• Bolivia
    1986 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses

    • Brother Michalec recalls that pools of blood on the sidewalk were not an uncommon sight. He reports: “One day as I watched from a vantage point, I saw a tank drive up on the lawn of a large house, aim its cannon, and blast right through the center of the house! I concluded that there was someone in there who wasn’t very well liked.” Elizabeth Hollins, who later became the wife of Ed Michalec, remembers: “At times it was impossible even to leave the house. In September as I was going through the main plaza on a bus, I saw three young men hung up on poles. Never having seen such a thing before, I let out a little cry. A woman said to me: ‘If you don’t like what you see, turn your head.’” These events impressed upon the brothers the need to rely heavily upon Jehovah, who was protecting them during those dangerous times.​—2 Chron. 16:9.

      Amid the turbulence, the Word of truth was taking root in humble hearts. So, in September of 1946 the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society established a branch office in La Paz to care for Kingdom interests in Bolivia. The rented apartment that housed the office also served as a missionary home. A few months later, when the first congregation in Bolivia was formed, this same apartment served as their meeting place. It was a modest beginning.

      FEAR-INSPIRING TRIP TO THE YUNGAS

      About this time, Brothers Michalec and Morris planned a trip to The Yungas, forested areas with many small villages in the lower valleys to the north of La Paz. They wanted to open up the Kingdom-preaching work there. As they climbed on the back of a truck along with other passengers, they had little idea of the fear-inspiring trip that awaited them.

      After ascending to about 15,000 feet (4,600 m), their truck began a rapid, winding descent of thousands of feet in a short distance. The road, which seemed too narrow for the truck, was carved out of the sides of steep mountains. There were no guardrails, and in many places the cliff dropped almost straight down 1,000 feet (300 m) or more from the road! As Brother Michalec describes the trip: “The driver would charge down toward a hairpin curve. Hardly slowing down, he would frantically turn the wheel and barely make the tight maneuver without knowing if we would meet an oncoming vehicle!” The brothers tried very hard to put out of their minds what could happen if they did.

      On one steep incline the driver suddenly slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting a huge condor that spread its wings across the entire width of the road. In some places, the mountainside was so straight up and down that the road had been gouged out of it to form a three-sided tunnel. As the truck went through, the passengers had to duck to avoid the rocky protrusions. And when they drove right through a waterfall, riders on the back were given a shower.

      This taste of travel in the Andes Mountains made the brothers realize that once congregations were established in The Yungas, much love and extraordinary concern for the brothers would be required on the part of the traveling overseers.

      Reaching their destination, the two brothers placed much literature with the friendly folk, planting many seeds of Bible truth. In the years to come, these seeds would contribute to the growth of flourishing congregations.

      EXPEDITIONS TO OTHER LARGE CITIES

      After returning to La Paz, Brother Michalec was soon on his way to Cochabamba, the second-largest city. This time traveling alone, he boarded a truck loaded with oranges. Gingerly climbing up onto the canvas that covered the fruit, he carefully spread his six-foot (1.8 m) frame as evenly as possible over the cargo to avoid crushing it. The truck headed south over a dusty, bumpy road. After snaking their way down through the mountains all night, they came into the delightful, temperate valley of Cochabamba. The city, with its palm trees and modern homes, seemed very pleasant in contrast to the barren altiplano.

      The moderate climate had apparently attracted many priests and nuns from abroad, and these wielded strong control. Although quite a few of the people were skeptical when Brother Michalec called on them, he saw evidence of Jehovah’s direction. Brother Michalec visited a retired army colonel, a reader of our publications who seemed to show enthusiasm for the truth. The next day the two of them, traveling on bicycles, visited various ones this man had talked to about the Bible. One of these, a schoolteacher named Carlos Saavedra, showed genuine interest and was supplied with literature for him and his family to read.

      After a week, Brother Michalec boarded an old passenger train for Oruro, the third-largest city at the time. It was a bleak, cold place on the altiplano, a railroad center for the nearby mining areas. Although the surroundings were drab, the people were generally humble and friendly. But Brother Michalec knew very little then about a certain devilish rite that enslaved many of these humble folk.