Modern History of Macedonia

“Step over into Macedonia and help us,” said the man who appeared to the apostle Paul in a vision in the first century. (Acts 16:8-10) Concluding that God was directing them to declare the good news of God’s Kingdom in this unworked territory, Paul and his preaching companions willingly accepted the invitation, and Christianity was soon flourishing there. How has modern-day Macedonia, a smaller region to the north of ancient Macedonia, experienced a similar growth in true worship?

After the second world war, Macedonia became the southernmost republic of Yugoslavia. It gained independence in 1991. Two years later, in 1993, Jehovah’s Witnesses rejoiced to be officially registered in the newly formed state. As a result, an office could be established in Macedonia under the oversight of the Austria Branch Committee. Hence, in 1993, a house on Alžirska Street, in Skopje, was purchased, and the Macedonian translation team moved from Zagreb, Croatia, to this newly acquired Bethel.

Michael and Dina Schieben came from Germany to serve in the circuit work, and Daniel and Helen Nizan, from Canada, who had been serving in Serbia, were reassigned to Macedonia. A Country Committee was formed, and Bethel began to function.

LITERATURE RESTRICTIONS

Though Jehovah’s Witnesses were officially registered, it was difficult to import literature. From 1994 to 1998, the government limited imported magazines to one copy per publisher. Consequently, the brothers had to make copies of Watchtower study articles for their Bible students. The brothers were also able to obtain magazines mailed to them from other countries, and visitors to Macedonia were permitted to bring in small supplies of magazines. Eventually, after several years of legal proceedings, the supreme court ruled in favor of the Witnesses, who were then permitted to import as much literature as they wanted.

In August 2000, the number of publishers reached 1,024​—the first time more than 1,000 reported sharing in the preaching work! With more literature being released in Macedonian and with the increase in publishers, the existing house on Alžirska Street became too small to meet the needs of the growing Bethel family. The following year three small neighboring houses were purchased and demolished to make space for two new buildings. Today the 34-member Macedonia Bethel family works and resides in three well-equipped buildings. They were happy to host Guy Pierce of the Governing Body for the dedication program on May 17, 2003.

KINGDOM HALL CONSTRUCTION

Brothers and sisters all over Macedonia have been very grateful for the arrangement to help build Kingdom Halls in lands with limited resources. A construction team of five brothers was assigned to help local congregations build Kingdom Halls; and between 2001 and 2007, nine new Kingdom Halls were built. This multinational construction crew has given a fine witness by working in peace and unity without any ethnic prejudice. One merchant who visited a completed Kingdom Hall noticed the high quality of the craftsmanship and said, “This building was truly built by love.”

When the construction group was building a new Kingdom Hall in the town of Štip, one of the neighbors was skeptical about the success of the project because of the seeming inexperience of the youthful construction crew. However, when the hall was finished, he brought plans for his house to the site and begged the young brothers to build it for him. He was so impressed with the quality of their work that he offered to pay them generously. He was astounded when the brothers told him that they were building the Kingdom Hall, not for financial gain, but because of their love for God and neighbor.

NEW WORLD TRANSLATION

Meanwhile, another small group of dedicated men and women were occupied with a different task​—translating the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures into Macedonian. Their hard work had Jehovah’s blessing; and in just five years, they translated the complete New World Translation. How delighted the delegates were at the 2006 “Deliverance at Hand!” District Convention in Skopje when Governing Body member Gerrit Lösch announced the release of this fine new Bible translation. The applause was enthusiastic and prolonged, and many could not hold back their tears. Some who obtained a copy during the lunch break sat down immediately to enjoy this outstanding translation of God’s Word in their mother tongue.

Many Macedonians have a deep respect for the Bible. Orhan, for example, began studying the Bible six years ago. Though he was illiterate, he learned to read and write with the help of the brother who studied with him. Since his baptism three years ago, he has read the Bible six times!

For a time, Orhan was the only Witness in the town of Resen. Many, though, spoke favorably of the formerly illiterate man, and some parents asked the brothers to study with their children, whom they wanted to become like Orhan. Interest in the truth grew, and eventually a weekly Congregation Book Study was established in the town. One interested person became an unbaptized publisher, and Orhan now serves as a regular pioneer and ministerial servant.

STEPPING OVER INTO MACEDONIA

In July 2004, a special pioneer couple from Albania came to help preach to the Albanian-speaking people in Macedonia, who make up 25 percent of the population. It soon became evident that the couple needed help because they were the only publishers for over half a million Albanian-speaking people. Therefore, one year later a second couple was sent from Albania to join them, and the four special pioneers began to encourage the small group of seven interested persons in the town of Kičevo, situated in the center of the Albanian community in Macedonia. The following spring, this small group was delighted to have 61 in attendance at the Memorial talk, which was delivered in both Albanian and Macedonian. Since then, the group has grown to 17 zealous publishers, with an average meeting attendance of 30 or more.

To help cover all the territory in Macedonia, the Governing Body approved a special campaign for April through July of 2007. The objective was to preach in territory that had not been covered and to spread the good news to the Albanian-speaking population.

In an outpouring of support, 337 brothers and sisters from seven countries gladly made themselves available to help. What were the results? The good news was preached in more than 200 areas throughout Macedonia​—home to about 400,000 people, most of whom had never heard the message before. More than 25,000 books and brochures and well over 40,000 magazines were placed during the four-month campaign. Some 25,000 hours were spent in the ministry, and over 200 Bible studies were started.

“The eyes of some were filled with tears when they heard where we had come from and why we were visiting them,” reported one brother. “Others were moved to tears by what they read in God’s Word.”

Many were the expressions of heartfelt appreciation from those who shared in the campaign. One sister wrote: “A teacher told us: ‘May God bless you. What you are doing is fantastic. The things that you speak about are truly refreshing to me!’”

“It’s hard to leave this missionary-type territory,” said one publisher. “We could see how much the people need the truth, and it saddened us to say good-bye to our Bible students when we had to leave.”

“We regret that we did not take more vacation days,” said one couple, “because now we see how great the need is.”

Summing up how many felt, one publisher said, “I cannot remember a time when we enjoyed ourselves so much as a family.”

In the mountains near the city of Tetovo, a group of publishers preached in a village where no one had ever witnessed before. Two of them started preaching along the left side of a street, and two on the right side. By the time they had witnessed at just three of the houses, the whole street knew that Jehovah’s Witnesses were calling. Soon, news of their visit spread throughout the entire village, and a large group of interested women gathered around the sisters. Further down the road, a group of 16 men waited eagerly for the brothers. Householders quickly brought out four chairs to seat the publishers, and one man prepared coffee for them. The publishers handed out literature to everyone and, making good use of the Bible, began sharing the truth with the crowd.

Many asked questions, and all listened attentively. At the end of the visit, many villagers would not leave without personally saying good-bye. The brothers were alarmed, though, when an elderly woman approached with her walking stick raised. “This I will use on you!” she exclaimed, pointing the stick at them. What had the publishers done to offend the lady? “You gave everyone a book but me!” explained the woman. “I want to have the big yellow one,” she said, pointing to the Bible Stories book that her neighbor had received. Without delay, the brothers let her have the last copy they had.

PREACHING TO THE ROMA

In Macedonia, there are many Roma who speak Macedonian but whose mother tongue is an oral Romany language that is a mixture of several Romany dialects. The capital, Skopje, reportedly has the largest Romany quarter in Europe, with some 30,000 inhabitants. A double Kingdom Hall complex in the area called Šuto Orizari hosts the three Romany congregations there. The 200 publishers enjoy their fruitful territory, which has a ratio of 1 publisher to every 150 people​—one of the best in the country. Indicative of the appreciative response of the Roma was the attendance of 708 at the 2008 Memorial!

What is being done to help the humble and truth-hungry Roma people to learn about God’s purpose in their mother tongue? The 2007 outline for the special talk was translated into the Romany language, and an elder of Roma descent delivered the talk to an appreciative audience of 506. Publishers of all ethnic backgrounds​—Roma, Macedonian, and Albanian—​were overjoyed when the brochure What Does God Require of Us? was released in Romany at the 2007 district convention. Until then, publishers often conducted Bible studies in their own language with the use of Macedonian literature. Now they are having great success using the Romany Require brochure to reach the hearts of sincere Roma.

Today the 1,277 publishers in 21 congregations in Macedonia are working hard to follow the apostle Paul’s first-century example. The appreciative response of scores of Macedonian truth-seekers justifies the modern-day campaign to “step over into Macedonia.”

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“I Reported to Prison 11 Days Early”

PAVLINA BOGOEVSKA

BORN 1938

BAPTIZED 1972

PROFILE She started pioneering in 1975 and became the first special pioneer in Macedonia in 1977. She has helped 80 people to learn the truth.

MANY times when I was preaching, people reported me to the police, who would take me to the police station, where I was interrogated​—sometimes for hours. I was fined many times. In court, I was falsely charged with being a political enemy of the State and of spreading propaganda from the West. Once I was sentenced to 20 days in prison, and another time to 30 days.

I was supposed to serve my 20-day prison sentence at the very time we were scheduled to have a district convention. I asked the court to please postpone my sentence; but my request was rejected, so I decided to report to the prison 11 days early. The prison officials were surprised to see me there. They could not believe that anyone would want to go to prison as soon as possible. I had an opportunity to give a witness, and they promised to do all they could to take care of me. Eleven days later a police officer came to the prison to see if I had reported there yet. Imagine his surprise when the prison officials informed him that I had already been there for 11 days! As it turned out, I was able to attend the convention.