Later, Glenn Finlay, another young Australian pioneer, took over from Jim and Lionel and preached alone in Kerema for 18 months. “It was a testing time for me,” says Glenn, “and I sometimes wondered if my work was accomplishing anything. But then a humbling experience changed my view.

“One of my Bible students was an elderly village baker named Hevoko. He was totally illiterate and after some months had managed to retain only a few basic truths. I wondered if it was worthwhile teaching him. Then one morning, as I approached his home, I heard a voice and stopped to listen. It was Hevoko praying aloud to Jehovah, thanking Him in earnest tones for teaching him the truth about His name and the Kingdom. His sincere prayer reminded me that Jehovah looks at people’s hearts, not their intellect. He well knows those who love him.”​—John 6:44.

As new areas opened up, pioneers toiled long and hard to translate literature into other local languages. Jim Smith relates: “By writing down new words and expressions, I painstakingly compiled a Tairuma dictionary and notes on grammar, which I used to translate Watchtower study articles. I often worked late into the night typing up translated articles on sheets of paper to distribute to people attending the meetings. Later I translated a tract and a booklet into Tairuma. Those early publications helped many Kerema people to learn the truth.”

THE GOOD NEWS SPREADS NORTH

In June 1956, newlywed pioneers Ken and Rosina Frame were the first Witnesses to move to New Ireland, an island in the Bismarck Archipelago in northeast Papua New Guinea. Ken, an accountant, worked with a large trading company in Kavieng, the main town on the island. “Before we left Sydney,” Ken relates, “we were advised to let people get used to us before we started to preach openly. Rosina was a good dressmaker and soon had many customers. We witnessed to them informally, and soon there was a small group of interested ones meeting discreetly at our home once a week.

“Eighteen months later, John Cutforth, the circuit overseer, visited us and asked if he could show the film The Happiness of the New World Society. I spoke to the owner of the local cinema, and he agreed to screen our free ‘mission’ film without charge. His staff must have spread the word about the show. When we arrived at the cinema, the entrance was packed with people, and we needed help from the police to make our way inside. Over 230 people attended the screening, not counting those peering in through the open windows. After this event we preached more openly.”

In July 1957, a congregation was established at Rabaul, New Britain, a pretty harbor town flanked by two active volcanoes. The Rabaul Congregation met in the backyard of a house rented by special pioneers. “Over a hundred people came to the house every night to study the Bible,” says pioneer Norm Sharein. “We divided them up into groups of about 20 and taught them by lamplight under the trees.”

When the congregation hosted its first circuit assembly, seven persons were baptized at a local beach. Five of them soon took up the pioneer ministry. But where could they best serve? The Australia branch office provided the answer​—Madang.

At Madang, a town on the northeast mainland coast, the “fields” were ripe for harvesting. (John 4:35) In fact, the small group of publishers there could barely keep pace with the level of interest. When Canadian pioneer Matthew Pope and his family arrived and purchased a house with several backyard cabins, the way was open to send in more pioneers.

Eight pioneers arrived from Rabaul and spread out into the Madang District. One of them, Tamul Marung, obtained a bicycle and traveled by coastal boat to Basken, his home village, 30 miles [48 km] north of Madang. After preaching in Basken, he rode his bicycle back to Madang, witnessing as he went. He then returned to Basken, established a congregation, and pioneered for another 25 years. During that time, he married and raised a family. His daughter and his niece later served at Bethel.