From January 29 to March 11, 2024, more than 11,000 brothers and sisters from throughout South Africa participated in a Xhosa-language preaching campaign in the country’s Eastern Cape Province. The majority of the seven million people living in this province speak Xhosa. As a result of the campaign, over 2,700 people requested a personal Bible study.

During the campaign, two sisters met a woman who had lost her brother in a tragic accident just two weeks earlier. As the woman tearfully told the sisters about her brother’s death, they comforted her by reading Revelation 21:3, 4. Wanting to learn more about the Bible’s promise of an end to death and suffering, the woman asked when and where our meetings are held. A Bible study was also started with her.

A sister named Zukiswa started a conversation with a woman who suffers from severe arthritis. Her condition makes preparing food for her children difficult. The woman was worried they would not have anything to eat that day, since she did not have the strength to knead the bread. Zukiswa lovingly offered to knead the dough while the sister who was with her shared the Bible’s message with the woman. Impressed by their concern and loving assistance, the woman excitedly told many of her friends what the two sisters had done for her. Soon after, she began studying the Bible with the Witnesses.

While sharing in the door-to-door ministry in the city of Gqeberha, two brothers met a man who previously had one of his legs amputated. He mentioned he had long wondered why God permits Satan to rule the world, since mankind belongs to God. (1 John 5:19) Our brothers answered his questions using the Bible. Later that same day, after viewing the video entitled Why Does God Allow Suffering?, both the man and his wife happily accepted the offer of a Bible study.

One of our sisters, who was also preaching in Gqeberha, asked a woman if she would like to read Psalm 37:29. After reading the verse from her personal copy of the Bible, the woman said she could not understand it. The sister then read the verse to her from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in Xhosa. The woman exclaimed: “The Xhosa used in this Bible sounds so natural. I understand it better than my own Bible!” She now enjoys having a regular Bible study.

We are delighted that so many Xhosa-speaking people throughout South Africa are responding to the message of hope that “the God of all comfort” supplies through his Word, the Bible.—2 Corinthians 1:3.