Middle and South America. What a beautiful field for disciple making, this part of the world has become! During the past year, 1,613,268 home. Bible studies were being conducted in these lands, and 91,126 students progressed to water baptism. As a result of witnessing near Lake Titicaca, high in the Andes in Bolivia, our brothers have had some very fine experiences. They found that when they introduced themselves as Jehovah’s Witnesses in a rural community called Atahuallpani, many of the people would say they were Jesus Christ’s Witnesses. When asked why they had taken that name, they answered by referring to Acts 1:8, Following a positive discussion of many questions in the presence of the group’s pastors, including the Scriptural basis for the name Jehovah’s Witnesses, the publishers invited the group to the Kingdom Hall in Carpa. Several weeks later, three of the pastors from the group actually came to the Kingdom Hall. After the meeting, they spoke at length with the elders and invited them to their meeting place to explain more about our Bible teachings. The elders prepared a symposium on ‘Armageddon’. ‘Who Go To Heaven’, and ‘Paradise on Earth’. There were about 50 of their members in attendance. After the talks, the chairman of their group spoke, informing all in attendance that they had been ‘misled and were practicing false religion’. After that meeting, the pastors and several others warmly embraced the brothers. Many Bible studies were started with members of the group. At this writing, 25 of them have become baptized Witnesses and 10 more are making good progress with their Bible studies. Imagine the joy of the group of sincere persons when they realized that at last they had found the accurate knowledge of God’s life-giving truth! In the eastern part of El Salvador, the brothers planned a visit to the far reaches of their rural territory in order to preach the good news. After walking for several hours along narrow paths, up and down hills, the brothers reached a small settlement that they had not visited previously. In one house, an 11-year old blind boy came to the door and listened briefly. Than to the surprise of the brother, the boy stated, “I’m one of the Jehovah’s Witnesses”. Was he really? How surprised the publisher was when the boy began to sing song number 32. “From House to House”! He knew it from beginning to end. He said he could also sing others, and he promptly started into number 105. “Hail Jehovah’s Firstborn”. Next he explained to the brother about the Paradise Earth. How had this boy, living in such a remote place, learned all of this? From another little boy who could not even read. That boy’s mother worked for a Witness family in a large city, and the youngster had accompanied his mother to the meetings in the Kingdom Hall. When they went back to the little settlement where they lived, he related to his blind friend all that he had heard. The blind boy has now moved to a larger town, where the brothers are busy helping him to make further progress in the truth. A special pioneer in northern Brazil writes that when they arrived in their assignment, they learned that there were four publishers who would walk six miles (10 km) to get to the meetings, since there was no bus service on weekends. The pioneers decided to hold meetings in the town where those publishers lived. The first Sunday there were 40 persons present. For the second meeting, the number in the house was the same, but outside was the pastor of the Assembly of God church with 15 of his group. They were invited in, but they preferred to listen from outside. The pioneer relates, “At the end of the meeting, I went out to talk with them and answer their questions. I told the pastor that I too had been a pastor like him. He asked, “Then how can you be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses now”? To answer his question, I invited him to our home, and he agreed. In a few weeks he and some of his group abandoned their church and began to study the Bible with us”. For the first memorial celebration in that town, 140 persons showed up a half hour early. Unfortunately, no sound equipment was available. A Catholic lady suggested that she try to borrow the equipment from her church. When she asked the priest about it, he said: “Is it for Jehovah’s Witnesses”? She answered: “No, There are only eight Witnesses, The sound system is needed for the more than 100 Catholics there”. That argument did not work. A Protestant lady made a similar suggestion, but the preacher said: “Not for Jehovah’s Witnesses”. The lady argued, “I and the rest of the members of the church contributed for it, and so we have a certain right to use it”. With that, he let them borrow it. Many new Bible studies were started following that Memorial. Everyone in town was talking about how Jehovah’s Witnesses really help isolated persons. One afternoon, in the Metro subway train in Caracas, Venezuela, a Witness was seeking a way to preach to a woman beside her. The Witness began to talk about how human society is changing and how that demands that we also adapt. The woman agreed but said, “That’s what I say to my husband, but he’s stupid. He wants to raise our children in the old-fashioned way. He’s one of Jehovah’s Witnesses”. The publisher decided not to identify himself as a Witness. Instead, she said: “The ones I know are excellent people. Tell me, is he a drunkard”? When the woman responded, “Oh, no!” our sister followed up with a whole lot of points: “So, is he a drug addict”? “For sure he’s a womanizer and always comes home late”. “Well, does he teach the children bad words”? “I know, You have to work and keep him while he sits at home”. To each, the reply was a firm “No”: often with comments on his fine qualities. So the Witness said: “Well, then, I don’t understand, What is wrong with him”? The woman thought for a few moments and then said: “Well, it’s that he takes the children to those meetings of the hall for two hours. But I’ve told him not to take them there again”. “What do they say in those meetings”? the Witness asked. And then; “When your children don’t go to these meetings, what do they do? Once again, the Witness tried to help the woman to reason. “Do you think it’s better for them to watch television, with all its violence, war, murder, and immoral soap operas, than to learn about God? I’ll tell you the truth”, the Witness continued, “there are many pretty women around, career women, after a husband, They have to make do with men as they are, with all sorts of faults. They turn out to be drunkards, drug addicts, promiscuous, they give them AIDS, and other illnesses, and the women look miserable. What you’ve got is a saint; don’t you appreciate him? The truth is, I don’t understand you. If you don’t want him, I’ll have him! He’s the sort I’m looking for. If someone like him said to me, “Let’s go to the Kingdom Hall”, I’d say: “Let’s go”, and if he said: ‘We have to take the children’, I’d be delighted, Appreciate what you have”. When the woman got off at her stop, she was smiling, and she thanked the Witness. We hope that she also followed the suggestion to find out what the meetings are all about. The experience of a sister in Paraguay illustrates that it is wise to act with trust in Jehovah as we make plans to attend assemblies. The assembly was to be in the capital, 360 miles (580 km) away. Our sister had five young children, her husband had abandoned her some years before, and she had very little money. Nevertheless, she began saving what she could so that she would be able to attend with all her children. Yet, when the day for departure came, she still did not have enough to pay for the transportation. What could she do? Since it was a small town and things are dealt with in a cordial manner, she, along with her five children, went to the bus terminal. She explained to the one caring for tickets that she and her children needed to travel to the capital but that she had only enough money for two tickets. To her joy, the ticket clerk told her to board the bus with her family. Then, when collecting the money for the tickets after the trip had begun, he charged for only one ticket, her own. It was a first class bus, the most expensive one in their town. How grateful that family was not to miss out on the spiritual food at the circuit assembly!
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 07:34:20 +0000
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