Many fine efforts were put forth here in Matthews Ridge during the month of November to give the brochure “The Bible – What Is It’s Message?” a wide distribution. We had good support for field service groups, enabling us to cover the entire territory here in Matthews Ridge with the distribution of the brochure. And, as previously mentioned, we had opportunity to distribute the brochure in surrounding areas such as Port Kaituma, as well as other areas.
We are happy to see a couple in the group here auxiliary pioneering during the month of December. This is Eugene Smith and Mary Smith. Eugene and Mary were Rastafarians before they came to know the truth. Even during that time, they were regular Bible readers, although they lacked accurate knowledge. When they heard the truth, they were immediately drawn to it. They have told us interesting experiences from that time in their life when they were Rastafarians. They have told us of how they, along with many other Rastafarians, would use unique expressions. For example, instead of saying “oppressed”, they would say “downpressed”, since the “up” sound the word begins with indicates that there’s something positive about oppression. And instead of saying “I understand what you're saying”, they would say “I overstand what you're saying”, since beginning the word with “under” was putting yourself beneath the person you’re speaking to. Eugene and Mary were baptized on the same day, and since then have been very zealous servants of Jehovah. Mary even takes advantage of opportunities she has while selling snacks she makes outside the school here to witness and place literature with interested ones. We find their good example very encouraging.
The development of commercial interests continues here in Matthews Ridge, as the manganese mining venture and cell phone tower setup work continues. This has resulted in the clearing of a number of pieces of land here in Matthews Ridge. It has also created some jobs, both directly with the companies, as well as in fixing roads and renovating structures for worker housing. One man who works with the manganese mining company told me that it’s estimated that 1,000 or more workers may come into Matthews Ridge by the time the manganese operation gets into full swing. It will be interesting to see what further development happens.
