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At Romans 8:35, the apostle Paul asked:
“Who will separate us
“from the love of the Christ?
“Will tribulation or distress or persecution
or hunger or nakedness or danger or sword?”
Notice how Paul answered
that question in verse 37:
“On the contrary, in all these things
“we are coming off completely victorious
through the one who loved us.”
That’s a very fitting scripture
for this update.
Many of the things Paul mentioned
we’ve experienced in the past year.
There have been many challenges.
Yet, through the help
we receive from Jehovah,
“we are coming off . . . victorious.”
Of course, we’re all contending
with the pandemic.
Jehovah’s organization has been complying
with guidance
from public health officials worldwide.
We’ve worked hard as an organization
to show deep respect
for the sanctity of life.
And we’ve watched Jehovah
bless these efforts
as our meetings and ministry have thrived.
However, we are not immune
to the effects of the virus.
As of May 15, we have now lost
over 17,000
of our dear brothers and sisters
to COVID-19.
No doubt most of us
have lost someone we love.
How comforting to know that our loved ones
are safe in Jehovah’s memory!
Even death has not separated them
from Jehovah.
There have been many recent news reports
about the pandemic in India and Brazil.
Many of you have been asking
how our brothers there are doing.
In the past month in India,
there have been ten times
as many new cases and deaths
among the brothers
than there were in the previous month.
The disaster relief committees
are actively monitoring
the needs of our brothers
and, as needed, helping them locate hospitals
that have available beds.
In Brazil, the number of cases
and the number of deaths continue to be high.
Sadly, over 400 of our brothers in Brazil
have died from the virus
in just the past month.
The responsible brothers are working hard
to help our brothers in these lands.
Please keep all of our brothers
in India and Brazil in your prayers.
In various parts of the world,
the virus is resurging
in some cases because of new variants.
Clearly, this pandemic is not over.
Please continue to be careful.
You may find it helpful to review
the 2020 Governing Body Update #9,
which explains how COVID-19 spreads
and what we can do to protect ourselves.
What is our view on vaccination?
Jehovah’s Witnesses
are not against vaccination.
We view it as a personal decision
for each Christian to make.
Already, in cooperation
with public health officials,
many in our Bethel families
have chosen to be vaccinated.
In 2020, we also faced
an unprecedented number of natural disasters.
Can you imagine that in the 2020 service year
we have had 204 disasters?
That’s more than double the number
of disasters
that we had in 2018!
Of course, we’ve had to cope
with many disasters during the pandemic.
Let me remind you of some of them.
Central America was struck by Hurricane Eta.
St. Vincent has had volcanic eruptions.
Croatia was shaken by earthquakes.
Lebanon was devastated by an explosion.
Nigeria suffered widespread flooding.
Mozambique was hit by Cyclone Eloise.
The Philippines was pummeled
by Super Typhoon Goni.
Australia had destructive bush fires.
These are just a few
of the disasters we have faced
during the pandemic.
This is exactly what Paul was talking about
when he mentioned tribulation, distress,
hunger, nakedness, danger, or sword.
Would any of these things
“be able to separate us from God’s love”?
What have we seen?
Let’s hear some expressions
from our brothers in the United States.
When you have a disaster
on top of a disaster,
COVID-19 on top of Hurricane Sally,
it’s a challenge to get through
and navigate both.
Being homebound for so many months,
everybody was already feeling
a little bit on edge.
Then you add the stress
of the flood on top of it.
The speed of the brothers
and sisters responding
was probably the most heartwarming.
We called them on a Wednesday
to start some of their work on Friday,
and by Friday, they were organized
and ready to go.
I think it’s one of the most heartwarming
privileges I’ve ever seen
—how Jehovah’s organization
can take care of needs,
whereas the world around us is falling apart.
There are people who think:
‘I can handle this. I can handle this,’
you know, ‘I can do this.’
And you can’t do it on your own.
You need the friends. You need them.
When the call goes out,
Jehovah’s people come running.
It’s an amazing thing to see.
There’s no way that Jehovah’s love
can be blocked.
If you’re sheltered in place,
wherever you are,
Jehovah’s love gets through.
We’ve been through a difficult situation,
but our confidence is solid
that he’ll continue to help us.
He got us through this problem;
he’ll get us through the next.
One of the reasons why our brothers
are coming off victorious
is because of all of you.
You have been there to help.
Some of you have risked
your own safety to provide relief.
Although most of us
don’t have the circumstances to do that,
we’ve made donations.
As a result, we’ve been able
to provide our brothers
with food, water,
building materials, and medicine
—all because of your generosity and goodness.
Thank you for what you’ve done
to help our brothers
who face these disasters.
That’s not the only thing
that Paul talked about
in Romans 8:35.
He also mentioned persecution.
We certainly have had to face that.
It hasn’t gone away during the pandemic.
As of May 2021,
more than 155 brothers and sisters
are in prison for their faith.
Even so, there have been
positive developments.
In recent months,
we were so encouraged to learn
that 32 of our brothers in Eritrea
have been set free,
including Paulos, Isaac, and Negede,
who were imprisoned for 26 years.
We continue to pray
for the 20 brothers and sisters
who are still in prison.
On May 8, we were delighted to learn
that the Turkmenistan government
released from prison
all 16 of our brothers
who were imprisoned
for conscientious objection
to military service.
We thank Jehovah
for these positive developments.
When I went to Russia
for the Supreme Court hearings in 2017,
it was a very sobering moment
when we heard the judge announce
that our legal entities were banned.
We knew Jehovah would look
after our brothers,
but there were so many unknowns.
How would our brothers be affected?
Some, of course, have been arrested,
like Brother Dennis Christensen.
He’s been in prison for four years
as of May 25, 2021.
Although Dennis has qualified for parole
for over a year,
the authorities have “hardened their hearts.”
They have not let him go.
In spite of that,
Dennis and his wife, Irina,
are in good spirits.
And we continue to remember our 10 brothers
who are in penal colonies in Russia
and the 48 who are in pretrial detention
as of May 14, 2021.
Now that four years
have passed since the ban,
what do we see?
Our brothers have not cowered.
They have not backed down.
They continue to serve Jehovah faithfully.
As you watch this next video,
see who the authorities are attacking now.
In 2013,
our son, Igor, became ill,
and he got worse and worse.
Then, in 2014, our son died.
It was such a tragedy for us,
and words cannot describe it.
He was our only son and was deeply loved.
Then, two years later, my mother died.
And two years after that, my sister died.
Getting through all of that
was beyond human strength.
We had just started to feel a little better
when on March 26,
2019, . . .
. . . 2019 . . .
. . . armed men in masks burst into our home.
It was such a shock! We went numb.
We couldn’t say anything.
We were paralyzed.
On May 22, 2019,
early in the morning at 5:45,
the doorbell rang.
I looked through the peephole and saw people
who showed me their identification.
Then those people came into my apartment,
made a search, and took me to the center
for fighting extremism.
It ended up with my being accused
of participating in extremist activity.
Then, in 2020,
the court hearings began for my case.
For example, for my criminal case,
they collected 17 volumes
of evidence against me,
and they questioned over 200 witnesses.
Then the court hearings started.
First of all, there were
Valentina’s hearings, then mine.
Of course, none of that is exactly pleasant,
but it somehow made us stronger,
and Jehovah supported us.
We even went to the court feeling joyful.
We felt that Jehovah
was helping us, supporting us,
strengthening us, and encouraging us.
We are so grateful to him!
Our fellow worshippers
constantly called on us
from all parts of the town.
They always supported us,
always called us
and said strengthening things
and quotes from the Bible.
I understood that it would end up
with my being a defendant.
It was as though inside
I was already prepared for that
and, you know,
I didn’t feel any kind of panic.
I just wanted to get through it
in a dignified manner
and didn’t want to let anyone down
and under no circumstances
betray our God, Jehovah.
I want to say that each day for me
is a blessing from Jehovah.
I pray and ask for peace and calmness
in both my heart and my home.
And right now, the blessings far outweigh
all negative experiences.
This I value very highly.
The sentence might even involve
time in prison
or it might be a suspended sentence.
But regardless of the outcome,
we need to remain faithful to God
and to stay on the way of truth
to the end.
No matter what happens,
whether I remain free
or they put me somewhere behind prison walls,
there is absolutely nothing
that can “separate us from God’s love.”
No prison walls can shut out God’s love.
It can penetrate everywhere
to all depths.
It was the strength that we received from God
that helped us to survive
the death of our son
and many other misfortunes,
so we will get through this too.
We definitely will!
I have no doubt about it.
How shameful
that the authorities are attacking
our elderly brothers and sisters!
And yet, isn’t it amazing
that, despite their own trials,
these dear older ones
are not yielding to fear?
They say that the persecution
has only made them stronger in the faith.
You dear brothers and sisters in Russia
have done so well.
You are an inspiration to all of us.
We truly love you.
Doesn’t all of this convince us
of what Paul said in Romans 8:37?
“In all these things
“we are coming off completely victorious
through the one who loved us.”
That’s what we’ve seen
with our brothers and sisters
facing the pandemic, natural disasters,
and persecution.
What conviction does this lead us to?
Paul continues in verses 38 and 39:
“For I am convinced
“that neither death nor life
“nor angels nor governments
“nor things now here nor things to come
“nor powers nor height nor depth
“nor any other creation
“will be able to separate us from God’s love
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Brothers and sisters,
we are convinced that you too
will continue
to “[come] off completely victorious”
no matter what trials you face.
Why?
Because nothing can separate us
from Jehovah’s love.
Please know
that we love you all very much.
From the World Headquarters
of Jehovah’s Witnesses,
this is JW Broadcasting®.

2021 Governing Body Update #4