Sobering News

● A pioneer couple went to Marilia, a prosperous city in the interior of São Paulo state, Brazil. There was no congregation at the time, but many became interested through a series of open-air lectures that the pioneer delivered. At one of these talks a drunk listened in and then offered to pay the speaker to come to his home and give the same talk to his family that consisted of 22 members and relatives. The majority of them were Presbyterians, and the drunk never could sober up enough to join their church. But now he busied himself with studying the truth, cutting out all drink, and straightening out his moral affairs. This impressed all his acquaintances and relatives, because if Jehovah’s witnesses could sober him up and get him interested in the Bible, they had something. So they gladly listened to parlor lectures (given free, of course), and one after another began coming along in the truth. The ex-drunk by now was such a zealous publisher that in a few months’ time he entered the pioneer service and later was appointed congregation servant with the formation of the new Marilia congregation. By also working outlying territories this new pioneer helped to organize several congregations in neighboring cities. Now the Marilia congregation is up to 112 publishers and with a very fine, centrally located Kingdom Hall. If harlots and publicans can get into the New World society before self-righteous Pharisee clergy, so can the drunks if they love the truth enough and put forth the necessary effort to win their battle with the intemperate thirst for liquor.