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2012 yearbook of jehovah switnesses

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contents 2 2012 yeartext 3 a letter from the governing body 6 highlights of the past year 56 preaching and teaching earth wide 88 norway 164 rwanda

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2012 yearbook of jehovah switnesses containing the report for the service year of 2011 this book is the property of 5 2012 watch tower bible and tract society of pennsylvania all rights reserved publishers watchtower bible and tract society of new york inc 25 columbia heights brooklyn ny 11201-2483 u.s.a this publication is not for sale it is provided as part of a worldwide bible educational work supported by voluntary donations photo credits page 19 jiji press/afp/getty images pages 193 194 197 255 scott peterson/getty images news/getty images 2012 yearbook of jehovah s witnesses made in the united states of america english yb12-e

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2012 yeartext your word is truth john 17:17 how thankful we can be that our loving heavenly father has revealed the truth to us his word shows us the best way to live and how to get the most out of life it protects us from vain and harmful pursuits liberates us from bondage to religious lies and leads us to true peace of mind it gives meaning to our lives now and provides a marvelous hope for the future the truth unites us with millions of our brothers throughout the earth most important bible truth teaches us about jehovah and shows us how we can draw close to him let us never take for granted what jehovah has given us may we rejoice in the truth and let it guide us in all our ways o

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a let ter from the governing body dear fellow witnesses of jehovah it gives us great pleasure to write to you dear faithful servants of jehovah now numbering over seven million when you meet a fellow believer from another part of the world you instantly feel a special bond of affection for that one john 13:34 35 no doubt as you read this yearbook the captivating accounts of the faith and loyalty of your brothers and sisters in various lands will again cause you to sense that unique bond reports from around the world indicate that a great number of you are taking your family worship program seriously those of you with small children have used great ingenuity to capture and keep the attention of your little ones eph 6:4 couples are drawing closer together as a result of the spiritual interchange this program affords eph 5:28-33 indeed individuals and families are benefiting from this arrangement for in-depth study of god s word josh 1:8 9 our hearts go out to all of you who have suffered losses as a result of recent natural disasters we take this opportunity to thank the many who without hesitation have joined relief efforts during such times of calamity acts 11:28-30 gal 6:9 10 additionally in each congregation there are those of you who discern the 3

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material needs of our brothers and quietly go about caring for them like dorcas of old you abound in good deeds and gifts of mercy acts 9:36 be assured that jehovah notices this and that he will repay you accordingly matt 6:3 4 in some lands your rights are being trampled underfoot by those who manipulate laws in order to `frame trouble by decree ps 94:20-22 realizing that jesus foretold such persecution you are enduring courageously and looking to jehovah as your refuge john 15:19 20 be assured that we mention you dear ones regularly in our prayers as you continue to make a defense before everyone that demands of you a reason for the hope in you 1 pet 3:13-15 we warmly commend the millions of you who are remaining morally clean year after year despite satan s relentless onslaught of depravity and his insidious methods of spreading it at a time when the world s moral standards are plunging to new depths you are acquiring power in the lord and in the mightiness of his strength eph 6:10 you have put on the complete suit of armor from god and you are thus standing firm against the machinations of the devil eph 6:11 12 know that jehovah is using your example to give a resounding answer to the taunter satan prov 27:11 we were delighted to learn that in 2011 there were 19,374,737 in attendance at the memorial of 4

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our lord s death that impressive number of attendees is due in part to your tremendous response to the call for auxiliary pioneers last april millions of earth s inhabitants could hear the unified sound of praise to jehovah coming from his loyal witnesses rom 10:18 whether you were one of the 2,657,377 who served as auxiliary pioneers that month or you endeavored to increase your activity in some way all of you made us beam with pleasure because of your willing spirit and zeal for the work ps 110:3 col 3:23 last year 263,131 new ones symbolized their dedication to jehovah we thank jehovah for this and we thank all of you for joining us in extending the invitation to yet others `come and let anyone hearing say `come and let anyone thirsting come let anyone that wishes take life s water free rev 22:17 especially after having considered facets of god s established kingdom at our 2011 district conventions we say with more feeling than ever let god s kingdom come stimulated by jesus assurance i am coming quickly we wholeheartedly add our voices to the apostle john s response amen come lord jesus rev 22:20 as you keep on the watch for that thrilling event please be assured that we truly love each of you dear brothers and sisters who are proving your love for jehovah in deed and truth 1 john 3:18 your brothers governing body of jehovah s witnesses 5

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highlights of the past year despite distressing world conditions jehovah s witnesses have enjoyed another productive year in their sacred service with god s blessing the truth of the good news is bearing fruit and increasing in all the world col 1:5 6 we are sure that you will find this year s report both encouraging and faith-strengthening above pioneers and publishers brought their bible students to jeannette s home to conduct their bible studies see pages 8-9 6 2 01 2 yearbook

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new arrangement for auxiliary pioneering there was great excitement a group of regular when auxiliary pioneers were giv and auxiliary pioneers leaving for the ministry en the option of working toward a in madrid spain 30-hour or a 50-hour requirement for the month of april many who could not ordinarily share in this feature of service eagerly embraced the opportunity to do so thousands of publishers joined the ranks of the auxiliary pioneers for the first time and many who had pioneered in the past were delighted to do so again additionally many publishers who were not able to auxiliary pioneer made an effort to increase their preaching activity what was the result most branches reported increases that far exceeded previous peaks worldwide 2,657,377 publishers shared in the auxiliary pioneer work about five times more than the peak for the preceding year eighty percent of the worldwide bethel family 16,292 out of 20,290 brothers and sisters shared in this privilege of service is it not thrilling to know that jehovah s servants did more in the preaching work in april than they had done in any other month in history just over a year after the devastating earthquake that claimed the lives of some 300,000 persons haiti reported new all-time peaks in the preaching activity in april of the 17,009 publishers there 6,185 served highlights 7

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as auxiliary pioneers a special campaign to distribute the brochure when someone you love dies recently released in haitian creole provided the grieving population with much-needed comfort and hope our brothers and sisters in nigeria faced a unique challenge during april on four days set aside for an election three of which were saturdays the government restricted people from moving about between 7:00 a.m and 5:00 p.m except for electoral purposes however the pioneer spirit was not dampened we 2.5 million are writing you with great joy and hearts filled with appreciation for the wonderful time we have had this month wrote one congregation in another congregation 92 out of 127 2.0 baptized publishers enrolled as auxiliary pioneers including all the elders and ministerial servants at bethel 555 out of the family of 688 1.5 enrolled as auxiliary pioneers they met the challenge jeannette who lives in the mountains of rural burundi has always had the desire 1.0 worldwide 2,657,377 publishers shared in the auxiliary pioneer work 0.5 2008 2009 2010 2011 0

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to pioneer but she suffers from a chronic heart condition that prevents her from walking far or climbing steep hills jeannette rejoiced when she heard that the hour requirement for auxiliary pioneers in april was reduced to help her carry out her desire to pioneer the elders arranged for her to preach in territory close to her house in addition pioneers and publishers brought their bible students to her home for their bible studies by the end of the month jeannette was delighted to have started four bible studies i would love to pioneer again she says and i am confident that jehovah will help me on the island of grenada a young deaf sister pioneered despite having a disability that makes it difficult for her to walk it was a real challenge to walk long distances to get to the bus to go in field service she said in addition this sister was unemployed and she prayed fervently for jehovah s help in harmony with her prayers she supported herself financially by selling crocheted articles and handmade jewelry i had a full share in the preaching work she said afterward and i felt the support and encouragement of the brothers that made me truly happy toshi a 101-year-old sister in japan eagerly enrolled as an auxiliary pioneer in april being unable to leave the facility where she lives she preaches by writing letters and by witnessing to helpers who come to her room because i am hard of hearing explains toshi i talk in a very loud voice as a result other people in the vicinity can also hear me felix a quadriplegic in costa rica decided to auxiliary pioneer how though could he do so a literature table was set up outside his home so that highlights 9

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he could witness to passersby by the end of the month felix was physically tired but he felt spiritually refreshed and elated to have started four bible studies many young publishers were also eager to be included in the special activity in april for example in spain 11-yearold sandra and her 7-year-old brother alejandro wanted to increase their preaching activity toshi witnessing to a helper motivated by the zealous in a nursing home spirit of their congregation and their parents enthusiastic example sandra and alejandro wished that they could serve as auxiliary pioneers how could they do so though when they were not baptized both children drew up a schedule to spend as much time in field service as their parents and then prepared for the ministry by rehearsing presentations on their family worship evening their parents thought that as the month progressed the children might tire out but the two young publishers never wavered for a moment by april 30 all in the family had reached their personal goal of 30 hours except for young alejandro who still needed three hours so on the last day out he went with his father in order to reach his goal for the month how happy they were to have had a busy and satisfying time as a united family 10 2 01 2 yearbook

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i prayed daily relates jean that my husband philip and i would be able to preach for 30 hours however philip who had served as a district overseer until he was incapacitated by a cerebral aneurysm lay immobile in a hospital bed in spain unable even to speak his only means of communication was with his eyes blinking once for yes and twice for no when i told him about the auxiliary pioneering continues jean he indicated that he too would like to auxiliary pioneer but how could he accomplish his goal during the previous months jean and philip had preached to patients visiting family members and hospital personnel in april we planned to alejandro and his father in sant celoni barcelona spain on the preach right there in our last day of the month hospital ward for about one hour a day while philip was awake and could share in the discussion by blinking in march though philip was transferred to an isolation ward nevertheless he and jean were still able to keep to their schedule conversing with hospital staff members for several minutes at various times during the day one of the nurses who accepted the book what does the bible really highlights 11

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what they said about auxiliary pioneering for the first time in my life i was able to auxiliary pioneer i have no words to express my gratitude for this opportunity thank you so much for this new arrangement it has given us so much joy this was a highlight in the history of our congregation having so many auxiliary pioneers has contributed to a spirit of peace and unity in the congregation yes armageddon must be coming soon a non-witness who noticed our increased activity in april teach looked philip in the eye and promised to come the next day to read scriptures when the nurse returned jean invited her to read john 17:3 and asked her to explain what she thought it meant as they continued using this method philip would indicate by blinking his eyes whether the nurse was correct or not even when the nurse was not on duty in philip s ward she came to assure him that she was asking jehovah to help her draw close to him jehovah s ser vants view this increased activity as a way to demonstrate their love for their neighbor their gratitude for jesus christ s sacrifice and their devotion to their heavenly father they eagerly look for ward to march 2012 when t hey will again have the option of working toward a 30-hour or a 50-hour requirement for the month 2 01 2 yearbook 12

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schools that teach jehovah s ways jehovah s organization has watchtower educational taken very seriously the prophecy center at patterson new york u.s.a recorded at isaiah 2:3 let us go up to the mountain of jehovah to the house of the god of jacob and he will instruct us about his ways for example while world war ii was still raging the faithful and discreet slave class realized that people from all nations still needed to be taught by jehovah before the end of satan s system of things hence arrangements were made to organize such schools as the watchtower bible school of gilead and the theocratic ministry school more recently the governing body has made further adjustments to the various schools that provide specialized training in october 2010 the ministerial training school was renamed the bible school for single brothers single brothers who serve as elders or ministerial servants will continue to be enrolled in this two-month school thus far 37,445 have benefited from this curriculum worldwide with many serving as pioneers traveling overseers missionaries and bethelites the new two-month bible school for christian couples began in july 2011 and is initially being held at patterson new york english-speaking couples highlights 13

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