First Missionaries Arrive

The brotherhood emerged from the second world war in a spiritually prosperous condition. In 1946 there was a peak of 129 publishers, more than double the number at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack some five years earlier. During the year, 38 new ones were immersed.

Very crucial in this period following the war was the visit by Nathan H. Knorr and Milton G. Henschel from the Society’s headquarters in New York. During this visit, it was suggested that missionaries trained at the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead be sent to Hawaii to accelerate the work.

On their arrival on September 27, 1947, Martha Hess and Ruth Ulrich, graduates of the seventh class of Gilead, received the traditional Hawaiian welcome at the pier, with lilting Hawaiian music as played by the Royal Hawaiian Band and with swaying hula girls. The brothers and sisters were so elated by the coming of the missionaries that they loaded them down with flower leis.

The sincere and conscientious work by these two missionaries would be a welcome sweet odor to the Hawaiian people compared to Christendom’s missionaries, who had left a sour taste. Martha recalls hearing a local comedian say bitterly, “The first missionaries came to the islands, gave you a Bible, and told you to look up to the great God in heaven, and while you were looking up, they took all your land away from you.”

At the time of the arrival of the two Gilead graduates, the 129 publishers in Hawaii were serving in association with three congregations on Oahu (Honolulu, Maili, and Waimea) and two on the Big Island of Hawaii (Hilo and Kona), as well as smaller groups on Kauai, Maui, and Molokai.

For ten and a half years, the two missionary sisters worked diligently in Hawaii, assisting many on the road to life. It was their excellent example and enthusiasm for the ministry that aroused the pioneer spirit among many youths. In 1957 Martha and Ruth were reassigned to Japan, where they continue as missionary partners to this day.

When a crisis arose in Japan, Brother Knorr inquired by letter in 1947: “Who of the Hawaiian brothers would be willing to go to Japan?” Hawaiian-Japanese Jerry and Yoshi Toma, Shinichi and Masako Tohara, and Elsie Tanigawa volunteered. In writing Brother Knorr, Don asked, “But what about the Hasletts?” So they too were included. Those seven later became nine, as the Toharas’ two young daughters, who accompanied them to Gilead School and subsequently to Japan, also became missionaries upon reaching adulthood. All of these still remain in their missionary assignments in Japan, except for the Hasletts, who as anointed Christians have finished their earthly course.

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Don Haslett, Nathan Knorr, Mabel Haslett, and Milton Henschel. Knorr’s visit to Honolulu in 1947 sparked the sending of missionaries to Hawaii

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The first two missionaries arrive in Honolulu on September 27, 1947. Martha Hess, front row, fourth from left, and Ruth Ulrich, back row, second from left. Hess and Ulrich now serve in Japan