00:01 The islands of Micronesia
00:03 are tiny specks in the Pacific Ocean.
00:07 But these beautiful islands are home
00:09 to some 1,400 worshippers of Jehovah.
00:13 Formerly called the Guam branch,
00:16 the Micronesia branch oversees the work
00:19 in nine lands in addition to Guam.
00:22 There are currently 64 Bethel family members and full-time commuters,
00:27 but only 25 are at the branch office.
00:31 The rest have the privilege of working
00:33 in six remote translation offices.
00:37 A significant milestone
00:39 was recently reached in Micronesia.
00:42 The Kingdom Hall construction program
00:44 that began in 2008
00:46 will be complete this month.
00:49 Among the projects completed were 13 Kingdom Halls,
00:53 6 remote translation offices,
00:56 and 4 missionary homes.
00:58 Some of these projects were new construction,
01:01 whereas others were renovations.
01:04 Many experiences showed Jehovah’s blessing on these projects,
01:09 some of which were shared in this month’s JW Broadcasting program.
01:15 Despite very poor conditions
01:18 on many of these islands,
01:20 there has been a heartwarming response
01:22 to the May 2015 JW Broadcast
01:26 concerning our privilege to support Kingdom interests
01:30 through our donations.
01:32 Following the program, one couple of humble means
01:36 decided to set aside 20 U.S. dollars
01:40 each month as a donation.
01:42 Just last month, however,
01:45 their bills exceeded their income
01:47 by some 80 dollars.
01:50 Not knowing how they were going to come up with the extra money,
01:54 they thought about using the 20 dollars to help pay for the expenses.
01:59 In the end, though, they decided it was more important
02:03 to donate the funds, as they had resolved,
02:06 and look for another way to cover the deficit.
02:09 Well, shortly after making the donation,
02:13 they both were surprised to learn that they had been selected
02:17 as employees of the month for their good work.
02:20 The reward?
02:22 A cash gift of 50 dollars each.
02:26 The couple gives all the praise to Jehovah for the positive outcome.
02:32 In 2014, our branch received training
02:36 to do audio/video recording in the remote translation offices.
02:41 As a result, the publishers have enjoyed using
02:44 more videos in the ministry.
02:46 One missionary brother had invited
02:49 the Chuukese couple he was studying with
02:51 to the meeting many times,
02:54 but they had only attended once in the past year and a half.
02:58 When the video What Happens at a Kingdom Hall?
03:02 became available in their language,
03:04 the brother played the video for them.
03:07 The couple was impressed and commented
03:09 that the Kingdom Hall was very different from their church.
03:13 They attended the very next meeting,
03:15 which happened to be the Memorial.
03:18 Experiencing for themselves what they saw in the video,
03:22 they continued attending meetings.
03:26 Last year, the branch office encouraged congregations
03:29 to consider working unassigned territory.
03:32 In Micronesia, these are often
03:36 isolated atolls located hundreds of miles
03:40 from the nearest congregation.
03:43 One group sailed to the Aur Atoll
03:46 in the Marshall Islands.
03:48 On the little atoll island of Tobal,
03:51 they preached and invited the residents
03:54 to attend a public meeting the very next day.
03:57 To their surprise,
42 residents attended,
04:02 which is about 25 percent of the islands’ population.
04:06 They were intrigued by the talk entitled
04:09 “How Does God View the Dead?”
04:11 The subject was timely because a father of three children
04:16 had died in an accident,
04:18 and the local minister said it was God’s will.
04:22 Following the talk, about 20 people stayed to ask questions
04:27 —some for up to two hours.
04:30 Altogether, the group of five publishers
04:33 placed 1,000 pieces of literature
04:36 and started many Bible studies in this atoll.
04:40 Needless to say, this group is looking forward
04:43 to making another trip to this receptive territory.
04:48 At Isaiah 42:12,
04:51 it was foretold that Jehovah’s people
04:53 would “declare his praise in the islands.”
04:57 We are happy that this prophecy is being fulfilled
05:00 in the islands of Micronesia.
05:03 And it is a pleasure to bring to you all
05:06 the love and greetings from these beautiful people.
