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President Serves in Taiwan, Okinawa and JapanThe Watchtower—1956 | August 15
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Their Creator.” As with all the talks that afternoon, it was necessary to interpret from English into an Oriental language and then into the local tribal Ami language. These humble children of the soil understood the message well. It went straight to their hearts and to the hearts of many local good-will persons who now had assembled with Jehovah’s witnesses, to make the total attendance 1,808. Almost the entire population of the village was there to hear Brother Knorr speak.
Following a thirty-minute intermission three more practical talks on Jehovah’s service carried the program on through to 7 p.m. Dusk was now falling and the umbrellas had disappeared, so that there was an unobstructed view of a field full of smiling faces. It had been a long day, but still all listened intently and the young children continued to sit quietly with their parents. Came the closing song and prayer, and now it was time for Brother Knorr and those with him to leave to make the train connection. The audience stood, remaining in one body while waving a united farewell to the visitors as they started along the road.
The return train journey gave further opportunity of happy association, for many conventioners traveled by the same train. As each group alighted at its home station, all of them would come to the window by Brother Knorr and shake hands heartily before they walked off into the night. We learned that one of these groups would have to walk across country one and a half hours, and then wade a swift-flowing mountain river before they could reach their home village. In that village all families except one are Jehovah’s witnesses. Here, too, we noticed something contrary to Oriental custom, which often makes a slave of the wife. Many of the husbands were now carrying the babies on their backs, thus showing consideration, after this tiring day, for the “weaker vessel,” the wife. As elsewhere in the New World society, there is a fine spirit of co-operation and love, and an overflowing happiness, among Jehovah’s witnesses of Taiwan. The visitors were happy, though tired; and at the train journey’s end when, in Oriental style, they had to sleep on the floor at a Hualien hotel, they slept soundly and well.
Shortly after noon on April 20 the plane carried them back to the capital, Taipei, and there they spent several enjoyable hours with the two missionaries at their Taipei home. The missionaries have made a fine start in learning the Chinese language. Although many people in Taipei can talk some English and would like to study in English, the missionaries have insisted from the beginning that their good-will students use the Chinese literature for Bible lessons. After three months they have more than twenty studies in Chinese, and are making some good progress with these. That same evening the visiting brothers took another plane for Tokyo, Japan.
OKINAWA
At 8 p.m. the plane came down for a thirty-minute stop at Okinawa. The entire local congregation, American, Filipino and Japanese, was there to give the travelers a hearty welcome. It was indeed wonderful to see these different nationalities welded into one people, praising Jehovah. Their field service report for the previous month had shown a peak of 26 publishers (60-percent increase), and these 26 publishers had jointly placed the astounding total of 2,662 copies of the Japanese Watchtower and Awake! in just that one month. As one of the Japanese special pioneers (newly assigned there) said: “This is a pioneer’s paradise.” The brothers left Okinawa with happy memories of a congregation united in praising Jehovah.
JAPAN
Arrival time in Japan was 1:10 a.m. on April 21. Considering the early hour it was surprising to see a group of more than twenty missionaries on hand to meet the travelers. The Tokyo assembly, which started the same day, was held in a beautiful new hall of up-to-date Western construction, the Nakano-Ku Kokaido. In preparation for the assembly there were distributed 200,000 handbills, 2,500 window cards and 20,000 copies of a special issue of the Japanese Awake! carrying the story of this assembly as well as of the world-wide assemblies of recent years, with many pictures. Newspapers also gave good publicity, announcing the assembly and Brother Knorr’s arrival. For the first time in Japan extensive house-to-house rooming work was done and many visitors were accommodated in the people’s homes. This resulted in a fine witness, helping many to take an interest and to attend the assembly.
Lapel badges advertising the assembly caused great curiosity. As these were to be seen everywhere on the trains and in the streets, it was not unusual to be stopped by someone wanting to read your name and where you came from, giving plenty of opportunities to witness. Two publishers traveling by train from Kyoto to Tokyo witnessed the whole length of their car and placed many magazines.
Saturday, 7:30 a.m., found publishers from all over Japan and Okinawa at breakfast in the cafeteria, which had been set up in a banquet hall across the street from the assembly hall. This banquet hall was leased to us for the entire assembly, and some seventy of the brothers slept there each night. Each morning they rolled up their beds and stored them in cupboards, so that the floor space could be used for the cafeteria. As the conventioners sat at meals on the matted floor before low lacquered tables they could look out over a lovely old Japanese garden that surrounded the cafeteria. The assembly hall itself was striking in appearance, and for the three days of the assembly the spring sunshine streamed through the hall’s front wall of glass that was forty feet high.
In the field on the first morning were more than 200 publishers doing magazine work and advertising the assembly. The smallest publisher, complete with placard and handbills, was just four years old. Meanwhile, at the hall, more than eighty pioneers and prospective pioneers heard good counsel from Brother Knorr. Afterward one said: “I feel a hypocrite that I did not become a pioneer earlier!” The Saturday afternoon attendance was 425, and these thrilled to Brother Knorr’s talk on “Christians Must Be Happy.” The whole audience was taking notes and constantly flicking Bible pages to find the scriptures being quoted. As a happy surprise at the conclusion of this session, there came announcement of the booklet Songs of Praise to Jehovah in Japanese.
Some fine experiences were told by Japanese special pioneers who are working out in additional cities and finding much interest. One family of three special pioneers, now working in a territory where the very strict Buddhist Nichirenshu sect predominates, after just three months’ work reported thirty studies and six new publishers active with them in the field. Another special publisher called at a lodging house operated by the Tenrikyo sect, an offshoot from Shinto. An elderly lady showed good interest, a study was arranged and conducted in a low voice to avoid opposition. The lady herself is now witnessing to all who come there.
The special pioneers brought newly interested persons with them to the assembly. Another interested person, who could not make the trip with the others, traveled all night so he could join his friends at the assembly the next morning and then immediately on arrival went with them in the service—his first time. Special pioneers from one town reported that in eight months they had fourteen studies and two publishers. One of these special pioneers, while street witnessing, was handed an envelope addressed to the “Watch Tower Parson.” In it were some Bible questions. Next week the same person came back to the street location and collected the answers. An invitation to a public talk was given to him and he came. A study was started, but still he would not tell the publisher where he lived. Having had experience with the churches, he was afraid of being booked for contributions. However, when he finally convinced himself of the genuineness of Jehovah’s people, he later willingly gave his address. Now he was in attendance at this assembly in Tokyo.
Baptismal service was held in a natural hot-spring pool at one of the assembly lodging houses. Fifty-four were immersed.
On Saturday evening Brother Adams’ talk hit right out at one of the obstacles to the Japanese—opposition from their own families. Micah 7:6 has real meaning for many of the young publishers in Japan. One of such, who had received much opposition because of coming to the assembly, said she was greatly comforted. Her parents had argued with her till two o’clock in the morning, but she persisted and came, and now is filled with the further desire to break right away and become a pioneer. Another, considering pioneer service, said: “This talk really hit the point.”
Brother Knorr’s public talk “Making All Mankind One Under Their Creator” was most enthusiastically received. The fruits of weeks of diligent advertising now were seen in the hall filled with 974 eager listeners, a big increase over the 400 brothers who had been attending throughout the assembly. Of the 974, 660 stayed on to hear Brother Adams’ talk that followed after an intermission. Some expressions that were heard afterward:
“This organization shows real hope for uniting the world.”
“Jehovah’s witnesses are not interested in money, as other religions are.”
“A wonderful talk for the new interest; anyone could understand well.”
To cope with the crowd after the public talk box lunches were provided for the first time at an assembly in Japan. These lunches could be taken anywhere and eaten, and proved very successful.
By the time Brother Knorr came onto the platform for his final talk on Monday evening, enthusiasm had reached its highest peak. There was spontaneous and enthusiastic applause. The thrilling story of Jehovah’s witnesses in Russia was relayed to an attentive audience through fine interpretation. Several times clapping broke out. What a joy to realize that the brothers even in iron-curtain countries are active and fighting along with Jehovah’s organization world-wide! All left the assembly with hearts filled with joy, determined to put more into the service here where we are free.
On the evening following the assembly Brother Knorr met with the fifty-five missionaries in Japan, at the branch home, and an informal dinner and a pleasant evening of association were enjoyed by all. The missionaries in Japan have done fine work over the past seven years. When the first missionary came to Japan after World War II, there were no Kingdom publishers reporting. However, March, 1956, had just brought a new peak of 567 publishers, a 21-percent increase over the previous year, and of these more than forty are native Japanese pioneers. Particularly interesting in the March report was the new peak of 20,368 magazines placed. The publishers are rejoicing in having both the Watchtower and Awake! magazines in Japanese. These magazines are arousing much interest among the people of Japan.
AN INTERESTING BACK-CALL
Last summer, while returning from the European assemblies to New York, Brother Knorr had witnessed to the passenger in the seat next to him on the plane. He happened to be Mr. Ohama, president of Waseda University, one of Japan’s great universities, having an enrollment of 25,000 students. Brother Knorr sent Mr. Ohama some of the Kingdom literature in Japanese. Later, when he heard that Brother Knorr would be coming to Japan, he invited him to give a lecture at the university in the language students’ auditorium. This meeting took place on Wednesday afternoon, April 25, Brother Knorr speaking through an interpreter to an audience of 386 professors and students, who listened most intently. They applauded enthusiastically at the close of the talk. Brother Knorr was then invited to tea with the professors, and this gave a further opportunity to talk about the work of Jehovah’s witnesses to the faculty. By their questions they showed that they had followed the address very closely. It was a most enjoyable and pleasant experience for Brother Knorr. The local missionaries are hopefully following up this interest.
So another delightful visit and encouraging assembly came to a close. The six days in Japan had passed all too quickly but with good memories of happy hours; and then the three brothers departed again, this time for Korea.
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Hospitals, Take Notice!The Watchtower—1956 | August 15
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Hospitals, Take Notice!
● A personal testimony from one of Jehovah’s witnesses said: “Due to hemorrhage after the birth of my baby I bled for six hours and was practically unconscious when I was rushed to the hospital at Abington, Pa. The doctor said I had lost two thirds of my blood and without blood transfusions I had no chance of recovery. My husband, on his own, sent out and obtained two bottles of Dextran and insisted that it be administered. In view of his insistence the doctors decided to use me as a test case. I responded to the Dextran so well that the attending physician commented: ‘That is amazing stuff. It was absorbed immediately and she is showing wonderful improvement.’ My recovery was far speedier than the doctors expected and I had no untoward effects afterward. Today, two and a half years later, I am still enjoying good health. That was the first introduction to Dextran had by the medical staff of the Abington Hospital. Today they carry a supply of it for similar emergencies. Trusting that this may be of interest to others, I remain [signed] Mrs. C. C. H.”
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