Preaching in Java

In 1931, Frank Rice arrived in Jakarta, a large, bustling city on the island of Java. He rented a room near the center of the city and filled it with cartons of Bible literature, astonishing his landlady.

“At first I felt rather lost and homesick,” recalled Frank. “People strolled around in white drill suits and pith helmets, while I sweltered in my heavy Australian clothes. I spoke not a word of Dutch or Indonesian. After praying to Jehovah for guidance, I decided that there must be people in the business district who spoke English. That is where I started preaching​—and what a fruitful field it proved to be!”

Since most Jakarta residents spoke Dutch, Frank studied hard to get a working knowledge of the language and soon began preaching from house to house. He also tackled Indonesian and gradually learned that language too. “The problem was that I had no Indonesian literature,” said Frank. “Then Jehovah guided me to an Indonesian schoolteacher who became interested in the truth and agreed to translate the booklet Where Are the Dead? More booklets followed, and soon many Indonesian-speaking people became interested in the truth.”

In November 1931, two more pioneers from Australia arrived in Jakarta, Clem Deschamp, aged 25, and 19-year-old Bill Hunter. Clem and Bill had brought along a pioneer home on wheels​—a house car, or motorized caravan—​one of the first to arrive in Indonesia. After they learned a few Dutch phrases, they set off on a preaching tour covering the major cities in Java.

Following in Clem and Bill’s tire tracks was Charles Harris, another hardy Australian pioneer. Starting in 1935, Charles covered most of Java by house car and bicycle, placing literature in five languages: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, and Indonesian. Some years he placed about 17,000 pieces of literature.

The amount of literature that Charles distributed made many people sit up and take notice. One official in Jakarta asked Clem Deschamp, “How many people do you have working down there in East Java?”

“Only one,” replied Brother Deschamp.

“Do you expect me to believe that?” barked the official. “You must have quite an army of workers down there, judging by the amount of your literature being distributed everywhere!”

The early pioneers kept constantly on the move in order to reach as many people as possible. “We worked through the island from end to end, seldom speaking to anyone twice,” said Bill Hunter. Along the way they sowed vast quantities of spiritual seed that later yielded a rich spiritual harvest.​—Eccl. 11:6; 1 Cor. 3:6.