Conclusion of Rewarding Preaching Campaigns

The 16 publishers who live on the island of Andros put forth effort to cover  the entire island. When two brothers reached an isolated village.  They were determined to preach to all the inhabitants.  They talked  to people in their homes, on the streets, and in the fields.  They even visited  the police station and left literature for there. Confident that they had contacted  all the villagers, they were about to leave.  As they were departing from the central square, they saw the Greek Orthodox priest coming.  Realizing that he had not been given a witness, they offered him a small publication, which he gladly accepted. Now they knew for certain that no one had been overlooked in their preaching efforts! 

Gavdos (or Cauda) -and islet under the belly of Crete with only 38 inhabitants-is considered to be the southernmost  point of Europe. (Acts 27:16)  A traveling overseer and his wife, along with another married couple, spent three days preaching there.  To save on expenses, they slept in a tent. All the inhabitants were reached with the good news, and the brothers  were delighted that people there were not prejudiced.  they had heard nothing-good or bad-about Jehovah's Witnesses.  The local people, including the priest, accepted 19 books and 13 brochures. As the Witnesses were returning to Crete in a small boat, the sea became turbulent, putting their lives at risk.  "We thanked Jehovah that we got home alive, but we also glorified him for letting us honor his name at this southernmost point of Europe," they said.  

Patmos is the island where the apostle John wrote the last book of the Bible, Revelation.  Until recently there was no Witness of Jehovah on Patmos. A preaching campaign on that island was carefully organized by the brothers from Samos.  They knew that they could expect fierce opposition because the island is a stronghold  of the Greek Orthodox Church.  Two sisters  who were presenting the good news to a lady were invited into her home.  The lady's husband persistently asked who had sent the sisters to their house.  When they explained that they were visiting every house, he asked again: "Are you sure that some neighbor did not send you here?"  The wife, who had come to know about Jehovah's Witnesses while in Zaire, later explained to the sisters what had happened that morning. She said:  "I was praying to Jehovah as I did on other days, that he send some Witnesses to the island.  My husband laughed at me. When I saw you at the door, I was surprised and so was my husband.  That is why he kept asking who sent you to our home. " A  Bible study was immediately started with the lady.  The study was conducted  over the telephone for ten months, although this cost a lot of money for both for the sister and the interested woman.  She was baptized  and is now the only Witness on that island where the apostle John was isolated  1,900 years ago.

Next time: "Fishing" in Ports

From the Watchtower magazine, 2000