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00:01 Colombia is situated 00:03 in the northwest of South America. 00:06 Its territory encompasses 00:08 the Amazon rain forest, 00:10 tropical grassland, the Andes mountain range, 00:14 and the Caribbean and Pacific coastlines. 00:18 It’s known for growing high-quality coffee. 00:21 But what is even more impressive there 00:23 is the spiritual growth among Jehovah’s people. 00:27 Colombians are very friendly and hospitable, 00:30 and our brothers show these qualities in an outstanding way. 00:35 In March, we had a new all-time peak 00:39 in the number of publishers. 00:41 We had 172,028 00:44 who shared in the preaching work 00:46 in this special month of activity. 00:49 As a result, on April 11, 00:52 we had an all-time peak in the number of the Memorial attendees, 00:57 with 515,800 in attendance 01:02 —three times the number of publishers. 01:05 Because of the geography of the country, 01:08 there are some areas of Colombia 01:10 where it is not easy to reach with the good news. 01:13 For this reason, 01:15 from time to time —once a year— 01:17 some special campaigns are organized. 01:19 The last campaign was organized 01:22 from November 2016 to January 2017. 01:28 Seven thousand four hundred and fifty-six publishers shared 01:32 in this campaign, 01:34 including several members of our Bethel family. 01:38 I would like to share with you some encouraging experiences 01:41 that the brothers had during this campaign. 01:45 A regular pioneer couple wanted to share 01:48 in the campaign with other friends. 01:51 Unfortunately, no one was available to go with them. 01:55 In addition to that, the territory where they were assigned was far away, 02:00 the climate was cold, 02:02 and there were no known Jehovah’s Witnesses there. 02:06 At first, this made the couple worried, 02:09 but they took courage and they went to the assigned territory. 02:14 The very day they started to preach there, 02:17 they met a man who, 02:19 after listening carefully to their introduction, said: 02:23 “I know what you are talking about. 02:25 In fact, when I was a child, I used to preach as you do.” 02:29 Then he added, 02:32 “I tell my neighbors that we are Jehovah’s Witnesses.” 02:35 The couple was quite surprised, 02:37 especially because from what they knew, 02:39 there were no Jehovah’s Witnesses in the area. 02:43 So they asked the man to explain more. 02:46 The man told them that as a child, 02:49 he lived in a different part of the country 02:52 and that his grandmother was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses 02:55 and used to take him in service with her. 02:58 Later, because of unrest and violence, 03:01 he had to leave his hometown, 03:03 and he moved to his current place. 03:06 He’s now very happy to study again, 03:09 along with his wife and five children. 03:13 In the special campaign, a special effort is made 03:17 to reach the numerous indigenous communities 03:20 that are present in Colombia. 03:22 In one of them, two sisters met a man 03:26 while walking toward the territory and preached to him. 03:29 He kindly told them 03:31 that he was the chief of the community. 03:33 At the moment, he was very busy, 03:35 but he was giving them permission to preach to all in the community. 03:40 After they preached to all in the community, 03:43 the sisters met this man again. 03:46 He exclaimed: “The people of God finally arrived! 03:50 “Come on in. Please teach us. 03:52 We were waiting for you.” 03:54 A great witness was given. 03:57 A week later, when the Witnesses called back, 04:01 they met 30 people waiting for them in the chief’s house, 04:05 with the Listen to God brochure in their hands, 04:08 ready to learn about Jehovah. 04:11 Yes, as these experiences illustrate, 04:15 in Colombia ‘the fields are white for harvesting.’ 04:19 It is a great pleasure for me to convey the love and greetings 04:23 of all of our brothers and sisters in Colombia, 04:26 including the 255 members of our Bethel family.
00:01 Colombia is situated 00:03 in the northwest of South America. 00:06 Its territory encompasses 00:08 the Amazon rain forest, 00:10 tropical grassland, the Andes mountain range, 00:14 and the Caribbean and Pacific coastlines. 00:18 It’s known for growing high-quality coffee. 00:21 But what is even more impressive there 00:23 is the spiritual growth among Jehovah’s people. 00:27 Colombians are very friendly and hospitable, 00:30 and our brothers show these qualities in an outstanding way. 00:35 In March, we had a new all-time peak 00:39 in the number of publishers. 00:41 We had 172,028 00:44 who shared in the preaching work 00:46 in this special month of activity. 00:49 As a result, on April 11, 00:52 we had an all-time peak in the number of the Memorial attendees, 00:57 with 515,800 in attendance 01:02 —three times the number of publishers. 01:05 Because of the geography of the country, 01:08 there are some areas of Colombia 01:10 where it is not easy to reach with the good news. 01:13 For this reason, 01:15 from time to time —once a year— 01:17 some special campaigns are organized. 01:19 The last campaign was organized 01:22 from November 2016 to January 2017. 01:28 Seven thousand four hundred and fifty-six publishers shared 01:32 in this campaign, 01:34 including several members of our Bethel family. 01:38 I would like to share with you some encouraging experiences 01:41 that the brothers had during this campaign. 01:45 A regular pioneer couple wanted to share 01:48 in the campaign with other friends. 01:51 Unfortunately, no one was available to go with them. 01:55 In addition to that, the territory where they were assigned was far away, 02:00 the climate was cold, 02:02 and there were no known Jehovah’s Witnesses there. 02:06 At first, this made the couple worried, 02:09 but they took courage and they went to the assigned territory. 02:14 The very day they started to preach there, 02:17 they met a man who, 02:19 after listening carefully to their introduction, said: 02:23 “I know what you are talking about. 02:25 In fact, when I was a child, I used to preach as you do.” 02:29 Then he added, 02:32 “I tell my neighbors that we are Jehovah’s Witnesses.” 02:35 The couple was quite surprised, 02:37 especially because from what they knew, 02:39 there were no Jehovah’s Witnesses in the area. 02:43 So they asked the man to explain more. 02:46 The man told them that as a child, 02:49 he lived in a different part of the country 02:52 and that his grandmother was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses 02:55 and used to take him in service with her. 02:58 Later, because of unrest and violence, 03:01 he had to leave his hometown, 03:03 and he moved to his current place. 03:06 He’s now very happy to study again, 03:09 along with his wife and five children. 03:13 In the special campaign, a special effort is made 03:17 to reach the numerous indigenous communities 03:20 that are present in Colombia. 03:22 In one of them, two sisters met a man 03:26 while walking toward the territory and preached to him. 03:29 He kindly told them 03:31 that he was the chief of the community. 03:33 At the moment, he was very busy, 03:35 but he was giving them permission to preach to all in the community. 03:40 After they preached to all in the community, 03:43 the sisters met this man again. 03:46 He exclaimed: “The people of God finally arrived! 03:50 “Come on in. Please teach us. 03:52 We were waiting for you.” 03:54 A great witness was given. 03:57 A week later, when the Witnesses called back, 04:01 they met 30 people waiting for them in the chief’s house, 04:05 with the Listen to God brochure in their hands, 04:08 ready to learn about Jehovah. 04:11 Yes, as these experiences illustrate, 04:15 in Colombia ‘the fields are white for harvesting.’ 04:19 It is a great pleasure for me to convey the love and greetings 04:23 of all of our brothers and sisters in Colombia, 04:26 including the 255 members of our Bethel family.
