Kingdom Proclaimers Report

‘The Harvest Is Ripe’ in Burma

◻ THE beautiful land of Burma has over 1,500 proclaimers of the good news. Their recent conventions were held in the Burmese, Lushai, and Haka Chin languages, with a total attendance of 2,273. The following experiences reveal the interest that sheeplike people have in the Kingdom message and emphasize what John saw in vision: “The harvest of the earth is thoroughly ripe.”​—Revelation 14:15.

It Happened in Dinam

◻ While in the house-to-house ministry in Matupi, a special pioneer met a student who was particularly interested in knowing about hell. When it was explained to him that the Bible hell is the common grave of mankind, he was very much surprised. He couldn’t keep it to himself but wanted to tell his relatives back in his village of Dinam. During school holidays, he went back to his village and spread the truth about hell. His brother-in-law was very much interested in knowing more, so he accompanied the student back to Matupi to talk to the pioneer himself. He stayed for weeks in Matupi and studied with the pioneer. Later, during his second visit to Matupi, he insisted that the pioneers visit his village, for, he said, there were many interested people there. All three pioneers gladly accepted the invitation. It took them 12 hard hours to reach Dinam.

There was a funeral in Dinam the day the pioneers arrived, and people from nearby villages were there also to hear more about this Bible hell. They all rushed to see the visitors. A Bible discussion ensued that lasted from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. An understanding person in the crowd stopped the discussion at 11:00 p.m., allowing the pioneers to rest up a bit for the next day. Next morning, they started the Bible discussion at about seven and continued until ten in the evening, with only short breaks for meals. When the pioneers left the village, the sheeplike people requested that they return and spend more time with them. What a privilege to help such teachable persons with the precious good news of the Kingdom. Truly, the harvest is ‘ripe’ in Burma!

Getting the Truth From a Discarded Book

◻ A man in Burma was visiting his friend who sells old books and newspapers as wastepaper and saw an old book without a cover in among the wastepaper. He picked it up and began to read it. Soon he was engrossed in it. It happened to be the Watch Tower Society’s book Listening to the Great Teacher. He wrote the Society’s branch office to obtain more books. The branch office immediately sent a pioneer to call on him. A study was started with him, and after just a few studies, he recognized the ring of truth and started cleaning up his life of bad habits and later got rid of his Hindu religious idols. Before long, he and his oldest daughter dedicated themselves to Jehovah and were baptized. Now he is a regular pioneer.

Truly, “the harvest is great, but the workers are few” in the fruitful field of Burma.​—Matthew 9:37, 38.