Declaring the Good News in Donegal

“FANTASTIC!” “It has been great.” Those expressions were heard in a group of 120 people who had gone from Britain to Donegal, a county in northwestern Ireland. No, they were not tourists commenting on what they had seen. They were men, women, and children who had gone entirely at their own expense to share their hope for the future with the people of West Donegal.

Since there are only 19 of Jehovah’s Witnesses among the 120,000 inhabitants of Donegal, most people in the area had not been visited by Witnesses for many years. Hence, this large group of visitors willingly took on the task of declaring the good news of God’s Kingdom along the beautiful Atlantic coastline of Donegal.

The local Witnesses had done much to prepare for the arrival of the group. A few had traveled hundreds of miles mapping out the entire area, updating ordnance survey maps, and giving each road a reference number for easy location later. Then, the territory was divided into smaller sections, each with about 400 homes. Meanwhile in Britain, those who were to make the trip were busy with their own preparations​—making sure that transportation, accommodations, and an ample supply of Bible literature would be available.

Departure day in Britain was Saturday, June 8, 1985. In the early hours of that morning, all assembled and set out for the airport. Soon, they were landing in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Then they dispersed to the ten minibuses that would be their means of transport during the next two weeks. After driving across Northern Ireland and enjoying the hospitality of the Londonderry Congregation, they crossed the border and separated, going to preassigned locations in three different parts of Donegal. How were they received?

The Local People React

The people of Donegal are friendly and hospitable, and this made them easy to talk to. A number of them asked questions, and it was a delight to open the Bible and point out its clear answers. It was also good to be able to leave Bible literature with inquirers so that they could increase their understanding when the visitors left.

One lady living in a remote farmhouse invited two Witnesses into her home. She quickly agreed that world conditions were worsening and explained that many people in the area might be hesitant to invite strangers into their homes because of an upsurge of crime in what had been a quiet and peaceful corner of Ireland. Many older people had been beaten and robbed by gangs of criminals roaming about in the area. So why did she invite the Witnesses into her house? Because they looked “so genuine.”

When this woman saw that Jesus’ prophecy about the last days was being fulfilled, her eyes lit up, and they filled with tears when she heard of the resurrection hope. (Matthew, chapter 24; Luke, chapter 21) Her husband had died 20 years earlier. She happily accepted a copy of the book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth and asked that someone try to call on her again.

This kind of experience was repeated time and time again. One young man expressed many doubts about the existence of God. “If God exists at all,” he said, “why is there so much wickedness?” The visiting Witnesses showed that soon God would intervene in man’s affairs and solve many of the problems that were troubling the young man. He asked them to call again to meet his parents. When the Witnesses did so, they left a copy of the Live Forever book so that the family could find answers to more of their questions.

One young woman had suffered bereavement, for her four-year-old son had died some weeks earlier. She was very much encouraged by the information presented in the Live Forever book, especially by its explanation of the resurrection hope. Because of all the unhappiness caused by the death of her son, she had doubted whether there was a God at all. But when scriptures showing the condition and hope of the dead were read, her expression changed. Why? Because she realized that her son was at peace, sleeping in death with the possibility of a resurrection.​—Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; John 5:28, 29.

Two of the visiting Witnesses called at a school, and the teacher invited them into a classroom filled with 30 young pupils. The teacher happily accepted a copy of the publication My Book of Bible Stories and told the class: “We are going to have a story from this book this afternoon.” Later, as the group of Witnesses were having lunch nearby, some of the pupils came to say hello. Two other teachers came over to find out what was happening, and they, too, gladly accepted copies of the book.

Later that day, one of the Witnesses met an 11-year-old boy and asked him: “Have you ever heard of Jehovah’s Witnesses?” “Yes,” said the boy, “today at school.” He then asked for a copy of the Bible Stories book. Later still, at a home where the mother had not accepted the Live Forever book, the young child of the house spoke about seeing the Bible Stories book at school. So the mother accepted a copy of that publication.

To People of Every Sort

At one home, the visiting Witnesses showed the illustrations in the Live Forever book to an older woman. The lady commented that what she really needed was a Bible. So the Witnesses were pleased to supply her with a copy of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Once she had a Bible, the lady was happy to have a copy of a Bible study publication too. She told her visitors that she had heard about the Witnesses’ presence in the area and had prayed that they might call on her and bring a Bible. Now she felt that her prayer had been answered.

A young man in his 30’s invited two Witnesses into his home. After a brief Scriptural discussion, he said: “You probably will not like it when you know who I am. I am a priest.” The Witnesses said they would be happy to talk with him, whereupon the priest asked many questions about their beliefs. When he inquired about the use of the name Jehovah, the visitors were glad to provide him with a copy of the brochure The Divine Name That Will Endure Forever. He also accepted a copy of the Live Forever book, a publication sure to help him answer his many questions.

On another occasion, one of the Witnesses was approached by a young man who overheard her discussing the Bible with a hotel receptionist. He raised such questions as, “Why is the world in such a mess?” The Witness was very glad to share what she had learned from the Bible on this and related subjects. And who was the young man? A priest on vacation in the area.

Apart from the regular house-to-house preaching work, other opportunities were seized to talk to all sorts of people. At a place in the mountains, one of the minibuses stopped at the roadside to allow some passengers to change from town shoes to rubber boots for a trek across a peat bog and a talk with a group of men cutting and stacking the peat for winter fuel. Another group stopped at a scenic spot beside a mountain lake in the forest. Sleeping in a car nearby was a power-station worker enjoying the solitude during his lunch break. His peace was disturbed, but he enjoyed a very stimulating discussion and attended a meeting arranged for the group that evening.

Another man was driving along the road on his tractor when a Witness stopped him and asked if he had a few minutes to talk. He was eager to talk about the Bible, especially with regard to the “critical times” in which we live. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) His interest was very much enhanced when he was shown the illustrations in the Live Forever book. The man was delighted to hear that this publication could be used for family Bible discussions and said that he would immediately begin using it to instruct his six children.

The energetic visiting ministers of all ages, joined by the small group of local Witnesses in Donegal, have good reason to be delighted with their efforts. During the two weeks that the visitors were there, they spent 5,767 hours talking to others about the Bible. They distributed 1,613 books and Bibles, along with 2,611 copies of the Watchtower and Awake! magazines. Especially appreciated by some householders was the Irish-language version of the publication My Book of Bible Stories.

No arrogant dogmatism or self-righteous feelings had brought the visiting Witnesses to Donegal. Rather, they wanted to share some good news with people who, because of living in a remote area, may not have had many opportunities to hear it. Commenting on an earlier trip of a similar nature, one local newspaper had called those taking part “swallows.” Apparently, this was to suggest that they were there only for the summer and would soon fly away. But those “swallows,” or others like them, will return to help honest-hearted people to get an accurate knowledge of the Bible’s marvelous promises. In fact, some who took part in earlier witnessing trips have now settled permanently in Donegal.

“It has been the best trip so far.” That was among the expressions of appreciation and gladness made by some who shared in the venture. They experienced the truthfulness of the Bible proverb: “The generous soul will itself be made fat, and the one freely watering others will himself also be freely watered.” (Proverbs 11:25) Yes, it was a great blessing to participate in a special effort to declare the good news in Donegal. Can you share in similar rewarding service to Jehovah in your part of the world field now ripe for an abundant harvest?

[Maps/​Picture on page 29]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

DONEGAL

NORTHERN IRELAND

Londonderry

Belfast

IRELAND

[Map]

EUROPE

ATLANTIC OCEAN

[Picture]

They were delighted to declare the good news in Donegal

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Witnessing from house to house in northwestern Ireland