Kingdom Proclaimers Report
Accepting the Good News in Belgium
“WHO has seen things like these?” says the branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Belgium. (Compare Isaiah 66:8.) This beautiful country reports a peak of 24,464 publishers for the 1989 service year. There was also a 4-percent increase in the average number of those sharing in the preaching activity each month.
◻ The good news proclaimed by Jehovah’s Witnesses was acknowledged by a Catholic priest who at a Sunday Mass said to his parishioners: “If Jehovah’s Witnesses come to your door, open it wide to them. They have the truth!” This is exactly what one lady did. When the Witnesses came, she opened her door wide and accepted the book Life—How Did It Get Here? By Evolution or by Creation? Later she asked for the book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth. A Bible study was started with her, but her husband did not join in. So a brother phoned him and asked if he would like to live with his wife in a better world? As a result, he joined the study. The couple were living together without being legally married, but they legalized their union and soon got baptized.
◻ The truth transformed the life of a young girl. When not yet 14 years old, she was left on her own. She met a young boy and lived with him in the punk world, taking drugs and showing a spirit of violence. Then the boy lost his life in a motor accident. This left the girl with a serious nervous breakdown, and she considered suicide. ‘Where can I find a solution to my problems?’ she wondered. She met a person practicing spiritism who made her believe that she could contact her deceased companion. They experimented with hypnotism and extrasensory perception. Not finding in this the expected comfort, she again fell into deep depression. For several months she isolated herself totally. Then one of Jehovah’s Witnesses met her and endeavored to help her spiritually. For a while this was done by letter, and in time things straightened out after much effort and courage on her part. Now she was freed from demonic influence, from the tobacco habit, and from deep feelings of guilt. As time progressed, more Bible knowledge and Jehovah’s spirit greatly helped her. Also, the meetings strengthened her, as she earnestly prepared for them. Now she is baptized and has the pioneer spirit. She is already conducting several Bible studies, one of them with her mother, who is now attending some meetings. Truly, Jehovah has helped her!
◻ Those taking advantage of opportunities in school enjoy fine success in spreading the good news. One young sister in school in Belgium was assigned to give a speech on a subject of her choice. She decided to talk about Jehovah’s Witnesses and their beliefs, basing her material on the brochure Jehovah’s Witnesses in the 20th Century. Her professor was impressed. After she presented her talk to the class, the students were allowed to ask questions. Several classmates afterward asked what they had to do in order to live in God’s Paradise mentioned in her talk. Many, including the professor, asked for copies of the different brochures the sister had. Other classes requested brochures and more information, and a professor of religion examined the brochures and recommended them to his class.
The courageous action of our young sister was blessed. Twenty-three brochures were distributed to two professors and many students; one student, having heard about the talk, requested the material to explain the work of Jehovah’s Witnesses in her class.
Many are accepting the good news in Belgium. They accept God’s Word, “not as the word of men, but, just as it truthfully is, as the word of God, which is also at work in you believers.”—1 Thessalonians 2:13.