of brothers in the United States, Canada, Switzerland and Sweden voluntarily shared with their less fortunate brothers clothing and money to buy food. The relief program covered two years and a half to rehabilitate the witnesses in the following war-torn countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Philippine Republic, Poland and Romania. The total shipments of clothing amounted to 1,056,247 pounds and of food 718,873 pounds, besides 124,110 pairs of shoes. All of this came to the value of $1,322,406.90.g This figure does not include the value of many hours of time spent in gathering and distributing the materials. Surely this manifests love on the part of the brothers to share their blessings, which flowed both ways. In the one direction flowed material aid and, in exchange, in the other direction flowed the record of integrity that made world news, bringing the witnesses to global fame as champions of Christian principles. Thus the witness work to Jehovah’s praise was made easier in all parts of the earth. (2 Cor. 8:13-15) All of this serves as evidence that Jehovah’s people are a unified world-wide family under the loving direction of a theocratic New World society motherly watching over them.

How did their publishing activities fare during the heavy years of the war? Though in many countries the vast distributions of literature were greatly cut down and thousands of ministers were imprisoned, nevertheless the world distribution is a sizable figure. But the amazing thing is that the peak number of active ministers almost doubled, demonstrating that the heat of war hastens the bringing forth of more honest-hearted ones into the preaching ranks of the witnesses. Note the following global activity figures.

1874-1892 1,535,600 400

1893-1918 9,737,224 21,274

1919-1930 93,500,000 23,988

1931-1939 215,984,991 73,469

1940-1945 158,315,308 141,606i

The spreading of Bible truth grandly moves on, war or no war. This is the time of the end when the good news of the established kingdom is being preached in every continent of earth. Men and demons cannot stop it for long. If they try to fight against God and the irresistible power of his holy spirit, they put themselves in the way of eventual destruction, as well exemplified by that infamous puny fighter against God and his witnesses—that one named Hitler.

(To be continued)

“Where There Is a Will There Is a Way”

During the 1955 Watchtower subscription campaign one part-time minister in Michigan obtained 204 subscriptions, and this in spite of the fact that this part-time minister works 75 hours a week in an automobile plant, thus giving him very little time to go from house to house preaching and obtaining subscriptions. However, because of the strenuousness of his job he works at it only an hour at a time and then rests an hour, etc. Instead of resting idly this part-time minister uses the time to preach to his fellow employees all over the plant. And like all mature ministers of Jehovah he is following through with return visits on those from whom he has obtained subscriptions.