From July 20 to August 20, 2023, over two million people attended the FIFA Women’s World Cup soccer tournament, which was hosted by various cities throughout Australia and New Zealand. During the tournament, some 1,200 brothers and sisters participated in a special preaching initiative in nine cities across both countries. At least 18 people requested a Bible study.

Two young women from India approached a cart in Sydney, Australia, and noticed the sign offering a free Bible course. They asked the sisters where they could attend these courses. The sisters responded that our Bible study courses are generally conducted on an individual basis. They further explained that the two women could request a personal visit by scanning the QR code in the Enjoy Life Forever! brochure. Both women immediately filled out the online form, and a Bible study was started with each of them.

A Witness couple from Brisbane, Australia, offered their assistance to a young woman who appeared to be lost. The woman explained that she was trying to locate her hotel. The Witness couple kindly agreed to help her find it. Along the way, she told the couple that she was visiting from Papua New Guinea. She was pleasantly surprised to learn that the couple themselves used to live in Papua New Guinea. This led to a lively conversation, and they exchanged contact information. The Witness couple later arranged to show her around the city and used the opportunity to share Bible truths with her. After returning to her home country, the young woman accepted the offer of a Bible study.

In Auckland, New Zealand, a sister named Terina started a conversation in a public parking lot with two Punjabi-speaking security guards. Another guard interrupted their conversation and began speaking with the two men in Punjabi. Our sister wondered whether he was reprimanding them for talking to her while on duty. To her surprise, he explained that he was interpreting for the men. He added: “They asked me what the Bible is, and I told them that it is a book from God. Is that correct?” After confirming that what he said was accurate, Terina showed each of the men how to request a Bible study in their language using jw.org.

A man from Colombia named Nicholas approached a literature cart in Brisbane, Australia, and asked about our meetings. He explained that his mother and grandparents are Jehovah’s Witnesses and had been encouraging him to attend the meetings. The brothers at the cart made arrangements for a Witness from a Spanish-speaking congregation to contact him. Within an hour, a Spanish-speaking brother contacted Nicholas and made plans for him to attend the “Exercise Patience”! Regional Convention that very weekend.

We are grateful that our brothers and sisters in Australia and New Zealand had the opportunity to ‘shine as illuminators’ by sharing the Kingdom good news at this event.—Philippians 2:15.