Sierra Leone – March 21, 2023 – In the face of widespread economic strain, national conflicts and social unrest, surveys indicate that confidence in the future is at an all-time low in many countries including Sierra Leone. According to the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer, 24 of the 28 countries surveyed are seeing “all-time lows in the number of people who think their families will be better off in five years.”
Against this backdrop of pessimism, a special global program featuring the theme, “You Can Face the Future with Confidence!” will be held on the weekend of April 1-2, 2023. The free 30-minute presentation will be hosted locally at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, with a videoconferencing option available. Please check the “Attend a Meeting” section on the homepage of JW.ORG for local addresses and meeting times.
“The challenges we face may seem overwhelming, but the Bible holds out a powerful hope for the future that can help us right now,” said Edgar Lacle, spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “This global program is designed to give all those who attend tangible reasons to face the future with confidence.”
“Aunty Marie, an older woman who is illiterate, was very encouraged when she was studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Then the Covid-19 pandemic prevented in-person Bible studies for some two years. Sadly, she lost her husband in death during the pandemic which brought her much grief. Then when it was possible to meet people again, she was visited by two of Jehovah’s Witnesses and a video was shown to her about the hope for the dead and then 1 Corinthians 15:26 was read to her. She was so happy that Jehovah’s Witnesses were visiting her again that she cried out, “I am happy to see my comforters again. I was asking myself, where have my comforters gone? But now my comforters have returned to give me comfort from the Scriptures” Aunty Marie’s Bible study was resumed much to her delight and she is more hopeful about the future.”
The special talk is the first of two free programs that will be held in all 118,000 congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses during the first week of April. The public is also invited to join nearly 20 million other global attenders for the annual observance of the Memorial of Jesus Christ’s death, to be held on the evening of Tuesday, April 4, 2023.
Admission to both programs is free, and no registration is required. Details on when and where these events will be held locally are available on JW.ORG, the official website of Jehovah’s Witnesses.