• Belgium
    1984 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses

    • A CLEANSING WORK TAKES PLACE

      In 1918, after the cleansing, or weeding out of those opposed to the harvest work, only five faithful servants of Jehovah were left to announce God’s Kingdom. They included: the Tilmant family, Brother Fontaine of Haine St. Paul, and Brothers Smets

  • Belgium
    1984 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses

    • Brother Smets had acquired a remarkable understanding of the Bible. In 1931 he quit his job at the coal mine and became an auxiliary, or auxiliary pioneer, as we would say today. Imitating the apostle Paul, he became a burden to no one but worked as a cobbler to feed and care for his family. Even while repairing shoes he managed to read his Bible, opened up in front of him. He preserved an extraordinary clearness of mind right up until his death in 1964 at the age of 95.

  • Belgium
    1984 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses

    • INCREASED ACTIVITY IN LIÈGE

      The work took on its greatest impetus in the district of Liège, where Brothers Smets and Poelmans used every opportunity to give a witness. Having noticed that Brother Poelmans was of Flemish descent, the people nicknamed him “the little Fleming.” Even during a parade in 1925 in honor of the then king of Belgium, Albert I, Brothers Smets and Poelmans sought to make good use of their time. Mingling in with the others marching in the parade, they held up a large sign with the words: “Millions Now Living Will Never Die.” They followed the procession right to the end without being disturbed.

      The small group of 13 at Liège kept growing as another valiant Kingdom publisher joined them in 1928. This was Ernest Heuse, Sr., and he is still pioneering at the age of 82. Today, his three children and their wives, as well as his three grandchildren and the wives of the two who are married, making a total of 12 in the family, are all serving full time. All together, at the end of 1982, they had spent 244 years in the full-time service. Most of them are special pioneers, some are in circuit and district work and one is serving on the Branch Committee.

      While Brothers Poelmans, Smets and Heuse were busy going from house to house announcing God’s Kingdom, the other brothers criticized them, saying that they were incapable of doing such a work.