Year Book of Jehovah's Witnesses - Watchtower Archive

Yearbook 195
ActuallY they all have more studies than they can handle,
with teachers, doctors and many who in turn invite others
to partake of the water of life. Studies have been conducted
in schools with attendances of 60 to 75. Many are attracted
by a desire to learn English, but theocratic tact helps them
to realize the importance of the truths of the Theocracy.
One missionary group reports the following:
"Arriving in Kobe November 2, it took some time to clean
up our house and get everything in shipshape order. But
by December I, we were well started in the witness work.
Everything here has been so advantageous for a vigorous
start in the work that it could be nothing other than the
Lord's loving provision.
"At the outset there were no Japanese brethren in this
locality. So we had to start off witnessing with very little
practical knowledge of the language. However, the Japanese
people themselves were a great help to us. A lawyer with
whom we study in Tarumi has often told us how much the
people appreciate our going to their homes. Most foreigners,
including missionaries, have set themselves up on a pedestal
and do not mix with the Japanese. The missionaries appear
with a fanfare of trumpets at 'Christmas' and then go into
suspended animation for the rest of the year. For the most
part, the Japanese are good-natured, patient and truly grateful
for our help. They laugh with us over our blunders with
the language, and try hard to understand. For example, It
is difficult when we are trying to tell them about a 'heavenly
organization', and our wrong accent changes It into 'heavenly
funeral' But they persevere with us until they get the point.
"However, it was immediately apparent that we must
reach the people in their own language. So we have been
very busy trying to master Japanese. It has not been easy.
So far we have concentrated on grammar and Bible conversation,
postponing the terrific art of writing Japanese until
later. Each morning from eight o'clock, we study Japanese
together. Then we practice what we learn through the day.
Every house-to-house call, every home Bible study helps us
to polish up on our Japanese. We are really 'in school' all
the time. Even if we do not have the 'gift of tongues', Jehovah
has gifted us to the point where we can do all our
Witnessing in a sort-of-Japanese. Not that we can convey all
that we want to, but where we meet up with the desire to
learn there is no difficulty at all in getting the message
across.
"From the beginning we have worked hard toward the
goal of presenting all our meetings in Japanese. The first
opportunity for a Japanese-language meeting came with the
Memorial, April 1. The Memorial talk was ably interpreted