Many people have been affected over the course or nearly two years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has proved to be challenging times for Jehovah’s Witnesses as they are now meeting virtually for congregational services and their door to door ministries have come to a halt. But, they adapted, and their ministries are continuing with a virtual platform, using phone calls, writing letters, and the use of Zoom to continue their personal ministries in their own neighborhoods.
Regional elder Konrad Siegel lives in Imperial Beach and attends the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses Imperial Beach. He personally attends its Spanish version and said that the neighborhood ministry is extremely important to him, his family, and those he gets the opportunity to speak with.
“I received the wonderful hope from the Bible, and that hope is really something that has made my life better,” he said. “Since I have a hope for the future, and I have learned great practical things from the Bible that have helped me in my family life, my desire then is to share that with my neighbors. I want to help my neighbors to have a great life, to be able to pick what they have learned in the Bible and apply it to their lives. To have a family life and to have a hope for the future.”
Siegel said that the ministry is extremely positive and that they not only speak with people who may not know much about the Bible, but also serves to connect with people within the congregation, encouraging one another, reminding them about the hope for the future, and sharing practical points they learn to help have happier families. He said the pandemic has affected everyone in one way or another and that the ministry is an important part of helping people through these challenging times.
“It has affected our in-person meetings, in-person preaching in our public areas,” he said. “You may not find me or any other Witnesses at a preaching cart down in Imperial Beach, or in public areas right now. We are not knocking door to door, but we are still very active in our ministry. We still have our weekly meetings where we meet at a congregation on Zoom. We still study and learn from the Bible, and we also still try to do our best in trying to reach our neighbors by letter writing and telephone witnessing and sharing articles from our website. As far as the future is concerned, we hope that we can keep helping our neighbors as best as we can.”
Randy Moyer is a Chula Vista native and is a local elder at the Eastlake Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Moyer said he cares deeply about the people in the community, and like everyone else, the past two years have been frustrating due to the pandemic.
“It has created a level of anxiety that I do not believe any of us have ever experienced before. None of us have ever gone through anything like this,” he said.
Moyer said although he misses being around his friends and those who he associates with at Kingdom Hall, he believes in many ways that COVID has brought many of them closer together.
“We see each other regularly each week on Zoom,” he said. “I have been able to share in different forms of my ministry that I have never experienced before COVID. I was used to going door to door.
It has been nice to widen my horizons and trying different approaches. It has been very effective.”
Moyer said with his outreach ministry, he has been doing many phone calls, something which her really enjoys.
“At first, I was a little intimidated, because I do not like it when I get calls from telemarketers, but we have had some positive responses,” he said. “My wife Sylvia and me will sit down, look at addresses where we are doing our area of ministry, find names and telephone numbers of our neighbors. We will call them, let them know what we are doing and both of us have had some nice conversations with people.”
Moyer said this reach out is important because many people feel isolated and even getting a phone call from a stranger is welcoming. He said he quickly identifies himself as a neighbor, why he is calling, and with that can share some comfort.
“I think many people are hurting during this time,” he said. “They are still isolated. They do not feel like they are part of a community. Even those raising kids, going back and forth to work, they still wonder if life is ever going to get back to normal again. How can they cope with these added anxieties? I love to share the Bible. My wife and I found that with the Bible, even though we cannot meet with our friends, we feel like we are thriving. Mentally, emotionally, spiritually, because we have the Bible to help us cope with some of these new frustrations. So, we will share some scriptures. I have found often that people are happy that I called. Many times, we find we have things in common.”
Moyer said Chula Vista has always been his community, raising three kids here. One is an assistant principal in the school district, one still lives here in Chula Vista, and on is an administrator at Sharp in Chula Vista.
“They are all Jehovah’s Witness and giving back to their community,” he said. “It is what we taught our kids to do. Both in their worship to God, and in their work. Be a part of the community. Help it. Chula Vista is a great place to live.”
