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Fiji

PREACHING AND TEACHING EARTH WIDE

Oceania

Oceania
  • LANDS 29

  • POPULATION 41,051,379

  • PUBLISHERS 98,574

  • BIBLE STUDIES 67,609

After Nine Years, Her Teacher Responded

When Olivia, in Australia, was in kindergarten, she invited her teacher to the Memorial. Every year for the next eight years, Olivia continued to invite the teacher to the Memorial. Finally, in 2016 the teacher phoned to say that she would like to attend. She said she felt honored that Olivia had invited her every year. So the teacher came to the Memorial, along with her husband. Because he had worked for the town council, he remembered when the Kingdom Hall in the town was built. He told the brothers that he had been very impressed with how well-organized the Kingdom Hall project had been. Both the teacher and her husband enjoyed the evening so much that they were among the last to leave.

Australia: After nine years, Olivia’s persistence paid off

He Read the Book Three Times

Jacintu and his wife live in Timor-Leste. Devout Catholics, they were puzzled when their nephew became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and no longer worshipped with the family. Wanting to prove his nephew wrong, Jacintu decided to read the book What Does the Bible Really Teach? His aim was to look for false teachings. Later he said to his wife: “I read the book. But it was all good.”

“You must not have read it properly,” she replied. “Read it again, but this time read it slowly.”

Jacintu did so, and again he told his wife: “It’s all good.” But he added: “It’s all from the Bible. Even what it says about worshipping the dead is from the Bible.”

She said: “Read it a third time, but this time underline each paragraph—study it properly. It must be wrong.”

Jacintu studied the book very carefully, marking each paragraph. After this third careful reading, he said: “It’s all true! Our nephew is right.” Jacintu now studies the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Her Daughter Spoke Up

A pioneer sister, a resident of Guam, visited a Pohnpeian woman and showed her the video entitled Why Study the Bible? The sister said she would call again. Though she returned a few times, she was unable to find the woman at home. So when the woman’s daughter answered the door, the sister decided to show her a video from the series Become Jehovah’s Friend. The daughter thoroughly enjoyed it. The next time the sister called, the mother answered the door and responded favorably to the Bible’s message. Apparently, the daughter had told her mother that they should go to the church of the lady that showed her the video. This seemed to spark the mother’s interest. A Bible study was demonstrated, and arrangements were made to continue it.

“Like Sheep Without a Shepherd”

Terence, a circuit overseer, traveled with his wife, Stella, to Inakor, an unassigned territory in Papua New Guinea. Terence relates: “While we were still sleeping in the early morning of the first day, we heard a knock on the door. Many people were waiting outside, so we preached to them from six o’clock until noon. We stopped to take a shower and then found that many more were waiting for us. So we preached again from two o’clock in the afternoon until midnight.” The next morning, the couple decided to leave very early to visit another area. Once again many came looking for them at their place of lodging, but they did not find them. “When they discovered where we had gone,” Terence said, “they followed us and found us. Again, we preached until noon. When we got back to our lodging place, another group was waiting for us. Each day similar things happened. The people there were ‘like sheep without a shepherd.’”Matt. 9:36.

Papua New Guinea: The people eagerly waited for Terence and Stella

Gifts for the Therapist

Agnès, a pioneer living in New Caledonia, had to go to a physiotherapist because of a sore arm. While caring for Agnès, the therapist said that she had seen so many people suffering that she was wondering if God was cruel. Agnès silently thanked Jehovah for allowing her the opportunity to defend him. She then showed the therapist the tract Will Suffering Ever End? and read Revelation 21:3, 4 to her.

The therapist said: “I am not sure that the verse you just read is in my Bible; it has only the Gospels.” Then, realizing that Agnès was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, she said that she had met the Witnesses in her home country, Chile.

Agnès recalled that a branch report about Chile was being aired on JW Broadcasting. So on her next visit, she brought her tablet and showed the therapist the video report. The therapist was deeply moved at seeing Bethel and the Assembly Hall in Chile. Afterward, Agnès said, “This is the second thing I have for you, a complete Bible, so that you can read Revelation 21:3, 4, the verse I read to you last week!” The therapist enthusiastically stood up from her chair and hugged Agnès saying, “Thank you so much for these two wonderful gifts!”

New Caledonia: Her physiotherapist was deeply moved

On the next visit, Agnès brought the book What Does the Bible Really Teach? and explained further the cause of suffering on earth. The therapist said that she would be leaving New Caledonia to go to Chile for a vacation and that she would take the book with her so she could read it completely.