Hello friends

Now comes the clue to my story. For several years, Jehovah's witnesses as an organization have been banned in Russia. After the fall of the wall we were able to move freely in Russia, but that has come to an end. We have been placed on a list of terrorist organizations, such as IS for example. All our possessions, the kingdom halls for our meetings and Branch facilities have been confiscated by the government parties. Private gatherings are prohibited. Our Bible has been declared a forbidden book because we use God's name in it. As a result, we are taken to court, charged with participating in a criminal organization and in most cases given about 6 to 7 years in prison. The penal detention center is also possible. In those cases, children disappear to a re-education camp. Between all the news about corona, floods, resigning governments and the terrible news of Peter R. De Vries, this news is quickly forgotten. Many people are not even aware of this. As an organisation, we will defend ourselves , either on the spot or at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg . This week I received this video

There are more than 8.5 million Jehovah's witnesses in the world, according to the most current report. Also 7.7 million people follow a free bible course, which is given by us. I like to mention that our site www.jw.org has been translated into over 1000 languages. This is the most translated website in the world. In areas where people speak another language, we open a translation agency on site where active volunteers keep the site up to date. A gigantic work. The site is also hosted in 3 time zones, namely in America, Japan and the Netherlands. Whenever I get on a plane and wherever I go, I can visit the local congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses and there I will find exactly the same education as we have in the Netherlands. This is a huge organizational achievement. Now comes the clue to my story. For several years, Jehovah's witnesses as an organization have been banned in Russia. After the fall of the wall we were able to move freely in Russia, but that has come to an end. We have been placed on a list of terrorist organizations, such as IS for example. All our possessions, the kingdom halls for our meetings and Branch facilities have been confiscated by the government parties. Private gatherings are prohibited. Our Bible has been declared a forbidden book because we use God's name in it. As a result, we are taken to court, charged with participating in a criminal organization and in most cases given about 6 to 7 years in prison. The penal detention center is also possible. In those cases, children disappear to a re-education camp. Between all the news about corona, floods, resigning governments and the terrible news of Peter R. De Vries, this news is quickly forgotten. Click from a news organization from America called ABC News. They have a correspondent on site and are investigating the treatment of witnesses in Russia. I personally found this sad and poignant. That's why I need to get this out this way. 

I hope you will take the time to click on the video and watch it. Thank you in advance, enjoy the beautiful weather!

Regards, Adri