Kingdom Proclaimers Report
Young Ones Declare the Good News in Africa
SHORTLY after Jesus’ resurrection, an African man was visiting Jerusalem. The Bible does not give his name. He is known only as “a man in power under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, and who was over all her treasure.” Why is he mentioned in the Bible? Because an angel directed the Christian evangelizer Philip to declare to him “the good news about Jesus.” This Ethiopian man was the first African on record to become a member of the Christian congregation.—Acts 8:26-39.
Today, there are hundreds of thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Africa. They use every opportunity to share with others the good news about Jesus. The following experiences show that even young ones in Africa have a role to play in this.
◻ Sandy and Priya, two 11-year-old girls in Nairobi, Kenya, were neighbors. They enjoyed playing together and exchanging storybooks. Priya’s parents began studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Now Priya had a selection of new books to add to her collection, including one in particular that became her favorite, Listening to the Great Teacher, published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. She shared her Great Teacher book with her friend Sandy, and the two girls began to study it regularly.
However, Sandy’s mother, Una, attended the Anglican Church and did not want her daughter to read books from Jehovah’s Witnesses. Despite the mother’s opposition, the study continued. One day Sandy pleaded with her mom to listen to their discussion just once. The chapter the girls read that day was entitled “Two Men Who Celebrated Birthdays.” Una listened and was very impressed. She quickly approached Priya’s mother with many Bible questions.
Priya’s mother arranged for a Witness to study the Bible with Una. Soon Una herself was sharing what she was learning with her workmate Dolly. In the meantime, 11-year-old Priya continued to make progress and decided to symbolize her dedication to Jehovah God by water baptism at a district convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses. At that same convention, much to Priya’s delight, Una and Dolly were also baptized!
◻ There are some African countries where the work of Jehovah’s Witnesses is not registered. In one such land, there is a general climate of tolerance toward the religious activities and beliefs of the Witnesses. In one school in that land, a seven-year-old boy and his six-year-old brother—children of Witnesses—were allowed to excuse themselves during the time of religious prayers.
One day a new teacher demanded that the boys join in prayer with the other children. The older boy refused and was beaten by the teacher. His younger brother, six-year-old Shadrack, insisted on seeing the headmaster in his office. The headmaster and the new teacher asked him why he did not want to join with the others. They asked him if he was afraid of being beaten by his parents. He answered in very good Arabic: “No, the God I worship is not a God of confusion but of order. I cannot be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses at home and another religion at school!” As a result, he was given exemption.
After being baptized, the Ethiopian man mentioned in the book of Acts “kept going on his way rejoicing.” (Acts 8:39) Likewise today, the Kingdom proclaimers in the vast continent of Africa rejoice in their privilege of ‘declaring the good news about Jesus.’—Acts 8:35.