Year Book of Jehovah's Witnesses - Watchtower Archive

198 Yearbook
cent increase in number of publishers shows us that
remarkable results can be achieved. This has been
an unusual year, and these new publishers did not
come into the truth just because everything moved
smoothly, for there was much mob action and opposition.
Adjoining Lebanon is another country called Syria.
The work in this country is directed by the branch
servant in Lebanon, and both reports as submitted
by the office at Beirut are very interesting.
One outstanding experience in connection with this expansion
is the following: A soldier who was stationed in an
area situated between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon range
of mountains busied himself on week ends by preaching.
He started studies in a couple of homes and conducted them
regularly. To his delight he found his students drinking in
the truth amazingly fast. He began to realize that there was
more interest in the vicinity than what he could take care
of. So like a call from Macedonia, he came to the branch
and urgently requested that a pioneer be sent there to
assist him. This was done and now only 9 months have
passed since this brother first began his witnessing there.
But out of this activity what has resulted? This: There are
now 41 active publishers and 20 of them have been baptized.
During the summer some brethren from other companies
hired a bus and paid a visit to these new friends by joining
with them in the service for a day. The bus stopped in the
town that was to be worked and all were assigned their
portion of territory. As the brethren were finishing their
territory a mob of about 100 men gathered and surrounded
10 of the witnesses. For a few moments a fight ensued, but
it stopped immediately when one of a group of soldiers nearby
fired his gun in the air and warned the mobsters that if
they did not stop he would fire on them. During the short
time of fighting the enemy succeeded in tearing up some of
the literature and scattering it on the street. Some people
picked up the pieces and began to read them. As a result
even some who were a part of the mob got a fair knowledge
of the truth and are now even thinking of coming to the
meetings. One man who had the reputation of being one of
the toughest men in town, and whom the people were afraid
to offend in the least, came into the truth and is now very
active. This has infused courage in the other new ones there.
The more "trees of righteousness" that spring up to praise
Jehovah, so all the more Satan and his agents are determined
to cut them down. A notorious case of mob action broke out