‘Fishing for Men’ in the Arctic
Every summer many of Jehovah’s Witnesses preach in “unassigned territories”—outlying areas with no established congregations. Many of them are working people and students who spend their vacation doing so. Others are full-time pioneers branching out in their ministry. They experience the joy of bringing the good news to isolated people and of being brought closer to their family and spiritual brothers. This is an account of such an expedition in the far north.
SLOWLY the fishing cutter Skagstein slid from the quay. It was an early summer’s eve. A gentle easterly breeze rippled the sea and brought refreshing relief from the smell of fish and herring oil. Standing on deck, we waved good-bye to Båtsfjord, the largest fishing village in East Finnmark, Norway.
On board was a crew of eight. Øivind and Åshild had come to Båtsfjord 11 years earlier to help with the preaching work in this unassigned territory. Now, as they were moving to another area, a congregation of nearly 40 Kingdom publishers was flourishing here. The rest of the crew consisted of the skipper, Jarle (a professional fisherman and “seasonal” pioneer), two pioneer sisters, one excavator operator, one industrial worker, and one office clerk from the Norwegian Bethel Home. What had brought this group together? And on what kind of voyage were they embarking?
Going Island to Island
This time Jarle was not after codfish. The plan was for us to call from island to island and outpost to outpost on board Skagstein from Båtsfjord in the far north to Brønnøysund in the county of Nordland. We would be covering more than half the Norwegian coastline. Why? Well, many of these places can only be reached by private boat, and it is just once every several years that Jehovah’s Witnesses call at these places with the Kingdom message. We had decided to go ‘fishing for men’ in these outposts.—Matthew 4:18, 19.
The boat headed out of Båtsfjorden and went westward along the coast all night. It was the first of July. The midnight sun, hidden by a smooth blanket of clouds, shone with a grayish, soft light. Thousands of sea gulls and kittiwakes were visible on the cliffs. The roll and swell of the open sea was just fine, according to the skipper. But for some of us landlubbers, it was a bit rough.
The next morning we drew up alongside the quay at Honningsvåg. This is where our “fishing”—preaching work—was to begin. The people in northern Norway have a reputation for being hospitable. When we had given a short account of our mission, we were generally offered a seat on a kitchen stool and were served coffee. Then we had to give a full account of who we were, where we had come from, our occupation, the name and size of our boat, whether we had caught any fish thus far, and the remainder of our itinerary. Only after that was out of the way could we get to the real point of the visit—the good news of God’s Kingdom.
Warm Response in the Frozen Arctic
Would the message appeal to these people on an island 300 miles (480 km) north of the Arctic Circle? What were they really concerned about? Exactly what people everywhere else are concerned about: social injustice, unemployment, money, family and personal problems. They were also worried about the tense world situation—north-south relations and the east-west conflict.
It was easy for us to point to the Bible’s solution—God’s Kingdom. And how rewarding to see pessimism and skepticism melt away and be replaced by joy and hope! Many people in these faraway places have prayed for the Kingdom since childhood, but they have never really understood the meaning of such a prayer. (Matthew 6:9-13) We left Bible literature with many of the islanders and arranged to correspond with them in order to keep up their interest.
Though it was summertime, the temperature was only in the mid-30’s (2° C) in Rolvsøy, and a strong wind was blowing. Shivering and tightly bundled up in his coat, one of the brothers approached a man standing along the shore.
“Are you cold?” the man inquired.
“Eh . . . ” the brother hesitated.
“Come along and have something hot to eat and drink!”
Inside the house, the brother was led to the kitchen, where the man’s wife was busy.
“Have you got some coffee for this chap?” the man asked.
Hot coffee was served along with chunks of bread, homemade cloudberry jam, and salmon. After a pleasant conversation, the brother left some Bible literature and went on to the next call, warm and encouraged. Such were the experiences of witnessing to the friendly and hospitable people in these remote, isolated areas.
An Enriching Experience
As Skagstein plowed its way through the waves from island to island, the crew was thrown together in more ways than one. Eight people living closely together for days and weeks on a 38-foot (12 m) boat soon get to know one another’s distinctive traits. We learned to get along with one another and to be considerate. The rough edges were smoothed out, and our Christian personality was polished. (Colossians 3:9, 10) So the experience proved to be most rewarding.
Together, we discussed the daily Bible text and talked about the experiences of the day. We would review what had been said and done and what might have been said and done. This stimulated us to put forth greater effort to be effective in talking to the people. The younger and newer ones received sound advice and encouragement to widen out in their ministry.
“I have been thinking about the full-time ministry ever since I was baptized,” said 27-year-old Bjørn. “During our trip, the desire and courage to ‘test Jehovah out’ grew in me little by little. I experienced what great confidence we can have in Jehovah. The trip made it easier for me to get into the pioneer work.”—Malachi 3:10.
The trip also helped us to see more clearly the urgency of the times. Many of the communities we visited were slowly dying. Fishing mills were shutting down. Post offices and shops were closing. People were worried as they saw young people moving on for opportunities in faraway towns and cities, leaving behind fine new houses and the traditional way of life. Around the world, millions are homeless and starving. Here you find empty homes and plenty of food from the sea. Yet, comparatively few want them. All of this is silent proof of a world out of balance.
On With the Journey
The expedition went on along the north side of Sørøya to Kvænangen. At some of the stops, we had to get ashore by rowboat. But at other places, Skagstein could pull up right alongside the quay. Many of the local people crowded around to see who these strangers were because we surely did not look like fishermen to them. When they found out that we were Jehovah’s Witnesses coming with good news from the Bible, lively conversations usually followed.
After covering this area, we headed for Tromsø, where some of us would attend the “Divine Peace” District Convention. This part of the journey was truly an outstanding experience. It was night, but the midnight sun shone brilliantly just over the horizon. To the right, darkened islands and islets stood in sharp silhouette. To the left, snow-covered mountains glistened in the sunlight. The weather was mild, and the sea was broken only by a slight ripple. All was calm and quiet, except for the rhythmic hum of the engine and a little soothing music from our radio. What a pleasant atmosphere!
After the convention in Tromsø, there was a slight change in the crew. Then the expedition went on, skirting Senja and going through the island group Vesterålen to Bodø and then down to Brønnøysund, our final destination. In many places along the way, such as Rødøy, we met people who had never spoken with Jehovah’s Witnesses. It had been years since preaching visits had been made, and now a new generation had grown up.
An Unforgettable Voyage
By the time we reached Brønnøysund, it was the end of August. As we looked back on the weeks spent aboard Skagstein, we felt that it was truly an unforgettable voyage. On this trip we had spent a total of 880 hours preaching the good news and had placed 126 books and 1,026 magazines, also obtaining 12 subscriptions for The Watchtower and Awake! An abundance of Kingdom seed had been sown in these sparsely populated areas.
“It was the finest vacation I’ve ever had!” exclaimed one of the young publishers who went on the trip. Those of us who were privileged to share in this journey heartily agreed. We felt that it was not only a fine vacation but one of the most spiritually beneficial and rewarding things we had ever done.
[Maps on page 25]
(For fully formatted text, see publication)
SWEDEN
FINLAND
U.S.S.R.
Brønnøysund
Rødøy
Bodø
NORWAY
Senja
Tromsø
Kvænangen
Sørøya
Rolvsøy
Honningsvåg
Båtsfjord