and do so by resisting all infiltration of immorality, unchastity and worldliness into the theocratic organization by persons today like Balaam and Jezebel. In this behalf the rule for us is, “Let marriage be honorable among all, and the marriage bed be without defilement.” Husbands and wives will harmonize with this divine rule. They will endeavor to honor their marriage by dignifying it according to the ideal standards which God’s Word sets for it.—Eph. 5:21-33, NW.

Further Preaching in the Islands

IN OUR previous issue we reported on the travels of the Watchtower Society’s president, N. H. Knorr, and his secretary, M. G. Henschel, as they served Jehovah’s witnesses in the islands of Bermuda, the Bahamas and Cuba. Now it is our pleasure to follow the report of their continued journey to keep appointments in Jamaica, Haiti, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Brother Knorr had been to Jamaica before, but it was Brother Henschel’s first visit to this rugged mountainous island. The plane we were to travel in from Camaguey, Cuba, to Jamaica left Camagüey a little late. The convention had already started in Kingston, Friday, December 15. A number of brothers were at the airport to meet the travelers and it was not long until we were in the full swing of another convention; this time, however, it was all in English.

The branch office had arranged for the assembly to be held in Kingston, Jamaica, in the Jamaica Union of Teachers Hall. The cafeteria facilities were just 100 yards away and fine meals were served. Also a very good refreshment stand had been fixed up. This place was connected by direct wire so that all of the convention program could be heard by the volunteer workers in the cafeteria.

The Jamaican brothers put on a very good service meeting. One of the features was a vivid poetic drama depicting the preservation of the servant of the Lord through persistent preaching. It was an allegory; all of the characters spoke their parts in poetic rhyme. There were such characters as Legion, Enticement, Discouragement, Mr. Mockery; and others took their parts well and tried valiantly to overcome Jehovah’s servant. But with the “sword of the spirit” and the service of the Lord keeping him busy in preaching the good news, the young publisher was able to overcome all of these hindrances. The point was effectively made and it was really something done differently. The audience enjoyed the presentation.

Brothers Knorr and Henschel spoke every day at the assembly and there was one discussion that the brothers enjoyed immensely. That was the story of the rich man and Lazarus and its present-day meaning. The details of this have since been published in The Watchtower. Brother Henschel dealt with many service problems and particularly showed how the publishers of the Kingdom today must use their time to prove themselves to be real Christians.

Good publicity was carried on in connection with the public meeting arranged for 7 o’clock Sunday evening. On Sunday morning the baptismal talk was delivered and 145 brothers were immersed in the bay. The public talk attracted an unprecedented crowd of 4,500. The auditorium was packed, the yards on both sides were full, the cafeteria space was filled out and the sidewalks were blocked with people standing there listening to the talks through loud-speakers. Everyone was overjoyed with the excellent assembly. Kingston was talking about Jehovah’s witnesses. Of course, for the brothers the assembly ended much too soon, but all were determined to go back to their home companies and do better preaching of the gospel.

The last visit to the island of Jamaica made by Brother Knorr, in 1946, showed that there were only 899 publishers regularly engaging in the field service. Now there are 2,120, according to last year’s report, with a peak of 2,380. There is very little increase in the number of companies organized because there were many companies in 1946, but they have grown and the people of this lovely island, about 1,388,000, certainly know that Jehovah’s witnesses have a message of comfort for them and many are listening and allowing the publishers to study with them in their homes. The witnesses are sure of Theocracy’s increase in Jamaica. The Monday after the convention was devoted to checking over the branch work and taking care of matters about which the brothers wanted to see the president of the Society.

On Tuesday a trip was made in the Society’s sound-car, a 1936 Ford, without murmur or groan, all the way to the other end of the island to the famed resort center, Montego Bay. This gave us an opportunity to see some of the other cities. It was necessary to go over Mt. Diablo, one of the highest mountain peaks in the island, and then down through a fern gulley, one of the most beautiful gardens of tropical splendor in the world. At Montego Bay the Strand Theatre was rented for the one-day assembly so as to accommodate the brothers in the western end of the island. Thirteen were immersed on Wednesday morning. Advertising of the public meeting was done right after the immersion. We worked in the sound-car, making announcements and distributing handbills from the car. It was certainly interesting going through the winding roads of this city and talking to the inhabitants. In the afternoon session, 310 persons attended, and, in spite of the fact that this was the Christmas season when everybody was shopping, 554 persons attended the public talk.

The next day we were off on another long jaunt to visit the northeastern end of the island where the Capitol Theatre was obtained and a one-day session held for Jehovah’s witnesses in that part of the island. The island is only 144 miles long and 49 miles wide, and as we traveled through village and town we would hail different individuals whom we had met in Kingston and who recognized the sound-car, and one person would turn out to be a publisher and another one a company servant and the other a Bible study servant or some good-will interest. In fact, everywhere we went, even when we were eating at a restaurant, the people knew us. This shows how well Jehovah’s witnesses are known throughout Jamaica.

The trip from Montego Bay to Port Antonio was all along the north shore. The sea was a deep-blue color and the stiff north breeze created the contrasting white foam of big breakers. We could see the water most of the time, but occasionally we passed through large coconut palm estates and sugar estates. It was just past the rainy season and so Jamaica looked extremely verdant wherever the winding, hilly roads took us. It is a fertile island for agriculture and for the seeds of Kingdom truth.

At Port Antonio 160 brothers assembled at 5 o’clock to hear Brother Henschel talk for a half-hour and then he had to be on his way by car to Kingston, where a special meeting was arranged with the three units to take up matters pertaining to building additional Kingdom Halls. Brother Knorr spoke extemporaneously for the rest of the time prior to the public meeting which was to begin at 7 o’clock. Four hundred and five persons turned out that evening who were interested in living forever in happiness on earth.

Brother Knorr also had to get back to Kingston that night because they were flying the next day for Haiti. The bright moon was shining and the trip home through the mountains and valleys was most interesting. It was pleasant, too, just outside the city to pass many of the brothers who had come to the meeting and who were walking back to their homes in the rugged hills where they live. Some were riding bicycles, but the majority of them were walking. All of them greeted us as we passed.

Brother Henschel had a very fine meeting in Kingston, where 525 brothers packed out the Kingdom Hall of the Central unit. There he read a letter written by Brother Knorr to the three units in regard to ideas for expanding the work in this principal capital city of Jamaica. The suggestions were accepted unanimously and undoubtedly the work will move ahead rapidly. In 1946 when Brother Knorr made his first visit, there were 209 publishers and one unit. At that time the suggestion was made that they divide into three units and build three Kingdom Halls. This they did and since 1946 they have expanded to 800 regular and irregular publishers. So, now they are planning to go ahead building two more Kingdom Halls in different parts of the city and undoubtedly the work will advance with a similar increase.

Again the week went by much too quickly and it was time to depart. Thirty brothers accompanied us to the Palisadoes Airport, seven miles out of Kingston, to see us fly away at about 1:20 p.m. in Pan American’s man-made bird on our way to the next stop, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. We thoroughly enjoyed the week in Jamaica with the thousands of theocratic servants of Jehovah.

HAITI

Tropical Haiti takes up the Western portion of the island that most people know as Santo Domingo. It is very mountainous and fairly primitive. The Dominican Republic takes up the eastern end, the major area of the island. Haiti is a colored republic. The people speak French and Creole, around 90 per cent using the latter tongue. French is the governmental language, while Creole is the language that everybody speaks. The Catholic religion has been taught there for many centuries, but it does not make any difference to the Catholic clergy if their people practice voodooism, which it is said most of the country people do. It is all right with them to belong to two religions so long as they belong to the Catholic religion. What an odd way to teach the truth, if they had the truth! Such tolerance of demonism explains how it is that the Japanese people can worship their ancestors and still be what they call “good Catholics”.

It is not so much the matter of teaching people what is in the Bible, because that has not been the interest of the Catholic Church, for centuries. It is a matter of building up a powerful organization which today has proved to be more political than religious. In fact, the Vatican City is a Vatican state; not only is it a center for