was not right for spiritual growth. After a few years, the special pioneers were reassigned to what would hopefully be more productive fields. Thus, the land lay fallow for a period of time.

Renewed Efforts Reap Success

In September 1998 it was decided to make an effort to seek out the more productive areas in the vast unassigned territory in Taiwan. How was this to be accomplished? By assigning some 40 temporary special pioneers to work in the more densely populated unassigned territories.

Two adjoining cities in Miao-li County were among the territories selected for the campaign. Four single sisters were to work there for three months to test the territory. Soon after their arrival, they wrote glowing reports about the number of interested people they were locating. By the time they finished their three months of pioneering in the area, they were conducting many home Bible studies. They also established a book study group with the help of an elder from a nearby congregation.

Three of these sisters made it clear that they would like to continue to care for the tender “seedlings” that were growing so well. Consequently, two of them were appointed as permanent special pioneers, and the third continued to work there as a regular pioneer. An elder from the nearby congregation moved into the area to help them. More than 60 attended the first public talk given in that area. Now the nearby congregation is helping this fledgling group to hold regular Sunday meetings in addition to several book studies. Soon a new congregation may be formed in the area.

Perseverance Brings Blessings in Other Parts of Taiwan

Other areas responded in a similar way. In I-lan County in the northeastern part of the island,  a new Congregation Book Study was established in the area where the temporary special pioneers worked.

While making house-to-house calls one evening, a temporary special pioneer met a young man and showed him a handbill listing congregation meetings. He immediately asked: “May I attend the meeting tomorrow night? If so, what should I wear?” This pioneer found herself conducting eight Bible studies with interested ones each week. Several of the Bible students were soon making plans to become publishers of the good news themselves, with the goal of being baptized.

Another person in this same town had been a churchgoer for many years but could find no one to teach her the Bible. When she heard about the Bible study arrangement, she seized the opportunity. She was encouraged to prepare her lesson in advance. When the temporary special pioneer arrived to conduct the study, she found that the woman had done her “homework” by purchasing a notebook in which she had written down the printed questions in her study material. Then she had written out her answers to each question. She had also copied in her notebook all the cited scriptures in her lesson. By the time the sister arrived to conduct the first study, the woman had already prepared the first three lessons!

Similar results were seen in the town of Dongshih in central Taiwan. The temporary special pioneers placed more than 2,000 brochures in the three months they worked there. By the third month, they were conducting 16 home Bible studies. The town was largely destroyed by an earthquake that struck central Taiwan on September 21, 1999, but some interested ones continue to make spiritual progress, even though they have to travel for up to an hour to attend meetings at the nearest Kingdom Hall. Yes, perseverance is needed to reap a good crop, whether of material produce or that of a spiritual kind.

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CHINA

Taiwan Strait

TAIWAN

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