Six God-fearing Azoreans conducted the funeral for a five-year-old boy. They held the service without the presence of a Catholic priest, and the men sang an evangelical hymn. Such audacity drew the fire of the local priest, who had the men taken to court and accused of offending not only the country’s religion but also God himself! The case was taken before the Azores Court of Appeal in 1903 and eventually reached the Supreme Court in Lisbon, where it was dismissed for lack of evidence.

Before the case came to trial one of these six men, João Alves Pereira (John Perry), emigrated to the United States. He came in contact with Jehovah’s people and, as already mentioned, became a member of the Brooklyn Bethel family, serving as such until his death in 1965. Among the first publications he mailed back to his family and friends on Pico Island were the books The Harp of God and Millions Now Living Will Never Die.

Later, the sons of two other men who attended that funeral in 1902 also emigrated to the United States, both learning the truth. One of these, Isaac Ávila Fontes, sent literature to his father, José Silveira Fontes, who studied by himself and then started telling others about the good news. Then in 1940 Aníbal Nunes, the son of a third man who attended that funeral, was contacted by the Witnesses.

Aníbal and his wife, filled with zeal and determination to help their fellow countrymen, left the United States in 1947 to return to their native Pico Island. One of the first persons they spoke to was a young married neighbor, Maria Ávila Leal. As Aníbal was witnessing to her the bells of the church rang three times, and being a devout Catholic, she began to explain how important it was to recite the Ave Maria (Hail Mary).

Brother Nunes asked her if she knew who the Creator of this earth was. She answered, “Yes, of course, God.” “Are you sure?” he queried. After confirming her answer, he asked, “Where was his mother when he made the earth?” She quickly answered, “God does not have a mother.” Now he questioned, “What do you mean when you say, ‘Holy Mary, mother of God’? Are you referring to God or to Jesus who is God’s Son?” The full force of the Trinity falsehood struck her instantly. Right then and there, she understood that Jesus was not God, but that Mary was the fleshly mother of Jesus, who is God’s Son.

Within ten days of his arrival Brother Nunes had persuaded many to listen to the truth. He arranged for a public meeting in his brother’s home, where 82 attended, many standing outside by the door and windows to hear. The talk was given at night by candlelight. This talk, together with the fact that Maria Ávila Leal stopped going to church, caused a tremendous upheaval in the small community of several hundred homes.

[Picture on page 159]

The house where the first public talks in the Azores were delivered when A. Nunes returned to his native Pico Island