In the French-speaking part of Belgium the same opposition came directly from the priests, who resented the pioneers’ intrusion into their “pastures.” They used every means at their disposal to get rid of them, such as warning their flocks, threatening the pioneers, calling out the State Police, sending children to pester the brothers, throwing stones or puncturing the tires on the brothers’ bicycles and going around after them to collect the literature they had distributed. Nevertheless, villagers would often say to them: “Give me several of your booklets; when the priest comes, I can give him one to satisfy him and keep the rest to read!”

At Ciney a Catholic monk of the Order of the White Fathers greatly opposed Mona Pratt and her partner, ordering them to cease their activity immediately. The two Witnesses replied that God had ordained them for this Kingdom work. “I am in holy orders,” retorted the monk, “and I can release you from that God-given ordination.”

The two pioneer sisters took their bicycles and courageously continued on to the next village, distributing copies of the booklet entitled Universal War Near to the people. The priest followed them, asking all the countryfolk to give him the booklets. He managed to gather a few because, in many places, where two booklets had been left, the people gave him back only one booklet. He then approached the sisters with the few booklets that he had recovered, telling them that now he was going to make a huge bonfire. This did not hinder the truth from taking root. Today there are thriving congregations in Dinant, Namur and Ciney, where these English pioneers had preached the Word of Jehovah.

When witnessing during the war, Sister Brzoska once entered, unsuspectingly, the store of a Nazi agent. It was only when she noticed a huge portrait of Hitler that she realized the danger she was facing. It was too late to turn back now, for the Nazi was standing there in front of her. She offered him a New Testament, saying that it contained the hope of a new order of things where peace and everlasting life will reign.

“Oh, yes,” he replied, “I believe in a new order of things and I know,” pointing to the picture of Hitler, “that he’s busy establishing it to last for a thousand years. Of course, we don’t know how much time it will take to establish it because there is a brood that must be completely exterminated first.”

Sister Brzoska answered, saying he no doubt had the Jews in mind. “No,” he replied, “the English!” He had an intense hatred for the English, and while observing the sister, who had an accent since she was of English descent, he inquired: “What is your nationality?”

Sister Brzoska replied, “Polish.” (Obviously, by marriage.) “Good,” he said, “but you won’t get anywhere until all the English have been exterminated, and if I could only get hold of an Englishman, I’d take great delight in personally exterminating him for the good of all mankind.” One can imagine how our sister’s knees were knocking, but what a relief for her when this man accepted not only one but two New Testaments, one of which was for a friend. He never realized that he had perhaps been the closest ever to the opportunity of exterminating one of the ‘English brood.’