Nevertheless, with much perseverance, the pioneers began to see fruitage. On the island of Tokuno Shima, a family came to the public talk during the circuit overseer’s visit. The father had an active interest in the very popular local sport of bull fighting. (Bulls are pitted against each other to determine which one has the greater pushing strength.) He had a prize bull trained for the contests. But his interest had been aroused in the Bible through a daughter to whom Jehovah’s Witnesses had talked in Japan. The family accepted a Bible study, and he, his wife, his daughter, and three sons became dedicated Witnesses. Two neighboring families also came into the truth.

On the remote southern island of Ishigaki, the publishers were surprised to have a young man, a well-known boxer, search them out and ask for a Bible study. He had studied previously in Yokohama, but he had been afraid to face up to the responsibility to which Bible truth pointed. In order to avoid it, he had fled to Iriomote, a sparsely populated island where he felt sure there would be none of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Before long, though, he came across Watch Tower publications and was stunned when he realized that Jehovah’s Witnesses had preached there too. He concluded that there was no way he could run away from before Jehovah. (Compare Jonah 1:3.) Using the address of a publisher that was written in one of the publications, he searched out the Witnesses on the nearby island of Ishigaki. In a short time, he became a dedicated Witness and an enthusiastic pioneer.