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“By This All Will Know That You Are My Disciples”Jehovah’s Witnesses—Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom
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An example of such love in action was seen following Hurricane Andrew, which hit the coast of Florida, U.S.A., in the early morning hours of Monday, August 24, 1992. In its wake some 250,000 people were left homeless. Among the victims were thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Almost immediately the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses acted by appointing a relief committee and arranging to make relief funds available. Christian overseers in the stricken area quickly contacted individual Witnesses to assess their needs and render assistance. Already on Monday morning, the day of the storm, Witnesses in South Carolina, hundreds of miles away, dispatched to the disaster area a truck loaded with generators, chain saws, and drinking water. On Tuesday, along with more supplies that had been donated, hundreds of out-of-town volunteers arrived to assist the local brothers in repairing Kingdom Halls and private homes. Regarding the relief efforts, a non-Witness woman who lived near a Kingdom Hall remarked: “This truly has to be the Christian love the Bible speaks of.”
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“By This All Will Know That You Are My Disciples”Jehovah’s Witnesses—Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom
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[Box on page 712]
“Witnesses Care for Their Own—And Others”
Under that heading, “The Miami Herald” reported on the relief efforts of Jehovah’s Witnesses in South Florida following the devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew in August 1992. The article stated: “No one in Homestead is slamming doors on the Jehovah’s Witnesses this week—even if they still have doors to slam. About 3,000 Witness volunteers from across the country have converged on the disaster area, first to help their own, then to help others. . . . About 150 tons of food and supplies have funneled through a command post at the Assembly Hall in western Broward County to two Kingdom Halls in the Homestead area. From the halls, crews fan out each morning to repair the battered homes of Witness brethren. . . . A field kitchen churns out meals for up to 1,500 persons, three times a day. And it’s not just hot dogs and doughnuts. Volunteers are treated to home-baked bread, lasagna from scratch, tossed salads, stew, flapjacks and French toast—all from donated ingredients.”—August 31, 1992, page 15A.
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