Tahiti

Out in the middle of the South Pacific, lovely new branch facilities were dedicated in Tahiti on December 11, 1993. Milton Henschel, a member of the Governing Body, who spoke at the dedication program, reminded all present that, not the beauty of the construction, but the work that will be done inside the building is most important.

The building of such a structure with voluntary contributions and volunteer labor was certainly newsworthy, and TV news reported on the dedication in its international broadcast. Sixty-two years earlier, in 1931, Sydney Shepherd, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, had landed in Tahiti and endeavored to preach. He was followed by Frank Dewar. But neither one of them was permitted to stay very long. Now, however, there are over 1,700 Witnesses in Tahiti and other islands of French Polynesia.

Tahiti,