A Police Escort for Joseph

If you are one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, can you imagine having a police escort while you are preaching the good news from door to door? That was the experience of Joseph in Micronesia in 2017. He and three other Witnesses were sharing in a special campaign to reach people on remote islands.

At about noon, the four Witnesses arrived at a small atoll that had a population of about 600. The Witnesses were greeted at the beach by the mayor of the island. Joseph explains what happened next: “The mayor said that a police truck could take us to all the houses. We were amazed at the offer, but we respectfully declined. We wanted to visit the people in our normal manner of going from house to house.”

The publishers then set out on foot, determined to speak to as many people as possible. “The people were hospitable and interested in our message,” the Witnesses said. “As a result, we spent more time than we expected at each house.”

Later in the day, a police truck passed Joseph twice and then stopped on its third pass. The policemen asked Joseph if they could drive him to the homes he had yet to visit. “I said no,” Joseph recalls. “But this time they insisted, saying, ‘You have only a short time left, so we will take you to the rest of the houses.’ I could not refuse their offer again because I still had quite a few homes to visit. As we approached each house, the officers told me the family’s name and said that if no one came to the door after I knocked, they would blow their horn to alert the householder.

“With that extra help, we were able to visit all the homes that day. We placed quite a bit of literature and made arrangements to call back on people who showed interest.”

The policemen told Joseph that they “really enjoyed spreading some good news.” When the Witnesses left at sunset, the officers on the beach waved goodbye with smiles on their faces and Bible literature in their hands.