Everything was ready for the convention in Kumasi to begin on March 5, 1959, as if no emergency had come up. But what about Brother Knorr?

By the divine will, there was no immigration trouble this time. Brother Jennings tells us:

“Brother Knorr arrived in Accra and passed through customs the evening before the assembly was due to begin. After spending Thursday and Friday going over things at the branch office, he and my wife and I flew to Kumasi to attend the assembly.

“Immediately upon arrival Brother Knorr was scheduled to give a talk at the foreign-language session attended by French-speaking delegates from Ivory Coast and Togo and Frafra-speaking delegates from Northern Ghana. The brothers were waiting when he arrived and listened attentively throughout the entire talk.

“That afternoon overseers were seated in the reserved section for a special program. Two half-hour discourses began the meeting and then it was Brother Jennings’ turn to give the brothers counsel on ‘Overseers, Keep Your Congregations Alive.’ Brother Knorr then spoke to the overseers on ‘Shepherding the Flock of God with Skillfulness.’ Citing King David and Christ Jesus as examples of faithful and skillful shepherds, he charged the overseers with the responsibility of assisting the new and weak publishers before ever any of them became inactive. After showing concern over the fact that many who went through baptism failed to continue in active service, he made clear the obligation of the overseers in reviving such inactive ones.

“Sunday, the final day of the assembly, dawned bright and hot. During the morning various speakers from Bethel and congregation servants gave counsel and information on Scriptural subjects. Tape-recorded experiences and songs from brothers behind the Iron Curtain were also played, to the delight of the conventioners. All the talks on this day, as on all days of the assembly, were simultaneously translated into Twi, Ga, Ewe and Adangbe.

“At 12 noon circuit and district servants gathered for a special meeting, with Brother Knorr handling an enlightening and serious discussion on being teachers of the flock​—not just telling them what to do but setting the example by doing it with them. The afternoon program included a letter read to all for approval and adoption, expressing appreciation to the Society for the assembly, the visit of Brother Knorr and the new book, From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained.

“The final talk of the day was the public discourse, ‘A Paradise Earth Through God’s Kingdom,’ by the Society’s president. N. H. Knorr. How pleased and thrilled all were when the count revealed that 13,754, almost double the number of Witnesses in Ghana, were there listening to this interesting and important subject. The attentiveness and frequent applause revealed that the talk was thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated by all.

“Baptism was on Saturday morning and 460 persons were immersed.”

Brother Jennings recounts some rather comical experiences in connection with their trip back to Accra. Brother Kofi Kye had volunteered to take them in his car Sunday evening following the public talk. So, after saying the last good-byes and taking leave of the assembly, they got into the car and took off.

It was dark already and Brother Knorr showed by his questions that he was a little apprehensive about the driver’s finding the right way back to Accra. Brother Jennings reassured him, but the next thing they knew they were at the dead end of a street. What a way to reassure a stranger traveling after dark!

Anyway, the driver turned and managed to pick up the jungle road, but how could Brother Knorr be sure that that would take him to Accra? How relieved he was when, after four hours of motoring through the woods, a sign appeared that said “You Are Now Entering Accra”!

“Because we were traveling through the jungle.” Brother Jennings recalls, “Brother Knorr had everyone of us watching for wild animals en route, such as lions, panthers, and so forth. After 160 miles of forest the total score of ‘game’ reported seen was a field mouse and a green frog which jumped three feet in the air for every foot forward.”

KNORR AND HENSCHEL VISIT AGAIN

December 1970 brought with it another event of unprecedented blessing. Brother Knorr, eleven years after his last trip over here, decided to visit us again. He was coming with his wife and Brother Henschel. That was not all. They were traveling in company with 182 other visiting brothers and sisters from the United States, Canada and other overseas countries. The group was taking a tour of West Africa, arranged to conclude with a series of conventions along the West Coast.