Kingdom Proclaimers Report
Preaching ‘in Favorable Season and in Troublesome Season’
WHEN war swept across the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, thousands experienced extreme hardships. During that trying time, Jehovah’s Witnesses made every effort to bring encouragement and hope to the people. Following are excerpts from a letter written by a Witness who served for a time in Sarajevo.
“Life is tough here, but people are very receptive to Bible truth. The local Witnesses are a marvelous example of perseverance. Materially, they have very little, but they have an excellent spirit. Almost all the young ones in the congregation are in the full-time ministry. New publishers are encouraged by this zeal, and it is not unusual for them to devote 60 hours or more a month to the ministry right from their first month in the service.
“Besides preaching from house to house, we have tried various other methods to reach people. For example, we have had good results sharing Bible publications in the many cemeteries in the city.
“A witness has also been given in hospitals. In the Cardiology Department of a Sarajevo hospital, the chief physician accepted the December 8, 1996, Awake!, which has the cover theme ‘Heart Attack—What Can Be Done?’ He asked for additional copies so that he could share them with other doctors. The Witnesses were then granted permission to visit all the patients in his department. Thus, in a little over an hour, more than 100 magazines were distributed from bed to bed. Many patients said that it was the first time anyone had visited them in the hospital to offer encouragement and hope.
“On another occasion the Pediatric Department was visited with magazine articles appropriate for children. The chief physician also accepted a few copies of My Book of Bible Stories for the reading room. Now mothers who visit their children at the hospital read Bible stories to them every day. Arrangements have also been made to call on this doctor at her home.
“In Sarajevo there are thousands of NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] soldiers of different nationalities. These too have received a thorough witness. Sometimes we go from armored car to armored car using the booklet Good News for All Nations along with the Watchtower and Awake! magazines in different languages. More than 200 magazines were distributed in the barracks of the Italian troops. Strangely enough, many Italian soldiers said that they had never spoken with Jehovah’s Witnesses before. Well, we caught up with them in Sarajevo.
“One day an armored car was parked at the side of the road. I knocked on the car with my umbrella, and out came a soldier. I offered him a Watchtower with the cover title ‘Messengers of Peace—Who Are They?’ The soldier looked at me and asked, ‘You’re not one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, are you?’ After learning that I am, he replied, ‘I don’t believe it; you’re here as well! Is there any place on earth where there are no Witnesses?’”
The apostle Paul exhorted: “Preach the word, be at it urgently in favorable season, in troublesome season.” (2 Timothy 4:2) Like their fellow believers the world over, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Sarajevo are doing that, even from bed to bed and from armored car to armored car!