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Denmark1993 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses
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Preaching in the Faeroe Islands
In May of that same year, 1954, two special pioneers were sent to the Faeroe Islands, a small group of islands in the North Atlantic between Iceland and the Shetland Islands. They were not the first publishers on the islands, however. As far back as the summer of 1935, two pioneer sisters had traveled there. During their three-month stay, they managed to distribute a large number of books and booklets. The clergy, though, succeeded in getting the pioneers expelled. From 1948 some preaching had again been done on the islands, but various kinds of hardships limited the work.
Now the two special pioneers, Svend Aage Nielsen and Edmund Onstad, were to get the work better organized. They soon found an apartment in the main town, Thorshavn, on Strømø, the largest of the Faeroe Islands, where they arranged a room as a Kingdom Hall. After preaching throughout the town, they next targeted the smaller settlements.
As a whole, the Faeroe Islanders reflect the severe nature of the islands—being a little reserved, hesitant, and somewhat distrustful of strangers—so it took time and patience for the pioneers to get close to them. The pioneers often were faced with closed doors. It was only after they would “disappear” from the territory for a while and then begin preaching again that it was possible to make contact, since the people then thought the “danger” was gone. Fear of man was great. Literature placed was often returned; sometimes it was even waiting for the pioneers at the post office in Thorshavn when they returned to the town.
Another problem was the impossibility of finding lodgings in the villages. This meant more sailing because only one-day trips from Thorshavn to the villages were possible. And only Brother Nielsen had a good stomach for the sea. But a solution was found. A brother from Denmark who had joined them in the pioneer ministry had a tailor shop, and by pooling their resources and efforts, they managed to make a tent. Thus, toting knapsacks, sleeping bags, preaching bags, and a tent, they could hike over the hills from village to village and not have to worry about finding shelter for the night.
The Troubles at Klaksvík
Later that year Brother Nielsen moved to the town of Klaksvík. Coincidentally, just as he arrived, a long-lasting conflict reached a climax. The local people refused to accept the Danish authorities’ choice of chief physician at the town’s hospital. Violence erupted! In the evening iron chains were thrown over electric lines so that all lights in the town went out. And woe to any Dane who ventured outside alone after dark!
But how could Brother Nielsen go from door to door when the whole town was like an angry beehive? He relates: “I got an idea my first day out, an idea I have not used before or since. I simply carried my Bible openly in my hand from the time I walked out my door until I returned home. This way I always got into long discussions with people, although they still did not dare to invite me in. . . . One housewife said, ‘Do you know what people are saying? That no one can harm you because you carry a Bible in your hand all the time.’”
More Pioneers Enter the Field
In the summer of 1957, Anders Andersen was sent to the Faeroe Islands, where he served as a special pioneer in the Klaksvík territory. He also made regular visits to the small, newly established congregation at Thorshavn and to Brother Onstad, who was preaching on the southern island of Suderø.
The following year a married couple arrived, Svend and Ruth Molbech. Now the sisters also could have good support in the field, and the local women who showed interest could be better served. It was awkward for single brothers to make regular return visits on women, especially when their husbands were away on long fishing trips.
Witnessing With the Society’s Films
The Society’s films, The New World Society in Action and The Happiness of the New World Society, stirred up interest in the good news in the small settlements. These films demonstrated that the Witnesses were not a local sect but a worldwide brotherhood.
At Vestmanna on Strømø, the cinema was booked. Adults and children, more than 80 in all, filled the room long before the showing. Waiting time was never a problem for the Faeroese; no rigid time schedule for them. Only when a fishing boat returned would all of them suddenly storm the harbor. This happened during the showing of one of the Society’s films. Right in the middle of the show, the sound of a steam whistle penetrated the air, proclaiming the return of fathers, sons, and brothers from the sea. In a moment the meeting was entirely broken up; everybody rushed to the windows to see what ship had arrived. And then, out they all went! The hall emptied in seconds; only the keeper of the cinema and a few old persons stayed to see the rest of the film.
A Faeroese Takes His Stand
While Brother Andersen was witnessing in the northern islands, he met a Faeroese man, John Mikkelsen, who showed interest. However, with his Faeroese take-your-time nature, John did not change overnight. Two special pioneer sisters followed up on the interest, and with their kind efforts, John’s wife, Sonja, became interested too and joined in the Bible study. In time both husband and wife took their stand for the truth, and John eventually became the first Faeroese to be appointed as an elder.
By and by, the lone pioneers received help from families who moved in from Denmark to serve where the need was greater. This had a good effect, since many people in the territory had the idea that our faith was only for missionaries, not for “normal” people. But they respected families who lived and worked in their midst. The first newcomer family was Anker and Dora Nygaard and their four children. They arrived in 1959 and made a fine contribution to the increase in the Faeroe Islands.
It took eight to ten years of patient, hard work in the Faeroese territory by the first wave of special pioneers to break the soil, so to speak. They had borne the brunt of opposition from religious leaders and spearheaded the search for sincere ones. Now it was deemed advisable to let these soil-breakers return to less isolated areas in Denmark and have other pioneers continue their work.
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Denmark1993 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses
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[Pictures on page 111]
Svend Aage Nielsen and Edmund Onstad hiked over the hills on the Faeroe Islands. To be sure to have shelter for the night, they pitched a tent they had sewed
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