1969 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses

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1969 YEARBOOK

of Jehovah’s Witnesses Containing Report for the Service Year of 1968

Corporate Publishers

WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA

WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC, INTERNATIONAL BIBLE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION 124 Columbia Heights Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.

Branch offices appear on last page

WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA

OFFICERS

N. H. KNORR President

F. W. FRANZ Vice-President

GRANT SUITER Secretary-Treasurer

WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC.

OFFICERS

N. H. KNORR President

F. W. FRANZ Vice-President

GRANT SUITER Secretary-Treasurer

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION

OFFICERS

N. H. KNORR President

A. PRYCE HUGHES Vice-President

E. C. CHITTY

Secretary-Treasurer

GRANT SUITER Asst. Secretary-Treasurer

Page

Ascension Island M-15

Cape Verde Islands J-14

Carriacou K-9

Cayman Islands J-8

Central African Republic K-19 .. . 104

Communist and Difficult Countries . . 271

Congo (Kinshasa) L-18

Congo Republic (Brazzaville) L-18 . 110

Dominican Republic J-9

Ecuador L-8

El Salvador J-7

Page

Ethiopia K-21

Falkland Islands R-10

Germany, East E-18 .....

Ghana K-17

Gibraltar G-16

Gilbert and Ellice islands

Jamaica J-8 ............... 165

Leeward Islands (Antigua) J-10 . . 180

Page Page

Madeira G-15 ......... 224 St. Helena N-16

Malagasy Republic N-22........187 St. Kitts J-10

Malawi M-20 .............. 230 St. Lucia J-10

Malaysia E-28 .............. 240 St. Martin J-10 ....

Mali J-17 ................. 236 St. Vincent J-10

Malta G-18 ............... 95 Saipan F-36

Manus Island J-35...... 213 Samoa, American N-40

Marshall Islands J-39 ......... 152 Samoa, Western N-40

Martinique J-10 ............145 Saudi Arabia J-22

Mauritania J-16 ............. 236 Senegal K-15

Mauritius N-23 ............. 189 Seychelles M-23

Mexico H-5 ................192 Sierra Leone K-15

Montserrat J-10 .............181 Singapore E-28

Morocco G-16 ..............194 Solomon Islands L-36

Mozambique 0-20 ........... 232 Somalia L-22

Netherlands D-17 ............195 South Africa P-19

Netherlands Antilles (Curacao) K-9 . 196 South-West Africa N-18

Nevis J-10 ................182 Spain F-16

New Britain K-35 ...........214 Sudan K-20

New Caledonia N-36 .......... 128 Surinam K-10

Newfoundland E-10...........198 Swaziland 0-20

New Guinea J-34 ............214 Sweden C-19

New Hebrides N-37 .......... 130 Switzerland E-18

New Ireland K-35............215 Syria G-21

New Zealand R-35 ........... 200 Tahiti 0-43

Nicaragua K-7 .............. 202 Taiwan, Republic of China D-33 .. 256

Niger J-18 ................. 205 Tanzania M-20

Nigeria K-18 ............... 203 Tchad J-19

Niue 0-40 ................ 130 Thailand C-29

Norway C-18 ............... 206 Tobago K-10

Okinawa D-34 .............. 208 Togo K-17

Pakistan H-24 .............. 209 Tonga 0-39

Palau G-33 ................ 68 Tortola J-9

Panama K-8 ...............211 Trinidad K-10

Papua K-34................212 Truk H-36

Paraguay 0-10 ..............217 Tunisia G-18

Peru M-8 .................218 Turkey G-21

Philippine Republic E-32.......219 Uganda L-20

Poland E-19 ............... 276 Union of Soviet Socialist

Ponape J-37 ................ 69 Republics D-22

Portugal F-16 ...... 220 United Arab Republic H-20

Puerto Rico J-9 ............. 225 United States G-6

Reunion 0-23 ............... 190 Upper Volta K-16

Rhodesia N-20 .............. 228 Uruguay P-10

Rio Muni L-18...... 100 Venezuela K-9

Rodrigues N-24..............191 Vietnam D-30

Romania F-20 .............. 278 Virgin islands (U.S.) J-10

Saba J-10 ............ 182 Yugoslavia F-19

St. Eustatius J-10............183 Zambia N-20

Service year chart, pages 34-41

The letter and number symbol following the name of each country indicates the country’s location on the endsheet maps. Numbers 1 to 25 refer to the front endsheet and numbers 26 to 50 to the back endsheet.

1969

YEARBOOK

of Jehovah’s Witnesses

There was a very grave incident that occurred to the twelve tribes of Israel after they left Egypt in 1513 B.C.E. It was an action unprovoked and very unfriendly as well as unnecessary on the part of the people of Amalek. That is why the prophet Moses said to Israel: “There should be a remembering of what Amalek did to you in the way when you were coming out of Egypt, how he met you in the way and proceeded to strike in the rear of you all those straggling after you, while you were exhausted and weary; and he did not fear God. And it must occur that when Jehovah your God has given you rest from all your enemies round about in the land that Jehovah your God is giving you as an inheritance to take possession of it, you should wipe out the mention of Amalek from under the heavens. You must not forget.”—Deut. 25:17-19.

Who were these Amalekites that went striking down those exhausted and weary ones? Who were these people that did not fear God? Amalek was a grandson of Esau. No wonder! Esau was the one who sold his birthright to his brother Jacob. So the offspring of Amalek were determined to perpetuate the hatred Esau had for his brother Jacob, even more than three centuries later. So they launched this unprovoked attack on the offspring of Jacob. Because of this dastardly action Jehovah God decreed that they should be wiped

out, which meant ultimate extinction of the Amalekites.

During the period of the judges of the nation of Israel the Amalekites continued to be adversaries of Israel and they shared with other nations in assaulting Israel. (Judg. 3:12, 13; 6:1-3, 33; 7:12; 10:12) About four centuries after the Israelites left Egypt, Samuel the prophet of God said to King Saul: “This is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘I must call to account what Amalek did to Israel when he set himself against him in the way while he was coming up out of Egypt. Now go, and you must strike down Amalek and devote him to destruction with all that he has, and you must not have compassion upon him, and you must put them to death, man as well as woman, child as well as suckling, bull as well as sheep, camel as well as ass.’ ” (1 Sam. 15:2, 3) Jehovah did not forget!

King Saul struck the Amalekites down “from Havilah as far as Shur.” However, Saul overstepped Jehovah’s orders and he spared King Agag. The account says that “Saul and the people had compassion upon Agag.” Nevertheless, God was not to be mocked, for “Samuel went hacking Agag to pieces before Jehovah in Gilgal.” (1 Sam. 15:2-33) But this was not the complete wiping out of the Amalekites. During King David’s time raids were made against the Amalekites. It was not until centuries later, during the reign of Hezekiah, that “some of the sons of Simeon” struck down the remnant of the Amalekites. (1 Chron. 4:42, 43) Finally in the fifth century B.C.E. Haman the Agagite and his family were wiped out because of attempting the extermination of the Jew Mordecai and his people. In this way the command, “You must not forget” what the Amalekites did to the sons and daughters of Jacob, came to complete fulfillment.

LISTEN

That Bible account is only one instance pointing up this important matter of not forgetting what God has said. There were many more important things that the children of Israel were not to forget, especially that they were Jehovah’s nation, his inheritance. (Ps. 33:12) Eventually they forgot and the entire nation of Israel was cast off from God’s favor. In view of what happened to the Israelites centuries ago, is it not more important for people today not to forget the judicial decisions and teachings of God if they want to “inherit the earth”? (Matt. 5:5) Moses said: “Listen to the regulations and the judicial decisions that I am teaching you to do, in order that you may live and may indeed go in and take possession of the land that Jehovah the God of your forefathers is giving you. You must not add to the word that I am commanding you, neither must you take away from it, so as to keep the commandments of Jehovah your God that I am commanding you.” (Deut. 4:1, 2) No one, neither you nor the clergy of Christendom, has any right to tamper with the Word of God, to reject portions of it, or add to it, thinking that one has greater wisdom and knowledge than the Author of the Bible himself. If the Israelites wanted to live as individuals and as a nation, it was necessary for them to keep the commandments of Jehovah their God. Christians today are no different. When God speaks, Christians should listen! Most people, though, would like to forget God, ignore his sayings and teachings and live according to their own desires.

Regardless of what men think, the great God of the universe is still very much interested in his creation. In fact, ‘God loved humankind so much that he gave his only-begotten Son to save them (not destroy them) and to have them enjoy everlasting life.’ (John 3:16) When God’s Son Jesus Christ came to the earth, he studied the Holy Scriptures. He quoted scriptures to prove his teachings. As to his speaking he said: “I do not speak of my own originality.” (John 14:10) He read, believed and spoke from God’s Word. Jehovah tried to impress this very thing upon the Israelites long before he sent his Son into the world. But not all of them listened. That is why God said: “Only watch out for yourself and take good care of your soul, that you may not forget the things that your eyes have seen and that they may not depart from your heart all the days of your life; and you must make them known to your sons and to your grandsons.”—Deut. 4:9.

If one is going to take good care of his soul it means he is going to take good care of his life. Your soul is you. None of us should forget the things our eyes have seen, and we should listen to the things Jehovah says in his written Word. By doing so we take good care of our lives. Our hearing and not forgetting, and never letting God’s sayings depart from our hearts all the days of our lives, makes it possible for us to help our sons and grandsons. They, too, need to know what God said and did. What had God done? This: Israel had become a numerous people. After Joseph’s death they became slaves in Egypt. By Jehovah’s power he liberated them from Pharaoh’s oppression. However, before freedom came, God’s plagues fell, one after another, upon Egypt. Then, before the tenth plague came, Moses told all the children of Israel to prepare for their deliverance and their march out of Egypt. To gain this God-given freedom did not require much preparation on the part of the Israelites, but it did require faith. Each Israelite family was to kill a lamb, take its blood and sprinkle it on the doorposts and lintels of his home and then roast the lamb and stay inside his home and eat it. These instructions would not be difficult to follow, would they? For this act of faith, just doing what Jehovah said they should do, the angel of Jehovah passed over the children of Israel, but God’s angel brought death to all of the Egyptian firstborn, both of man and of beast. What a night of wailing and howling that was for the Egyptians! But what a night of rejoicing in the homes of the Israelites! They all were alive and soon began their trek to and through the Red Sea, following Moses, who led them out of the land of Egypt and on toward the Promised Land. Do you think this event was worth remembering and making known to their sons and their grandsons for generation after generation?

About this day of liberation with all its excitement parents were to tell their children and their grandchildren for generations to come. ‘Do not forget the things that your eyes have seen,’ God said. About this great event they must tell year after year, on Passover day and at other times as well. Their release from slavery was not a myth. It was not just a story with which to entertain children. It was Jehovah’s doing! It was a reality! It was true history! Men and women lived it and, in order for them to watch out for themselves and take good care of their souls, they must not forget to tell these truths to their sons and grandsons. How many historical Bible events do you repeat to your sons?

But how quickly people forget! Not long afterward, while in the wilderness of Paran, Moses sent twelve spies into the Promised Land to look things over. Ten spies returned frightened and they urged: Return to Egypt. There they could get garlic and watermelons again. (Num. 11:5) Two of the twelve spies, Joshua and Caleb, were pleased with what they had seen, and they advised the people: “Let us go up directly” into the land flowing with milk and honey. (Num. 13:27-30) The people, however, listened to the ten fearful spies, forgetting the wonderful deliverance God performed in their behalf in Egypt. For lack of faith they spent forty long years in the wilderness until that older generation died off. The children of the new generation, who had heard of the deliverance of their parents or grandparents, were now ready to move under Jehovah’s direction into the Land of Promise.

While many of the families of Israel quickly forgot the salvation that Jehovah brought to them, God was not one to forget. “For Jehovah your God is a merciful God. He will not desert you or bring you to ruin or forget the covenant of your forefathers that he swore to them.” (Deut. 4:31) Centuries before that Jehovah had said to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that he would give them this land and that through Abraham’s seed all the families of the earth would be blessed. That new generation had faith, and Jehovah gave them numerous successes. But again God warned them not to forget.

Jehovah God led Israel onward to the land that the Bible describes as being like the garden of Eden. They were going to have houses in which to live and that they had not built. They were going to be drinking fresh water from cisterns that they had not hewn out. They were going to eat grapes from vineyards and olives from trees that they had never planted. How would this prosperity and luxury affect them? Would this new generation receiving all these things in the Promised Land forget Jehovah too? Would they become satisfied and forget God?

Listen to the warning that Jehovah gave to the children of Israel: “And it must occur that when Jehovah your God will bring you into the land that he swore to your forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to give you, great and goodlooking cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things and that you did not fill, and cisterns hewn out that you did not hew out, vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant, and you shall have eaten and become satisfied, watch out for yourself that you may not forget Jehovah, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves.” (Deut. 6: 10-12) How many people are forgetful like that today? They become prosperous, have everything they want materially, but lose all their spirituality and interest in Jehovah their God!

MANKIND FORGETS

Jehovah knew mankind could forget. That is why he gave the warning. But how many heeded Jehovah’s warnings? Many persons never think that it is Jehovah God who makes the sun to shine upon the good and the bad, that he makes it rain upon the just and the unjust; that God gave us the air we breathe, provided the vegetation we eat; that he made the land and the sea, the mountains and valleys with freshwater streams. These things were all here when you came to be upon the earth, but how often have you thanked the Creator for them? We have a great variety of food, of shelter in houses of stone, wood and other materials taken from the earth. We have clothing of cotton, wool and silk. There is no end to the things Jehovah supplies. He gave it all to mankind. Have you eaten and become satisfied too? Then watch out for yourselves that you may not forget Jehovah.

Someone may say, Well, we may forget momentarily,’ but is that the primary meaning of “forget”? According to Webster’s Dictionary the first meaning of “forget” is: “To lose the remembrance of; to let go from the memory; to be unable to think of or recall; ... to lose the power or use of; to cease from doing.” This is the meaning of “forget” used in the scriptures cited, that is, completely letting go out of mind or memory the things that were so clearly established there previously.

How many people do you think have forgotten God today, are unable to remember him, who he is, what he has done? How many people do you think really worship the great God of the universe, the Giver of every good and perfect present? How many people do you think really believe that God loved mankind so much that he sent his only-begotten Son into the world that man might gain life everlasting? Do you think that the majority of Christendom’s population have forgotten God and his laws and what he has instructed Christians to do? Have you yourself forgotten?

Of course, there is a second meaning to the word “forget,” namely, “To omit or disregard unintentionally; to neglect,” to fail to take, bring, speak of or notice. This kind of forgetting we find happening at home every day. The wife may ask her husband, ‘When you come home from work tonight would you please bring a loaf of bread with you?’ He forgets. He does not do this intentionally, because when he gets home he either has to go to the store for it or do without bread at the evening meal. Little things in life like this we forget to do sometimes, but we can correct them and do. But what have you done about true religion? Is it in your case very much like what appeared on the front page of the New York Times Sunday paper for September 15, 1968? The four-column headline read: “Public Apathy Creating Crisis in Church of England.” The report was written by a Mr. Edward B. Fiske and the article started this way: “LONDON —The church is like a pub. You go into a town, and it’s there, and maybe you go in and maybe you don’t. Personally, I don’t. The speaker was James Cavenaugh.” A little farther along in the article Mr. Fiske said: “Church attendance has dropped to the point where only eight out of every 100 baptized persons worship on Easter.” Would you say that 92 percent of the people of that land have forgotten God? How about the rest of Christendom? Are their religious centers crowded? You know the answer is No, and it is because the people have forgotten God! They have let go from their memories the things they have known about God, if they ever heard or read about Him during their lives. In fact, many have been taught that God is dead, and almost all others have been taught that what is written in the Holy Scriptures, the Bible, is but a myth. They have no incentive or help from the clergy or from their elders to remember. So they forget God.

Religion, some form of worship, is something that everyone in the world is involved in in one way or another. The natural tendency of man is to worship something. People whom we call “heathen” or “pagan” have gods that they worship. Some people worship money, movie stars, politicians, rulers, even themselves. It may be an image or something illusive, nirvana, for instance. But let us take a second look at Christendom, while we are on the subject, and seriously ask: What has Christendom’s religion done for mankind? Has it made the nations and its people better morally, spiritually? Has it made them peaceful? Do they love one another more now than fifty years ago or five hundred years ago? Has Christendom brought “glory ... to God, and upon earth peace among men of good will”? (Luke 2:14) Why not? Because mankind and its religious priests and clergy have forgotten God, discarded his Word and rejected Jehovah’s kingdom by his Son Christ Jesus. Jesus said it plainly: “This people honors me with their lips, yet their heart is far removed from me. It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.” (Matt. 15:8, 9) The false religions are not teaching you God’s Word but they are teaching you their own doctrine. Listen to God, for he is saying to you now: “Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins.” (Rev. 18:4) Christendom and the whole world empire of false religion is doomed!

“DO NOT FORGET AEL HIS DOINGS”

Turn to the Word of God and be like faithful King David, a true worshiper of Jehovah God. He said: “Bless Jehovah, O my soul, and do not forget all his doings.” (Ps. 103:2) David, a man after God’s own heart, did not want to forget anything that Jehovah had done for him. What were some of the things Jehovah did for him? He said Jehovah was the one “who is forgiving all your error, who is healing all your maladies, who is reclaiming your life from the very pit, who is crowning you with loving-kindness and mercies, who is satisfying your lifetime with what is good.” (Ps. 103:3-5) David fully appreciated that “with error I was brought forth with birth pains, and in sin my mother conceived me.” (Ps. 51:5) He knew he made mistakes, but he went to God in prayer and asked for forgiveness. He had full confidence that Jehovah would forgive him, because he turned from the wrong course and took the right one. David would not forget the one who was forgiving all his error.

David could not forget the God who is healing all of man’s maladies. Man is truly marvelously and wonderfully made. David recognized this. He appreciated that he could see, hear, speak, feel and smell. He wanted to use these faculties wisely. He was concerned with the healthy condition of his heart and kidneys. (Ps. 26:2; 7:9) When he got ill David would know that this condition was inherited along with the sin of Adam. But how is recovery effected? We say: “Take care of yourself.” David would do likewise in sickness, very likely go to bed, keep warm, drink some helpful fruit juices. Maybe he received some good advice from doctors of his time. Now what advice do most doctors give to those who have maladies today? “Go to bed.” “Rest more.” “Take a vacation.” “Get more exercise.” “Breathe more deeply.” But what does the healing? Why this wonderful body of ours. Jehovah God made it so that it restores itself. The body does the healing. (Ps. 30:2; 103:5) If David did not forget, then we should not forget the one “who is healing all your maladies.” What a grand day it will be when even death will have no hold on mankind. For when the new heavens and new earth are fully established, God's Word says, “he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be any more. The former things have passed away.”—Rev. 21:4.

Neither could David forget the one “who is reclaiming your life from the very pit.” David knew that the life-span of man was seventy years and, because of special mightiness, maybe eighty. (Ps. 90:10) Then death would come and one’s soul would go down into the pit. However, David, like Job, had faith in the resurrection of the dead, for Job believed God would set a time limit and remember him. (Job 14:13) Jesus Christ confirmed this hope and said: “Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out.” (John 5:28, 29) David with such faith could not forget God, who would reclaim him from the pit. Could you?

Nor could David forget the God “who is crowning you with loving-kindness and mercies.” David had an interesting life. He was a good shepherd boy who took care of his father’s sheep. When a lad he was anointed to be king of Israel by the prophet Samuel. He stayed humble and never tried to usurp the throne of King Saul. David knew that God had anointed Saul, and even though David was persecuted by Saul he waited upon Jehovah to make a change. The kingdom of Israel grew under King David’s reign and Jehovah allowed him to plan and gather material together for the building of the great temple of his son Solomon. David had his moments of sorrow and regret. He made mistakes, but he trusted in the loving-kindness and mercy of Jehovah his God. Is your life crowned with God’s loving-kindness and mercies too? Do you, like David, “not forget all his doings”?

We can be sure of it—Jehovah God will not forget! Even though we might forget, he will not do so. To help ourselves not to forget we must review, keep reading, keep listening to God’s Holy Word. This is so essential to right living! All Christians who have come to an accurate knowledge of the truth and have dedicated their lives to the doing of God’s will and who have been baptized in water must continue to study the Bible. In time, having studied his written judicial decisions, they will be able to discern between right and wrong. The Bible clearly states the right principles and the right way for man to go. But even Christians who have served him well for many years can forget God if they stop studying God’s Word. Some persons deliberately want to forget God, and this is marked in their conscience as with a branding iron.—1 Tim. 4:2.

The writer of the fiftieth psalm says: “But to the wicked one God will have to say: ‘What right do you have to enumerate my regulations, and that you may bear my covenant in your mouth? Why, you—you have hated discipline, and you keep throwing my words behind you. Whenever you saw a thief, you were even pleased with him; and your sharing was with adulterers.’ ” (Ps. 50:16-18) Many people claim to be Christian, but do they have any right to represent Jehovah God? If they are in the new covenant with God, why do they hate God’s discipline and throw God’s words behind them? Millions upon millions of people and their hypocritical clergy in Christendom’s religious organizations today have actually thrown the words of God behind them. They have shown they are through with God’s Word but still call themselves Christians. They know, as well as anyone else, that one should not steal, that married people should not commit adultery nor single ones engage in fornication. But, they are well described by the words of the psalmist, ‘When they see a thief they are pleased with him.’ In their hearts they would like to be able to get away with such stealing themselves. Have you noticed that all false religious organizations wink at persons who are sharing with adulterers? These are not reprimanded or disfellowshiped from their religious organization. They continue to be “good” members in fine standing in the church organizations of Christendom. How many times have you read in your newspapers about a person’s third, fourth and fifth marriage while their former mates are still living? For such persons marriage becomes legalized adultery. In many Catholic-controlled countries people cannot get divorces on any grounds and so the adulterers just live with their mistresses and continue in good standing in their immoral religious systems. They certainly have thrown God’s Word behind them. No wonder the world empire of false religion is called “Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and of the disgusting things of the earth.” (Rev. 17: 5) Do you want to belong to such a religious system?

The psalmist goes on to say to forgetters of God: “Your mouth you have let loose to what is bad, and your tongue you keep attached to deception.” (Ps. 50:19) Lying is common. Most people look upon lying as something that does not do any harm. Here is where the breakdown in morals begins. The immorality of the religious, political and commercial system of things is appalling. Good morals are practically nil. The majority of the people in Christendom today, and probably the majority of people in other religious persuasions, think that God does not see what is going on and is not interested anyway. Jehovah expresses himself through his written Word, and someday he will speak very forcefully by actions. Jehovah goes on to say in this fiftieth psalm: “You imagined that I would positively become like you. I am going to reprove you, and I will set things in order before your eyes. Understand this, please, you forgetters of God, that I may not tear you to pieces without there being any deliverer.”—Ps. 50:21, 22.

You can say that “there is no God,” if you wish, and that “God is dead.” The evolutionist says, “I proved there is no God,” but that will not change matters. Jehovah speaks boldly through his Word to the immoral ones and all “forgetters of God,” and warns that he will tear them to pieces. Despite all their howling when the war of Armageddon in the great day of God the Almighty strikes, there will be no deliverer. Then Jehovah will surely set things in order for the blessing of those who love righteousness.

OFFERING THANKSGIVING

Maybe you are one of those who really love God and who are practicing his sayings and have not forgotten God’s Word. To such the psalmist says: “The one offering thanksgiving as his sacrifice is the one that glorifies me; and as for the one keeping a set way, I will cause him to see salvation by God.” (Ps. 50:23) Are you keeping a set way, along with thousands of persons who are offering thanksgiving to Jehovah daily? Keep on glorifying Jehovah by preaching from house to house and encouraging people who love righteousness to study his Word. “Keeping a set way,” the righteous way, will cause an even greater crowd of people to sing God’s praises day and night and to see salvation.

The best way to keep from forgetting God is to keep thinking about him. Get acquainted with what he wants done and then do it. Jehovah says through the psalmist: “Do give ear, O my people, to my law; incline your ear to the sayings of my mouth.” (Ps. 78:1) Is there any value in doing this? Are there benefits? Is there something to be gained? Is it rewarding to incline your ears and to listen to what God has to say and then do it? It certainly is! Not only will you personally profit by inclining your ears to the sayings of Jehovah’s mouth, but another good purpose is this: “In order that the generation to come, the sons that were to be born, might know them, that they might rise up and relate them to their sons, and that they might set their confidence in God himself and not forget the practices of God but observe his own commandments.” —Ps. 78:6, 7.

How many people in Christendom today really want their children to “set their confidence in God himself”? Before you can instill such confidence in your children, you must learn about Jehovah and “not forget the practices of God.” How can your children know anything about God unless you yourself observe God’s commandments and teach them to your children?

Humankind is the creation of Jehovah God. He knows better how we should conduct our lives and live them than anyone else does. Educators and scientists think they know better how to teach and conduct the lives of children. Parents who believe the Word of God and observe God’s commandments, however, are the ones that have the responsibility. It cannot be given to the State. The Israelites were instructed to teach their children the things that they saw and heard and to inculcate in the minds of their children the principles of truth and righteousness. The State is not doing this, and every year fewer people teach their children what the Bible counsels. Every person who professes to be a true Christian should say: “With your orders I will concern myself, and I will look to your paths. For your statutes I shall show a fondness. I shall not forget your word.” (Ps. 119:15, 16) How pointed and direct this advice! Have you concerned yourself as to what Jehovah’s statutes are? Do you want to know the orders of God and his regulations for proper living? Even in the normal processes of life most people recognize order and law and get acquainted with the rules of the land, but far more important are the laws that Jehovah has had written. These pertain to our living, and our children’s living, forever. We must show a fondness for His statutes, and we must not forget his Word, the Holy Bible. Teach them to your children.

Jehovah’s witnesses are very much interested in what Jehovah God has to say. They study the Bible in five meetings each week. That does not mean that they will remember every scripture and be able to quote the whole Bible verse by verse, but by reading the Bible regularly they will get the overall picture of what Jehovah’s way of life is for mankind, what his principles of truth and righteousness are; and they appreciate the way that they should conduct their lives in relationship to others, their children and neighbors, and especially in relationship to God.

It is very important for Christians to know what Jehovah’s will is, because each one has to make the decision as to whether he is going to take the right course or the wrong course. Jehovah does not force one to do something. Really one’s life, or whatever life one will have in the future, is dependent on one’s own course of action. Hence one dare not forget the law of God. One must know right from wrong. Through speaking the truth one feels confident that Jehovah will find pleasure in the voluntary offerings of one’s mouth. At all times one must be very much interested in having Jehovah God teach one his own judicial decisions, that is, Jehovah’s judicial decisions. A person does not want to be the judge as to what is right and what is wrong. God makes the judicial decisions. We must get in line with them for our own welfare. It pays to do what is right. A Christian wants Jehovah God to state what is the right way, the correct course to take. The Christian must make the decision. No one else can, because the Christian knows that he personally is responsible to God, the Giver of life.

In the garden of Eden Adam and Eve had their lives at stake. Jehovah said to the man: “From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.” (Gen. 2:16, 17) God was not making it difficult for the first man that he created and put in the paradise of Eden to keep on living. Of all of the trees in the garden—and there may have been thousands of them—he could freely eat, but there was just one he should not eat from, at least for the present. After God created Adam he created a helpmate, Eve. He saw that it was not good for the man to continue by himself. When Adam saw Eve after she was created from his rib, Adam exclaimed: “This is at last bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This one will be called Woman, because from man this one was taken.” (Gen. 2:23) Adam informed Eve of what God had told him directly about not eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and bad. But one day Satan in the form of the serpent began to say to the woman: “ ‘Is it really so that God said you must not eat from every tree of the garden?’ At this the woman said to the serpent: ‘Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat. But as for eating of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God has said, “You must not eat from it, no, you must not touch it that you do not die.” ’ At this the serpent said to the woman: ‘You positively will not die. For God knows that in the very day of your eating from it your eyes are bound to be opened and you are bound to be like God, knowing good and bad.’ ”—Gen. 3:1-5.

LIFE DEPENDENT UPON DECISION

We know what happened in the garden of Eden. The record is in the third chapter of the book of Genesis. Eve ate of the fruit of the tree because she wanted to be the one who would decide what was good and what was bad. She wanted to be like God, making judicial decisions, deciding what is good and bad. She chose to act contrary to Jehovah’s already established statute. She did not want to listen to Jehovah’s law, and God did not step in and stop her from taking and eating the fruit of that tree, because when Jehovah created Adam and Eve he created them both as free moral agents. Their lives depended on their own decisions. They could do with their lives as they pleased and reap whatever they sowed. Jehovah gave them sound counsel, good advice on how to carry on their lives in harmony with His will, but he did not force them to do his will. They could go contrary to it if they chose to do so. He did tell them not to eat of one particular tree; but if they wanted to be disobedient to his law, then, as he told Adam, they would be choosing death.

So it was up to Adam and Eve to make the vital decision. As free moral agents, they did with their lives as they pleased. They brought death upon themselves as well as upon the entire human family.—Rom. 5:12.

But that act on Adam’s part did not change man’s freedom to make decisions for himself. As far as every person on earth is concerned, each one is still a free moral agent and may still do with his life what he pleases to do. He can find out what God’s law is and live by it, or he can live contrary to it. It is surely much wiser for an individual to listen to and follow the Word of the all-wise God and to live by it, than to go contrary to it. Why not be like the psalmist who said: “I shall not forget your word.”

Adam and Eve both quickly forgot God’s law in the garden of Eden after Satan began talking. They brushed aside God’s command to “not eat” and they ate of the forbidden fruit. Will you do the same with God’s laws today? You are just as free to make your decisions as Adam and Eve were in the garden of Eden. The question is: Will you make your decisions without consulting God’s law? Millions of people do. For the result, look at the immorality world wide. Maybe you say: “You can’t blame them.” But these people still support Christendom, which no longer teaches God’s law on adultery, fornication and homosexuality, and has no objection to loose conduct. Christendom may try to justify itself by saying: “These laws of God are not applicable today.” That is just what Satan said to Eve. So people today have thrown the Ten Commandments and all the other laws of God behind them. They want freedom, they want to go places, but no signposts. Whether they like it or not the signposts are up! God’s laws stand and are there to help mankind. Will you follow the laws and live by them? You can if you wish. Your life is at stake.

Earthly governments make laws so that there might be some order among the people. But look what happens when the schoolchildren rebel, the parents rebel, the labor people rebel, and the nationalities rebel. All the unrest in the world today shouts out: “We do not like the law.” What will this worldwide disorder of things come to? It will come to the situation that the Bible calls Armageddon. (Rev. 16:16) That is why true Christians today who pay attention to God’s law and do not forget it can rejoice. By what they see they know these are the “last days” of this wicked system of things. So, having read the Holy Scriptures, they say to fellow Christians: “But as these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.” (Luke 21:28) They know there must and will be a change in world affairs, and they have been praying to God: “Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.” They believe that prayer, and that is why Jehovah’s witnesses keep on preaching that the kingdom of the heavens is at hand. Listen and do not forget.

While you still have your life at stake take the advice of Proverbs 3:1, 2: “My son, my law do not forget, and my commandments may your heart observe, because length of days and years of life and peace will be added to you.” If Adam had listened to the law of God and lived by it, his life would have continued to this very day. In fact, he would be nearly six thousand years old, according to Bible chronology. When God’s Kingdom rule is established without a rival and the resurrection of the dead takes place and the one-thousand-year reign ends, will the life of each man still depend on his individual decision? Yes, at the end of the millennial reign of Christ Jesus man’s life or soul will still be at stake, because Revelation 20:7-10 shows that Satan will be loosed out of his prison and he will go out to mislead the nations. So each individual can either go with Satan the Devil or follow God’s laws. Everlasting life will come by one’s being obedient to God’s laws for directing mankind at the end of the thousand years. Those who choose Satan’s side will die with the Devil when he is cast into the lake of fire, the second death. So if one wants to ‘lengthen his days and have years of life and peace added to him,’ then it is better for him to listen and do what God says. Jehovah is the Giver of life, and he knows how to extend your life. If you put your trust in Jehovah and believe him and you do not forget his laws, “length of days and years of life” will be yours.

Listen to the wise man: “Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding. Do not forget, and do not turn aside from the sayings of my mouth.” (Prov. 4:5) Sometimes people think that after spending a few years reading the Bible they know everything God has to say. But that is not true. The older we get the more knowledge we acquire and the more wisdom we gain. So we have better understanding. God wrote his Word, the Bible, for a very definite purpose, “for our instruction.” (Rom. 15:4) Therefore, we should keep on reading it and truly studying it. With more knowledge true Christians can appreciate the principles of truth and righteousness. A Christian having instruction can endure and face the difficulties, persecutions and hardships while walking in his integrity. God’s Word strengthens him to be a publisher of the Kingdom, maybe a missionary or a pioneer, or circuit servant or district servant somewhere in Jehovah’s visible organization. God is not unmindful of what faithful Christians are doing. Paul appreciated this and so he wrote: “For God is not unrighteous so as to forget your work and the love you showed for his name, in that you have ministered to the holy ones and continue ministering. But we desire each one of you to show the same industriousness so as to have the full assurance of the hope down to the end, in order that you may not become sluggish, but be imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”—Heb. 6:10-12.

LOVERS OF GOD’S NAME

Jehovah appreciates the great love Christians show for his name. “God is not unrighteous so as to forget your work,” and true Christians are happy to be called Jehovah’s Christian witnesses, declaring his name in 200 lands even to the ends of the earth. The service year of 1968 proves they are not sluggish but truly industrious, because 1,221,504 publishers spent 208,666,762 hours preaching the good news of God’s established kingdom. How many members of Christendom’s denominations go from house to house as do Jehovah’s witnesses, to aid people in their private study of the Bible? Very, very few! But Jehovah’s Christian witnesses conducted 977,503 home Bible studies every week for twelve months during 1968. What a joy this has been for these ministers! They are imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises, showing their faith by their works. Look at Abraham, look at Isaac and Jacob. Consider Moses, David, Gideon. These men worked industriously at God’s work, and God has remembered them and we find a good report about them in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews.

If those ancient men had such faith and “did not get the fulfillment of the promises,” Christians today should show a greater faith. (Heb. 11:13) Why? Because we are at the threshold of what those faithful men of ancient time were looking for. We can recognize the physical facts marking the end of this system of things. Read Luke the twenty-first chapter. Look! Check history since 1914! There were two world wars, distress of nations, the pestilences, famines and earthquakes. All these things Jesus foretold would happen and a lot more; and when these things are seen by Christians, Jesus said, “raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.” (Luke 21:28) A person with head lifted up, standing erect, is a person looking ahead. He is not sluggish. He appreciates it is time to be on the move and that there is still something more to do. Christians today are not downhearted because of the terrible things occurring in the earth. This all proves God’s Word is true! Flee—Be on the move! There is work to do, namely, the preaching of the good news of God’s kingdom everywhere, discipling as many people as Jehovah’s witnesses can from all nations and baptizing them. These new disciples will be quite anxious to make a public declaration to Jehovah’s name, too, and use their lips to praise his name. They, along with all true Christians, will do just as Paul says: “Through him let us always offer to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips which make public declaration to his name. Moreover, do not forget the doing of good and the sharing of things with others, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”—Heb. 13:15, 16.

Christians have to be talkers and teachers. They have the truth. They may not be silent! They may “not forget the doing of good and the sharing of things with others,” the things that they have learned from God’s Word. Jehovah’s witnesses have something wonderful to share. They have the life-giving good news of God’s kingdom to share, and when they do this “God is well pleased.” Are you doing that? If you are a Christian, you should be sharing with others the things you know. If you are not a Christian, would you like to be one? If yes, then get better acquainted with the Word of God and Jehovah’s witnesses. Meet with them at their Kingdom Hall. Jehovah’s Christian witnesses will certainly be happy to help you.

Millions of people are studying with Jehovah’s witnesses. Why not you? James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, made a very fine observation about people. He said: “Know this, my beloved brothers. Every man must be swift about hearing, slow about speaking, slow about wrath; for man’s wrath does not work out God’s righteousness.”—Jas. 1:19, 20.

The world is full of wrath today, arguments no end, and faultfinding. But there are not many persons listening to the Word of God. In fact, most people who do listen to the Word of God and who take it seriously and who try to live by its teachings are considered a little bit “off” in the head. The general feeling of most people is, ‘Get everything out of life you can. Do not get serious. Just keep eating, drinking, being merry, for tomorrow you may die.’ James, a man of God, says there is more to life than that. He writes: “Become doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves with false reasoning. For if anyone is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, this one is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, and off he goes and immediately forgets what sort of man he is. But he who peers into the perfect law that belongs to freedom and who persists in it, this man, because he has become, not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, will be happy in his doing it.”—Jas. 1:22-25.

PEERING INTO THE MIRROR OF GOD’S WORD

How many times have you looked into a mirror? Quite often during the day? A check is made to see that the hair is combed just right, teeth are sparkling, clothes are attractive and well arranged. But after this a person turns away from the mirror and forgets what he looks like. That is the way it is with most people who are just hearers of the Word of God and not doers. James is trying to impress upon the minds of those reading his letter that to be a Christian the man must peer into the perfect law that belongs to freedom and persist in it. If he does that, then what will he see?

Have you ever peered into the Word of God so as to see yourself? Have you seen how bad you look when your mirror is the Holy Scriptures? Are there some changes you think you should make? If the apostle Paul looked at you in the Bible mirror, would he say: “Put away the old personality which conforms to your former course of conduct and which is being corrupted according to his deceptive desires; but . . . be made new in the force actuating your mind, and . . . put on the new personality which was created according to God’s will in true righteousness and loyalty”? (Eph. 4:22-24) Looking into the mirror of the Word of God, you will see what kind of personality you have, whether it conforms to God’s righteous ways or not. Do you see a thief, an adulterer, a fornicator, a glutton, a drunkard? Just what do you see?

The apostle Paul saw many kinds of people in the various congregations. He knew what some of them were before the truth changed them, and that is why he said: “What! Do you not know that unrighteous persons will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be misled. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men kept for unnatural purposes, nor men who lie with men, nor thieves, nor greedy persons, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit God’s kingdom. And yet that is what some of you were.” The people here described saw what they were like sometime earlier in their lives. When they looked into God’s mirror, they knew a change had to take place. What they saw with their honest hearts they did not like. They did something about it, and, because they did, Paul said: “But you have been washed clean, but you have been sanctified, but you have been declared righteous in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the spirit of our God.” (1 Cor. 6:9-11) They certainly had had a filthy personality. They turned to the Word of God and saw themselves for what they really were. They accepted Christ Jesus as their Redeemer and were washed clean and sanctified by the Word of God. They studied God’s Word and really peered into it. They saw themselves as they never did before. A change was necessary. As a result they “put on the new personality which was created according to God’s will in true righteousness and loyalty.”—Eph. 4:24.

Have you really peered into the Word of God so as to see your real self, not the outside veneer? Remember, your life is still at stake and you can change it from a bad course to a good one. As you peer into the Word of God you will see that there is another way to live, the right way, the way that is in harmony with God’s laws and commandments and statutes. Why not let that new force in God’s Word actuate your mind? That new force comes from study, from really peering into the Word of God. Then, while looking, why not let God’s Word be the force actuating your mind? If you do, you will “put on the new personality which was created according to God’s will in true righteousness and loyalty.” This new personality will become more interesting as the old personality disappears, the one that used to conform itself to your former course of conduct. God knows how he wants you to live, and if you persist in peering into his perfect law you can change; something will happen.

Do you want to make that change? If you want it to happen, if you want to change, then persist in the study of God’s Word, the real mirror that will reflect your true image. Eventually you will see a new personality created and it will be according to the will of God in true righteousness. It will take time, but if you will be, “not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, [you] will be happy” in your doing it.

The apostle Paul was a real fighter. He was willing to put on a new personality and did. In God’s Word he saw something wonderful that he could possess and he worked hard to get it. He believed what Jesus said: “I am going my way to prepare a place for you. Also, if I go my way and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will receive you home to myself, that where I am you also may be.” (John 14:2, 3) Jesus through John informed his faithful followers that there would be a heavenly place for 144,000 called ones and they would be joined with him as his bride, and that they would rule as kings and priests with him for a thousand years.

Paul ran for this high calling, but to do so he had to put on a new personality. It had to be according to God’s will, and so he had to keep on peering into God’s Word. He was not just a hearer but a doer of the word of God. He said: “Brothers, I do not yet consider myself as having laid hold on it; but there is one thing about it: Forgetting the things behind and stretching forward to the things ahead, I am pursuing down toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God by means of Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:13,

14) Paul was seeking everlasting life, a crown of glory; and he knew that just as long as he had his life at stake, he had to control that life of his so as to be in full harmony with the will of God. While he did not then have this everlasting life with Christ Jesus, there was one thing he was going to do: Forget the things that were behind, that old personality and the way he lived. He had had a bad personality. He said of himself that of all the sinners he was the worst. He persecuted Christians. He was standing nearby when Stephen the Christian was stoned to death, and he was proud of it at that time. Paul had a lot to live down, a lot of forgetting of the things behind to do. But when he peered into the perfect Word of God, he saw himself as he really was. He repented. He changed his course of action. He became a Christian, worthy of our study. If he could make the change in his personality and become a Christian, why cannot we?

According to the Scriptures there are only 144,000 who are invited to this “upward call,” to be associated with Christ Jesus in heavenly glory. But the Bible shows that there is a “great crowd” of people today who will survive the battle of Armageddon into the new order of things wherein mankind will receive life everlasting in perfection, and under Christ Jesus’ direction man will be able to bring this earth to a paradise condition. So this “great crowd” is not stretching forward to the “upward call” but is stretching forward to a prize offered to them, eternal life here upon the earth. Are you reaching out for a prize, heavenly or earthly? If you are, then you should show a fondness for God’s Word and let this new force actuate your mind. You should feel like the psalmist: “For your statutes I shall show a fondness. I shall not forget your word.” True Christians today are just that way. They love God’s Word, peer into it and see the day of salvation that Jehovah has in store for those who love him. They want to tell it to all mankind, and they do. This is how they did it in 1968.

JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES HAD A BUST YEAR

Jehovah’s witnesses did not “forget the doing of good and the sharing of things with others, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (Heb. 13:16) During the 1968 service year they were very busy in 200 lands, preaching the good news of God’s kingdom, and comforting millions of people in this chaotic world. Happily 1,221,504 witnesses of Jehovah spent 208,666,762 hours preaching God’s Word and teaching people who were hungry for truth. Not only have Jehovah’s witnesses gone from house to house preaching, as Jesus commanded, but they have spent millions of hours in private homes of people studying their Bibles with them. The false religious organizations of Christendom have been discouraging the study of the Bible. The clergy are responsible foi' weakening the faith of people in the teachings of the Bible. On the other hand Jehovah’s witnesses are doing everything within their power, and with Jehovah’s blessing, to rekindle the faith of men in God and his Kingdom arrangement for them under the King, Christ Jesus.

In the house-to-house ministry during 1968 Jehovah’s witnesses have found tens of thousands of persons interested in the Bible. Therefore it was necessary for them to make 89,903,578 return visits on such interested persons. Are the clergy of Christendom making such calls? During the past year Jehovah’s witnesses averaged 977,503 home Bible studies. These were conducted weekly with interested persons in 165 languages, and the Watch Tower Society also prints Biblestudy helps in that many different tongues.

So great has been the interest in learning and doing God’s will that many of these new students

1968 SERVICE YEAR REPORT OF

Country	1967 Av. Pubs.	1968 Av. Pubs.	%Inc. peak		Av. Pio. Pubs.	No. Public Meet'gs
Country	1967 Av. Pubs.	1968 Av. Pubs.	over 1967	Pubs. 1968	Av. Pio. Pubs.	No. Public Meet'gs
U.S. of America :	311,378	323,688	4	333,672	18,287	255,773
Bermuda	90	94	4	104	3	93
Guam	36	37	3	43	3	25
Palau		2 New		2	2	3
Ponape	11	23	109	25	3	55
Saipan	4	4		4	2	5
Truk	7	8	14	9	2	4
Alaska	576	604	5	637	46	575
Argentina	12,637	14,087	11	14,803	903	9,239
Australia	17,317	18,305	6	18,913	1,324	16,724
Austria	7,908	8,176	3	8,667	331	6,398
Bahamas	306	326	7	351	21	263
Barbados	734	735		767	24	695
Bequia	20	26	30	29	4	51
Carriacou	24	23	-4*	24	3	31
Grenada	165	158	-4*	167	11	94
St. Lucia	96	105	9	114	20	121
St. Vincent	82	96	17	102	12	113
Belgium	9,267	10,162	10	10,911	432	7,031
Bolivia	649	714	10	798	151	1,034
Brazil	41,548	46,957	13	50,930	2,007	36,281
British Honduras	349	342	-2*	353	31	368
British Isles	50,154	52,805	5	54,620	3,881	38,311
Malta	23	32	39	38	4	37
Burma	275	341	24	372	68	778
Cameroun	8,182	9,585	17	10,091	602	6,768
Fernando Po	139	187	35	279	20	129
Gabon	96	136	42	172	11	160
Rio Muni	6	19	217	30	1	49
Tchad	15	25	67	37	7	49
Canada	40,237	41,458	3	42,864	2,221	32,219
Central Afr. Rep.	833	895	7	1,002	69	1,391
Ceylon	257	265	3	290	55	319
Chile	4,247	5,086	20	5,805	319	3,193
Colombia	4,218	4,626	10	4,861	470	4,371
Congo (Brazzaville)	1,068	1,136	6	1,201	70	1,162
Congo (Kinshasa)	5,600	7,351	31	8,794	393	7,909
Costa Rica	2,684	2,770	3	2,965	138	1,554
Cyprus	431	440	2	479	18	214
Dahomey	1,281	1,411	10	1,451	200	2,526
Denmark	10,385	10,730	3	11,344	511	8,959
Faroe Islands	22	26	18	31	9	57
Greenland	13	17	31	24	4	37
Dominican Republic	2,453	2,715	11	2,961	320	2,441
Ecuador	1,625	1,880	16	2,076	236	1,859
El Salvador	1,022	1,121	10	1,207	92	1,338
Fiji	277	311	12	321	37	274
American Samoa	31	34	10	36	3	51
Gilbert & Ellice Isis. 7		5	-29*	7		6
New Caledonia	106	108	2	118	5	42
New Hebrides	10	9	-10*	11		4
Niue	14	13		17		12
Tahiti	112	123	10	134	7	27
Tonga	10	14	40	18	1	20
Western Samoa	69	77	12	83	8	26

JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES WORLD WIDE

No. of Total Total

Cong’s Literature Hours

New Individual Av. Bible

Subs. Magazines Back-Calls Studies

5,341 1 1	9,024,124 2,943 1,389 495 444	57,231,373 1,149,316		64,895,528 26,150,424 277,582
5,341 1 1	9,024,124 2,943 1,389 495 444	12,887 7,025 2,360 6,899	380 216 51 8	19,049 8,784 1,111 1,499	5,595 2,733 993 3,224	84 30 11 44
	180	3,992	6	1,519	1,492	15
	268	4,302	6	685	2,146	41
13	12,917	112,896	2,020	104,911	52,809	509
302	234,440	2,843,944	21,815	2,484,727	1.348,417	14,755
428	392,772	3,979,725	29,887	3,386,290	1,624,002	15,770
170	153,499	1,332,564	5,327	1,552,399	685,715	5,804
7	12,573	59,375	2,099	76,546	28,623	335
14	11,372	99,776	858	72,686	40,016	561
1	344	8,192	16	4,031	3,715	40
1	368	7,195	19	2,539	3,144	43
5	2,310	29,911	204	16,939	12,387	161
3	3,481	37,251	281	27,236	17,640	214
2	1,941	29,596	181	14,221	12,735	174
180	171,802	1,751,483	18,599	1,865,068	853,413	6.974
23	40,082	308,427	1,775	207,834	110,996	1,307
920	593,768	7,696,867	54,631	5,158,859	2.977,163	39,627
10	7,917	79,144	536	68,174	30,904	386
875	1,085,007	10,239,737	48,632	10,093,561	5,200,748	47,314
1	509	8,979	19	1,154	3,711	48
13	5,049	139,228	974	73,541	56,534	532
237	65,663	2,439,790	2,599	204,211	1,047,795	11,038
5	872	65,619	97	7,590	29,512	318
2	8,023	45,304	152	15,490	16,461	232
	62	5,818	7	242	1,458	39
1	1,118	14,730	69	4,404	6,268	83
832	666,165	7,197,030	65,288	6,304,653	3,198,017	28,096
27	6,616	235,423	193	12,702	95,594	1,194
8	10,797	104,126	2,007	88,161	38,647	395
103	227,833	1,034,871	8,140	953.405	430,093	6,092
114	104,146	1,209,314	4,857	718,438	523,500	6,352
26	10,267	287,526	309	25,153	113,612	1,276
114	70,049	1,859,383	1,727	281,767	665,265	8,756
82	38,286	477,123	703	187,641	175,334	2,684
12	4,937	66,542	275	21,995	30,784	267
47	14,896	469,237	398	39,539	155,912	1,642
214	64,492	1,591,810	6,535	2,129,225	772,214	6,724
1	759	13,258	62	19,278	5,271	52
1	1,265	4,290	13	4,284	2,938	19
51	65,841	797,970	5,153	554,643	364,101	4,925
41	50,657	576,662	3,477	411,392	263,556	2,989
22	24,790	267,306	1,433	196,677	104,983	1,560
7	17,003	92,307	1,019	77,179	33,570	460
1	2,248	11,015	279	12,427	5,189	47
	17	502		28	157	3
1	4,957	17,841			7,437	117
1	47	840	7	280	589	11
1	70	1,313		628	325	12
1	7,688	31,202	481	29,785	14,194	174
	970	3,555	28	516	889	16
1	1,434	22,667	426	15,571	8,735	118

Country	1967 Av. Pubs.	1968 Av. Pubs.	%Inc. Peak		Av. Pio. Pubs.	No. Public Meet'gs
Country	1967 Av. Pubs.	1968 Av. Pubs.	over 1967	Pubs. 1968	Av. Pio. Pubs.	No. Public Meet'gs
Finland	9,094	9,562	5	10,079	507	7,978
France	24,430	26,614	9	28,367	918	19,523
Algeria	54	61	13	74	10	79
Tunisia	32	33	3	38	4	50
Germany, West	76,793	78,771	3	81,180	3,117	44,297
West Berlin	5,196	5,273	1	5,358	149	1,898
Ghana	9,321	10,385	11	11,144	656	7,013
Ivory Coast	180	220	22	250	30	219
Upper Volta		1 New		2
Greece	10,940	11,293	3	11,730	213	1,912
Guadeloupe	741	935	26	1,018	59	624
French Guiana	73	82	12	93	4	84
Martinique	242	297	23	351	24	225
Guatemala	1,463	1,571	7	1,638	147	1,728
Guyana	973	1,039	7	1,119	108	1,001
Haiti	1,162	1,388	19	1,604	143	1,485
Hawaii	2,370	2,608	10	2,728	329	1,953
Marshall Islands	13	30	131	33	5	27
Honduras	868	943	9	1,013	111	1,079
Hong Kong	245	218	-11*	228	36	365
Macao	6	8	33	8	3	5
Iceland	104	122	17	129	22	199
India	2,137	2,337	9	2,468	250	1,811
Indonesia	1,458	1,570	8	1,757	440	2,734
Ireland	762	773	1	805	154	938
Israel	114	153	34	161	17	88
Italy	10,800	12,266	14	12,886	560	10,438
Libya	36	36		39		11
Somalia		1 New		1
Jamaica	4,853	4,908	1	5,219	169	4,233
Cayman Islands	10	10		12	1	14
Japan	4,647	5,472	18	6,023	1,006	8,082
Kenya	340	450	32	499	55	706
Burundi	14	11	-21*	13	2	34
Ethiopia	222	275	24	313	5	71
Seychelles	3	3		4		6
Sudan	35	32	-9*	39	3
Tanzania	859	986	15	1,039	99	1,511
Uganda	43	59	37	64	13	105
Korea	6,239	7,403	19	8,281	924	8,691
Lebanon	901	972	8	1,025	64	965
Abu Dhabi		1 New		1
Iran	13	14	8	19	3	22
Iraq	2	3	50	5
Jordan	53	19	-64*	21	2	46
Kuwait	4	4		6		5
Saudi Arabia	2	2		3
Syria	117	122	4	214	3	23
Leewards (Antigua)	106	104	-2*	112	15	148
Anguilla	13	13		14	2	59
Dominica	154	159	3	166	17	205
Montserrat	21	26	24	so	4	102
Nevis	35	30	-14*	37	1	64
Saba	1	1		1
St. Eustatius	2	2		3		3

No. of Total Total

Cong’s Literature Hours

New Individual Av. Bible

Subs. Magazines Back-Calls Studies

306	113,837	1,462,740	17,149	1,678,473	762,866	6,094
517	471,689	4,626,691	64,582	4,682,638	2,537,059	23,063
3	5,533	26,663	866	21,870	12,729	99
1	1,019	8,938	148	4,653	4,736	43
1,053	1,257,773	12,339,149	38,694	12,935,465	5,843,235	45,887
44	94,326	771,913	2,001	835,960	431,587	2,937
273	173,819	2,408,759	4,410	504,049	962,982	11,224
6	16,135	78,878	506	49,900	37,327	521
	24	118	11	32	50	1
371	38,367	1,319,258	50	47,875	837,306	5,430
14	21,261	181,654	1,597	157,474	90,150	1,003
1	2,454	15,670	349	16,781	8,585	132
4	11,869	69,467	1,391	71,448	31,472	476
36	38,912	389,697	1,834	268,462	138,709	2,044
28	26,042	249,104	1,462	164,725	101,652	1,192
31	19,845	413,763	218	77,090	181,548	2,752
38	87,553	719,967	10,078	646,681	336,829	3,596
1	632	11,585	2	1,502	4,450	83
18	25,984	284,824	1,731	200,654	109,043	1,515
7	10,425	80,566	2,238	95,282	31,399	395
	169	4,472	637	2,792	1,613	28
3	4,499	43,659	597	45,063	18,518	153
70	52,615	602,842	5,364	237,479	210,341	2,287
67	371,299	823,689	1,661	56,098	300,396	3,282
19	24,459	297,964	947	188,596	106,801	681
4	22,489	42,408	306	19,970	16,820	178
315	543,149	2,279,333	30,327	2,444,418	1,206,695	12,043
1	198	3,190		179	1,488	24
	32	100		35	27	1
155	58,509	681,591	3,268	500,011	279,080	3,935
1	101	1,345	9	1,029	749	5
177	371,545	2,102,600	58,101	2,631,926	913,124	10,325
10	36,752	150,684	1,492	67,429	62,879	726
	414	3,985	16	266	1,042	31
4	1,909	65,546	305	2,236	35,724	509
	67	839		447	774	13
1	507	7,806	10	869	2,563	36
30	19,895	297,629	548	14,194	94,860	1,112
2	7,011	26,310	322	15,854	13,745	138
214	157,526	2,146,782	20,258	1,290,724	850,311	10,878
22	59,743	219,797	32	381	92,937	1,108
		5			3
1	833	3,739	168	3,279	2,051	36
	10	233			110	2
1	635	2,894	5	82	1,550	17
	3	239	1	3	199	4
	24	434		35	115	3
5	315	20,929			9,214	107
3	5,883	28,811	461	21,277	11,020	125
1	156	4,230	21	2,425	2,153	22
7	2,489	35,437	113	14,096	13,041	128
2	1,434	8,908	101	5,489	3,658	48
2	123	4,784	15	1,796	1,768	22
	4	26		4	9	1
	24	169	6	40	160	2

	1967	1968	%Inc.	Peak	Av.	No.
	Av.	Av.	over	Pubs.	Pio.	Public
Country	Pubs.	Pubs.	1967	1968	Pubs.	Meet’gs
St. Kitts	92	86	-7*	94	9	169
St. Martin	35	37	6	41	5	48
Liberia	419	459	10	497	65	724
Luxembourg	414	451	9	477	32	309
Malagasy Republic	235	295	26	327	64	280
Mauritius	146	158	8	164	22	201
Reunion	258	312	21	350	23	210
Rodrigues	5	9	80	11	3	27
Mexico	31,829	35,201	11	38,563	2,526	28,339
Morocco	95	115	21	133	19	150
Gibraltar	34	32	-6*	34	1	23
Netherlands	14.222	15,549	9	16,528	754	10,910
Neth. Ant. (Curacao) 249		273	10	287	16	220
Aruba	141	146	4	159	4	161
Bonaire	21	20	-5*	25	1	31
Newfoundland	636	714	12	765	73	1,031
New Zealand	4,497	4,719	5	4,950	259	4,050
Nicaragua	839	965	15	1,022	95	573
Nigeria	42,090	41,238	~2*	47,488	3,515	32,194
Niger	17	15	-12*	20	6	27
Norway	4,090	4,404	8	4,625	192	2,892
Okinawa	259	288	11	318	50	293
Pakistan	135	135		142	21	152
Afghanistan	5	5		5	1	41
Panama	1,405	1,487	6	1,582	156	1,695
Papua Manus Island	364	387	6	448	22	214
Papua Manus Island	9	12	33	13	2	15
New Britain	83	82	-1*	92	8	167
New Guinea	267	265	-1*	285	30	301
New Ireland		8 New		11	3	41
Solomon Islands	362	415	15	443	36	953
Paraguay	553	573	4	619	65	446
Peru	2,651	2,946	11	3,100	314	3,675
Philippines	36,286	39,733	9	42,239	4,016	28,876
Portugal	3,442	4,323	26	4,726	188	3,301
Angola	105	126	20	137	1	17
Azores	82	84	2	93	5	49
Cape Verde Is.	2	3	50	3
Madeira	37	42	14	48	3	16
Puerto Rico	3,749	4,289	14	4,555	241	3,754
Tortola	19	22	16	31	1	31
Virgin Islands (U.S.) 154		173	12	187	6	211
Rhodesia	9,384	9,645	3	10,090	587	11,950
Malawi	17,398	13,568	-22*	18,549	669	3.893
Mozambique	1,419	1,565	10	2,093	52	815
Senegal	109	123	13	139	26	134
Gambia	8	8		10	4	55
Mall	5	5		6	2	7
Mauritania	2	1	-50*	1		1,278
Sierra Leone	526	592	13	674	131	1,278
Guinea	61	70	15	107	19	127
Singapore Malaysia	179	183	2	189	17	120
Singapore Malaysia	135	134	-1*	138	23	117
South Africa	17,813	18,284	3	19,528	1,075	16,926
Ascension Island	1	1		1	1	1

No. of Cong’s I	Total literature	Total Hours	New Individual Subs. Magazines E		Av. Bible tack-Calls Studies
4	2,109	22,067	158	13,509	10,703	124
2	864	11,821	106	6,856	5,551	68
11	28,080	175,010	934	71,356	64,733	827
13	12,439	92,727	796	98,679	42,716	373
9	23,311	131,119	2,426	122,385	56,768	610
4	5,404	49,939	278	37,172	18,855	316
6	7,523	75,623	801	34,498	31,295	354
	381	4,951	18	829	1,809	27
1,146	572,431	6,608,216	36,548	3,995,693	2,222,640	32,845
4	5,128	41,353	1,121	39,885	17,971	167
1	550	4,469	51	3,472	2,460	42
223	153,029	2,457,841	13,314	2.175,740	1,096,598	8,736
4	7,859	55,139	1,581	54,886	27,285	299
4	2,216	21,784	617	23,262	11,099	110
1	160	3,663	45	2,623	2,196	19
32	19,770	182,171	2,246	189,081	77,467	579
104	66,989	831,749	6,220	871,682	389,972	3,539
18	19,238	249,143	853	191,818	131,209	1,376
895	375,185	10,398,906	10,421	698,332	3,417,270	43,247
1	423	13,401	20	1,790	4,648	54
142	111,538	648,993	5,262	772,502	306,358	2,718
9	24,214	108,660	2,166	146,095	42,126	533
3	5,742	43,384	1,465	34,419	17,624	177
1	66	1,058	18	598	547	3
44	33,460	389,436	1,813	303,607	163,808	2,027
15	4,837	74,185	82	22,755	27,326	547
1	127	1,776		587	908	19
2	2,330	23,520	10	8,414	9,848	109
8	3,295	76,445	17	10,389	31,008	394
	369	5,216	4	1,614	2,445	32
11	970	109,530			52,979	558
18	9,875	150,197	1,177	128,785	63,906	589
69	141,559	866,907	7,246	773,665	322,118	4,158
1,237	285,994	8,887,641	29,038	3,748,362	2,520,358	30,824
77	90,058	837,545	5	26,035	387,834	5,715
3	735	23,749		143	20,765	262
2	915	13,931	2	741	6,833	87
	90	388		78	50	2
1	1,555	7,767		683	3,812	50
79	206,934	860,899	25,857	1,109,031	363,320	5,461
1	422	2,582	41	3,304	875	19
6	8,498	27,021	1,101	41,436	12,729	207
333	96,950	2,050,335	3,637	268,065	701,661	8,681
400	15,619	2,013,811	441	23,931	698,295	6,368
24	3,114	320,953	108	3,702	127,245	1,261
2	8,376	53,639	954	50,184	25,691	266
1	1,889	7,458	87	5,614	4,785	38
	457	2,889	44	2,284	978	14
	5	11		9	4
24	25,334	265,608	1,933	118,443	102,682	1,305
3	1,939	38,246	47	6,499	14,657	161
4	5,801	42,249	1,802	53,556	16,626	236
5	45,252	47,439	377	3,879	17,178	250
443	361,793	3,635,394	21,576	1,597,154	1,262,622	16,422
	76	211	1	319	111	2

Country	1967 Av. Pubs.	Pubs.	%Inc. Peak		Av. Pio. Pubs.	No. Public Meet’gs
Country	1967 Av. Pubs.	Pubs.	over 1967	Pubs. 1968	Av. Pio. Pubs.	No. Public Meet’gs
Botswana	163	179	10	227	23	251
Lesotho	231	255	10	285	22	219
St. Helena	33	30	-9*	32	1	44
South-West Africa 145		150	3	163	13	140
Swaziland	550	580	5	639	39	923
Spain	5,072	6,252	23	6,686	472	10,354
Andorra	8	11	38	13	1	8
Canary Islands	167	194	16	202	16	163
Surinam	441	464	5	511	54	369
Sweden	9,989	10,248	3	10,463	531	8,967
Switzerland	6,219	6,497	4	6,638	147	3,777
Liechtenstein	5	6	20	7		18
Taiwan	1,004	1,059	5	1,113	89	624
Thailand	288	309	7	334	47	267
Cambodia	1	1		1
Laos	18	18		21	10	54
Vietnam	26	24	-8*	30	10	42
Togo Trinidad	667	846	27	944	137	496
Togo Trinidad	1,844	1,974	7	2,080	136	1,662
Tobago	55	55		60	7	88
Uruguay	2,303	2,462	7	2,568	251	2,158
Falkland Islands	2	2		2	2	2,158
Venezuela	4,492	5,067	13	5,419	251	3,264
Zambia	31,937	37,338	17	41,015	936	29,483
189 Countries	980,435	1,038,890	6.0 1,101,243		62,460	809,738
til Other Countries 113,845		116,936	2.7	120,261	1,411	89,920

Grand Total (200) 1,094,280 1,155,826 5.6 1,221,504 63,871 899,658

^Percentage of decrease

fWork banned and reports are incomplete

have joined with Jehovah’s witnesses in their ministerial activity. They want to proclaim the “good news” too. During the past year there were, on the average, 1,155,826 different individuals who regularly each month spent some time in the preaching and teaching of God’s Word to others. But, in view of the fact that others started preaching God’s Word with them, now we find 1,221,504 individuals who either are Jehovah’s witnesses or are their associates and who have an active part in declaring the good news of God’s kingdom world wide. By the time the 1968 service year came to a close these hardworking ministers had placed 8,702,594 Bibles and bound books explaining the Bible in the hands of the reading public the world around, and 12,971,585 booklets were also distributed. Added to that, 157,511,892 copies of The Watchtower in 72 languages and of

No. of	Total	Total	New :	tndividual	Av. Bible
Cong’s Literature		Hours	Subs.	Magazines Back-Calls Studies
7	4,924	57,190	94	6,249	16,665	253
10	3,555	64,963	63	5,015	21,499	274
1	94	4,073	16	4,182	1,573	24
5	6,427	35,166	480	36,942	12,390	173
11	6,101	143,589	302	30,875	48,704	681
92	180,418	1,573,155	66	900,131	826,927	10,078
	227	1,588		641	790	14
3	5,891	47,454		26,937	27,387	307
8	9,754	119,763	1,094	92,676	44,880	494
230	164,291	1,678,085	22,925	2,244,653	893,666	7,559
135	138,662	873,525	11,935	1,251,575	468,413	4,960
	46	616	9	340	293	4
34	17,713	193,150	3,505	119,046	62,301	846
18	12,137	92,572	2,919	86,962	32,088	368
	7	22	2,919	117	5	1
1	4,544	17,242	233	6,153	6,436	81
1	18,177	15,448	975	10,603	7,138	99
19	17,831	340,378	764	52,315	151,193	1,476
39	40,814	390,382	2,788	286,409	173,958	2,210
2	1,401	16,495	174	11,099	6,663	99
52	28,879	636,185	2,284	264,859	250,060	3,578
	258	1,051	28	144	297	11
97	143,319	1,015,650	6,562	666,875	429,956	5,335
823	211,036	6,706,591	14,703	379,210	2,508,748	28,781
21,171	21,214,065	197,444,813 1	,974,782	156.870.169 85,016,318		905,462
4,238	460,114	11,221,949	141	641,723	4,887,260	72,041
25,409	21,674,179 208,666,762 1,974,923 157,511,892 89,903,578 977,503
				1967		1968
Memorial Attendance World			Wide	2,195,612 2,		493,519
Memorial Partakers World Wide				10,981		10,619

the Awake! in 26 languages were distributed world wide. That certainly means much helpful reading material was placed in the homes of millions of people. People everywhere want to know what the Bible teaches. That is the reason for the tremendous distribution of Bible-study helps by Jehovah’s witnesses. It is evident, too, that many persons desired to have a regular flow of Bible truth coming into their homes weekly. That is why 1,974,923 new subscriptions for the Watchtower and Awake! magazines were obtained. This is an increase of more than 160,000 new subscriptions over the previous year’s total. Many people, indeed, want to know what the Bible’s message is. Do you?

It is evident from the report that tens of thousands have found the Word of God to be true and accurate, and with all diligence they want to tell others about God’s truth. What a joy it has been to see 82,842 persons with whom Bible studies have been conducted in 1968 go on to dedicate their lives to Jehovah and be baptized in water in public symbol of their dedication to the doing of God’s will henceforth! These 82,842 newly baptized individuals are not joining a religious organization just to be members, as many of them were when they went to “church” in Christendom. Their days of going to “church” once a week to be a hearer and not a doer of God’s work are gone forever. These newly baptized persons have heard the call, “Get out of her, my people,” and they have gotten out of false religion, 82,842 of them, and have now become ministers of God, and they feel like the apostle Paul, who said: “Really, woe is me if I did not declare the good news!” (1 Cor. 9:16) These newly ordained ministers have associated with the more than one million others of Jehovah’s witnesses around the world, and together they find great joy in preaching to others and teaching them to know the Bible.

Interesting, too, is the fact that 2,493,519 assembled at the Lord’s evening meal, Friday evening, April 12, 1968, to keep in memory the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. They all knew that the death of Jesus Christ was the means of their salvation because Jesus paid the full ransom in behalf of dying mankind, and it meant redemption for the believing ones. It was observed that only 10,619 individuals partook of the Memorial emblems of wine and unleavened bread, indicating that they were of the anointed class, the remnant of the bride of Christ yet on earth. This number of partakers continues to get smaller and smaller each year.

Jehovah’s witnesses have great confidence that many among the nearly two and one-half million people who associated with them at the Memorial of Christ’s death, and are studying with them in God’s Word the Bible, will soon share with them in declaring the good news of God’s kingdom. Jehovah’s witnesses have not forgotten their responsibilities, and they want to help others see theirs. They believe Jesus when he said, “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations.” (Matt. 28:19) They have made 1968 their busiest year of service in behalf of Jehovah’s name and Word. Everyone who has dedicated his life to the doing of Jehovah’s will wants to be, not a forgetful hearer, but rather “a doer of the work,” and wants to be happy in doing it. (Jas. 1:25) Jehovah’s witnesses are; and as they look around and see the troubles, distress of nations and perplexity rampant in the earth, and the work they still have to do, they are glad for Jesus’ words: “Raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.” (Luke 21:28) So, on with the work of declaring the “good news” far and wide!

DISTRICT ASSEMBLIES CLIMAX THE YEAR

The last two months of the service year, July and August, witnessed the holding of the delightful and upbuilding “Good News for All Nations” District Assembly. In many parts of the earth crowds gathered for this four-day assembly and what they saw and heard at these assemblies deeply moved them, strengthening their faith and stimulating them to action that gives evidence of increased zeal. The convention itself proved to be like a “public instructor” that teaches many things respecting the kingdom of the heavens and brings out of his treasure store of knowledge things both new and old.—Matt. 13:52.

Truly the program of the convention was outstandingly helpful and greatly appreciated. It came to grips with the problems that daily confront Christians. The information was presented by qualified brothers, as they spoke from outlines provided by the Society, and showed how God’s Word enables us to cope successfully with these situations. No one could have heard the first discourse, “The ‘Good News’ Has Brought Us Together,” without gratitude welling up in his heart for having received the “good news.” What a blessing it is to be among Jehovah’s people! Every delegate at the convention felt like the speaker who said: “The good news has completely changed my outlook on life. It has given me inward peace and security. It has brought me hope, something to live for. It has freed me from bondage to this old system of things.”

The talk that immediately followed was given by the chairman of each convention. The subject was “Appreciating What God Has Done for Us,” and how it did warm the hearts of all who heard it! It made us realize how marvelously God designed our physical bodies. But above all, it stimulated renewed appreciation for Jehovah’s loving provision of the ransom by means of his own Son so that mankind might enjoy eternal life under his Kingdom rule.

Concluding the opening afternoon session on Thursday was a most practical drama entitled “What Are You Doing with Your Life?” This dramatized incidents in the lives of the family heads of ancient Israel. It enabled us to see why Jacob was approved by God, and how Esau showed disregard for his spiritual inheritance. It moved us to reexamine our own lives to see if we are truly building them around our dedication to God. It drove home the importance of putting God’s interests first in one’s life. The hundreds of thousands of Jehovah’s witnesses who were in attendance learned much concerning appreciation of spiritual things. They saw how they personally could increase their joy in Jehovah’s service. There are so many things to be done in Jehovah’s organization that everyone can share the joy that goes with having part in doing them. The sound for this drama was presented by tape recording, and the parts that were pantomimed were well coordinated. It was a fine program, and certainly built up anticipation for the things that were still to be heard on the convention program.

The Theocratic Ministry School, held in every congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses around the world, had helped to prepare everyone who took part in the evening program. This was a live program; nothing was taped. Each individual had to speak his own part. The theme of the two-hour program was “What Young Folks Are Doing in the Ministry.” The program spared no punches in frankly presenting the problems facing Christian youth today and the responsibility of parents to mold their children to be vessels of honor. One overseer, a father, said concerning the program: “I thought this so practical, so needed for all that I just could not help shedding tears of joy. I especially appreciated this part because as a father of three it helped me better to see how I can rear my children in the discipline of Jehovah.” This live drama held attention from beginning to end. As the delegates to more than 120 conventions held during the summer went home that first evening they had much to talk about, and all felt they had been well repaid for making the effort to be at the convention on its first day.

There was considerable excitement among the con-ventioners, wondering just what Friday’s program would bring. Something new was expected. On Friday afternoon, according to the schedule on most programs, the keynote speech was given by a special representative of the Society. The talk was entitled “The ‘Good News’ of a World Without False Religion.” This talk traced the conflict between false and true religion from Adam’s time down to our day. It showed how early Christians were successful in their fight against false religion and how Jehovah’s witnesses are being blessed in helping people to escape from false religion today. It sounded a note of urgency because all who share in false religion will be destroyed at the end of this system of things, thus paving the way for a world without any false religion. At the conclusion of this talk the new pocket-size book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life was released. Also, arrangements for a new six-month Bible-study course were outlined.

The Watch Tower Society felt that the brothers in the field wanted a book with a simple, straightforward presentation of the truth for conducting home Bible studies. So they prepared well in advance and shipped more than a million and a half copies of the Truth book to all the English-speaking conventions. To the delight of those speaking German and Spanish, it was also available in their languages. The supplies sent to the assemblies were all immediately taken by the publishers of the Kingdom. In some places they were all gone within half an hour.

Jehovah’s witnesses were positively thrilled with both this new 192-page, hardbound publication and the new Bible-study program. Their great joy in receiving this publication was not just momentary, but even now, after the passing of many weeks, their enthusiasm is just as high, because they are distributing the book in the field service in great quantities and are starting many more home Bible studies. It certainly has proved to be a fine aid so that the “good news for all nations” could be taken to the people quickly in these “last days.”

Another outstanding talk given on Saturday afternoon was entitled “The Happiness of the ‘Nation Whose God Is Jehovah.’ ” This pointed out the reasons why Jehovah’s spiritual nation is happy. They have been set free from Babylon the Great and have been restored to their "land.” They are enjoying prosperity in their spiritual paradise. If they were not happy, there would be some doubt that Jehovah is their God. Their happiness at these assemblies was publicly commented on time and time again by stadium officials, newspaper reporters and others, and especially was this happiness enjoyed by all who were attending the assemblies. Jehovah’s witnesses are a happy people and they rejoice in preaching this good news to all the nations, and they will continue to persist in it.

The widely advertised public talk, given Sunday afternoon, was the third hour lecture of great importance at this assembly. It featured the timely subject “Man’s Rule About to Give Way to God’s Rule” and contained proof that this is really so. Without question it showed all persons present that man’s rule began in Eden and how it was instigated by and exploited by Satan the Devil, how hopeless the outlook is for man’s rule and how certain it is that God’s rule is at hand. Already, 928,756 have heard this lecture and well over one million copies of this lecture were given free to those in attendance. Printed copies of the discourse containing this good news are now being distributed by Jehovah’s witnesses in many parts of the earth.

Other outstanding features of the convention that we should mention in this report are two dramas built around the Bible account concerning Judge Jephthah. The first one, a two-hour presentation on Saturday evening, was entitled “Jehovah’s Way the Way of Victory.” The program, presented in costume, outlined the high points in the life of Jephthah and his victory over the Ammonites. It also rehearsed how Jehovah blessed his people in modern times in the restoration of theocratic rule and showed their fight for freedom of worship. Graphically it presented such incidents as Hitler’s reaction to the telegrams warning him of destruction for opposing Jehovah’s work in Germany and throughout all of Europe. It showed, too, the fearlessness of one of Jehovah’s witnesses facing execution in a Nazi concentration camp. It brought vividly to mind again the efforts of Catholic Action to break up the meeting held in Madison Square Garden back in 1939, as well as excerpts of other outstanding lectures by the past and present presidents of the Society. It was indeed a fine history of the modern theocratic organization and its fight for freedom of worship.

The Sunday-morning drama, which further developed the Jephthah theme, was entitled “Do You Make Yourself Available?” This drama drew particular attention to Jephthah’s daughter and the vow that her father had made. This, too, was an excellent drama and it showed that the “great crowd” in modern times are like Jephthah’s daughter. It issued a clear, clarion call for all unencumbered youths to make themselves available for the missionary work. After a drama of this kind parents could certainly be proud if their children, now grown, had gone off into missionary work or other full-time service somewhere in the world so as to bring the “good news for all nations” to far-flung parts of this earth.

Much more could be said about the rest of the program, which was filled with spiritual feasting. We should mention, though, that one of the joys of the assembly was to see so many persons baptized in symbol of their dedication to do Jehovah’s will. At the 121 assemblies for which we have reports there were 17,613 persons baptized.

It is of interest, too, that many of our Yugoslavian brothers were able to attend a fine assembly in Austria. A goodly number of our Spanish and Portuguese brothers were able to go to France. A sizable delegation of brothers from Greece, which country forbids Jehovah’s witnesses to have the Watchtower and Awake! magazines and other Bible publications, were able to get to Germany and have a fine convention there.

It seems from reports that most of Jehovah’s witnesses in the thirty nations that sent reports in, representing assemblies in 121 cities, made arrangements to attend one or more of these assemblies in order to get the full spiritual benefits. According to these reports, 642,942 persons were in regular attendance at these 121 assemblies. And at the public meeting, usually held on Sunday, there were 928,756 persons. Of course, this series of “Good News for All Nations” District Assemblies is not finished yet. Usually in the winter months in the southern hemisphere all of the other branch offices of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania arrange for similar assemblies. This program, which was such a delight to everyone who attended, continues now through the next several months for the edification of Jehovah’s witnesses in other parts of the earth.

For more details concerning this program you may read the report on the conventions in The Watchtower of November 1, 1968, and Awake! of November 8, 1968.

Jehovah’s witnesses feel the need of spiritual food and they will make every possible effort to get to the supply. They know that district assemblies, such as the “Good News for All Nations” District Assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses, are occasions of joy where Jehovah’s witnesses should be in attendance.

As usual the conventions closed on a very high note of enthusiasm and joy with the concluding remarks. The speaker brought to the attention of the hearers the fine progress that Jehovah’s organization has made throughout the world, increasing in publishers and in distribution of literature. High points of the convention were touched on and news regarding the international assembly in 1969 was given. Everyone having attended the assembly was encouraged to return home with more zeal than ever before and to use the new instrument, The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life, and the method of teaching that was presented at the assembly so that greater results might be attained in the future. There was no question in the minds of the delegates that Jehovah had opened the windows of heaven and poured out a blessing that was abundantly generous.—Mal. 3:10.

In the northern hemisphere the months of July and August are vacation months, and usually the number of persons reporting field service activity is not as great in these months as some of the other months of the year. But it seems that the spirit of this convention roused the enthusiasm of every publisher of the Kingdom to stay in the service during July and August and to start distributing the new book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. In many countries of the world the August reports were outstanding even though it was the height of the summer heat. There seems to be an urgency in the air that this good news must be preached to all the nations first, and then the end of this system of things is going to come. (Mark 13:10) What a joy it is to be associated with the zealous witnesses of Jehovah!

WHAT IS THE WATCH TOWER SOCIETY?

Many persons ask what the connection is between the Watch Tower Society and Jehovah’s witnesses. Jehovah’s witnesses are the people who have dedicated their lives to Jehovah and have been baptized in water and who preach the good news of God’s kingdom in all the world for a witness. Jesus, speaking to his disciples, told them: “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:19, 20) These disciples of Christ Jesus have just as much interest in the Father of Christ Jesus as they do in the Son. They love the Father because they know that he is Jehovah God, the Sovereign Ruler of all the universe and the Giver of life. In Isaiah 43:10, 11, we are told: “ ‘You are my witnesses,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘even my servant whom I have chosen, in order that you may know and have faith in me, and that you may understand that I am the same One. Before me there was no God formed, and after me there continued to be none. I—I am Jehovah, and besides me there is no savior.’ ” So these Christian witnesses who follow in the footsteps of Christ Jesus are also Jehovah’s witnesses. You might call them Jehovah’s Christian witnesses.

What is the connection of the Watch Tower Society with Jehovah’s witnesses? There must be some organization that directs the activity of Jehovah’s witnesses world wide, and one of the organizations is the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, organized by dedicated Christian witnesses of Jehovah in the year 1884. A number of dedicated men got together and formed this Society. The second article in its charter reads: “The purposes of this Society are: To act as the servant of and the legal world-wide governing agency for that body of Christian persons known as Jehovah’s witnesses; to preach the gospel of God’s kingdom under Christ Jesus unto all nations as a witness to the name, word and supremacy of Almighty God JEHOVAH; to print and distribute Bibles and to disseminate Bible truths in various languages by means of making and publishing literature containing information and comment explaining Bible truths and prophecy concerning establishment of Jehovah’s kingdom under Christ Jesus; to authorize and appoint agents, servants, employees, teachers, instructors, evangelists, missionaries and ministers to go forth to all the world publicly and from house to house to preach and teach Bible truths to persons willing to listen by leaving with such persons said literature and by conducting Bible studies thereon; to improve men, women and children mentally and morally by Christian missionary work and by charitable and benevolent instruction of the people on the Bible and incidental scientific, historical and literary subjects; to establish and maintain private Bible schools and classes for gratuitous instruction of men and women in the Bible, Bible literature and Bible history; to teach, train, prepare and equip men and women as ministers, missionaries, evangelists, preachers, teachers and lecturers ; to provide and maintain homes, places and buildings for gratuitous housing of such students, lecturers, teachers, educators and ministers; to furnish gratuitously to such students, lecturers, teachers, educators and ministers suitable meals and lodging and to prepare, support, maintain and send out to various parts of the world Christian missionaries, teachers and instructors in the Bible and Bible literature, and for public Christian worship of Almighty God ...; to arrange for and hold local and world-wide assemblies for such worship; to use or operate radio broadcasting stations for preaching this gospel of the kingdom; and to do any and all other lawful things that its Board of Directors shall deem expedient for the purposes stated.”

The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is carrying out all of these things for the blessing of mankind. Cooperating with the Pennsylvania corporation there is also the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. Its charter reads similarly. There is also the International Bible Students Association of England. There is another Association in Canada, and there are a number of other Bible societies in different parts of the world that have charters similar to that of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.

These Bible societies cooperate with one another in promoting the preaching of the good news of God’s kingdom and directing the work of Jehovah’s witnesses.

Jehovah’s witnesses world wide are doing identically the same thing. They preach the good news of God’s kingdom under Christ Jesus, and they all witness to the name, word and supremacy of Jehovah God.

A number of corporations, like the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., have large printing plants. There they publish literature containing information explaining Bible truths. A few pages farther on in this publication you will see a report on what the printing plant in New York city has produced during the past year. In addition to this, the Watch Tower Society of Germany has a printing plant. In Sweden there is another printing plant as well as in Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, South Africa, Australia, and other places. These publish books, booklets and magazines that are used by Jehovah’s witnesses in preaching the good news of the kingdom of God.

Outstanding of all publications printed is the Watchtower magazine. It has a circulation of 5,400,000 and is printed in 72 languages. The information that appears in the English edition of The Watchtower is in due time translated and published in other languages. This is done, not only with the Watchtower magazine, but also with a companion publication, Awake! which now has reached a circulation of 5,150,000 copies of each issue in 26 languages.

Bound books and booklets have been published in over 160 languages. By putting the Bible truths in printed form Jehovah’s witnesses are able to reach more people of all nations with the message concerning God’s kingdom.

The Society also directs a school program in every congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses so that each person, who is dedicated to God, man or woman, young or old, can improve his ministry. This is done through what is called the Theocratic Ministry School.

THEOCRATIC MINISTRY SCHOOL

There are more than 25,000 Theocratic Ministry Schools in operation throughout the world. Every congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses has such a school, and everyone enrolled in the school prepares discourses or demonstrations and presents them to the congregation. This helps them as ministers in giving world publicity to the good news of the Kingdom. It aids them in their house-to-house preaching work, and in teaching Bible truths to other people in their own homes. These students of the Bible have personally established about one million private home Bible studies. By that we mean they go into the homes of people and teach them the truths of God’s Word from the individuals’ own Bible translations. They study with the parents and with the children, and, in many cases, carry on a reading and writing program so as to improve mentally, morally and spiritually the men, women and children that they teach.

It is truly marvelous to see the results that have been forthcoming as Jehovah’s witnesses study with the people in their homes. If you will continue reading this Yearbook to its finish you will see what has happened in the way of preaching the good news of the Kingdom and helping people throughout the world in coming to an accurate understanding of the Bible.

For example, following the “Good News for All Nations” District Assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses, these Christians went to work with real enthusiasm in distributing the new book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. Jehovah’s witnesses have found that it is quite easy to place this bound book, which is offered on a small contribution of 25 cents. Just to show you what a demand there has been for this publication, in just three months two million copies were placed with the people. In one day the Brooklyn printing plant received orders from congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses, asking for this new book to the number of 99,472 copies. In the United States alone more than 800,000 copies of this book were placed with people during the month of August. In harmony with the Society’s charter, Jehovah’s witnesses are trying to teach, train and prepare men and women to be disciples of Christ Jesus, so they, in turn, can preach and can teach others. Jesus’ command was that his disciples should go out and do this preaching and teaching work. Jesus wanted to make people of all nations learners of God’s Word.

A congregation in Massachusetts, in asking for more of the new Truth books, said: “The Truth books have jet wheels. They just go and go and go.” In fact, after the Watch Tower Society released this book late in June at its first assembly, over three million copies were bound and shipped out by September 20, 1968. That is an average of one million each month. The Society, being interested in helping Jehovah’s witnesses in other lands, has already printed this book in the Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, French and German languages, and right now it is being published in other languages so that more home Bible studies can be started among people of all nations, kindreds and tongues.

This new book is having a fine effect on the people. One sister enthusiastically commented: “People are actually reading it before the first return call can be made.” It can be said, too, that what people are reading strikes home. A publisher in Puerto Rico comments that a man who took the book and promptly read it said that “it is the best thing that he has read, that for thirty years he was looking for the truth and that now he has found it. He is already preaching to his family and other persons.”

A Catholic woman, after studying the first two chapters of the book, said: “I previously thought that it did not make any difference whatsoever what religion one embraced, and that as long as you were sincere that was all that mattered. However, I can now appreciate that it is necessary to examine one’s religion and unless we do that and make a wise choice as to our religious convictions we may not be headed in the right direction.”

Many individuals today, after studying the Bible with Jehovah’s witnesses, are quickly concluding that they need to change the direction in which they have been going. Concerning one of them this experience is related: “She has made up her mind about blood, thrown away her images, and is teaching her son about Jehovah. She attends meetings regularly—and all this after only four months of study! One main reason for her rapid progress and appreciation is the Truth book, which I gave her after the assembly in July.” Another woman, after studying the first three chapters of the Truth book, wrote to her minister asking him to take her name and the names of her children off the church rolls, and she included in her letter numerous points right out of the book to explain the reason for her decision.

Jehovah’s witnesses are sincere Christians, dedicated to the worship of Jehovah and to helping people, no matter who they may be, to get an understanding of Jehovah’s Word. Spreading education in Bible truth is their main purpose in living. When one gets this education from the Bible he will be greatly helped to appreciate that God’s kingdom is the only hope for mankind.

In full harmony with the chartered purposes of the Watch Tower Society are the other schools that the Society operated during the past year. One is called the Kingdom Ministry School.

KINGDOM MINISTRY SCHOOL

This school is conducted to give further training and instruction to ordained ministers who have the responsibility of being overseers and ministerial servants in the congregations of God’s people. All branch offices of the Watch Tower Society have operated such schools from time to time, and the Society is very happy that the Kingdom Ministry School for the United States could be situated at 124 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, during the past year. Twenty-six two-week sessions have been held during the fiscal year, and 1,299 students finished the course. Of these students 443 were congregation overseers, 833 were assistant congregation overseers, and 23 were Bible study servants.

So far, 9,122 individuals have completed the course in the Kingdom Ministry School in the United States. They have equipped themselves to serve in a much better way in the congregations where they have been assigned.

Due to the press of work at the printing plant in Brooklyn, which furnishes magazines, bound books and Bibles for all parts of the earth, and because more personnel was needed to meet the demand for literature, the Society decided to transfer the Kingdom Ministry School from Brooklyn, New York, to the Society’s headquarters building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at 4100 Bigelow Boulevard. So during the 1969 service year, beginning with September 8,1968, the Kingdom Ministry School has been in operation in Pittsburgh. This will continue until we have the new Bethel building finished in New York city. Then the school will be returned to Brooklyn.

So one can see that the Society is very much interested in teaching. Jehovah’s witnesses, being devoted to declaring the “good news” in all the world for a witness certainly want to keep themselves spiritually strong and set the proper example for everyone with whom they are associated in getting this work done. Certainly the overseers of the congregations and their assistants need special attention. That is why the Society has inaugurated the Kingdom Ministry School, not only in the United States, but throughout the world in all of its branch offices.

WATCHTOWER BIBLE SCHOOL OF GILEAD

Many inquiries have been made: “How can I go to Gilead School?” These inquiries sometimes come from total strangers who are not Jehovah’s witnesses. They are informed that this is a very special kind of school. While it does not cost the student any money to go through Gilead School, and he gets free lodging and education, still there is one essential requirement, and that is dedication of one’s life to Jehovah God, symbolized by water baptism. Additionally one must have been in the pioneer work for more than two years without interruption and be willing to be a missionary wherever he might be sent in the earth. Pioneers from all parts of the world have been invited to the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead because of their performance as ordained ministers in the field service. They are fully cognizant of this fact: “Also, in all the nations the good news has to be preached first.” (Mark 13:10) So they have offered themselves willingly for missionary service. Those who have made themselves available for training at Gilead know when they come that they will receive a foreign assignment if they qualify.

The Society is very pleased with the many graduates who have gone through Gilead School and out into foreign fields. The early graduates of the school now have spiritual children, or grandchildren, that is, those taught by the missionaries themselves, or those of a second generation who came to a knowledge of the truth through the work of the ones trained by missionaries.

Graduates of Gilead School have opened up the preaching work in many lands, territories and islands of the world. They have assisted thousands to come to a knowledge of the truth and take their stand for the Kingdom.

It is very interesting to note how the incoming Gilead students from all parts of the world are treated with true love and hospitality by their brothers and sisters here in the United States. Those who speak a foreign tongue and who have difficulty at first with the English language are often given extra help in learning English. They also have the opportunity of meeting people of their own nationality and those of other nationalities in New York city, where there is such a variety of nationalities. We have people from many different nations and languages attending the meetings of the congregations in New York city. Those at Gilead School also have the wonderful opportunity of being in direct contact with the headquarters organization and observing how it operates. While attending school they are able to help with the manufacture of publications in the printing plant of the Society. However, their main purpose in coming to school is to learn more about the Bible. By the time school has been completed the students have read the Bible completely, usually doing a considerable amount of reading before arriving. During this five-month training course the students are equipped to serve people in any nation of the earth and to help them gain a knowledge of God’s Word and purposes.

How thankful we can be to Jehovah for this superior training in God’s Word that he gives to his servants in preparing them for foreign service! During the 1968 service year the 44th and 45th classes graduated. By the end of the service year the 46th class had come within one week of completing its course, and comment on that class will be made in next year’s Yearbook.

The graduation exercises for the 44th class were held on September 10, 1967, at which time 102 students graduated at the Jehovah’s Witnesses Assembly Hall in New York city. This auditorium was packed out with 2,069 persons in attendance. Brother Knorr sounded the keynote of the graduation in his talk calling to the students’ attention that they were enjoying something that very few other persons in the world are able to enjoy, and that many will not get because we are now too far along in the life of this system of things. Not too many people have gone through Gilead School and had this opportunity of being missionaries in foreign lands. He encouraged the graduates to hold with all their might to this privilege of missionary service.

Brother Franz, the vice-president of the Society, graphically illustrated the unity and peace that exists among Jehovah’s people in the midst of international hatred by describing an assembly held in peace in Jerusalem by Jehovah’s witnesses of Arab and Jewish descent during the time of great tension between these nations.

In the afternoon, as a climax to the much enjoyed graduation exercises of the morning, the students presented a two-hour drama that was called “Jehovah’s Way the Way of Victory,” dealing with Judge Jephthah and the application of his experience as a prophetic pattern to the history of Jehovah’s modern-day theocratic organization.

On March 10, 1968, the 45th class graduated, with 2,000 persons in attendance. Brother Franz drew on the ninth chapter of the prophecy of Ezekiel in pointing out that the 101 graduates of this class were being sent out to assist in marking many others with the identification mark of a true Christian. Brother Knorr spoke on the subject “Do Not Forget.” He admonished the students to remember what they had learned and their vow to do God’s will. It is possible that other things can cause one’s vision to become dim, even among those who have taken up the missionary service. Some of these have lost faith and have left Jehovah’s organization. How essential, then, it is to guard against forgetting, forgetting the Word of God. Other highlights were the presentation of the value of the Bible book of First Corinthians to_ first-century Christians, followed by a sequel to the Jephthah drama focusing on Jephthah’s daughter and her being devoted to tabernacle service by Jephthah’s vow. Thousands of Jehovah’s witnesses saw these two dramas, the one presented by the 44th class and the other by the 45th class, at the “Good News for All Nations” District Assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses during the summer of 1968.

The 46th class of Gilead School, with which the Bethel family became well acquainted during the last part of the service year, had the opportunity of attending the above-mentioned assembly in Washington, D.C., traveling there in chartered buses along with some from the New York city congregations. They also had the joy, before their school term ended, to share in the distribution of the new book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. Now they are very anxious to use it in their foreign assignments. The class in session now is studying Spanish and French, and this new book is already published in these languages. They feel that the book’s simplicity and directness will be of great assistance to them in teaching the truth to many interested persons who will become their newly found spiritual children.

GRADUATES OF GILEAD, 44TH CLASS September 10, 1967

Alarcon, Juanita F. Anderson, Eric M. Andersson, Sven G. Balaski, william Balaski, Amy K.

(Mrs. V/.)

Baxter, Susan L.

Beebe, Joseph L.

Beebe, Annabelle R.

(Mrs. J. L.)

Bolduc, Monique L. Breneman, Jesse N. Brindle, Louis E. Brindle, Gregoria E.

(Mrs. L. E.)

Brock, Charles E.

Brown, David G.

Bryan, Richard S.

Bryan, Sandra K.

(Mrs. R. S.)

Dorantes, Concha H. House, Susan E. Drum, Lana D. James, George R.

Eadie, Wilfred L. James, Angela M. Eadie, Gertrude T. (Mrs. G. R.)

(Mrs. W. L.) Johansson, Eva E.

Elliott, Alan Johansson, Johnny W.

Englund, Alan L. Johansson, Marianne

Etoe, Katherine A. (Mrs. J. W.)

Fabian, Dietmar R. Knapp, Arbra J.

Fair, Robert G. Knapp, Anita K.

Fair, Linda (Mrs. A. J.)

(Mrs. R. G.) Kuilan, Nestor

Feswick, Nancy G. Kuilan, Antonia

Flores, Marlo E. (Mrs. N.)

Fortune, Cyrus Latvala, Taina I.

Fredlund, Gull K. M. Ledbetter, David L. Fredlund, Lillian S. Lehnert, Angelika I. Genz, Anita B. Lilly, Doran R.

Gruen, Ruby E. Lindsey, Claude H.

Guimond, Robert R. Marks, Brian R.

Casanova, Jacklyn D. Gustavsson, Soren R. Marus, Stephen M.

Chorney, Violet R.

Corkum, Harold S.

Corkum, Andrea (Mrs. H. S.)

Currie, Barbara K.

Gustavsson, Birgitta Massier, Richard (Mrs. S. R.) Massier, Sharon E.

Hahn, Roxienne (Mrs. R.)

Hector, William E. Matheson, Catherine

Hector, Sheryl J. Matheson, Gail E.

Daeumler, Ronald M. (Mrs. W. E.) Meisl, Margaret L.

Daeumler, Helen J. Herron, Ruth G. Mikkola, Anja T.

(Mrs. R. M.) Honsinger, William J. Naviski, Elizabeth P. Dehnbostel, HeinrickHonsinger, Edith L. Oatman, Tommy C. Dermasa, Josephine (Mrs. W. J.) Olsen, Terance E. E.

Paschal, Pete

Reatherford, Hazell

Pefferman, Mark A. Scurlock, Charles E.

Pefferman, Shirley A. Scurlock, Beryl R.

(Mrs. M. A.) ~ ~ '

Pentney, Henry < A. Pentney, Maureen

(Mrs. H. A.) Pugh, Nancy W. Quistorff, Hans A. Rainer, Rosemarie

(Mrs. C. E.) Shipley, Frances R.

A. Shipley, Margaret

(Mrs. F. R.) Shortland, Jennifer Siolkowski, John Skidmore, William G.

Sotomayor, Braulio Sotomayor, Ines

(Mrs. B.) Thatcher, Donald M. Thatcher, Darleen J.

(Mrs. D. M.) Tonak, Manfred K. K. Urban, Elfriede Waagan, Norma J. Werner, Ingrid Woito, Marlene V.

GRADUATES OF GILEAD, 45TH CLASS March 10, 1908

Aiderman, Robert W.Kopsies, Stella

Arthur, Barker, Barker, (Mrs.

Birtles, Birtles, (Mrs.

Charles W. John B. Patricia E.

J. B.) Barry Patricia B.)

(Mrs. L.) Kratt, Ingo Large, Virginia I.

Ramseyer, Jacqueline (Mrs. H. R.)

Reams, Charles R.

Redman, Lois Linda

Latimer, Tony R. Renoldner, John

Latimer, Linda DianeRenoldner, Agnes (Mrs. T. R.) ''^r - ’ '

Lea, Eldred James Lee, John Leroy Lee, Amy Michiko

(Mrs. J. L.)

(Mrs. J.) Ritchie, Lian H. Rittenhouse, Walter Rittenhouse, Virgie

(Mrs. W. A.)

Bohannan, April Kay Bretzke, Fredy Callaway, Glen Dale Carr, Marilyn Louise Clark, Ivan Clear, Rosemary E. Cochrane, Marion Cone, Georgia Marie Cormican, Hugh M. Danielsson, Roger Jan .______ „.

Fierke, Helga McMillan, David J. _x______ ....

Froyd, Linda Marie McMillan, Linda Mae Shirton, Lorne J. Fynn, Ronald D. (Mrs. D. J.)

Lesky, Paul Peter. Jr. Robison, Gail V.

Levine, Claude M. Lewis, James Ellis Little, Douglas E.

Rodriguez, Faby A.

Rodriguez, Paula (Mrs. F. A.)

Lucas, Jerrold David Schoche, Brigitte

Lucas, Janet Adele ’...... — — •

(Mrs. J. D.)

Sharman, Frederick

Sharman, Mabel W.

(Mrs. F. W.)

Genrich, Esther CarolNelson, Julie Kay

Graf, Renate Neuhardt, Josef

Guerrero, Martina Nylund, James

Hart, Robert Edward Parr, Randall Lee

Skarda, Jacqueline Sokollek, Anneliese Sotelo, Albert Felix Stanfield, Jennifer

Teichmann, Rainer

______________ ... _________________Verbrugge, Roger D.

(Mrs. R. E.) (Mrs. R. L.) Verbrugge, Gloria E.

Hauck, Otto Wilhelm Petras, Theodore Paul (Mrs. R. D.)

Hart, Erlene

Parr, Carolyn Leona

Hiltbrand, Frederick Hubbard, Christine James, Peter Edward Johansson, Birthe L. Johnson, Mary P.

Petras, Rosemarie Vetrovsky, Lieselotte

(Mrs. T. P.) Ward, Victor Robert

Petrovic, Paul Joseph Wax, Sammie Lynn Pohl, Cacilie Hedwig Wax, Sandra Jean

Poling, Bonne Joann (Mrs. S. L.)

Powell, Raymond A. Williams, Eric David

Johnson, Yvonne Lee Powell, Naomi Ruth Williams, Kathleen

Jorgensen, A. E. (Mrs. R. A.) (Mrs. E. D.)

Kalwat, Betty Marie Proepstl, Hermann A.Yasovsky, William C.

Karlsson, Bertil A. Proepstl, Gabriele H.Yasovsky, Sandra J.

Koch, Brigitte (Mrs. H. A.) (Mrs. W. C.)

Koltzau, Diane Alletta Pyle, Linda Sharron Zwiep, Marilyn Kopsies, Louis Ramseyer, Henry R. Zwiep, Marsha Gail

THE BROOKLYN BETHEL HOME

When one thinks of a home he also thinks of a family. The first thing that comes into one’s mind is, How large is the family? Four or five

people? That is usually the case, but when you talk about the Bethel family in Brooklyn, New York, you are speaking about a family that has 945 members who have come from many parts of the world. They are young and old, men and women, and all of them are dedicated to Jehovah. Their interest is to serve their brothers and sisters throughout the world by doing something in the Bethel home that has to do with the preaching of the good news of God’s kingdom everywhere.

The Brooklyn Bethel home is situated at 124 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York, and right now it is made up of two main buildings, each approximately one hundred feet by two hundred feet and twelve stories high. These two buildings face each other on Columbia Heights.

The Bethel family is growing so fast that it has been necessary for the Watch Tower Society to obtain more property, which they have done, and this is just across the street catercorner from the 124 Columbia Heights building. Here they have another piece of property that is approximately 200 feet long and 100 feet deep, and on one corner of this property they are building a seven-story structure. This building will be connected to the headquarters of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society by a tunnel, as is the 107 Columbia Heights building.

Here at Bethel are housed the brothers and sisters who have the responsibility of administering the work of Jehovah’s witnesses. All of the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., live here and care for their respective duties. The Bethel home has offices for its writing staff, which produces material for the Watchtower and Awake! magazines and all of the other publications of the Society. It has large facilities for feeding this family, including a large kitchen and dining rooms, four in number. There are offices for handling mail that is received. During the 1968 service year the Society received 960,604 letters, all of which had to be handled by someone. This in itself takes a large force.

The greater portion of the staff, however, work at the printing plant, situated at 117 Adams Street. Here there are four large buildings, one of them thirteen stories high. There is one that is ten stories high and two others that are nine stories high. They occupy four square blocks in the city of Brooklyn, about a quarter of a mile from the Bethel home.

All of these people have sleeping accommodations in the Bethel home. Many of the sisters do housekeeping work; brothers look after the laundry and painting and other repairs in the home.

So we have a big family and a busy family. During the past years we have always had quite a few guests with whom we spend a little time, and these are the students who come to Gilead School, usually 100 in number at a time. In addition, overseers of congregations in the United States have been with us while attending the Kingdom Ministry School. So besides the 945 regular members of the family we usually have 150 other people living with us, and we enjoy their fellowship and company.

The Brooklyn Bethel home is quite an institution. It has a Kingdom Hall where the Bethel family meets for their own Watchtower study and Theocratic Ministry School. We have fine classrooms for the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead as well as classrooms for the Kingdom Ministry School. We are all one big family interested in getting the good news of the Kingdom preached in all of the world for a witness.

A housewife would say, “My, it would take a lot of food for that family,” and we agree that it does. To take care of this family in the way of food the Watchtower Society has three farms in operation. One is known as Kingdom Farm. Two hundred and fifty-one acres of this farm were sold to the State of New York during the past year, but 500 or more acres remain, which the Society still uses in raising cattle and foodstuffs. We also have Watchtower Farm with about 1,500 acres, which is situated about 100 miles from New York city, and here the Society is building quite a few structures. We intend to make this the principal farm for raising foodstuffs for the Bethel family. During the year we finished a large dormitory, which accommodates about 85 persons, and in this same building we have a fine Kingdom Hall, a large dining room, kitchen and laundry. In the basement is a large cannery and deepfreeze area, as well as dairy equipment for the making of butter and cheese and the storage of root vegetables, like potatoes, carrots, onions, and so forth.

In addition, the Society is also building large chicken houses for raising poultry, hog pens, a large mill for grain and a slaughterhouse to take care of animals that the Society raises for meat.

Then there is what we call Mountain Farm, where mainly fruit is raised, apples, peaches, pears, grapes, as well as some garden crops.

At these three farms we have approximately 70 brothers and sisters who take care of the animals and raise food for the large Bethel family in Brooklyn, New York, where around 1,100 persons live.

The wonderful thing about the entire matter is that it is one grand, happy family. They live together in peace and unity, during the daytime doing their regular work, and in the evenings associating with local congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses in the New York area.

There are many families like the Brooklyn Bethel family scattered all over the world. In fact, at each of the 95 branch offices of the Society there is a Bethel family. Some families are small, with perhaps two or three members, and some have as many as 125. But the Brooklyn Bethel family is the largest. World wide there are well over 1,800 individuals that make up the Bethel family, and Bethel means “house of God.” What a grand privilege is theirs to serve their brothers around the world! And they would like to say through the Yearbook that they very much appreciate their privileges of service and are delighted to serve you in the capacity that they do.

While we are discussing the matter of the Bethel family in New York, we might as well set out the report for this country.

FIELD SERVICE REPORT AND BIBLE PRINTING REPORT FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Peak Publishers: 333,672 Population: 196,852,000

Ratio: 1 to 590

The 1968 service year long will be remembered as the year when the brothers placed every copy of the Truth and Evolution books they could get their hands on. For the 1968 service year a total of 4,530,924 books were placed, more than double the 2,188,118 bound books placed in the 1967 service year!

Almost daily, experiences are coming in relating how easy it is to place the Truth book and start Bible studies. A sister from New Jersey wrote: “Never before have I left a district assembly feeling the urgency of the times as I did this weekend at the ‘Good News for All Nations’ assembly. The new book impressed me, so I obtained a carton of 75 before leaving the assembly city.” She placed a total of 25 books her first day in service and started a Bible study. Expressing her joy, she wrote: “Never in my eight and a half years as a pioneer have I placed so many books in such a short time. Truly I’m convinced Jehovah wants this book to be in the hands of the people.”

As for the effect the material is having on individuals, a circuit servant in Illinois informs us: “When we served our first congregation following vacation, it was observed that many publishers and pioneers are having unusual experiences with the Truth book. One pioneer, in her first study, covered Chapter 16, on ‘Popular Customs,’ and found, upon returning the next week, that religious pictures, images, crosses, etc., had been taken down and the householder was asking if there was anything else that had to go. So its directness and straightforwardness should help many persons to take their stand for Jehovah and his kingdom.”

A sister in New York who is greatly limited physically due to arthritis began to vacation pioneer for two weeks in May and had such joy that she extended it for the whole month. Her report shows her joy in placing 174 books. Her comment on the Evolution book reflects the feelings of many: “What an instrument to pry people loose from worldly false reasoning and turn their minds to our glorious Creator, Jehovah.”

Even a monkey helped to place Evolution books! How? Owners of a lodge in the mountains of Colorado placed a small statue of a monkey sitting on a stack of books contemplating a human skull, which he held in his hand, in the midst of an attractive display of the Evolution book. Nearby was a small sign with the words “Books—25c each.” In less than two weeks 25 books were taken, with many fine discussions and experiences resulting.

Unusual? No, the Evolution book has shaken and enlightened thousands who have happily received it. One young man wrote the Society: “Since I read your book on evolution my whole life has changed, and what I wanted to know and searched all over for, but could never find, was all given me in the book.” A school-age brother from Florida took the book to his biology teacher, who gladly contributed 25c for it. The teacher passed it on to another biology teacher, and he to another. One asked for five copies, but changed this to 12 when he found out the price and plans to use it to teach his class. Another teacher ordered 20. The young brother placed 35 books in May.

A nun who teaches school in Maine wrote: “I have just read your book on evolution. I found much in it. I would be interested in getting information concerning the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania. This organization is completely unknown to me. If as a publisher you cannot enlighten me as to the organization and their aim, could you send them this card? I am sure they would oblige in giving details so as to help a Science and Social Studies teacher.” She also ordered a copy of the book “Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie.”

In a territory where many seasonal workers live, a sister noted one house always padlocked no matter what time of day she called. After many visits she found a woman at the house and after a brief discussion she was invited in to answer many Bible questions. The householder confessed: “I have a padlock that I always lock my front door with and I make a point to lock my door from the outside each Saturday and Sunday morning because I know that Jehovah’s witnesses are always in my neighborhood and I wanted to have no discussion with them for fear I would hurt their feelings by refusing to take literature.” The woman was very happy that her husband had forgotten to lock the door that morning—and now she is enjoying a Bible study.

Prominent on the American scene today are the “hippies.” A sister in California began a study with a seventeen-year-old girl who would come to her home barefoot, wearing tight jeans, carrying a guitar in one hand and a Bible in the other. As she learned of God’s name one of her common expressions was, “Big J is really groovy, I just love him, he’s so good, oh man.” Patience and application of Bible principles soon brought about real changes in personality, vocabulary, style of dress —even to the wearing of shoes, the hardest part. Her parents were very impressed, as were her schoolteachers and schoolmates. So amazed were they that she was able to witness extensively and soon was conducting ten Bible studies, many with “hippies” who began to attend the Kingdom Hall meetings. For four years she had been a “hippie,” but after studying one year she was baptized and at a circuit assembly told the brothers, “I realize that all this ‘hippie’ world, with its drugs, was just Satan’s trap to destroy us kids and take us down at Armageddon with him.” She has now applied for the vacation pioneer service, with the goal of regular pioneering and, if time permits in this old system, attending Gilead and sharing in missionary service.

PUBLISHING ACTIVITY OF BROOKLYN PRINTING PLANT

While the United States was rejoicing over the 4-percent increase in field ministers for the year, the printing facilities at the Brooklyn headquarters were also expanding. The new eleven-story addition to the printing plant facilities had been under construction for a year and a half, and in December of 1967 it was ready for occupancy. A very active two-month moving campaign got under way, during which time over sixty machines were moved from the old site to the new factory to allow for expanded operations. This successful transfer was climaxed on January 31, 1968, when the Bethel family enjoyed a day of dedication for the new factory building. Seven months later, by the end of the service year, all eleven floors, totaling 226,000 square feet, were fully occupied.

By observing the following increases in activity in the publishing plant you can readily realize how timely Jehovah’s directing of the provision of these added facilities was. The magazine production continues to increase very noticeably year by year. This past year was no exception, as our total production of magazines was 169,149,350, which was an increase of 14% million over the former year.

The booklets are another useful instrument in introducing Bible studies in the homes of the people. Their production showed a 4% million increase this year. Taking the lead is the booklet “This Good News of the Kingdom.” With its timely title, it has been at the top in quantity of booklets distributed for the past eight consecutive years. As a result it has reached a grand total of 63,176,171 in 90 languages. A marvelous witness indeed!

Although the magazine and booklet production showed a fine increase, this past year has proved to be an outstanding year for book distribution in the field. Spearheaded by the Evolution book, of which we made 3,399,355 during the year, the book production pace was greatly accelerated by the release in July of the new book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. At the time of writing this report, it has been published in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, German and French, with many more languages presently being translated. With the fine reception of these two timely publications in the field, the demand for bound books at the Brooklyn plant has been beyond all expectations, the thrilling result being that the Brooklyn printing plant produced 12,130,996 bound books and Bibles during the 1968 service year. Think of it—a 47-percent increase over the former year! This is most gratifying, and you will note this increase along with other production figures in the following production chart:

BROOKLYN FACTORY PRODUCTION REPORT

Bibles Books Booklets The Watchtower Awake!	1966 339,351 7,263,507 10,080,106 74,207,170 67,389,410	1967 1,086,875 7,165,985 12,710,633 79,753,610 74,928,100	1968 1,004,598 11,126,398 17,170,289 88,074,200 81,075,150
Total	159,279,544	175,645,203	198,450,635
Advertising leaflets	143,226,888	110,944,600	120,583,807
Calendars	561,681	622,255	677,693
Miscellaneous printing	85,488,533	95,489,281	95,301,797
Tracts	13,257,200	4,485,250	18,331,800
Total misc. printing	242,534,302	211,591,386	234,895,097

Even though there has been such a splendid increase in production, it has still fallen considerably behind the demand from the field. Many publications have been out of stock; many have had to be limited; and orders that have been received have had to be reduced. It is therefore very timely that another complete line of bindery machinery has been ordered and is due for delivery in October 1968. This will increase our facilities to six complete production lines in our bindery. One year ago we had only three lines. Also at the writing of this report the first of eight new high-speed rotary web printing presses being built in Germany is being erected in the Brooklyn plant. These eight will bring the total of all printing presses, large and small, in our plant to 46.

To feed these presses over the past year has required 12,509 tons of paper. This is a 1,881-ton increase over last year. To convert this paper into the printed page, 333,915 pounds of ink were used, all of which was manufactured in our own plant. For the binding of the books and wrapping of the magazines, 251,033 pounds of adhesives were required, and these we also processed in our own factory. The casing in of the books necessitated the use of 977,859 square yards of cover material. Upon the completion of the manufacturing of this abundance of literature, it had to be mailed and shipped to all parts of the world. Hence, our greatly improved shipping department in the new factory has had a very busy year, shipping out 12,701,651 books, as compared to 6,947,401 the previous year. The total cost for mailing and shipping all magazines and books from Brooklyn for the past year was $1,425,143.48.

By Jehovah’s loving-kindness, we look forward to another year of increased activity in assisting our associate ministers in the field to make known the good news of God’s kingdom.

REPORTS FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Jehovah’s witnesses around the world lift up their heads and rejoice and continue to proclaim the good news of God’s kingdom everywhere because they know their deliverance is getting very near. The things they observe happening in the earth they know are fulfilling Bible prophecy, and everything points to the conclusion of this system of things. No matter where you may turn in the earth and observe Jehovah’s witnesses you will see that they are diligently preaching the good news of God’s kingdom.

The countries, islands and territories that will be listed here are not necessarily in alphabetical arrangement. For the alphabetical arrangement of countries please see the Index of Countries on page three. In the various branch office reports you will also find other countries, islands and territories listed, because a branch office in one particular part of the earth may handle the work in a number of other places. For example, you have just finished reading the report for the United States, where the main offices of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania are located. From here, too, oversight is given to a number of places, such as Bermuda, Guam, Palau, Ponape, Saipan and Truk. So we will set out reports on these places and then go ahead with the branch office in Alaska.

BERMUDA Population: 50,000

Peak Publishers: 104 Ratio: 1 to 480

The 1968 service year certainly brought us much happiness and has been a cause for rejoicing in these islands, because we have, once more, seen an increase in the number of workers in the field, in contrast to the decreases of the two previous years. Along with this we have evidence of a greater degree of spirituality and maturity among the brothers and a stronger organizational arrangement.

It was upbuilding to have a district assembly in Bermuda again, with its fine program to strengthen and stimulate us for future activity. The peak attendance of 823 was far above the anticipated number, because almost 500 of our brothers from the United States assembled with us. The association and appreciation of these visiting brothers was heartwarming to us.

The arrangement to have the circuit servant visit us three times a year was appreciated and has proved very beneficial. This was the first year for such concentrated visits. There has been a marked improvement in regularity and in shepherding by the study conductors. An outstandingly promising study was started by the circuit servant on first-call service and then continued by a sister who says it is the kind of Bible study one always hopes to have but does not often get. The sister shared in the first call and noted the good groundwork laid by the servant. He included remarks on the attempt that would be made by the Devil to prevent or discourage this lady from studying. This point really struck home in this lady’s mind and has since been a great help in preserving her interest.

GUAM Population: 58,598

Peak Publishers: 43 Ratio: 1 to 1,363

One of the highlights of our activity here on Guam was when a graduate of the forty-fifth class of Gilead served us as circuit servant. We appreciate the Society’s arranging for someone to visit us each year on this island in the Pacific Ocean.

The ability to recognize a “sheep” and the patience to keep feeding one for a number of years resulted in the reactivating of two publishers. Several years ago a study was started with a family of eight. The mother was a devout Catholic, always getting the children up early to pray before the images in the house. As the study progressed several changes took place in their lives. One of these took place when the mother took all the images from the house and threw them down the outside toilet. The family began to attend the meetings and associate with Jehovah’s witnesses. Soon the oldest daughter began to publish, then two others, and finally the third, as well as the mother.

The oldest daughter graduated from school and later married a brother in the congregation. Instead of the brother helping the family, all of them, including the brother, became inactive. Contact with the family was kept up; all the new publications and magazines were placed with them. The oldest daughter continued to show sheeplike qualities. Last year when the Life Everlasting book was placed with her a study was started again. It was carefully explained that the study was to lead her in progressive steps to dedication and baptism. With this firm foundation and understanding she progressed rapidly. When it was shown to her that meeting attendance is a necessary part of our worship and is needed to reach and maintain maturity, she and her husband and small daughter began to attend meetings. Now she and her husband are again enjoying field service together.

There are many couples living together as husband and wife without having been married. One couple and their children have been studying for some time. Good counsel had been given about living clean moral lives. The study was changed to the Truth book. When paragraph three of chapter two was considered, the woman said, “Yes, that means just like we are living.” Then the man responded, “We are going to get married.” Encouragement was given, showing that their decision was one that would have Jehovah God’s approval. We look forward to more good results from studying the Truth book here on Guam this new service year.

PALAU Population: 11,600

Peak Publishers: 2 Ratio: 1 to 5,800

Have you ever dreamed of leaving the crowded city life, with all the smog and traffic, to travel to some remote tropical island away from so-called civilization? Such was the joyful experience of two missionaries assigned here in November 1967. They flew into virgin territory to proclaim the established Kingdom to the natives, and what a welcome they received! Many were eager to hear and searched out the missionaries so they could learn about God’s kingdom. Often as they called on a home many people from neighboring houses would come and listen attentively, ask questions or take part in the conversation.

At the time of the Memorial the missionaries had been in the islands for about five months and were happy to have sixteen in attendance. The following day others told them that they heard they had had a “beautiful” celebration and they were sorry they could not attend.

Many of the local customs are opposite from Jehovah’s righteous standards, but when the soil is good, Christian personalities can be built. During a Bible study a man asked the missionaries where in the Bible the Ten Commandments are written. As the man read them he would comment on them and explain how the local customs differ. When he came to “You must not commit adultery,” he wanted to know just what it meant and was astounded to learn that both parties would be guilty of committing adultery if they engaged in sexual relations outside of wedlock. According to the custom here, if the wife gives her permission the man is free to have relations with anyone he chooses. Also the more wives and “affairs” a man has the more esteemed he is. His wife explained that he was very popular because she was wife number eight. He wanted to know if God would forgive him for the things he had done in the past since he did not know that it was against Jehovah’s law.

Forewarning interested persons that opposition would come has proved most beneficial. After starting a study with an Awake! subscriber we explained how Satan often uses family or friends to put pressure on people so they will discontinue their study of the Bible. As she started to progress and speak about the truth to others, that persecution did come. After one study she said, “My whole family is against me.” She had attended a religious school and later her former teacher and classmates tried to dissuade her from studying, but she told them that it was her life and that she would use it in the way that she thought was right. Next she was ridiculed by her co-workers at her place of employment, but she silenced them by asking them Bible questions that they could not answer. She accompanied the missionaries on a back-call to translate for them and did such a fine job that the people insisted she return again. One of the persons in the home happened to be a deacon from the church she formerly attended. After the discussion he turned to her and said: “And now I want to ask you a personal question. Why did you leave our church and why do you now associate with Jehovah’s witnesses?” She gave an excellent witness to them, explaining some of the differences between what they believe and what the Bible teaches, but she said it was especially the explanation of the “other sheep” who would receive life on earth and the 144,000 who would receive life in heaven that helped her to see the truth. Because of her bold stand for the truth her family now realizes that they cannot prevent her from continuing, so their opposition has lessened. Now her sister and brother-in-law are studying and progressing in the truth that leads to eternal life.

PON APE Population: 19,425

Peak Publishers: 25 Ratio: 1 to 777

Much building was undertaken during the past service year. In April our lovely new seventy-seat Kingdom Hall was dedicated, and the day following the program six publishers showed the effect of the building work within them by their baptism in a nearby river. In June the brothers began construction on the Society’s new missionary home, which is nearing completion now. The missionary couple were able to move in on the last day of the service year. The brothers are very appreciative of these fine buildings and are thankful to Jehovah for them.

Most gratifying was the blessing of seeing all seven of those in the group who were baptized prior to April receive vacation pioneer appointments during that month. One sister had resolved a year ago to take up this privilege, but later she became pregnant and would be beginning her eighth month in April. Undeterred, she submitted her application, was appointed, and made a success of it. This was not an easy matter. The women of Ponape begin their day before dawn, chopping firewood to cook the morning meal, and their washing is done by hand at nearby rivers or wells. When we add to that the burden of pregnancy and a number of smaller children, how apparent the power of the holy spirit in motivating this fine army of Christian women to enlarge their service becomes. Two sisters-in-law were also among this small army here. Living together, one pioneered during the first two weeks in April, and the other during the latter two. While one was in service the other would take care of the cooking, and by thus cooperating they eared for their domestic responsibilities while enlarging their share in the witness work. A brother who also vacation pioneered says: “I now know it is possible to vacation pioneer successfully.” It seemed out of reach, but here is how he made room for this privilege during April: For six weeks prior to April he was able to work at his secular job on Saturdays, thus building up enough compensatory time, which he used during his two weeks of pioneering in April. Having need to preach during the evenings to reach his pioneer goals, he was able to see the benefits of such evening witnessing. What has been the result of this vacation-pioneer building work in April? Since that month Bible studies have increased tremendously, with an average of at least one Bible study per publisher being conducted since April. During the past year all the atolls in the Ponape district were reached by the local publishers.

SAIPAN Population: 8,751

Peak Publishers: 4 Ratio: 1 to 2,188

Saipan has the reputation that none of its inhabitants have ever changed their religion. This has caused some to cool off as they learn that study of the Bible leads one progressively toward becoming a witness for Jeho-

vah. The thought of being the first to change has a very frightening effect on them. Their problem is compounded by the size of the place. Though by no means the smallest island in the world, it is only fifteen miles long and averages about three miles wide. Then, too, the population is crowded into just a few villages, which makes it quite easy for those who want to to know everyone’s business. If one shows interest in the Bible it is not long before pressure is brought to bear. However, some are beginning to think seriously about their religion. One interested person commented, as if already having given the matter much thought, “We Saipanese are 99 percent Catholic only because of the Catholic influence here.” This influence dates back to shortly after the discovery of these islands by the Spanish and their establishment of missions in the latter part of the seventeenth century. Up until recent times there has been relatively little to disturb that influence. Also the political status of the territory has made it difficult for outsiders to establish themselves here. All these things have combined to help the religious clergy hold aloft their sign reading, as it were, “Do not disturb, we have them sleeping!”

TRUK Population: 25,107

Peak Publishers: 9 Ratio: 1 to 2,790

Due to strong local customs the people are very closely tied to the church, and breaking away from Babylon the Great is very difficult for them. When Jehovah’s witnesses first arrived on Truk, they were just another religion, much like those already here, so thought many people. However, now that some have taken a firm stand for righteous Bible principles they see that Jehovah’s witnesses are not just another religion but are people who truly fear Jehovah and live in harmony with his requirements.

The importance of including the husband in a Bible study when the wife begins to study is clearly seen. A sister started a study with a woman and soon after that she began attending meetings. Each time the sister’s husband took her for the study, the woman’s husband was always very friendly. The brother approached the husband and asked him if he too would like to study the Bible, and immediately he replied, “Yes.” Later he told the brother that he had been wanting to study the Bible, but did not have the courage to ask the sister, so he just sat next to the open window and listened to their study. His wife and the sister were quite surprised when they learned he had been eavesdropping on their Bible study. One study a week was not enough, as he wanted to study twice a week. Knowing Japanese, he subscribed for The Watchtower and Awake.', and when they arrive on the ship he is so anxious to read them that he spends his evenings at the hotel, where there are electric lights to read by. Due to these diligent efforts this interested man has made very good progress in cleaning up his personal life.

His firm stand for right principles has not gone unnoticed, as several in his family have been testing his faith. Since he was not present when they drew names at Christmas, they drew a name for him; yet he refused to accept the name or participate in exchanging gifts. It is a strong custom here to obey one’s older brothers; so after his older brother learned that Jehovah’s witnesses do not celebrate birthdays, he went straight to his house and asked him to prepare food and attend his son’s birthday party the next day. His older brother was quite surprised to see him refuse local customs because of Bible principles. What a contrast, for the Catholic and Protestant religions have never required them to give up Babylonish customs. On another occasion when he slaughtered a pig he was careful to obey God’s requirements regarding blood, although it is the practice to use the blood. When he gave some of the meat to his relatives, they asked where the portion with the blood was. When he explained why he did not use the blood, they laughed and said that they knew but they just wanted to see if he had actually given up his use of blood. It is now becoming clear to many that the true religion does bring about changes in a person’s life, in harmony with God’s Word.

ALASKA Peak Publishers: 637

Population: 288,000

Ratio: 1 to 452

Alaska received its finest witness during the 1968 service year. More hours than ever before were spent in preaching the good news of God’s kingdom in many isolated places.

In most cases each congregation in Alaska is quite a distance from the other congregations. Sometimes we have a problem just keeping at least two mature brothers in each congregation.

With the aid of a family who moved from the lower states to serve where the need is greater, we have been able to establish an active group of publishers in an isolated native village where interest had previously been located. This is the first time we have been able to have such a group in a native village, so we are all eagerly watching its development. The people are eager to learn, but since many speak mainly Eskimo and the grip of Christendom is strong, progress is understandably slow. We pray for Jehovah’s blessing on these brothers as they endure hardships to spread the “good news” literally to the ends of the earth.

Patience and initiative are often needed to develop interest. A pioneer brother located a young man whose wife had previously studied with the Witnesses. He was very quiet, so friendly calls were made to try to develop friendship and interest. When the circuit servant visited, the pioneer was away, so the circuit servant made the call. He did not know the man was so reserved so he went ahead and started a study, which, to the pioneer’s surprise, the man appreciated. It took awhile to get their schedules coordinated, but in January the study was really established, being held at 10 p.m., after the service meeting. The man’s interest is reflected in his willingness to study at this hour even though he has to get up very early in the morning. Both husband and wife are now studying. Their enthusiasm is shown by the fact that they traveled over a thousand miles to attend the district assembly this summer.

Age need not retard progress, but loving help is often needed for our elderly brothers. Such a brother had been in the truth for five years actively serving Jehovah, but had held back from joining the ministry school. A brother kept encouraging him to join, but he felt he could not, for he could not write English, and he did not feel able to translate quickly enough from notes in his native tongue. But he can read and speak English, so the other brother offered to write out his notes for him. So with the other brother’s help in providing notes in large type, double spaced, he was able to give his first student talk at seventy-two years of age.

ARGENTINA Population: 28,378,000

Peak Publishers: 14,803 Ratio: 1 to 1,579

The desire to shout the “good news” in expression of appreciation to Jehovah was made manifest by many people when 1,461 publishers participated in vacation pioneer work in April. Our older brothers were among those who shared. Hear this experience: A brother seventy-seven years old reported more than one hour for each one of his years and placed a few more magazines than this. He asked for a vacation pioneer application, but some of the brothers tried to discourage him. One said, “Look at the number of hours you will have to spend in this service.” This brother used a very expressive saying in Spanish, “iPara que nos vamos a poner el poncho, si no nos abriga?” (“Why put on the coat if it is not going to protect us?”) Another said to him, “I will not be able to accompany you,” but this seventy-seven-year-old brother was not discouraged and replied, “Then I will do it alone.” He was a fine example for those younger of age in the congregation. Twenty percent of the publishers in this congregation did vacation pioneer work.

The importance of being adaptable and permitting the householder to express himself can be seen in this experience: “My wife studies with two young ladies. Their brother was an atheist and a communist, so it was impossible to continue the study in their home. He would make fun of it, so it was changed to another home, but even there he began to bother them. My wife asked me to accompany her on the study, but instead of taking part I decided to talk to the man. At first the conversation was about the work he was doing, world conditions and what he thought would be the remedy. The answer, of course, was communism.” The brother agreed that a change is needed, “because all kinds of government have certainly failed to bring peace to mankind.” He asked, “Do you believe that communism will unite the world in peace where man will not be exploited by others, where conditions will be different?” The answer was “Yes.” “I let him talk about fifteen minutes on success and future prospects for the communist regimen and their paradise,” the brother says. “When he finished I asked him this question: ‘Do you think that the well-being of mankind will come through communism?’ ” The answer again was “Yes.” “Then by which communism will this condition be brought about, Russia’s or China’s? because these two communist powers are divided. As you know, men who are prominent in these countries fall in disgrace. There are difficulties in the communist parties, things that are said that are really not that way. If the communist countries were a paradise, then there would be no need for a wall to keep the people in, machine guns or cables charged with electricity so the people would not leave such a paradise.” This seemed to open up his ears. I told him that no other political government could bring peace to all the earth for the reason that each country has its own men with their own ideas. “If you desire a paradise on this earth you will have to go someplace where men do not exploit others and where there is just one constitution for all the world. This constitution is the Bible.” I talked to him for about an hour about the theocratic organization and how the earth would be a paradise but not a “red” one. I explained that he had the opportunity to live in that paradise forever. As a result this man started to attend our public lectures and a Bible study was started with him. Now after three months he is a publisher and planning to dedicate himself to Jehovah. His parents are also studying.

Knowing that Jehovah is God and studying his Word have freed one more from the influence of the demons. This experience shows the power of the truth over demonism: “After I started a Bible study with a man in the home of his sister, he invited me to come to his own home and study with his wife and son. On starting the study I offered the son the ‘Impossible to Lie¹book if he desired to follow the study. He said, ‘No! No! I do not want it.’ I encouraged him, explaining that to take the book would certainly do him no harm. He no more than opened it when he closed it and immediately put his hands upon his head and over his eyes. We had studied only one paragraph when I realized something strange was happening. He started going from side to side as if asleep. I realized without a doubt that this was demon influence and prayed to Jehovah for protection. The mother took care of the boy, and we could clearly see he was asleep as if unconscious. The family was very alarmed. I explained Biblically what was happening. The man with whom I was conducting the study said: ‘What an experience! I knew this was the truth, but now I am more convinced and have no doubt in my mind that the demons cannot resist the power of the truth.’ The boy returned to normal and accused me of carrying him to the bedroom in my arms after having offered him the book, but really he never moved from the table. After two hours he got free from the demons and confessed it was not he that was acting that way and that for some nights he had been seeing the Devil and a young girl dressed as a bride on the ceiling in his room. On different occasions he found himself as if tied to the bed with sheets and his arms to the girl’s long hair. After my explaining what the Bible says on this matter and how he could free himself from the demons he started attending the meetings and listening to the talks and studying. As a result all the family is studying and attending meetings and this young man has no more problems with the demons.” How well do the words of Nahum 1:7 express it: “Jehovah is good, a stronghold in the day of distress,” even over demon powers.

AUSTRALIA Population: 11,990,787

Peak Publishers: 18,913 Ratio: 1 to 634

Just as Jesus told his disciples, we here in Australia have been dropping the nets ‘on the other side of the boat’ in faith during the past year with outstanding results. In Australia more books have been placed than in any other service year, and just as the year came to a close our “Good News for All Nations” District Assemblies got under way, with the release of the Truth book. How thrilled we are with it! One young man right on the assembly grounds came up to a brother and asked, “Will you arrange a study of that book with me?” He gave his name and address on the spot. Similar requests have been made time and time again so that we are getting close to as many studies as we have publishers in the whole country.

The necessity of faithfulness in spite of opposition from one’s marriage mate is well demonstrated by the experience of a sister who has nine children and an opposed husband. The eldest daughter was baptized at the age of ten, but this later proved to be invalid. When the girl wished to get married in the Lutheran Church, the mother refused to give her consent and persecution followed. Her husband at one time even took a knife to her, and the eldest daughter threw hot tea in her mother’s face. “One night,” the overseer writes, “I even had to get the local police to remove the husband from the congregation meeting place as he had come to drag his wife out, which he did, and she received further beatings.” In spite of all this, she remained faithful and continued to be strong in her stand for Jehovah and true worship as well as showing love for her whole family, including her husband and opposed daughter. The daughter married regardless of the mother’s thoughts, and the husband moved the family out of the territory, thinking that by isolating his wife from the brothers he would get his way. To his surprise, in their new place of abode they found themselves alongside a brother’s home. The husband now lets his wife go to the Watchtower study and gets on very well with the brother who lives next door. The overseer called on the married daughter who had so abused her mother, and she related how she had been praying to Jehovah all that week for help to try to get some understanding of the Bible and to find the answers to her many questions. Now a fine study is being conducted with this formerly opposed daughter and her husband. Our sister who displayed such faithfulness as a wife and mother and as a servant of Jehovah rejoices greatly that by her faithful stand she has been able to prove that the Devil is a liar.

The value of incidental witnessing is well demonstrated by an experience one of our sisters had with the local doctor. A number of the sisters have been to this doctor with their ailments, and he has become quite impressed with the work of Jehovah’s witnesses and their conduct. A sister left with this doctor, who is a leading gynecologist in Australia, the special Awake! and Watchtower magazines dealing with the persecution of our brothers in Malawi. He was most concerned and said that he would state his feelings at any opportunity he had to persons who might be able to influence the situation. Only a few days later he received an invitation to represent Australia at the International Convention of Gynecologists. There he arranged to have a private discussion with the representative from Malawi. After asking a few questions about Malawi and Doctor Banda and being told in effect that there was no country as progressive as Malawi, the doctor then dropped a bombshell and asked the Malawi representative, “Why, then, are you persecuting Jehovah’s witnesses?” Deadly silence followed. Then agitatedly he jumped to his feet and shouted: “Who are you? What are you? Are you one of Jehovah’s witnesses?” The doctor calmly replied: “No, no, no, I am not one of Jehovah’s witnesses, but I think it is terrible for a country like yours to treat any people like this.” “Where did you hear all this rot?” asked the representative, upon which the doctor replied: “Why, every person in Australia knows about this, perhaps not so much through the newspapers, but through the papers of the Witnesses”; and so the conversation went on. This well demonstrates the need for all of us to be conscious of our incidental witnessing opportunities, as we do not know how far-reaching such may be.

One sister makes it her business to keep the members of the Australian Parliament informed by means of the Awake! magazine. She does this with discretion though, watching the news outlets to establish what these men may be interested in. To the former prime minister of Australia, who was interested in skin diving, she sent the Awake! having to do with this subject. This was acknowledged. More recently she noticed that a member of Parliament was interested in wildlife, and so sent to this individual issues of the Awake! magazine having to do with wildlife, which articles were also acknowledged. In fact, the member of Parliament sent back the extract from the Parliamentary debates showing where he had quoted from the Awake! magazine. This initiative on the part of our sister displays to us how leaders in national thought can be influenced by discreet and discerning efforts at letter writing and incidental witnessing. It shows that we should look for opportunities to publicize the Kingdom message wherever possible.

Our example in everyday conduct is extremely important and certainly advertises the King and the Kingdom. One small city where our brothers were gathering for a district assembly was packed to the limit as far as available accommodations were concerned. One motel manageress was quite concerned and related to a brother afterward that she had not been looking forward to the four days of the convention at all and had been filled with apprehension as to how she would manage. However, when the brother went to settle his account at the motel the conversation ran something like this: “Do you people always do things this way?” The brother asked her what she meant. Then she said: “Well, you are so well organized and so courteous and respectful and helpful to the staff that I cannot get over it. We notice in your motel rooms how clean and tidy you are compared with other people.” And then she added with tears in her eyes: “I want to thank you very sincerely for having had your convention in our town. You are an example to us, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart.” This demonstrates how mindful we should be of our everyday relationships with people outside Jehovah’s organization. Every action in right conduct and living is a silent witness in favour of the vindication of Jehovah’s name.

With the new Truth book now reaching the hands of the publishers throughout Australia we look forward to a very fine year of zealous participation in the Biblestudy work. As a branch organization we just hope that we will be able to handle all the interest that now seems to be manifesting itself throughout this land.

AUSTRIA Population: 7,290,400

Peak Publishers: 8,667 Ratio: 1 to 841

Jehovah’s servants in our country were very intent this year not to “hold back good from those to whom it is owing.” Those who are at first opposed to the message of God’s kingdom sometimes prove to be persons “to whom it is owing” after all. That might yet turn out to be the case with a man who formerly cruelly mishandled his wife because she read our literature and studied the Bible with us. In his fierce opposition to the truth, he sometimes even left his place of employment evenings when he was on night shift to see whether his wife was having a study. When the circuit servant started working the territory, the publisher accompanying him commented: “Is there any sense in calling on that man? He surely will throw us out.” The circuit servant recalled the article “Why?” in the May 1967 Kingdom Ministry, however, where seven reasons are listed for repeatedly calling on homes of people who show little or no interest. So a call was made, and the husband was home. The brother tried to be as friendly to him as possible and made a few comments about the man’s home and the territory in which it was located. Then he proceeded to give him a thorough witness. The husband allowed his wife to take the magazines and was very friendly. Still, it was feared that the husband might scold his wife after the publishers left. But a few days later the overseer of the congregation found a note on his door. It had been written by the same man, and now he requested that the overseer come to talk to him about the Bible. Since then he has grown much more favorable toward the truth, and the study in his home is proceeding without opposition.

A sister who witnessed to a woman traveling on a bus was also determined to bring good to “those to whom it is owing,” even though she knew little about the interested person other than the name of the village in which she lived. With neither name nor address at her disposal, the sister traveled to that territory again and again trying to locate the woman. The fourth time, when she was working in a three-story house, noontime rolled around, so our sister decided not to call at the last door. Going down the stairs, she mistakenly started on down toward the basement instead of going out the main entranceway. Suddenly she heard a voice behind her saying that that was not the way out. She turned around, and there was the interested lady she had been looking for, standing right in front of her! That very day a study was begun in the book “Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie.” Although the husband is very much opposed, the interested lady has continued to make fine progress in learning about the good things of God’s kingdom. How praiseworthy was the endurance of our sister in searching for this sheeplike one!

BAHAMAS Population: 142,846

Peak Publishers: 351 Ratio: 1 to 407

We have had a joyful year in the service, and Jehovah has blessed our efforts wonderfully. We have recognized that this little group of islands must have the "good news” preached to it first, before Armageddon, and we are trying to do just that.

The world has come to be in such a state of turmoil that many sincere persons enter politics in the hope that they might help better the situation, but they usually end up by seeing that their efforts have been in vain. This appears to have been the case with one honest person. He and his wife studied for about two years. But we will let the sister tell it as she knows it: ‘Tn 1963 my husband called on a family and started a Bible study. It continued for about two years but was finally discontinued because the husband was very politically minded. He continued to call back on the wife and would invite her to the meetings, but soon her interest cooled off too. In 1967 my husband asked me to call on the wife again to see if the study could be renewed. I was reluctant at first, but he reminded me that time and circumstance change people. So I took his suggestion, taking with me one of my Bible students. This helped a lot. The study was reestablished and the wife grew in appreciation rapidly. Then one day I invited her husband to share in the study. This he did, even though he reminded me that he did not agree with our stand on blood transfusions and politics. I decided to study with him the chapter, ‘God’s Neutral Congregation or Neutral Nations, Which?’ out of the Life Everlasting book. After going through the chapter he told us he went home and did away with everything pertaining to politics. This reminded me of the scripture at Acts 19:19, 20. I invited them to the meetings, and they have hardly missed one since. They attended the district assembly, where the husband served as a volunteer worker, and they both look forward to being immersed at our next circuit assembly.”

A young mother had an interesting experience with the doctors over the matter of blood transfusion. It was a real test of her faith, as one can readily see by what she says: “Accidentally we found that our young son had a heart murmur. A heart specialist from Miami said that Gino (our son) would probably have to have an operation. A year later this same specialist came to Nassau, examined Gino, but found no improvement. I told him that if he had to have an operation it would have to be done without a blood transfusion, clarifying for him our belief on the matter. Another year passed, and this time, upon examining Gino, the specialist said he would send for him soon. As I was leaving the office, he said, ‘Supposing something should happen during the operation and it was absolutely necessary to use blood?’ ‘Doctor,’ I said, ‘the Bible says we should not eat blood, and that is the way it has to be. Besides, there are several blood substitutes that can be used.’

“Gino was sent for in June, and when it came time to admit him into the hospital there followed a furor that I shall never forget. The nurse who was filling out the forms asked, ‘Why did you have to be one of Jehovah’s witnesses?’ I answered, ‘Do you know how important it is to be one of Jehovah’s witnesses?’ She answered: ‘It might be important, but you are getting into my hair. I am sorry that I asked your religion.’ The surgeon who was to do the operation began to apply pressure by describing what a serious operation it was and pointing out that Gino could die at any time. I knew this was to scare me, because why would they have waited three years before admitting Gino for the operation? Well, after much tear shedding on the part of the nurse, phone calling to my husband in Nassau on the part of the doctor, and prayers on my part, the doctor agreed to perform the operation. It was a success, for which I was thankful to Jehovah. Of the three heart patients’ operations that day, Gino’s was the most serious, yet he was the first one they could move. The doctors would come as many as seven at a time and would marvel at his quick recovery. They, of course, did not take into account that obedience to Jehovah has his blessing.”

Concerning the good results had with the Evolution book a publisher says: “There we were, a brother and myself, at the end of our service day, but for a half hour. How were we going to spend it? House-to-house calls? Street work? Back-calls? We thought of our supply of Evolution books in the car. On whom would we call? Friends and acquaintances, of course. An old friend at a travel agency, my laundryman (he took four copies), another friend at a photographer’s studio, and my banker. Within the thirty minutes scheduled to end our day of service we placed seven copies in all. We thank Jehovah for this wonderful book and the ease with which it can be placed, thus enabling persons of every sort to come to an accurate knowledge of the truth.”

BARBADOS Population: 250,686

Peak Publishers: 767 Ratio: 1 to 327

In the thriving city of Bridgetown, Barbados, the Watch Tower Society has established a branch office that looks after the work done in Barbados, Bequia, Carriacou, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent. Here are the experiences of Jehovah’s witnesses on these islands. The first concerns Barbados.

The year has been filled with many delights and surprises. Some of the surprises have been sobering, and the delights have strengthened our faith and our devotion to God. Construction on the new branch office and missionary home actually began in November 1967, and we moved in on June 1, 1968. The adjoining Kingdom Hall is nearly completed and we will be holding meetings there in just a few weeks. The brothers have worked hard on the property, volunteering more than 4,600 hours of labor.

A number of experiences show that real heart appreciation is being developed in newly associated ones, so that when they do start in service they share in it with constancy. Typical of this trend is this experience that a publisher writes us about: “After starting the study, the young man made rapid progress. He proved to be a fine student and grasped doctrinal ideas quickly. Yet, developing qualities of the new Christian personality was another story, especially in his attitude toward other people. Several months after beginning to study, he felt he was ready for service and baptism. In knowledge of doctrine he was ready, but many old ways had not yet been replaced by new ways. I had to find a way to handle the situation so as not to discourage his progress and yet not encourage him to take steps for which he was apparently not ready. I feared that a faith-retarding fall might result. What we did to plant and cultivate the needed qualities met with success so that within five months both of us could see the changes being made. It was impressed on him that the truth is a way of life and not just facts stored in the mind that would efface false doctrines. Secondly, he came to appreciate that the standard set by Jehovah, and emphasized by His organization, is for our lasting good, not just a temporary experience. Finally, we discussed the fact that these personality changes should come before baptism, since they would not be any easier afterward. By daily working on the fruits of the spirit most lacking in his life, he made remarkable progress. Within a year from the start of the study he could see for himself that he was now in position to begin service and be baptized.” He is a baptized brother now, conducts two studies and is much like his teacher in building heart appreciation.

BEQUIA Population: 6,552

Peak Publishers: 29 Batio: 1 to 226

This island territory was “plowed” six times in the last year and quite a few seeds have been sown. We have to take the long-range view of matters, for as Ecclesiastes 11:6 puts it: “Sow your seed . . . for you are not knowing where this will have success, either here or there, or whether both of them will alike be good.” One thing we know for certain: the truth is being widely circulated and is being made convenient for people to read and study. The younger generation is thirsty for information, and the magazines are being well received. Particularly is this true of the Awake! magazine. Why, more than 1,000 more magazines were placed this year than last. Films and special talks are also well received. On one occasion the screen was set up on the beach and the film “God Cannot Lie” was shown. Some 310 persons thoroughly enjoyed the presentation.

CARRIACOU Population: 7,056

Peak Publishers: 24 Ratio: 1 to 294

Activity increased in almost all features of the field service during the year and some interested ones are being located. One of the special pioneers tells us of a happy experience he is enjoying. Not long ago he met a seventeen-year-old boy who displayed keen interest in the subject of the pioneer’s sermon. He accepted the offer to subscribe for Awake! and took the booklets offered plus several extra copies of the magazines. A study was started. By the second call he had read all the literature and wanted more, so the Evolution book was placed. The invitation to attend the meetings was readily accepted and he is now a regular attender, enrolled in the Theocratic Ministry School. Since the study began, he separated himself from Babylon the Great and all associations harmful to his spirituality. He has been a publisher for the past four weeks, showing boldness in witnessing about the truth that is setting him free.

GRENADA Population: 89,386

Peak Publishers: 167 Ratio: 1 to 535

The scene is a beautiful, tropical island, affectionately called “the Isle of Spice.” It has white sandy beaches and luscious fruit; the way of life is peaceful and the people are friendly. A disquieting figure next appears —materialism, along with its friends, discontent, and the desire to be “somebody” in the world. It looks like a problem could be developing. Let’s complete the setting. Think of yourself as being between eighteen and twenty years old and living under such conditions. Suddenly, your former contented life is upset because now you have a chance to get ahead in the world and improve your financial security. You now have that once-in-a-lifetime offer to leave the island to advance your education. But wait! You are a dedicated servant of Jehovah! What about His interests? What about the spiritual interests of the people on the island who must continue to put up with certain undesirable conditions, despite the island’s beauty? What about their future? How will they get the knowledge you have, about which they may never hear, because you will be too busy earning a good living or studying to tell them? What would your decision be? Well, it is with pleasure that we tell you of the similar but independent decisions made by three young publishers who found themselves in the real-life scene we described.

One sister occupied a trusted position with a fashion house, which promised advancement. A brother held a trusted position with the firm that handled all the money from the local Nutmeg association, and again there was strong assurance of financial rewards to come. A third, who had been sponsored through grade school, now had the chance to go to Canada to study at one of its well-known universities. Each one discussed his situation with other mature servants and appealed to Jehovah for his direction. Their maturity was made evident in the decisions each made: All three started to pioneer in September and are now working with congregations needing mature help. They were willing to forgo the things of the world and strengthen their love for God, his Son and the new system of things. A letter from one to his sponsor nicely reflects the attitude of all three of these fine publishers! “There is no doubt in my mind that I have chosen the right way. I am absolutely certain that it is the best decision I have made and that blessings from Jehovah will come by being faithful to this decision to serve him full time. True, I know very little, but from what little I do know, I know there is nothing better, nor half as good as what I have found in the Bible, and I want to share it with others.”

ST. LUCIA Population: 100,500

Peak Publishers: 114 Ratio: 1 to 882

When one attends a convention and meets an interested person, how wise it is to turn the name and address over to the local brothers so that calls can be made. Here are the results of just such a simple act. The report told the brother that the interested person worked for the government as a land surveyor. There was sufficient interest to start a study and it continued for a year. During this time the interested man progressed by stages and he also experienced certain unpleasant happenings as he endeavored to put on the new personality and get rid of his worldly ways. At one time he described his feelings as though being in a vacuum, not having a friend in the world, nor one in the truth. His love for the truth overpowered discouraging thoughts of quitting. Others in his office noted the change, one young man being so impressed that he began asking questions. Noting the interest, the first surveyor made a report of the interest he had found, as he thought that a study could be developed. A new study was started, and within a few months the younger man was a regular meeting attender. The younger man’s life was not as tangled as that of the first man, thus he made more rapid progress toward service privileges. At the next circuit assembly he was baptized, the following month he applied for vacation pioneer service, and in August, when he qualified, he was appointed as a regular pioneer. His eyes are now on Gilead and a further expanded ministry. But what about the originally interested person? This summer, by earnest effort and God’s blessing, he was able to put his life in order and was one of the eight publishers baptized at the Kingstown, St. Vincent, district assembly. So, in just a short while we gained two new brothers, and all because a publisher turned in a report on someone who appeared to be interested.

ST. VINCENT Population: 85,680

Peak Publishers: 102 Ratio: 1 to 840

One of the biggest boosts to the work here came at the end of the service year. For over a year we had been planning to have a “Good News for All Nations” District Assembly in Kingstown. It proved to be better than anticipated. Brothers from five other islands attended, 207 in all. It certainly had a big-assembly atmosphere, as brothers from various islands put on the different dramas and demonstrations. The program was superb. All the advertising done was worth while, because a peak of 680 persons were attracted to the Saturday-evening session. Eight new publishers were baptized.

Children are often very moral and can be very sensitive to God’s views on how he should be worshiped. Their inner strength and desire to serve God in childish devotion can amaze adults. Thus it is good, when we study with parents, to make our explanations of the Bible truths clear enough so that even their listening children will understand. A special pioneer, in explaining to one of her students the Bible’s view of image worship, did it so plainly that the lady’s eight-year-old son was moved to apply the counsel the very next day. Each morning at the Catholic school he attends they have morning prayers. He stopped sharing in these for a week before the teacher observed this and reported him to the nuns. He was asked, “Why do you not share in morning prayer?” He firmly replied, "Because I have heard with my own ears, and straight from the Bible, that it is wrong to worship idols.” At this the "mother superior” was brought into the picture. However, all their persuasion did not prove superior to his determination that he was not going to worship idols under any conditions. Finally he was left to his self-chosen course. Today this youngster eagerly attends meetings, which will surely deepen his childlike devotion to Jehovah God.

BELGIUM Population: 9,605,601

Peak Publishers: 10,911 Ratio: 1 to 880

It is with heartfelt thanks and full gratitude to Jehovah that we finish this service year during which the Bethel family had the privilege of moving into the new and beautiful building built on the outskirts of Brussels. Brother Knorr was here for the dedication of the new Bethel home and Kingdom Hall and it was a privilege to have him with us for this memorable event.

From the beginning of the year, the brothers understood the importance of strengthening the internal structure of the organization. The attendance at the Watch tower study reached an average of 102 percent, and the increase in the spirituality of the brothers encouraged them to put in more hours of field service, so the average hours are now 10.6.

This experience shows the need of patience and perseverance in accomplishing our ministry. A brother working from house to house knocked on a door through which penetrated a deafening noise—a record player going full blast. The music was so loud that the brother had quite a job explaining the message to the young girl of fourteen who opened the door. However, he did so and also made arrangements for a back-call the following week. When he made the call, a young man of seventeen opened the door. After learning the purpose of the visit and hearing the sermon, the young man took the month’s offer, and arrangements were made to return to answer his questions and also to see his sister. The following week it was neither of these two but the mother whom he met! No interest was shown by her, but she agreed for the brother to return to see her children. The next week he saw another member of the family, a young lad of seven all alone in the house. The following week, strange though it may seem, he saw the fifth of the family in order of appearance—the father! He manifested no interest, but the brother did not give up. Later on, but with hopes rather diminished, he again returned, and this time his patience and perseverance were rewarded —he saw the young man of seventeen again. A study was started right away, and during the weeks that followed, first his sister, then his mother, followed by the youngster of seven and finally the father, all attended the study. The first visit took place about two years ago. Today the young man, the young girl and the mother are all baptized; the young sister has already engaged in the vacation pioneer work, and the brother is at present proving his integrity in the face of Caesar’s demands. The father also is making constant progress. All this because of practicing patience and perseverance.

Many times the fact that a Witness does not follow the ways of the world brings good results. A brother relates how a fellow employee, just married, invited all his colleagues to a local bar in order to thank them for the wedding present they had given him. The brother declined the invitation, expressing his thanks but explaining that he knew by past experience that such get-togethers usually degenerated into drunken bouts in which Jehovah’s witnesses did not wish to be associated. The brother continues: “The next day, after the party, the young man said: ‘You did right in not coming last night. Some only went home early this morning. It was a sorry sight! However, I would like to invite you to my home.’ I accepted and naturally took the occasion to give a witness. He accepted the book ‘Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie’ and I drew his attention to chapter five, ‘Your Soul Is You.’ The next day this man, with whom I had also placed a Bible, said: ‘We have been told a lot of stupidities in the Catholic church. If all you say is true, and I think it is because the Bible tells the truth, then it is high time that I begin to study it and speak to all my family.’ A few days afterwards his interest was so great that he asked me if he could accompany me in the house-to-house work. He even moved so as to live in the territory of my congregation. Three months later he was baptized, and now he has handed in his notice to the firm in order to take up the pioneer work. In the meantime, he has spoken about the truth to his family, and his mother-in-law, father-in-law and one of his sisters-in-law are so interested in the truth that they already attend all the meetings. One of his sisters-in-law contemplates the pioneer work. And all this happened because of refusing to accompany a crowd to a local bar under conditions that were most unfavorable to the truth.”

BOLIVIA Population: 4,293,496

Peak Publishers: 798 Ratio: 1 to 5,380

Our outstanding event of the year was the completion and dedication of the Society’s new branch office and missionary home in La Paz. People know we are here to stay now, and the building has given the work a sense of permanency. The Kingdom Ministry School stimulated the overseers to do their shepherding work better, and during the year twenty-five new special pioneers were appointed to help in the much needed coverage of territory in this land. Our proportion of publishers to population shows that Bolivia is still among the countries where the need for mature assistance is very great, and we have been encouraged by nearly eighty letters to date from families who may be able to come from other lands to help us out.

An experience from the altiplano shows how, in spite of the overwhelming odds of neighborhood tradition and difficult economic conditions, full trust in Jehovah brings a blessing. A native with a little farm some 12,000 feet high on the altiplano, where life is hard and lonely, learned the truth about God’s purposes in a neighboring country and decided to take the truth back to his community. But before completely dedicating his life to Jehovah and his service he invited all the townspeople to a fiesta. Tradition is very difficult to break among the native country people. The fiesta lasted a whole week and at the end he gave a speech telling his guests that he would no longer be able to associate with them in their drunken revelries because he was becoming one of Jehovah’s witnesses. The first to ridicule was the man’s wife. She scorned him for his decision and said he would starve if he left the planting and harvesting. The newly interested man responded that Jehovah would not allow them to starve. This humble farmer began his ministry and was shortly thereafter baptized in symbol of his dedication to God. He preached in a territory covering hundreds of square miles among the communities on the lonely altiplano. He plowed his soil early that year, planted his seed and went on about his ministry. The communities suffered a very poor harvest that year, whereas this humble servant of Jehovah gathered in 300 bags of potatoes, 250 bags more than he had calculated. People of the community were astonished and were forced to admit that Jehovah, the God of those who are called Jehovah’s witnesses, does not let his servants starve when they earnestly set about to do his will.

Being a publisher in a country where many people have never learned to read or write poses a problem as to teaching the Bible’s message to others, especially if the Bible student himself does not know how to read or write. However, one sister fifty-five years of age who cannot read nor write was determined not to let her difficulty hinder her Bible study activity in any way. She uses mainly the Paradise book in her ministry and starts her studies by explaining the Bible by using the illustrations. Her three sons who do know how to read and write help her prepare well for her studies, and when she goes to conduct her studies, she takes along one of her sons so he can read the questions and the paragraphs. The district servant reports that this unlearned sister is now conducting five progressive Bible studies regularly.

BRAZIL Population: 87,550,000

Peak Publishers: 50,930 Ratio: 1 to 1,719

By the time this Yearbook is published we hope to be in the new branch building in Sao Paulo, where we will be better equipped to care for the fine increases. We greatly appreciate the help given by brothers in other countries toward its construction. With the fine increase in home Bible studies a great number of sheeplike persons are expected to take their stand on the side of the truth in the near future.

Among those coming to the light of truth are some that were steeped in false religion. A Pentecostal preacher accepted literature, so back-calls were made, and he showed interest in learning more. He invited the publisher to give a talk in his church. The brother agreed, after explaining that he would talk on a subject of his choice and that he would use the New World Translation, for the Pentecostal minister had objected to this on previous visits. This was agreed to and the talk was very well received by a packed-out audience, and especially by the minister and his family. Interest increased until about twenty persons were studying with Jehovah’s witnesses. The presbyter of another church heard that this Pentecostal minister was studying and went to stop the study, but after hearing why the preacher was studying he, too, wanted to study. One by one, the two families came into the truth, and now all are active in preaching the “good news.”

A missionary started a study with a woman who showed a real desire to learn the truth. From the first a few minutes were used after the study to explain how Jehovah’s organization functions, and after a few studies it was explained that not everyone would listen to the truth and that we must expect opposition at times. “For example,” explained the missionary, “you are the only one on this street studying the Bible.” As the missionary was leaving, the woman asked: “What do you say to offer a subscription?” The missionary briefly explained how the offer was made in the house-to-house work. Three days later they met again and the woman said: “After you left it worried me a lot that nobody else on this street was studying, so I went and visited all the ones I know and obtained thirteen subscriptions and placed thirty-nine booklets.” The missionary writes: “It brought tears of joy to my eyes as I listened to her, for how true are the words of Isaiah 54:13, that Jehovah is truly teaching his sheeplike ones.” They then went out in the service and started a Bible study with one of the new subscribers. But then a problem arose, for the woman’s husband forbade her to go out in the service again. The publisher then considered with her the Scriptural position of a wife, and said that perhaps the husband did not really understand what his wife was doing and why, and that he should be given a chance to know. That night the woman said to her husband, “Armando, I wish you would let me explain just how much this means to me and to you.” He agreed, saying, “All right, why don’t you then?” She took the Life Everlasting book and considered the obligations of husbands and wives. He was immediately interested and now studies and attends meetings also.

In a village in the state of Parana a Catholic priest incited a group of fanatical persons to attack the Kingdom Hall during a meeting of the brothers. Some of the brothers were beaten severely, and the Kingdom Hall was left a shambles. This received considerable publicity in that section and a number of persons expressed their disgust with the actions of the priest and the mob, one prominent person offering to pay the cost of a new sign for the Kingdom Hall. After meetings were resumed, the priest spoke to one of the brothers who had received some blows during the mob action and asked if the meetings were going to continue. The brother told him they would and invited him to hear the lecture the following Sunday. The priest tried to dissuade him from being one of Jehovah’s witnesses, even offering him money, but the brother told this false shepherd why he was one of Jehovah’s witnesses and why he would continue as one. There have been no further attacks.

Vacation pioneer activity increased well during the year. In April 1,594 shared in this service, and then in July a new peak of 2,274 served as vacation pioneers. A congregation of 28 publishers in the state of Bahia had 17 vacation pioneers in April and 18 in July, and most of these applied again for September during the visit of the circuit servant. In the eight units in Recife there were more than 160 vacation pioneers in July. In one unit two sisters, well advanced in years, shared in this privilege and accompanied the other pioneers to work a territory three hours’ distance by bus. They returned home after the long day’s work tired, but full of enthusiasm to return another day. The congregation servant says they held up better than some of the younger ones in the group. A congregation in Rio de Janeiro reported that, with the help of 20 vacation pioneers, they were able to start 46 new studies during the month of July and place 573 bound books. A couple wrote from Curitiba that they were unable to get their vacation when they wanted to serve as vacation pioneers, so they picked a month that had several holidays and, by working hard on these days and weekends, were able to meet the requirements of vacation pioneer service without a vacation.

Brazil has a lot of territory to work and considerable attention was given to working unassigned territory during the year. From June to the end of August 263 cities were assigned to congregations and pioneers. Various congregations rented buses to take the groups to their territory to work. A congregation in Salvador found so much interest in the city they worked that they rented a house for meetings and are returning regularly to congregate the many interested persons for studies. A congregation in Rio de Janeiro had a group of forty publishers that rented a bus to work an unassigned city, where they found many people that wanted to study the Bible. They were unable to cover the entire city on the first visit so they rented a house so two pioneers from the congregation could stay and care for the studies that were started. A number of publishers were also able to arrange their affairs so they could move to some of these cities to care for the interest. One family of five traveled 360 miles to work a city during their vacation and found so many people wanting to learn the truth that they decided to move there to continue helping the many interested persons they found. Another family moved to an unassigned city where three members of the family were able to take up regular pioneer service.

BRITISH HONDURAS Population: 116,669

Peak Publishers: 353 Ratio: 1 to 331

The population here in British Honduras is mainly concentrated in the cities and is largely English speaking. However, there are many small rural villages speaking principally Spanish, with some Mayan. While city territory is covered frequently, the rural villages are more difficult to reach and so they do not hear the Kingdom message very often. There is need for brothers who can speak Spanish to cover these areas.

The Society has emphasized that all in a family be invited to study. A special pioneer brother reports: “I followed the Society’s suggestion that husbands of householders being studied with should be invited and encouraged to share in the study, but with little success. It was later discovered that one man was negative about getting into the study since his wife was so far ahead. A separate study was arranged for him and this proved very convenient, as his wife could care for the grocery shop while he studied and vice versa. They would never miss their study or the congregation meetings. It was necessary for him to make some drastic changes in his way of life. Besides vocabulary changes and conduct adjustments, he removed idols from his house and the ‘lucky’ horseshoe from over the entrance of his business, as he no longer depends on the ‘god of luck’ for success. He stopped selling lottery tickets and stopped ‘boledo’ (gambling). They disposed of an expensive gold chain used to carry an image, getting enough money for it to pay their way with the four children to a circuit assembly. Baptized over a year ago, Mr. V--- has readied himself for use as a

servant in the congregation. His firmness for the truth, closing his business for service, meetings and assemblies, and his regularity in conducting his family home Bible study and preparing his family for the congregational meetings stand out as a fine example to all.”

Our circuit servant writes of the value of his Wednesday-evening visits: “In this country community a number of visits had been made upon two elderly publishers who had stopped going to the Kingdom Hall and had become irregular in the ministry. It seemed that none of our efforts to build up their appreciation for the service and meetings got any results. However, on the last visit to the congregation we called on them again. This time, instead of simply showing them why they should attend all the meetings, they were shown how they might improve their meeting attendance step by step. They could set a reasonable goal, whatever they could do, but then definitely plan for that and be regular at it. They agreed to consider the matter prayerfully and see what they could do. You can imagine what a pleasant surprise it was on the next visit to the congregation to see them both regular in the service and making back-calls and the brother conducting two Bible studies. I asked the overseer the reason for the fine improvement and was informed that they had been attending the meetings regularly. Recently the brother had joined the Theocratic Ministry School. Each time they attend meetings they have to travel eight miles, sometimes at night through snake-infested areas. They have not as yet been able to arrange for transportation by car or truck, so how do they get to the meetings? They walk! The brother is sixty-nine years old. He is happy and strengthened because, even at his age and under those circumstances, he can meet with God’s congregated people.”

BRITISH ISLES Population: 53,577,400

Peak Publishers: 54,620 Ratio: 1 to 981

The brothers have really thrown themselves whole-souled into the service and both hours and magazines have topped ten million, the first time ever.

Everyone was delighted and amazed by the success of the Evolution book campaign in May, when we distributed five times the normal number of books for one month. One brother, a baker, makes bread deliveries to homes in a big rural area. During May he made a practice of slipping an Evolution book down the side of his bread basket as he went to the homes. Many asked him what it was and in this way he was able to place 55 during the month. It certainly proves what many brothers have said—“the book just places itself.” But an even greater thrill was in store when the Truth book was released at the district assemblies. The brothers have really taken this fine little book to their hearts and have found it even easier to place than Evolution, if that is possible. On returning from the assembly a sister went around her magazine route, placed the 15 books she had, and took orders for 40 more. No wonder we have placed more books this year than for any year since 1947!

It has been our great joy to see the pioneer ranks steadily increasing, and at the end of the year 6 percent of the publishers were in pioneer service. It is especially noticeable that many young people are making pioneer service their goal as soon as they leave school. They realise it is the only service with a real future. In turn, this proves to be a protection from the terribly corrupting influences that are saturating the old system of things.

The alertness of the brothers to use the Evolution and Truth books has meant that the Bible-study work has moved forward at a brisk pace, reaching a peak of over 50,000 studies. A brother and his wife, congregation publishers, have been conducting up to seventeen studies. Of those whose studies have been running for six months, eleven attend some meetings, six are regular at all meetings, and five share in house-to-house work. Indeed, four of them are already conducting studies of their own. What is the secret of this success? There is nothing magical about it, but simply a sense of whole-souled giving to their students in everything they do. Said the sister: “I show that I mean what I say; I try to be enthusiastic in what I do, speaking about our happiness in the meetings, the service, and in the success Jehovah is giving us.”

Can we encourage our young publishers to reach out into the Bible-study work by relating this experience? A young sister of thirteen years was invited in by a lady to talk to her adult daughter who was very ill with polio and had lost all interest in living. The sister gave a good witness to the bed-ridden woman, who at first said she already knew the Bible very well and always read it. However, as the young girl continued to open up the Scriptures the invalid realised there was much she did not know. The young Witness arranged for a Bible study and promised to call back. When she had left, the sick woman wept—she was so impressed by the hope the girl had given her, though she was afraid the Witness might not keep her promise to return. But the young girl was faithful. A study was held regularly and as the polio victim grew in faith she had a desire to tell others of her hope. The Witness suggested she start with her mother, who, unfortunately, could not read at all. The invalid began a study, reading to her mother, and now both have advanced to the point of dedication. Because of the truth of God’s Word, this formerly hopeless woman has a new zest for life, not only getting to meetings with her mother, but even sharing in house-to-house work when she can. Yes, all of you young people can be used by Jehovah in a wonderful way in his service.

An experience showing the power of the truth to conquer demon influence came from Sister C---, a

regular pioneer. She was asked to make a back-call on a woman who appeared to be under some spirit influence. When the call was made, the woman was found to be in a very distressed state both physically and emotionally. The woman’s husband, a spiritualist, had left her, but not before casting a spell over her, saying she would die of a specific illness. Her doctor, though agreeing she was unfit for work, could find no reason for her illness. However, a regular home Bible study was started, and after about four months this interested person has astonished her doctor by making a complete recovery. She now holds down a regular job and is consistently at congregation meetings. Yes, the truth does set us free!

MALTA Population: 318,064

Peak Publishers: 38 Ratio: 1 to 8,370

The British branch office looks after the brothers in Malta. They too are convinced that “the good news has to be preached first” in that island, and they have exerted themselves vigorously during the year. Jehovah has richly blessed them with fine increase in spite of the religious difficulties they encounter. There is no doubt that many people are showing keen interest in the Kingdom message, as shown by the fine attendance of 104 at Memorial. Although most of the witnessing is done incidentally and great caution has to be exercised in holding meetings, the brothers are not short of any good spiritual things. During the year they have rejoiced in the visits of the zone servant and the circuit servant, and have seen the Society’s latest films. A special cause for rejoicing this summer was that a brother was able to take the district assembly material to Malta, including the drama tapes, and the whole program was presented at suitable locations.

BURMA Population: 26,000,000

Peak Publishers: 372 Ratio: 1 to 69,892

You may remember the experience about a soldier as related in the 1967 Yearbook. His love and zeal for the ministry have proved to be very productive. He conducted many studies so effectively that in five months five families stopped attending their churches. At this the clergyman threatened that either they stop studying the Bible with the brother or else have their baptism and marriage certificates taken away. They were given seven days to decide the matter, but it did not take them that long. After three days the families took the certificates over to the pastor. Surprised to see them, he said: “I did not tell you to bring them, did I?” To which they replied: “No, but we wish to save you the trouble of coming over to our homes to collect the certificates.” One brother handed him a list he had made of the differences in teachings between the Baptist Church and the Bible. A sister told him firmly that he should attend the meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses if he wishes to learn more of the Bible. Now they all are baptised Witnesses.

A group of nominal Christians, on hearing news of the Witnesses, invited them to their remote village. After a tedious journey, walking up and down hills for all of thirteen hours, the pioneer who was sent found an eager group of sheeplike people waiting for him. He spent a week with them answering all their questions from the Bible to their satisfaction. They arranged for the Baptist pastor in that village to have a discussion with the pioneer, and they quickly saw the differences between Christianity and Christendom. They found themselves to be in bondage to Christendom, and took necessary steps to let the truth set them free. They left the Baptist church at once. Hearing that there was going to be a district assembly in their region, these newly interested ones walked four days over lofty mountains with the. brother to attend the assembly. There they were greatly impressed by the love and cooperation of the brothers. They returned the same way, tired out but refreshed and happy, with the special pioneer assigned to help them. A few months later a circuit assembly was held twenty-six miles away from this village and three among them symbolized their dedication to do Jehovah’s will. Because of their zealous work many people near this village are now interested in the truth. Now there are calls for help coming from villages near this group. How can we answer them? Who will go for us? Who will say, like Isaiah, “Here I am! Send me”?

For the first time in the history of the Witnesses in Burma we had two district assemblies. The second one was held in Tahan for the benefit of brothers in remote places. Many things had to be considered before the assembly. One was the assembly site. There was just enough room to erect an auditorium in the Kingdom Hall yard. The neighbours’ yard would do for cafeteria and refreshment departments, so the brothers

offered to clear their yard free in return for the use of it. For the hall, they erected a bamboo dome with no supporting posts in the center. But what about timber for the stage, as permits to buy timber were given for building houses only? An interested person came to the rescue. He stopped his building construction so the brothers could use his timber. The brothers worked very hard to get everything ready. Then on the eve of the assembly the brothers were informed that the electricity would be cut off for four days as the line had to be repaired. They easily overcame this hindrance by arranging to bring their own lanterns to light up the assembly hall. In the main auditorium the program was in the Lushai language, and for the Tiddim- and Haka Chin-speaking brothers separate sessions were held in the mornings in their own dialects. They did not miss anything; even the dramas were related to them in talk form. The assembly was certainly a successful one and brought much praise to Jehovah.

CAMEROUN Peak Publishers: 10,091

Population: 5,150,000

Ratio: 1 to 510

We have every reason to rejoice in the blessings we have received from Jehovah God during this past service year. At no other time have we witnessed such a large ingathering of interested persons in Cameroun, Fernando Po, Rio Muni, Gabon and Tchad. However, more workers are needed, particularly in Rio Muni and Tchad. Here are some experiences from the brothers in Cameroun.

The apostle Paul said: “We can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth.” (2 Cor. 13:8) The more wicked persons fight against it, the greater the resulting witness. Here is what happened in a dramatic turn of events in one area: Local officials started a campaign of intimidation against the Witnesses, reporting to the government that the local population wanted all Witnesses driven from the area. They arrested eleven brothers and sisters and held them for four days before transferring them to prison. Each Witness received twenty-five strokes, and efforts were made to force them to sign a statement renouncing their religion. Two young publishers gave in under pressure and signed; the remainder stood firm. The local congregation continued to preach the “good news.” Four weeks later a regular pioneer brother was found murdered, his body dumped in town. The local authorities reported to the government that rebels in the area had killed him. Soon an investigation of the murder

started. Inquiries were also made by the branch office. A special branch of the police force began to find discrepancies in the reports made by the local authorities. They had apparently changed the date of the arrest of the eleven brothers and sisters to make it appear that they were arrested after the murder and because of it. The police discovered this and also written evidence to show that the authorities tried to use force against the brothers to make them abandon their religion. Meanwhile, further investigating produced witnesses of the murder. Much to the surprise of everyone, the local depute (a member of the legislative assembly) was arrested and taken to prison. Other important officials were arrested. Some began to talk, and the depute confessed the murder at his trial. He asked the judge to have pity on him. The judge replied: “What pity did you have for Mister P---?” For his

crime, he was sentenced to death. However, after his sentence and before his scheduled execution, he committed suicide in his prison cell. Others involved received long prison sentences. All the brothers were released and encouraged to keep on preaching. The local population was not against the brothers but had been incited by a few prominent men who opposed Jehovah’s witnesses. The government acted courageously and impartially to render justice in the case. A great witness is now being given in the area and the brothers are much respected for their firm stand for true worship. The whole congregation rejoices that out of persecution came forth an increase in publishers and a greater witness in the territory.

Prayer before or during field service is appropriate as shown in this experience: A pioneer was determined to work every house in his territory and to witness to everyone. However, there was no response in this predominantly Catholic territory. He became discouraged and almost stopped his service one day. Before making another call he silently prayed to Jehovah to direct him to the “sheep.” After three more calls he met a man who invited him to be seated. The pioneer presented his sermon. The man said he had one of our booklets and readily brought it out. A study was started immediately. At the end of the study his younger brother, an ardent Catholic, came into the house. His objections were considered and he studied also. Both men had questions about marriage and baptism but were satisfied with the Scriptural explanations. They began to attend meetings regularly and asked if they could also preach with the Witnesses. The pioneer replied that certain conditions would have to be met. He explained that legal marriage is a requirement among Jehovah’s witnesses. So the man made arrangements for a legal marriage, and the “wife” also began showing interest in the truth. All three began publishing. The man’s younger sister also accepted the truth and later married a Witness. When the local congregation was divided into two congregations, this man, now a brother, offered his home for use as a Kingdom Hall. Now there is a center of pure worship in this strongly Catholic territory, and the three publishers have become pioneers.

We received this letter from a happy publisher: “In 1964, I became critically ill with anemia and was transported to the hospital. The doctor said that only a blood transfusion could save me. I remembered Jesus’ words at Matthew 10:39: ‘He that finds his soul will lose it, and he that loses his soul for my sake will find it.’ When I declined this treatment, the doctor wanted to know why. I explained God’s law on the matter, using such texts as Genesis 9:4 and Acts 15:29. He read them carefully and said: ‘What you say is true, but I am trying to save your life. However, if you have full confidence in your God, it is all right.’ He began giving other treatment and marked on my card: ‘He has refused blood transfusions.’ The same day I arrived in the hospital, a man in my room died. He had had a blood transfusion a month before. A week later another man in the room was given a blood transfusion for the same sickness I had. After a few days he became very lively, and this prompted the nurses and others to begin mocking me. My wife and members of my fleshly family were convinced I was going to die. However, shortly after this the man who had accepted the transfusion suddenly died, whereas I became well. This matter actually caused my wife to accept the truth. She is now a dedicated, baptized publisher. Jehovah did not abandon me.”

FERNANDO PO

Peak Publishers: 279

Population: 61,197

Ratio: 1 to 219

A big event for citizens of Spanish Guinea in 1968 will be their obtaining independence in early October. Efforts are being made to get the work legally established in the territory. At the same time, arrangements have been made to send special pioneers to Fernando Po.

An army officer who recently returned from Spain was given a thorough witness about God’s kingdom by his younger brother. At first he was troubled by the “good news,” but then decided to ask more questions. He got good Scriptural answers. Finally he said: “From now on, I will become a soldier of our Lord.” On becoming free from his military obligations, he started preaching to others. After a few months of thorough preparation, studying “Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie” and “Your Word Is a Lamp to My Foot,” he was baptized. He has now taken up the pioneer service.

GABON Population: 600,000

Peak Publishers: 172 Ratio: 1 to 3,488

The brothers in Gabon have been steadfastly preaching the “good news” in their assigned territory. The increase has been wonderful and many persons are responding to the zealous activity of the pioneers and publishers.

What can a man do if he loves the truth and yet is legally married to four wives? Some religions in this area say that that would not prevent him from becoming an active church member. However, Jehovah’s witnesses stick to Jesus’ requirement for a Christian, that ‘two will be one flesh,’ and not three or four. One man, after knowing the truth for many years, took steps this year to straighten out his marriage situation. He sent away three of his wives, which caused quite a stir as he was legally married to all four of them. When brought before the Sous-Prefet, he openly stated that he was doing all this to become one of Jehovah’s witnesses and that he was freeing the women and would not request that the bride price be returned to him. This was all written in the divorce papers, giving quite a witness in that locality. It is a pleasure to note that this man symbolized his dedication to Jehovah at a recent circuit assembly.

The following experience shows that it is important for Jehovah’s witnesses always to manifest good conduct. Two men were in an office asking for work. The personnel manager asked them, “What religion are you?” Both said openly, “We are Catholics.” The man then stated: “We do have vacancies, but only for Jehovah’s witnesses.” He further stated that he had had Jehovah’s witnesses working for him before and that they were always honest and trustworthy, and that is why these two vacancies are reserved for the Witnesses.

RIO MUNI Population: 183,377

Peak Publishers: 30 Ratio: 1 to 6,113

Though the brothers in Rio Muni are few in number, they have made a very good impression on the local population. Their manifestation of kindness, a fruit of the spirit, has attracted the attention of several persons. A man in the town of Bolondo was known to oppose the work of Jehovah’s witnesses. During the circuit servant’s visit this man, carrying a small child and a pail of water, happened to be walking down the same street as the circuit servant. The circuit servant, noting how he was struggling with his load, politely asked the man if he could help him. The man responded, “Yes, Sefior.” Along the way, a witness was given to this man. Now his attitude toward Jehovah’s witnesses has changed remarkably. After the circuit servant left, he called a local brother and said: “Even our so-called priests cannot act with such kindness.” Contrasting their priest’s attitude with that of the Witness, he stated, “As we were going to mass last week, we tried to get a ride with the priest in his truck. Instead, he drove us away, although he was the only one in the truck and all of us were going to the same church. This has helped me to understand that Jehovah’s witnesses are really different. From today on, I’m going to study the Bible and my house is open to you. I will never return to the Catholic church.” After the Bible study was started, he took the initiative to attend meetings during the circuit servant’s visit.

In another town an old man was at the post office trying to get a letter registered. As he was having difficulty filling in forms, he asked different ones to help him. They all refused, saying that they were busy. Then a brother approached the man and said, "May I help you?” The old man was very happy to get the assistance. When the brother finished, the counter clerk asked the brother whether he was one of Jehovah’s witnesses. The brother replied, “Are Jehovah’s witnesses the only people who do this?” The man answered: “Yes. In fact, all of us here refused to help the man, but you are the only person who agreed to help him. Only Jehovah’s witnesses have such an attitude in our day.” The brother replied: “As you have said, I am one of Jehovah’s witnesses.” The old man finished his business in the post office, but when he went home he began to speak about the good conduct of Jehovah’s witnesses, and this has done much to break down prejudice in this once-difficult territory.

TCHAD Population: 2,700,000

Peak Publishers: 37 Ratio: 1 to 72,973

There are only two towns in the whole of Tchad where the Kingdom witnessing is being carried on in an organized manner.

Few Moslems have manifested much interest in the truth, but an alert special pioneer did not pass up an opportunity to give a good witness to an agricultural official. He writes: “The man objected to my sermon, saying that, since he was a Moslem, his conception of religion would not agree with mine. I suggested a return visit so that comparisons could be made between the Koran and the Bible. He agreed to this, and at the next visit I placed the ‘Impossible to Lie’ book with him and started a study. In chapter two he saw the difference between the Bible and the Koran.” After studying for three months, he said: “I have ‘gods’ in my pocket and around my hips to protect me from harm. The Bible says this is not good. What should I do?” I replied: “What do you think you should do?” He took me to his room and showed me a whole jar of fetish items. He next emptied his pockets and took all his “gods” and buried them in a hole outside, at the same time quoting Psalm 25:20, 21, about putting his trust in Jehovah. He began attending meetings along with his wife. Now he is participating in field service and is looking forward to being baptized at the coming district assembly.

CANADA Population: 20,195,000

Peak Publishers: 42,864 Ratio: 1 to 471

Jehovah’s witnesses in Canada had a very happy and active year preaching the good news of the Kingdom.

One of our special pioneers reports that the new book, The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life, released at our district assemblies this year, was used to excellent advantage with a family that had studied on and off for nearly thirty years! Their meeting attendance was very spasmodic and usually they would come just to special events like the Memorial or the circuit servant’s talk. A special pioneer called on them, introduced the Truth book and suggested studying just a few appropriate chapters. He told the family that, if they did not respond after that, there would be no further point in calling on them. The head of the house banged his fist on the table and stated: “That’s the way it should be. Either in the truth or out!” Since then the family has been quite regular in meeting attendance and is making good progress. When the special pioneer asked the woman of the house if she thought he had been too direct about their spiritual condition, she replied, “It was shocking to hear you tell us all this, but it is a good thing you did or we would be left out.” The Truth book with Jehovah’s blessing behind it, accomplished

more in one night than had been accomplished with these people in many years.

The preaching work in the province of Quebec is moving ahead rapidly. Many pioneers and family groups have moved to that part of Canada to serve where the need is greater and have done admirably in learning the French language, which is commonly used there by the majority of the people. One experience from Quebec shows the good results of taking an uncompromising stand in matters of worship. From the time an interested person started to study, her husband showed an extremely opposed and unreasonable attitude, forbidding Jehovah’s witnesses to call at his home. Even though she displayed proper Christian conduct as a wife, her husband twice threatened to kill her with a set of carving knives, once actually pushing her against the wall with a knife at her throat. On one occasion she suffered a mild heart attack because of his wild rage and threats. Never for a moment did she consider giving up her new-found faith, even though her husband’s opposition worsened to the point where he put her out of their home. Shortly after this she attended her first assembly, our trilingual district assembly in Ottawa, where she symbolized her dedication by water baptism. Our new sister stated that her attendance at the assembly in Ottawa was the happiest time of her entire life, and she cannot get over the great privilege it is to be associated with so many fellow Christians. What is her domestic situation now? Her husband pleaded with her to return home, agreed that she can practice her religion freely, now drives her to the meetings and has even attended and commented at the Watchtower study, using the name Jehovah in his answer. Her faith and endurance in the midst of sustained opposition from an unbelieving family member has been richly rewarded. Indeed, Jehovah blesses those who stand firm for true worship.

The value of incidental witnessing is illustrated by this experience: A mature brother began work at a new position in a business office. About that same time another young man joined the firm, and it seemed only natural that the two of them would become acquainted. Our Christian brother would customarily go to his car in the parking lot each noon hour to eat his lunch and do some studying and reading. On the third day of his employment this young man asked our brother where he went for lunch. To pick up the brother’s account, he tells us: “I told him and invited him to join me, which he did. By the end of the first week we were studying the ‘Impossible to Lie’ book every day in the car.

The following week I invited him to the Kingdom Hall. The young man replied that he would like to come, but he would be playing professional soccer that weekend. I suggested that he try anyhow and said that my invitation was still open. How surprised I was to see him there with his arm in a cast that Sunday! It seemed he had broken it at the soccer game the day before and thus was able to come to the meeting. He has attended congregation meetings regularly ever .since, soon joined the Theocratic Ministry School and shared in the field service, and has helped his wife to see the truth.” Both of them are now dedicated and baptized ministers, and all this happened in only some ten months. This brother is happy that he took advantage of the opportunity for incidental witnessing.

The publication Did Man Get Here by Evolution or by Creation? received a wide distribution in Canada and many outstanding experiences were enjoyed. As an example of the wide acceptance of this book, one day a Roman Catholic priest and two young men briskly walked into the main lobby at Bethel here in Toronto. Ignoring the receptionist, one of them quickly stepped over to the display of the Society’s literature and exclaimed excitedly: ‘‘There it is! That’s the book! The blue one!” Looking at it eagerly, the priest agreed, saying, “Yes, this is the one!” They asked to buy the book. It so happened that at that time we were completely out of stock of the publication but the priest insisted on purchasing the display copy. He was amazed that the book was available for just 25 cents, and the receptionist had a fine opportunity to witness to him. The priest explained that a visiting bishop from South Africa had strongly recommended that they get a copy of this publication, and that was their purpose in coming to Bethel.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Peak Publishers: 1,002 Population: 2,030,000

Ratio: 1 to 2,026

There is much interest in the new order of things on the part of the inhabitants of this land. The harvest is so great, the capable laborers so few! The recent census taken by the government shows that the population is much higher than was thought.

An illiterate woman some sixty years of age left her native village to visit in the city; there she met Jehovah’s witnesses for the first time. In a short period of time she came to an understanding of the Bible, mainly through a regular Bible study that was conducted by a Witness who patiently explained all the pictures in the Paradise book. She then returned to her village and explained to her brother what she had learned. Then her brother and his wife went to the city to learn more. After two months they returned to the village, fulfilled certain legal requirements and then were married as the law requires. They symbolized their dedication to Jehovah while at a large assembly in the city, then returned to the village to share with their neighbors the things they had learned about God’s purposes. Now there are three others that are doing the same work there, and some sixty families are studying the Bible in the village. Where is the elderly sister now? She has moved to another village where the need for Kingdom preachers is greater.

A man showed much interest in the Bible when he was contacted by Jehovah’s witnesses. But he thought the man most qualified to teach him the Bible would be his brother-in-law who was a pastor in the Protestant church, so he paid him a visit. On Sunday they all went to church and the pastor read a certain Bible verse. The man asked what it meant, and the pastor said they would discuss it after the service. After their meeting, the man approached his brother-in-law about the question, but the pastor said it would be better to wait till they were at home where they could talk at ease. By that time it was suppertime, so maybe they could discuss it around the fire after the meal was over. But then it was too late, and maybe they would discuss it tomorrow. Next day the man again approached his brother-in-law. “So you want to know the secret of this verse?” asked the pastor. Indeed he did. “Well,” said the pastor, “I cannot tell you, because you are like a woman. If I told you, you would run about telling everyone about the secrets of God.” Without anymore ado, the man left and found the witnesses of Jehovah. When he asked the explanation of the Bible verse, it was immediately given. That afternoon the man attended a Bible discourse at the Kingdom Hall and was impressed by the way the Bible was ably handled and explained. He is now telling others about the “secrets of God.”

CEYLON Population: 12,000,000

Peak Publishers: 290 Ratio: 1 to 41,379

Freedom to preach and teach without hindrance has been our favored lot. With serene conditions it is easy for some to lose sight of the urgency of the great work we have yet to do in a very short period of time.

There is nothing like the Awake! magazine to get the message to people of other faiths. Read how an appreciative person expressed this on a postcard sent to a publisher: “I was really interested in Awake! I read it with absorbing interest. Although a Buddhist, I find that excerpts from the Bible are incorporated into the articles to suit the theme of the article. I want to renew my subscription, as Awake! is really a worthy publication.”

Just a sign can do much, as this congregation reports: “We have a sign positioned by the public highway pointing to the location of our Kingdom Hall. This sign is now a landmark, as all in the locality know of it and they know that meetings are held regularly in the Kingdom Hall by Jehovah’s witnesses. People mention it when we call on them, and we receive letters even from other places from people who have read the magazines and want more information or want to subscribe. Some write to say that they did not know how to contact us so just addressed their letters to ‘Kingdom Hall, Mount Lavinia.’ Recently a man who had been to many ‘Christian’ denominations trying to get an understanding of the Bible saw our sign and decided to write to us also. He lives ten miles away. A call was made, a study started, and within three months he started attending our meetings quite regularly. He has now come to recognize us as true Christians. Through him another person who had studied for a long time but had lost contact because of the death of the publisher who was teaching him was helped to start again and is progressing well. He attended our ‘Good News for All Nations’ District Assembly for three days and expressed great appreciation for the program and the fine Christian, brotherly feeling prevailing at the assembly hall.” Advantages of a prominent sign identifying the Kingdom Hall are many.

Failure of the churches to teach the Bible is evident everywhere. This instance was reported: “My wife called on an Anglican lady who had never heard about the march of the world powers as outlined in the Bible book of Daniel. Her deep interest in Bible prophecy was aroused, and I accompanied my wife on the return visit. She told us that she and her husband had been away in Nigeria teaching for some time and that she had now come back to see to the education of her own children. She said that she always felt that the Hindus knew what Hinduism stood for, that the Buddhists knew the teachings of Buddha, but that ‘Christians’ knew only a few Bible stories they learned at Sunday school. She thought there must be a lot more to the Bible than that, but the churches and their ministers had not taught her. She quickly recognized that Jehovah’s witnesses knew the Bible, and now, with her daughter, she enjoys each Bible lesson so much that we are not able to leave short of two hours. Instructing them in the truths of God’s Word is a delight to them and to us. They wait for the next study.”

The sudden death of our youngest missionary, Brother Wooding, in January was deeply felt by all here. His zealous work and example during his eight years in Ceylon were appreciated by many. A fine witness resulted from his funeral, which so many attended. One elderly gentleman whom he visited suddenly recalled that his father-in-law, who was a Witness, had, before his death in 1938, left a grant of a grave for a foreign Witness. Checking with the cemetery keeper, we found this to be so and arrangements were made to use this grave. Right beside it are the graves of two other Witnesses who served faithfully and died about a month apart in 1938 entertaining the same hope as did Brother Wooding, that of the “upward call of God.” They were buried alongside each other here, but can now be actually alongside each other in heaven.

CHILE Population: 9,300,000

Peak Publishers: 5,805 Ratio: 1 to 1,603

For the first time, in the month of April we reported over 5,000 publishers in the country, and just three months later, in July, we reached the fine peak of 5,805 publishers. All these have been diligently saying, in the words of the psalmist, “O come in, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before Jehovah.” (Ps. 95:6) And hundreds of persons of honest heart have “come in” to worship with us before Jehovah. We were thrilled to have 15,405 persons meet together for the Memorial celebration. Here, then, is a real challenge, to care for all these interested persons. If we were trusting only in ourselves to do it, we would be discouraged and even frightened at the task. But with Jehovah’s spirit, his Word and working with his organization, we are happy to accept the challenge.

Teachers also can do their part in aiding others to join in worshiping the Most High. In Santiago one of Jehovah’s witnesses who teaches a class of twenty-five students took advantage of the recent governmental provision to teach the religion class herself, although previously this was not allowed. She uses the Paradise book with good success and the children listen with pleasure in the class. In the quarterly examinations they have excellent marks as proof that they are assimilating what they learn. The teacher had the opportunity to talk to the mother of one of the students and a study was started. This righteously disposed mother is now attending congregation meetings.

Jehovah’s witnesses take advantage of every opportunity to invite others to "come in” to enjoy with them the security of Jehovah’s people. One sister applied for vacation pioneering, but just prior to beginning it she became seriously ill and it seemed that she would be unable to fulfill her desire. However, she decided she would try by taking advantage of the provision of writing letters. She found in a magazine the names of persons who wanted to correspond with others to exchange ideas, so she began her pioneering this way. As a basis for her letter she discussed present world conditions, including a copy of the Awake! issue on “Why Does God Permit Wickedness?” Some time passed with no answers and she began to feel discouraged. But after three months a letter came. “I appreciate very much the information in your letters,” it read. “None have caught my attention as much as yours. So I beg you not to abandon me; I want to know more about Jehovah’s witnesses.” A study was started by correspondence and, later on, as her interest grew, the local congregation was advised to visit the interested person. In her last letter she said how happy she was now that she and her daughter attend the congregation meetings.

We never know just what will change the attitude of others toward our message. A special pioneer wrote the following: “On returning from Kingdom service one day my companion and I asked directions from a young girl who, after giving the directions, said: ‘Senoritas, I want you to pardon me for what I said to you the other day. But, is it true what your magazine says that there is only a very short time left for this world?’ A brief witness was given as we waited for the bus, she was given a tract on Life in God’s New Order, and arrangements were made for a back-call. After separating from her, my companion said: ‘That is unbelievable. Two days ago I called on her home with another sister and she received us very badly, but her mother listened well and took a magazine. This made the young girl very angry, and she said some very unkind things to her mother and to us. She even followed us to the neighbor’s home shouting abusive words.’ However, she apparently read something in the magazine afterward that completely changed her attitude. How grateful I am for the privilege of serving with you in this wonderful work and of aiding others to gain life and security!”

COLOMBIA Peak Publishers: 4,861

Population: 17,484,508

Ratio: 1 to 3,597

Colombia has been viewed as one of the most Catholic countries of South America. In fact, Pope Paul VI chose this South American country over all the others to visit. It was the first time that a pope had set foot on South American soil. Despite the dominant position of Catholicism, there is a strong trend throughout the entire country toward more tolerance for non-Catholic religions. City officials in Catholic strongholds have shown fine cooperation in renting auditoriums to Jehovah’s witnesses and even giving them free of charge. The people have been encouraged to read the Bible, and this has stirred much interest in the home Bible studies that are being conducted by Jehovah’s witnesses. True to Jesus’ command to go and disciple people of all nations and baptize them, Jehovah’s witnesses are sharing in this work in Colombia.

Often even the placement of two magazines opens the way to a home Bible study. A special pioneer writes: “A child answered the door and said her mother was busy. But she was glad to take the magazines to show her mother and soon came back with the money. A voice was heard objecting to the acceptance of the magazines, but the woman replied that she wanted to read them. Arrangements were made through the child for a return visit. The reception on my return was not too cordial at first, but the householder quickly warmed up to the Kingdom message and took the ‘Impossible to Lie’ book with the condition that I would help her study it with her Spanish Catholic Bible. From the start it was evident that the woman was anxious to include the entire family in the study; and her children, educated in religious schools, were happy to take part. Arrangements were made to change the time of the study so the husband could attend, but first he had to have a number of questions cleared up. The results have been gratifying: father, mother and six children report as publishers, three having dedicated their lives to Jehovah with the father next in line. Oh, yes, what about that hidden voice that had opposed the acceptance of the magazines? Why, she is one of the most active publishers in the congregation, having accepted the truth with the rest of the household.”

Are “opposed husbands” actually opposed? “Not always,” says a circuit servant’s wife. “A pioneer sister asked me to accompany her in calling on the husband of a young woman she had met in the door-to-door work. This woman had stopped studying due to extreme opposition on the part of her family. The husband greeted us cordially, and we explained that we were Jehovah’s witnesses and understood that his wife had previously been studying the Bible with others of our organization. He agreed to listen to the purpose of our work, and we had a very nice discussion. He admitted that he had thought the nervous breakdown of his wife had been caused by her studying the Bible. Upon taking her to a sanitarium he asked the doctor if this was not true. The doctor told him ‘definitely not,’ that he could take him all through the hospital to meet all of the mentally ill there, and he would not find one who read or studied the Bible. The doctor felt that the husband’s opposition, along with the opposition by the family, was the cause of his wife’s condition. In fact, for her to continue studying the Bible would speed her recovery. As our discussion was ending, the husband stated that he would like a better way to raise his children to protect them against the moral failure of today’s youth. He agreed to a family Bible study and that afternoon attended the public talk at the Kingdom Hall. Within a few months his wife, by then a baptized Witness, began taking an active part in the ministry, and her husband, the ‘opposer,’ also became a zealous publisher, and is waiting to symbolize his dedication.”

CONGO REPUBLIC (Brazzaville)

Peak Publishers: 1,201 Population: 860,000

Ratio: 1 to 716

The highlight of the year was the “Good News for All Nations” District Assembly held in Brazzaville August 22 to 25. The fine program brought much joy and spiritual strength to our brothers. It was the best assembly ever held in Brazzaville. The attendance was the highest to date, with 1,380 persons at the public talk.

During the last few years the political youth movement has endeavored without success to coax or force our brothers and sisters to join them in their activities. Some brothers’ lives were even threatened for refusing to break their neutrality. Little schoolgirls were beaten week after week for refusing to join them. Despite all the threats and persecution, our brothers remained steadfast in the true worship of Jehovah. Since the change of government many worldly people have become aware of the wisdom of the neutral stand of Jehovah’s people. None of the youth of Jehovah’s witnesses were responsible for the recent political disturbances. Our young brothers and sisters, by their faithful stand, protected their present life as well as their prospect for life in God’s new order.

The need to have confidence in Jehovah and to speak with courage and assurance is shown by the following experience: “In the house-to-house work I found a person keenly interested in the good news. I started a study right away with him. Five times thereafter I called on him to conduct the study, but each time he was absent. The fifth time I noticed a note attached to his door: ‘Jehovah’s witnesses forbidden to enter.’ However, I decided to return just once more. The sixth time I went back I was invited in. When I was about to begin the study the interested person interrupted me, saying: ‘Here is your booklet. Take it. I do not want to listen to you anymore. I am Catholic and I am staying in my church. I was baptized Catholic and I must remain in the Catholic religion.’ Returning the booklet to him, I said: ‘Please do read it. To read it does not mean you have to become a witness for Jehovah. You have refused to study with us, and so we are leaving you. But before we go you must know that our purpose in coming here is to fulfill Matthew 24:14.’ He asked: ‘Tell me the truth. What is your purpose in preaching?’ I suggested that he read Matthew 6:9, 10, and I explained God’s name, his kingdom and his will. ‘People who recite this prayer are divided into two camps,’ I said. ‘Those who are for God’s kingdom will live forever. (Rev. 21:4) The others, lacking knowledge of what God’s kingdom will do, will receive destruction together with man’s governments, according to Daniel 2:44 and Jeremiah 25:33. God’s angels will destroy them. (Ezek. 9:5, 6) Those of us who know these truths must proclaim them to everyone else, otherwise God will hold us responsible for the blood of men who perish at Armageddon. Read what a witness of Jehovah said many years ago in Acts 20:20, 26: “I did not hold back from telling you any of the things that were profitable nor from teaching you publicly and from house to house. Hence I call you to witness this very day that I am clean from the blood of all men.” It is for this reason we preach from house to house.’ The young man took a long breath and then replied: ‘Pardon me, my brother. Pardon me for all I have said and done. Do not abandon me. My parents and companions have mocked me for studying with you. Always come to help me understand the Bible.’ ”

So once again the study was resumed. What was the outcome? Last month at the district assembly this sheeplike one symbolized his dedication to Jehovah by water immersion.

CONGO (Kinshasa) Population: 15,000,000

Peak Publishers: 8,794 Ratio: 1 to 1,706

The work moved ahead rapidly in this fruitful territory during the past year, which saw an average publisher increase of 31 percent over last year’s average. Greater spiritual growth is being manifested by the brothers because of more regular visits of the circuit and district servants. Thanks to the loving provision the Society made of two Land Rovers, the district servants have been able to go into areas that they could not visit before. More equipment could be carried into the interior, so it was possible to show the film in many villages, besides at the circuit assemblies. When the film is shown usually everyone in the village attends, so many thousands of persons receive a good witness. Many hardships are endured by these representatives of the Society as they travel for many hours over rough, washed-out roads and live for months at a time in areas with little communication with the rest of the country and no modern facilities. But these difficulties are offset by the joys of serving the brothers and seeing the many good results of their efforts.

The four district assemblies were among the highlights of the year, with a total attendance of 10,300 and 536 new disciples baptized. The talks and dramas were presented in a total of seven languages at the assemblies so that all in attendance would benefit from the upbuilding program. The following report received at the branch office shows some of the fine results of the assemblies:

“I would like to relate the following experience from our ‘Disciple-making’ District Assembly. Regardless of where we live, how we dress, or what language we talk, we do appreciate words of encouragement and kindness, as shown during this assembly. The local authorities, once quite hostile to Jehovah’s witnesses, permitted us to have a place close to a village for our assembly grounds. The chief of the village expressed the desire to have Jehovah’s witnesses worship freely in this area.

“Long before the assembly started he would come to the grounds and greet the brothers, carry material for the construction work and he even cut the grass in preparation for the assembly. As the assembly neared, his visits were more frequent as he responded to the kind words of the brothers. He invited the circuit servants to stay in his village, each one being provided with a small hut as a token of appreciation.

“When he heard that we would need much food to feed all the brothers and sisters who would arrive from the different parts of the province, to our surprise he personally contributed food and supplied all the salad for the assembly, having arranged this with the women of the village, who brought it to the assembly each day. Another village chief nearby contributed all the oranges from two of his trees in order to thank us for showing the film in his village. Needless to say, the chief of the village where the assembly was held attended all the sessions. He was greatly impressed by the conduct and teaching of Jehovah’s witnesses, and although he is aged and has difficulty reading, he has expressed his desire to learn more about the new order of things. He would like to have the same zeal in worshiping the true God, Jehovah, as his fellow countrymen showed for those four days of the district assembly. So regardless of where one lives, how one dresses, or what language one speaks, when kindness is shown it is possible for such ones to become disciples.”

When there is unrest in a land, it is always wise to keep away from trouble areas and not take part in acts of violence. Jehovah’s witnesses are known for their neutrality in these matters. In one area early this year people’s homes were invaded and many were killed. One brother in that area had his home broken into. He and another brother were held at gunpoint while a long discussion was held by the invaders as to what should be done with them. Finally it was decided to kill them. Then the brothers had the opportunity to explain who they were and that as Christians they were neutral in political matters and took no part in acts of violence. One of those invading the home knew of Jehovah’s witnesses. He said that it is true that Jehovah’s witnesses are good people who preach good news to all people, so they must not be harmed. So because Jehovah’s witnesses remain separate from nationalistic and tribal difficulties they have at times had their lives spared.

COSTA RICA Population: 1,589,862

Peak Publishers: 2,965 Ratio: 1 to 586

The work in Costa Rica has taken another fine step forward during the year. Our brothers are showing a greater appreciation for Jehovah’s organization and their privileges of service due to the fine information received in the “Lamp” and “AU Scripture Is Inspired” books. The work is expanding into areas where a witness was seldom given.

That appreciation can be shown even by “little ones” is illustrated by the following experience sent in by a special pioneer. She writes: “Please find enclosed a donation for C5.00 (75 cents) from a little boy just four years old, whose mother I study with. His mother has inculcated in him a very deep appreciation for Jehovah and his organization, to such an extent that even at the age of four he manifests a strong desire to do something in appreciation for Jehovah. His family is extremely poor materially, but when a mother hen hatched out some chicks, this little fellow set one aside and said, ‘This one belongs to Jehovah.’ With special loving care and much attention he raised this little chick, carefully protecting it from all harm. All the other chicks either strayed and were lost, died or were stolen, but this one was carefully guarded and finally grew up. The little boy sold it and gave me the money received for it. He wants me to send it to the Society to be used as a contribution to Jehovah’s work. His little face reflected great joy and contentment for having completed a labor of many months, as he now feels that he, too, is a contributor to Jehovah’s cause.”

The Awake! magazine can serve as a basis for many instructive and lively classroom discussions as the following experiences show. A student writes: “Our psychology professor asked each student to bring to class an interesting theme for discussion, so I selected the theme in Awake! ‘A Father Talks to His Sons,’ which I remembered reading sometime back. The professor enjoyed the article so much that he asked that I read the entire article to the class, which I did.” On another occasion the same student related: “Our biology professor, a doctor of medicine, mentioned that we were going to discuss the subject of hormones in class during the next two weeks. I recalled that Awake! had an article entitled ‘Hormones and You,’ so I brought that issue to class and asked her to read it. I was pleasantly surprised the following day to see our professor begin our class with Awake! in her hand, and continue to use Awake! as a basis for our discussions for the following two weeks.” How beneficial it is to keep a good file of all issues of the magazines for future reference!

Babylon the Great has lost her grip in another small, rural community in Costa Rica. An opposed husband destroyed all his wife’s Bible literature and then went to the priest who was responsible for holding mass in that community. “These Witnesses are invading the area,” he complained. “You must do something about it. I suggest that we build a small church here so that you can hold mass regularly.” The priest’s answer was very different from what he expected. Said the priest: “We have no fight with these people. I wish that we could be like them, persons who really have faith.” He continued, “I am not going to build a church here, and, in fact, I am not even going to hold mass here anymore.” The opposed husband was so shocked that he decided to try studying with Jehovah’s witnesses to see just what they had. Now the entire family is united in a fine Bible study. The formerly opposed man is himself a preacher of the “good news” and is also enrolled in the Theocratic Ministry School.

CUBA

The preaching of the “good news” in Cuba continues to have Jehovah’s blessing despite opposition. The situation throughout the territory is very much like that described by Paul when he wrote: “For a large door that leads to activity has been opened to me, but there are many opposers.” (1 Cor. 16:9) The brothers throughout Cuba are doing everything they can to keep this door of Kingdom activity open.

As one brother wrote: “Our joy is overflowing when we think of the wonderful assistance of our heavenly Father. Although opposition increases and the Devil’s agents try to silence us and put all kinds of obstacles in our way, by the undeserved kindness of Jehovah we continue giving him the honor and glory due him, encouraging others to search for his guidance and sure protection. Although many of the friends have been imprisoned for from six months to as much as ten years, some for preaching the good news of God’s kingdom, others over the neutrality issue, still the work continues. Some have even been arrested for meeting in Kingdom Halls that had not been officially closed. Despite the harassment, the friends continue to meet to study the Word of God and do the work Jesus assigned, so there has been an increase in publishers with Jehovah’s blessing on the work.”

In Manati, Oriente, a group of brothers were imprisoned for ten years for refusing military service. They were assigned to cut sugarcane and did such excellent work that they became a “millionaire brigade,” as the government calls every group that cuts a million or more arroba (11.5 kilos) of cane. However, instead of being favored for their good work, those in this group were given a terrible beating with fists, feet, sticks, rifle butts and even bayonets. Why such treatment? Because as Jehovah’s witnesses they refused to continue living in the same shelter with sodomites. After being molested by such men they protested to the guards, only to be terribly beaten. It is hoped that the protests against this brutal action by the families of these brothers will cause the responsible officials to stop the prison guards from using their position to bring unjust suffering on these hardworking and Godfearing men.

In some places the Kingdom Halls are still open and in other places they are closed, the same as last year. We continue our struggle through legal channels to keep the halls open for the meetings and the worship by the brothers. We have been able to keep them spiritually well supplied, even presenting the dramas “Let Us Conform Ourselves to God’s Eternal Principles” and “Jehovah’s Name to Be Declared in All the Earth.” Most of the friends have been able to hear the first sixty of the public-talk series. However, more and more of those in full-time work have had to give this up, apart from vacation pioneer service, or just share in full-time activity on the weekends.

From the following we can see how well things work when we are organized to serve Jehovah. When the circuit servant had a meeting with the pioneers, he talked to one brother who says he accomplishes as much as he does because he has things well organized. He averages 154 hours a month and more than 100 back-calls. He takes every opportunity to talk about the "good news,” whether in the ministry or at other times. He was asked how many persons he had talked to in April, and he replied, “408”—he keeps a careful record. He knows 308 Bible texts correctly by heart due to the fact that he studies regularly each morning before leaving for service. This brother provides for a family of five. By being well organized and keenly interested in sharing Jehovah’s good news he is able to accomplish much.

CYPRUS Population: 613,000

Peak Publishers: 479 Ratio: 1 to 1,280

Looking back at our past service year, we see that the blessings we had from Jehovah were far more than the difficulties we went through. We had two court cases against us for preaching. Both cases in reality were created by the police, the accusation being that we disturb the householders and trespass by staying to witness to them after they have said they do not want to hear.

We were thrilled to have with us during April as our zone servant one of the directors of the Society, Brother Henschel. The brothers benefited by his talks as well as by seeing the slides he showed us depicting the good increase taking place in South America. Some of us also had the blessing of hearing Brother Henschel give the Memorial talk.

This past summer the office in Cyprus assigned all the Greek villages to the congregations, and many were the happy experiences of the brothers. In the past it was not considered very advisable to visit and preach in certain villages owing to the spirit of opposition and fanaticism existing in them, but, apart from one or two minor incidents, we did not meet any such spirit this year. We also tried to put into practice what Brother Henschel suggested to us, and in many cases the brothers exchanged books and magazines for goods, some for bottles of olive oil, figs, cucumbers, melons, and so forth.

On the last day of the service year we were delighted to enjoy the dedication program at the new and beautiful Kingdom Hall at Famagusta. The brothers in Cyprus appreciate that fine Kingdom Halls contribute to the holding high of Jehovah’s great name and, of course, to the increase of publishers in an area. They also provide a more secure place of meeting during times of difficulty. Therefore, with Jehovah’s help, we hope to build more Kingdom Halls on the island in the future.

“In my village,” wrote a publisher from Paphos, “there is a woman who is very religious; in fact, the villagers consider her as a second priest because they think she knows as much as the priest, if not more. One day this woman visited me in my shop and asked me to do a job for her. I told her that I would do it with pleasure, but I had to go to her home to see where the job was needed. I visited her the next day and took the opportunity to speak about world conditions. She readily agreed with me and then started lamenting about the low morals of women today, how they are improperly dressed even when they go to church and that they do it to attract the attention of men, and so forth, also that the priest of the village had done a lot of things that were not right and that she reported him to the bishop. As I let her talk I realized that she was a sincere, zealous, religious woman. I explained that these were the things that made me abandon the church and the priests and that even Jesus, when on earth, was disgusted with the religious priests. I pointed out to her the identity of Babylon the Great, and that the admonition given to good people is to get out of her, as God is gathering a people for his name. She liked what she heard and invited me to return to her house anytime I wanted. I did return and answered many of her questions. When she asked about Melchiz-edek, I invited her to the public meeting on March 31. In the meantime the other villagers started to ridicule her, but she told them that Jehovah’s witnesses are not only the best people but also the best Christians. This woman is a trained nurse and visits various people, and now that she speaks to them about Jehovah they begin to understand that Jehovah is not a rich man from America who sends us dollars here, but that He is the Almighty God, the Creator of heaven and earth. On my recent visit to her I said that I compared her with someone. ‘Am I like Paul?’ she asked. ‘No,’ I replied, ‘you are like the blind man that Jesus cured.’ She laughed and said: ‘It’s true; I cannot compare myself with Paul yet.’ ”

DAHOMEY

Population: 2,050,000

Ratio: 1 to 1,413

Peak Publishers: 1,451

One of the thrilling events of the year was the Society’s decision to build in Dahomey a new branch and missionary home, which would also include a fine Kingdom Hall to be used by two of the congregations in Cotonou. Of course, the brothers were delighted with this news and many came from even faraway villages to help in building it. For seven months they have worked hard and faithfully, and in just one more month everyone expects to see the building completed. Much interest in the new building has also been shown by the local inhabitants. Many come to watch its progress, and favorable comments are heard. In fact, so much interest has been shown that everyone in Cotonou knows where Jehovah’s witnesses are building and all can direct you there.

A sister in a congregation wanted to become a vacation pioneer. She explained to the congregation servant that she would like to make application, but that she must wait a few days to commence as she was expecting to have a baby soon. Eight days later she gave birth to twins. Still the sister was determined to become a vacation pioneer. The custom of the women here is to stay in their homes for about two months after the birth of a baby. But this sister had twins! So how did she manage? She put one child on her back in the usual way, and the second one she tied in front of her, holding it in place with a second cloth wrapped around her. In this way the sister was able to spend 100 hours in the vacation pioneer ministry. Being a vacation pioneer for one month was such a faithstrengthening experience for this sister that she has now become a regular pioneer.

Another way to increase our ministry as shown by the following experience of a sister is to “tell your relatives.” The sister said: “One night my husband was reading to me from the Watchtower magazine the article ‘Have You Told Your Relatives?’ After he explained the points to me, I gave it careful consideration because I well knew that other members of my family were still in bondage to false religion and that I had not yet talked to them. Since my relatives lived in another village, I decided to make a special trip to see them. I wanted to tell them why I was serving Jehovah, the true God. At first when I began to tell my brother, he was not happy and did not want to hear. I explained to him that our life depends on serving Jehovah and that I owed him, my brother, the truth, which I had found. After some time he finally agreed to look into the Bible, and a Bible study was begun. Today my brother and his wife and daughter are going to be baptized at this circuit assembly. How happy I am that I told my relatives as counseled by The Watchtower.”

During the year many brothers have legalized their marriages, overcoming many difficulties in order to share in the preaching work. A special pioneer writes: “In March I witnessed to a couple and much interest was shown, so arrangements were made to conduct a regular Bible study in their home. Three months later the man became unemployed and had to move to another town many miles away to find work. After a short time his wife joined him there. In August I decided to visit this couple in view of their keen interest. What a grand surprise I had! In spite of the fact that the nearest congregation is sixty miles away, the faith of this woman was very strong. During the time I was there, the circuit servant paid them a visit on his way to the next congregation. He showed the woman that, since she was the second wife, she was not in a position to share in the preaching work until she straightened out her marital affairs. Do you think this was too great an obstacle for her? Here is what she said to her husband: ‘My dear, you know that I love you very sincerely, but if I continue living with you in this way that Jehovah has prohibited, then both of us will lose our lives for not obeying his commandments, and that is not true love. You must take your first wife in order that all of us can be in Jehovah’s organization.’ This she said to her ‘husband’ even though she is the preferred ‘wife.’ She is now going ahead with making all the necessary arrangements to straighten out her marital affairs, and she looks forward to dedicating her life to Jehovah soon, and fully taking part in his service.”

DENMARK Population: 4,854,721

Peak Publishers: 11,344 Ratio: 1 to 428

The majority o£ the people in Denmark have tried to ignore the pangs of distress afflicting the entire world in this generation, giving their attention instead to the cares of this life and the pleasures of this system of things. However, the prime minister of Denmark commented on the increase of violence and trouble, stating: “I do not say the situation is completely hopeless, but I will say that I look to the future with dread and foreboding.” Meanwhile, Jehovah’s witnesses in Denmark, Faroe Islands and Greenland, have pressed on declaring the “good news.”

Jesus said: “Everyone that is on the side of the truth listens to my voice.” This was well illustrated in the case of a woman who had accepted magazines several times at her door but never read them. Later she obtained a copy of the book From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained and, after reading it, she knew it was the truth. She related: “I tried to find where the person lived who had placed the book with me, but in vain. I decided to go to the Kingdom Hall to see if I could find her there, but when I finally did get to the hall I did not have the nerve to go in and went away crying in disappointment. Soon after, the publisher made a return visit and a study was immediately started. But my husband was opposed, and for a long time he would not even talk to me. He went so far as to buy an isolated farm far from town in order to get me away from the Witnesses. But my husband did not realize that Jehovah never abandons those who honestly seek him. Even out there I was visited by the Witnesses and the study was continued. Now I have symbolized my dedication to Jehovah, and I have additional joy in that my husband is more tolerant.”

At his secular work a Witness spoke with a woman who explained that she was a vegetarian. The Witness commended her for interest in healthful food, and went on to explain that she also had need of good, healthful spiritual food. She listened with interest to the message, and the next day the publisher brought her the Paradise book. In his enthusiasm over placing the book he forgot to offer her a Bible study, though the publisher did give her his telephone number. A few days later she called him on the phone and exclaimed: “It is surely wonderful to think of the new, paradisaic conditions to come! How can I learn more about this?” The Witness arranged to pick up the entire family and take them to the public talk the very next day. They were so enthusiastic about what they heard in the talk that they also stayed for the Watchtower study, and arrangements were made to start a Bible study with them the following evening. Soon both the eighteen-year-old son and the eight-year-old daughter were participating in the study. They progressed quickly and began to attend all meetings regularly. The son joined the Theocratic Ministry School, and within a year both mother and son were baptized, regular publishers.

One congregation had the joy of seeing fifteen new publishers symbolize their dedication in the course of six months. They had arranged a special program in which all who owned cars picked up as many interested persons as possible and brought them to meetings. This resulted in greatly increased attendance at meetings, and also in better meetings, as it encouraged all those having parts in the meetings to do their very best, even those giving comments. Eight of the fifteen new publishers were baptized at the recent district assembly.

Never have prospects for a productive year looked so good. The plans for coming assemblies fill all with further expectation, as about four hundred are planning to attend the assembly in New York next summer, and more than 11,000 here are looking forward to welcoming thousands of their brothers from the other Scandinavian countries and other places to the international assembly in Copenhagen next August.

FAROE ISLANDS Population: 37,122

Peak Publishers: 31 Ratio: 1 to 1,197

The work has gone ahead on the Faroe Islands. During the past year a new Kingdom Hall was dedicated in Thorshavn with room for seventy persons. This has caused many to have greater respect for our work. At a circuit assembly held later on, 110 attended a film showing, including 24 local publishers, 20 visitors from Denmark and no less than 66 newly interested ones. It has also been possible to organize a new congregation in Klaksvik, on an island farther to the north, where a pioneer brother is building a house, with a Kingdom Hall on the ground floor. Other families are also moving up there to help strengthen the new congregation.

Appreciation of the truth is expressed in many ways. A father of four children had studied a long time while his wife held to her own religious affiliation. But she would listen to the study, and gradually she began to take more and more of a part in it. Eventually she was prepared to take the big step of breaking off her association with her previous religion. Now both she and her husband have left Babylon the Great. They also decided that the little apartment in their house should be made available for a special pioneer couple instead of worldly persons. As they expressed it: “With the work you are doing you deserve to have proper living conditions.” Now on meeting nights you can see nine persons leaving the house for the same destination, as the special pioneer family of three and the new family of six attend meetings.

GREENLAND Population: 42,102

Peak Publishers: 24 Ratio: 1 to 1,754

At present there are publishers in two towns in Greenland. These publishers have shown much patience and endurance, having full faith in Jehovah that he will bless their works with growth in due time.

One special pioneer couple have been in Greenland ten years now. This year they moved south from the town of Jakobshavn to concentrate their work in the larger town of Godthab and strengthen the little congregation there. They are well known all up and down the west coast. In one town they tried to purchase Bibles from the Greenlandic Lutheran priest, but he refused to sell Bibles to the Witnesses. The next time they visited the town they went to the Danish priest and he let them buy as many Bibles as they wished, adding: “I hope you won’t confuse people with your work. But since we live in a free country, you have a right to purchase Bibles, and in any event it is a good thing that you distribute them.”

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Population: 4,070,100 Peak Publishers: 2,961 Ratio: 1 to 1,375

Many have been the service joys of the brothers as ambassadors of peace in this country divided by “the king of the north” and “the king of the south.” As conditions advance from bad to worse, as strikes, hunger and discontentment increase, many are taking to heart the words of Proverbs 18:10 and finding protection in Jehovah. In this past service year 347 were baptized, becoming firmly attached to Jehovah’s advancing organization.

Teaching at our Bible studies and directing interested persons to the organization has gratifying results, as one sister who has been in the truth eight years has found out. Although caring for family responsibilities and not a pioneer, during these eight years she has helped seventeen persons to the point of dedication, one of whom is now a congregation servant, two are Bible study servants, and two are special pioneers. By her acquainting them with Jehovah’s clean organization eight were helped to straighten out their personal affairs, as they were living immorally, not being married. By truly teaching at a home Bible study, false doctrines were destroyed and replaced by Bible truths so that one who had studied to be a priest became a true minister of Jehovah. At present this sister is conducting ten home Bible studies with the same zeal and efficiency as she conducted the others.

Many feel that attending a meeting requires much effort. But when one has a real hunger for spiritual food and association one is willing to endure hardship.

An interested person with very little material means and who lives in isolated territory received the announcement of a coming circuit assembly some eighty kilometers from his home with great joy. He lives behind a range of mountains where there is no modern transportation. For six years he had studied by himself and had been encouraged from time to time by visits of the circuit servant. With what knowledge he had acquired he had preached to his neighbors and had started several home Bible studies. However, he realized that to be a Witness required more than personal study and preaching. For three days he traveled by mule to the assembly site. After his baptism in water he told the assembled audience: “I am overflowing with joy to be a witness for Jehovah. Here I am fortifying myself with Jehovah’s provisions so I can return to the country and continue this grand work.”

ECUADOR Population: 5,649,800

Peak Publishers: 2,076 Ratio: 1 to 2,721

Now that we have the new book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life and a feeling of greater urgency in the way we conduct our Bible studies, we wonder just what the results will be. An important goal in our Bible-study work is to try to include all members of the family in the study. The advantages are many.

A publisher placed a Bible with a man who, although professedly Catholic, was completely antireligious. His study of secular history had convinced him that all religions were no more than tools of ambitious politicians. On the first return call it was found, however, that he had taken time to read much of the Bible, beginning from Genesis, but he admitted that he could not understand it without help. Genesis 3:15 was explained to him and he began to see the real worth of the Bible. A reading of “Your Will Be Bone on Earth” and a comparison of the contents with his knowledge of history now convinced him that the Bible must be inspired.

Although he and his wife at this time had made plans for a divorce, both, together with their children, shared in regular Bible discussions with the publisher. Soon they all accepted an invitation to the Kingdom Hall and found there something they were truly in need of—genuine love and wholesome association for all members of the family. The seemingly incurable breach in their marriage began to heal. On the day of the celebration of the Memorial the husband shared in field service for the first time and said it was the happiest day of his life. Soon his wife and two sons followed suit. Now this man, who just nine months ago was opposed to the Bible and all forms of religion, dreams of God’s new order. A family that was about to disintegrate is now a model in spirituality. When surprised neighbors ask them about the difference between Catholicism and Jehovah’s witnesses, they can truthfully answer, “It is like the difference between life and death.”

Sometimes it is not possible to start a Bible study in the regular way, so we have to improvise and use discernment until the opportune time comes. This happened in the case of a young man who, when first contacted, wanted to preach to the publisher instead of listening. It was evident that he had some Bible knowledge, however inaccurate, and the publisher decided it would be best not to offer literature but simply call back and continue to converse. On the second call and for several calls thereafter the young man had a prepared list of questions on doctrinal points, and these were patiently handled but still without establishing a Bible study. The ‘Impossible to Lie’ book was placed, but still no study.

It later came to light that this young man was president of a youth society in the Evangelical Alliance and that he had been using material from the book to preach in his own church. He came across certain difficulties in answering questions, however, and asked the publisher to help him locate scriptures to support his thoughts. Now the brother asked for the book and demonstrated the regular Bible study method and its many advantages. He liked it so much that he wanted to study twice a week. In fact, he started to use the material in giving sermons in his own church, and as a result he was strongly reprimanded by his pastor and told that the pulpit was for Evangelists and not for Russellites. At this he formally resigned by letter and began attending meetings in the Kingdom Hall instead. His progress then became much more rapid, although there was opposition from his father, who even sought out Catholic priests to try to dissuade him. But his decision was made, and when his father saw that he was even determined to leave home, his attitude changed. Now he is a regular publisher in the congregation, conducts a Bible study in his own home and does not fail to attend meetings in the Kingdom Hall.

EL SALVADOR Population: 3,210,356

Peak Publishers: 1,207 Ratio: 1 to 2,660

Special attention was given to developing interest in the message of God’s kingdom in some isolated territories during the year. Some of these included large cities with no Witnesses, cities that were visited by the circuit servants in an effort to search for sheeplike ones.

A city of some 12,000 inhabitants near the Guatemalan border was assigned to one of the circuit servants. This city, even though it had been worked by special-pioneer ministers some years back, had not produced any results. The circuit servant went to work right away. During the four weeks he could spend there he was able to start thirty Bible studies, which kept him busy telling others about the good news of the Kingdom until late every evening. Some fine results from this work were to be seen later. A young housewife and her mother demonstrated so much interest in the message of truth that a home Bible study was conducted with them daily. Very soon she began to understand the difference between false religion and the true. When the traveling minister came to visit them again four months later, this young lady was invited to attend a circuit assembly that was to be held seventy-five miles away, and she came for the entire program. She was so impressed by the hospitality of the Witnesses with whom she stayed during the convention as well as by the unity and happiness of the brothers and sisters at the assembly that she went back home determined to continue making progress in her study of the “good news” and also to devote her life to Jehovah. She now travels thirty miles to attend meetings at the nearest Kingdom Hall.

In another case a young man who was a member of one of the Protestant groups in town was contacted by the circuit servant. He had talked to Jehovah’s witnesses before on some of his trips to the capital city and had been impressed to some extent by the “good news.” The eagerness of this listener was such that here, too, a daily Bible study had to be conducted during the short time the traveling minister was to be in town. Some of their discussions would run from seven to ten o’clock at night. This was particularly outstanding in view of the fact that this young man did not live in the town itself but traveled five kilometers from his house to the city every day to participate in the study with the Christian minister. Since then he has attended two assemblies and just recently began sending in field service reports to the branch office. He is calling back on the interested persons found by the circuit servant and conducting two Bible studies himself. Two special pioneers have been assigned to this town to help feed the sheeplike ones.

FIJI Population: 502,956

Peak Publishers: 321 Ratio: 1 to 1,567

The wave of enthusiasm and expansion reported last year is sweeping ahead unabated through the islands of Fiji, American Samoa, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Niue, Tahiti, Tonga and Western Samoa, which together make up the Fiji branch. The atmosphere in each congregation and group is one of joyful activity, combined with a sense of urgency in getting the “good news” preached, and this has resulted in a fine 9-percent increase for the second year.

The brothers are pleased with the nearly completed branch building and Kingdom Hall. Furthermore, all are eagerly awaiting the privilege of being hosts to their brothers from many countries at two of the international assemblies in 1969. In the meantime, they invite you to share the following experiences they enjoyed in spreading the “good news” this past year in Fiji.

The example of a special pioneer brother and his wife and six children shows how well a theocratic family can work together. He has trained them well, helping each to see how the Society’s instructions apply personally. For example, when the circuit servant stressed back-call activity in the congregation, the father discussed how the children could take part and then set a goal for each. The children 14, 12 and 10 years old were to make three back-calls a week, the eight-year-old was to make two per week and the youngest children were exempted until they grew older.

After some days, the children discussed matters together and then came to their father with a proposal. Since they live only a few hundred yards from the village school, their practice had been to come home for lunch to have the family Bible reading. Now they asked, Could they possibly leave the Bible reading until the evening meal? Then, they said, after finishing lunch, they could hurry back to school to make back-calls on interested children. Their father gladly agreed. The result is that the three eldest children conduct two studies each, the eight-year-old conducts one, their mother conducts four and their father sets the lead with seven. Thus this one family is now conducting eighteen Bible studies, demonstrating how much a united theocratic family really can do.

When district assembly time came around, all of the children were instructed by their father to encourage their Bible students to make the trip too, if possible. In two cases they were successful. The children had followed through by making full arrangements themselves with their students’ parents, thereby seeing their ministry begin to bear fruit. And every penny the children spent on meals and refreshments at the assembly came from their own pockets. Their father had taught them how to open bank accounts. During the preceding months he had supplied their magazines for witnessing out of his own funds. Every Saturday they would immediately bank the contributions received. When assembly time arrived the children had all they needed to take care of themselves. Children can be trained to take the initiative in theocratic activity, and, when they do, a grand witness is given.

AMERICAN SAMOA Population: 20,581

Peak Publishers: 36 Ratio: 1 to 572

Do you feel that your territory is covered far too often, that repeated calls only aggravate persons rather than rouse interest? The following account may help you to reassess your views and preach with a fresh outlook. In a large village that is usually worked every two or three weeks, very little interest has ever been found, so little, in fact, that it caused one publisher to quip, in the words of Nathanael, “Can anything good come out of U---?” Toward the back of the village,

on a steep, slippery incline, was a home that was never missed by the Witnesses, even though all who lived there showed no interest. After repeated visits, a study was finally started with the woman of the household because, as she said: “For years I have lived here but the head of our church has never visited me to discuss the Bible. The only time he ever entered our home was when I turned on the television set and saw him being interviewed before retiring to his home country. But I have observed you Jehovah’s witnesses, Samoans and Europeans alike, visiting our families regularly, even though we are not of your religion.”

As her study progressed her husband forbade her to have the Witnesses in the home. As she was learning the principle of headship, she complied with her husband’s wishes and arranged to have the study elsewhere, obeying, at the same time, the Head over all, Jehovah God. Her love for the truth increased so much that she made it a daily practice to call the sister up and have telephone discussions on the day’s text from the Yearbook. The marked change in her life caused the husband eventually to lift his ban on having the studies in his home and now he has a far better attitude toward the Witnesses who call. So, never give up in calling regularly in your territory, for, although you may not be listened to, your example is being seen.

GILBERT AND ELLICE ISLANDS

Peak Publishers: 7 Population: 50,000

Ratio: 1 to 7,143

Although there are several dozen interested persons scattered among these twenty-five islands, which sweep in a line through nine hundred miles of the Central Pacific, communication difficulties have made it virtually impossible to organize them effectively. However, on two islands, Tarawa in the Gilbert group and Funafuti in the Ellice group, there are some baptized brothers who are preaching the “good news.”

On Funafuti all the brothers very much wanted to construct a small Kingdom Hall, but the land area of this tiny atoll is limited. However, the brother who cares for the group found a way around the problem. As he studied his old concrete water reservoir across the road he formed a plan. Then work began. First a wooden top was set on the oblong reservoir to form a floor, then walls and roof were added and a sign was nailed on: “Kingdom Hall—Molimau a leova.” And there was their hall completed, without any need for more land. Situated as it is about midway along the short road that joins the village with the administrative area, the hall provides the brothers a very prominent place in which to meet and is further evidence of their permanence in the community.

NEW CALEDONIA Population: 95,829

Peak Publishers: 118 Ratio: 1 to 812

The need for all who preach the “good news” to show a good Christian example is seen in this experience: A man first heard the Bible truth from one of his fellow workers who was studying with Jehovah’s witnesses. A brother also employed with him began joining their discussions. At first the man used to mock and seemed to show no interest. But all the time he was inwardly deeply impressed because he saw that the example of the two who preached to him measured up well with what they taught. As the time of the Easter celebration got near, the impact made by what he had heard and seen became evident, for when his Catholic wife said it was time to go to church, he replied: “I’ve no intention of going to church, for I know our religion is not true. I think I’ve found the true religion; it’s with Jehovah’s witnesses.” “If you want to go with them,” she stormed, “then take your clothes and go! I’m staying Catholic with my children.”

Trying to follow the example he had seen in the Witnesses at work, he endeavored to reason with her, explaining what he knew of the truth. An assembly was due to start soon, and he succeeded in persuading his wife to accompany him there. Just as he had been impressed by the Christian example he saw at work, so she was impressed now. They attended the first day and then would not miss the second or third. So happy were they with what they had found that they started having a home Bible study immediately and attended all congregation meetings thereafter. They made progress quickly. At one service meeting the husband heard that smoking was unscriptural and, although he was a heavy smoker, he went out right after the meeting and threw away his cigarettes for good, because, as he said, “I see the brothers practice what they preach,” and he was moved to follow their example. He, his wife and their older daughter all started in field service, and within a year husband and wife were baptized.

Later he began to preach to his mother, but she showed great opposition. When she heard that her son had become one of Jehovah’s witnesses, she did not even want to speak to him, such were the lies she had been told about the Witnesses. But one day when she was faced with a serious problem she found that not one of the family showed any desire to help, except her Witness son with whom she did not want to talk. With love for his mother, and conscious of the need for showing a good Christian example, he came and offered his assistance. His loving example worked. Soon she came to stay at her son’s house for a month, and there she saw from the family’s conduct what lies she had been told. She too now started to study, and before very long she and her two daughters were also zealous publishers. What fine fruitage is produced when we back up our preaching of the “good news” with a good Christian example!

NEW HEBRIDES Population: 76,600

Peak Publishers: 11 Ratio: 1 to 6,955

One of the first local residents to become a publisher became inactive over a year ago and seemed to resist all our efforts to help her. For years she suffered opposition from family and friends, and when she was knocked down by a car last year, her relatives began insisting that the Devil was angry with her. Discharged from the hospital but bedridden at home, she was continually harassed by them to give some article from her person to a neighboring “clever man” so that he could use his “magic powers” to see what was making her sick. She recalled the illustration of the woman and the witch doctor in the booklet Living in Hope of a Righteous New Order and so refused to do this.

However, someone took a towel that she had put out to be washed and gave it to the “clever man,” who promptly diagnosed the cause of sickness as being that the Devil was cross with her and did not want her living in that house. She explained to her family that they had broken God’s law against spiritism, and she herself felt guilt because of it. This made her ashamed to associate with the brothers and she became spiritually sick. Before long she became very ill, and when pressed to drink some medicine which the “clever man” had brewed she finally did. This had the effect of making her health much worse, and she immediately returned to the doctor at the hospital. Many months passed before she was able to start overcoming the feeling of being out of tune with God’s people. However, through the persistent, loving efforts of the brothers, she finally overcame her feeling of shame and now attends the meetings. She is regaining her spiritual balance, to be able to praise Jehovah once more.

NIUE Population: 5,200

Peak Publishers: 17 Ratio: 1 to 306

A thirteen-year-old sister writes of the house-to-house work: “Last week we had an odd experience. We got mixed up on our assignments, and three of us worked the same house one after another. I did it first, not realizing it was in the overseer’s section. I gave the sermon and arranged a back-call. Then along came the overseer, and the same thing happened. The assistant congregation servant came next, and he arranged a back-call too. The couple in the house listened right through the sermon each time, and they never said a thing about others who had called. We all found out our mistake later, and the brothers decided I could make the back-call. So, on the next Sunday I cycled there with another young brother. The couple were very happy to see us, the wife running here and there to prepare the room for our discussion. We used the ‘Make Sure of AU Things’ book to discuss the condition of the dead from the Niuean Bible, and they were very impressed. I hope we can develop this call into a study.”

TAHITI Population: 84,550

Peak Publishers: 134 Ratio: 1 to 631

Often we see good results from trying to include all members of a household in a study. During magazine work a sister met a woman who had studied previously but who quit doing so more than a year ago. She still showed interest, but was living with a man not her husband. The sister arranged to study with her again, with the intention of contacting the man, too, this time. However, although the woman claimed the man was interested in the Bible, he was never there for the study. Finally, the woman admitted that he was really opposed to Jehovah’s witnesses for religious reasons.

The sister tried harder than ever to meet the man in the hope of showing him what the Bible really says about matters. One day she found him home and tactfully drew him into the conversation. She soon had him reading the scriptures and reasoning on them. On the next visit she was able to overcome his objection that Jehovah’s witnesses were only newcomers to the Tahitian religious field, helping him see that the real “good news of the kingdom” had been preached in Tahiti only since 1957 when the first Witness arrived. When he saw what the “good news” really was, he agreed to study also. Then things happened fast. Unlike the woman, who had studied so long without doing anything about it, the man saw the need of conforming their lives to God’s requirements. Within two months he properly arranged his marital affairs to be free to serve Jehovah. Immediately thereafter he began in field service, thereby rewarding the sister’s effort to include all family members in the study.

TONGA Population: 77,429

Peak Publishers: 18 Ratio: 1 to 4,302

This year the brothers were overjoyed when the government gave permission for a prolonged stay of a representative of the Society in the kingdom of Tonga. Thus a circuit servant was able to spend two months there. This was an opportunity the local brothers had looked forward to for thirteen years, to have some extended training in organization, even though they had done remarkably well in learning from brief visits of the circuit servants over the last few years. It also helped them to consolidate the developing interest there so that they reached a peak of eighteen publishers, compared with last year’s peak of twelve. During the visit the Memorial was celebrated with an attendance of fifty-three, and at the end of the visit a full-scale circuit assembly program was held at their little, thatched-roof Kingdom Hall.

WESTERN SAMOA Population: 137,000

Peak Publishers: 83 Ratio: 1 to 1,651

What sort of conduct and attitude do you display at your place of work from day to day? Does it mark you as a Christian? A civil engineer from the United States came here for a few days to get work started on a new golf course. A young brother was engaged to survey it and supervise construction, and together they worked on the project. Many subjects were discussed each day, the brother drawing on his years of careful reading of the Awake! magazine without ever mentioning the Kingdom or Jehovah’s witnesses directly. The civil engineer, old enough to be the brother’s father, was drawn to the brother by his ways and was impressed by his attitude to the point that he decided to extend his stay to enjoy the brother’s company a little more. Although he had been the guest of the Head of State and other local dignitaries, he reserved his last night to spend at the home of the brother.

After listening to the brother’s mealtime prayer, the older man said: “I am very glad that you are a Christian family.” “You may be surprised to know,” said the brother, “that we are Jehovah’s witnesses.” “And you may be surprised to know,” came the reply, “that because of my meeting you and hearing the things you have told me, I am going to become one of Jehovah’s witnesses too.” He then related that his brother and sister in the States are also Witnesses, but that due to his being so busy running large engineering projects, he had never given serious attention to what they said. But now, having been thrown together with the brother for a whole week, he found that things that he had refused to consider as important before now appeared to him both reasonable and natural. He was so excited that he could not eat his meal. The discussion continued on till midnight. “This is the highlight of my visit,” he declared, as he went on to express his firm resolve to return home, take up a study course in the Bible and then get baptized as one of Jehovah’s witnesses. What a joy for us when our Christian conduct helps bring to light a love of truth that may have been hidden a long time in the hearts of ones with whom we chance to be brought into contact!

FINLAND Population: 4,679,455

Peak Publishers: 10,079 Ratio: 1 to 464

We are extremely grateful to Jehovah for the wonderful way he has directed us. We can give the credit for the 5-percent increase in publishers and for the fact that, for the first time, during this service year we had more than 10,000 publishers to the support and encouragement we have received from Jehovah and his organization.

Brother Knorr’s visit was one of the high points of the year. The brothers were happy to hear his encouraging talk. More than 4,600 brothers gathered at the Messuhalli, some from as far away as Lapland, to hear the president of the Society talk.

Some fine experiences in placing the Evolution book were reported. A brother writes: “I went to see a newly interested man who was not present at the district assembly that had been held in the city where he lives. I explained what we had learned at the assembly and then I showed him the Evolution book. He looked through it eagerly and then asked, ‘How much does this cost?’ I asked in turn, ‘What do you think?’ He took 10 marks (about $2.00) out of his wallet and said: ‘At least this.’ When I told him the right price, he started to laugh and then unexpectedly said: ‘I will take all I can get for this money—that will be eight copies—as I want to give them to some of my relatives.’ I was sorry that I did not have more than five books with me, but hope that I will be able to take him some more later.”

After getting the Evolution book at the assembly, one brother took along a copy to his place of work. He showed it to a fellow worker who is a Communist. On seeing the title of the book, the man wanted to know how much it cost, and asked whether he could have that copy. The next day he approached the brother to ask whether any more of those blue books could be obtained. When the brother said he could supply him with more, the Communist said: ‘‘Well, you can bring me eight copies right away—no, you’d better make it ten. There are a few people I know who ought to read that book.”

Young publishers can give a good witness at school, and sometimes the results are surprising. One young sister wrote: “A study was held with the mother of one of my schoolmates, but, despite frequent urgings, the mother could not get her daughter to take part in the study. When the time for the circuit assembly drew near I contacted the girl and asked her to come with me to the assembly. The girl agreed and was very surprised at what she saw and heard and was immediately interested in getting more knowledge. Afterward she regularly attended the congregation meetings and prepared in advance for the home Bible study. After six months she started in the service from door to door. She also quickly understood that she should come out of Babylon the Great and so she determinedly went to the church office in order to get her name taken off the membership roll. She took along with her one of her schoolmates to whom she had often talked about the truth at school. The minister to whom she had to present the matter also taught religion in their school. The minister was very amazed at the situation and mentioned that all other religions are acceptable except Jehovah’s witnesses’ religion and that Jehovah’s witnesses are heretics, who should be avoided. This aroused the interest of the classmate who accompanied her, so she decided to find out how Jehovah’s witnesses could be called heretics. When she attended her first meeting of Jehovah’s witnesses, she was amazed at the efficient way in which Jehovah’s witnesses are taught. She also started to attend meetings regularly, and has not found any sign that Jehovah’s witnesses are heretics. A study was started with her immediately, and progress has been rapid. For a long time there were only two of Jehovah’s witnesses in our school, my sister and me, but now there are four of us who have the same mind and thought, and each one of us wants to advance the preaching of the ‘good news.’ ”

FRANCE Population: 50,000,000

Peak Publishers: 28,367 Ratio: 1 to 1,763

A young girl heard of the truth through her sister, who gave her a witness by correspondence. This young girl, like her mother, was a fervent Catholic. She is paralyzed and can only move very feebly. As her interest increased, a study was started by the local brothers. The young girl wondered how she could preach, since she was unable to walk. And what is more, it is even difficult for her to give an oral witness. However, she is able to use her feet, so she decided to write with

the left foot. Now this young girl, who in the past wanted to die because she had no real hope, shares her faith with others. Each day she writes to different persons, using just her foot. Her writing is shaky, but it is readable. She studies a lot and has acquired a good knowledge of the truth. She was baptized this summer.

This young girl and her mother live in a small village of 500 to 600 inhabitants. The mother wondered how she could devote more time to Jehovah’s service. After praying for a long time to God in order to receive the strength needed, she preached in her own village, and she met with much opposition, because she had been a fervent Catholic before. Jehovah blessed her efforts, though, because she found people who had known of the truth in 1927, but who had not heard of it since. She began a study with them, and still conducts it. Now there are twelve persons in this village who meet together to study the Bible.

Incidental witnessing often bears fruit, as the following experience shows: A regular pioneer who had been a teacher was approached by one of his former pupils seeking advice. The conversation dwelt for a few moments on the difficulties of life, the present world and its problems and on the increasing corruption. The former teacher, surprised to notice the sound reasoning of the young man, took out his Bible and showed the young man that this situation had been prophesied by Jesus Christ and also by the apostle Paul. When he left, he carried many publications with him. Early the next day the young man knocked on the door. He had come back to seek more information. A long conversation followed. Several doctrines were carefully examined, especially the trinity.

This young man, now eighteen years old, had gone through a test of his conscience when he was twelve years old. He had decided to become a priest and spent a year at a small seminary, but he left there depressed and shocked at what he had seen and heard. The glow of his faith had been snuffed out. Still he continued to attend the mass, though he found in it no satisfaction. Reading the book he had received from the pioneer interested him more than anything else. He had read it from cover to cover at one sitting. He wanted solid proof from the Bible for all the statements he had read in the publications of the Society. It was exciting for the pioneer to see the progress that the truth had made in the mind of this young man. They had discussed the name of the true God, Jesus Christ the Son of God, Adam and Eve, the redemption, future life on earth and Christ’s presence now. The young man took notes and marked the Bible texts in the margin of the publications. Two days later he again knocked on the pioneer’s door and announced to the dumbfounded pioneer that he had been to see a priest and had put twenty pointed questions to him and requested him to reply to them from the Bible. For example, How does the Catholic Church explain the trinity? To his great surprise, the priest was not able to answer a single question. So he came back to the pioneer to get more information on Mary and her position in the congregation, and so forth. Again he noted down many Bible texts. After a little while he announced that he had asked for an audience with a cardinal. The audience was granted, but his replies to the twenty questions were no better than those of the priest. The young man then said to the pioneer: “You have the truth. I will come to your meetings.” This young man now attends all the congregation meetings, and his progress is very rapid as he is very intelligent. His faith has been rekindled and he now has a purpose in life.

During the month of May the whole of France was paralyzed by a general strike. For about a month it was impossible for the branch to exchange correspondence with the congregations. But the brothers faithfully carried on their activity. Better still, the brothers took advantage of the time they had on their hands due to the complete cessation of secular work to put more time in the field service. For the first time in France the average hours per publisher rose to twelve!

ALGERIA Population: 12,500,000

Peak Publishers: 74 Ratio: 1 to 168,919

A sister of French nationality was isolated from the brothers for more than three years. Last year she again contacted the brothers and after a study was started she quickly resumed all her Christian ministerial activities. However, she was a little anxious about the reaction of her husband, who is of the Muslim faith, and who was studying to pass the final examinations to qualify as a professor of philosophy. A brother contacted this man and, through a very tactful approach, was able to gain his confidence. One day the sister was thrilled to hear her husband say concerning her Christian activities: “When you do something you know to be right, then you must do it thoroughly.” Very often he would come to meet her when the meetings were over. However, this man was still an atheist and was steeped in all the theories of Marx and Lenin.

Having passed his examinations with honors, he became a professor of philosophy. But he was open-minded, and his love of justice and interest in world events caused him to ask many questions about the work of Jehovah’s witnesses. Long and thrilling discussions followed, and finally a Bible study was started with him. Possessing a brilliant mind, this person accepted nothing without solid proof. The publisher had to work hard. The studies took place two, three and sometimes four times a week for eight months. Finally this man dedicated his life to Jehovah and symbolized this by being baptized at the circuit assembly. Now he is zealously serving Jehovah.

TUNISIA Population: 4,565,000

Peak Publishers: 38 Ratio: 1 to 120,132

The brothers are working well, casting their nets in the local fishing grounds, and making a good catch. The circuit servant reports the following: An elderly sister of the Tunis congregation gave a witness to three Catholics. When the circuit servant visited the congregation, he arranged to visit these three persons, and was able to begin a study with them in the book ‘‘Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie."

When the circuit servant called on them again, he noticed that two others were present, a young man and a young woman, both Muslims. When the subject of Babylon the Great was discussed, all clearly understood what position they should take. The young man made a firm stand and continued the study. He was baptized recently at a circuit assembly. The young woman dropped the study, but her heart has been touched by the truth, because she recently admitted that she remembered everything she had heard at the Bible discussions. She is planning to finish her secondary school education and then will be free from the family yoke. She can see quite distinctly the influence of Babylon the Great, and she is anxious to finish her studies and then associate with Jehovah’s people. As for the three persons who were originally contacted, one of them is now baptized, and the other two will be baptized shortly.

GERMANY Population: 57,914,000

Peak Publishers: 81,180 Ratio: 1 to 713

Among this year’s highlights were ten wonderful district assemblies in West Germany and one in Berlin. They were truly great sources of strength for God’s people. We made arrangements for our Spanish-, Italian-, English- and Greek-speaking brothers to hear the program in their own languages. Our brothers in Greece heard of this and many of them undertook the trip to Germany in order to take part in this feast of spiritual things.

How surprised the brothers were when the new book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life was released at the district assemblies' Thanks to the help of the Brooklyn plant, we were able to provide each publisher present with his personal copy and five additional copies for distribution. Thus we were able to report a new peak of 139,771 books distributed in the month of August.

During the second world war a shell injured a man, causing paralyzation from the hips down. This meant a restricted life in a wheelchair for him. What joy was his, however, when, in the fall of 1947, one of Jehovah’s witnesses explained Isaiah 35:5-7 to him, giving him the hope of being healed by the great physician, Jesus Christ. This wonderful hope encouraged him to study the Bible thoroughly and soon he had the strong desire to share this life-giving knowledge with others. But what possibilities were open to him, as he could not go from house to house? Proverbs 1:20 showed him the way. Should not wisdom also give forth its voice in the streets? So from his wheelchair he began to speak to pedestrians willing to stop and listen, perhaps feeling that they could help him in some way. Through friendliness and adaptability he succeeds in giving many people a thorough witness and then he climaxes this by offering them literature. Thus it was possible for him to place 1,300 magazines and 40 books during the past service year, averaging 30 hours monthly in the field ministry. In May he even vacation pioneered and was able to place 14 books, 13 booklets and 312 magazines in 86 hours. During the winter months, in addition to his ministry on the streets, he writes letters. In this manner and through Bible studies in his home, it was possible in the course of the last twenty years, for this brother to help some individuals to an accurate knowledge of the truth, and they are now associated with him in the Kingdom ministry.

How important it is repeatedly to offer our help to brothers who have strayed away from Jehovah’s organization. A young married couple had discontinued associating with the brothers more than twelve years ago. Time and time again the brothers tried to help them back into the organization when they contacted them in their house-to-house ministry. But all attempts were fruitless, and the brothers who were concerned about their everlasting life did not even dare enter their home. Finally the congregation servant made one more attempt and was greatly surprised when the door was opened. After twelve years he was the first one who was asked into their home, but the atmosphere was cold. He could see neither a Bible nor a Bible study aid in their bookcase. But in the corner he saw an ashtray with a pipe and some cigarettes in it. They had become just like all other people in this system of things. They even addressed him using the polite form of “you,” which is done in this country only when speaking to strangers. The brother, however, continued to use a friendly tone and in the course of the conversation asked how they came to a knowledge of the truth. Then the ice was broken. Both of them wanted to relate how it came about, and often the one interrupted the other. Next they wanted to know how certain events were to be considered from the Biblical standpoint. The overseer left some of the questions unanswered and suggested visiting them again soon in order to assist them in finding the answers. At the time agreed upon he visited the young couple and negan to answer their questions using the Bible. When he made his third visit, the ashtray was gone. They obtained Bibles and books, and a home Bible study was started. They studied the material thoroughly in advance and were very attentive. Soon it was time for the overseer to invite them to attend the meetings. Now they are again attending the service meeting and the Theocratic Ministry School, and at the latest circuit assembly the sister expressed her desire to take part in the ministry. They are both growing in knowledge in a way that brings joy to the entire congregation, and they will, no doubt, soon be having a share in publishing the “good news.”

WEST BERLIN Population: 2,153,000

Peak Publishers: 5,358 Ratio: 1 to 402

Jehovah’s witnesses in this “island” city have continued to let the light of truth shine. They have not let themselves be discouraged by lack of response to the message of truth, but rather are happy to have increased their time devoted to the ministry by 8 percent.

For some time now a sister has been studying the Bible with a seventy-three-year-old lady who is hard of hearing. The sister conducting this study is seventy-six years of age but mentally very alert. She invited the lady to attend the district and circuit assemblies. The invitation was joyfully accepted, and in order to understand everything the woman bought a hearing aid for $160 and also a second one for $80. She said that no amount of money was too much to pay so she could understand the truth.

A brother who was inactive from 1955 to 1967 wants to warn his brothers of the danger connected with apathy. He reports: It all started very harmlessly. First he moved. Then he moved a second time and a third time. After each move he failed to get in touch with the new congregation immediately. He put this off from one week to the next. In the meantime his worldly job became the thing of greatest importance to him and steadily pushed aside Kingdom interests. This resulted in inactivity and not associating with any congregation. He regained spiritual balance, though, when his son was baptized at the district assembly. He was so overwhelmed that he gladly accepted the assistance of the brothers and started to associate with the local congregation. How impressed he was by the loving reception extended! There was no rebuke or bitterness, but rather Christian, brotherly love. Now he is happy and thankful to be actively associated with Jehovah’s organization again and to be able to share regularly in the ministry.

GHANA Population: 8,260,000

Peak Publishers: 11,144 Ratio: 1 to 741

The service year just past has been a splendid one for the Kingdom publishers in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Upper Volta.

Knowing that great and beneficial changes will be taking place on this earth within the next few years has aided many in Ghana to study God’s Word more seriously and to associate with his people, as the following experience illustrates: Publishers and pioneers had been studying the Bible with a blind man. Several years passed but there appeared to be no response from this blind person in accepting God’s Word and acting on it. Undeterred, a publisher made a practice of reading appropriate articles from the Watchtower magazine to encourage this man. After hearing an article read on the significance of the year 1975, the man exclaimed: “This means that if I dedicate my life to Jehovah now there would be only a few years for me to be blind, since the blessings of Christ’s kingdom will soon be realized. I will stop relying upon false promises of human doctors and put my trust in Isaiah 35:5, ‘At that time the eyes of the blind ones will be opened.’ ” Since then he has made rapid progress, is now baptized, averages forty hours of public preaching each month, and is conducting six Bible studies with interested ones. Recently he enjoyed vacation pioneer service. Now he is able to discern with his spiritual eyes the times in which we live, though physically blind.

Appreciation for Jehovah and his righteous laws can be implanted very strongly in young ones. The eight-year-old son of a Witness went into the bush with a palm wine tapper to bring home palm nuts for his mother. At lunchtime the man prepared fufu and made soup, using a bat he had killed with a stick. At mealtime the boy refused to eat. Asked why, he replied: “You did not kill the bat properly! It contains blood.” The man said: “This is nothing! Just eat it. You are a child and your father is not here to see you.” To this the young boy replied: “No! It is not because of my father but because I fear Jehovah God and will not break his righteous law about blood.” The astonished man lost his appetite and later reported the whole incident to the boy’s father, concluding with the remark, “In fact, I can see that you people and your children are really Jehovah’s true worshipers.”

A congregation overseer reported on a fine method of starting new ones in public preaching. The small congregation has been growing rapidly. The overseer explains that every three months the committee meets to examine the home Bible study records. Interested persons who have been studying with Jehovah’s witnesses for some time are noted and those already attending meetings are selected. With the cooperation of the publisher conducting the study, one or two of the committee members visit each of these persons and tactfully ascertain from them if they are having problems preventing them from taking up field ministry. Most have readily cooperated, telling of their problems, such as opposition or improper marriage arrangements. The committee members then volunteer to help these ones to solve their problems. This done, as new publishers they quickly take up field ministry, resulting in nine new ones in the congregation in the past few months.

IVORY COAST Population: 3,380,000

Peak Publishers: 250 Ratio: 1 to 13,320

Now that yearly recognition is being granted to Jehovah’s witnesses by the government, some excellent progress has been made in getting the good news of God’s kingdom preached in this land before the end comes. During the year two new congregations were established, the number of missionaries was increased to twenty, and missionary homes increased from one to three. Meeting attendance at all the Kingdom Halls is indeed very encouraging. Typical is one congregation with about fifty publishers that regularly has about one hundred attending meetings.

The determination of some to learn the truth is well illustrated by the experience of an eighteen-year-old who began studying with the Witnesses in December 1966. His parents forbade his attending meetings at the Kingdom Hall. Nevertheless, he continued his home Bible study and attended meetings whenever opportunity afforded. After four months of study he began field service. His parents ridiculed and reproached him. Even after his baptism, persecution in his home continued. While he was a vacation pioneer his mother literally tore up all of his publications and his Bible. The young brother explained, “It is difficult to endure persecution from parents who profess to love you and whom you love dearly.” Even though his kind endeavors to explain why he cannot give up the precious privilege he has of serving Jehovah have not as yet met with any success, his example has been a source of encouragement to two other interested persons with whom he studies the Bible. They have been strengthened by his fine example. He has helped them to enroll in the Theocratic Ministry School and they recently gave their first student talks.

UPPER VOLTA Population: 4,467,000

Peak Publishers: 2 Ratio: 1 to 2,233,500

During the 1964 service year some work was done by a group of pioneers and publishers who moved into this country. Interest was found and literature distributed. However, the government then in power caused the expulsion of all of these publishers and the work stopped. During this service year a brother from France moved into the capital city, Ouagadougou, for a few months. He was able to do some witnessing, distribute literature and encourage an interested person located there. However, this publisher has since moved away, so as the service year ends very little is being done in preaching the good news of the Kingdom in Upper Volta. Perhaps Jehovah will open the way in the future.

GREECE Population: 8,500,000

Peak Publishers: 11,730 Ratio: 1 to 725

In spite of the change that took place in this country in April 1967, and the continuous subjection of everything to government control from then on, with the visible support of false religion, the preaching of the “good news” continued with great zeal on the part of Jehovah’s people.

This service year might well be termed an integritykeeping year on the part of our young brothers and sisters attending public schools. Although for years in the past these young witnesses of Jehovah were exempted from going to church, which was compulsory for Orthodox pupils only, this year the intolerant religious circles took action and succeeded in having a truly astounding circular order issued, demanding that heterodoxes and Christian witnesses of Jehovah make the sign of the cross and attend mass at the Orthodox church.

Expectedly, these young Christian witnesses of Jehovah refused to comply with these unlawful demands and, by their integrity, gave a tremendous witness in practically all of the country’s schools. Most of these young Witnesses were dismissed from school and lost this year’s education. Yet they are all joyful at having been given the occasion to give a fine witness to their faith and keep their Christian integrity while keeping themselves undefiled from Babylonian worship.

A secondary school professor strongly recommended that a young brother of the graduating class conform to the Ministry’s order and make the sign of the cross and attend the Orthodox church, that he might finish his studies and graduate from school without trouble. “Just shake your hand at the time of prayer, purporting to make the sign of the cross, and attend church service with us, and believe none of it,” said the professor. But the young Witness refused to compromise. “If my Christian belief interferes with my school education, I would rather learn the holy writings, the Scriptures, than compromise and go counter to my conscience, just in order to succeed in obtaining my graduation certificate,” was the young student’s answer to his professor, who listened to these words with surprise and admiration. Afterward, the professor suggested that the young brother continue attending school and, at group-prayer time, stay in the rear to avoid having it noticed that he did not make the sign of the cross. He also assigned him various jobs during the church mass, to keep him away from church service. Thus it became possible for this brother to graduate from school, without going contrary to his Christian conscience.

In a region of central Greece a congregation overseer began witnessing to an artisan who supplied him with shoes for sale. This man was an atheist and did not show any interest in Biblical matters. But the brother continued speaking to him about the Bible and offered him certain interesting articles to read in our magazines. At long last the brother succeeded in arranging for a Bible study at the home of this “atheist” artisan, with his assistant also attending. Both were progressing in knowledge of the truth, when another obstacle arose: The artisan’s wife, who was opposed to the truth, did everything she possibly could to prevent the study. She was afraid that her husband might become a witness of Jehovah and divorce her. The study was moved to another home, where it was continued regularly. In the meantime, the overseer’s wife met the artisan’s wife, and the result was that the prejudice ceased and the artisan’s wife agreed to attend the Bible study. Now all three are happy to have learned the truth and are walking in the way to life. Even the artisan’s assistant, on being summoned to render to “Caesar” the things that are God’s, kept integrity and is now in jail for his firm stand.

GUADELOUPE Population: 300,000

Peak Publishers: 1,018 Ratio: 1 to 295

“The good news has to be preached first.” This is just what our brothers have done in the French-speaking territories of the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique and in South American French Guiana. They have done so, not only in order that this might serve as a witness, but also in order to gather the “other sheep” still held captive in Babylon the Great.

Do not give up when you write your relatives. It can bear fruit in due time, as the following experience shows: Three years ago a publisher started writing to her fleshly sister about the truth, trying to get her interested in the Bible, the Word of God. After the third letter, she got an answer from her sister that was not encouraging at all. The fleshly sister stated that she was a very good churchgoing Catholic and not interested at all in the Bible. The publisher then tried to show that even priests encourage the reading of the Bible today. This did not meet with much success either, and a long time elapsed before she received another letter. However, our sister noticed in one of the letters that there was some complaint about world conditions. She took advantage of the opportunity and wrote to her fleshly sister explaining the meaning of the second letter of Paul to Timothy (3:1-5) and its fulfillment in our day. She also gave some good encouragement to turn to God and his only hope for mankind, namely, the kingdom in the hands of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Following that she got no reply. In fact, one year passed without any news from her sister. Were her efforts in vain? Not at all! Because she did not give up she was richly rewarded! She received an unexpected letter from her sister thanking her and telling her that after the last letter she began looking for one of Jehovah’s witnesses in her territory to study the Bible. She told her sister of her great happiness in having found the true religion. But the most touching part of her letter was the good news of her baptism at one of the circuit assemblies! So you can see that it is good not to give up when writing to relatives.

FRENCH GUIANA Population: 40,000

Peak Publishers: 93 Ratio: 1 to 430

It is truly encouraging to see how Jehovah is sustaining those who eagerly desire to serve him. Some have been strengthened to share in the vacation pioneer service. A married sister has six children to care for and an unbelieving husband. He is very opposed to the truth and inflicts all sorts of ill-treatment on his wife. He forbade her to attend meetings and to go out in the field service. He destroyed all the publications he could find. He beat her and often threatened her with death. He once believed that he would have success by refusing to provide the material needs for his family. He went so far that the sister had to appeal to the court to have her husband assume his family responsibilities. In spite of the opposition, she always finds a way to share in the ministry. She arranges, for example, to go out in the service when going to the market to shop, and she seizes all favorable occasions to witness. She is very courageous and attends meetings regardless of what may happen to her for doing so. She stays firm in her faith. During the month of September, the last month of school vacation for her children, her husband made the decision to send the children to another village along with his wife. Our sister took the opportunity to share in the vacation pioneer service. She is grateful to Jehovah, who has sustained her in such a wonderful way.

MARTINIQUE Population: 330,000

Peak Publishers: 351 Ratio: 1 to 940

Jehovah is attentive to the prayers of sheeplike ones, as the following experience shows: A special pioneer started to work in a new territory. He met two ladies at a door and gave his sermon. One of the ladies, a neighbor, soon left. The pioneer thought she was not interested. But that was not so! After finishing his witness to the householder, he started to walk on. The neighbor called to him and said: “Monsieur, are you not coming to my house?” “Of course. Yes,” was the answer. He then presented his sermon again, drawing to her attention the importance of knowing the will of God through a study of the Bible. The pioneer said she was thirsty, drinking in each Bible truth presented. Finally she explained: “Frankly, I was a very strong churchgoing Catholic, even working for the priest, but my fleshly sister loaned the Catholic Crampon version of the Bible to me. When I started reading it I soon noted that my religion is not according to the Word of God. For a while I thought I would choose another religion, but I was afraid I might choose a false religion again. So I prayed to God with all my heart to send someone to enlighten me.” After a good discussion she breathed deeply and said: “I know this is the truth, and that my prayers have been answered by God.” The special pioneer explained how she could increase in knowledge through a Bible study using the book “Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie,” and he soon began a study of the Bible with her. He showed her the importance of a family study, so arrangements were made to meet her husband two days later. When the pioneer arrived on the appointed day, the husband was absent, and even when he returned and saw the pioneer he would not enter the house. The pioneer encouraged the lady to show patience and promised to come back to see her husband at another time. She said: “I hope that Jehovah will help me to aid my husband.” At the next visit, what a pleasant surprise it was for the pioneer to see that the entire family of seven persons were waiting for him! What a fine study was had that day! All the family made rapid progress, and soon afterward they began attending meetings with the isolated group. Their first circuit assembly made a strong impression on them and helped them to see the privilege they have of sharing the good news with others. After only six months from the time of the initial study they shared in service. The husband and wife are now very happy to share in the gathering work. They were baptized during the recent district assembly. Jehovah indeed hears the prayers of those who long to serve him.

GUATEMALA Population: 4,863,520

Peak Publishers: 1,638 Ratio: 1 to 2,969

For Jehovah’s people in Guatemala the past service year proved to be a year of peace such as only those within the organization of Jehovah can find. Happily they went about their preaching and teaching as never before.

Our four circuit servants are now able to visit all the congregations and isolated groups regularly, and many are the experiences they have. One tells of setting out on foot to find an isolated brother in the mountains near the Mexican border. It is difficult to find out how far it is to a certain place, since there are only footpaths and most of those who live near the road have never been to these distant isolated places. Our circuit servant and his wife started climbing the mountain one afternoon in the direction indicated. As night fell they were still far from their destination. Some huts were scattered a distance from the path, so they called out that they were lost in the mountains, but because of fear the natives only closed their doors. Being unable to travel in the darkness, the brother placed five magazines on each of two large rocks, a place for his wife and a place for himself, and then they sat down to try to rest. After ten hours daylight came, so they could continue their journey. When they found the brother, the previous night was quickly forgotten, as thirteen persons gathered to hear a Bible discussion. How had this brother learned the truth? He had obtained a Paradise book about three years before from Mexican brothers working isolated territory. After reading the book he walked several times to visit the Mexican congregation, a distance of fifteen miles. On one of these trips he was baptized.

On a second trip by the circuit servant to visit the same brother he reported that from eight to eleven persons were attending the book study. Working in the territory, he found the people very poor, but they do raise coffee. So after giving his Bible sermon, he told the people: “Your coffee is some of the best in the country and it is really tasty, so if you wish to drink in these waters of truth I will exchange the literature for some of your coffee.” In this way two books were placed, a subscription was obtained and eleven pounds of coffee were received. He concludes: “The people are extremely poor. Words are not able to describe their condition; one would have to see with his own eyes how poor people can be. Being with them for a few days opens the gates of one’s heart. They will really enjoy all that Jehovah our God will do for them during the 1,000-year reign.”

By faithful endurance special pioneers see the “sheep” coming to the “right shepherd.” One special pioneer and congregation servant tells how a sister, associated with the congregation but living on a land development project far from the town, faithfully preaches the “good news of the kingdom.” Many Protestant organizations are found in the territory, and on one occasion the adopted son of one of the pastors of a small religious meeting house listened with interest to the message, especially the truth regarding the trinity. Due to his interest the special pioneer had a two-hour discussion with the youth. The lad wrote down the Bible texts and then went to his preacher stepfather to explain what he had learned. Soon afterward the father announced to his congregation that Jehovah’s witnesses have the truth and that there are not three divine persons in one God, and that he planned to study with Jehovah’s witnesses. On the next visit of the special pioneer many were assembled in the small church to listen to a talk about eternal life in a paradise earth. That very day a home Bible study was started and arrangements were made for more meetings. At Memorial time the celebration was held in the meeting place formerly used for false religion, and 115 attended. Several have now begun to participate in the preaching work, including the former pastor. The sign on the building now says “Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

GUYANA Population: 692,780

Peak Publishers: 1,119 Ratio: 1 to 619

Our service year started off with two interesting classes of the Kingdom Ministry School and reached a climax with two thrilling district assemblies in August, strengthening our faith to keep on boldly proclaiming the “good news.” Here are some experiences:

“I had been living in the way of the world all my life, enjoying its pleasures and committing numerous sins,” admitted a man making his first appearance on the platform at the district assembly. About seven years ago he left his wife to live in his mother’s home. He became more bitter when he heard that his wife had become one of Jehovah’s witnesses and now ‘walked around selling books, along with her seven children.’ His children even called on him, trying to witness to him. But he concluded that his wife had sent them, so he would not listen.

“One Sunday morning early in 1966 my last child of eight came to talk to me and my mother,” he related. “His little sermon on God being alive I will never forget. His simple, sincere witness awakened my sense of reason. I was then a member of the Catholic church, serving as assistant choirmaster, secretary of the Blessed Sacrament Guild and vice-president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. I had not been reading the Bible, nor did my church ever give me encouragement to do so. Yet here before me was my smallest child explaining to me things that I should have been able to teach him!”

His son B----followed up this visit by inviting his

father to the district assembly. He attended and was pleasantly surprised at the friendliness and hospitality shown him, a number of brothers offering to assist him in locating Bible texts as he closely followed the dramas and the talks.

Giving due credit to his wife’s patience and forgiveness and the valuable contribution of a child’s witness (Matt. 21:16), he concluded: “After attending two more assemblies I approached my wife for a reconciliation, which was accepted. Then my wife and my oldest son studied with me faithfully and I became a publisher. Now that I am baptized at this assembly (1968), I can assume my responsibility completely as the head of a happy, theocratic family of nine publishers.”

A special pioneer observed that one man on his magazine route showed more interest in the truth than the others and started a Bible study with him. Being a lay reader and Sunday school teacher in the Anglican Church, this man posed many doctrinal questions—trinity, hellfire, the soul, and so forth. He purchased a New World Translation in order to teach the children in his Sunday school better. After eighteen months of studying with the special pioneer, he attended his first circuit assembly. “I have never attended anything like this before,” he said. “If my Sunday school ever had an outing, it was always disorganized!” He saw clearly the need of abandoning Babylon the Great and desired to attend the Watchtower study regularly, although it was conducted weekly at the same hour as his Sunday school.

He saw his opportunity shortly after this assembly when his Anglican minister visited him to request him to build a “Christmas crib,” as he was a skilled carpenter. The man declined, and then informed the clergyman of his resignation from the church. The false shepherd merely said, “We’re going to miss you,” and retreated. This lack of interest in one of his “sheep” added to the growing conviction of this new student of God’s Word that he was taking the right course. He studied even more diligently, reading many past issues of The Watchtower for additional knowledge, and soon was baptized. Shortly he will be qualified to be a servant.

HAITI Population: 3,384,000

Peak Publishers: 1,604 Ratio: 1 to 2,110

Truly, the past service year was one of the most blessed we have known in Haiti. The enthusiasm and the devotion of the brothers in joyously sharing the truth with others can be seen by the 19.4-percent increase recorded for the past service year. The “Disciplemaking” District Assembly and, more recently, the “Good News for All Nations” District Assembly, with their living and instructive dramas, along with the new Truth book, have greatly contributed to giving the brothers the spiritual vigor that animates them. Many Sns, even certain churchmen, have been caused to due to having been contacted by Jehovah’s witnesses.

In support of this, here is what was related to us by a special pioneer: “Working my territory, which includes the Catholic presbytery, I decided to visit the parish priest. After the customary initial greeting and my identifying myself, the priest said to me, ‘Mr. X, I commend you for your zeal, but considering the great distance which separates Jehovah’s witnesses from us, it will not be possible to arrive at an agreement on any controversial subject. Thus, you would do better going elsewhere.’ ” Without hesitation the pioneer said to him that, in spite of the great weaknesses of the church as far as doctrines were concerned, he had not come to discuss them but simply to point out the truths relative to God’s kingdom. The priest retorted, saying, “Can you specify a certain weakness of the Roman church?” The brother pointed out problems that arise from the doctrine of papal infallibility. After a. brief moment’s reflection, the priest invited him to sit down. Taking the occasion, the brother gave an improvised sermon commenting on the “Our Father.” At this the ecclesiastic said to him: “What? You say the ‘Our Father’ too? Isn’t that a Catholic prayer?” The brother pointed out to him in the preface of the “Pater Noster,” that it is said that “this is the prayer that the Lord himself taught us.” The priest admitted that it was not a Catholic prayer. Dinner time having come, the pioneer took his leave and, promising a return visit, left him the book “Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie” and four booklets.

HAWAII Population: 792,444

Peak Publishers: 2,728 Ratio: 1 to 290

We rejoice at the end of the service year to see ten of our faithful, hardworking pioneers and a circuit servant and his wife going off to Gilead, to Brooklyn Bethel and to assignments in the Trust Territories of the Pacific where the need is great. Spirituality among the brothers is good and meeting attendance is steadily improving in the congregations. We joyfully anticipate seeing many of our brothers from other lands in November 1969 at our international district assembly in Honolulu.

Placing the Yearbook with our Bible students and encouraging them to read the text daily, along with at least one experience, gets fine results in aiding sheeplike ones to flee quickly from Babylon the Great, as the following experience shows: An elderly seventyeight-year-old woman that had been a Protestant all her life began to study with one of the pioneer sisters. Due to her age and an arthritic condition in her legs and back, she was not able to stand very long and had a feeling of uselessness and depression. Additionally, when she began to study with the pioneer sister, Catholic relatives who lived with her began to ridicule her for studying the Bible and would try to discourage her from private study in the home. However, she studied regularly and came to some Watchtower studies, but suddenly stopped due to family circumstances.

The pioneer sister discussed the problem with other pioneers, and it was thought that she might still have some religious pictures or ornaments in her possession hindering her progress in the truth, even though she had stopped attending her former religious church. It was suggested that a Yearbook be placed with her, and after each study experiences dealing with images and spiritism could be read. This was done, and in the discussions it was pointed out how images and idols can be detrimental to one’s Christian growth and how Satan and his wicked spirits can easily hinder one’s worship of Jehovah if one violates God’s law on idolatry. After reading several experiences illustrating these points, she was amazed to learn how dangerous images are to Christian spirituality. Immediately she threw away all of her religious things from Babylon the Great and got her niece to get rid of a hideous three-and-a-half-foot “tiki” god full of eyes on all sides. Her instructions were to either take it away or use it for firewood. Since taking these steps to rid herself and her household of demonic influence through Babylonish idols, she is making fine progress spiritually. She attends meetings at the Kingdom Hall regularly each week, does incidental witnessing to her friends and relatives, even mailing them the Awake! magazines. On her own she regularly reads the day’s text and experiences from the Yearbook. She has expressed a desire to become one of Jehovah’s witnesses.

MARSHALL ISLANDS Population: 18,239

Peak Publishers: 33 Ratio: 1 to 553

The past service year has been a very fruitful one in the Marshall Islands, as the Witnesses continue to enjoy fine increases. Many firsts were enjoyed during the year. They had their first circuit assembly ever held in these islands, with 110 attending the public talk. For the first time the Kingdom good news is being broadcast through the local radio station in the Marshallese language, reaching scores of outlying islands that had never heard the Kingdom message before. A brother who works on a copra ship reports that many eagerly listen to our program each Sunday morning. Another first for the year was having three local publishers take up the vacation pioneer work. Arrangements are now under way for the publication of the “Good News” booklet in Marshallese, also marking the first time any of the Society’s literature will have been printed in this language.

Elderly persons, steeped in false religion, can be freed from Babylonish bondage as the powerful truths of Jehovah’s Word contrast the difference between the practices of true worship and the worldly ones of Babylon the Great. One of the missionaries studied with an elderly man who he thought would progress very slowly. At every opportunity the missionary would contrast the Bible’s teachings with those of the man’s religion, especially pointing out unchristian customs introduced in the Marshall Islands by Protestant missionaries of Christendom. The Marshallese people ardently support and involve themselves in holiday observances, and the churches capitalize on Christmas celebrations for financial gain. Church representatives approach people in their homes at Christmastime asking for $5 to $10 each, whether they are practicing Protestants or not. Churchgoers have been trained to bring much food and clothing for the minister at Christmastime, while they live in frugal circumstances. The householders are reminded that it is ‘better to give than it is to receive.’ Christmas trees with many branches and no leaves are erected in the churches for members to hang dollar bills upon.

Upon observing such practices in Christendom and noticing that Jehovah’s witnesses refrain from observing pagan holidays and worldly celebrations, the man asked the missionary, “Why the difference?” A study of “Holidays” in the “Make Sure of All Things” book aided him to see the unscripturalness of worldly practices in Christendom and the need to make the break from Babylon the Great. He discontinued going to his church and began attending meetings at the Kingdom Hall. When former church associates asked him why he no longer attended church, he replied: “Why should I go back to that church when all these years I have been giving them my money but have been starving for spiritual food? Now I am filled!” He was baptized at the latest circuit assembly and is now actively engaged in the ministry, conducting two home Bible studies.

HONDURAS Population: 2,068,063

Peak Publishers: 1,013 Ratio: 1 to 2,042

A special pioneer brother started a study with a young man who worked in a restaurant that also serves as a house of prostitution. He was making good money and was well liked by the owner of the establishment. He seemed to lack nothing. When he began to study the Bible, he was informed of the purpose of the study. After a few months’ time little progress had been made in bringing his life into harmony with the Bible principles, although he was enjoying the study very much. The pioneer brother informed him that the study would be discontinued as there were many who wanted to learn of God’s purposes and who would make the needed changes in time to conform to God’s will.

A month after the study had been discontinued this young man visited the home of the special pioneer and told him that he had left his place of work and that he wanted to study again. He started selling caramel-coated popcorn from house to house, which was quite humiliating for him. He was barely able to get by financially, but he wanted to serve Jehovah and was willing to make the needed sacrifices. After two months of renewed study and attendance at congregation meetings, he told the pioneer brother that he now fulfilled all the necessary requirements to be a publisher of the “good news,” and he wanted to share in the ministry. The first month in the field service he spent fifty hours, and now he is planning to be baptized. He presently is learning to be a tailor so that he can provide honestly for his needs and serve Jehovah.

As Jehovah is “speeding up” the work, we should take advantage of every opportunity to witness incidentally. A circuit servant’s wife, while making a visit on a Bible student in his store, was encouraging him to take the needed steps to serve Jehovah, since he was not yet married to the woman with whom he was living. When two men entered the store, the sister offered them the magazines. They said they did not have any money, so the owner of the store volunteered to buy the magazines for them. During the next visit of the circuit servant to this isolated group, the owner of the store made arrangements to get married and after the wedding the circuit servant gave a brief talk. Between these two visits by the circuit servant the two men that had taken magazines from the circuit servant’s wife had been studying the Bible with the store owner. They, too, attended the wedding and marriage talk and liked it very much, so they began to think of marriage as they both were living consensually with their mates. Within the following few months both men were legally married. Now the store owner and his wife and these two men and their wives are publishers of the “good news,” all having taken their stand in about a year’s time.

It is truly heartwarming when we can aid those of our own family to accept the truth. The overseer in one of the units in the capital visited his family to see if he could help some. First he visited a town called Ocotepeque, some 600 kilometers from his home, staying six days with his father and mother. Before he left, arrangements had been made to hold a Bible study with them. From there the brother traveled to El Salvador, a country bordering Honduras, where his brother lives with his wife and children. The trip was not easy; part of it had to be made either on foot or horseback. What a joy it was for him to associate with them again after thirteen years and to see how they began to respond to the message of the “good news”! As he used the Bover Cantera Catholic Bible and the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, the Bible truths began to unfold before their very eyes, and for the first time they began to understand the Bible verses that they had previously only read. But the visit was to be short and there was so much to learn. How could he speed it up? The first night they talked until three in the morning, and the next two days were the same. For three days and three nights they basked in the warming message of the truth.

Upon returning home the overseer wrote the branch office in El Salvador and arrangements were made for brothers from the nearest congregation to visit them. A Bible study was conducted twice a month, and what a joy it was to this brother to receive the first letter from his fleshly brother with theocratic terms! After a year and a half, not only this family but other persons in this isolated territory began to take their stand for Jehovah. This fleshly brother and his wife, along with seven other persons, are now publishing. Both he and his wife have dedicated their lives to Jehovah and plan to be baptized at the first opportunity. They now travel more than forty kilometers regularly each week to attend the congregation meetings. Heartwarming, indeed!

HONG KONG Population: 4,000,000

Peak Publishers: 228 Ratio: 1 to 17,544

The unsettled conditions at the beginning of the service year made the witness work more difficult than in the past, but as the year progressed life returned to normal again. There is great material prosperity in Hong Kong, and the majority are concerned with the material things of life. They think that security lies in the accumulation of material wealth. During the past year some have left Jehovah’s organization because, as one expressed it, “the cost of being a true Christian is too great.” Some have left Hong Kong for other countries, so there are fewer publishers than one year ago. However, there is still a fine group of publishers in this field who appreciate the urgency of the times and know that the “good news” must be preached to the Chinese people too.

The importance of good personal attention to aid those who have strayed from Jehovah’s organization to return cannot be overemphasized. About six years ago a young sister who appeared to have a deep love and appreciation for the truth suddenly cut off all association. Her parents, who were opposed to the truth, forced her to marry a worldly man, and they went to live with the husband’s aunt, who also was a real opposer of the truth. The congregation arranged for a mature sister to visit her, and regular visits were made to encourage her. Then she moved and it appeared that all was lost. But one day the sister who had been trying to assist her received a letter saying that the aunt who had been such an opposer had died and she was now free to have someone visit her again. She expressed her regrets at having left the truth and her keen desire to return. She hoped her brothers and sisters would forgive her and help her to study again and regain her spirituality. She was contacted immediately and given the assistance she needed. At the circuit assembly she told the brothers how much she appreciated their loving concern for her and the personal help given. These things helped her to grasp the opportunity to return to the truth.

The ‘Impossible to Lie¹ book in Chinese has been well received by the brothers. One missionary sister writes: “When we knew we would study this book each Tuesday evening, we were enthusiastic about rekindling the interest of those who formerly had shown some interest in the truth. One woman who had shown interest in the truth ten years ago but had done nothing about it accepted the invitation to attend. Now that her family was growing up she seemed anxious to do something about studying the Bible. I took advantage of this opportunity to suggest a family Bible study, and she readily accepted. Not only does she share in the family study with her husband and three children, but she is now attending all the meetings and sharing in the house-to-house ministry!”

MACAO Population: 375,000

Peak Publishers: 8 Ratio: 1 to 46,875

During the past service year the people of Macao have had their greatest opportunity to hear the good news of Jehovah’s kingdom. A special pioneer sister there always makes a point of being very friendly to all. In one home she was studying with a young woman and noted that the young woman’s brother was a prospective “sheep.” So one day she visited the home especially to talk to the young man. He did not manifest great interest in the Bible at first, but the special visit impressed him. From then on he decided to study and his interest grew. The riots and troubles in Macao made him realize the hopelessness of this old system and he now rejoices in the Bible’s hope for a bright and happy future. Being a keen student, he has progressed well, and during the circuit servant’s visit he was baptized. The sister’s policy of being friendly to all paid dividends.

ICELAND Population: 199,920

Peak Publishers: 129 Ratio: 1 to 1,550

For almost forty years Jehovah’s witnesses have carried on the preaching work in this cold northern land of hardy fishermen and shepherd-farmers. Superstition and spiritism have held sway for ages, though challenged in recent years by modern materialism. Starting in 1929, a pioneer toiled alone for eighteen years, reaching practically every farmstead by horseback, preaching and distributing literature. In 1947 and again in 1949 Gilead graduates were sent to help him, and other full-time servants joined them. Ten years later all of these early fighters had been forced to leave for health reasons, but a little congregational nucleus had been formed, with seven publishers. More full-time workers were sent, so that at the beginning of the 1958 service year four special pioneers were working with the congregation, making a total of eleven publishers declaring the “good news.” Now, eleven years later, there are more than eleven times these eleven publishers, and, by Jehovah’s undeserved kindness, the increase continues in this comparatively young congregation.

The past year was one of much happiness. We had more assemblies than ever, almost four, as the year concluded with an assembly ending in the new service year; we got two more Gilead graduates to assist us, and, last but not least, the Society’s president paid a visit to Iceland, making it his last stop on his trip around the world. The brothers thrilled to hear his service talk, rejoicing in the progress now reported from all corners of the earth, and they are sure ‘not to forget’ this wonderful occasion.

Youths can give a fine witness, as evidenced by this experience from our smallest congregation: An eightyear-old son of an interested lady had learned that God’s name is Jehovah. One day, when his mother was attending a meeting, his twenty-five-year-old brother came and asked, “Is Mother with those Jehovah’s again?” “You should not talk like that,” answered the eight-year-old. “Why not?” inquired the older one. “Well, if you see a lady in the street, then lady is not her name. She is a lady, but she has a name.” “What has that to do with God?” demanded the older one. He got the clear reply: “It is just the same with God. He is God, but his name is Jehovah.” This reasoning so astonished the older brother that he went home and talked these matters over with his wife; later they contacted the Witnesses through his mother, and a Bible study was started in their home. Since then they have made great progress with the study, attend the meetings, and talk to others about the truth.

Perseverance has been a must for the publishers in Iceland, as this experience shows: After learning the truth about ten years ago, a sister started talking to her friends about it, and one showed some interest. Finally, about a year ago, a regular study was started with her, and from then on she made fine progress. However, when she wanted to quit her church membership, her husband was opposed; so she asked him: “Did you cast your vote for the----party in the recent elec

tions?” “No,” he said. “Why not?” she asked. “Well, I don’t agree with that party.” “Well,” she said, “it is the same with me. I don’t agree with the church and want to quit it.” She was allowed to quit the church, continues with the study and is now planning to have a share in the field service.

INDIA Population: 515,000,000

Peak Publishers: 2,468 Ratio: 1 to 208,671

The district assemblies, with their heart-stirring dramas, and Brother Knorr’s first personal visit to the new branch property were outstanding events during the year. We certainly did enjoy having him with us and appreciated the timely counsel he gave us.

The Kingdom Ministry and circuit servants emphasized helping inactive ones, with some good results. There is still need for building up spirituality and appreciation for the truth, but the following experiences will show how this is gradually being accomplished.

A sister had been inactive for the past thirty years, though occasionally attending meetings. During the visit of the circuit servant, she invited the servant and his wife for a meal. During the meal the discussion turned to the blessings of the new system of things, and tactfully it was emphasized that these blessings were to be an inheritance. It was pointed out that public declaration of Jehovah’s name was an essential on the part of those who would qualify to inherit these blessings. That afternoon the circuit servant’s wife had no appointments to work with other publishers, so she suggested that the householder might like to keep her company while she made some calls. She agreed, so they went out in the service together, and now the once-inactive sister has become a regular preacher of the “good news.”

Intimidation and threats of violence from an unbelieving father caused a family of five to become inactive for several months. The eldest daughter had been beaten by her father for attending meetings. Two special pioneers made it a matter of prayer as to how they could help these young publishers. They felt that the longer they allowed matters to drift the harder it would be to reactivate them. They finally decided to visit the father at his place of business rather than at his home. They asked Jehovah to send his angel before them to guide them. To their complete surprise, the man greeted them in a friendly manner and, to their astonishment, asked them to go to the house and speak to his daughter. Soon a family Bible study was started in the home, with the father present. There had been a complete change. Now the eldest daughter is reporting field service regularly.

A word of commendation is appropriate for a group of brothers, poor in this world’s goods, living some 400 miles from Bombay. They were keen on attending the district assembly in Bombay, but just prior to the assembly very serious floods disrupted all rail traffic. Just the day before the assembly some makeshift transportation was provided by rail and bus along a very roundabout route. To catch the first available train the brothers went straight from their work without going home. They had to stand all the way in a coach packed to the limit, then wait in a queue for two hours to get on the first available bus and finish the journey by another train, arriving in Bombay very late at night. They expected to spend the night at the station, but local brothers were there to greet them and take them to their accommodations. These brothers, though poor in material things, were rich in faith, and a fine example of zeal and determination to be with their brothers.

INDONESIA Population: 110,000,000

Peak Publishers: 1,757 Ratio: 1 to 62,607

Indonesia is a widely scattered territory with 3,000 inhabited islands. Poor transport facilities make communication and travel difficult. A number of new islands and cities were witnessed to by special pioneers during the year, but about 70 percent of the population still reside in unassigned territory.

In Indonesia many young people are sent by their parents to attend school in cities where they can get a higher education. Away from local traditions, they are not unduly hindered from hearing and receiving the truth. On learning the truth many of these brothers choose the pioneer service. This brings family opposition, as the family want their children to finish school, obtaining a diploma or a title. Where persuasion and threats do not succeed, the parental allowance is cut off, leaving the children stranded financially. In some cases they are disowned by the family if there is strong religious opposition. Among the special and regular pioneers are many who have discontinued college even though this course has brought hardships and persecution. Needless to say, these have become very fine, loyal preachers of the “good news,” assisting many sheeplike persons, particularly younger people.

A youth whose allowance was cut off by his parents after he had been baptized and entered the vacation pioneer service recalls that he often went out leaving an empty pantry. However, he said he always placed literature and came home with rice and vegetables, so he never went hungry. By trusting in Jehovah’s promise to provide the necessities of life, he continued pioneering and is now serving as a special pioneer.

One brother who works at an office to provide the necessities of life for his wife and five children at the same time manages to be a vacation pioneer. He witnesses to his own family before leaving for work in the morning, takes every opportunity to witness to his fellow workers during the day, and on the way home witnesses to the passengers, distributing tracts. With a schedule for regular house-to-house calls after work, he manages to continue as a vacation pioneer.

IRELAND Population: 4,376,800

Peak Publishers: 805 Ratio: 1 to 5,437

Generally throughout the field a more liberal and tolerant spirit is becoming manifest. Placements of literature have been higher than in any previous service year, and more people are listening to the “good news.” As a result of this the home Bible study work is developing, and the brothers feel that a sound basis is being laid for a fine increase in the work of disciplemaking. With this in mind, the release of the new Truth book at the district assembly was greeted with great enthusiasm, and already it has had a wonderfully stimulating effect in the ministry.

The time to flee from Babylon the Great was never more favorable in this land, and honest-hearted ones are responding to the call at Revelation 18:4. Many fine experiences have been enjoyed in assisting them, and it is a pleasure to relate one or two of them. A doctor from Biafra, practising in a hospital in this country, obtained a copy of the Awake! on “Medical Experiments.” Immediately he and another doctor friend accepted an invitation to have a personal Bible study, admitting that, although they were reared as Catholics, they had never really been taught the Bible. They prepared for the study well and made rapid progress in gaining a knowledge of the truth. They also attended meetings and expressed much appreciation for them.

One month after the original contact one of them arranged for another doctor to stand in for him at the hospital so that he could attend the “Good News for All Nations” District Assembly. Writing of his impressions of the assembly, this doctor says: “I cannot recall any conference or gathering that I enjoyed so much as the Watch Tower convention in Belfast. Since my return I have attended all the meetings of the Witnesses and I now regard myself as a Witness, without a second thought. In fact, I have disposed of my Catholic prayer- and songbook, my confirmation cards and my chaplet. I have destroyed all for good.” What a speedy, decisive and intelligent response to the call to get out of Babylon the Great!

Another experience involving a departure from Babylonish practices illustrates the value of witnessing to relatives. A schoolteacher who was a firm believer in evolution stayed for her holidays with a family of Witnesses. At the end of her stay, thanks to the help of the Evolution book, she no longer believed in evolution and took back home with her the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, a copy of the “All Scripture Is Inspired” book and the ‘Impossible to Lie’ book. After her return home, her relatives wrote suggesting that someone call, with the result that she now has a personal home Bible study and attends the meetings. As a schoolteacher, she is required to provide religious instruction, and in the school library she found a book that made Bible study very easy—the Paradise book. She uses it to help with her religious instruction lessons. At Christmastime her classroom was the only one without decorations and a Christmas tree. When pupils asked the reason, she explained that it was a pagan festival, backing up her explanation with points from the Awake! magazine.

ISRAEL Population: 3,702,500

Peak Publishers: 161 Ratio: 1 to 22,997

When the special issue of Awake! came out answering the question “Why Does God Permit Wickedness?” the brothers here found it to be a most effective instrument in their ministry, for almost everyone asks that very question, often as a consequence of personal suffering in Nazi camps or loss of loved ones. Various religious leaders have failed to provide the Bible’s understandable and comforting answer to this key question, and many have lost faith altogether. So it was a happy surprise to the brothers to receive this material in booklet form in the Hebrew language, when it was released at the “Disciple-making” District Assembly. And how enthusiastically they have distributed it!

Once again we were happy to have our local ministerial service augmented by the good work of others in distant lands who took advantage of the Society’s giftsubscription arrangement as a way to inform relatives and acquaintances of the Kingdom message. As an example, take the case of one lady who received the Awake! subscription as a gift from a friend. She showed appreciation, so her address was passed on to a local sister. Though some distance away, the sister visited the lady and found her to be spiritually minded but very sick and physically weak, following World War II hardships. On that first visit a study was started, but after only one paragraph the lady was too tired to continue concentrating. In view of the distance involved and the woman’s physical condition, the publisher doubted the value of further calls, but was reminded of Yearbook experiences in which physical health greatly improved as a result of the truth’s comfort. So she traveled out there to study twice each month and noted that the material was always well prepared and appreciated, even though only one or two paragraphs could be covered each time. When prevented from visiting on one occasion, the sister sent her a list of questions from a chapter in the study book. The answers came through the mail within a few days—and such fine answers! The lady expressed her happiness about the study and commented on how much her health was improving since commencing to study the Bible. Thenceforth the study was held every week. Her husband, who had previously ripped up her Bible, began to study with a brother, as did their son and daughter. Now the whole family travel to every meeting. They constantly express their amazement over the great improvement in the mother’s health. A knowledge of the truth made a sad heart glad, and that in turn brought health improvements.—Prov. 17:22.

For the brothers from all parts of the territory, the assemblies were the outstanding highlights of the year. They brought delightful opportunities to enjoy fellowship and to taste the real heartfelt unity that prevails throughout the New World society. Jewish and Arabic brothers sat down happily together to enjoy the same spiritual food and to exchange theocratic news and experiences, without any trace of the bitter feelings and suspicions commonly manifested between these groups. Here is living evidence that the truth surmounts all race and language barriers and that the true worship of Jehovah is a powerful uniting force. Such a visible demonstration of this important truth had a profound effect on the brothers as well as interested persons who attended the assembly sessions.

ITALY Population: 53,718,609

Peak Publishers: 12,886 Ratio: 1 to 4,169

It is wonderful to be able to report another year’s activity by the brothers in Italy, Libya and Somaliland. The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures and the book Life Everlasting—in Freedom of the Sons of God in Italian were greatly appreciated and had a wide distribution. In fact, with 144,102 bound books distributed, this year has been the very best year for the distribution of bound books. Also, these new publications were useful in helping the brothers to grow to Christian maturity.

The importance of making back-calls is shown by the following experience: A brother living in the city of C--- made a back-call on a man who had shown

interest and found him at home with a workmate. They asked many Bible questions and were satisfied with the answers they got. At the end of the visit they subscribed for The Watchtower and Awake! and took the Paradise book. Besides, an appointment was made to visit the workmate at his home. When this other man was visited, there were quite a few people there that he had invited as well as his sister who had been in a religious institution for fifteen years. A Bible study was started and, little by little, the number of those present grew until finally there was an average of fourteen. After some weeks the man’s sister met the parish priest and said to him: “Do you know there are people that talk about the Bible and say that there is no such thing as the trinity, an immortal soul, and so on?” “yes, I know it,” he replied. “Well, what do you think about it?” asked the woman. “Well, I think that somebody has brought the truth to our parish at last!” As a result two other Bible studies were started, one with the priest’s own niece.

Children can give an excellent witness at school about the truth if they receive good training from their parents. A small girl attended the second elementary class in P---, and one day the teacher asked some

pupils to tell tales. When the turn came for our young publisher, the teacher said: “Would you, too, like to tell a tale from the Bible?” The young girl said she would, pointing out, however, that the Bible does not tell tales, but only truthful events that really occurred. She then started about the creation of man and woman, how they were put in the earthly paradise and how sin came, which we all have inherited. At the end of her talk all the young girls applauded. The teacher then asked the girl how she came to know all these things, to which the girl replied that her mother conducted a Bible study with her in the Paradise book. The teacher asked whether she could have a look at the book, so the girl brought it to her. She also placed a tract with each one of her schoolmates. As a result, two of her schoolmates now come to her house to attend the study the mother conducts.

By using tact it is possible to help relatives gain the truth, as the following experience of a brother shows: “Some of my Catholic relatives had never accepted the truth because every time my uncle, who was one of Jehovah’s witnesses, spoke to them about it, an argument always arose and they became more hostile than ever. When I spent a week with them I decided not to talk about the truth, but simply to read the Bible aloud, just as if it were a storybook. While I was reading in Acts about the persecution of Paul and his fellow workers, my aunt said: ‘Well, I must say that today Jehovah’s witnesses are true Christians, because they are persecuted just as in the days of the apostles.’ I didn’t insist on this point, but continued reading the Bible every evening. At the end of the week, before I left, my aunt came to me and asked to subscribe for The Watchtower, which she had never wanted before. Besides, she asked me to go to a jeweler to get her gold medal bearing the image of Mary changed to something else. Some time later her husband also started to study, and they are both in the truth now.”

LIBYA Population: 1,677,000

Peak Publishers: 39 Ratio: 1 to 43,000

The importance of giving a good impression when people do not show immediate interest as well as the importance of repeatedly covering the territory is confirmed by the following experience. Some time ago a woman was witnessed to about the truth, but some friends discouraged her, speaking unfavorably of one of their relatives that had become a Witness. However, they admitted that the relative had changed his conduct, as he did not beat his wife as he had done before becoming a Witness. The woman was thus induced to think that his religion had something good about it after all. Later when a brother knocked at her door, she listened out of curiosity. Soon she became very interested and a study was arranged. She was also joined by her husband. Now she witnesses to everyone she can and already feels she is a Witness.

Even the desert, where there is only “black gold,” gives forth fruitage as interested persons are contacted. A brother who was irregular in the field service was encouraged to witness at his place of work. At first he thought it worthless trying since the thoughts of his fellow workers were generally on material and sensual things. Anyway, he prayed to Jehovah for help, and now he says that there are good possibilities. He started two studies that are making good progress, and many other workmates ask him questions about the truth.

SOMALIA. Population: 2,500,000

Peak Publishers: 1 Ratio: 1 to 2,500,000

During the service year a sister moved into the country with her husband, who is not in the truth. Both of them have taken up secular employment in Mogadiscio. In spite of the difficulties that a woman has to face in this territory, this sister is using every opportunity to extend the message of the truth. She distributed several books and was able to interest a German lady in the truth and to start a Bible study with her. This sister was very encouraged when the zone servant paid her a visit. We pray to Jehovah to send more workers into this land.

JAMAICA Population: 1,893,000

Peak Publishers: 5,219 Ratio: 1 to 363

We are all grateful for the information that has come to us through the Society’s publications, especially the new Truth book, and for the “Good News for All Nations” District Assemblies.

A young lady, who considered herself to be a devout Catholic, and not interested in Bible discussions with Jehovah’s witnesses, happened to be visiting a home where a Bible study was being conducted. Following the study this lady entered the room and casually opened the New World Translation to Exodus chapter 20. Noticing that certain scriptures were underlined, she read those portions, which dealt with Jehovah’s rejection of images in worship. After reading these silently, she began to ask questions, and the more she asked the more she learned. Her interest in the truth eventually led to a home Bible study. When she revealed to her parents that she was having her Bible questions answered by Jehovah’s witnesses, her mother suggested that she talk with the priest, for that was where she should seek help in Bible matters. The girl took the advice and asked the priest about purgatory and limbo, but he admitted he was unable to assist; he told her that she should go to see a priest who knows the Bible. But the second priest advised her to stick to the teachings of Jehovah’s witnesses. That advice was unnecessary, however, because she was already learning the truth, living by it and teaching it to others. She is now a dedicated minister of Jehovah God.

Jesus said that a mustard grain is very small but what it produces is big and useful. (Mark 4:31, 32) A handbill used in the ministry might be said to be the same. One of our brothers had a memorable experience using handbills one evening when doing street work. He was offering magazines and at the same time inviting people to a public meeting to be held the following day. One person to whom he gave a handbill attended the talk, but our brother did not know that the gentleman was in the audience until he introduced himself to the brother when the talk was finished. The brother was surprised and delighted and took the opportunity to arrange a back-call for the next evening. When he arrived at the home of the interested person, he learned that the man had prepared two pages of questions that he wanted answered. After several discussions, a home Bible study was started. This led the man to accept the truth and dedicate his life to Jehovah. He now serves as a book study servant. The use of handbills in this instance produced good results.

CAYMAN ISLANDS Population: 9,181

Peak Publishers: 12 Ratio: 1 to 765

One day while engaging in the house-to-house ministry, a publisher delivered her sermon to a woman and then presented the Evolution book. The book was accepted, the householder having in mind the use her child would have for it in her schoolwork.-When the daughter took the book to school, more interest was aroused than had been expected.

A few days later the publisher visited the school and was approached by the girl that had the book, together with several of her schoolmates. Each wanted a copy of the book discussing evolution, and the girls said that a copy should be brought for the teacher too. The books were brought to the school, and when the teacher was approached with a copy he said he had borrowed one and read it, but he wanted one for himself. He also told the publisher that he would appreciate any of our other publications that discussed evolution. Besides being a teacher in the local school, he is also one of the preachers on the islands.

JAPAN Population: 101,095,000

Peak Publishers: 6,023 Ratio: 1 to 16,785

How grateful we are to Jehovah for all of his goodness! For the first time Japan had a new publisher peak every month of the service year.

A seventy-two-year-old publisher, one of the 847 baptized this year, decided that, instead of sending out New Year greeting cards he would send all his friends and business associates samples of The Watchtower and Awake!, with an invitation to subscribe. In all,

he obtained over forty subscriptions, many of them gift subscriptions to persons sending a favorable reply to his invitation?

An invalid, paralyzed in both arms and legs for ten years, felt very despondent. Then Jehovah’s witnesses called and studied with her. She learned to underline her study lesson by using a pencil in her mouth, and this gave her the idea of using colored pencils and magic ink to draw pictures on Bible themes with her mouth. She also writes letters in the same way to interested persons. She witnesses zealously to all who come to her home, and has encouraged three of her regular visitors to attend meetings. She goes herself in a wheelchair in fine weather. She was baptized during the circuit servant’s visit, and at that time was averaging eighty-five hours a month in Kingdom service. Next, she plans to vacation pioneer from her bed.

A college student found a copy of the Awake! on Malawi among some magazines in a lunchroom, read it and was impressed. Shortly after, a pioneer met him in door-to-door work, and he immediately took literature. A study was arranged for several times a week, and he did much extra reading and started to attend meetings. By the second week he decided to quit college; by the fourth week he was sharing in the preaching work; after five weeks he made his dedication, and within two months he was baptized at the district assembly. Now he is preparing to enter the pioneer ministry.

Four years ago a third-year Tokyo University law student took two magazines from a publisher, made some inquiries and, being on vacation, attended a district assembly. Deeply impressed, he privately studied several of the Society’s books, had a personal study and started attending all the meetings. Two months after the first contact he was baptized. On graduating, he sacrificed his opportunity of studying for the bar in favor of devoting his all to the pioneer service. Later he was assigned with five other special pioneers to a city of close to one million population that had just twenty publishers. In the course of two years the special pioneers have helped this congregation to produce more than thirty new publishers and seven new regular pioneers.

An opposed relative tore up a sister’s Bible. In the hope of getting her prized Bible mended, she took it to the neighborhood shoemaker—a man who had always refused the Kingdom message. He agreed to do the repair job. While sewing the pages back in order, he got to reading the underlined texts as well as the comments the sister had written in the margin. He came to realize that the Bible had a powerful message, and even started to memorize the sequence of the books. When the sister returned, she not only found her Bible complete with a nice, new leather cover, but she had to answer many questions. A home Bible study was arranged with the shoemaker. A few weeks later he attended the circuit assembly and has since been regular in coming to congregation meetings three times a week. God’s Word itself certainly exerts power!

Although bitterly opposed by her husband, a devoted sister arranges to be a vacation pioneer several times each year. Starting out in this service, she met the maid at a large house. This person showed great interest, and since the family of the house was away on vacation, the sister arranged to call every day for a study. They studied the “Look!” booklet right through. Soon the maid returned to her own city, but with information on the meetings there. At the next circuit assembly the sister was delighted to meet her former student, by now a Kingdom publisher. At another circuit assembly she saw the lady baptized. Now this person herself has shared in the joy of vacation pioneering. Vacation pioneering has its rewards!

To crown the year, the “Good News for All Nations” District Assemblies saw an attendance of 7,560, 36 percent more than at last year’s assemblies. All are now looking forward to attending the 1969 international assembly in Tokyo, as part of the worldwide series of assemblies.

KENYA Population: 9,948,000

Peak Publishers: 499 Ratio: 1 to 19,936

The “fishing grounds” here in our branch territory continue to swarm with the right kind of fish, and we have hauled in our best catch ever over’ the past year. We are happy to share our experiences from Kenya, Burundi, Ethiopia, Seychelles, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

The distribution of literature is a very important feature of the ministry. Besides the direct results from calling back and stimulating interest in literature placed, many good results are obtained in an indirect way. In Kenya in July 1967, a young man while out walking found a “Good News” booklet alongside the path. He took it home to read and was very impressed by the questions. The following month he visited the home of a friend just after publishers had left magazines there. He recognized the magazines as being printed by the same organization as the booklet he had found and asked his friend to be sure to send the brothers to his house when they came back. This was done and a study was arranged in the “Good News” booklet. By the following January the young man had studied through the booklet and was publishing the “good news” himself. Soon afterward he was baptized, and he is now vacation pioneering back in his village because, as he said, “there is no one there to help my family.” His goal is to share regularly in full-time service.

It is more difficult for some persons than for others to become free from Babylon the Great, and quite often it is necessary to put forth considerable effort and endure much suffering to do so. When a Moslem lady was visited by a pioneer who offered to help her to understand the Bible, her gratitude was overwhelming. Why, thought the brother, would a Moslem be so eager to want to understand the Bible? It was revealed that this woman had been raised to be a good Moslem, but she could not find interest or understanding in either the Koran or prayer sessions at the mosque. She started to read the Bible, but this led to threats from her mother-in-law to stop reading it or be punished. When she refused to do so, her relatives set her long hair on fire. Still she sought guidance from God’s Word. Her persecutors then bound her wrists, placed an open Bible on her hands and set that alight. She endured the terrible pain, and when she still refused to heed her mother-in-law’s request she was branded literally on her back, chest and thighs as a despised Christian. Yet she still sought to understand the Bible. After coming in contact with the Catholic religion and finding no understanding from that source, she was finally found by the pioneer. In a relatively short time she has made very fine progress in the truth and is now a good publisher, and her husband is showing some interest. She plans to be baptized soon.

BURUNDI Population: 2,224,000

Peak Publishers: 13 Ratio: 1 to 171,077

Though there has been a decrease in the number of publishers in Burundi, the small group there continue faithfully to spread the Kingdom good news. The circuit servant reports that the brothers have made excellent strides toward spiritual maturity, though they have received less assistance from pioneers this year. An evidence of this good progress is seen in increased distribution of literature and expanded back-call and Bible study activity, which, it is hoped, will result in good fruitage.

ETHIOPIA Population: 25,000,000

Peak Publishers: 313 Ratio: 1 to 79,872

Our brothers from Ethiopia write: “When we continually feed our minds with the truth of God’s Word, the importance of exclusive devotion and the desire to attend meetings grows.” They give as an example of this the case of a brother who found that twice a month he was forty-five minutes late for the meetings due to changes in his shifts at work. Was he content to consider that lateness at the meetings twice a month was inevitable? Not at all! He has arranged with a workmate to come to relieve him forty-five minutes early, and in exchange the brother works a complete sevenhour shift for his workmate, either the following day or in advance. Now the brother is never late for the meetings, and he is happy and willing to exchange fourteen hours of work for just ninety minutes, so great is his appreciation for Jehovah’s spiritual table.

Witnessing on public transport often brings fruitful results. While traveling on a bus, a brother met a man with whom he had once studied. He started a Bible discussion with him during the short journey, and a friend of the man joined in the discussion. A study was arranged with the friend and it progressed well for some time until he was suddenly transferred by his employers to another town. He was unable to contact the brother before he moved. Some months later the interested person returned to the city, but, not having the address of the brother, he was unable to contact him in that place of half a million inhabitants. However, one day shortly after his return he met the brother again on a bus and the study was resumed. Fine progress was made, the young man now attends the meetings regularly and a study is held with six members of his family.

SEYCHELLES Population: 50,000

Peak Publishers: 4 Ratio: 1 to 12,500

This has been a year filled with spiritual joys for the brothers, and in actual fact they have experienced a 100-percent increase (for two publishers left the islands early in the year). Due to the very energetic theocratic activity of the remaining brothers two new publishers have taken their stand for the truth, having formally resigned from their association with Babylon the Great.

The brother who cares for the group and who, together with his wife, shares in conducting fifteen Bible studies, concludes his latest letter with the words: “I feel sure that Jehovah will continue to help us, especially with our studies. We have no more room for studies in the evenings anymore, so now we start with the latest ones after dinner, and it seems to work out very well.”

SUDAN Population: 14,000,000

Peak Publishers: 39 Ratio: 1 to 358,974

The benefits of teaching children the Bible at a very tender age are well demonstrated in the following experience: A little boy of two and a half years heard Ills mother mention the name Daniel in the course of her witnessing. He went over to his mother’s book bag, pulled out the Paradise book, turned to the page showing Daniel in the den of lions and said: “This is Daniel. He was a good man because he loved Jehovah. Brother Angel shut the mouths of the lions.” The householder was surprised to hear the little Witness, and all the more so when he showed the book to her husband and mother and repeated his words. The family commended the sister for the godly training of her child and subscribed for The Watchtower.

TANZANIA Population: 12,231,000

Peak Publishers: 1,039 Ratio: 1 to 11,772

Though the clergy have persistently opposed the brothers in Tanzania and caused difficulties "for them with the authorities, many experiences received indicate that an increasing number are turning from false religion to the truth. Typical is the report concerning a very zealous church worker who became one of Jehovah’s witnesses. When the pastor saw he was associating with his new brothers, he sent some parishioners to his home in order to try to bring him, back to the church. These people started a form of Bible study with him. In turn, he preached Bible truths to them, and they became so interested that they asked him to conduct a study with them. When the pastor saw what was happening, he forbade his flock to have anything to do with the new brother. However, in the meantime those who had been studying with him had learned enough of the truth to resist the efforts of their church to prevent them from learning more. They continue their studies with the brother.

The transforming power of God’s Word succeeds many times where corrective discipline and hospital treatment fail. A new brother relates that prior to his hearing the truth he was a professional thief and a drunkard. When traveling on buses he would offer to fight the conductor rather than pay the fare. He further tells that his wife was mentally unbalanced and had twice been in a mental hospital. Until he met the pioneer who presented the truth to him, the only religious experience he could remember was when someone who visited him claiming to be a preacher proved to be a thief and stole his goods. When the pioneer called on him he was very much on his guard. He says: “I had lost my confidence and took him for a thief and was alert. But the way he dressed and the way he was talking was so different that I was attracted to him and asked him many questions. I welcomed him to my home, and a Bible study was started. Soon I made progress and changed my way of life, something prisons and governmental punishment had failed to do. My wife, too, started to study with us, and since then her mental trouble has disappeared.”

UGANDA Population: 7,934,000

Peak Publishers: 64 Ratio: 1 to 123,969

Our brothers in Uganda have very deep appreciation for the circuit servant’s visits. One new publisher is a shift worker on a sugar estate. During the recent visit of the circuit servant, he made fine efforts to give good support to the arrangements for Kingdom service. Even though his shift was from midnight to 8 a.m., each morning when the circuit servant arrived at 8:45 a.m. at the service rendezvous to discuss the ministry, he was waiting there. Thereafter, a full three hours were spent together in the ministry. In the early afternoon he rested to be ready for the evening service in the field from 4 to 7 p.m. Then he returned home for food and a further rest in preparation for his night duty. He kept up this schedule Tuesday through Saturday, enjoying the service and meetings. On Saturday evening he had to start duty at 8 p.m. and work through to 8 a.m. Sunday. Yet when the group set out for field service Sunday morning, there was the new publisher, ready to accompany the circuit servant again. How delighted he was when he was assisted to start two Bible studies with interested persons he had visited during the week.

A brother living in a fishing village eighty miles from town walked twelve miles to the main road to meet the circuit servant, who had arranged to visit for a day’s service with him. Though the brother had little money, he offered to pay for the petrol needed to make the trip. What fine examples of love and appreciation such brothers are showing!

During the year some brothers have answered the call to work in towns where the need is greater, and it is hoped that this will encourage more to do so. One brother, in spite of the heavy demands of his secular work, schedules his activity to become a vacation pioneer and then a regular pioneer. His remarkable zeal has encouraged a number of others to publish and share in vacation pioneer work. Almost at the same time he received an invitation to serve as a special pioneer he was invited to take up a course of training to become a magistrate with a large salary. However, he looked upon this as a hindrance to his career as a full-time minister and is now happily engaged in the special pioneer work in his new assignment. As an encouragement for others to do the same he writes: “I left my nice house and the garden of four acres of bananas and coffee, and my parents too. Why? It is because I must follow Jesus Christ’s words written in Luke 10:2, since the harvest indeed is great, but the workers are few.”

KOREA Population: 30,469,000

Peak Publishers: 8,281 Ratio: 1 to 8,679

Our Korean brothers understand that the time remaining for this old system of things is very short, and their acceleration of the work reflects this feeling. They have come up with a harvest greater than ever, and the question they ask is, “Will there be enough time to gather in all the interested ones before Armageddon comes?” With so many responding now, it seems there just is not time to care for all of them. The streamlined Bible-study work announced at the district assemblies is just the thing to help them get the work done in time.

This was our first year to baptize more than a thousand new publishers. There were 505 baptized at the district assemblies, increasing the total to 1,059. The continued increase in meeting attendances across the country has literally crowded our brothers to the walls of their Kingdom Halls. In all, 18,992 attended Memorial, and some congregations had to hold their meetings twice that evening to accommodate everyone. The average Watchtower study attendance for the country rose to a figure equaling 111 percent of the publishers and pioneers, to compare with last year’s 100 percent. Most congregations are giving serious thought to arranging for larger halls. One congregation near the capital city was able to raise the money for materials and, with the brothers furnishing the labor, they built a new and larger Kingdom Hall. In less than one year their meeting attendance increased 150 percent.

A special pioneer sister tells that her joy in her new assignment was short-lived, and she began to feel deeply depressed. Repeated trips to the doctor revealed no physical cause. She even found herself thinking of suicide but would quickly push those thoughts aside, thinking what reproach it would bring on Jehovah’s organization. Then the congregation overseer arranged for the public talk “Deliver Us from the Wicked One.” This talk helped the sister to analyze her own problem. A few years earlier her aunt, who practiced spiritism, committed suicide, and the sister had kept a watch and some articles of clothing belonging to her aunt. On reflection she realized her periods of depression began about the same time. She at once threw the watch into the sea and burned the clothing. Her periods of depression left, and her joy in service was completely restored.

Maturity is shown in the way our brothers handle situations in the field. A special pioneer sister had failed on three previous times to witness at a certain home. As she approached the home this fourth time she was wondering how to get her message across. Again this time the lady would not come to the door, but called from inside, “I can’t believe in Jesus.” The sister turned to leave but then came back to the door and asked, “Would you like to call at the house of someone who didn’t want you and disliked you?” When the lady indicated she would not, the sister said, “But I have to come here and meet you again in four months.” The lady said, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The sister continued, “I agree, and I wouldn’t either of my own mind, but I’m doing this by God’s will and his undeserved kindness, so I must come again.” This direct answer disarmed the lady, so she took two magazines and agreed to a return visit. A study was started on the back-call. Then the publisher learned that this lady had been told by a woman diviner that her son’s blindness in one eye was caused because she had given up making sacrifices to a certain rock worshiped in the neighborhood. She was warned that the spirit that lived there was angry at her and that if she turned to Jesus even more harm would develop. After only a few studies she cast all her objects connected with demon worship into the fire. Now she is free from that influence due to the persistence and discernment of our sister.

Brother Knorr’s three-day visit to Seoul in April was a special treat for the 4,881 brothers in the Seoul area who heard his talk. We all look forward to his next visit when he brings hundreds of travelers with him to Seoul next year to open up the Far East tour with our international assembly. The Korean brothers look back with fond memories on 1963 and look forward to hosting our foreign brothers again.

LEBANON Population: 2,405,000

Peak Publishers: 1,025 Ratio: 1 to 2,346

The past service year has brought blessings to Jehovah’s witnesses in Lebanon and the Arab countries where the “good news” is being preached. People seem to have become more receptive in their attitude.

Sometimes the results of helping newly interested ones defend the truth against would-be opposers are most unusual. A Bible study started by a special pioneer with a man and his wife went smoothly for about a month. But the man had five brothers interested in politics who became determined to put an end to their older brother’s studying the Bible with Jehovah’s witnesses. One of them came to his brother’s house at the time of the study, intending to prove that Jehovah’s witnesses are the false prophets spoken of in the Bible. But after a long discussion he became convinced that Jehovah’s witnesses were telling the truth from the Bible, and he declared that he was going to attend the study that his brother was having. His four other brothers were very upset when they learned of this and tore up his study book.

The third one of the brothers came to break up the study the next week, but after a discussion lasting several hours he too decided that he would not miss any of the studies his two brothers were having. The next week the remaining three brothers came to find out what was happening to their brothers. The result of the discussion with them was that they too started attending the study along with their wives and children. Finally the father of the six men started attending the study along with his wife and daughters. As a result, at the end of three months fifteen people from this one family were attending the same study regularly. The clergy were very much upset at these developments and resorted to various means of persecution and threats to try to stop the study. But rather than stopping the study, it became necessary for them to close their church in this small village, since this large family had been its chief supporters. Now six of the family are publishers of the “good news.” One of them has been baptized, and the others expect to symbolize their dedication at the next assembly. The rest of the family continue to make good progress.

One should not overlook chances for incidental witnessing, as the following experience shows: The person sitting next to a brother on a bus began to complain during their conversation about the difficulties of life, and the brother quite naturally spoke to him about the truth, showing how these things came about and how God’s kingdom would solve them. The man was a Moslem, but he was very much impressed with what this Christian was telling him. By the time they reached their destination he had learned many things. He took the brother’s address, since he had no local address to give the brother, and promised to look him up. Later he did so, and when he got settled in a small town, he was put in contact with the local congregation. By this time he had already been witnessing to his relatives. Some said he had lost his mind, while others called him a blasphemer and threatened him with violence. This had not discouraged him, however; and it was arranged that the local overseer study the Paradise book with him. The interested person traveled a distance of forty kilometers to be present for this study each week. After four studies he started attending all congregation meetings as well. In a few months he started preaching from house to house and at every other opportunity. How amazed people were to have a former Moslem preach to them about Christ! In witnessing to his workmates he once quoted Jesus’ words, “My sheep listen to my voice . . . and they follow me.” Since then they call him “Mr. Sheep,” a title he does not mind at all. He is now a dedicated servant of Jehovah spending sixty to seventy-five hours each month in the preaching work, and he has the full-time pioneer service as his goal. All of this happened because the brother who sat next to him on a bus gave him the Kingdom message.

ABU DHABI Population: 12,000

Peak Publishers: 1 Ratio: 1 to 12,000

During the last months of the service year a brother from Lebanon moved to Abu Dhabi to take up secular employment. He writes that it is not easy to interest people there in spiritual matters, as they are so concerned with material things. Those who have come there are interested only in making as much money as they can in the shortest possible time and then returning to their home countries. However, he is doing what he can to spread the good news of the Kingdom in this small oil-rich sheikhdom on the Persian Gulf.

IRAN Population: 25,780,000

Peak Publishers: 19 Ratio: 1 to 1,356,842

The large country of Iran has Witnesses only in its capital city, Tehran. The brothers in that small congregation are doing their best to give the greatest possible witness in the vast territory they are assigned to care for. A number of brothers have come to Tehran from Europe and the United States to serve where the need is great. Others have had to leave the country during the year as their work contracts ended.

Making an effort to witness to your neighbors is a very good policy, as one of the sisters in Tehran learned. When new neighbors moved into the next-door apartment, the sister determined to witness to them on the day they arrived. She invited her new neighbor to come over to rest a bit and have a cool drink to refresh herself from the hot work of moving. During the conversation that followed it came out that the new neighbor had already learned from a friend that they would be living next to Jehovah’s witnesses. Actually, the sister was conducting a Bible study with this mutual friend. On this first occasion the sister was even able to demonstrate how one could have his Bible questions answered through studying the Society’s publications. During the next few days the sister and her neighbor became quite good friends and the sister did a lot of witnessing to her. She invited her to accompany her on a Bible study she was conducting with another lady, and on the way back from the study the neighbor expressed her desire to have a study herself in the same book. Of course, the sister was glad to oblige. The neighbor proved to be a good student and progressed quickly. In a short time she, too, wanted to share in publishing the “good news.” She began to accompany the sister in field service, and also started a Bible study of her own with her cleaning woman. Sharing in the Theocratic Ministry School helped her to become more efficient in the service. Now the new neighbor has become a new sister. So since one is bound to have conversations with the neighbors, why not let these conversations be about the truth?

IRAQ Population: 8,261,521

Peak Publishers: 5 Ratio: 1 to 1,652,304

At the beginning of the service year only one sister was reporting from Iraq. She kept working as she was able and regularly conducted a Bible study with a family that had shown interest in the truth for some time. By January two of them started sharing in field service and turning in their reports as publishers. What a joy it was to this sister to have someone to share with her in serving Jehovah! An inactive publisher who had moved into the territory was also helped to get going again in the service, bringing their ranks to four publishers of the “good news.” The new publishers are now awaiting an opportunity to symbolize their dedication by baptism in water.

In June the sister who originally got the group going had to return to Lebanon with her husband, who is not in the truth. How she disliked leaving the new and growing “sheep”! The reactivated publisher has also how left the country and may not return. But the new ones continue to share in Jehovah’s service. Would you like to move to Baghdad to assist them? The need is certainly great there.

JORDAN Population: 1,976,000

Peak Publishers: 21 Ratio: 1 to 94,095

Conditions have grown steadily more difficult in Jordan during the year. The capital, Amman, is very crowded with refugees, making housing a problem. The cost of living has gone very high. Often the rumble of artillery and exploding bombs can be heard in the distance as fighting erupts periodically across the Jordan River. Under these conditions many people are beginning to realize that something different from this present system of things is needed to solve the problems of mankind. The brothers are still able to preach freely and are finding some hearing ears.

At the beginning of the service year one brother was able to enroll in the regular pioneer service and, through many difficulties, has managed to remain in that service until now. During the last month of the service year a sister began to share in the special pioneer activity. This will no doubt be a good encouragement to the congregation and bring good results during the new service year.

KUWAIT Population: 468,000

Peak Publishers: 6 Ratio: 1 to 78,000

Most of the publishers in Kuwait are sisters and so are handicapped in their movement in this Moslem land. Still they have done what they could in preaching the “good news.” One sister with an opposing husband teaches her children and helps them to be publishers of the “good news” while doing all the incidental witnessing she can. Social contacts are viewed as a means of spreading the “good news” too, since house-to-house work cannot be done. Another sister manages to do a lot of witnessing to her husband’s business acquaintances.

SAUDI ARABIA Population: 8,000,000

Peak Publishers: 3 Ratio: 1 to 2,666,667

More work has been done this year in Saudi Arabia than in previous years. Brothers who have employment there have been preaching in several different territories. Memorial was held in two different places with a combined attendance of eight persons. Much seed has been sown, and we hope that some of it will take root. At the end of the service year only one publisher was left in the country.

SYRIA Population: 5,300,000

Peak Publishers: 214 Ratio: 1 to 24,766

The brothers in Syria continue to serve as they are able under the circumstances there. They do not have much freedom and must be cautious in carrying out their ministry. At the beginning of the service year an elderly overseer, his wife and daughter and two other brothers were put in prison under false charges. They were held five months before being released, though no charges were finally pressed against them. The overseer and his family, who were not of Syrian nationality, were deported from the country in a most unjust manner. After spending five months in jail, they were taken to the capital, Damascus, being told that they were to be briefly questioned and released there and that they would then be able to return to their home. But rather than being released and allowed to pack their things, they were taken to the border and put out of the country with just what clothing they were wearing. The brother and his wife were not even given their passport. So it was necessary for them to obtain a new passport at the embassy of their country in Lebanon. The brothers in the congregation they had left kindly packed and shipped their possessions to them, but it was several months before they were received. The other two brothers who were still in prison were later released, but restrictions were placed on them as to their movements and activities.

In another congregation where persecution has been frequent, and where the brothers are under surveillance by the authorities, a number of brothers wanted to share in the vacation pioneer service. Could they do it? Nine of them applied and were appointed to serve, all during the same month. By wise and careful use of their time they were each able to spend over eighty-four hours in field service, make more than thirty-two back-calls and conduct two or more Bible studies during the month. What a fine example of preaching under unfavorable circumstances!

LEEWARD ISLANDS (Antigua)

Peak Publishers: 112 Population: 61.664

Ratio: 1 to 351

An outstanding event happened in Antigua during the year—the completing of a new branch office, missionary home and Kingdom Hall. It is a great step forward for the Kingdom work on the island, and the new facilities are being put to good use in educating honest-hearted ones for eternal life.

A man who had been subscribing for The Watchtower and Awake! for many years finally took his stand for the truth during the year. Through reading the magazines he came to know it was the truth, but, as he put it, “I was not ready yet.” He attended the assembly in New York in 1963 and this made a very deep impression on him. Sometime later one of the missionaries convinced him that he needed a personal Bible study in his home. From then on his progress was good. Several times he had tried to quit smoking but without success until the article in the February 22, 1967, Awake! on “Why Keep On Smoking?” came out. That did it. He quit smoking immediately and then started making real progress toward dedication, which he symbolized by baptism during the weekend of the dedication of our new Kingdom Hall and missionary home.

ANGUILLA Population: 5,810

Peak Publishers: 14 Ratio: 1 to 415

Sometimes even newly interested ones are willing to make adjustments in their personal affairs to attend the meetings at the Kingdom Hall. In April a lady accepted an invitation to the celebration of the memorial of Christ’s death. The regular congregation meetings were announced, and she has attended the Sunday meetings ever since. Because she lived at the west end of the island, some distance from the Kingdom Hall, she could not attend the midweek meetings, as they were held in the evening. To overcome this problem she recently moved to a house near the Kingdom Hall and is now very happy to have a share in all the congregation meetings.

DOMINICA

Peak Publishers: 166

Population: 63,609

Ratio: 1 to 383

With help and patience many persons are freeing themselves from Babylon’s grip. A special pioneer has helped a number to progress toward freedom, and of one of these he says: “Not long ago I called on a Catholic man who, before I could properly introduce myself, said: ‘I don’t think anyone in this village is busier or even as busy as I am. I have only a limited time for relaxation, and I use that reading the newspapers. I have no time to listen to you talk about the Bible.’ I loaned him an Awake! magazine and suggested he read it along with his newspapers and then I would return to hear his comments. He enjoyed the copy so much that he became a regular reader of Awake! and eventually subscribed for both The Watchtower and Awake!

"I loaned him my copy of What Has Religion Done for Mankind? and a study was started in this book. When arriving for the study one evening I was surprised to find four other Catholic men whom he had invited waiting to share in the study. During the study he asked for a few minutes to speak to his friends. This is what he said: ‘We all are fellow Roman Catholics and many of us might be sincere, but I have come to see that we do not have the truth. Jesus said there are two roads—one broad and the other narrow. Only those on the narrow road will get life. I am now telling you that father priest is not on the narrow road but on the broad one, and he is driving a fast vehicle on it because he has room. He is the chauffeur and he is drunk. Fellow Catholics may be sober, but they are in the same vehicle, and because the chauffeur is drunk all of them will go over the precipice. I have seen the danger now, so I want to be with the few who will get eternal life.’

“This man is now a regular attender at our meetings. He arranged his affairs to attend all four days of the ‘Good News for All Nations’ District Assembly in Roseau. He was so thrilled with what he heard and saw that he started to make plans right away to attend one of the big assemblies in 1969.”

MONTSERRAT Peak Publishers: 30

Population: 13,480

Ratio: 1 to 448

Does poor health or family responsibility prevent you from vacation pioneering at least once during the service year? Two sisters found they were able to let down their nets in new “fishing grounds” right here on this island of thirty-eight and a half square miles by enjoying the vacation pioneer work despite handicaps. Although natives of the island, neither had traveled on it extensively due to a diabetic condition and having responsibility for an elderly invalid relative. During April the two congregations pooled their transportation facilities to accommodate the vacation pioneers; thus these sisters were able to explore the island as real pioneers, visiting villages and locations they had not seen in many years and other places they had never been to. Both sisters exceeded their goals and were so invigorated by the experience of working with their brothers full time that they are looking forward to another taste of vacation pioneering in the coming service year. Among other joys experienced by the brothers during the year was the “Good News for All Nations” District Assembly attended by twenty-five brothers and their families. One group of twenty-one chartered a plane to carry them to Antigua for the assembly.

NEVIS Population: 12,770

Peak Publishers: 37 Ratio: 1 to 345

The patient endurance shown by an aged pioneer is indeed a wonderful example for the brothers with whom he works in Nevis. Over the years he has given a fearless witness and has been instrumental in forming one of the two congregations on this island. While in his eighty-second year, he is still getting results and conducting a number of Bible studies. He had the joy of having one of the newly interested persons with whom he studies accompany him to her first assembly, the “Good News for All Nations” District Assembly in neighboring St. Kitts. When asked how he felt at seeing this person at the assembly enjoying to the full everything that was taking place, he replied appreciatively: “Jehovah is good. This is a great joy to me.”

A native of Nevis learned the truth abroad. When he returned to his home island for a vacation, he used his time wisely in telling his relatives of the blessings of the new system of things. He was able to bring twelve of his relatives and their neighbors to the Kingdom Hall during his visit, and due to his zeal a Bible study has been conducted with three families since then.

SABA

Peak Publishers: 1

Population: 1,007

Ratio: 1 to 1,007

It was possible for the circuit servant to show the Society’s film “God Cannot Lie” during the year, and 160 persons came to see it. The lone publisher continues to make opportunities to discuss the teachings and activities of true Christians with his neighbors. Many homes are receiving The Watchtower and Awake!, so groundwork is being laid for others to accept the truth in Jehovah’s due time.

ST. EUSTATIUS Population: 1,016

Peak Publishers: 3 Ratio: 1 to 339

Three visits to this island were made by the circuit servant and his wife during the year. During these visits many books were placed and subscriptions for The Watchtower and Awake! taken. It seemed impossible for the sister here to travel to St. Kitts for the district assembly. However, the week before, someone came to buy furniture that she had thought of selling but had forgotten about. Her nine-year-old son sold a goat he had raised, which was enough for his fare with 20 cents left over. When they returned from the assembly, the sister wrote the following to the Society on the back of her field service report: “It seems the assemblies are getting better all the time. I enjoyed every minute of the assembly in St. Kitts and I feel stronger. I have more courage to preach to the people.”

ST. KITTS Population: 38,113

Peak Publishers: 94 Ratio: 1 to 405

Obeying Jesus’ command to “let down your nets for a catch” is resulting in some fine “fish” being caught in St. Kitts, as the following experiences show: A study was started with a Catholic woman and her eight children. She progressed quickly in her studies, and in two months she and her children were attending the meetings. It is some distance to walk with all the little ones, so she starts early in the day getting them ready so they can be on time at the meeting. She feels very sad if she misses a meeting.

Her rapid progress has not been without opposition. Her husband, influenced by his Catholic friends, tried in many ways to interfere with the studies and her meeting attendance. He forbade the sister to call at his home, so the study was moved to the home of a brother nearby. The husband also insisted that the children attend the Catholic church. The mother warned them not to kiss or bow down to the images, but they told her they knew better than to do that. When they returned home after the church service, the children told the mother, “Papa slept through the whole service.” Since then the husband has not mentioned taking the children to church anymore. As she progressed in her studies she learned that images, “holy” pictures and rosaries were not in accord with Bible principles; so the next step was to clean house, religiously speaking. Rosaries were destroyed. “Holy” pictures were taken down gradually, one at a time, and other pictures put up in their places. Finally the house was clean. In six months’ time this person was publishing. In her first month she devoted seventeen hours to the ministry and now has her own Bible study to conduct.

A home Bible study is being conducted with a family in which the husband is a sexton in the Anglican church, and one of his daughters is a Sunday school teacher. This study has caused concern to the minister, who recently told his sexton, “Whatever you do, don’t leave your church.” The sexton replied, “I cannot promise you that, because in all these years in the church, what have we learned?” Then came the “Good News for All Nations” District Assembly, and the entire family left their church duties to attend. After the assembly the husband stated, “I am just about finished with the church now.” This family is now showing a keen interest in the study, and it is quite possible they will act on the invitation to separate from Babylon the Great.

ST. MARTIN Population: 8,002

Peak Publishers: 41 Ratio: 1 to 195

“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your fine works,” Jesus admonished, and this is typical of Jehovah’s witnesses everywhere. As the publishers worked a territory an Adventist family was called on. They were polite, but did not feel they had need of help in understanding the Bible. As the territory was covered again and again and various sermons were given to them by the publishers and pioneers, this family made their observations quietly to themselves. Some time ago when a publisher called on this family he was invited in, and the housewife said: “Jehovah’s witnesses really have faith. I see you on the road every day going to visit people. My Adventist friends never come to see me, but you keep coming.” A book was placed, and a very interesting Bible study is now being conducted.

LIBERIA Population: 1,100,000

Peak Publishers: 497 Ratio: 1 to 2,213

Toward the end of the service year the Acting Secretary of Education announced that all students must salute the flag in schools or be dismissed. Likewise teachers condoning nonsaluting were to be dismissed. Where this rule is enforced, brothers have organized private classes to teach young publishers standard school subjects as well as more of the Bible than ever by means of the Paradise and “All Scripture" books. Being separated from the public school system has freed these youngsters from pressures to participate in various forms of nationalism’s patriotic religion, not to mention minimizing worldly associations. Thus circumstances designed to punish the children are being used to safeguard and build them up spiritually so that they may come to be among the “tribulation” survivors.

Although in 1963 the president of the Republic issued an order stating that Jehovah’s witnesses should not be molested and that they can show their respect for the flag by standing respectfully during ceremonies, this has been construed as not applicable to students in the school system. But it has proved possible for the government to somehow overlook this ruling even in other instances. A ease in point occurred very recently when police in a distant community rounded up all the Witnesses and commanded them to salute the flag. Eventually two unbaptized publishers compromised but the six dedicated Witnesses maintained firm integrity. A crowd of about 500 gathered to see the spectacle as the brothers and one middle-aged sister were made to run barefoot over rough stones in the police compound until they were completely exhausted more than two hours later. The next morning the brothers were lined up several feet from a wall and made to lean up against it for almost three hours supporting their weight by only two fingers.

During their confinement the group had regular meetings, even reenacting the assembly Bible dramas from memory, though all Bibles and literature had been taken away from them. Daily Bible discussions were held using knowledge treasured up in their hearts, and this helped them to remain spiritually strong. Their zealous activity over the years has established them as “God men” and objects of fear in the community. Reminiscent of “the dread of Mordecai” on Persian officials, the local commissioner, when ordered by his superior to be responsible for keeping the brothers in prison, refused, admitting: “I am afraid to get involved with these people!” After two weeks of detention and while this account was being written, a radiogram arrived from President Tubman advising that he had ordered the release of our brothers.

One of our four new missionaries was pleasantly surprised one afternoon when a man and his wife came to the missionary home and requested that someone conduct a Bible study with them. They were sure that Jehovah’s witnesses are the only true Christians who live what they preach. This man’s cousin had become a Witness, and the couple expressed amazement at the great change the truth had made in her life. Now she respected her husband, and peace prevailed instead of arguments, fighting and fits of anger. The missionary was happy to arrange a study with this couple. On his first visit to their home he noticed a table in one corner of the room covered with a white tablecloth on which was a large red cross, incense bowl, “holy water” container, an image of Jesus on a cross and six large candle holders. After studying some paragraphs of the “Good News” booklet, the husband inquired: “If we cannot make an image of God, how about having images of Jesus or Mary?” He was invited to read Exodus 20:4. As soon as he read it, he pointed to the table in the corner and said: “When you come next week, all that you see on the table will be gone!” He proved true to his word, and good progress is being made toward fulfilling his desire to “serve Jehovah in the right way from now on.” May we never underestimate the power of God’s Word to change personalities and defeat superstition.

LUXEMBOURG Peak Publishers: 477

Population:

Ratio:

330,000

1 to 692

Our service year has been greatly blessed in Luxembourg. The outstanding event was the purchase of a new home in a fine location in Luxembourg. It now serves as the branch office and missionary home for Jehovah’s witnesses in this country. This home was purchased following the visit last spring of Brothers Knorr and Larson. Jehovah’s witnesses in Luxembourg had a 9-percent increase in publishers. This was their finest year in witnessing from one end of the country to the other.

A brother tells us his interesting experience: “My parents were Catholic, and so, following the usual custom, I was baptized a Catholic too. As I grew up, however, the religion of my parents ceased to satisfy me. There was always the same procedure in church, but as a lad of fourteen my questions on world problems were never answered, so although I was registered a Catholic as most people here are, I stopped attending church.

“I learned a trade, but I saw many injustices among the workers. The older men pressured the younger ones, to avoid losing prestige to the upcoming generation. Seeing this, I was influenced to enter a labor union of young workers where I came into contact with the communist doctrine for the first time. I believed I had at last found the solution to my many questions.

All people were to be treated alike, they promised, and that appeared just to me. Soon after this the most zealous of us were sent to Eastern Germany for three weeks to learn the practical side of communism, which we were then expected to put into practice in our home country.

“True enough, we were shown all sorts of interesting things there, but when I looked up at the Wall in Berlin, the meaninglessness of this whole system dawned on me. A doctrine that had to resort to such measures to be maintained and so debase essential human rights cannot be the truth, I reasoned. When I returned home, I wanted to give my patrons a report on all I had seen, but no one wanted to hear my impressions. Thus communism disappointed me, and I lost interest.

“About this time I met my wife-to-be, and we were married. Some of her relatives were studying with Jehovah’s witnesses, so I came in contact with their message. At last my many questions were satisfactorily answered. Neither false religion nor communism could give me the precious possession I have today, namely, the knowledge of the truth that God’s kingdom alone will solve all human problems in the near future. Only through a knowledge of God’s Word can one be really free, and no wall in the world can withstand or hold back this Kingdom power. Here among God’s people I have found the source of real joy, springing from the all-important law of love.

“My wife and I made rapid progress in Bible knowledge and had the joy of symbolizing our dedication to Jehovah by water immersion during this service year.”

MALAGASY REPUBLIC Population: 6,750,731 Peak Publishers: 327 Ratio: 1 to 20,644

This service year gave much joy to all of us, as we saw many new peaks during the year, and just at the end of the service year we received the Paradise book in the Malagasy language. How much help this will be to persons who want to leave this old system of things!

One missionary writes: “An individual with whom I conducted a home Bible study gave me the address of a gentleman who wanted to study the Bible with Jehovah’s witnesses, but who lived in a town where there were no Witnesses. This interested person had read a copy of the Watchtower magazine and remarked, ‘This is the truth. I must learn more about this religion.’ A subscription for The Watchtower was immediately sent in for him, and I wrote to him briefly explaining

who Jehovah’s witnesses are. Since then he visits our missionary home each time he passes through this town, and we have had some interesting Bible discussions and he has had many of his questions answered from the Bible. Recently I received a letter from him in which he expressed appreciation for the Watchtower magazine. He also said: ‘We realize that we are alone here at F----and that we need others with

whom to associate. But what can we do so as to have such associates? Would it be acceptable for us to have Bible study meetings at our home so that I can direct the establishing of a study group? Or should I preach the “good news” to people as I travel around from place to place?’ I explained that he could include others in his study of the Bible, using the Watchtower magazine. He is very anxious to share in the preaching work. Arrangements have been made for a regular study to be conducted with him by mail. And this is the result of his reading one copy of The Watchtower at the home of a friend.”

Sometimes even a mistake can help us to find those who want to join us in serving Jehovah. This was so for one missionary who planned to make a back-call in an apartment building with another publisher. They wanted to make a call on a Chinese family, but as they rang the bell they realized that they were not on the right floor. When the householder answered, the sisters explained the purpose of their call and that they intended to call on another family. The lady said that the family they were looking for was on the floor above, but that if they had time she would like to talk with them before they left. The missionary relates: “She continued by telling us that she had examined many religions in her life, but none of them could answer her questions. Before leaving, we were able to answer her questions from the Bible and explain that the best way to make progress is to study the Bible regularly. With this suggestion she was in agreement, and she wanted us to bring publications for her and her husband in Greek.” The next visit the sisters made on this woman found her ready and waiting for them with one of her friends, who was of a Protestant religion. When this friend found out that the visitors were Jehovah’s witnesses, she started to raise her voice and wanted to start an argument. But the householder broke in and said: “These Witnesses came here to study the Bible with me in peace and not to argue, so let’s start!” With that the Protestant visitor did not say another word. She has never come back to interrupt the study. This lady progressed so well that in two months she started attending meetings, and she is already talking about the field service.

MAURITIUS Population: 787,400

Peak Publishers: 164 Ratio: 1 to 4,801

The gathering work has gone well during the last service year in the three islands under the Mauritius branch.

While working the territory around her own home, a pioneer sister was able to start a study with a fervent Catholic. As the weeks passed and the study progressed, tire lady made it very clear that she had no intention of changing her religion. After a few months there was little apparent progress, and later when she was invited to the Memorial she said: “I am very sorry but I will not be able to attend, because on that very day I must go to church to worship the cross.” The pioneer recalls: “I left greatly discouraged, as she had now been studying for a good while. The following week she made an excuse to stop the study for a month. Naturally, I was not very optimistic, but when the four weeks were up I called as usual. What a surprise awaited me! She told me that she had come to the conclusion that it was more profitable to stay at home and read the Bible than to go to mass. Her husband, a Protestant before their marriage, was so happy to see her interest in the Bible that he decided to study too. Her sister and her two brothers also wanted to study. A brother in the congregation arranged to study with the menfolk, and I continue studying with the women, but all who are in the home when study time comes around want to join in. The rule, therefore, had to be made that when the men study the women are not allowed to ask questions, and when the women study the men must keep quiet; but you can always count on a barrage of questions when the study is finished. All images and religious pictures were taken down and destroyed, and the lady gave up her work because it was associated with Babylon the Great. It is fine to see that whole family attending meetings, and the lady has just started out in service. How glad I am that I did not give up when I thought that the initial interest had died.”

After giving the sermon to a housewife in one of the poorer sections of the territory, a publisher, instead of presenting the subscription, offered two magazines. At this point a subscription slip fluttered out of her Bible to the ground, and the householder picked it up and asked what it was. When the sister explained, the lady said that she would like to subscribe for a year.

How important it is to be positive and to make the offer!

While working a territory close to my home I witnessed to a shopkeeper who received me very warmly, listened to my sermon and accepted the offer of two books. His next words really took me by surprise as he said: “Madam, I would like to tell you why I have accepted your publications. Each day I see you pass by my shop. I know the time you go out and the time you return. I have even noticed that there are days when you do not come back for dinner. I admire your sincerity, especially since you have no one to see that you do it. I am certain that the world would be a much better place if everyone were like you.” These words surprised me greatly but also encouraged me. It just shows how everything we do is noticed by those around us.

REUNION Population: 432,718

Peak Publishers: 350 Ratio: 1 to 1,236

On an island thirty miles wide and forty miles long it is hard to believe that there are persons that have never seen the sea, but that is the case in Reunion. The mountains form great amphitheaters with sides rising up two to three thousand feet above the valley floor. Of the three main amphitheaters or cirques, the one named Mafate is the most inaccessible. There is no road, so one must walk up the bed of a river and then only in the dry season. A brother in his fifties, a native of Mafate, wished to make the journey back to witness to his relatives and, of course, to everyone that he found on the way there and back. He, his wife and two other sisters, one aged sixty-seven and the other fifteen, undertook this missionary journey of one week into the mountains. With a knapsack on his back, a suitcase in one hand and a large briefcase full of publications in the other, they walked up the bed of the river for six miles, fording the river fourteen times, to preach at the small dwellings along the way. “That night Jehovah provided for us by means of the only shopkeeper in the district, who received us with admiration and put at our disposal a two-room house complete with beds and kitchen. The following day we started out for the next village. We had to pass over the crest of a mountain 4,500 feet in altitude. During this day we traveled ten miles, preaching as we went, and arrived at the home of an old friend of my parents who showed us hospitality.”

The brother continues his story, saying: “It was a pleasure to leave some of our baggage here and continue the next day preaching to these humble people who had never before heard of the ‘good news? All that day as we worked we ate guavas, a fruit that we picked from the bushes as we passed, until at last we arrived at about 6 p.m. at the home of a cousin, who immediately set about killing a chicken and preparing a meal for us. At eleven o’clock that evening, after much witnessing, we sat down to an appetizing meal. Thursday, again eating guavas as we went, we gradually worked our way around this vast amphitheater, visiting all the homes that we could find. At one hut the man offered us coffee, and we were able to rest awhile. He was so satisfied with the witness we gave him that he decided to accompany us to all the houses within a mile. While walking he played his harmonica, which helped us forget some of our weariness. We eventually returned to where we had left our baggage and stayed there overnight. The next day we walked for eight hours back to the coastal plain and home, leaving behind us the magnificent mountains. Physically very tired but spiritually refreshed, we will always remember the wonderful hospitality of the humble folks that we met and how Jehovah provided for us all along the way. We placed six books and ninety-eight magazines as we visited about sixty-two families, walking about a hundred miles.”

RODRIGUES Population: 21,600

Peak Publishers: 11 Ratio: 1 to 1,964

There are now eleven preachers of the “good news” in this island, and during the service year four more local persons started out in service despite constant persecution from the clergy. Regular congregation meetings are held and public talks given, all of which helps to strengthen the faith and courage of the new ones. The brothers are still followed around by nuns who note anyone who shows interest and later, when the brothers work in another territory, they return to spread fear and discouragement among those that seek truth. This cooperation on the part of the nuns has helped the brothers see quickly those that are sincere and those that are not. If a study is lost because of this, another starts. During the year three studies have stopped because of this, but six new ones have been started.

When ordered by the nuns to put the Witnesses out of her house, one lady said: “How can I do such a thing when Jesus told us to love our neighbors? After all, the Witnesses are teaching me from the Bible.” The nuns replied: “All right, if you stop the Witnesses from calling at your house, we promise to come with our Bible and teach you.” The lady replied: “I will stop the Witnesses from calling only if you prove to me from the Bible where they are wrong.” “We do not have the Bible with us, but next week we will call again,” the nuns answered. They did call the next week, but without the Bible. They accused the Witnesses of not believing that Jesus is God and a member of the “trinity.” The newly interested lady was able to answer this from her Bible, and then she asked the nuns for their Bible. They became so furious and made so much noise that she had to order them to leave. They left, threatening her with burning in hellfire and with no proper funeral at death. This lady is now a regular publisher.

MEXICO Population: 45,012,675

Peak Publishers: 38,563 Ratio: 1 to 1,167

The following experience reminds one of Acts 4:13: “They . . . perceived that they were men unlettered and ordinary.” A brother visited his wife’s relatives. They were talking about religion, but because they knew he was one of Jehovah’s witnesses, they left one by one, except for one who did not know his religion. This one began to talk against Jehovah’s witnesses. When the brother began to defend his faith, the attacking relative pounded the table with his fist and said very angrily: “Can you imagine? A short time ago one of those insignificant Witnesses came to work in the same factory where I work. He worked as a sweeper. He is one of those who just waits for the opportunity to finish his job to start reading his Watchtower. But what happened I believe only because I saw it. The factory’s engineer is a very well educated man, a real intellectual. The only ones who are worthy to talk to him are the owners and executives, nobody else, because he is the engineer. You are not going to believe what happened,” he shouted, hitting the table with his fist. “This insignificant Witness, this sweeper, dared to talk to him about his Watchtower. I do not know what he told him with so much faith and earnestness, but now”-—and he struck the table harder with his fist—“the engineer goes around knocking on doors and preaching with The Watchtower. It seems unbelievable, doesn’t it?” How true that “God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put the wise men to shame,” or help them to learn His truth.—1 Cor. 1:27.

A barber learned the truth from a three-and-a-half-year-old boy. The boy was taken by his parents to the barber shop and left there alone to have his hair cut. All the barbers knew his parents were Jehovah’s witnesses and laughed at the boy. However, his barber decided to find out if the boy had some knowledge of the Bible. The boy was asked if he knew some scriptures, and he answered in his childish language, “Yes, I know the one about the ‘little earth,’ the one about ‘the little lamp,’ the one about the ‘little boy’ and about ‘wisdom,’ about the ‘armor’ and about the ‘father.’ ” He began to quote some, starting with Ephesians 6:11, 12. The barber was astonished. Then the little boy said: “Now I am going to tell you the one about the ‘little earth,’ ” and he quoted Matthew 5:5. The barber had this scripture impressed deeply on his mind and memorized others that the boy quoted. He was impressed that this little boy knew more of the Bible than he did. His next step was to get a Bible. When he got it he tried to find the scriptures the little boy had quoted to him, but in vain. He went to see the boy’s parents and began to study. He received persecution in his home but he persevered. He legalized his marriage to be in harmony with the Scriptures, and last April he dedicated his life to Jehovah—all of this because the scripture about the ‘little earth’ fell on good soil, the productive kind.

During the past year 1,133 people were taught to read and write. An elderly brother relates this experience: “I pioneered in April and placed twenty-five books. One day when going from door to door I met a man who said he did not want the book because he could not read. I told him I could teach him to read and write. He was surprised, because of my age, but he took the book. Now we study half an hour from his book, and the other half hour I teach him to read. I started nine studies from the placements I made during April.”

A regular pioneer desirous of reaching her goal of twenty subscriptions during the past campaign had no success from house to house, and it was already the third month. Being a receptionist, she placed one of each of the subscription forms for The Watchtower and Awake.' under her desk glass. The building has offices of many architects and engineers and their secretaries. They began to ask questions about these two forms, so she explained what they were all about and in one week she obtained sixteen subscriptions. By the end of the campaign she had twenty. When the magazines of some of the subscribers started to arrive at the office address, one of the responsible workers who has an atheistic spirit said: “It looks as if even I am going to leave here believing in La Atalaya (The Watchtower).’’ Now she is placing many books by following a similar procedure.

MOROCCO Population: 13,729,000

Peak Publishers: 133 Ratio: 1 to 103,226

Those of us who are letting our nets down for a catch here in Morocco are overjoyed with the rich blessing that Jehovah has given us during the past service year. In spite of the fact that some publishers have moved away, we still were able to reach an average increase of 21 percent in publishers over the previous year.

The following experience shows how those with the right heart condition are found: One day a seventeenyear-old, non-Christian girl bought the book “Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie” in a secondhand shop. The very same week a missionary called on her and started a Bible study right away. She progressed very quickly, accepted Christ, and began attending meetings regularly. When we had the district assembly, she saw clearly that this was the truth and what she was looking for. When the brother mentioned that we would be going in the service, she expressed her desire to go as well. This she did, and even gave a witness herself. The importance of studying with the family was stressed at the assembly, and she asked if it were possible for her younger sister and brothers to study as well. This they did and they began coming to the meetings with her. But then the persecution began.

Her mother said she was to give all her books back, and that she could not study or attend the meetings anymore. This was very upsetting to the young girl. When the mother saw that she was determined to continue studying, she tried to get her to marry a man twice her age. When this did not work, she even went to the police, sending them to the missionaries’ home, warning them to leave her daughter alone. This astonished the girl, and she made her mother realize what a terrible thing she had done. The mother listened and agreed to study the Bible with one of the missionaries. The result of this young girl’s love for Jehovah and determination to continue is that, one year later, she is vacation pioneering and plans to become a regular pioneer when she has been baptized six months. Her mother is studying, and her sister and one brother are also publishing.

GIBRALTAR Population: 27,292

Peak Publishers: 34 Ratio: 1 to 803

In Gibraltar a popular musician studied with Jehovah’s witnesses for a year. The more he studied the more he realized his responsibility before Jehovah God and that he could not continue to play certain songs or participate in the national anthem on television shows. So he informed the band that he would not play certain parts of their musical program. This finally caused him to lose his job with the band, but it gave him a good opportunity to give a witness to all the band members. Due to this the drummer is also studying and has also quit the band for the same reasons.

In Gibraltar military service is done by serving sixteen days every other year until one is twentyeight years old. The musician was due to serve for the last time, and then he would be free. But in view of his knowledge of God’s Word, his conscience would not permit him to serve this last time in the armed service, even if it was just for sixteen days. He wrote the military officials ahead of time to inform them that he would not be taking his training any longer. He prepared his defense and reported to a committee who heard his case. Due to his fine defense before them, he was exempted from military service.

NETHERLANDS Population: 12,661,095

Peak Publishers: 16,528 Ratio: 1 to 766

With a very positive attitude toward the Bible-study work, Jehovah’s witnesses in this country have tried to overcome obstacles put up by false religion. In a very religious farm family, the son and his wife who lived on the farm in the home of their parents became interested. As their interest grew, opposition from their parents and other family members, the elders of the church and the preacher, also grew. The wife could not stand it and lost interest, but the man kept on. Any visit in his house was made impossible and, because of living in faraway territory, the man could not easily go to the publisher. Back-calls by telephone were interrupted during the day, so other ways had to be sought. As the farm is large, quite often calves were born at night. That was the time to study by telephone. The texts mentioned during the night calls were put on a piece of paper, and the brother put this piece of paper in the empty milk cans at the gate of the farmhouse, to be picked up by the man at five o’clock in the morning. Interest developed quickly as more ways to help him were discovered. A regular weekly study developed in the car of the brother somewhere on the farm grounds, giving the added advantage of prayer offered to Jehovah. The results? The man became a regular publisher and now is baptized. Opposition is slowing down, and he is regularly attending meetings with his wife and children.

Living up to the truth helps sincere persons. In a family with seven children only the father was in the truth. Among the strongest opposers was one of his sons who sometimes actually fought with his father to prevent him from going to the meeting. Now this “Saul” has become a “Paul.” Why? After eight years of opposition he noticed that his father had never become crude because of this persecution and never said harsh things to his wife and children. It seemed as if the father could bear all things because of his faith.

One night he asked his father to tell him about the Bible. The father said that he would not do so, because he was afraid that he would tell his mother about it and this would only cause more tension, as had happened so often during the years. The son had to assure his father that he really wanted to be told about his faith to know if it really was the truth and to know what enabled him to endure things so patiently. If it was the truth, he said, he would be glad to do the same things as his father did and endure opposition together with his father. A very fine discussion resulted about the glowing hope of a paradise earth. The son asked for a study and came right into the truth. As foretold by Jesus, he also received persecution, but he now bears it with his father.

NETHERLANDS ANTILLES (Curasao)

Peak Publishers: 287 Population: 139,211

Ratio: 1 to 485

In Curacao there was a 9-percent increase in publishers, while there was a 19-percent increase in home Bible studies. On the average there were more studies than publishers.

One local pioneer sister holds a regular study with a lady who has a very opposed husband. He told the sister not to let him see her in his house again. To get around this, she studies with the lady when the husband is at work. The only catch is that the husband works odd hours at times. To overcome this problem, the lady of the house puts a piece of cloth on the clothesline when the husband is home. So the pioneer sister drives on by the house when she sees a certain cloth on the line. That is an old trick, which is being put to good use now.

A pioneer sister was expecting her sixth baby, so the circuit servant told her just to let the branch office know when she would stop pioneering for a while. Her hours began to drop down to 75 or 80, but she never did let the office know that she would leave the pioneer work. She had a reserve of hours, so she never did stop even when little Daniel came along. She is still on the pioneer list, and for the year this sister conducted an average of 10 Bible studies, made 700 back-calls, obtained 44 new subscriptions, placed 1,182 magazines, 45 booklets and 163 bound books, all in a total of 1,121 hours. This was an outstanding report under the circumstances. The husband and the older children help the sister with the housework and the baby. Of course, people in this territory for the most part have very great respect for a pregnant woman. She is considered as being especially blessed by God. Her condition may have made her pioneer work even more productive than it would have been otherwise.

Children who have theocratic parents should appreciate this as one of the greatest gifts from God that they could have in life. A group of brothers were waiting at the airport for one of their number to leave on a plane. Among the group was a neatly dressed Dutch sister with her daughter of eleven years. The airport was crowded with all kinds of people in all kinds of dress, with some leaving little to the imagination. Out of a clear sky the young daughter said to her mother, “The more I see of other people, the better I like you.” A fine compliment! No doubt that is the way most of us feel about our parents in the truth, but we may neglect to express our feelings vocally.

ARUBA Population: 58,958

Peak Publishers: 159 Ratio: 1 to 371

The big events of the year in Aruba among Jehovah’s witnesses were the building of another Kingdom Hall and the forming of a new Papiamento congregation to share in the use of this hall. The new hall is centrally located and is large enough to hold 500, so it can be used for assemblies. A local brother put up the money, interest free, to build the hall, and other brothers did the work of building it. All are to be complimented. The hall was built behind a high cactus fence on the main highway of Aruba. After the hall was finished workers for the government cut down the cactus fence along the road. All of a sudden the hall came into plain view of passersby, so people were saying that Jehovah’s witnesses had built a big Kingdom Hall in one day.

A leading businessman in Aruba used to speak slightingly about Jehovah’s witnesses, but now he has had a change of heart toward us. The reason? One of his best employees became a Witness. The businessman has found this brother such a good workman and so honest in his handling of money, that he now goes out of his way to be of help to Jehovah’s witnesses. When he heard that we needed rooms for the brothers coming from Curasao and Bonaire to attend the district assembly in Aruba, he donated the use of a big house free of charge, and a number of brothers were able to sleep there during the assembly. Certainly we are witnesses full time, even if we are not pioneers.

BONAIRE Population: 7,134

Peak Publishers: 25 Ratio: 1 to 285

The highlights of the year in Bonaire take place when the brothers from Curacao come over to attend the circuit assemblies held here semiannually. At the latest assembly everyone was talking about a student talk given by a young sister of nine years on Friday night of the assembly. Her subject was “The Return of the Prophet Greater than Moses.” She handled it so well that the whole audience was really moved. After explaining the subject to her householder, another girl about her own age, she began reviewing the points with the householder to see if she understood what she had been told. While she had been giving the talk a couple of small children had been sitting on the floor, apparently not paying any attention to the talk, but when the publisher began her rapid-fire review, the two children four or five years of age answered the questions before the householder could. Then the publisher asked the householder: “Who are these children?” The householder explained: “Oh, they are the neighbor’s children; they study the Bible with Jehovah’s witnesses.”

NEWFOUNDLAND Population: 500,000

Peak Publishers: 765 Ratio: 1 to 654

Because of zeal in Jehovah’s service during the 1968 service year, we had our most outstanding year in the ministry. The goal of ten or more hours for congregation publishers was achieved for the first time in twenty years. Jehovah richly blessed our sincere and zealous efforts in the ministry with a 12-percent increase in the number of publishers reporting, and seventy-seven symbolized their dedication to Jehovah during the year.

Some of the increase in publishers came from those who had known about Jehovah’s witnesses for years but for one reason or another had not acted on what they knew. This brings to mind an interesting experience about a man who had known and read about the truth for fifteen or twenty years. He believed that what Jehovah’s witnesses taught was the truth, and so

he would offer financial assistance when possible to further the work in his locality. However, he did not study the Bible, though he did come to an occasional public talk when the circuit servant visited the congregation. When the district servant was visiting the congregation along with the circuit servant, they decided to visit this interested person to discuss the urgency of our times and the need to act now before it is too late. He was shown the steps he would need to take to reach spiritual maturity. The man agreed to a regular weekly home Bible study with the congregation overseer and decided to set aside some time each week for personal study as well. He has read the entire Bible through twice since this visit and immediately began attending all the meetings. He is now a dedicated, baptized and active servant of Jehovah.

Others came back to the organization like the prodigal son of Jesus’ illustration. A now-zealous pioneer sister relates her experience: “During my childhood I had some contact with the truth and attended meetings with my family, but I did not have any appreciation for it. By the time I finished high school my whole family drifted away from the truth. I left home to work in a bank, and by last summer I held a responsible position there, receiving the highest salary of any of the female members of the staff. I was told that it was only a matter of time until I would be the first lady bank manager of Newfoundland. But with all this progress in the financial world something was lacking in my life.

“I returned home for a vacation, only to find that my brother had become a very zealous witness for Jehovah. He and his wife were so enthusiastic about the truth that they encouraged me to read all of the latest publications of the Society. They showed so much loving concern for me that I really began thinking seriously about the truth and wondering if perhaps this was what I needed in my life.

“After a few weeks of study I began to appreciate the things I was learning and started to attend the congregational meetings. Within two months I experienced the joy of going out in the door-to-door ministry for the first time. The following month I symbolized my dedication to Jehovah.

“Even though I did not qualify to apply as a vacation pioneer, I quit my job at the bank and resolved to make the pioneer service my new goal in life. For three months I met the pioneer goals. As soon as I met the qualifications, I was enrolled as a vacation pioneer. Then when I was able to meet the requirements for regular pioneer service, I made application and have been serving as a regular pioneer since July of this year. The contentment that I have enjoyed in serving Jehovah has certainly been beyond compare.”

NEW ZEALAND Population: 2,755,092

Peak Publishers: 4,950 Ratio: 1 to 557

If any one thing has marked the 1967-68 service year in New Zealand, it has been the sharp upward trend in Bible-study activity and its resulting fruitfulness. The value of offering free home Bible studies on the first call has been amazingly demonstrated. In October 1967, one such study was started with a young married, air force man. During the first two studies his wife was away attending an Anglican church meeting and a yoga class, but she returned in time to share in part of the second study. The husband, wife and two children attended the next Watchtower study and public talk. During the third week the family began regular attendance at the midweek meetings. The husband said he knew this was the truth, and after attending a circuit assembly in November 1967, he applied for release from the air force on the ground that he was going to become a minister for Jehovah. The student’s father, who is a high-ranking officer in the air force, brought great pressure to bear on him to continue in his military career, but he stood fast. His commanding officer was impressed by the young man’s genuineness and remarked on the faith and knowledge he had built up in so short a time. His release was recommended, and he began in the field ministry the week after his discharge early in 1968. His wife had already started in the ministry.

So great is the power of the truth from God’s Word that it can effect great changes in peoples’ lives, and the seed sown can start others in the way of eternal life. A Bible study was started with a woman who had six children and who was separated from her husband. She was a chain smoker of cigarettes and given to swearing to an excessive degree. From the first study she believed that what she was learning was the truth. A few weeks later two married, fleshly brothers and their wives visited her and also requested home Bible studies. After four studies these persons began attending all the meetings of the congregation. Meanwhile the original woman decided to clean up her life, and so gave up smoking and swearing. A chance visit from her husband found such a change in her that he decided to attend the Watchtower study to find out what had caused the transformation. He liked what he found, has now become reconciled to his wife and also attends meetings. Thus a broken marriage was restored, and six persons with their children are learning the truth that leads to eternal life!

Sisters with unbelieving husbands can benefit from this experience: A woman who had been studying for over a year had failed to arouse the slightest interest in Bible study on the part of her husband. Seeking to pierce his indifference, she asked if a family of Witnesses could visit for an evening. He reluctantly agreed, fully anticipating a boring ordeal. As one interested in world history, he was amazed to find the Witness husband surprisingly knowledgeable about history, and before the evening was finished he agreed to attend a congregation meeting. Although somewhat out of his depth at the Theocratic Ministry School and service meeting, he was impressed that there was “no religious mumbo jumbo or incantation and everyone seemed interested.” He agreed to have a Bible study; in fact, he requested two studies each week so that he could learn more quickly. He began to attend meetings regularly. Finding it embarrassing to withdraw between meetings for a quick cigarette, he decided to give up smoking. As appreciation quickly developed in this former Roman Catholic, he realized that religious pictures and images have no place in a true Christian’s life. He and his wife gathered up three large boxes of false religious paraphernalia from around their house and destroyed it. As the 1968 service year ends, this man is a baptized brother, enrolled in the Theocratic Ministry School and united with his family in reaching out for the goal of life in Jehovah’s righteous new order.

The problem facing a Maori brother was how to share his hope with his mother, who was sixty-five years of age, deeply entrenched in Maori tradition and a staunch adherent of the Ringatu religion, steeped in the practice of demonic rituals. In her possession she had all her ancestors’ heirlooms, which were very tapu (sacred) according to Maori law. Nor would she let her forty-year-old son speak to her about the truth, because of the tribal custom that “children should be seen and not heard.” So he patiently and kindly kept inviting her to the congregation meetings. She attended, began to enjoy them, and finally became a regular attender. The meetings were the turning point in her life. In time she agreed to have a Bible study but wondered why her progress was slow. Shown that if she believed this to be the truth she would have to cut off all association with the Ringatu faith, she made the right decision. Her husband by a second marriage is a bishop in the Ringatu church and he bitterly opposed her, but she stood firm for Jehovah and the truth. Next she courageously discarded the sacred heirlooms. Now her progress was rapid! She enrolled in the Theocratic Ministry School, started in field service and was baptized at a circuit assembly. She enjoyed vacation pioneer service, now conducts a Bible study and has applied for further vacation pioneer activity. She undertook the journey by railway and steamer to the “Good News for All Nations” District Assembly in Dunedin and enjoyed every minute of it. There is no doubt that the truth can penetrate all barriers, and in this case true love on the part of a son found a way by encouraging attendance at the meetings.

NICARAGUA Population: 1,809,477

Peak Publishers: 1,022 Ratio: 1 to 1,771

A high point in our past service year was the receiving of so many letters of inquiry from our brothers who desire to change their territorial waters and fish in net-breaking areas. How happy this has made us! Although it has been difficult to aid many of the brothers to find employment unless they have a highly skilled profession, we can encourage especially those who have pensions or other independent incomes to join us.

Due to some adverse publicity resulting from a blood transfusion case in Managua one radio announcer appealed, over the air, for a Witness to visit him so an interview could be arranged. He felt this would be a fair way to hear our point of view. A special pioneer responded and was able to present a 15-minute Biblical explanation. The announcer was so satisfied that he took the brother to another station, where again time was allotted to explain Jehovah’s law concerning the use of blood. This has resulted in a more favorable view of our position.

Do you feel that there is no hope that your family or relatives will ever learn the truth? Do not despair! Even though they scoff, revile, persecute and tell you never to say anything more about your religion, it may be time to increase the warning you are giving instead of decreasing it. One man started studying one month and went out in the service the next, and by the third month his entire family had turned against him: father, mother, brothers, sisters and cousins. But he kept right on talking to them regardless of the threats and persecution. Now, about two years later, he conducts Bible studies with five of his brothers, two other brothers and a nephew have been baptized.

Still another brother has married the woman he had been living with so they both can be baptized at the next assembly. The mother is now studying and attending meetings regularly, and the father has stopped his opposing. Why? The more they opposed the more he witnessed!

Recently a Catholic bishop was scheduled to visit the school of a small town. Parents were invited to be present on this most special occasion and the children were coached about their behavior. When the bishop arrived he was ceremoniously presented to the students one by one. Stopping in front of the only Witness girl in the class, the teacher said with disdain, “She is one of Jehovah’s witnesses.” Silence descended over those present as the teacher waited for the expected rebuke. But, addressing everyone present, the bishop commended the sixteen-year-old girl and all of Jehovah’s witnesses for the fine Bible work they are doing. Of all the religions, he said, they are taking the lead in teaching the people the Bible. Then he encouraged all present to obtain a copy of the Bible so that either he or this girl could help them to understand it better.

NIGERIA Population: 55,620,286

Peak Publishers: 47,488 Ratio: 1 to 1,171

An outstanding event of the service year was the completion of a new annex to the Lagos Bethel home. The extension just about doubles our living and working space.

When the service year started, the branch office in Lagos was cut off by the war from more than 25,000 brothers in the midwestern and eastern parts of the country. They could not receive The Watchtower, Kingdom Ministry or letters from the branch office, or from outside, nor could they send any reports or communications through. For the first month, September, the branch office received reports from 24,182 publishers in the rest of Nigeria.

Our brothers have suffered and are still undergoing indescribable hardships and loss of lives, homes, property, Kingdom Halls and other possessions. In addition, they are resisting extreme pressure and violent persecution to force them to violate their neutrality. Some, including a city servant, special pioneers and pioneers, have been shot.

One servant reports that in his area the brothers secured just one bottle of wine for the Memorial celebration. Each congregation got about two spoonsful for the celebration. As the actual fighting kept coming closer and closer the brothers kept moving through the bush in groups. Huts were built as they moved from place to place, and in these Bible meetings were held daily. Non-Witnesses who observed them were greatly amazed that these Witnesses would not indulge in looting as they passed through abandoned properties, not even eating cassava from abandoned farms, though the brothers themselves were almost starving.

The war was still raging at the end of the service year. Six Gilead graduates are somewhere in that part of the country, and we hope they can continue to strengthen and encourage the brothers in the 254 congregations and 93 isolated groups not in contact with the branch office. There are about 3,500 brothers hiding in the forests, running from place to place, unable to meet together or send in service reports.

An atheistic professor of history who formerly lived in the United States, and until recently taught at one of the universities here in Nigeria, openly showed his comtempt for the Bible and for Jehovah’s witnesses. When he found that one of his students at the university was a Christian witness of Jehovah the professor took delight in ridiculing the student in front of the class. Remaining calm under constant provocation was not easy, and the professor later stated that he admired the Christian attitude of the young man. After much persuasion on the part of the brother an appointment was made with the professor for a discussion of the subject, “There Is a Creator.” The professor was asked to prove in front of all present, including two scientists, that there is no God. He failed to do so convincingly. The young Witness then spoke for nearly four hours, drawing information from the Society’s publications proving that there is a Creator. The professor proved to be a humble man and publicly apologized. The student invited the professor to the Kingdom Hall of the local congregation. He not only accepted the invitation but suggested that his students attend with him. That Sunday the professor and thirty-nine students thronged the Kingdom Hall. The group attended meetings at the Kingdom Hall many times. Recently the professor returned to the United States, and at a farewell party he closed his final address with these words: “If now I am asked what I have gained in Nigeria my answer will be: ‘I came to Nigeria as an atheist but now I am leaving Nigeria as a converted Christian, indeed, one of Jehovah’s witnesses.’ ”

The power of regular and persistent family Bible study even under adverse conditions was demonstrated by the efforts of a sister who is the “senior wife” of a polygamist. She held a regular Bible study with her children, although the husband was not too pleased. In course of time, a “secondary wife” became interested, and, becoming fully aware that she was living in fornication, decided to separate from the polygamous man. This brought outright violent persecution to the “senior wife.” Her eldest son was beaten unconscious and three of the younger children slept in the “bush.” Her own family, on hearing about this, would have nothing to do with the sister or her children for seven years. Still the sister managed to persist with the family Bible study. Gradually a change took place, and, as the oldest son commented: “Instead of just seven who started studying with mother, there are now twenty-eight.” The benefits derived from a regular family Bible study are many.

It took a lot of effort and determination on the part of the 606 persons who learned to read and write during the year. A forty-five-year-old sister related the following experience to the circuit servant: “I started associating with Jehovah’s organization early in 1966. Before then I was an illiterate having no hope of learning to read in my lifetime. As I began to attend meetings I found that nearly all the women in the congregation could read the Bible. I was very much impressed and I decided to enroll in the literacy course. I fought hard in order to accomplish my objective. Within six months I began to recognize some words in the Bible. By 1967 I enrolled in another course, this time the Theocratic Ministry School. What wonderful help Jehovah has given me. Through diligent effort I now find myself reading his Word the Bible. I am now a regular pioneer, and that gives me the chance to read daily to many householders. I have conquered illiteracy through persistent effort at the age of forty-five.”

NIGER Population: 2,870,000

Peak Publishers: 20 Ratio: 1 to 143,500

The truth spreads neither easily nor rapidly in Moslem lands, but it spreads just the same.

Four special pioneers are diligently searching in Maradi for those who want to live in a paradise earth where there will be no sorrow and no death. One day the four were arrested for preaching from door to door. The judge told the brothers: ‘We have heard that you are preaching against our government. Is that true?’ The brothers said No. Then the judge asked them to demonstrate what they were preaching. One of the special pioneers then gave a sermon based on Revelation 21:3-5, outlining Jehovah’s purpose to renew the earth and populate it with perfect obedient mankind; a world with no sorrow or death. The judge took the brother’s own Bible and read the scripture for himself. Then he turned to the accuser and asked: ‘Did you say these people are preaching against our land?’ There was no answer. ‘Is death good? Is sorrow good?’ The accuser answered No. The judge then said: ‘Give them their books and let them go!’ Since then the Maradlans call the brothers ‘the people of the new order and no death.’ The law officers became quite friendly. We hope they understand better the peaceful, upbuilding nature of our preaching work in the town and will allow the special pioneers to stay.

NORWAY Population: 3,802,243

Peak Publishers: 4,625 Ratio: 1 to 822

We are very happy to be able to say that the “good news” has been preached in Norway to a greater extent than ever before. We have been blessed with new peaks in all features of the service and an increase of 8 percent in publishers.

The magazines are very effective aids because of their dealing with subjects of current interest. A man phoned the branch office, saying: “Yesterday I bought two magazines on the street from one of your ministers, and my wife and I read them right away. We found those magazines to be very encouraging and interesting, so much so that we want to learn more. I was raised in a religious home, but I never found answers to my questions. What shall we do to learn more?” He was offered a free home Bible study, and it was arranged for a publisher to visit them the same week. A study was started at once. This couple subscribed for the magazines and also accepted other literature. Both of them attend the public meetings regularly and are attending the other congregation meetings too. They know this is the truth, and they want to get the needed training to share in the field service.

By doing street witnessing we are often able to meet persons that we do not meet from house to house. Here is one such experience: “I was a naval officer, and on one of my days off I was offered the magazines on the street. I discussed several subjects with the publisher and obtained three magazines, which I took with me to the naval base. I read a few pages but then put them away. Two weeks later I received a letter from the publisher. He asked if I had read the magazines, and asked how I liked them. So I picked up the magazines and started reading again. This time they made a deep impression upon me, and it became clear to me that I had to do the will of God. On my next day off I met the publisher, and he invited me to his home. After this visit I realized this to be the truth. I attended the Watchtower study, and for the first time I understood what the redemption meant. I had formerly believed it was not possible to understand this doctrine. I wrote my parents and my fiancee and told them what I had learned. The result was that my mother and my fiancee traveled a great distance, 800 miles, to visit me and warn me about this erroneous teaching. My fiancee listened to the conversation between my mother and me. Although my mother had been a Bible reader for thirty years, she was unable to disprove the truths I had learned during the last thirty days. My fiancee was convinced that I had the truth. We are now married, and we have both left Babylon the Great. I have likewise left the navy. I symbolized my dedication to Jehovah by water baptism at the first circuit assembly we attended, and my wife was baptized at the second. I am certainly grateful that this brother was on the street with the magazines on my day off.”

The importance of being friendly despite offensive remarks is well illustrated by the following experience, which was sent in by a special pioneer: “I started a study with a man in the ‘Impossible to Lie’ book, and after a while his wife and two daughters joined the study. They had a fifteen-year-old son who proved to be a real problem. The father was very distressed because the boy was associating with bad company. The son was learning karate and judo, and was very much influenced by modern fads such as extremes in hair styles and music. The boy was becoming very rebellious. During our weekly study he often came in singing and making blasphemous remarks. Nevertheless, I continued to speak to him in a friendly manner, and little by little he began to have confidence in me. Now I am conducting a study with him too. The length of his hair is now normal and no longer offensive. He has already given his first student talk in the Theocratic Ministry School and has had a share in the house-to-house ministry. One of his friends has joined our study. His parents are proud of him now.”

Many persons in this country are living in isolated territories and so far away from congregations and publishers that it is impossible to conduct Bible studies with them in the usual way. It is, however, possible to study with them by correspondence. The following experience proves that this brings good results: A woman wrote the Society asking if one of Jehovah’s witnesses could visit her. As she was living in an isolated territory where there were no Witnesses, we wrote her and explained the situation but said that we could find someone to study with her by correspondence if she wanted us to do so. She accepted the offer, and a sister started a study with her in the booklet she had ordered from the Society and later in the book “Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie.” The sister says: “The woman was very diligent, and it was always a pleasure to read her answers to the questions. She progressed rapidly, and the visits by the circuit servant and his wife were of great help to her. About six months later this woman, and another interested woman living in the same place, started a study with yet another woman. A great distance was separating these three women, but the two of them traveled this distance to visit the third woman. After a while the woman I was studying with moved to the city because of her husband’s employment, and this city had a congregation. She is now attending the meetings and continues to preach the ‘good news.’ She wrote to me expressing her gratitude for what she has learned during our studies by correspondence.”

OKINAWA Population: 943,000

Peak Publishers: 318 Ratio: 1 to 2,965

God’s Word of truth can change lives. A young man from Yaeyama spent most of his time seeking all kinds of things for his own pleasure. When a special pioneer called on him with the “good news” he showed a contemptuous attitude. Seeing the special pioneer’s zeal in explaining the Bible and her warm, kind manner, the man decided that perhaps he could learn something from the Bible and agreed to a study. He made steady progress and soon started changing his pattern of life, now seeking the Kingdom. He said that nothing was harder for him than to go from house to house preaching. When he first started preaching he was embarrassed, and when he saw acquaintances he would hide. When it was his turn to witness he often wished the householder would not be home. Gradually he gained confidence and is now a regular publisher. As a reminder he has the scripture at Matthew 7:13 pinned on a wall in his home: “Go in through the narrow gate.”

A sister, finding an interested young student in the door-to-door work, started a study with her. She progressed rapidly and began to attend meetings. Then one day she came sadly to the sister saying that she could not continue the study because her father was opposed and forbade her to continue. The publisher decided to meet the girl’s father and explain to him the importance of studying God’s Word. Talking to him, she found that he was opposed to all kinds of religions, having seen so much religious hypocrisy. The publisher listened patiently to the father for some time, and then she clearly explained that Jehovah’s witnesses are different. The friendly manner, sincerity and zeal of the publisher convinced the father that Jehovah’s witnesses are different from all the other religions with which he had had contact. Now, instead of opposing, he said to the publisher: “Please teach my daughter the truth of God’s Word.” This girl made good progress and was baptized at the district assembly. Her father now says that if she wants to pioneer he has no objection.

A missionary here received two letters from persons with whom he studied while they were in Okinawa in military service. After being discharged and returning to the United States in March they continued to study. One was baptized at the Greenville, South Carolina, district assembly. The other one wrote regarding his wife and himself: “We just returned from the ‘Good News for All Nations’ District Assembly at Columbus, Ohio. ... It was a fine assembly. . . . We have been going out in field service . . . and we hope to become regular publishers. . . . We are going to be baptized at the coming circuit assembly.”

We have thousands of Americans and their families living here. We are happy to say that from this group many are seeking the truth and finding it. The branch receives many letters from these interested persons requesting help, but until this year no congregation was organized to assist these persons regularly, because there was no dedicated, English-speaking brother who could be overseer of this group. But, in answer to our prayers, two former missionaries and their son moved in to help where the need was great, and we were able to form an all-English-speaking congregation. This group now has their own Kingdom Hall, and thirty to fifty persons are attending meetings. If more Englishspeaking brothers are able to serve here we know they will find much joy in helping these “sheep” in Okinawa.

PAKISTAN Population: 120,000,000

Peak Publishers: 142 Ratio: 1 to 845,070

The brothers have every reason to rejoice in new alltime peaks in books, back-calls and magazines. This fine work was accomplished by the same number of publishers that we had last year, and so a much greater witness has been given in this vast, predominantly Moslem territory. A family, along with two special pioneers, was able to move from West Pakistan to East Pakistan to serve where the need is greater, thus becoming the first Witnesses in Dacca since 1955.

Very fine suggestions of the most practical nature for our ministry regularly appear in The Watchtower. A sister writes: “I had been studying for more than two years with a man who seemed very interested at first. However, despite repeated invitations to meetings, he rarely came. I seriously thought I would stop the study. Then I heard that another missionary had been using the article in the March 1, 1968, issue of The Watchtower, ‘Are You Thinking of Becoming One of Jehovah’s Witnesses?’ in discussions with some of her studies, with interesting results. I decided to translate this article into Urdu and study it with this man. When I asked if he was thinking of becoming a Witness, he said he was. I discussed the requirements with him, and as a result he started attending meetings and shared in the service just two weeks after finishing the study of the article.”

A married couple from England related the following concerning their efforts to serve where the need is greater: “The 1967 Awake! articles calling for workers in South America caused us to consider our own position. We were doing good work in a small English town but were financially able to move where the need was greater. Early efforts to go to El Salvador were thwarted, so Pakistan was suggested by the London branch as a good alternative. We waited for several months, trying to sell our house but without success. We finally decided to go anyway, to make the move, live temporarily with relatives and show Jehovah that we really meant it. As we were taking the last of our belongings out of the house, a buyer turned up, and in ten minutes we had closed the deal. Devoting all our energies to the ministry seemed to be the best way to utilize our finances, health and comparative freedom, as we have no children. The complete change to a new country and its way of life was not without its problems, but every problem has a solution. With about three million people to serve, we really feel that we are needed. Looking back now after getting settled in Karachi, Pakistan, as part of the congregation, we feel it was well worth it.”

AFGHANISTAN Population: 13,500,000

Peak Publishers: 5 Ratio: 1 to 2,700,000

Throughout the year regular reports have been received in Pakistan from the brothers in Kabul. Much work has been done, with the brothers averaging more than sixteen hours a month in service. Appropriate employment is necessary there in order to be permitted to stay, and for some time this proved to be a difficulty, financially and otherwise, for the overseer. At one time it appeared that, after some ten years of serving where the need is great, he would finally have to leave. However, satisfactory work was finally available, and, thanks to Jehovah’s loving-kindness, the overseer continues to declare the “good news” in this land.

It appears that at times beneficial results can be obtained by changing the publisher making a call. A lady who used to argue about many different points finally began to see that the Bible is true. At this point another publisher was asked to take over the call. This made it easier for the lady to progress, because she was not being made to feel that she was going back on all the things she used to argue about. She is now being encouraged to attend meetings.

PANAMA Population: 1,872,200

Peak Publishers: 1,582 Ratio: 1 to 867

Jehovah’s witnesses in Panama have made fine progress during the past year in getting the “good news” preached and have been very happy about it. Early in the year letters were sent to all the congregations encouraging the brothers to spend some time in the vacation pioneer service during the dry summer season, if possible. There was a good response. Several of the younger brothers and sisters took advantage of their school vacation to take part in this work, actually visiting places where the Kingdom message had not yet reached.

The distribution of the Evolution book during the year has caused much discussion among students and others, and the publishers have used many opportunities to give an incidental witness with it with good results. A recently dedicated person tells of talking with a lifelong acquaintance regarding the Bible truths she is learning. One son of the family, who had received a scholarship upon graduation from high school, was particularly interested in the scientific viewpoint and had obtained a copy of the booklet Evolution versus The New World some months earlier. He found it so fascinating that he began discussing it with his friends, and among them they had completely worn out the booklet. When the Evolution book was received the Witness promised him a copy, but the supply ran out before she could get back to see him, so she loaned him her personal copy. Fully convinced now of the truthfulness of the Bible and the error of evolution, the young man has been to the Kingdom Hall and wants to get his affairs arranged so he can attend all the meetings and have his own personal Bible study.

Accurate knowledge and advance preparation help one to stand firm under a test of faith. Just as the service year closed, a couple of dedicated parents brought one of their children into Panama City for an examination by a specialist, a world-famous neurosurgeon. When the decision was made that a head operation would be needed to correct a congenital defect, the mother explained the true Christian’s position regarding blood transfusions and said that she could not allow a transfusion under any circumstances. The hospital authorities were very firm in saying that the operation could not be performed without the transfusion and that if she loved the child she would let them go ahead; nevertheless, she could get an interview with the chief specialist himself if she wanted to talk to him personally. (The father had had to return home because of his work.) The sister was well prepared and, accompanied by a sister in the local congregation, explained the matter fully to the neurosurgeon. To their surprise, he agreed to do the operation without blood. The operation was a success, and the boy is now recuperating. The parents are happy that they had the knowledge that enabled them to stick to the right course and thus please Jehovah.

PAPUA Population: 600,597

Peak Publishers: 448 Ratio: 1 to 1,341

The Watch Tower Society has a branch office located at Port Moresby in Papua, and this office looks after the preaching of the "good news” in Papua, Manus Island, New Britain, New Guinea, New Ireland and the Solomon Islands. Interesting reports have been received from these places in the South Pacific, and here are a few experiences, beginning with Papua.

The brothers here were thrilled to receive the Paradise book in the Motu language at the beginning of the service year. As the local people have very little of the Hebrew Scriptures in the Motu language, the book’s story of that period of time is very interesting to them, and over one thousand copies of the book have been placed.

A Kingdom publisher relates this experience: “While doing magazine work at the market, I offered the magazines to a group of soldiers. Although the rest of his companions were either hostile or indifferent, one showed good interest, so I thought I would try to arrange a further talk with him and asked him what time would be convenient for him. He replied that he would be willing to talk right away. He immediately left his friends and came with me to my house, where we had a long discussion on the Bible, especially on doctrines. He accepted what he was shown in the Bible and gladly agreed to have a study in the ‘Good News’ booklet.

“Most of his ‘friends’ turned on him, at times abusing him, physically assaulting him and stealing from him. Even some who had shown an interest in the truth were frightened away. In spite of the persecution he stood firm. Eventually he was taken to a succession of officers, from the lowest to nearly the highest, who abused him and threatened him with imprisonment. When they saw that their efforts were not meeting with success, they told him he was insane and had him examined by several army doctors. When they could find nothing wrong with him, the army had him taken in an ambulance, under an armed guard, to a civilian psychiatrist. The doctor asked him many questions, to which he replied calmly and politely. Finally the doctor thumped him on the back and said, ‘There is nothing wrong with you; they are just trying to break your faith.’

“The army then gave up and, without further problems, discharged him. Free now to serve Jehovah, he has been a publisher of the ‘good news’ for over a year.”

Children, too, must be prepared to stand firm for their faith, as can be seen from the following experience from an outlying congregation: “Fifteen children of the brothers attended the government school, and these declined to salute the flag each week. One day one of the teachers singled out a fourteen-year-old Witness and tried to make him salute the flag just once, but the boy stood firm and refused to break his integrity to Jehovah, after using Exodus 20:4 to explain why he could not salute the flag. The teacher threatened him, saying he would be taken to the district court if he did not salute the flag the next week. The servants encouraged the boy to stand firm. On Monday the boy went to school expecting to be given some harsh treatment, but instead the teacher had had a change of heart and told the boy that he was sorry for the way he had treated him and that he was only testing him. How thankful this boy was that his parents had helped him to prepare well for this test.”

MANUS ISLAND Population: 20,647

Peak Publishers: 13 Ratio: 1 to 1,588

Since the brothers here completed their new Kingdom Hall, they have not slowed down. Now that they can concentrate on the field ministry their activity has just about doubled compared with what they were able to do the previous year. As a result of the increased service the congregation publishers are now conducting fourteen studies.

When erecting their Kingdom Hall the brothers made loving provision for a flat for pioneers, and the Society was pleased to be able to send a special pioneer to work with the congregation. With the help of the brothers he has been able to witness on many of the nearby islands.

NEW BRITAIN Population: 154,188

Peak Publishers: 92 Ratio: 1 to 1,676

Is it always a good idea to leave a tract? After doing unassigned territory work one of the brothers reported: “A special effort was made to preach to villages that had not been witnessed to for five years or more. Tracts were left wherever other literature was not placed. On the second Saturday when the group arrived in the territory, a young man was waiting by the roadside. In his hand he held a tract that had been left with another person the previous week and on which he had written some doctrinal questions. This young man was a mission teacher who, because of having broken his arm, had left his position in an isolated area a few days earlier and come to live with his mother. For the next hour a brother answered his many questions and explained the hope of living on earth forever. During the following week he came to the Kingdom Hall, where he was given further spiritual nourishment. He has been having a regular Bible study since that time.” Yes, using the tracts can bring surprising results.

NEW GUINEA Population: 1,357,455

Peak Publishers: 285 Ratio: 1 to 4,763

One of the highlights of the service year was having the Kingdom Ministry School taught in the Melanesian-Pidgin language. When the school was first organized, we wondered how these brothers, most without any formal schooling, would react to the heavy schedule of study. You can judge for yourself from an excerpt taken from a letter of appreciation the branch office received from the class: “We understand clearly the words of Jesus at Matthew 9:37, 38, ‘Beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.’ This class is very happy now and much better prepared to do this grand work Jehovah has given us to do.”

The people in this country are still steeped in demonism and live in constant fear for their lives. This is shown by a recent letter from a special pioneer in the highlands: “During the year a well-known man from the village where we are staying died. This caused all the men of this area to use demon practices to find out who was responsible for his death. The older men of the village learned that they, too, were marked to be killed, and this imbued the whole village with a dread of the unknown witch doctor. During this time my wife and I had some weird experiences with the demons one night. The following morning we got together with the other pioneer brothers, who also had had some bad experiences with the demons during the night. We decided to make a thorough search of the two homes to see if there was anything in the homes that would open the way for the demons. After a thorough search, which failed to produce anything, a young publisher who had been sleeping in the home with the pioneers asked, ‘Could this be the cause?’ He held out his hand in which were some dried, crushed leaves that he had wrapped up. He said the older people of the village had given it to him to keep the witch doctor from killing him. ‘Everyone has these in their homes,’ he explained. We immediately burned these leaves with the wrapping, explaining to the young publisher that this is something through which demons can operate, and that our faith is in Jehovah for our protection. Since this time we have not been troubled by the demons.” How careful we must be not to give the demons an opening to attack us!

Recently the branch received a letter from a person on Bougainville island, asking: “Who is Jehovah? Please write to me so that I can learn the answer to this question.” The island has a population of 72,000 with no Witnesses. Could you move your boat to this fishing ground so that people like this man can learn to ‘call upon the name of Jehovah’ so as to be saved? —Rom. 10:13, 14.

NEW IRELAND Population: 50,129

Peak Publishers: 11 Ratio: 1 to 4,557

The special pioneers have been able to do much work in these islands during the past year and have now spread the “good news” through quite a large area.

One pioneer reports that the new ones are learning to defend the truth and are standing quite firm in the faith. He says: “One of the men with whom we study has made very rapid progress and within a very short time stopped smoking and chewing betel nut. As he works in a department in the district office, the men there noticed a marked change in him. He soon became known as one of Jehovah’s witnesses, to the horror of some leading officials there who tried to warn him not to get involved. Each time he gave them a good answer with some very pointed questions that always went unanswered, such as, ‘What wrong do you find with the Witnesses?’ Then he was called in to the district office and, to scare him, they spoke very loudly and told him that a person who works for the government can have only one job. They had seen him out in the magazine work together with me. This man let them finish their threats and then calmly said: ‘I am working for the government, but what I do on my own time I’ll decide myself. After all, we have freedom of religion, which the law guarantees and which law you represent.’ In anger he was told to leave the office. The next day was Saturday, and the officials could hardly believe their eyes when they arrived at their offices and found this young publisher doing magazine work nearby.”

SOLOMON ISLANDS Population: 139,730

Peak Publishers: 443 Ratio: 1 to 315

During the year the brothers made quite a good amount of progress with their preaching work as well as in maturity and spirituality.

After one of the special pioneers was forced to leave an isolated area, the Society received the following letter from the interested persons he had to leave behind: “We were happy to receive your letter. We are doing well. Now we want to tell you that we cannot let go. We must hold on strong until the end comes. The old widow asks you brothers to help her in your prayers so that the work of Jehovah can go on here. True, we cannot get any brother to help us, but we trust Jehovah to help us with his spirit so that his work will be done here.” Since that time the Society has been able to arrange for the circuit servant to visit this family regularly as he travels to his circuit.

The brothers are developing a real appreciation for the assemblies the Society arranges each year. The Society has received plans showing that in two different areas congregations are getting together to build halls to take care of their annual district assemblies. This is a very big effort when you consider that these halls must accommodate some 600 persons. Plans call for sheet-iron roofs, and to pay for them the brothers have organized working groups that spend one day each week working other peoples’ gardens for them. The money is then contributed to pay for the building materials. With such a willing spirit among the brothers, it is no wonder that they have had a fine increase in the Kingdom work this year.

PARAGUAY Population: 2,030,000

Peak Publishers: 619 Ratio: 1 to 3,279

The 1968 service year was the thirtieth year of the preaching of the Kingdom message in Paraguay. From two publishers in 1939 the number has grown to 619 in 1968, but there is still much work to do, as is evidenced by the ratio of publishers to population. Due to various factors our increases have not been rapid, but there has been steady progress, and the service year just ended has produced new peaks in all features of the service.

Would you feel happy if a number of those with whom you conduct Bible studies decided to travel with you to a distant circuit assembly? This was the experience of an isolated group of five publishers, living and working in a rural section of the southernmost part of the country. They were very diligent in visiting their neighbors, and when a new family would move in to clear and farm the land, they would be the first to visit them, bringing the message of ‘‘good news.” When circuit assembly time came around, they made thorough advance preparations and gave positive invitations to the interested ones. Imagine their joy on seeing fifteen interested persons join them for their trip to the assembly, making up a group of twenty persons in all from this isolated area. The love and hospitality of the local brothers in the assembly city and the rich spiritual feast at the assembly were just what they needed, for in thirteen months this group has grown from five to a peak of fourteen publishers, and they are now in the process of building their own Kingdom Hall. Do you make a point of telling your Bible students all about the assemblies and giving them a positive invitation to go along with you?

The value of giving ample publicity to an assembly is shown by the following experience: As circuit assembly time approached, a sister with an opposing husband was very discouraged. How could she get her husband to let her attend, since she had great difficulty in even getting to the meetings at the local Kingdom Hall? The assembly date arrived. How could she broach the matter to her husband? Just as she was mustering up the courage to ask he said: “Well! Aren’t you getting ready?” “Ready for what?” she replied. “Ready for that big convention of yours. Why, that’s all the radio seems to be talking about this afternoon.” In her absence he had heard several radio newscasts on different stations and was so impressed that his wife belonged to so prominent an organization that his opposition vanished. She was the happiest sister in the whole audience that night.

PERU Population: 12,014,000

Peak Publishers: 3,100 Ratio: 1 to 3,875

High up on the altiplano of the Andes near Lake Titicaca in southern Peru one lone brother stands for true worship in a large section of territory. He is known as the “loner,” the one who does not believe in the trinity doctrine nor in hellfire and who does not help carry the local idol around to pray for rain. The word got to a small group of fifteen Baptists just south of the village of Juli that the Witness could prove from the Bible that the trinity is not true, and that was done to the satisfaction of the group. On the next visit of the North American Baptist preacher, he was put on the spot by his supposed flock with question after question that he could not answer. “Well, we feel the ‘loner’ has been telling us the truth, and he proves what he says from the Bible,” was the final comment of the flock. The Baptist minister told the group that if they were listening to Jehovah’s witnesses he was finished with them, and he left in a huff. When the time came for a visit of the circuit servant, the brother in Juli led the servant and his wife to the former Baptist church. One by one the Indian folk came filing in to be seated on the long adobe benches. Feeling his way along, the circuit servant, rather than give a talk, opened the meeting to questions. “What do we have to do to become Jehovah’s witnesses?” “How can we learn the Bible like the ‘loner’?” “What is required for baptism?” “We are not married yet. Does that make any difference?” One by one the questions were treated from the Bible. A number of the women present did not understand Spanish, so this required that the local brother interpret the answers into the Aymara dialect. The group was shown how they could get The Watchtower through the mail and why they needed the magazine to get to know their Bible well. A long discussion ensued in Aymara, after which three were able to get together enough money for six-month subscriptions. It was also agreed that the adobe building, which was theirs, could now be used as a meeting place for true worshipers of Jehovah. One of those present manifested interest in attending the next circuit assembly, in October.

The brothers are diligent in placing magazines, as is evidenced by the 12.1 average per congregation publisher for the year. One alert brother, instead of following the usual custom of tipping, gave his barber magazines to put on his reading table. One afternoon a waiting customer picked up The Watchtower and read it through before his turn came up for the barber chair. “Where did you get this Watchtower magazine? That is real solid spiritual food in there. I would like to get this regularly.” The barber, being well acquainted with his Witness customer, readily referred the interested gentleman to the brother’s place of business. Consequently two subscriptions were obtained, and a home Bible study was arranged.

PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC Population: 35,000,000 Peak Publishers: 42,239 Ratio: 1 to 829

A fine spirit of zeal and enthusiasm has been manifested by the brothers in the Philippines during the past year. Spurred on by the shortness of the time and a heartfelt desire to aid others, they spent more hours, made more back-calls, conducted more studies and distributed more literature than in any previous year.

Brother Knorr’s four-day visit in May was truly a memorable occasion. Brothers and interested persons flocked to Manila from all parts of the country to hear him speak, swelling the attendance to a surprising 9,669.

Have you felt at times that your territory is so well worked that little more interest will be found? A congregation high up in the Cordillera mountains has a real problem in this regard. There are 3,000 persons in the town, and two congregations with a total of 150 publishers are working it, a ratio of one Witness to every twenty persons! In one village forty out of forty-three homes have Witnesses living in them. When the problem was presented to the circuit servant, he suggested that, in view of the lack of accessible territory, more time be spent right there in their own village helping their relatives and neighbors to get the truth. As a result of diligently following through on this suggestion, on his next visit he found that twenty interested persons were attending meetings, the congregation had increased from eighty-eight to ninety-five publishers, and they were averaging thirteen hours a month in service. Fourteen of the interested cnes were baptized at the following circuit assembly.

In some cases where children have been refused enrollment in public schools because they would not violate their consciences, parents who have taught them at home have been richly rewarded. One overseer taught his three children at home to read and write, using the Society’s publications. Later, when more lenient school officials allowed the children to go to school, they were put in Grade I. Within two weeks, however, they were promoted to Grade II, and then to Grade III, with one of the youngsters helping the Grade I teacher to teach the class. This is truly a fine tribute to the wisdom of having parents teach their children at home, even if they are also receiving public education.—Deut. 6:6, 7.

The following letter sent in by a special pioneer couple shows the value of the Yearbook: “We were studying with a college student, but because of prejudice his landlady soon requested him to leave the boarding house. He and another student friend requested permission to stay with us. We agreed, provided they would become part of our family, following our routine. So each morning they sat and listened to the text discussion. On the fourth day they began to ask questions. Some days our discussion would last as long as forty-five minutes. After two weeks of discussions like this, the student friend began attending meetings. On the fourth week he cut off his connection with the Catholic Church and now, a little over a year since he began listening to our text discussions, he is a baptized publisher, has served for a month as a vacation pioneer and is planning for regular pioneer service when he graduates.”

The fact that we should not ignore youngsters in our ministry is shown in this experience by a vacation pioneer. Since the parents were not at home, a sister gave a brief witness to the two young girls in the house. They took the magazines and showed real interest. Although their father opposed their interest in the truth, they studied with the pioneer and began attending meetings at the Kingdom Hall. As they progressed, their parents noticed a big change in their conduct. They were more respectful and well mannered, and this pleased their parents. One day the parents came with their children to the meeting, a study was arranged with them and now the whole family is dedicated to Jehovah. What an opportunity would have been missed by failing to talk to those children!

PORTUGAL Population: 9,470,000

Peak Publishers: 4,726 Ratio: 1 to 2,004

Jehovah’s servants in this land are marveling at the bountiful blessings of the past year. Yes, our nets are overflowing with an unexpected catch of “fish,” a 26-percent increase. Never before has so much interest been shown in the Kingdom message.

Children can strongly influence parents to serve Jehovah. A study was started with a relative of a Witness. She made excellent progress, and her love for the truth was shown in the way she taught her four-year-old daughter to pray. At bedtime the mother would always say, “Remember, the first thing we are going to do is pray to Jehovah.” Then this lady’s husband became a violent opposer of the truth and succeeded in having the study stopped. In course of time the interested lady’s spirituality declined. She no longer reminded her young daughter to pray to Jehovah. One day when visiting the grandmother, who is a Witness, the four-year-old daughter began crying. “Why are you crying?” asked the grandmother. The child replied: “Because Mummy no longer helps me pray to Jehovah.” The mother, who also witnessed this touching scene, became so moved that she immediately requested that the study be resumed, although she knew there would be problems to overcome with her husband. We are happy to say that this lady is now a zealous baptized sister, and her husband is more tolerant about hearing the Kingdom message.

Showing kindness in the ministry is very important. Sharing in the door-to-door work, a brother met a lady who was busy but showed interest. She was an active member of the Catholic church. The brother replied that even busy people find a few minutes’ conversation on God’s purposes truly refreshing. The woman agreed, listened for several minutes and accepted a booklet. When the brother made the back-call the following week, the lady said she would have to leave for church within a short time but would be glad to talk for a few minutes. When the short discussion ended, the brother offered to take the woman to church in his automobile, since her time was short and she sang in the choir. The woman accepted the offer and was deeply impressed by this display of consideration. Other discussions followed, but the only free time was on Sunday when the woman had to attend church. The brother made regular back-calls, and each Sunday when time came for the woman to go to church, he would drive her up to the front door of the church so she would not be late. A regular study was started and the woman quickly saw the difference between true religion and the false. She accepted her first invitation to attend a meeting and greatly appreciated it. Before the year ended she withdrew from the church, is now dedicated and baptized, and her home is being used for congregation meetings.

A regular pioneer encountered a difficult situation but had good results.

A sister in the door-to-door ministry was ordered by an angered woman to leave the building quickly or she would call the police. The householder said the Witnesses were most surely the false prophets mentioned in the Bible, and the sister was warned not to dare think of continuing her work in the building. In a pleasant manner the pioneer replied that she had not come to upset the lady or provoke her anger. The sister politely bid the lady farewell and left the building to avoid unnecessary trouble. The same afternoon the perturbed householder was at the window when she saw the pioneer passing that street and she called her to speak with her. The sister was pleasantly surprised when the lady asked to be forgiven for speaking so rudely to her. The lady was so impressed by the calmness of the sister that the incident roused strong doubts as to the Witnesses’ really being false prophets. After a lengthy discussion, the pioneer offered her a booklet. The lady said this was so little to read and requested something more substantial. Two days later the ‘Impossible to Lis’ book was left, and the following week the pioneer was happy to learn that not only the booklet but also four chapters of the book had been read. A regular study was started immediately and in four weeks they covered the entire booklet. Then suddenly the woman received word to travel as quickly as possible to join her husband in Brazil. She took with her the address of the branch office, and her parting words to the pioneer were: “One of the first things I’m going to do is visit the Rio branch, because now that I’ve found the truth I’ll never let it go.”

ANGOLA Population: 5,300,000

Peak Publishers: 137 Ratio: 1 to 38,686

Never before have the brothers enjoyed a year of service so full of unexpectedly rich blessings. You can imagine how thrilled they were to see one of the Society’s films for the first time! Words cannot describe their joy in attending their first circuit assembly and hearing their first recorded Bible drama!

A young man interested in the truth worked as a servant for the former governor general. He made rapid progress in his studies and showed no reluctance in applying God’s principles to his life. When he was ordered to participate in Catholic prayers on certain occasions, he politely refused. Then he refused to eat food with blood. When it was learned that he was studying the Bible with the Witnesses, he was escorted by police officials to their headquarters and shown a large stock of Witness publications that had been confiscated. Here he was threatened with imprisonment if he continued studying with the Witnesses. Later a chaplain had him taken to a military barracks where soldiers tried to force him to use a rifle. There he was badly beaten, and when he returned to his work in bloody clothes, the governor general’s wife strongly condemned those who had so brutally mistreated the young man. At Christmastime he was given a Bible as a gift by the daughters of the governor general, and finally he received high commendation for his obedience to godly convictions when he left for another job. We are happy to report that this interested man was baptized during the year and is faithfully serving Jehovah.

AZORES Population: 348,000

Peak Publishers: 93 Ratio: 1 to 3,742

Since Babylon the Great demands subjection from her subjects, anyone who shows interest in the Kingdom message quickly encounters all-out warfare. During a recent circuit servant’s visit, considerable literature was placed in one area. Upon learning this, the local priest visited every home in that area to gather up the literature and warn the people to avoid any future contact with the Witnesses. Those who manifested interest in our Bible literature and showed sympathy for the Witnesses were later visited by the police and threatened with imprisonment.

It is thrilling to see sheeplike persons, though young in years, break free from Babylon the Great. An eighteen-year-old girl did not believe all the doctrines taught by the Catholic church. Upon hearing the Kingdom message, she recognized its ring of truth and gladly began to study the Bible. Her parents forbade the study and fiercely opposed any mention of the truth. The local priest encouraged other teen-agers to bring social pressure to bear on this young girl. Two catechist friends finally persuaded her to have a discussion with the priest. At the outset the priest chided the girl and told her this passing fancy to study the Bible would have to end. She was ordered to burn her copy of the Bible since it was a Protestant edition. When the girl asked if she could study the Catholic Matos Soares Bible, the priest refused, saying God’s will is not only in the Bible and that she would be better off spending her time studying church tradition. The girl then told the priest that his counsel reminded her of what Jesus said at Matthew 15:1-9. We are happy to say that this teen-age girl continued her Bible studies and is now a dedicated servant of Jehovah, helping others to get free from the religious bondage of Babylon the Great.

CAPE VERDE ISLANDS Population: 218,000

Peak Publishers: 3 Ratio: 1 to 72,667

Since a missionary was expelled from these islands over four years ago, it has been difficult to give much organized assistance to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. The three publishers that now regularly share in Kingdom service every month have never personally met a dedicated servant of Jehovah. They learned the truth by reading literature left by Witnesses who in past years visited other islands. Our only contact with these devoted publishers is through correspondence. Recently, they tell us, more people are listening to the message that God’s kingdom is man’s only hope. They are thrilled to have a group of about twenty persons attend their Bible studies.

The Memorial was a very special occasion this year. In appreciation for God’s loving provision of the ransom, they invited others to join them in celebrating the Lord’s evening meal. Although not one in the group is baptized, they read Bible texts explaining the meaning of the occasion. A total of thirty-one were present on this memorable night. Just recently they told us that their dedication to Jehovah has been made, and they are awaiting the visit of a qualified brother to baptize them. Oh, how they will rejoice with the association of their visitor, and the encouragement he will bring them!

MADEIRA Population: 300,000

Peak Publishers: 48 Ratio: 1 to 6,250

A zealous young Catholic who was president of the Catholic Youth Workers Association was strongly influenced by remarks that Jehovah’s witnesses were “the worst people on the face of the earth.” He would purposely avoid crossing paths with any Witness he knew. He even stopped purchasing at a brother’s store near his home. Then a change took place. Greatly perturbed by his church’s increasing division since Vatican Council II, he began to show an interest in the Bible and started speaking with several Protestants about religion. At his place of employment, though, he could not avoid all contact with a fellow employee who was our sister. One day the man started talking with our sister about the Bible, and she showed him that the Catholic Bible also uses God’s name, Jehovah. He was shocked to see this, since this was a name he had come to despise and hate. He agreed immediately to study the Bible with a pioneer brother. Not a study was missed, and soon he resigned as president of the Catholic Youth Association, also severing all connections with the church. He began publishing three months after his first study, and five months later he was baptized. Already he is conducting two home Bible studies.

PUERTO RICO Population: 2,735,000

Peak Publishers: 4,555 Ratio: 1 to 600

Another year filled with blessings has passed, and the brothers in Puerto Rico have seen the organization move forward rapidly. Kingdom Halls seem to be bursting at the seams, and all meetings are well attended. Many congregations of 90 to 100 publishers are having up to 180 in attendance on Sundays and around 140 at the service meetings.

That this is the time for a rapid influx of “other sheep” is shown by the following experience, which also makes us see how important it is to make use of every moment to preach the “good news.” A special pioneer writes: “Our car wouldn’t start, and our territory was a long way off; so while my husband fixed the car, I decided to visit some nearby homes. At the third house as I presented the article, ‘Husbands, Assume Your Responsibilities,’ the man of the house surprised me by asking if Jehovah’s witnesses really put this into practice. I readily assured him that we did. He then showed me a copy of the Truth book that his brother had sent him and said that he was waiting for someone to help him study the Bible. I showed him a house nearby where a Tuesday-night study was held and invited him to the Kingdom Hall. Imagine my joy to see him arrive at the Kingdom Hall with his wife the very next day. The following Tuesday they were at the Bible study, and since then have not missed a meeting on Sunday or Tuesday. Already they can find the scriptures, and even answer some questions. Then they announced that they had bought a car so that they could attend the Friday-night meeting, since they had heard so much about this important meeting. The wife keeps on saying, ‘We have finally found the truth.’ How glad I am that when we had car trouble I used my time wisely!”

Do you sometimes make excuses for not going to the Kingdom Hall? Maybe it is a long way away or you have many children. Well, consider this interesting experience: Very shortly after starting to study the Bible a lady realized the need of regular meeting attendance. Her husband began to oppose her, but she was firm in her resolve to attend regularly. Seeing this, her husband told her that she could go, but that she would have to take all eight children with her, and then come home in time to prepare food for the family. Was she discouraged? No, indeed! Even though she was pregnant, she walked the half-hour journey to the Kingdom Hall with her eight children. Today two of the older children participate in the Theocratic Ministry School, her husband is studying the Bible, and she recently symbolized her dedication to Jehovah by water baptism at the district assembly, which she attended with her entire family, now nine children.

The need to be alert to the attacks of Satan and his demons is shown by the following experience sent in by a special pioneer: “We were saddened to learn that a brother who was to give a Bible talk in our congregation had suffered a partial paralysis of the face, and so we thought that other arrangements would have to be made for that particular Sunday. However, how happy we were to see this brother arrive and present his discourse, though with difficulty. He told us that his physical condition was not Improving even with medical attention. During his talk we noticed that he used certain appendages of demon religion to illustrate his point. He had books on exercises used by Yoga devotees, horoscopes and other things used by demon worshipers. It occurred to my companion and me that maybe these things could be under demon influence and so be the cause of this brother’s sickness; so as soon as the meeting was over we all got together to discuss the matter. We came to the conclusion that there might be some connection, so right away the brother went behind the Kingdom Hall and destroyed the various articles used to illustrate his talk. The result? The next day his paralysis disappeared as well as other problems that he and his family had been having. How important, then, to keep well away from anything that smacks of demonism and to ‘quit touching the unclean thing.’ ”

TORTOLA Population: 8,800

Peak Publishers: 31 Ratio: 1 to 284

When you see the number of inhabitants and then the ratio of one to 284, maybe you think that it is easy to talk to so few people; but this is not so, since the people are scattered over different islands, and one has to climb mountains and follow trails to find many houses.

Jehovah has well equipped his people so that they are able to ward off attacks by the ministers of false religion. A sister tells us: “Some years ago a pioneer started a study in my home, and within a few months we began leaving false religion. Now there are ten members of the family serving Jehovah. To my surprise a few months ago the minister of my former religion came to see us to show us the error of our ways. He spent most of his time criticizing the Witnesses and saying that members of his church could go to any church but that of Jehovah’s witnesses. He then began on doctrines, asking, ‘Are you saved?’ He failed there, so he went on to the trinity—another failure; quickly on to hellfire—more difficulties. Finally when he saw that the family was well prepared with Bible knowledge, he said that Jehovah’s witnesses were a new religion, only eighty years old, and you couldn’t say that about the Methodist church which was very ancient. When I told him that this was not so, but that Abel was one of Jehovah’s witnesses and he certainly could not say that Abel was a Methodist, he decided to make his exit, promising to come back again. We are still waiting to see if he will fulfill his promise. We are certainly very thankful to Jehovah and his organization for preparing us to defend the truth.”

VIRGIN ISLANDS (U.S.) Population: 41,000

Peak Publishers: 187 Ratio: 1 to 219

This year has seen good progress on the three islands composing the group, and many persons are manifesting interest in the Kingdom message.

Do you use discernment when in the service? Not all those who show some opposition are really “goats,” as is shown by this experience: A Witness entered a house to give a Bible sermon, only to be roughly and physically pushed toward the door by a neighbor who stated that he hated Jehovah’s witnesses. However, the owner of the house came to the rescue and stated that no one had the right to say who could enter or leave his house but himself. A sermon was given, and the neighbor listened. Afterwards the Witness asked the man why he hated Jehovah’s witnesses. After hearing reasons such as, Jehovah’s witnesses do not believe in Jesus, or in God, and so forth, a twenty-minute discussion followed on these vital truths. The Witness said that he would like to visit the neighbor, but he was told, “Not in my house.” Even so, the Witness discerned a love of righteousness, so the following Sunday he did visit the neighbor, and although he was not invited inside, he did discuss Bible questions. This continued for a few Sundays. Finally he was invited in and a Bible study was started with the man and his wife. Now the man, his wife and his children are regular attenders at the Kingdom Hall, and dedication and baptism are being discussed by them.

Are you saving money so that later on you can pioneer? Somehow those who do this never seem to save enough to start, so something else must be done. Writes a pioneer: “Even holding a full-time job, it seemed that I could never save enough to pioneer; so finally, even though I did not have a part-time job, I decided to leave my work and start pioneering. Later I found work, but then my car needed repairs and I had other difficulties. Straight away, brothers who are mechanics repaired my car. Then my employer, on hearing that I was a pioneer, told me that I could choose my own hours for work. Now I find that I can manage much better than I did when I had a fulltime job and more money. Also I have had the blessing of seeing one with whom I conduct a Bible study take her stand for the truth and she is contemplating baptism now. Surely these are the happiest days of my life.”

RHODESIA Population: 4,670,300

Peak Publishers: 10,090 Ratio: 1 to 463

What a joy to be able to report a 3-percent increase in publishers for Rhodesia after several years without an increase. Our average of 9,645 publishers is the highest since 1964, and the total hours spent in the ministry was the highest since 1963. This, along with a much firmer Scriptural foundation on the part of the brothers, makes us look forward to the future with great joy and anticipation.

Loving assistance and encouragement shown to those who have stopped serving Jehovah bring his rich blessing. Many congregation committees have experienced encouraging results by applying themselves to this task. One committee tells of two brothers and a sister who stopped serving Jehovah four years ago. The brothers on the committee would approach the individual and ask, “Are you still thinking of being a servant of Jehovah God, and do you still want to serve him as you said when you made your dedication?” In these three cases the answer they received was “Yes,” so they continued by asking, “When do you think that you will start serving him again?” The answer was usually, “Let me think for a week or so.” The committee could not agree with this, because they knew that these persons had already been thinking about it for four years. So they continued: “What do you think about now, and not next week or so? Tell us whether you still want to come back and serve Jehovah God or whether you do not want to come and serve him anymore.” To this each of the above three answered, “I do not want to renounce my God, Jehovah, so will you please come tomorrow or any day to help me serve Jehovah again?” The committee realized that these inactive publishers were not spiritually strong enough to go in the service, so they arranged to give the help that was needed by asking, “Could we come to your home to start a family Bible study?” Studies were started with these people, and soon they started to attend the meetings regularly. In time all three commenced the field service. They continue now as faithful, happy servants of Jehovah, and they thank Jehovah for providing such loving brothers who gave them the help and encouragement they needed.

In view of the urgency of these “last days” we are encouraged to make the best use of the remaining time by sharing in the full-time preaching work, but for many publishers this is a problem due to working very long hours each day. One brother solved his problem in this way: He approached his employer for part-time work, from 6 a.m. to 12 noon, and told him the reason for his request. The employer said he could work these hours each day, but that his wages would be very small, as he ordinarily worked nine hours each day. This did not discourage this brother, who then wrote the Society requesting a regular pioneer application. He received his pioneer assignment and was rejoicing in the service, working daily from 6 to 12 noon for his secular employer and for Jehovah the rest of each day, when he was blessed with a pleasant surprise. His employer decided to pay this brother the same wages as those who worked the full day. So this brother’s faith in Jehovah was rewarded, and he is using his time wisely in the full-time ministry.

That letter writing can do much to teach the truth, the following experience shows, and we can see from it the need to be alert to this avenue of service especially when working isolated areas. A circuit servant met three young girls in the house-to-house ministry and determined that they had genuine interest. He was quick to follow up this interest by writing letters regularly. And each time he was in the area he would give further instruction personally. This method of preaching the “good news” continued for two years, and by this time the interested girls had clearly in mind the difference between the true religion and the false. Following a visit of the circuit servant, two of these girls decided they wanted to do the preaching work of Jehovah’s witnesses. So they began calling at the homes of their neighbors to tell them they had decided to become Jehovah’s witnesses, also explaining about Matthew 24:14. This caused quite a stir in the community. The circuit servant, on hearing about this, set out with several publishers the next morning at 6 a.m. to visit these girls, arriving there at 10 a.m. After an encouraging Bible discussion, they still expressed their desire to tell others the truths they had learned. So arrangements were made to go that afternoon in the service. They were shown the correct manner in which to do the preaching work and were overjoyed with this assistance. They are now all associating regularly with the nearest isolated group and are thankful for the truths learned from the letters of the circuit servant.

MALAWI Population: 4,042,412

Peak Publishers: 18,549 Ratio: 1 to 218

The service year started with many blessings and happinesses for our brothers. They had just attended the district assemblies, and during the month of September a new peak of 18,549 publishers was reached. Then a storm of persecution was released. The government placed a ban on Jehovah’s witnesses and allowed hooligans, who were also members of the Malawi Congress Party, to cause tremendous physical, and in many cases bestial, persecution of the brothers, besides much damage to personal property. Reports have shown that since last October at least 1,095 houses and 115 Kingdom Halls were burned down or pulled down. Among other things, the hooligans stole or killed 110 goats, 83 pigs, 2,771 chickens and 767 pigeons belonging to the brothers. Also the brothers lost 412 chairs, 108 tables and 82 bicycles, besides many other things. Thousands of brothers were beaten and a few murdered. Some had limbs broken. Many sisters were raped and other atrocities were committed. In spite of all this, the majority maintained their integrity. They refused to compromise but faithfully continued serving Jehovah. Only about 4 percent broke their neutrality, but for some months it was difficult for many overseers to obtain field service reports from the brothers because of their being scattered.

When the government saw what was happening, they informed the party members to hold off the violent persecution. So toward the end of the service year a certain peace and calm prevailed in most of the country. Quietly the brothers have built up their service, so that in August reports were received from 17,662.

In spite of the ban on the work, the brothers have faithfully continued quietly meeting together and telling others the “good news.” They know that even though they have suffered, it is God who will make them strong.—1 Pet. 5:9, 10.

The response of the brothers world wide to this persecution was very much appreciated. Hundreds of thousands of letters were written to various members of the Malawi Government protesting the ban and the atrocities. Already, through the many kind donations given, it has been possible to provide 249,800 pounds of maize, 1,361 blankets, almost 1,000 pairs of short trousers, more than 500 dresses and other new clothing as well as over 1,500 pounds of used clothing. This relief work is continuing and will soon be completed.

The ban has resulted in many persons’ having their eyes opened to see the truth. For example, in one area the local party chairman of the Malawi Congress Party is studying the Bible with one of the brothers. In another town, just before the ban came, a brother was witnessing to some of his workmates. One of these showed interest and attended the last meeting at the local Kingdom Hall. This man was not deterred by the government’s decision and readily agreed to have a Bible study. His interest increased so much that by the end of the service year he traveled to Rhodesia, via Mozambique, to attend one of the district assemblies. He now wants to be baptized at the next opportunity.

Often something unexpected helps opposed mates to change. A sister had been in the truth for many years, but her husband showed no interest. Then, very early on the morning of November 1, a mob came to his house and knocked on the door. They knew that he was not one of Jehovah’s witnesses, and they shouted that they had come to find his wife. At first he would not open the door. But they told him that if he did not do this they would burn the house down while he and his family remained inside. So reluctantly he opened the door. Immediately he was grabbed and bound with chains. They asked him to buy a political membership card. Now he had to make a decision. Many thoughts raced through his mind. However, he decided that his wife must indeed have the true religion. They were both badly beaten, and she had a tooth knocked out, but from that time onward he had a home Bible study. This resulted in his symbolizing his dedication by water immersion on June 30, 1968.

Even during the heat of the persecution it was grand to hear of the faithfulness of our brothers as they spread the Kingdom message. Shortly after the ban was announced a brother traveled to a small town and arranged to stay at a hotel. As he entered his room he noticed four waiters sitting together at the end of the corridor. The brother’s interest was aroused, so after some minutes he quietly and quickly opened the door of his room and faced toward the four waiters. Before the first waiter could put away what he had in his hand, the brother saw it was a book. Imagine his joy and excitement when he realized that this book was “Let God Be True," in Cinyanja. He called the waiter into his room and was soon able to establish that he was a brother. How the two brothers now greeted each other and rejoiced together in privacy! The visiting brother then learned that this waiter and another, who was also a dedicated brother, were using their time off between serving meals to hold a Bible study with the other two waiters.

The firm and uncompromising stand of the brothers has been very strengthening, as the following shows: A search was being made of the brothers’ homes by members of the political youth movement. They were trying to find literature so as to incriminate the brothers. In one village they caught one of the brothers reading the “Good News" booklet, and they found some Watchtower magazines in another brother’s home. They grabbed these two brothers and took them to the local police post. The next day they were taken to a larger police station for questioning as to where they got this banned literature. They were asked: “Why did you buy such unlawful things?” One of the brothers replied: “Excuse me, but you don’t really know what this literature contains. As for us, we know that this is very good literature.” Angrily the policemen replied: “Now listen here, we are telling you that these are bad and unlawful things.” Calmly the brother said: “Yes, we have heard what you have said, but we have been reading these books for a long time, and we know that they are quite worthy books.” When the police phoned through to their superiors for instructions as to what to do with the brothers, they were told: “There is nothing wrong with these people. Send them back to their homes.” So the brothers were released, greatly strengthened by their experience.

MOZAMBIQUE Population: 6,650,000

Peak Publishers: 2,093 Ratio: 1 to 3,177

Our brothers in Mozambique have had a very happy and satisfying year in Jehovah’s service. Just like their brothers in ancient Asia Minor, they have seen the congregations continue “to be made firm in the faith and to increase in number from day to day.”—Acts 16:5.

A circuit servant was given the name and address of an isolated person. He arranged his schedule so that he could visit this interested person, and on arriving he was warmly welcomed. How surprised he was to find that this interested man together with his wife were witnessing to their neighbors, and twice every week they were holding Watchtower studies with another interested couple who lived nearby. Arrangements were then made for additional assistance to be given to these four interested persons.

A very fine witness has been given to many of the local government authorities as a result of the neutral stand taken by Jehovah’s witnesses. During November and December hundreds of brothers fled from Malawi because of the persecution, crossing the border into Mozambique. In one area there were 2,234 of them. They were received by the local authorities, who not only showed them a place where they could settle, but also saw to it that they had sufficient food to keep living. They provided the brothers with hoes, seed, houses or materials to build houses and, in addition, 4,000 pounds of ground maize every day. During their stay the brothers were treated kindly by the officials. Owing to the kind donations made by brothers in different parts of the world, it was also possible to arrange for blankets and clothing to be provided for those who had fled from Malawi. The appreciation of these brothers for the help given them by their brothers in other lands can be seen in the following, written by one of these refugee brothers: “We are praising Jehovah God for his kindness, for allowing your hearts to remember us and for supplying us with gifts of clothes and blankets.” Now most of these refugee brothers have returned to Malawi.

SENEGAL Population: 3,500,000

Peak Publishers: 139 Ratio: 1 to 25,180

Children are the same the world over; when they play, they like to make lots of noise. Understandably, then, one woman was perplexed when the children in her front yard suddenly became quiet, and she went to see what had happened. From the open window she saw the young daughter of a sister seriously explaining the fine illustrations in the Paradise book to her attentive playmates. Herself a schoolteacher, she could not help but be impressed by the young publisher’s good teaching methods, and she made it a point to listen in every time these discussions took place among the children. One day her curiosity got the better of her and, although a staunch Catholic and having never given any credence to our teachings, she decided to get in touch with the little girl’s mother and investigate this religion for herself. Investigate she did, and the sister was able to start a Bible study with the lady.

Although the study made some progress, the turning point in the life of this woman came when she visited a small city to the south where there is only an isolated group. She looked up the Witnesses there and began attending some of the meetings. Much to her amazement, the same effective teaching methods were being used in this little group as in the larger congregations, and she was touched by the logical answers she received to her questions. Even the same warm spirit prevailed! Convinced that only God’s spirit could be responsible for all this, she promised herself never again to miss a meeting, and she has kept this promise. Her introducing the truth into her home has had beneficial effects as well. As she says, “The truth has brought peace to my home.”

That children learn much from their parents’ example is borne out by the following experience: A sister made it a habit to witness to the people who came to her home. One day she began witnessing to a man who came on business, but the man showed little interest. Her little daughter, seated nearby, observed carefully what her mother was doing. The next time the man came, the little girl answered the door, holding the Awake! magazine she had been reading. After explaining that her mother was not at home, the child took the opportunity to give a witness. She began explaining how informative the articles in the magazine were and offered the man a subscription. The man said that he would see the mother about the subscription, but the child answered: “There is no need to wait and see my mother. I have the forms right here: all you need to do is fill in your name and address, and I will arrange for the subscription.” Since it was difficult to refuse the little girl, the man subscribed. Later, the man began reading his magazines and immediately telephoned the sister, exclaiming that he had never read such interesting articles! Now he speaks appreciatively of the magazines, and there is an excellent prospect for a Bible study.

GAMBIA Population: 316,000

Peak Publishers: 10 Ratio: 1 to 31,600

The clergy have felt the impact of the work of the ten Kingdom publishers in Gambia to such an extent that they have launched a well-organized defamatory campaign against us, speaking against us in their churches, writing about us in their monthly newsletters and even preparing a special leaflet against our work. Naturally, all these attempts serve only to publicize the truth, and it is sincerely , hoped that some will have their eyes opened and break free from Babylon the Great.

The most outstanding event of the year was undoubtedly the projection of the Society’s film “Proclaiming ‘Everlasting Good News’ ” during the visit of the circuit servant. The small congregation of ten publishers was certainly overjoyed to welcome 728 persons to the three showings of the film. Many were the favorable comments about the film, and this will no doubt break down much of the prejudice in peoples’ minds as to the work we are doing.

That Jehovah blesses us when we put forth a special effort is borne out by the following: Two special pioneers decided to use part of their vacation time to visit an outlying village. All in this village are illiterate except for one man who can read and write a little. A study was started with the man, and literacy classes were organized for others in the village so they would be able to read the truth in their own language. In addition public talks were given, which the people very much appreciated. Since the village was a good distance from the brothers’ home, arrangements were made for them to sleep at the village, the interested man even vacating his bedroom for them. It was decided that regular visits should be made to this village, and in time the interested man realized that he should be attending meetings. While the distance would not permit him to attend all of them, he did arrange his affairs to be able to attend some of them and later even asked to share in field service. When the clergy heard about all this activity, two clergymen were sent down there to preach to the people. When they began speaking badly of Jehovah’s witnesses, however, the people replied: “When we were Catholic, nobody came to visit us, and we were not permitted to read the Bible. Jehovah’s witnesses were the first to visit us, and they taught us the Bible. Now you Protestants have come, and late at that, and you still do not teach us the Bible. Now, how can you prove that Jehovah’s witnesses are not good?” The brothers report that the villagers continue to make good progress, with no further clergy interference.

MALI Population: 4,200,000

Peak Publishers: 6 Ratio: 1 to 700,000

At the beginning of the service year, five publishers were able to attend the strengthening “Disciple-making” District Assembly at Dakar, traveling long distances and making many sacrifices in order to be present. The inspiration and spiritual encouragement received from the assembly were to prove most beneficial to the brothers, for when they returned home, a wave of persecution broke out, resulting in the deportation of one of the special pioneers.

After the departure of the special pioneer, there was a real setback in the work for several months, but we are happy to report that the brothers have rallied due to the energizing force of Jehovah’s spirit, and the work and meetings continue in spite of many difficulties. The brothers have even succeeded in starting a new publisher in the service; and although they must work prudently, they can share in almost all features of the ministry. We hope that other mature ministers will see their way clear to move to Mali, thus giving further impetus to the work in the future.

MAURITANIA Population: 1,000,000

Peak Publishers: 1 Ratio: 1 to 1,000,000

During the year a brother did secular work in Mauritania for a period of time. He was able to report field service, so some witnessing was done, but not nearly as much as during the previous year. It is the hope of the Watch Tower Society that more workers will get into Mauritania so that the good news of the Kingdom may be preached more extensively in that land.

SIERRA LEONE Population: 2,180,623

Peak Publishers: 674 Ratio: 1 to 3,235

Despite opposition and discouragement from parents, relatives, schoolmates and former friends, several young men who had their minds set on higher education and who were offered scholarships to foreign universities or schools, turned down their invitations and set their minds on the pioneer service. Apparently the urgency of the times, together with keen personal interest shown by the brothers, convinced these brothers there was little use in pursuing a career that would mean little in their future development in the theocratic society. One such young man was able to start twelve home Bible studies by himself after dedicating his life to God and symbolizing it by water baptism during the course of the year.

Is it possible for a persecutor to learn the truth by observing efforts to reactivate a brother? That is what happened when an overseer, after many attempts, took to Jehovah in prayer the matter of trying to restore a brother. The overseer decided he would try once again, so he made the trek to the man’s farm in the hills, even though it took many hours of climbing through thornbush and thick undergrowth. Arriving at the farm, bruised, scratched and dirty from his journey, he noticed a persecutor of the brothers working alongside the inactive one. Both looked surprised to see the overseer. The overseer spoke up and said, “I am glad to see you, brother. All the brothers and sisters are worried greatly, for they feel you must be ill. So today I came to see how you are, and now that I find you well, I am very happy. Now, brother, what do you wish me to tell the brothers?” The inactive one answered, “Tell them I am coming on Friday to the congregation meeting!” At this the persecutor of the brothers asked, “Is this the only reason you came such a long and difficult way?” The overseer replied that it was, and he was then able to explain about the binding love among the brothers. This was the turning point for both the inactive one and the former persecutor, and both began to attend meetings regularly. The inactive one was restored to spiritual activity, and the former persecutor and his wife embraced the truth.

The more time one devotes to studying the Word of Jehovah, the stronger the desire becomes to make any necessary changes in one’s life to be pleasing to Jehovah. A man had contributed for the ‘Impossible to Lie’ book so he could make a gift of it to a neighbor woman with whom he was having immoral relations from time to time. A missionary sister made the back-call and a home Bible study was started with the woman. Her progress was greatly accelerated by her request to study three times each week. As a result she soon broke off relations with the neighbor man, despite his opposition and vilification. She started attending meetings regularly at the Kingdom Hall, often arriving an hour or so before the start of the meeting. She soon overcame another problem by throwing away her “beloved pipe” and was able to qualify for baptism during the course of the year. Her zeal has been an inspiration to all. Even the neighbor man who used to call the missionaiy sister a “witch” because he blamed her for breaking up the immoral relationship that had existed, now has great respect for both the newly baptized sister and for the missionary who is training her.

Persecution broke out in one of the chiefdoms during the year. A number of the brothers were beaten, their lives were endangered, and the confiscation of their property was threatened. Several had to live in the bush for a number of days, and others were barricaded in their Kingdom Hall, fearful of being burned alive in it. This happened because some brothers refused to compromise in relation to contributions, membership or participation in the rituals of a pagan society. However, eventually the matter came before the proper authorities and was investigated. The brothers were exonerated of the false charges made against them, and the culprits were warned not to molest Jehovah’s witnesses in the future. A circuit assembly was held later in the year in this general area, and the paramount chief voiced his appreciation for the fine conduct of the brothers, backing up his verbal commendation by personally contributing a young bull to help financially to advance the fine educational work being performed by the brothers in the territory.

GUINEA Population: 2,500,000

Peak Publishers: 107 Ratio: 1 to 23,364

The brothers enjoyed a happy year of activity in Guinea without any interference. It appears that the authorities there have adopted a more liberal attitude than formerly and have come to recognize the fine example set by peaceful relations among the brothers. The brothers were allowed to build their first Kingdom Hall in Guinea, so now Jehovah’s witnesses are more readily recognized as a permanent, part of the community.

The Paradise book, in French and Arabic, has been of tremendous aid in preaching to the large population of Moslems in Guinea. It has helped quite a few Moslems to recognize that God can have a son and, a few now acknowledge that God does indeed have a son. A schoolteacher became so convinced of this, upon reading the Paradise book, that he began presenting logical arguments to this effect to his fellow Moslems. He used points similar to those found in the September 15, 1965, issue of The Watchtower. When a special pioneer arrived at his village, he arranged for the brother to give a lecture on a related subject. One hundred and fifty persons gathered to hear his talk, and over an hour was spent after the talk answering questions. By the following morning word about this preacher had spread in the village, and a plea was made that he remain another day and give another lecture. This he did, much time again being spent in answering questions. Now a regular Bible study has been established with a number of the villagers.

SINGAPORE Population: 1,865,000

Peak Publishers: 189 Ratio: 1 to 9,868

Many young folks go overseas to broaden their education and return with a degree that will allow them to get a good job, in order to be secure for the rest of their lives. One such man was like this until two youthful publishers, one of them nine years old, changed things somewhat. They placed two magazines with him and he read eagerly. He had been looking for something besides a degree for the last four years and had even studied Communist literature. The Watchtower and Awake! put things in a different light. The two young publishers made some back-calls, and soon this person was taking in knowledge at a tremendous pace. He had a private home Bible study, attended the congregation meetings and felt that he was ready for baptism at his first circuit assembly. The overseer encouraged him to take in a little more knowledge and to become more acquainted with the organization. Shortly thereafter he was immersed. He now had a degree from a university, plus a commission from Jehovah, but the latter was stronger and exerted more force than the former. When he returned home he was welcomed by his own family, none of whom are interested in the truth. Many newly acquired brothers and sisters also welcomed him, and he expressed the desire to share in the pioneer work. But first he felt that he had to do something with the degree. He applied for a job and got it only too easily. He made good progress and soon was asked to reorganize a department of the steel foundry in which he worked. In six months production increased more than 60 percent. But the desire for full-time Kingdom service had grown faster. He did not make the mistake of postponing the time to start until he had made enough money. He wrote a tactful and respectful letter of resignation, explaining why he was doing this. Now he is spending his last month at the work that his university degree got for him, and next month he will begin his new vocation.

Parents are richly rewarded for doing as the Bible says and training their children to appreciate their relationship with Jehovah. A couple who spent many years in the pioneer service are enjoying training their little daughter. Each morning the text is discussed; there is a little Bible study during the day and a prayer together in the evening, along with much comment on Jehovah’s wonderful creations. One morning the father had to go to work early, so the mother had the text discussion with the five-year-old and then prayer was offered, asking Jehovah’s blessings on the day’s activity and on the group book study that would be held that afternoon. During the day the mother developed a bad headache, and by the time for the afternoon study she was quite sick and decided she would have to skip it. When the daughter got to hear of this, she calmly came to her mother and said, “Mummie, I’m sorry that you are not well, but. this morning you asked Jehovah to bless our book study today, and what will He think of that if we don’t go along?” The mother was deeply impressed and was moved to get ready and go to the study. She later said it was the most enjoyable afternoon she had had for a long time.

MALAYSIA Population: 8,967,000

Peak Publishers: 138 Ratio: 1 to 64,978

A Chinese brother traveled 400 miles to attend the “Good News for All Nations” District Assembly in Singapore. When he saw the first scene in the demonstration “What Young Folks Are Doing in the Ministry,” where a father was going to strike his son with a hammer if he did not quit being a Witness, he was astounded, because almost the same thing had happened to him the week before. The only difference was that his father had used the crank handle of the car, and the scene was in the local Kingdom Hall.

Our brother was determined to be a pioneer. He was diligent in the ministry and took great pains to make progress wherever he could. His father noticed his zeal and began to oppose, but without avail. The young man planned to attend the district assembly, so he applied for leave to which he was entitled. However, one week before the assembly the post office officials decided that all leave was to be canceled, and that posed a problem for our brother. He approached his superior, but to no avail. The only way to get to the assembly was to resign; so, resign he did. This disturbed his parents greatly, and they decided to march on the Kingdom Hall. The father, with crank handle in hand, was prepared to show that no son of his was going to follow this “foolish” religion.

He came to the hall just before the meeting was to start, and the brothers met him at the door. There were some heated words and a skirmish, during which the man’s wife fainted. This upset things a bit, and the husband then began shouting so that others around would be attracted. The brothers told him that he would do better to attend to his wife rather than try to disturb things. Just at that time a heavy tropical downpour of rain came and brought quiet to the scene. Our brother got to the assembly; and when the postal official came and asked him to reconsider his resignation, he declined, being happy to follow the course now open to him.

The Tawau, Sabah, Congregation is one thousand miles by air from Singapore. The brothers represented themselves at the district assembly by letter. The overseer wrote: “After twelve years we are happy to see Jehovah’s blessings on our work. We began as a small, isolated group in a timber camp. The Society later formed us into a congregation, but although we had all the servants, territory was our problem. We were surrounded by forests. Due to the urgency of the times, my wife and I made a big decision, to move where the need was greater, into the town of Tawau. This meant leaving the secular job, but with faith in Jehovah we made the move, and he blessed us. We have a Kingdom Hall and hold the meetings regularly. Three of us in the congregation are pioneers, and fifty-five attended the Memorial. We are happy to be doing the fishing work in this corner of the field, and at the time of writing we are preparing for our very first circuit assembly.” Jehovah truly blesses efforts put forth in harmony with his will.

SOUTH AFRICA Population: 18,298,000

Peak Publishers: 19,528 Ratio: 1 to 937

The Bethel family at the Society’s branch office at Elandsfontein, Transvaal, enjoys the privilege of printing The Watchtower, Awake!, Kingdom Ministry, as well as many forms for their brothers in the Congo (Kinshasa), Malawi, Rhodesia and Zambia as well as for South Africa. They are now printing The Watchtower in ten languages and Awake! in three.

The branch office in South Africa also looks after the work in Ascension Island, Botswana, Lesotho, St. Helena, South-West Africa and Swaziland.

Early in the service year we had our “Disciplemaking” District Assemblies in South Africa. Never before has a series of district assemblies made such a deep impression upon the brothers in this country.

Something else that has greatly contributed to the spiritual growth of the brothers and has resulted in building up their faith and appreciation for the truth is the very fine series of public talks arranged by Jehovah’s organization. Publishers who formerly often missed meetings now realize that they lose out on too much if they miss these fine talks. Many congregations now regularly have more than 100 percent in attendance at their public meetings and Watchtower studies. Before we started this series of eighty talks, some congregations felt that their meeting attendance would drop off if they regularly had a two-hour meeting on Sundays. But now the same congregations are having a talk every Sunday and their meeting attendance is better than ever before.

Many Portuguese people have settled in the larger cities of South Africa. A small group was started in Johannesburg for those who speak only Portuguese. The results have been phenomenal. Early this past year they were formed into a congregation, and they ended the year with a new peak of 50 publishers—a 128-percent increase in average number of publishers! They are mostly of Catholic upbringing, and many of them had never handled a Bible before nor heard of Jehovah’s name. It is thrilling to see these new “sheep” coming out of the darkness of Babylon the Great into the light of truth. This is so refreshing and different for them that they waste no time in taking a stand. One family was attending meetings within a couple of weeks after the study was started with them, and they were out in the service after only a few months of studying. In this congregation the servants have no problem with increase. New ones just keep coming in. Nor is meeting attendance a problem. With 50 publishers, it is quite normal to have 100 or more at the Watchtower study.

Where servants take a strong lead the publishers generally follow and will make many sacrifices to get the “good news” preached. One African congregation of eighty publishers in the Orange Free State regularly enrolls twenty to twenty-five vacation pioneers every December because the servants are taking the right lead in this. This same congregation recently decided to cover the farm territories around their town, using public holidays and weekends to do so. Lack of transportation did not deter them. Sisters walked to the nearby farms, some of which were five miles or more from town. Brothers went by bicycle to cover territories as far as twenty miles from town. On such days they would commence preaching at the first house by about seven in the morning and would not quit until five in the evening. What transport they had was used to take other sisters and children to more densely populated villages, with excellent results. One fourteen-year-old boy tried to reach the pioneer goal of 100 magazines. Unfortunately he ran short of magazines, but he managed to place 86. In fact, the whole congregation ran short of magazines, but when they totaled up their placements for December, they had placed 3,480 magazines.

The effectiveness of the Society’s counsel to witness to young people at the doors is proved by the following experience: One weekday morning while going from house to house a sister contacted a young boy of thirteen years at home, caring for his aunt’s two children while the servant was away. She was delighted to have the opportunity to discuss the Bible with him. When discussing the Bible’s account of man’s creation and the theories of evolution, the sister realized that this young person could reason intelligently. She left the Evolution book with him, not knowing that they were soon to meet again. That same afternoon the boy came to the sister’s house to find out to what religion she belonged and to ask a few more questions in connection with what he had already read in the Evolution book. The sister realized that this boy could benefit very much from a Bible study. She suggested that he ask his parents’ permission to come to her house for a Bible study every week. When his Catholic mother asked their priest for advice, his reply was that, since we all had the same Bible, a study could do no harm. After the first study the youngster asked if he could come twice a week. Often he asks many questions. Once while the sister was looking up information in one of the bound volumes for him, he chanced to see the article “Training for Violence” and read it. Being a keen judoist, he was surprised to see how a Christian should view such violence, which he thought was sport. The next day he told his mother that he had given up judo. His mother was glad, because it had cost a lot of money. He recently attended his first circuit assembly and is making fine progress.

ASCENSION ISLAND Population: 2,000

Peak Publishers: 1 Ratio: 1 to 2,000

Although this small island of approximately 37 square miles formerly only had a population of around 300, the population has grown to over 2,000 in recent years. With the United States Airforce Missile test center and other companies on the island, many people have been sent here by their companies and others have come, interested in making money. The majority are men, but now some are bringing their families with them and are planning to stay for longer periods of time.

For some years we had here only one sister, whose husband was working for the Cable and Wireless Company on the island. During the service year she went on a visit to England. However, a pioneer from St. Helena moved over to the island, so the witness continued to be given here. The sister is expected back on the island early in the 1969 service year, and the brother from St. Helena hopes to move over to Ascension Island with his family. Then there will be a fine nucleus on this small island.

The reason why the pioneer brother from St. Helena is moving over to Ascension is that, as he puts it, “the people on this island are like ‘sheep without a shepherd.’ ” He says: “Those who come here, whether Baptists, Salvation Army, Seventh-day Adventists, and so forth, all seem to get swallowed up in the way of life on the island. There is one Anglican minister here and a Roman Catholic priest. When I walk into a barracks the men seem worried at first and half afraid, but when I begin discussing the truth with one, soon another one will join us, and another, and later there will be a large group. My short sermon leads them to ask questions, and soon this results in giving the people in that barracks a thorough witness concerning Jehovah’s purpose for man and the earth. As a result many talk about the truth on the island. One day I placed a Paradise book with a man, and the next evening I found him reading to the other men in the barracks about Armageddon and what it is going to be like. This will result in a gathering of the ‘sheep’ to Jehovah’s organization.”

BOTSWANA Population: 576,000

Peak Publishers: 227 Ratio: 1 to 2,537

Speaking the good news of the Kingdom to the friendly people of this young country is very much different from witnessing in large cities. The usual custom requires introductory greetings during which each one inquires about the health of the other. This having been concluded, benches are brought forth for all to sit on, the rest of the family is called plus any visiting friends, and then the publisher is ready to give the sermon, quite often with 10 to 20 listening. Most families have their own copies of the Bible and are eager to get their own Bibles and follow along while the publisher gives his sermon.

Two special pioneers from South Africa were granted a temporary permit to work with a local congregation in Botswana. They have been able to give a good witness to the European population as well as to reach some of the more educated English-speaking Africans who were often not witnessed to by the local publishers. In the house-to-house work they contacted a man and his wife who showed great appreciation for the truth right from the start. They report: “After we had a study for a few weeks, the man spoke to his old school mistress enthusiastically about what he was learning and asked if she had met us yet. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘they called, but I told them I was not interested.’ ‘What!’ said our student, ‘you sent away people who know the Bible better than you do and who could really teach you something!’ He proceeded to reprimand her and gave her a thorough witness as far as he could. We have since had some interesting and upbuilding discussions with her and her husband. At about the same time, our student, being a respected member of the community, was invited to give a talk at the local Teachers’ Training College. He chose as his subject ‘Archaeology Supports the Inspired Record’ and based his talk on study nine in the book ‘AU Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial.’ The talk was so successful that he was invited back again to answer questions on the Bible put to him by the student teachers. Prior to this he and his wife began attending the Watchtower study and have been regular attenders ever since.”

LESOTHO Population: 976,000

Peak Publishers: 285 Ratio: 1 to 3,425

In this young African state the preaching of the Kingdom goes on apace. Our brothers there have had a very fine year in the preaching work, with a good increase. Since it is a new state, the people are very politically minded, as this experience shows: Early in the service year we had a district assembly in Maseru, the capital. On the first evening of the assembly, near the end of the program, a police officer and three jeep-loads of policemen charged into the hall, ordering that the meeting be stopped. The charge was that we were against the government and that someone had said from the platform that the Lesotho government should be destroyed. Although assured that this was untrue, the officer said he had orders to stop the meeting immediately. By this time the speaker had almost finished his talk, and a request to close the meeting with song and prayer was granted. When the brothers in charge asked why the meeting had been stopped, they were told to come and see the chief of police. The chief requested that the brothers return the following morning. The speakers with their notes, plus several witnesses as to what was said, were at the police station at 8 a.m. The chief, who is acquainted with the Witnesses, was very reasonable, and after a brief discussion dismissed the false charge. The officer who had stopped the meeting was then instructed to provide guards for the assembly to protect us! Of course, the guards had nothing to do, and the brothers took the opportunity to give each one a thorough witness. One by one the guards left, because they saw they were not needed. A very fine spirit was manifest at the assembly and this temporary interference made the brothers more determined than ever to carry on with the preaching work.

ST. HELENA Population: 4,652

Peak Publishers: 32 Ratio: 1 to 145

The outstanding event of the year was the visit of the district servant and his wife from South Africa from January to March, during which time both a circuit assembly and a district assembly were held for the benefit of the brothers and other interested persons on the island. It was quite an undertaking for one congregation of fewer than forty publishers to put on the drama “Leaving the City of Refuge Means Loss of Life.” All the available men, including some interested persons, helped out to present this drama, much to the enjoyment of the brothers and the newly interested ones on the island. In fact, some of the islanders who were not present were so disappointed when they were told about it afterward that they requested that the drama be reenacted for their benefit, which unfortunately could not be done due to limited time.

During the visit of the district servant, the film “God Cannot Lie” was shown throughout the island. During the thirteen showings—some in halls, but mostly in the open, with the screen tied between two trees and a portable generator supplying the electricity— 1,125 persons saw this instructive film and learned about God’s marvelous purposes concerning man and the earth.

SOUTH-WEST AFRICA Population: 574,000

Peak Publishers: 163 Ratio: 1 to 3,521

South-West Africa is a vast territory and much work still remains to be done. In some areas the population is very thinly spread, and some publishers are very isolated, sometimes hundreds of miles from the nearest congregation. They keep in contact with Jehovah’s organization, receiving regular spiritual food by mail, through the circuit servant’s visits and through the three yearly assemblies, which are always well attended. One further means of contact has been tried by the brothers in the southern part of the country. In town there is a strong group of publishers who regularly have their meetings, including public meetings. The rest of the publishers live many miles apart as individual families. Recently they all bought tape recorders. The ones in town record their service meeting, Theocratic Ministry School and public talks, and these tapes are then mailed from one family to the next. In this way all of them benefit from the meetings in town, in addition to having their own Watchtower and book studies.

There is a large, densely populated territory to the north called Ovamboland, with a population of over 300,000. Fearing that missionaries or others might stir up political unrest among these African people, the government has not allowed us to send missionaries or special pioneers into this territory to cultivate this vast field. Many of the Ovambo men, however, do come out of Ovamboland on work contracts with the mines and other industries of South-West Africa. We have been concentrating on teaching the truth to these and with good results. Two Ovambos accepted the truth and returned to their home country, where they found some other sheeplike persons. They already have twelve attending the Watchtower study. The preaching work is making good progress among the African people of South-West Africa. More than a hundred Bible studies are now being conducted with African people.

SWAZILAND Population: 389,000

Peak Publishers: 639 Ratio: 1 to 609

Early in September Swaziland became an independent state. Just before this, the people there saw a demonstration of the unity of Jehovah’s people. As the European publishers in Swaziland belong to the Eastern Transvaal circuit, it was arranged for the whole circuit to have an assembly in Swaziland with the African brothers present. It was a new experience for the African and European brothers to be together— the first multiracial assembly in this southern part of Africa! Right from the start a marvelous spirit of unity was displayed. The hall was too small, but the brothers showed real concern for one another. When it was noticed that many European brothers but not many Africans were in the hall, the word was passed around to make room for the Africans. Later the African circuit servant expressed his concern that too many African brothers were inside, with Europeans standing outside! The first African sister in the cafeteria line was apprehensive about the reception she would get. But when the European brothers welcomed her, she sat down with a smile to enjoy her meal and was soon joined by other African brothers, to the delight of everyone. The public talk, in English and Zulu, was attended by 652. The whole assembly was a marvelous demonstration of love and unity.

The following experience should greatly encourage those in divided households: A faithful brother in isolated territory died after twenty-four years of active service. His wife belonged to one of the false religions of Christendom, and till the day of his death she was opposed. She would not attend meetings and, if brothers visited them, she would prepare food but go her own way. But after her husband’s death she thought matters over. When the circuit servant visited her soon thereafter, he found, to his great surprise, that this woman had decided to take her stand for the truth. She was already having the daily text discussion with her children as her husband used to do. She said that now her eyes were opened to see that her husband had been faithfully walking according to the truth of Jehovah. So overjoyed was the circuit servant that he arranged for a gift subscription of The Watchtower to be sent to this family. The widow is now progressing in the truth.

SPAIN

Peak Publishers: 6,686

Population: 31,343,800

Katio: 1 to 4,688

Some ten years ago a brother moved his wife and children from a small town to a large city where no congregation existed, in order to serve Jehovah’s interests more effectively. While family obligations did not allow the brother to participate in the pioneer ministry, what joy was his to have a part in the rapid expansion of the preaching work there. Up to this time four units have been formed, plus many additional groups in the province. Although the brother was serving as one of the city’s overseers, he was not satisfied with just maintaining the status quo in regard to his service privileges. His family obligations began to change when the older daughter married and began to special pioneer together with her husband in an isolated assignment. Could the parents and remaining teen-age son now also expand their service privileges? Pursuing their goal until it was finally realized, this theocratic family is once again serving in a large city where there is a great need for workers. But now they are special pioneers, and they hope that still another congregation will be formed in the near future. So even if one finds himself at the moment with Biblical obligations that impede pioneering, how important it is to cultivate the spirit of maximum service in all the members of the family.

In many cases special pioneer sisters are able to open up the work in new areas, thus preparing the foundation for a future congregation; but what a help it is when a family can later move in to give a helping hand with the congregation’s formation. In one case pioneer sisters had gathered a group of twelve publishers in a large city, when a theocratic family was able to move to the territory. What blessings have been enjoyed by both the family and the group since their arrival! An additional 60-percent increase in the number of publishers has been recorded in the past nine months since their arrival, and brothers now being trained by the qualified male servant who is head of this family will soon be able to perform the various servants’ duties in the future congregation. The husband reports that the spirituality of his entire family has also been favorably affected by the change they have made. Now they can appreciate to a greater extent the joys experienced by a missionary, and the family has become a more smoothly running unit as they continue to strive toward their common goal of participating in the expansion of the Kingdom interests in the fullest way possible.

Not all brothers are in position to transfer to other territories. Nevertheless, by their taking advantage of every opportunity to give a witness, many people can be reached who may live in territories somewhat inaccessible to the usual preaching activity. Taxi drivers are often able to give a witness to such persons. One taxi driver reports that during just one month he was able to place seventy-six books with his customers, and another has been able to place an average of over one hundred magazines a month during the entire year.

The lasting effect caused by a good example of Christian conduct is emphasized by the following experience: An insurance salesman called at the home of a client to draw up a policy. Noticing copies of the Society’s magazines on the table, he inquired if they

were of Protestant origin. Upon hearing that the publications were from Jehovah’s witnesses, he recalled an experience that had very deeply impressed him some six years before when he was called up for military service. A young Witness, his same age, had presented himself in obedience to the orders received, but explained that due to his strict neutrality in political affairs as a Christian minister he was conscientiously unable to serve in a military organization, and he calmly maintained his position in spite of the ridicule heaped upon him. And now, what a joy this man felt on coming into contact once again with such integritykeeping persons! All thought of the insurance policy was now forgotten as the salesman asked question after question about the Bible, until late into the night. The following Sunday he was in attendance at the Watchtower study, and had already begun to share the good things he had learned with his relatives. At the summer’s assembly, he symbolized his dedication to God by baptism. As he himself commented, “I made the visit for the purpose of selling a policy in case of death, but I received the marvelous assurance of God’s promise of everlasting life.”

ANDORRA Peak Publishers: 13

Population: 17,000

Ratio: 1 to 1,308

Andorra consists principally of seven villages nestled in the high valleys of the eastern Pyrenees. Several Andorrans have shown good response to the Kingdom message during the year, and a fine increase was recorded. While the cold winters pose problems in regard to meeting attendance and theocratic service, the main obstacle to overcome is that of secular work. Due to dependence on the tourist trade, many are required to work long hours seven days a week, which severely limits the time available for spiritual matters. Nevertheless, the light of truth continues to glow for those who desire to gain knowledge, and the total of forty who attended the spring Memorial celebration indicates that a good number are conscious of their spiritual needs. The brothers are continuing to press on in their efforts to strengthen these sincere persons spiritually.

CANARY ISLANDS

Peak Publishers: 202

Population: 1,067,600

Ratio: 1 to 5,285

With so many people living in territories yet to be reached by the Kingdom message, what should be done with persons who enjoy the regular visits of a Christian minister but who fail to progress in their spirituality after adequate help has been ottered them? A pioneer had this problem with a family who ‘upon hearing the word, accepted it with joy,’ even to the point of attending meetings, but the ‘anxieties of this system of things’ made inroads and choked off appreciation and progress. Finally it was decided to cancel the study, so the pioneer would be able to devote more time to contacting other persons with the Bible’s urgent message for this generation. However, this did not mean that the former family would be abandoned without hope. The pioneer had observed that the family had many good qualities, but perhaps due to the family head’s apathy toward the truth, the consciousness of the other members as to their spiritual need had also become dulled. A change would have to come about if the study were to be renewed, and what better way to keep a lifeline within their reach than by calling regularly with the Society’s magazines. This was continued for a couple of years, until one day, to the pioneer’s surprise, the housewife confided that she wanted to be baptized. The magazine articles had rekindled her spark of spirituality. Now that circumstances had changed, help was given to strengthen her spiritually through study, meeting attendance and ministerial service. Now, not only the wife and one daughter have been baptized, but the husband, too, has agreed to renew his Bible study. So magazine routes are excellent to keep the way open for those who have come to know the truth but have failed to act in accord with the knowledge received.

One theocratic sister had good reason to rejoice, for not only was her sixteen-year-old son a regular pioneer, but her husband was also able to make arrangements to serve as a vacation pioneer in April. But having the responsibility of caring for the home and family, including two younger children, caused the wife to feel disappointment when she thought of another April going by without also being able to participate in the pioneer ministry. After fervent prayer to Jehovah about the matter and careful planning, it was possible to draw up a schedule whereby other sisters would lend a hand in caring for one of the children during the month, while the other would accompany his mother in the ministry. After experiencing many joys during a month of pioneering with her husband and son, the sister is already making plans to participate once again this coming April.

SURINAM

Peak Publishers: 511

Population: 365,000

Ratio: 1 to 714

Jehovah’s people in Surinam rejoice because of seeing so many rich blessings upon their labors during the past year. During the previous year we had a drop in the number of publishers. Moral uncleanness had crept into some of our congregations, and some had grown weary. During this service year a special effort was made to reactivate those who had stopped associating with God’s people. We are happy to have been able to welcome many of them back into the fold. It seems that many are awakening from sleep and have come to realize that we are not only living in “the time of the end” but are actually living in the final part of the “last days.” Did not Paul write “that it is already the hour for you to awake from sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than at the time when we became believers”?—Rom. 13:11,12.

Attending assemblies three times a year often provides an opportunity to ‘test Jehovah out.’ (Mal. 3:10) A teen-age girl did not have the money to attend the district assembly in Paramaribo. Every night she prayed to Jehovah. She worked for a lady, but had to give all the money to her mother. One day the lady talked about sending her car to the service station to be washed. Right away the girl offered to wash the car. The lady promised her 25 cents (U.S.). Although it was not very much, the girl accepted the offer. She made a special effort to clean the car very well. The lady wanted to pay her right away, but the girl asked her to save the money for her and explained why she needed it. The lady was so impressed that she asked the girl to clean her car every week and said she would double her wages. Jehovah had answered her prayers. She was able to attend the assembly all four days. Do you ‘test Jehovah out’ by accepting the invitation to attend the yearly assemblies?

We want to use this occasion to thank the Society for the fine program we received for our “Good News for All Nations” assembly. The whole assembly was well supported, and 1,509 attended the Sunday talk. The brothers are still talking about the program. All the work the Society put into it was well worth the effort.

SWEDEN Population: 7,876,281

Peak Publishers: 10,463 Ratio: 1 to 753

A young sister tried seven times to find someone at one home and finally succeeded. She met a young man who took two magazines and agreed to a back-call. In time she asked her father to come along, as the young man had questions that she could not answer and he had said that a real Bible student ought to be able to answer them. The result was a study directly in the Bible lasting three hours, until midnight. The next one lasted only until 11 p.m. In a short time he became, first, a regular meeting attender, and then regular in the service. His relatives were against the truth at first, but now, although his wife is opposed, one of his brothers comes regularly to the meetings and a younger brother who accepted the truth was recently able to give a fifteen-minute talk in his school about his newly won faith. A little while later the man’s mother wrote him: “I am grateful that our God Jehovah sent one of his servants to you with the truth and that you were humble enough to accept it, and also that in your zeal you brought the truth to us. Now we are looking forward to eternal life in paradise if we keep faithful to the end.”

The wife of a circuit servant gave a sermon to a friendly lady and asked for a few minutes to show her how to study the book she had just taken, but the lady was in a hurry to get to the post office to fetch a packet that contained things the children needed for the next day. So the sister offered her a ride in her car. This was gladly accepted, and after the trip to the post office a study was started. After just a couple of months the lady began to attend meetings and brought all four of her children along. Now she goes in the service. She tells how her husband on one occasion had not been satisfied with scolding the Witnesses who called at their door but even followed them upstairs and scolded them in front of the people there. “I stood behind a door at the time,” the lady said, “and felt ashamed because of his ways. Now I myself am going to peoples’ doors as one of Jehovah’s witnesses.”

One Saturday a young man called up our office in Jakobsberg and said that he wanted a Bible study. He had traveled all night to get here, a distance of 360 miles. He had read the Paradise book, and the local congregation had received a back-call slip about him; but when a publisher went there he had met the parents, and these had shown no interest. So the young man decided to use an interval between two jobs to come to Jakobsberg and inquire for himself. On Sunday he went along in field service. He attended both the public talk and the Watchtower study. Before he left he had subscribed for both magazines and obtained a number of books.

Brothers have been giving more and more discourses in school by invitation, since the new regulations for classes in religion prescribe giving the students objective information as far as possible about the various religions. So, many teachers are asking Jehovah’s witnesses to explain what we teach. One interesting thing in this connection is that headmasters and other teachers have been utterly surprised because of the rapt attention the students have shown when one of Jehovah’s witnesses speaks to them. In several cases students have expressed their own surprise when they asked the Witness if he really quoted from the usual Swedish Bible, as they had never thought that this book contained such teachings. The magazine featuring the subject “Evolution or Creation by God— Which?” stirred up much interest, and copies of the Awake! issue about that were sometimes ordered for whole classes. When we get the new book on this subject, it is surely going to be a “best seller.”

SWITZERLAND Population: 6,036,000

Peak Publishers: 6,638 Ratio: 1 to 909

Jehovah’s witnesses in Switzerland have every reason to look back over the past service year with deep gratitude. The most joyful event was certainly the visit of Brother Knorr accompanied by Brother Larson. It was an epoch-making moment when Brother Knorr announced the Society’s decision to build a new printing factory and Bethel home in Thun. The need to increase our printing facilities has become ever more pressing, as we have the privilege of producing magazines in various languages for many countries. Production has increased appreciably, and we can hardly cope with the demands with our present equipment. We are all very grateful that Jehovah sees fit to grant us further privileges of service through his organization.

A family with a young, school-age daughter moved to a Catholic territory where the need is great. When the daughter was released from attending religious instruction in school, the priest who took this class used the absence of our young sister to criticize Jehovah’s witnesses violently. But a number of the girls held to their comrade, telling her afterward what the priest had said. They could not believe what he had told them because they saw the good behavior of their school friend.

The priest died, and another took over the class. He was informed from the start that this girl was a witness of Jehovah and would therefore not attend religious instruction. However, the priest took the young sister to one side and asked: “You are one of Jehovah’s witnesses, aren’t you? I would like you to stay in class one day and explain to us who Jehovah’s witnesses are and why they do not believe in the trinity or celebrate Christmas.” Our sister prepared herself well, and for fifty minutes she spoke to the class, using three different Bible translations to show that they all contained the same thought. She touched on various subjects, and in conclusion raised several questions, which she left unanswered, one being, Why does God permit wickedness? A discussion ensued, and the girls’ questions were answered. The priest, who had turned to the Bible texts that our sister had cited, exclaimed: “Congratulations! What you have said is correct. If all my pupils knew the Bible as well as you do, it would be excellent!” The priest then stated that he wished to continue the study of the Bible, and especially to hear the answers to the other questions raised.

A few weeks later the priest called at the home of the young sister. He again expressed his astonishment that such a young girl could know the Bible so well and also explain it to others with such conviction. Her father explained how this was possible, and the priest promised to call again.

A sister in a divided household moved with her husband into a strongly Catholic region. There was no other publisher there, and the nearest congregation was many miles away. But she sought to give a witness wherever she could. A woman to whom she spoke agreed after a while to have a home Bible study. The woman’s husband and also their twelve-year-old daughter were very much against it. This girl was a real little rebel, but her mother insisted that she be present at the study. Soon the truth began to take effect on this young mind, and the girl recognized the falsities of their religion. She began to take a zealous part in the study, and also asked the priest “hot” questions in school. For instance: “Is it possible that heaven could be thirty-three years without the Father? Who did the people pray to during that time?” The priest, flushing uncomfortably, said he would explain this to her another time. The young girl attended school mass ever more seldom and ceased to make the sign of the cross at prayer time. The priest visited her mother, but to no effect; it was too late. A later visit to her father was useless too. Both mother and daughter are now baptized and have a zealous share in preaching the “good news.” Our sister is no longer alone in this Catholic territory; other publishers now support her.

LIECHTENSTEIN Population: 20,433

Peak Publishers: 7 Ratio: 1 to 2,919

Still more people in this clean and pretty little country have acted on the counsel, “Make sure of all things.” (1 Thess. 5:21) One lady admitted during a back-call: “These publications have been a great comfort to me in all my troubles.” Another woman, on hearing the sermon at the door, called her sister who was visiting just then to listen to the message too. As a result she accepted the book Did Man Get Here by Evolution or by Creation ?

At one back-call the lady told the special pioneer visiting her that she had given her Bible to someone in need of comfort, and asked the brother to call on the family. As the house was not easy to find, the lady decided to go along and show him. The special pioneer writes: “We drove past the house she pointed out to me and back home again, as she wanted them to be quite free and not influenced by her presence. After a number of back-calls a close contact was established with this family, and now a Bible study is being held with them.”

TAIWAN, REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Peak Publishers: 1,113 Population: 18,753,464

Ratto: 1 to 12,357

The past six years have been a period of cleansing and strengthening of the organization in Taiwan, with decreases in the number of publishers from 1962 to 1967. This thorough housecleaning has at last borne fruit, as this year the brothers in Taiwan were blessed with a 5-percent increase in publishers. Every aspect of the field service report shows increases over the previous year, with new peaks in the number of books, magazines and subscriptions placed. The publication of the Amis-language Watchtower since February of this year has done much to strengthen the more than 800 brothers who speak this language.

Sheeplike ones are often located where one least expects. A missionary, trying to locate a former subscriber, asked a man on the street for directions. He mentioned to the man that he was a missionary and gave him a handbill. Three weeks later the man came to the Kingdom Hall. A study was started, and about two months later when Brother Knorr visited Taiwan the man made a 250-mile trip to hear his talk. He was much impressed and still comments on the truth that one’s life depends on one’s own decision, as pointed out in this talk. As his taxi business prevents him from attending meetings regularly, he is now in the process of selling the business, and it is hoped he will soon start in preaching with the local congregation.

Those who are diligent in their personal study make outstanding progress, as the following experience shows: One woman who is studying with a missionary brother is very diligent in preparing for her study and reading each issue of the magazines. She also loves the Sermon Outlines booklet and studies the outlines one by one. After she had been preaching a short time, it became obvious that she was considering getting baptized. It was felt that, even though the “Lamp” book is not available in Chinese, she should go through the eighty questions to make sure she was qualified for baptism. The missionary said: “Each week I would translate a few of the questions and give her the citations to answer these. During the week she would do her ‘homework.’ She even wrote out the texts in full and studied them very well. Now she has one of the few copies of this material in Chinese, and it is all in her own writing. She is impressed with the high standard that is required of baptismal candidates in contrast with the religions that urge baptism after a few attendances at church. Her children took interest in their mother’s doing her ‘homework’ and wanted to know whether she had memorized the answers and whether she would ‘pass the examination.’ Of course, she has now ‘passed her examination’ and is planning on being baptized at our district assembly in September.” Surely, aiding new ones to be studious is essential to productive studies.

All the brothers in Taiwan are grateful for the help given their work by the publication of the book “Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie” in Chinese during the year, and they look forward to other new publications during the coming year. Truly Jehovah’s organization is making every effort to aid more of the hundreds of millions of Chinese people in the world to start praising their Creator. We are all grateful for the small part we have in this work here in Taiwan, and we are determined to help more gain eternal life, if Jehovah wills.

THAILAND Population: 31,800,000

Peak Publishers: 334 Ratio: 1 to 95,210

The branch office in Bangkok looks after the Kingdom work in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

All of this area has plenty of trouble to contend with in this war-torn world. But still Jehovah’s witnesses continue to preach the good news of the Kingdom, and this brings much comfort to people of these nations.

The publishers in Thailand are scattered over a large area and many live in isolated places, surrounded by Buddhism. Some publishers who have moved away from congregations to isolated places have become weak spiritually. However, this does not have to be so, as the following shows: Years ago a special pioneer placed a book with a girl in the northernmost tip of the country. He then moved on to another assignment. But this girl made a special trip to Bangkok to learn more about the truth. She got baptized and then returned home and preached diligently on her own. As a result a woman accepted the truth and got baptized. The first sister became a special pioneer and moved away, but the second sister, although isolated, kept up her spirituality over the years, engaged regularly in field service and studied with her children. As the children grew up they began to share in the field service. The two sons desired to advance so they moved to the big city, where they associated with a congregation. Both got baptized. This past year one of them was a vacation pioneer for several months, and the other is a regular pioneer. The daughter got baptized this year and is now vacation pioneering until she becomes eligible for regular pioneer service. What a joy and blessing for this faithful isolated sister!

The same sister had a study with her niece. This young girl, ever since she heard about pioneering, was determined that she would become a pioneer. When she finished school, her relatives who oppose the truth offered her a scholarship, but she declined. Instead she got a job in Bangkok so she could be with a congregation and learn more of the truth in order to qualify for pioneering. She regularly attends all the meetings and diligently shares in the ministry. When she thought she was ready to pioneer, she tried to get part-time work, but without success. She went to Jehovah in prayer, put her trust in him, resigned from her job and began to pioneer. She has not regretted that she made herself available for Jehovah’s service. It was with her whole heart that she portrayed Jephthah’s daughter in the drama at the recent district assembly. Now she is a happy special pioneer.

We usually have lots of children in our midst at our meetings, and we are happy about this. We should not underestimate how much of the truth sinks into the children’s minds. If they are taught at home before they start going to school, they will know what to do under various circumstances. One brother writes: “Our little four-year-old who now goes to kindergarten found himself in the middle of a birthday party for one of the other little fellows. The party was held during recess and everyone was required to sit around and sing ‘Happy Birthday’ while they ate birthday cake. Our little fellow informed the teacher that we do not celebrate Christmas or birthdays and so refused to take part but went off by himself and sat on the steps of the school to drink his milk. He flatly refused to eat the birthday cake or sing.”

Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice ... and they follow me.” A special pioneer studied for a few months with a Buddhist family in a village eighteen kilometers from town before he was moved to a new assignment. The wife had been very much impressed with the Genesis account of creation and with what she had learned from the first few chapters of the Paradise book, so when the pioneer failed to come she asked her husband to take a taxi to town and search for some of Jehovah’s witnesses. They located another special pioneer couple and resumed the study with them. In time the pioneers invited the family to attend an assembly and the wife got baptized. A year later the eldest daughter was baptized and soon vacation pioneered. Later the father also accepted the truth and dedicated himself to Jehovah. He had been planning to buy a car, but, instead, he used this money to build a fine, large concrete-and-timber Kingdom Hall, fully equipped, with convenient quarters attached for the special pioneer couple. At its dedication in April 1968, a circuit assembly at which twelve persons were baptized and 188 came for the public meeting was held in this new Kingdom Hall. The eldest daughter of this family has now been pioneering for some time.

CAMBODIA Population: 5,750,000

Peak Publishers: 1 Ratio: 1 to 5,750,000

One of the two publishers in Cambodia who had been quite ill for some time died in October. The remaining brother is keeping up his spirituality through regular, systematic personal study, and he has been regularly engaging in the ministry every month. Once again the circuit servant arranged his schedule to be with this publisher for the Memorial celebration and this was very much appreciated.

LAOS Population: 3,000,000

Peak Publishers: 21 Ratio: 1 to 142,857

Last year, you may remember, we told about a Laotian Buddhist girl who was hoping one day to dedicate her life to Jehovah. Would you like to let her tell you what helped her to take that important step?

“The way was opened for me to make a trip to Canada and the United States. How this experience has helped me to get to know more of God’s purpose and of his earthly organization! While there I had the opportunity to visit the headquarters of the New World society and there see the love expressed among the hardworking brothers. The way was also opened for me to attend a large assembly of God’s people for the first time. The humility of Jehovah’s witnesses wherever I went and their efforts to follow God’s moral principles and stay clear of wrong acts caused me to make a great change in my personality. This way of living had to be mine, Jehovah willing. I did not let Satan take me back into the world by accepting a high-paying job in America, a job that would have caused me to break my neutrality as a Christian. I came back to Laos, where I can now help my mother and other loved ones to come to appreciate life-giving truth. I have just attended the district assembly in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and was baptized in symbol of my vow to Jehovah God to do his will, whatever it may be. There is nothing that has ever made me happier.”

VIETNAM Population: 16,973,000

Peak Publishers: 30 Ratio: 1 to 565,767

For many years Vietnam has been torn by war that has continually kept the people in confusion and insecurity. During these years theocratic progress has been slow, and with the Tet offensive it came to a standstill. In fact, the number of publishers dropped, since some left the country. But recently Jehovah’s spirit seems to be shaking this trouble-filled country. The ‘desirable ones’ are coming to Jehovah’s house of worship and are taking sides with the true God. Just three months prior to the close of the service year seven new ones began to publish. Another sixteen are witnessing to all they meet and should be Kingdom publishers soon.

Jesus said his disciples would be known by the love they show for one another. One follower of the Cao Dai religion was so impressed by his first meeting at the Kingdom Hall that he just had to exclaim: “I’ve noticed how everyone is so interested in everyone else. If one becomes a baptized follower, it must be like having many real brothers and sisters.” It was not long after this that he became a Kingdom publisher, and now his wife and two daughters want to do the same.

Hardships caused by the war have not stopped one family from learning the truth. The father had studied the Bible with the Protestants for five years. But after a study was started with him by Jehovah’s witnesses, he soon learned the difference between true worship and the false. Circumstances caused him to move his family several miles from Saigon. With the Tet offensive and subsequent attacks, his house was burned to the ground three times. Each time he and his wife and eight children managed to escape with their lives. Contact with him was lost, but recently he was able to find the new location of the missionary home. With tears in his eyes he hugged the overseer and cried. It was a joyful reunion indeed. And all this time he had studied the Bible with several people where he lived. His children had taken tracts to school and had preached to all the teachers. In this way, many were reached who otherwise would not have been. On one occasion a clergyman wanted him to come back to church. His answer? “How can I come to your church? You don’t follow the Bible!” It should not be too long before his entire family are Kingdom publishers. Even though isolated and under heavy enemy attacks, the strong hand of Jehovah kept them safe spiritually and physically.

TOGO Population: 1,850,000

Peak Publishers: 944 Ratio: 1 to 1,960

One highlight of the service year was the “Disciplemaking” District Assembly. The joy of the brothers was overwhelming as 100 persons got baptized and on Sunday afternoon when 1,571 listened to the public lecture. But still Jehovah God had more blessings in store for his people. That a great harvest work has to be done became obvious at the Memorial, because 2,637 persons celebrated the Lord’s evening meal. This, of course, made the hearts of the brothers glad, and they have seen the great responsibility that rests upon all dedicated Witnesses. So they decided to make the month of April the most outstanding one in the service year in order to take care of the many sheeplike ones. The branch office expected that 10 percent of all the publishers would vacation pioneer, and this would mean 90 vacation pioneers. But imagine our joy when 155 brothers and sisters applied for vacation pioneer service during April and many of them extended this even to two to four months!

We can use the householders’ arguments to our advantage as we go from house to house. One brother said: “While I was doing magazine work I met a man who rejected the offer, saying that he had bought a copy of The Watchtower and would not need another one. I did not argue but asked him to bring his copy, and we started a study. Today he is happy to study the Bible in connection with every Watchtower.'’

Sometimes we have a hard fight to remain firm in the truth. A brother relates: “After I accepted the truth heavy persecution began. One day as I got ready for farming a messenger called me to the chief’s house. Many people were gathered together, and they told me they did not want me in town anymore since I polluted the town with the Bible.' They wanted me to buy one sheep and drinks and to pay a thousand francs to make a sacrifice to remove the pollution, otherwise they would beat me with sticks. One among them was very vicious, and he told me that he was going to the next town, but after his return he did not want to see me again. The evening of that same day the ambulance came to our town and brought the man back, but dead. Everything became quiet, and now I witness to all of them and at present am even a pioneer. Do not be afraid; Jehovah will be kind to us.”

TRINIDAD Population: 935,059

Peak Publishers: 2,080 Ratio: 1 to 450

Not only did Jehovah bless the work so that the most extensive witness yet was given in Trinidad, but he also blessed the teaching work so that an increase of 7 percent was enjoyed, the highest since 1963. The brothers have shown an increasing appreciation for the full-time service, with many more engaging in vacation pioneer service than ever before.

This year much emphasis was placed on the preaching work, and this was enthusiastically done in connection with the Evolution book. A publisher who is seventy-five years old reports: “When my congregation servant told me that we had 300 Evolution books for our use during the month of July, I made up my mind to place as many of these as possible. I realized that the only way to do this was to take advantage

of every opportunity. So I made the offer to persons in the house-to-house ministry, on back-calls and Bible studies, on my magazine route, in the street and in cars. I offered it to my doctor, butcher, baker, my grocer and his employees, those working in other stores, visitors to my home and even to people over the telephone. In this way I was able to report fiftyeight books placed for the month.”

Incidental witnessing can bear good fruit. A missionary waiting at a clinic handed a tract to another patient. Soon the patient leaned over and asked for the latest Awake! The publisher then began a short conversation, getting her name and address and making arrangements to begin a Bible study that very week. The newly interested person also began to attend the Sunday meetings regularly.

A little effort and initiative can often aid an inactive person to be reactivated. A publisher had this experience with a sister who was inactive for about a year and who had not responded to previous attempts to restore her: “I felt that I should make a try also. Prayerfully putting the matter before Jehovah, I called on her one day. After tactfully finding out the reason for her absence, I began discussing Hebrews 10:25 with her and stressed the need of association. I then read Revelation 22:1, 2 and highlighted the part about the life-producing trees bearing fruit every month, showing how our association with the brothers should be regular and how she would learn the truth and assist others. A few more calls were made to strengthen her, and it worked, thanks to Jehovah. She is now out in the service regularly, and her son and daughter are preparing to be baptized at the district assembly.”

The dramas at the district assemblies do their part in aiding some to take the step of full-time service. A young married man states: “Jeremiah had it so hard and I was having life so easy. After seeing the drama at the assembly, I started planning for pioneering and set two years as the deadline to take all necessary steps. Then came the zone servant and his talk. I reduced the time from two years to one year, and my wife agreed. So in December 1967, the deadline, we left our jobs, our home and the stuffy city and moved to a small country congregation where we had decided to start our career in full-time service. We began pioneering in January 1968, and I enjoyed what I did in one month more than what I had previously done in a whole year.” This young couple will be special pioneers from the start of the service year.

TOBAGO Population: 38,861

Peak Publishers: 60 Ratio: 1 to 618

There is hope for inactive ones, as one publisher discovered. With encouragement they can be reactivated to Jehovah’s pure worship. The publisher writes: “Working in the remotest part of the territory one day, I left two magazines with a lady. She met me sometime later and related that her brother acted strangely when he saw the magazines lying on the table. Wanting to know why, I made a special back-call a few days later. Well, the story went back to May 19, 1956, when eighteen of us were immersed, six of us of the same age-group. Since then we maintained contact and looked forward to seeing each other at assemblies. However, as time went on, some got married and sought better jobs abroad, and for the past four years or so I had not seen nor heard from the other five at assemblies or elsewhere until the day I made the back-call. Yes, he was one of the ‘six.’ After my discussing the subject of the prodigal son with him, he promised to study the article with another of the ‘six’ as soon as he returned to his home territory. Now we have reestablished contact and are looking forward to seeing at least three of the ‘six’ at our coming district assembly.”

URUGUAY Population: 2,598,000

Peak Publishers: 2,568 Ratio: 1 to 1,012

That much good can be done by diligently caring for magazine routes is evident from the following experience. A sister writes: “I visited my route regularly and persistently emphasized the most appropriate theme. One woman also took various books, which she passed on to her brother after reading them. When he was visited by the Witnesses, a study was started, and he, in turn, as he learned Bible truths, encouraged a sister to study the Bible, although she had always previously turned down the Witnesses. One day when I passed near her house she asked me to study the Bible with her, and thus another study was begun. Soon she began to attend meetings regularly, and there she learned of the importance of teaching others what she learned. She has not studied a year yet, but is preaching the truth to her family, conducts a study with her two daughters and is a happy publisher of the ‘good news.’ She attends all the meetings and has expressed her desire to symbolize her dedication at the next assembly.” Yes, developing magazine routes and giving them regular attention, making back-calls and even starting studies on them brings much joy. Have you tried it?

With the demons more active than ever, misguiding as many as possible by means of the agents of Babylon the Great, the following experience is enlightening: A man had been contacted by Jehovah’s witnesses, but he belonged to an evangelist sect that claimed to practice divine healing. He began to hear noises by the windows and doors, not only at night but also in the daytime, and this brought nervous tension to the whole family. To this was added the shock of his young son’s death, which brought tears of sorrow to his wife. Since he is a music teacher, he composed a song that ended with the name “Jehovah.” When the preacher turned it down, saying that the song was good only for Jehovah’s witnesses, he withdrew in disgust. At this time he was visited again by a pioneer. At the beginning he showed little appreciation for the Bible helps that the Society prints. But with tact the objection was overcome as he saw how the literature gave the answers to vital questions regarding the Kingdom and eternal life. His attitude changed and he became interested in the Life Everlasting book and finally accepted a study. Soon the noises and demon annoyances began disappearing. Peace came to his house. His wife’s eyes were no longer filled with tears of pain, but were illuminated with joy on learning of the resurrection hope. Soon he and his wife and daughter of six years began to attend meetings and participate in service. His life changed as God’s kingdom came to occupy the first place in his life. His honesty in his work as comptroller of contraband in the customs has brought him difficulties with his fellow workers and superiors. But his firmness has brought him Jehovah’s blessing. An inspector who was to sign his dismissal from his employment commended his actions and declared that he was entirely competent to continue in his post.

FALKLAND ISLANDS Population: 2,300

Peak Publishers: 2 Ratio: 1 to 1,150

In the month of May a missionary couple began “easting their nets” in the Falkland Islands. Besides continuing to build up the interest already there, they introduced the truth m homes not previously reached. The clergy of the three main religious sects strongly opposed the preaching of the good news of God’s kingdom, spreading hate for God’s name and fear of Bible truth. They kept their flocks occupied with various schemes to make money for the church, bazaars, games, social affairs and teas. They also distributed circulars containing deliberate lies about Jehovah’s witnesses, and succeeded in intimidating the radio committee to prohibit Jehovah’s witnesses from using the local radio station, which is open and free to all other religions. Even though the great majority of the people dislike Bible truth, nevertheless, studies were conducted with twelve different persons or families at some time during the three-month visit. A good witness was given, and every home in the capital city of Port Stanley was visited with the “good news.”

The missionaries also visited a woman who lives on isolated Pebble Island. She had subscribed for The Watchtower and studied the “Good News” booklet last year and continued to study by correspondence with another missionary in Uruguay. She prepared for the visit by arranging her work so as to be free to study three times daily. Her husband and children also joined the study when possible. This family rejoiced when a heavy fog delayed the departure of the missionaries and their Bible studies unexpectedly continued for several days more.

In Port Stanley an interested lady who studied with the missionaries was shown convention reports, pictures and slides of Bethel, Gilead, the factory and Kingdom Halls, to help her appreciate how the organization operates. She asked if her opposed mother could see the pictures too, since she was influenced to believe that the Witnesses only work for money and selfish gain. This was arranged and the pictures of large conventions told a story impossible to put into words. The mother exclaimed, “No organization could ever pay that many people.” She then invited the missionaries to her home and took Bible-study helps from them. Also the breach between mother and daughter was healed. The mother now asked if a friend of hers could also see the pictures. So by different chain reactions the seeds of truth were planted in homes previously closed to the “good news.”

VENEZUELA Population: 9,730,000

Peak Publishers: 5,419 Ratio: 1 to 1,790

An interesting experience comes from Cumana: Some years ago a young boy used to receive counsel from an elderly lady who often read the Bible and had faith in what it said. In time the boy went to college in another city, but during vacation periods he would visit this elderly lady’s home and they would exchange views about the Bible. On one occasion at college he obtained literature from one of Jehovah’s witnesses, but since it did not interest him particularly he sent it to his elderly friend. Immediately the lady recognized the sound of the truth, and she got in contact with Jehovah’s witnesses, as she had found what she had wanted for so long.

How surprised the young man was when they later met and he found that the lady was studying the Bible regularly with Jehovah’s witnesses! She explained to him how much she had already learned about the Bible and the organization of Jehovah’s people. As soon as he returned to college he looked for the Kingdom Hall, began to attend the meetings quite regularly and study the Bible with a local brother. It was not long before he was discussing the evolution theory in class with teachers and students, using the Bible to refute their arguments. The lady, whom he had known since childhood, kept writing him encouraging letters to keep on in the way of the truth and not to abandon the organization. His progress was very rapid due to the interest that he always demonstrated. After only a month of associating with the Witnesses he began going in the field service and participating in the preaching work. In two months he gave his first student talk in the Theocratic Ministry School; in seven months he symbolized his dedication by water baptism at the district assembly. He prepares edifying talks for the service meeting program and has given his first public lecture. He continues to increase his service privileges, and recently enjoyed sharing in the vacation pioneer service.

Many times people have obstacles and problems when they start studying the Bible with Jehovah’s witnesses. Sometimes we feel a little overwhelmed, and think that the people will not make progress because of all their personal problems. One such example is as follows: “Nine months ago a newly baptized sister in our congregation asked me to study with her eighteen-year-old sister who had manifested interest in the truth. I thought the study would be just with her. However, her five brothers and sisters sat in on the study and showed extraordinary interest. The children’s father was not married to their mother, although he had lived with her for many years. He did not stay home much and the children were afraid of him when he came home drunk. He had never liked any religion, so they were uncertain of what would happen when he found them studying. However, to their surprise, and mine, he sat in on our first study just to see what it was all about. After the study I was surprised that he knew all of the answers to the review questions

I asked. Although neither he nor the mother could read or write, they attended each study and paid close attention. Soon they showed a desire to learn to read, so they could examine the Scriptures themselves. Reading lessons were begun after each Bible study and soon even the little five-year-old daughter learned to read like an expert, mainly through her practice of reading the book ‘Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie.’ The father, too, purchased glasses so he could see better and now takes his turn reading paragraphs in the lesson. He had found that Jehovah’s witnesses were truly different from all other religions.

“After a few studies this family began attending meetings regularly, and taking part in them. All the children were anxious to enroll in the Theocratic Ministry School. After just five months of study the older children became Kingdom publishers. The father made some drastic changes in his life, giving up his worldly ways. He is now legally married and maintains a theocratic home. All of the family are now actively engaged in the Kingdom preaching work, and a congregation book study is held in their home. The neighbors of this family are astonished by the changes they have made and many are showing a great deal of interest in the truth because of this living testimony to Jehovah’s name.”

YUGOSLAVIA

The work in Yugoslavia continues to make very good progress. The brothers are zealous in the preaching work, and this brings results. About 1,700 brothers from Yugoslavia were able to attend the district assembly in Villach, Austria, in July 1968. These brothers were very thankful for this opportunity and they returned home with great enthusiasm and joy of heart.

Babylon the Great has truly fallen and can no more exercise the power it had in the past. A group of five sisters who returned to a village where they had worked from house to house two weeks before found that, after they had left, the Catholic priest had been to the homes of all the families and confiscated the literature they had placed. He told his parishioners that they were not allowed to read such publications. When the sisters asked the householders from whom the clergyman had taken the Bible literature whether they would like to read such literature, the householders answered that they would. So the sisters went to the church where the priest was celebrating mass.

As the people left church, the rumor spread quickly that Jehovah’s witnesses were there to talk to the priest. A considerable crowd gathered around the publishers and asked questions, and the sisters answered them. Finally the priest came out of the church, and one of the sisters went straight up to him and said: “You have taken our literature away from people who have paid for it. Please return this literature to us without delay. If you refuse, we shall have to report your illegal actions to the authorities.” Upon hearing this, the priest became so enraged that he could hardly speak. Then he addressed the crowd, saying: “Do you really want to read this?” There was silence for a while, and then came a voice: “Yes, why shouldn’t we?” The priest disappeared into his house. Then the sacristan appeared bringing with him a quantity of our magazines and booklets. The sisters took them and distributed them among the people. In addition they placed fifteen other magazines and some booklets. They made arrangements for back-calls on some people. Then the sisters left and the crowd dispersed. From a window in his house the priest watched all this. Indeed, the power of the priests is no more what it used to be.

ZAMBIA Population: 3,894,836

Peak Publishers: 41,015 Ratio: 1 to 95

The 1968 service year was not an easy one for Jehovah’s witnesses and their children in Zambia. The test of their integrity to Jehovah and his righteous principles with regard to the singing of nationalistic interfaith prayers and paying homage to state emblems continued. Following the loss of the test case in the High Court in November 1967, many more children of Jehovah’s witnesses were expelled from school because they could not conscientiously take part in singing the national anthem and saluting the flag. According to the latest figure, 5,755 young witnesses of Jehovah are denied an education for religious reasons.

As was the case in the days of the early Christian congregation in the first century, Jehovah’s witnesses today are very often misrepresented and misunderstood, as to why they choose to take a neutral stand toward politics, refuse to sing or stand for the national anthem, or salute the flag of any nation. Hence government officials are made to believe that the local Witnesses are instigated by those whom they call “American leaders.” For this reason, in January of 1968 several nonZambian brothers who came into Zambia as expatriate workers, some of whom had lived in Zambia for more than twenty years, were deported from the country simply because they held positions of responsibility in our English-speaking congregations. The missionaries were also deported at the same time.

Brothers and sisters throughout Zambia were shocked to hear the news about the deportation of their fellow workers. The local Zambian brothers were extremely saddened with the news because they love their missionary brothers very much. These missionary brothers and sisters had accomplished an outstanding work in helping the local Zambian people to understand the Bible, so that they, too, could gain everlasting life. As a result of this good work by the missionaries, the local Zambian people who benefited from the services of the missionaries of Jehovah’s witnesses are better and more respectful law-abiding citizens of Zambia.

Quite a few people began to think that that was the end of the organization of Jehovah’s witnesses in Zambia. For example, about a week after the missionaries had left, a person approached one of the local members of the Bethel family and asked: “Are you still continuing with your work as a minister? Where do you get the money to run your organization now that your Europeans have been deported?” When another member of the Bethel family went to the petrol rationing office to renew the coupon in the name of the Watch Tower Society, the official there remarked: “But I thought your Society was finished.”

Little do men realize that Jehovah’s witnesses have Jehovah on their side and that the work they are doing is Jehovah’s work. One of the missionaries who was also serving as branch servant made this point very clear in his farewell comments to the overseers and other publishers who were gathered at one of the Kingdom Halls. He said: “While these brothers are personally sad to leave all of you at this time, and wish you to know this, still they are not in any way downhearted or overly concerned. They know, as we have had well proved to us in the past, that Jehovah’s work does not depend on any man nor upon even any group of particular individuals. All of us realize that our leader is Jesus Christ and that he is the one who is directing our ministry according to Jehovah’s will. Jehovah’s arm is never shortened and he can raise up capable brothers to carry on the work.”

The deportation of the English-speaking overseers and the missionaries, however, stirred up the interest of many righteously disposed persons. People were puzzled as to why these loving, peaceful and lawabiding Witnesses were deported. They realized that it must have been because these witnesses of Jehovah were preaching the good news of the peaceful government in the hands of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, which shortly will take control of this earth. And so they began asking questions. One of the publishers in the English-speaking circuit remarked: “For many months I had been trying to find a person who was really interested in the truth so that I could start a home Bible study, but I just could not find one. However, since news of the deportation of the missionaries was published in the newspaper and announced on the radio, many people, including those who were very opposed to the truth, are coming to me and are asking questions. Now I have a total of eight home Bible studies.”

In view of the fact that those who left were replaced by an almost completely new staff, the work piled up in the branch office, and catching up with all this work seemed practically impossible. However, with the help of Jehovah’s holy spirit and with the stick-to-itiveness of the brothers in the office, the work kept moving steadily and what seemed like a big mountain finally disappeared, much to the joy of the brothers in the office.

OTHER COUNTRIES WHERE JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES WORK UNDER DIFFICULTY

During the past year Jehovah’s witnesses world wide have had in mind the words of Jesus that “in all the nations the good news has to be preached first.” (Mark 13:10) So everywhere throughout the world they have been active. In many places due to great opposition it has been difficult for God’s people to talk to others about the Kingdom hope. Nevertheless, they have not slacked their hand. The countries listed herewith are places where it has been difficult to tell out the good news. You will rejoice when you read how the work has been carried on.

BULGARIA

There is not much to report about the work in Bulgaria. There are only a few scattered groups of brothers who do some preaching. However, there is no freedom to preach in this Communist land and so the brothers have to be very careful. They meet in small groups and read and study what is available in their language in the way of our publications. There are many persons in Bulgaria who are looking for guidance in this troubled world, and it is encouraging to see that some come in touch with the truth and show genuine interest. It is hoped that the work in Bulgaria will take on greater proportions before the end comes.

CHINA

During the year contact was made on three occasions with a family of Witnesses and then lost again. However, it was sufficient to let us know that our brothers are keeping integrity in that vast country. It is most difficult to keep contact with them due to the strict censorship of all foreign mails.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

The work in Czechoslovakia has made very good progress during the past service year. The brothers made use of their opportunities to preach the truth to many people, and this brought an increase. The world-shaking event in August 1968, that is, the occupation of the land by foreign troops, has had practically no effect on our work yet, except that a number of persons awoke spiritually and showed more interest in the only message of hope there is. The brothers went on quietly and peacefully doing their work of teaching people and meeting together in small groups.

It is a good thing to remember the Creator in the days of strength and youth. The world today indeed has an enormous effect and influence on youth, but honest, young people can find the way of truth. Thus on the first back-call a Bible study was started with a girl seventeen years of age. Her father did not favor such a study, however, so the girl went to the home of a sister for it. This girl showed interest, but at the same time she was devoted to sports, being an outstanding district champion in fencing. But the Word of God can correct matters. As the study continued, the girl progressed, losing her interest in sports and increasing her interest in things of eternal worth. She not only prepared well for every study, but also began to study carefully every issue of The Watchtower. She also asked whether her study could be held more than once a week. At this point the publisher showed her that one should not only acquire the truth, but also give it to others. The girl accepted this good counsel and started witnessing among her friends. Her personality changed and the fruitage of the spirit became evident.

One day she told the publisher: “I am changing my weapons!” She said she was going to use a more effective weapon, the Bible, the sword of the spirit, in exchange for her collection of old weapons. She has started a Bible study with a friend, and another with her sister and brother-in-law. She has also started to witness to her mother, who noticed this favorable change in the personality of hei’ daughter. Her mother remarked: “I am not far from gaining the faith too.”

The brothers, especially the servants, made great efforts in the past service year to bring brothers and sisters who had become inactive and stopped associating with God’s people back to the organization. These efforts have been greatly blessed. In helping such persons return to Jehovah’s organization, the brothers used primarily the Bible and the Watchtower articles on the prodigal son. One sister, for example, visited such a “lost sheep” and read some selected paragraphs from The Watchtower. Suddenly this “lost sheep” began to weep. She related that she had stopped attending meetings and going in the field service because of sickness, family troubles and the discouragement resulting from these problems. Then she began to think that due to her long absence she had been disfellowshiped, which, of course, was not so. The publisher read appropriate texts from The Watchtower to show what a merciful God Jehovah is. The call was effective. The “lost sheep” found her way back to the organization, and so did many others during the past service year, to their own joy and to the joy of the congregations. Indeed, with such a short time left, return should not be delayed.

EAST GERMANY

The publishers are very keen to find the best ways of approaching people with the Kingdom message, because in most sections of the country it is not possible to reach the people openly in the regular field ministry. The publishers would soon get arrested, and people showing interest would be put under pressure by the authorities in order to cause them to shrink back. In spite of this problem the witnesses of Jehovah do reach the people in their homes and cover their territory.

A publisher doing vacation pioneer service had been working in his territory for a few days. He was about to approach a new home when he noticed a car stopping in front of it and four men joining up with him. They went along with him to the door. He instantly decided to inquire of the householder whether it was at this place where there was a refrigerator for sale. The four men at his side were now placed in an awkward position. Finally they told the householder to put out his flag because it was Miner’s Festival. The brother was able to leave the house without getting into trouble.

There was a sister who had been skeptical about the advisability of working new territory. But she noticed that all those sharing in this work found great joy in it. She finally decided to take out such a territory too. She was accompanied by her young son. There was a butcher’s shop in the territory and they intended to pass it by. But, for some reason, they did not do so and they just said a few words concerning the message, when the occupant cried out: “At last! How long have we been waiting for one of the Witnesses!” A study was started with the entire family, and several of their acquaintances have now joined the study. The sister no longer feels doubtful about working new territory.

A sister standing in front of a fish shop saw a woman looking at the display of fish in the window. She approached her, saying: “Can you imagine that there will be a time when fish like these will eat out of man’s hand?” That was an interest-arousing introduction to a discussion of the blessings of the Kingdom. The woman mentioned that she had been hearing about these things while on a visit in West Germany. She had been told that someone would certainly call on her at her home with the message. Now it was not in her home but in the street. Nevertheless, she was very glad that the sister contacted her in this way. She is now diligently studying God’s wonderful purposes regarding man and the earth.

While sitting in the waiting room of her doctor’s office a sister noticed a woman about her own age who apparently was very ill. The sister listened carefully when the doctor called the woman into his office so as to get her name. Happily she also was able to hear the woman’s address mentioned. The sister wanted to call on the woman in order to present the comforting message of Jehovah’s kingdom to her. When the Witness called at her home a few days later, the woman recognized her at once. She said that she also had faith in God, but her husband was at home and he was a ridiculer, and so she could not let the Witness in. She had tears in her eyes. They arranged to meet at another time. A Bible study was started. The woman’s blind mother joined in along with her daughter of seventeen years. Thus through the attentiveness of the sister three more people who appreciate being taught Jehovah’s ways have been found.

The time spent waiting for a bus can be used advantageously. A sister had to wait for her bus for half an hour. While she was waiting a married couple sat down at her side. She cautiously started a conversation and soon found out that they had appreciation for God’s Word. But how could she manage to get their name and address in order to keep up contact with them, in view of the fear of man that is so prevalent among the population? She had a basket of cherries along, which she was taking home from her garden. So she offered them some cherries to eat. They were enthusiastic and asked where she had bought them. She told them they were from her garden and gladly made arrangements to bring them more cherries to their home. So she learned just what she had been wanting to know. When she made her call a few days later, they soon were discussing Bible texts. Suddenly the householder said: “Now I have something very special for you. You will not betray me, will you?” He handed her a copy of the book You May Survive Armageddon into God’s New World. The sister, of course, was very surprised. A Bible study was started with the aid of the book, and now the publisher is looking forward to the time when this couple will become fellow praisers of Jehovah.

HUNGARY

Our brothers in Hungary have worked zealously in the past service year and their efforts have been blessed. The Kingdom work has made very good progress and a number of persons have become disciples. The authorities continue to show a rather tolerant attitude toward our work, but the press continues to publish slanderous reports about Jehovah’s witnesses.

A divided household may mean great hardship for the mate who is in the truth. But patience and endurance may one day bear fruit, as one sister experienced. She lives in a village where the brothers encounter fanatical religious opposition, and it has already happened that brothers have been threatened with murder on account of the truth. This sister and her husband lived together with her father, and he, especially, was a wicked enemy of the truth. He incited his son-in-law to hate the Witnesses and hence also to hate his own daughter, the wife of his son-in-law. This son-in-law started to treat his wife cruelly, oftentimes beating her until she was unconscious. But she remained faithful to Jehovah and dealt with her husband patiently and with love, and this over a period of years. On one occasion she told her father and her husband kindly, but with firmness: “Here I am and you can kill me, but even so I shall trust in Jehovah!” Her husband was like the right hand of the local priest, and he had the full confidence of the priest, because the priest knew he was fighting for his religion and against Jehovah’s witnesses, not even sparing his own wife. This man was so zealous in his service for the church that even priests of neighboring villages mentioned him as an example.

One day in a confidential conversation, the priest, talking about the Bible, told this man that he should not even take a Bible into his hand. This had a shocking effect upon this zealous servant of the church. “Well,” he asked the priest, “is it a sin to read the Bible?” The priest replied it was not sin, but if he did, then he might one day nourish beliefs the same as his wife. The man then admitted to the priest how loving and patient his wife was to him in spite of his hard dealings with her, and said that if Bible reading produces such results, it seemed worth while to read God’s Word. From then on he read the Bible. He gave up his service to the church and listened to what his wife had to say about the kingdom of God. He started to attend the meetings. He took up the preaching of the truth. Now the priest did not greet him anymore. And the brothers in the congregation are very happy to have such a former hater of the truth sitting with them in the meeting. It is encouraging all the sisters who have unbelieving mates to remain steadfast and be patient. And what happened to the wicked father? He left Hungary to visit relatives, and there he died. So for this sister the tables have turned.

POLAND

The publishers can meet regularly only in small groups in their private homes. But many of them were able to have an outing in the country where they could listen to upbuilding talks and see the thrilling drama about the cities of refuge. This program greatly increased their appreciation for the meetings and the field service. The interested people who attended these outings were greatly impressed. Hundreds of them used the opportunity to get baptized. All of those in attendance vividly felt the truthfulness of the statement that Jehovah arranges a table for his servants in front of those showing hostility to them.

A sister had to go to a sanatorium for several weeks. When she started to preach the “good news” to her fellow inmates with whom she roomed she noticed that they were very much prejudiced against the truth. She was observant and changed her tactics. For a week she did not discuss the truth at all. But she endeavored to be kind and considerate to others. She did not gossip about others and she did not listen to dirty jokes. She assisted those who were very sick, and was friendly and tactful in her conversation. A few days later some patients turned to her, telling her: “You are altogether different. You certainly are one of Jehovah’s witnesses, aren’t you?” Then the sister started to talk the truth to some of them, telling them about the blessings of the Kingdom. She gave her Catholic Bible translation to one of the women who had shown the most interest. The magazines loaned to them were passed on from one person to the other. There were six persons who became sincerely interested. It was a touching scene when she had to leave. Many of the women told her with tears in their eyes that they for the first time had met someone who unselfishly comforted them, assisted them and showed empathy. After her return home the publisher sent spiritual food to these “sheep” and continued to care for them.

It is important to try to reach all persons living in one’s assigned territory, especially those who are often not found at home. They may have been neglected for a long time. A sister received a new territory, which she started to work at the beginning of the service year. There was one house the door of which was locked, and nobody answered. The publisher made a note of it and every time she passed by the house she knocked on the door, but always in vain. She continued to do so for three months. Finally her endeavors were crowned with success. An elderly woman opened the door and mentioned to her that she had been robbed some time ago and so was very cautious about opening her door. The woman proved to be receptive to the message. A back-call was arranged and soon a study was started. In April the woman attended the Memorial celebration with the publishers. She is making further good progress. This fine experience has made the sister even more attentive and she does not pass by any home where it seems that there are people living.

Publishers should be alert to use every opportunity to talk about the truth to other people with whom they happen to get in contact. A sister working as a nurse for a young married couple answered the telephone when the couple was absent. An elderly woman, assuming that she was speaking to the lady of the house, started to pour out a load of accusations upon her, expressing her utter disappointment in the ingratitude of the woman. The girl interrupted her, telling her that she was just the maid. Then she expressed her empathy, pointing out that we have to expect such things from our fellowmen in fullfillment of Bible prophecy. She suggested to the woman to trust in God, who will not disappoint anyone. The elderly woman asked the sister to come and see her, but all the sister’s efforts to start a Bible study with her failed. The woman was too much upset because of her disappointment. Some time later the sister again called on her, this time taking along another mature sister. The lady was very glad to see them. The disappointment gradually faded away and they finally succeeded in getting a Bible study started. The elderly woman even invited one of her friends to the study. Soon thereafter she took the religious images off the walls of her home. She herself has begun witnessing to all of her relatives and acquaintances. Both of these women are for God’s kingdom with all of their hearts.

In certain territories where the Catholic church still has a strong grip on the population, the publishers sometimes have to face rough, unchristian treatment. Some publishers went into that type of territory to assist brothers living there. They stayed with them, and they went out in the field service together in the surrounding villages. One day they were driven away from a place by enraged people who hurled stones at them. And apparently the antagonistic persons were not content with that but reported them to the police, because a police car came and took all of them along. But after one and a half hours of interrogation they were all released. The atheistic police officers were friendlier than the fanatical people who called themselves Christians.

ROMANIA

Our faithful brothers in Romania continue to live up to the divine requirements for true Christians, as set out in the Bible, although it is sometimes harder for them to do so than for brothers in free countries. They not only meet together in small groups, but also preach this good news of the Kingdom under truly adverse conditions. In 1967 seven of Jehovah’s witnesses were taken before the law court to answer a number of charges. The brothers had a fine opportunity to show that their activity in no way endangers the state, and that Jehovah’s witnesses are not fighting any government. After their able defense they were permitted to return home. This incident became public knowledge and spread throughout the community. Thereupon various people from the community visited these brothers and asked a number of questions regarding their faith.

The brothers offered them tree home Bible studies, and three of the inquirers accepted the offer. They are now making good progress. This shows that courage and integrity under adverse conditions attract the attention of people seeking truth and righteousness.

In one town the blessing of an Orthodox church caused a great crowd to assemble together. The bishop gave a discourse, discussing the great necessity for all churches to unite, so as to have one flock and one shepherd. He also mentioned that Jehovah’s witnesses do not agree that there should be such unity and are against such an interfaith movement. After this official discourse by the bishop some persons began to take an interest in Jehovah’s witnesses, and they wanted to know where they lived and who they were. It so happened that one brother found five such persons interested in Jehovah’s witnesses. This brother then explained many things about God’s existence, his organization, the falling away of the priestly class from the truth, and so forth. His witnessing went on for several hours and then three of these persons declared that they wanted to be visited by Jehovah’s witnesses and would like to become members of God’s organization. The other two persons also showed interest, but they progressed a little slower than the first three. This brother reports that these three persons are really interested, and perhaps they will soon dedicate their lives to Jehovah and undergo immersion. This, of course, was not the intention of the bishop.

A brother was on a train, traveling to visit an interested family. It was a religious holiday, and a group of Baptists singing their religious songs were sitting in one compartment of the train. This brother took the opportunity to speak with them and a lively discussion was had on the kingdom of God. At first the group listened attentively, but soon they noticed that the tendency of the brother’s talk was contrary to their beliefs and some of them asked the brother to leave the group alone. But some of the Baptists took their Bibles out and checked on the brother’s witness and began to argue among themselves. As a result three of them left their section and came up to this brother, asking him for further explanations. They expressed themselves in full accord with what the brother explained, asked where he was going and said they would like to go along with him. After the brother told them he was going to visit a certain family he knew was interested in the Bible, they decided to go along with him and visit this interested family. Later, they accepted the proposal by the brother that he visit them at their own homes and study with them. After having studied for a certain length of time, they all expressed their desire to get baptized. This was the result of incidental witnessing on a train because the publisher took the initiative.

TURKEY

When someone has found the truth he immediately wants to help his closest relatives. This was true in the case of Andrew, who immediately after finding the Messiah rushed to his brother Simon to tell him the good news. So also in the case of an elderly sister who, despite illness and much opposition by her relatives, is very zealous and does not give up in witnessing to her relatives. Ten years ago one of her relatives traveled more than 700 miles, from the innermost part of the country, to visit her. Of course, the sister started to talk about God’s kingdom to this man, but he was very much opposed and started to mock her. The sister did not give up, but tactfully used the days of his visit to open his eyes to some truths of the Bible. When he departed, she said: “I will continue to pray to Jehovah that he might help you to understand the truth. I am sure the day will come when you will make the trip again to learn more about the truth.” This “day” came after ten years.

During all these years the man could not forget what he had heard, and finally it seemed to be his last hope amid the wickedness in the world. With his whole family he came to live in the city of the sister. Immediately a study was started with the whole family, and they soon began to associate with the Lord’s people. One of his children has now been baptized, and the father and one other child are very zealous publishers. How happy the sister is because of the great blessing she has received due to not giving up in praying for and preaching to her relatives.

UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS

The past service year has again been very encouraging, despite the fact that the work of Jehovah’s witnesses is still banned and the publishers are cramped from all sides. A few brothers were arrested and sentenced to prison terms because of their zeal for the Kingdom interests. But most of the brothers remained unmolested throughout the year. It seems that the officials have learned that there is no danger to the state from Jehovah’s witnesses because of their absolute neutrality in the political and military affairs of mankind. They well know the exemplary respect for law and order and the fine working morale of Jehovah’s witnesses. There have been sporadic attacks in local newspapers, but these were mainly launched by functionaries of atheist organizations, and more along the line of feeling pity for those “poor backward people,” and the need of patiently helping them to get free of “the religious fog of the reactionary sect.”

The achievements of science and engineering today attract the attention of many people, especially the younger generation. But, thanks to Jehovah’s blessing, there has been an increase from among those of the older generation as well as from among the youth. In certain sections of the country the “good news” has been spread to many people. For instance, there is a city with a population of 100,000 where there are now more than a hundred Witnesses.

In preaching the truth among atheists, the publishers have found it most effective to lay a basis for belief in God by discussing the marvelous works of creation first. On realizing the wisdom and power as expressed in the things created, some persons have not found it hard to see the necessity for an intelligent Maker. The way has thus been paved for the publisher to discuss Bible texts with these atheists.

A woman who belonged to a sect called the “Evangelists” moved into a region where there were none of that group residing. When talking about it to people, she learned that there were many Witnesses in a settlement nearby. She decided to make a trip to look for them. But she did not find them. When she made another trip to find them, right on the train she met two sisters who were witnessing to other people. The woman was very glad to meet them. She asked the sisters to call on her at her home. A study was started with her. She was invited to the Memorial celebration and clearly understood that only a small remnant was to partake of the emblems. The study progressed further, but her neighbors had found out about it and informed a member of the police. He began to threaten action against her, but she was determined to continue her study despite all the pressure brought against her. She is glad that she has been able to learn so many wonderful things in her Bible study.

Much of the work is being done by incidental witnessing. On a cold day a publisher was visited by an elderly woman who wanted to warm up a little. The publisher invited her to sit down and offered her a cup of hot tea. She started to talk about the “good news” to this elderly person. The lady showed that she was interested in the Bible, but it was impossible for the publisher to visit her because her family members were opposed to God’s Word. The two women arranged to have their Bible study at the sister’s home. When the woman came for the first time she brought along part of the Gospel writings in Chuvash and she was very happy to be able to compare it with the Russian text of the Bible. When she attended her first meeting with the Witnesses she said that she was so grateful that Jehovah had opened up the way for her to gain everlasting life. “I had been desirous of serving God for a long time. In my youth I wanted to enter a convent. Now when I am sixty-nine years old, I have come to know the right way of serving the true God, Jehovah.”

UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC

It is with great appreciation and thankfulness to Jehovah that we are writing this report about the turbulent service year just past. It has been a year of great test for all of us, but at the same time it has been a year in which we have seen tremendous evidence of Jehovah’s help, guidance and protection for his people. Brothers often escaped arrest by only a few seconds.

The service year began with tens of our male brothers, mostly servants, in concentration camps. We that were still free had our minds and thoughts constantly on those inside, and now and then we heard of the cruel treatment, beatings and humiliations suffered by them. Our prayers were full of expressions to Jehovah to strengthen them to maintain their integrity. They also, as we learned later, were praying that no more of God’s people be brought into the concentration camps. The imprisoned brothers found ways to keep studying and preaching God’s Word. They had their discussions of the daily text, their service meetings, discourses were given and discussions were held regularly. They preached, not only by Christian conduct when being persecuted, but also by word of mouth. How we rejoiced when, in October, a field service report was received from our brothers in the concentration camps reporting their hours, back-calls and Bible studies I

On November 14 our brothers were finally released after five and a half months in prison. But even after that they were constantly watched by agents of the Investigation Department. We rejoiced to see our brothers free again and stronger than ever in Jehovah’s service, and to learn firsthand of their hardships and experiences, and how they were able to maintain their integrity by the help of Jehovah. They had been asked to sign a statement that they would no more be Jehovah’s witnesses and that they were no longer going to preach. When they refused to sign, they were cruelly and unmercifully beaten. But they maintained integrity and were able to give a fine witness to the authorities.

One faithful brother returning home from the concentration camp, when greeted by his eighteen-year-old daughter, said he felt like Jephthah returning from the war against Jehovah’s enemies. When he told his family he hoped they had not suffered too much because of him, his daughter’s tearful reply was: “We thank Jehovah for your firmness in the faith, father. Really, if you had been released dead but faithful that would have pleased us more than if you were released alive but as a traitor that had fallen away.” This young sister had also been arrested but was released before her father. The family is now happily reunited and continue to serve Jehovah in spite of further persecution.

Thousands of letters have been received by the authorities in protest against the unjust and malicious persecution of innocent people just because they study the Bible and preach its message of God’s kingdom under Christ Jesus. The letters continue to pour in, and we are waiting to see what the results will be. In the meantime, agents of the Investigation Department continue to go to the homes of the brothers in an attempt to intimidate them and to threaten them for receiving copies of The Watchtower and Awake.' through the mail. Nevertheless, the brothers continue their service to Jehovah.

THE GROWTH OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES IN 1968

Never in the history of Jehovah’s witnesses has such a worldwide witness concerning God’s kingdom been given as was given in 1968. Missionaries, special and regular pioneers and congregation publishers have reached out into 200 lands and islands of the sea to declare the good news. All of this work was accomplished under the direction of 94 branch offices, which in turn are under the direct supervision of the headquarters office of the Watch Tower Society in Brooklyn, New York. There are two fewer branches than during the previous year. This is because the government of Malawi banned the work in that land and seized the property of the Watch Tower Society, and they paid the Society for it. Also, because of the intense persecution of Jehovah’s witnesses in the United Arab Republic the Society found it necessary to close the branch office. This does not mean that Jehovah’s witnesses in these two countries are no longer preaching the good news of God’s kingdom. They are continuing with their ministry and you can read the report in this Yearbook.

Truly outstanding during the past year was the total number of persons baptized as Jehovah’s witnesses. Certainly thousands are fleeing from Babylon the Great and are making a decision to serve Jehovah. There were 82,842 individuals who made a dedication of their lives to serve God and were baptized in water. You may recall that last year there were 74,981 individuals who took the step of dedication and baptism. The year 1968 saw the second-highest number of persons baptized in a twelve-month period as Jehovah’s witnesses, to compare with 1959, the peak year, when 86,345 persons were baptized.

That this is the finest year to date in witnessing to the kingdom of God and of his Son, Christ Jesus, is evident when you consider the total number of hours spent in the house-to-house, back-call and Bible study activity by Jehovah’s witnesses. There were 208,666,762 hours devoted to declaring the good news about God’s kingdom. This represents 24,671,582 hours more than were spent in that work during the previous year.

Jehovah’s witnesses, in their preaching from house to house, make note of those who show interest in the Bible and its truths, and make back-calls on such interested ones. There were 89,903,578 return calls made on people in the past year. This was an increase of 23,200,370 back-calls over the previous year.

The work that really brings results and aids people in making their decision to serve Jehovah is the Bible study activity. Jehovah’s witnesses around the world conducted 977,503 Bible studies, an increase of 110,494 over last year. That means that every week throughout the year these people were visited in their homes, and elsewhere, and a systematic study of the Bible was made.

In their house-to-house witnessing Jehovah’s witnesses were able to place 8,702,594 Bibles and Bible study books and 12,971,585 booklets and a total of 157,511,892 Watchtower and Awake! magazines. This printed material placed in the hands of the people directly by Jehovah’s witnesses was a help to such people in coming to an understanding of the Word of God. Many of these people have asked Jehovah’s witnesses to study the Bible regularly with them in their homes and Jehovah’s witnesses are happy to do so.

During the months of October and of January through April each year Jehovah’s witnesses point out to the people that they meet in their house-to-house witnessing activity the value of having a subscription for the Watchtower and Awake! magazines so that this good Bible information can come directly into the home through the mail. In the course of the year Jehovah’s witnesses obtained 1,974,923 new subscriptions, which was an increase over the previous year of 165,858.

In order to supply all the subscribers with copies of these magazines, as well as to supply people whom Jehovah’s witnesses regularly call on in their door-to-door ministry, it was necessary for the Watch Tower Society to print, in its many printing plants around the world 138,615,041 Watchtower magazines and 135,689,298 Awake! magazines. The Society’s printing order for magazines proved to be 22,898,707 copies ahead of the 1967 service year requirements. That is why it was necessary to install new rotary printing presses in the German and Brooklyn printing plants, as well as smaller presses elsewhere.

Just how many people are there who are doing this preaching work? you may ask. You know they are scattered throughout the world, but how many are there? According to our reports from the 200 lands and island groups where Jehovah’s witnesses are preaching, we find that there were, on the average, 1,155,826 individuals who regularly shared in this preaching work each month. They went from house to house, made return visits and conducted free home Bible studies in the homes of the people. This was an increase of 61,546 over the average number doing that work during 1967. But during the year, due to the fact that many more persons began associating with Jehovah’s witnesses and became active in the work done by Jehovah’s witnesses, a peak in the number of publishers preaching was reached. Our records show that 1,221,504 different persons were out in the public ministry in at least one month during the 1968 service year. This was an increase of 60,900 over the previous peak of 1967.

Among those who constitute this great number of persons world wide there are many individuals who are devoting all of their time to the ministry of preaching from house to house, conducting Bible studies and making return visits on interested persons. We call these persons missionaries, special pioneers and regular pioneers. The record shows there were 63,871 individuals engaged in these services every month, compared with 53,764 last year—an increase of 10,107 persons. This is truly remarkable! Each year more and more persons are arranging their affairs so as to be engaging in the full-time service, devoting all of their energies and efforts to the preaching of the good news of God’s kingdom.

However, the majority of Jehovah’s witnesses are in congregations and are scattered around the world in 200 lands and islands. There are 25,409 congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses, an increase over 1967 of 203.

The Society has been very pleased to give financial assistance to the missionaries and special pioneers serving in the field. There were 11,673 in these services throughout the earth. The Society’s expenditures in their behalf were $4,902,751.16.

So as to encourage the congregation publishers and to give them additional spiritual assistance through qualified, ordained ministers called circuit and district servants, the Society sponsored 2,302 of such ministers in the past year, and had them visit the congregations in all parts of the earth. It was necessary for the Society to spend $767,571.17 to finance this activity. Thus to bring spiritual assistance and encouragement to people around the earth the Society spent $5,670,322.33 during the past twelve months in addition to what the congregation publishers spent doing the same work at home, only at their own expense. In addition to this, millions of copies of Bibles, books, booklets and magazines were shipped throughout the world.

It was necessary for the Society to produce in all of its printing plants 13,769,398 bound books and Bibles, 19,568,398 booklets and a total of 274,304,339 magazines to meet the worldwide demand for Bible-study helps. Miscellaneous printing by the Society’s printeries, that is, handbills, folders, advertising leaflets, Bible tracts, letterheads and forms for office use, totaled up to the tremendous figure of 502,625,498 pieces. By far the greater portion of this printing was of Bible tracts and handbills advertising Bible lectures.

Particularly since 1942 the Watch Tower Society has been a Bible printing Society too. Before that time the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society bought its Bibles from other Bible societies. Since 1942, primarily, this Bible society has printed 15,133,288 Bibles in seven languages, and in addition to that it has bought hundreds of thousands of Bibles in other languages and distributed them among the people in order for them to carry on Bible study.

To get a better appreciation of where all these people are located geographically according to sections of the earth, and to help one better appreciate the increase that has taken place among Jehovah’s witnesses in the last twenty-six years, there is set out herewith a chart showing the number of lands, total publishers, hours spent preaching and the number of graduates of Gilead in full-time service for the years 1942, 1953 and 1968. (See page 54 for comments on Gilead School, which began in 1943.) We believe that you will enjoy studying this chart and noting that the growth of Jehovah’s witnesses around the world has not been limited to just one section. It has truly been world wide.

PLACE YEAR

LANDS WITNESSED

TOTAL PUBLISHERS

HOURS

SPENT PREACHING

GILEAD GRADS. IN FULL-TIME

SERVICE

AFRICA, Malagasy and nearby islands

1942 11 10,070

1953 34 81,793

1968 50 180,433

2,200,163

16,979,027

35,181,574

None

280

ASIA, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Ceylon

1942 6 406

1953 19 2,698

1968 26 21,698

93,223

597,050

6,051,785

None

173

255

EUROPE

1942

1953

1968

22,796

179,374

387,147

5,344,006

19,433,567

53,045,919

None 216 324

ISLANDS OF THE

1942

1953

1968

ATLANTIC,

CARIBBEAN AND

1,297

17,421

40,185

MEDITERRANEAN

237,057 None

2,248,941 133

8,336,056 157

ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC, Australia, New Zealand, Philippine Islands and Indonesia

1942 3 4,275 701,037

1953 13 31,980 4,214,497

1968 27 73,058 15,859,508

None

134

NORTH AMERICA

1942

1953

1968

75,589

193,542

426,281

19,668,961

26,734,105

73,468,359

None 674 771

SOUTH AMERICA

1942

1953

1968

807 13,174 92,702

219,905

2,137,541

16,723,561

None

301

470

GRAND TOTALS t

1942

1953

1968

^:OR THE WORLD

54 115,240

143 519,982

200 1,221,504

28,464,352

72,344,728

208,666,762

None 1,626 2,391

In checking this chart you can see that during the past twenty-six years much has been accomplished in preaching this good news of God’s kingdom. (Matt. 24: 14) While in many places the graduates of Gilead School opened up the field and got the witness work started, the good efforts of the local congregation publishers and pioneers have brought about most of the great increase around the world. Jehovah’s witnesses are unified and they have one interest in mind, namely, the vindication of Jehovah’s name and Word.

The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society’s only interest is to aid people in getting an understanding of God’s Word. It has truly been a joy for the 1,917 members of the Bethel family who live in the Society’s headquarters and branch offices, to share in the preparation of this literature and to send it out to the congregations and pioneers world wide as an aid to them in declaring this good news of the Kingdom in all the world for a witness. This work must be done first, according to Mark 13:10, before this system of things comes to its end.

What a marvelous witness Jehovah’s witnesses have given to the honor of Jehovah God during 1968! And now, together, all are looking forward to 1969 and the privileges of service that Jehovah God will grant them in declaring the good news of salvation to mankind. They pray Jehovah’s blessing will be upon their gathering together at the 1969 international assembly of Jehovah’s witnesses in different parts of the world, if this be Jehovah’s will.

As I read the reports from the many branches, all of the branch servants brought their reports to a happy conclusion, making a request that the love and greetings of the brothers and sisters in their lands be sent to their fellow workers in all other parts of the world. It indeed has been a pleasure to compile the 1968 year’s reports, and now to forward this love, and the greetings, to all of God’s people everywhere from their brothers and sisters in all parts of the earth through this 1969 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Be assured of my ‘warm love for all of you as together we keep in mind the words of Jesus Christ, our savior: “Lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.” —Luke 21:28.

Your fellow servant,

, President

Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

Annual Meeting

Pursuant to law, and in accordance with the charter and bylaws, the annual meeting of members of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania was held at its registered office, 4100 Bigelow Boulevard, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, on Tuesday, October 1, 1968, at 10 a.m. The President of the Society, N. H. Knorr, presided.

At 9:50 the text for the day was considered by A. D. Schroeder, and then the annual meeting was opened at 10 a.m. with prayer by E. W. Hooper. The Secretary gave proof that there was at least a quorum of the members present. The membership stood at 481, and present at the meeting in person or by proxy were 471. There were two vacancies to be filled in the board of directors, due to the expiration of the terms of F. W. Franz and J. O. Groh. Both of these brothers were renominated and reelected unanimously for an ensuing term of three years.

After the election of the directors some very interesting reports were given by G. Suiter, the Secretary and Treasurer of the Society, concerning the experiences of our brothers in foreign lands. The President of the Society then spoke on the subject “Your Deliverance Is Getting Near,” and this was very much enjoyed by the 2,233 in attendance. The headquarters of the Society in Pittsburgh could not hold all present, and many sat on the lawn where they were able to observe the proceedings through closed-circuit television. It was a delightful day and those of Jehovah’s witnesses who were present enjoyed themselves very much. The discourse “Your Deliverance Is Getting Near” will appear in the December 15, 1968, issue of The Watchtower in English.

Following the delivery of the discourse the President gave an interesting report on the progress of the preaching work and the activity of the Society in respect to the expansion of the facilities in Brooklyn. He also outlined the great demand that has come from the field for the publications of the Society to be used in Bible study. The President of the Society pointed out that it had become necessary to arrange a night shift in the Brooklyn printing plant so as to keep up with the demand from the field for literature.

The business meeting of the Society was concluded with prayer, offered by N. H. Knorr, at 12:30 p.m.

On October 4, 1968, at 8 a.m. the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society met in the office of the president. At that time the election of officers for the ensuing year took place. The board of 289 directors unanimously reelected N. H. Knorr as President, F. W. Franz as Vice-President, Grant Suiter as Secretary and Treasurer, and J. O. Groh as Assistant Secretary and Treasurer. The other members of the board of directors are M. G. Henschel, L. A. Swingle and T. J. Sullivan. The President of the Society gave a full report on the receipts and disbursements of monies of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania for the 1968 service year. A report was given concerning the work world wide, and the board of directors expressed themselves as being very grateful to Jehovah for their privileges of service. All are very delighted to move ahead with their respective duties during the coming year.

WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC.

Pursuant to the provisions of the law, the charter and bylaws, the annual meeting of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., was held at the offices of the Society at 124 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York 11201, on Saturday, January 6, 1968, at 11 a.m. The Society at present is made up of 58 members, and 54 members were present either in person or by proxy. The President, N. H. Knorr, presided at this meeting, which was opened with prayer offered by John Bogard. This was followed by a report from the chair regarding the cash receipts and disbursements for the service year as well as a statement of condition. These reports were unanimously accepted. The election of directors was the next order of business. Three directors’ terms expired, namely, those of N. H. Knorr, L. K. Greenlees and M. H. Larson. All three were renominated as directors and reelected for a term of two years.

Immediately following the adjournment of this meeting the board of directors met and by unanimous vote the following members of the board of directors were elected as officers: N. H. Knorr, President; F. W. Franz, Vice-President; Grant Suiter, Secretary and Treasurer; J. O. Groh, Assistant Secretary and Treasurer. These were all elected for the ensuing year. The other members of the board of directors are G. M. Couch, M. H. Larson and L. K. Greenlees.

“Lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near”—Luke 21:28.

Are you keeping your head up? After reading the twenty-first chapter of the book of Luke, and comparing it with what is happening on the earth today, our faith is surely strengthened to lift up our heads because our deliverance is getting near. Look at the world! Filled with revolutions, civil war, anarchy, every man’s hand raised against his neighbor. That is enough to make one bow his head. But the Christian has good reason to lift his head up because deliverance is near for him!

The Bible tells us that when the Son of man returns with power and great glory then he will set up his kingdom. Matthew chapter twenty-four, Mark chapter thirteen and Luke chapter twenty-one tell us in fine detail what would be taking place on earth when Christ Jesus, the Son of God, would take up his power and begin his reign in the heavens. What would we here on earth see? Nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom in world wars. Did not this begin in 1914? There certainly has been no peace on the earth since that date. This was the beginning of the sign that marked the time of the end of this system of things. Jesus said there would be earthquakes and pestilences. The influenza of 1918 killed off millions of people, more people actually than World War I killed off in its four years. Jesus also said there would be food shortages. He mentioned that while all of these things were going on, people would lay their hands upon true Christians and persecute them. How very true this has been during the past several decades.

During World War I practically all of the work of Jehovah’s witnesses was stopped, and there was only a small amount of individual preaching 291 concerning God’s kingdom that was done from 1914 to 1918. But they got under way again in 1919, and in the last fifty years they have reached the ends of the earth with the message of God’s kingdom. Still later, and by the time World War II came upon the earth, tens of thousands of Jehovah’s witnesses were thrown into prisons and concentration camps. But they still held their heads up and kept on preaching the good news of the Kingdom. Parents, brothers, sisters and relatives often hated those who took up the ministry. Many who became Jehovah’s witnesses were cruelly treated and some were put to death. Real Christians have been truly hated in this time of the end of this system of things. Of course, the nominal Christians, those belonging to the different false religious denominations of Christendom, were not persecuting their own brothers, but they were killing one another off in wars among nations. Anyone taking a stand for Jehovah God and his kingdom by his Son Christ Jesus and who preached ‘the kingdom of the heavens is at hand’ certainly met up with persecution. The Yearbooks of Jehovah’s witnesses have shown this to be true year in and year out, and they are still being persecuted in different parts of the earth. But even this has not stalled the work of preaching the Kingdom good news.

The calamitous times that Jesus said would mark his second presence and the near end of this wicked system of things are actually occurring in our generation. But this is to our advantage. We see the meaning of what is occurring in the earth. Jehovah’s witnesses want to stand with pure hearts before the Son of man who comes “with power and great glory” to execute divine judgment upon this system of things and its badness. All Christendom will fall, condemned to destruction before the Son of man, whom she hypocritically has claimed to serve. Where will you be, for or against God’s kingdom? Jehovah’s witnesses are for God’s kingdom. Is it any wonder, then, that today they are lifting up their heads and rejoicing because their deliverance is getting near? Not only do they see the fulfillment of Bible prophecy concerning the destruction and downfall of this present wicked system of things, but they also see the marvelous ingathering of a great crowd of people. These are people who are forsaking Babylon the Great and are coming over onto Jehovah’s side while there is yet time.

One could hardly imagine that in 1968 over 82,000 persons would dedicate their lives to the doing of the will of God and become his ordained ministers along with one million others of Jehovah’s witnesses who have been serving in the ministry to the honor of Jehovah’s name. Still, that is just what happened. In their flight they need someone to help them and comfort them with the waters of truth from the Word of God so that they, too, can lift their heads up because their deliverance is getting near.

CHIEF OFFICE AND OFFICIAL ADDRESS OF

Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.

International Bible Students Association

124 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York 11201, U.S.A.

ADDRESSES OF BRANCH OFFICES:

ALASKA 99501: 1438 Medfra Street, Anchorage. ARGENTINA: Calle Honduras 5646-48, Buenos Aires 14. AUSTRALIA: 11 Beresford Road, Strathfield, N.S.W. 2135. AUSTRIA: Gallgasse 44, A-1130 Vienna. BAHAMAS: Box 1247, Nassau, N.P. BARBADOS, W.I.: Fontabelle Rd., Bridgetown. BELGIUM: 60, rue d’Argile, Kraainem, Bt. BOLIVIA: Casilla No. 1440, La Paz. BRAZIL: Rua Guaira 216, Jardim da Saude, Sao Paulo, SP. BRITISH HONDURAS: Box 257, Belize. BURMA: P.O. Box 62, Rangoon. CAMEROON, REP. FED. DU: B.P. 5.428, Douala-Akwa. CANADA: 150 Bridgeland Ave., Toronto 19, Ontario. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: B.P. 662, Bangui. CEYLON: 7 Alfred House Rd., Colombo 3. CHILE: Moneda 1702-1710, Santiago. COLOMBIA: Apartado Aereo 2587, Barranquilla. CONGO, REPUBLIC OF THE: B.P. 634, Kinshasa, Limete. CONGO REPUBLIC: B.P. 2.114, Brazzaville. COSTA RICA: Apartado 2043, San Jose. CUBA: Avenida 15 Num. 4608, Almendares, Marianao, Havana. CYPRUS: P.O. Box 1590, Nicosia. DAHOMEY: B.P. 874, Cotonou. DENMARK: Kongevejen 207, 2830 Virum. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Ave-, nida Francia 33, Santo Domingo. ECUADOR: Casilla 4512, Guayaquil. EL SALVADOR: Apartado 401, San Salvador. ENGLAND: Watch Tower House, The Ridgeway, London N.W. 7. FIJI: Box 23, Suva. FINLAND: Kuismatie 58, Tikkurila. FRANCE: 81, rue du Point-du-Jour, 92 - Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauls de Seine). GERMANY (WESTERN): Am Kohlheck, Postfach 13025, (62) Wiesbaden-Dotzheim. GHANA: Box 760, Accra. GREECE: No. 4 Kartali St., Athens 611. GUADELOUPE: B.P. 239, Pointe-&-Pitre. GUATEMALA: 11 Avenida 5-67, Guatemala 1. GUYANA: 50 Brickdam, Georgetown 11. HAITI: Post Box 185, Port-au-Prince. HAWAII 96814: 1228 Pensacola St., Honolulu. HONDURAS: Apartado 147, Tegucigalpa. HONG KONG: 312 Prince Edward Rd., Second Floor, Kowloon. ICELAND: P.O. Box 251, Reykjavik. INDIA: South Avenue, Santa Cruz, Bombay 54. INDONESIA: Djalan Batutjeper 25, Djakarta. IRELAND: 86 Lindsay Rd., Glasnevin, Dublin 9. ISRAEL: P.O. Box 44520, Haifa. ITALY: Via Monte Maloia 32, 00141 Rome. JAMAICA, W.I.: 41 Trafalgar Rd., Kingston 10. JAPAN: 5-5-8 Mita Minato-Ku, Tokyo, 108. KENYA: Box 7788, Nairobi. KOREA: P.O. Box 7, Sodaemun-ku P.O., Seoul. LEBANON: P.O. Box 1122, Beirut. LEEWARD ISLANDS, W.I.: Box 119, St. Johns, Antigua. LIBERIA: P.O. Box 171, Monrovia. LUXEMBOURG: 15, rue de 1’Egalite, Luxembourg-Bonnevoie, G.D. MALAGASY REPUBLIC: IIM78 A Antsakaviro, Tananarive. MAURITIUS: 12 Lebrun Street, Rose Hill. MEXICO: Calzada Melchor Ocampo 71, Mexico 4, D.F. MOROCCO: B.P. 1028 Principal, Tangier. NETHERLANDS: Voorburgstraat 250, Amsterdam 17. NETHERLANDS ANTILLES: Oosterbeekstraat 11, Willemstad, Curasao. NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA: 239 Pennywell Rd., St. John’s. NEW ZEALAND: 621 New North Rd., Auckland 3. NICARAGUA: Apartado 183, Managua, D.N. NIGERIA: P.O. Box 194, Yaba, Colony. NORWAY: Inkognitogaten 28 B., Oslo. OKINAWA, RYUKYU IS.: Higashi P.O. Box 2004, 91 Asato, Naha City. PAKISTAN: 8-E Habibullah Rd., Lahore. PANAMA: Apartado 1386, Panama 1. PAPUA: Box 113, Port Moresby. PARAGUAY: Casilla de Correo 482, Asuncion. PERU: Gervasio Santillana 370, Miraflores, Lima, PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC: 186 Roosevelt Ave., San Francisco del Monte, Quezon City 40107. PUERTO RICO 00909: 704 Calle Lafayette, Pda. 21, Santurce. RHODESIA: P.O. Box 1462, Salisbury. SENEGAL: B.P. 3107, Dakar. SIERRA LEONE: Box 136, Freetown. SINGAPORE: 11 Jalan Sejarah, Singapore 11. SOUTH AFRICA: Private Bag 2, P.O. Elandsfon-tein, Transvaal. SURINAM: Box 49, Wicherstr. 8, Paramaribo. SWEDEN: Folkungavagen 8, Jakobsberg. SWITZERLAND: Allmendstrasse 39, 3000 Berne 22. TAIWAN (REPUBLIC OF CHINA): No. 5 Lane 99, Yun-Ho St., Taipei. THAILAND: 69/1 Sol 2, Sukhumwit Rd., Bangkok 11. TOGO REPUBLIC: B.P. 1237, Lome. TRINIDAD, W.I.: 21 Taylor St., Woodbrook, Port of Spain. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: 117 Adams St., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201. URUGUAY: Francisco Bauza 3372, Montevideo. VENEZUELA: Avda. Honduras, Quinta Luz, Urb. Las Acacias, Caracas, D.F. ZAMBIA: Box 1598, Kitwe.

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YSAaSOOa.

1969 YEARBOOK

1969

YEARBOOK

When one thinks of a home he also thinks of a family. The first thing that comes into one’s mind is, How large is the family? Four or five