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00:00:01 Hello, everyone. 00:00:03 For this update, I’d like to talk 00:00:06 about what you dear brothers and sisters 00:00:08 have accomplished during the past few months. 00:00:11 Jehovah must be very proud of you 00:00:14 —your obedience, your zeal! 00:00:17 In spite of all the obstacles, you haven’t let up in your service. 00:00:22 On the contrary, we’re receiving reports from one country after another 00:00:27 of peaks in the number of publishers, 00:00:29 placements, regular pioneers, 00:00:32 Bible studies, and meeting attendance. 00:00:35 Well done, faithful servants of Jehovah! 00:00:39 Of course, all of us are anxious to get back in the door-to-door work 00:00:43 and doing public witnessing. 00:00:46 And if we’re limited to doing letter writing and telephone witnessing, 00:00:50 we might feel that we aren’t accomplishing much. 00:00:53 If that’s the way you feel, remember what we’re told 00:00:56 at Revelation 14:6. 00:01:00 I’d like you to follow along as I read this. 00:01:04 It says: “And I saw another angel 00:01:08 “flying in midheaven, 00:01:10 “and he had everlasting good news to declare 00:01:13 “to those who dwell on the earth, 00:01:15 “to every nation and tribe 00:01:18 and tongue and people.” 00:01:22 So an angel or a group of angels 00:01:24 are supervising the preaching work. 00:01:27 Now, just think: Because of our limitations, 00:01:31 the angels may be busier than ever, 00:01:34 making sure that the Kingdom message reaches the right people. 00:01:38 Otherwise, how would you explain the increases we are seeing? 00:01:42 You write a letter, and send it out. 00:01:45 The recipient reads it, but isn’t interested. 00:01:49 What have you accomplished? 00:01:51 You’ve given a witness, 00:01:53 maybe the most thorough witness that person has ever received. 00:01:58 Some people are never home when we call, 00:02:01 or they never answer the door, 00:02:03 so they have no idea what we believe 00:02:06 —until— 00:02:08 until they receive that letter. 00:02:12 But suppose someone else in the household would be interested. 00:02:16 The angels might see to it that that person reads the letter. 00:02:20 You’ve given the angels something to work with! 00:02:24 Or you dial the wrong number 00:02:29 that turns out to be the right number. 00:02:34 Were the angels involved in any of the following experiences? 00:02:38 You be the judge. 00:02:41 A sister in South America was doing telephone witnessing, 00:02:44 and she wasn’t having much success, 00:02:46 but she didn’t give up. 00:02:48 She called another number, and a man answered the phone. 00:02:53 The sister explained that she was calling to encourage her neighbors 00:02:56 who were suffering because of the pandemic. 00:02:59 And she read Jeremiah 29:11, 00:03:01 which says that Jehovah is offering us 00:03:04 “a future and a hope.” 00:03:07 Then the man said: 00:03:09 “This phone call was no coincidence 00:03:13 —it was from God.” 00:03:16 He explained that the sister had called a radio station 00:03:19 and that she was on the air. 00:03:21 A lot of people were listening to her at that very moment. 00:03:24 They had just been talking about the pandemic. 00:03:28 The sister quickly prayed for strength 00:03:31 and then shared a number of encouraging scriptures 00:03:34 with the radio audience. 00:03:36 She also told them about our website. 00:03:39 The host took note of the scriptures 00:03:41 and enthusiastically encouraged his listeners 00:03:44 to visit the website. 00:03:46 What a witness! 00:03:48 Now, ask yourself, ‘Would the sister have dialed that number 00:03:52 if she had known she’d be talking to a radio audience?’ 00:03:57 Another sister in the United States was ordering a dress over the phone. 00:04:02 And she had prayed to Jehovah for the courage 00:04:04 to give a witness when the transaction was completed. 00:04:08 She followed through on her prayer. 00:04:10 First, she commended the customer service agent for her kindness 00:04:14 and then asked if she could read a scripture from the Bible. 00:04:18 The young lady agreed. 00:04:20 It turns out that she had studied the Bible years earlier, 00:04:24 but she had stopped because she had a lot going on in her life. 00:04:28 A study was started in the Teach Us book, 00:04:31 and the young lady attended the Zoom meeting the very next Sunday. 00:04:37 What about this one: A brother in Japan 00:04:41 wrote to 100 of his former schoolmates. 00:04:45 Now in their 30’s, many of them were facing problems in the workplace 00:04:48 and had concerns about how to raise their children properly. 00:04:53 When a talk on family life was given in the congregation, 00:04:56 29 of his former classmates attended. 00:05:00 Now he’s studying with 18 of them. 00:05:06 A sister in Brazil called a woman on the phone. 00:05:10 It turns out that the phone rang just as the woman was about to take her life. 00:05:14 She had a lot of problems, but that call convinced her 00:05:18 that God is interested in her. 00:05:20 She accepted a study and is making great progress. 00:05:26 Another sister living on an island under the France branch 00:05:29 had an appointment with a doctor. 00:05:32 After talking about her own health problems for a while, 00:05:35 she asked the doctor how he was doing. 00:05:37 He was surprised. 00:05:39 He said his patients rarely showed personal interest in him. 00:05:44 This opened the way for the sister to give a witness. 00:05:48 It turns out that the doctor never answered the door when the Witnesses called. 00:05:53 At the end of the conversation, 00:05:55 the doctor said that for the next appointment, 00:05:57 he’d schedule the sister at the end of the day 00:05:59 so that they could continue their discussion. 00:06:02 An 80-year-old sister lives in a rural area in France. 00:06:07 She called a woman living in an isolated village 00:06:10 and talked about the model prayer. 00:06:12 That turned out to be just the right subject. 00:06:16 The woman said that she had been raised by nuns 00:06:19 but had never understood the model prayer. 00:06:22 A Bible study is being conducted each week, 00:06:24 and the woman is attending our Zoom meetings. 00:06:29 Now, what does each of these experiences have in common? 00:06:33 Someone wrote a letter, dialed the phone, or spoke up. 00:06:38 The brothers and sisters did what they could 00:06:41 and gave the angels something to work with. 00:06:44 So put the angels to work. 00:06:47 Take advantage of opportunities to witness to schoolmates, 00:06:50 medical personnel, deliverymen, shopkeepers. 00:06:54 A simple way to start any conversation is to say, 00:06:57 “I’d like to tell you about a website 00:06:59 where millions have found encouraging information.” 00:07:03 Speaking of our website, a real effort is being made 00:07:06 to provide up-to-date information on jw.org. 00:07:11 Let’s listen as Brother Herman van Selm, 00:07:14 a helper to the Writing Committee, tells us about it. 00:07:19 Something remarkable happened 00:07:21 in January of last year. 00:07:24 What was it? 00:07:25 The Writing Committee 00:07:27 together with the Coordinators’ Committee 00:07:29 decided that the home page of our website 00:07:32 should feature articles that are relevant to current events, 00:07:37 grab the viewers’ attention, 00:07:39 and provide the Bible’s explanation and advice. 00:07:43 Now, how did that decision made in January 00:07:48 prove to be timely? 00:07:50 Well, just a few months later, the pandemic began. 00:07:54 So the Writing Department immediately began to develop articles 00:07:59 that would address key questions or issues on the minds of people. 00:08:04 However, the challenge was 00:08:06 that normally preparing one issue of Awake! or Watchtower 00:08:10 can take more than 18 months. 00:08:13 So we had to find a way to prepare articles for the home page 00:08:17 in a much shorter time. 00:08:20 Gladly, with Jehovah’s help 00:08:23 and with the help of the brothers and sisters in various departments, 00:08:27 the total time for preparing and publishing 00:08:30 one new article for the home page 00:08:32 has been reduced to five weeks. 00:08:36 We are grateful that a good number of home page articles 00:08:40 already have been published on topics related to the pandemic. 00:08:44 Which of these six articles do you think 00:08:47 received the most visitors on our home page? 00:08:51 The number one article was 00:08:54 “What Does the Bible Say About Pandemics?” 00:08:59 Now, what does that show? 00:09:02 People want to know how current events are related to the Bible. 00:09:06 And our website explains in clear language 00:09:10 how world conditions are fulfilling Bible prophecy. 00:09:14 That makes the information on our website 00:09:17 different from what people may find elsewhere. 00:09:22 Brothers and sisters around the world 00:09:24 also find the articles helpful. 00:09:28 To give one example, 00:09:30 a couple with teenage children wrote: 00:09:33 “Just when we as parents feel at a loss 00:09:37 “about how to deal with the pandemic, 00:09:39 “isolation, stress, and social unrest, 00:09:43 “an article appears that gives clear Scriptural guidance 00:09:47 “on how to handle what we are dealing with. 00:09:51 “We appreciate so much 00:09:53 “how quickly the faithful slave provides us 00:09:57 with exactly what we need.” 00:10:01 Now, many have expressed how the home page articles 00:10:04 help them in their ministry. 00:10:07 Here are some of their comments: 00:10:10 From Spain: “They are eye-catching. 00:10:14 The language is simple but powerful.” 00:10:19 Benin: “Publishers are impressed 00:10:22 “with how in tune the articles are 00:10:25 with current events.” 00:10:27 Netherlands: “They are helping publishers 00:10:31 “to stay enthusiastic in the ministry 00:10:34 during the pandemic.” 00:10:36 Scandinavia: “Publishers check the home page 00:10:40 before starting phone witnessing.” 00:10:43 Britain: “It’s exactly the right thing 00:10:47 for our current form of ministry.” 00:10:52 These recent developments with the home page 00:10:56 are a faith-strengthening example 00:10:58 of how the faithful and discreet slave 00:11:01 is providing wholesome spiritual food 00:11:05 at the proper time. 00:11:09 In closing, we would like to commend all of you once again 00:11:13 for your resourcefulness and zeal during this pandemic. 00:11:18 Keep up the good work, brothers and sisters, 00:11:20 and may Jehovah bless you richly! 00:11:24 From the World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 00:11:27 this is JW Broadcasting®.
00:00:01 Hello, everyone. 00:00:03 For this update, I’d like to talk 00:00:06 about what you dear brothers and sisters 00:00:08 have accomplished during the past few months. 00:00:11 Jehovah must be very proud of you 00:00:14 —your obedience, your zeal! 00:00:17 In spite of all the obstacles, you haven’t let up in your service. 00:00:22 On the contrary, we’re receiving reports from one country after another 00:00:27 of peaks in the number of publishers, 00:00:29 placements, regular pioneers, 00:00:32 Bible studies, and meeting attendance. 00:00:35 Well done, faithful servants of Jehovah! 00:00:39 Of course, all of us are anxious to get back in the door-to-door work 00:00:43 and doing public witnessing. 00:00:46 And if we’re limited to doing letter writing and telephone witnessing, 00:00:50 we might feel that we aren’t accomplishing much. 00:00:53 If that’s the way you feel, remember what we’re told 00:00:56 at Revelation 14:6. 00:01:00 I’d like you to follow along as I read this. 00:01:04 It says: “And I saw another angel 00:01:08 “flying in midheaven, 00:01:10 “and he had everlasting good news to declare 00:01:13 “to those who dwell on the earth, 00:01:15 “to every nation and tribe 00:01:18 and tongue and people.” 00:01:22 So an angel or a group of angels 00:01:24 are supervising the preaching work. 00:01:27 Now, just think: Because of our limitations, 00:01:31 the angels may be busier than ever, 00:01:34 making sure that the Kingdom message reaches the right people. 00:01:38 Otherwise, how would you explain the increases we are seeing? 00:01:42 You write a letter, and send it out. 00:01:45 The recipient reads it, but isn’t interested. 00:01:49 What have you accomplished? 00:01:51 You’ve given a witness, 00:01:53 maybe the most thorough witness that person has ever received. 00:01:58 Some people are never home when we call, 00:02:01 or they never answer the door, 00:02:03 so they have no idea what we believe 00:02:06 —until— 00:02:08 until they receive that letter. 00:02:12 But suppose someone else in the household would be interested. 00:02:16 The angels might see to it that that person reads the letter. 00:02:20 You’ve given the angels something to work with! 00:02:24 Or you dial the wrong number 00:02:29 that turns out to be the right number. 00:02:34 Were the angels involved in any of the following experiences? 00:02:38 You be the judge. 00:02:41 A sister in South America was doing telephone witnessing, 00:02:44 and she wasn’t having much success, 00:02:46 but she didn’t give up. 00:02:48 She called another number, and a man answered the phone. 00:02:53 The sister explained that she was calling to encourage her neighbors 00:02:56 who were suffering because of the pandemic. 00:02:59 And she read Jeremiah 29:11, 00:03:01 which says that Jehovah is offering us 00:03:04 “a future and a hope.” 00:03:07 Then the man said: 00:03:09 “This phone call was no coincidence 00:03:13 —it was from God.” 00:03:16 He explained that the sister had called a radio station 00:03:19 and that she was on the air. 00:03:21 A lot of people were listening to her at that very moment. 00:03:24 They had just been talking about the pandemic. 00:03:28 The sister quickly prayed for strength 00:03:31 and then shared a number of encouraging scriptures 00:03:34 with the radio audience. 00:03:36 She also told them about our website. 00:03:39 The host took note of the scriptures 00:03:41 and enthusiastically encouraged his listeners 00:03:44 to visit the website. 00:03:46 What a witness! 00:03:48 Now, ask yourself, ‘Would the sister have dialed that number 00:03:52 if she had known she’d be talking to a radio audience?’ 00:03:57 Another sister in the United States was ordering a dress over the phone. 00:04:02 And she had prayed to Jehovah for the courage 00:04:04 to give a witness when the transaction was completed. 00:04:08 She followed through on her prayer. 00:04:10 First, she commended the customer service agent for her kindness 00:04:14 and then asked if she could read a scripture from the Bible. 00:04:18 The young lady agreed. 00:04:20 It turns out that she had studied the Bible years earlier, 00:04:24 but she had stopped because she had a lot going on in her life. 00:04:28 A study was started in the Teach Us book, 00:04:31 and the young lady attended the Zoom meeting the very next Sunday. 00:04:37 What about this one: A brother in Japan 00:04:41 wrote to 100 of his former schoolmates. 00:04:45 Now in their 30’s, many of them were facing problems in the workplace 00:04:48 and had concerns about how to raise their children properly. 00:04:53 When a talk on family life was given in the congregation, 00:04:56 29 of his former classmates attended. 00:05:00 Now he’s studying with 18 of them. 00:05:06 A sister in Brazil called a woman on the phone. 00:05:10 It turns out that the phone rang just as the woman was about to take her life. 00:05:14 She had a lot of problems, but that call convinced her 00:05:18 that God is interested in her. 00:05:20 She accepted a study and is making great progress. 00:05:26 Another sister living on an island under the France branch 00:05:29 had an appointment with a doctor. 00:05:32 After talking about her own health problems for a while, 00:05:35 she asked the doctor how he was doing. 00:05:37 He was surprised. 00:05:39 He said his patients rarely showed personal interest in him. 00:05:44 This opened the way for the sister to give a witness. 00:05:48 It turns out that the doctor never answered the door when the Witnesses called. 00:05:53 At the end of the conversation, 00:05:55 the doctor said that for the next appointment, 00:05:57 he’d schedule the sister at the end of the day 00:05:59 so that they could continue their discussion. 00:06:02 An 80-year-old sister lives in a rural area in France. 00:06:07 She called a woman living in an isolated village 00:06:10 and talked about the model prayer. 00:06:12 That turned out to be just the right subject. 00:06:16 The woman said that she had been raised by nuns 00:06:19 but had never understood the model prayer. 00:06:22 A Bible study is being conducted each week, 00:06:24 and the woman is attending our Zoom meetings. 00:06:29 Now, what does each of these experiences have in common? 00:06:33 Someone wrote a letter, dialed the phone, or spoke up. 00:06:38 The brothers and sisters did what they could 00:06:41 and gave the angels something to work with. 00:06:44 So put the angels to work. 00:06:47 Take advantage of opportunities to witness to schoolmates, 00:06:50 medical personnel, deliverymen, shopkeepers. 00:06:54 A simple way to start any conversation is to say, 00:06:57 “I’d like to tell you about a website 00:06:59 where millions have found encouraging information.” 00:07:03 Speaking of our website, a real effort is being made 00:07:06 to provide up-to-date information on jw.org. 00:07:11 Let’s listen as Brother Herman van Selm, 00:07:14 a helper to the Writing Committee, tells us about it. 00:07:19 Something remarkable happened 00:07:21 in January of last year. 00:07:24 What was it? 00:07:25 The Writing Committee 00:07:27 together with the Coordinators’ Committee 00:07:29 decided that the home page of our website 00:07:32 should feature articles that are relevant to current events, 00:07:37 grab the viewers’ attention, 00:07:39 and provide the Bible’s explanation and advice. 00:07:43 Now, how did that decision made in January 00:07:48 prove to be timely? 00:07:50 Well, just a few months later, the pandemic began. 00:07:54 So the Writing Department immediately began to develop articles 00:07:59 that would address key questions or issues on the minds of people. 00:08:04 However, the challenge was 00:08:06 that normally preparing one issue of Awake! or Watchtower 00:08:10 can take more than 18 months. 00:08:13 So we had to find a way to prepare articles for the home page 00:08:17 in a much shorter time. 00:08:20 Gladly, with Jehovah’s help 00:08:23 and with the help of the brothers and sisters in various departments, 00:08:27 the total time for preparing and publishing 00:08:30 one new article for the home page 00:08:32 has been reduced to five weeks. 00:08:36 We are grateful that a good number of home page articles 00:08:40 already have been published on topics related to the pandemic. 00:08:44 Which of these six articles do you think 00:08:47 received the most visitors on our home page? 00:08:51 The number one article was 00:08:54 “What Does the Bible Say About Pandemics?” 00:08:59 Now, what does that show? 00:09:02 People want to know how current events are related to the Bible. 00:09:06 And our website explains in clear language 00:09:10 how world conditions are fulfilling Bible prophecy. 00:09:14 That makes the information on our website 00:09:17 different from what people may find elsewhere. 00:09:22 Brothers and sisters around the world 00:09:24 also find the articles helpful. 00:09:28 To give one example, 00:09:30 a couple with teenage children wrote: 00:09:33 “Just when we as parents feel at a loss 00:09:37 “about how to deal with the pandemic, 00:09:39 “isolation, stress, and social unrest, 00:09:43 “an article appears that gives clear Scriptural guidance 00:09:47 “on how to handle what we are dealing with. 00:09:51 “We appreciate so much 00:09:53 “how quickly the faithful slave provides us 00:09:57 with exactly what we need.” 00:10:01 Now, many have expressed how the home page articles 00:10:04 help them in their ministry. 00:10:07 Here are some of their comments: 00:10:10 From Spain: “They are eye-catching. 00:10:14 The language is simple but powerful.” 00:10:19 Benin: “Publishers are impressed 00:10:22 “with how in tune the articles are 00:10:25 with current events.” 00:10:27 Netherlands: “They are helping publishers 00:10:31 “to stay enthusiastic in the ministry 00:10:34 during the pandemic.” 00:10:36 Scandinavia: “Publishers check the home page 00:10:40 before starting phone witnessing.” 00:10:43 Britain: “It’s exactly the right thing 00:10:47 for our current form of ministry.” 00:10:52 These recent developments with the home page 00:10:56 are a faith-strengthening example 00:10:58 of how the faithful and discreet slave 00:11:01 is providing wholesome spiritual food 00:11:05 at the proper time. 00:11:09 In closing, we would like to commend all of you once again 00:11:13 for your resourcefulness and zeal during this pandemic. 00:11:18 Keep up the good work, brothers and sisters, 00:11:20 and may Jehovah bless you richly! 00:11:24 From the World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 00:11:27 this is JW Broadcasting®.
