Kingdom Proclaimers Report

His Spiritual Needs Were Satisfied

CYPRUS is an island in the northeast corner of the Mediterranean Sea. In Bible times, Cyprus was renowned for its copper and fine timber. Paul and Barnabas proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom there during their first missionary journey. (Acts 13:4-12) Today, the good news is still having a positive effect on the life of many Cypriots. Certainly this is true of Lucas, a man in his 40’s. He relates:

“I was born into a family of seven children on a cattle farm. From early childhood, I had an appetite for reading. My favorite book was a pocket-sized edition of the Christian Greek Scriptures. When I was ten years of age, some friends and I formed a small Bible study group. It did not last long, however, because some of the older people in the village called us heretics.

“Later, while going to school in the United States, I met people from many religious backgrounds. That rekindled my desire for spiritual things. I spent many days in the university library studying different religions. I also visited a number of churches, but in spite of my efforts, I was still not satisfied spiritually.

“After finishing my studies, I returned to Cyprus and accepted a job as the director of a medical laboratory. An elderly man named Antonis, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, used to visit me at my workplace. His visits, though, did not go unnoticed by the Greek Orthodox Church.

“Soon, a theologian came to see me and discouraged me from talking to Jehovah’s Witnesses. Since I was taught from childhood that the Greek Orthodox Church had the truth, I relented and stopped visiting with Antonis and started discussing the Bible with the theologian. I also visited many monasteries in Cyprus. I even traveled to northern Greece and visited Mount Athos, which is considered to be the most holy mountain in the Orthodox Christian world. Still, my Bible questions remained unanswered.

“Then I prayed to God to help me find the truth. Shortly thereafter, Antonis again came to visit me at my place of work, and I felt that this was an answer to my prayer. So I stopped seeing the theologian and began studying the Bible with Antonis. I continued to make progress, and in October 1997, I symbolized my dedication to Jehovah by water baptism.

“My wife and our two oldest daughters, age 14 and 10 at the time, were initially opposed. But because of my good conduct, my wife decided to attend a meeting at the Kingdom Hall. She was deeply impressed by the kindness of the Witnesses and by the personal interest they showed. She was particularly impressed by their use of the Bible. As a result, my wife and two oldest daughters accepted a Bible study with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Imagine my delight when the three of them were baptized at the “God’s Prophetic Word” District Convention in 1999!

“Yes, my search for the truth was satisfied. Now our entire family, including my wife and four children, are united in the pure worship of Jehovah.”