Truth Welcomed in Colombia
COLOMBIA is no insignificant land. Its population of some 20 million occupy an area of about 455,000 square miles—larger than France, Spain and Portugal combined. Up to 1945, 99.9 percent of the people were nominally Roman Catholic. In that year the first Watch Tower missionaries arrived to aid two local Witnesses who lived and preached in the mountains.
At first viewed as outsiders and with some hostility, these Christian ministers quietly went about their work of visiting people in their homes and offering free home Bible study courses. They encountered stock objections, obviously all arising from one source—objections such as, “It’s a sin to read the Bible,” “Our priest forbids us to read the Bible,” “The Bible makes you go crazy,” and so on. Often religious opposition resulted in the denial to them of the use of public auditoriums for meetings, so they met in backyards and patios. Patiently they endured in their fine, unselfish service, confident that God would bless His work.
The strict neutrality of the Witnesses toward all political movements set them apart from Catholics and Protestants alike. (John 17:14) Even during a decade of violence in which an estimated 200,000 persons were killed, the Witnesses carried on with their ministry peacefully. Sincere Colombians began to respond to the truths of the Bible. They, in turn, could not but speak forth the things they were learning. The word spread. People were thirsty for Bible knowledge.
Times have surely changed. The Catholic Church now finds herself on the defensive, striving to stem the tide of antireligious forces. Inside the church a new generation of priests is demanding immediate reform, including the abolition of celibacy. Colombian newspaper headlines have exposed the problems of the church in such recent titles as “People of Cali Scorn Holy Friday Myths,” “Archbishop Criticizes Colombian Priests,” “Are They Priests or Politicians? Asks a Hierarch.”
No longer do the Witnesses have to use backyards for their assemblies. Businessmen and municipal authorities are making public auditoriums and stadiums available to the Witnesses, without regard for what the bishop might say. In greatly increasing numbers people are coming to listen. They are recognizing the genuine ring of Bible truth.
Jehovah’s witnesses have their hands full trying to satisfy the burning desire of thousands of persons for Bible knowledge. Distribution of Bibles and Bible literature has more than doubled in the past two years. Over 9,100 free home Bible studies are regularly being conducted in the homes of interested persons. Reflecting the current trend, a traveling overseer reports: “Kingdom Halls are often filled to overflowing and latecomers have to stand outside to listen and observe through the open windows.” For the annual celebration of the Lord’s Evening Meal one congregation of fifty Witnesses had 368 persons in attendance. In the entire country the attendance of 28,377 represented an increase of 37 percent over last year and over four times the total number of Jehovah’s witnesses in the land. Obviously, there are thousands of Colombians who want to learn what the Bible teaches.
Not long ago, in the city of Villavicencio the radio encouraged the people to welcome the Witnesses into their homes. From Ciénago de Oro (Córdoba) a woman traveled to a neighboring city to find the overseer of a Christian congregation and invite him to send Witnesses to organize a Bible study group in her home. Indeed, it is common for people to offer their homes for this purpose.
Now, instead of always meeting objections, the Witnesses engaged in the house-to-house ministry are met with such questions as, “How can I get a Bible?” and “What does the Bible say?” One elderly woman in Medellín declared: “I believe the Bible. The church can change all it wants to, but it can never change the Bible.” She readily assented to having a Bible study in her home.
Among those benefiting from such Bible instruction was a sincere Catholic woman who was zealous in the work of her church. In her own words she tells how it happened: “I was given the assignment of spiritually preparing families for the Pope’s visit in 1968. Knowing nothing about the Bible to accomplish this task, I appealed to the priest for help. He confessed he did not know how to teach the Bible. However, he invited me to a week’s special course at a Catholic university to equip me along with others to do this work. It so happened that there was no qualified priest to do the job, and so a Protestant evangelist was called in to a Catholic university to teach the Bible. By this time I was confused and perplexed, and, happily for me, a Witness called at my door. Now I am a baptized Witness along with my husband, daughter and mother.”
CHANGED LIVES OF ALL KINDS OF MEN
Persons of all walks of life are welcoming Bible truth, and it is having a powerful effect on their lives. One couple in Medellín had lived together without benefit of marriage for twelve years, and had two children. When they learned the Bible requirements they took steps to legalize their marriage. Ironically, the husband’s brother, a priest, had never mentioned to them the Bible principles governing marriage.
Bible truth was welcomed by a beggar in Ibagué. He soon realized that he had been violating Bible principles. In order to be one of Jehovah’s witnesses he would have to engage in honest work. Now he is a shoe salesman and plans to be baptized soon.
And here is another instance of the power of God’s Word to change one’s life: “From the very first contact with the truth [a man in Bogotá] has never missed a meeting. His family is Jewish and, prior to studying the Bible, he associated with hippies besides being a drug addict. His father would give him money to visit prostitutes. All his life he wanted to do something humane. Now he is baptized and fulfilling a lifelong ambition—helping people in the finest way possible, aiding them to grasp the truth that leads to life.”
Then we have the following heartfelt expression by an engineer, professor and editor: “It disgusted me to see the close association of the Catholic Church with capitalism. All my life I have felt a spiritual need and have been searching for answers to my questions. Three months ago I came in contact with Jehovah’s witnesses and now I am happily studying the Bible with them and my questions are being answered.” He is now cutting down on his secular work so he can share more fully in the spreading of Bible truth in Colombia.
Jehovah’s witnesses find that people of all kinds respond to God’s Word. Housewives and laborers are joining with them in spreading the “good news.” Teachers and businessmen are responding favorably. Dentists, doctors, lawyers, engineers and other professional men are manifesting keen interest in the Kingdom message. Their outlook on life undergoes a great change.
EXCELLENT RESULTS
Perhaps the greatest change wrought in people’s lives by the truth of the Bible is reflected in the transformation from a selfish, self-serving way of life to a way of life that manifests eagerness to share with others the wonderful information with which they have been blessed. Increasing numbers of persons of all ages and of all classes of the population are sharing in spreading the message of life. Why, just a year ago in all Colombia there were 5,448 persons engaged in preaching the Kingdom message. This April there were 6,776, an increase of 24 percent.
Showing their earnestness in the service of God, large numbers are getting baptized. At the national assembly of Jehovah’s witnesses held in the spacious football stadium in Bogotá last December, a total of 717 persons of varying ages, after preparing themselves by careful study, were immersed. During just the ten months following September 1, 1969, a total of 1,174 were baptized. That accounts for about one out of every six Witnesses in the whole country.
There is much work still to be done. Rural territory has hardly been touched in many places. Next in line for special attention are scores of villages and cities of 15,000 to 100,000 population.
Entire families from other lands have moved to Colombia to help seek out truth-hungry ones and extend to them the message of life. One such family reports: “We are a family of three and we are all pioneer ministers (or full-time preachers) in the city of Pereira, where we can give a Bible sermon in over 90 percent of the homes. We have spent two and a half of the most happy years of our lives here preaching and teaching the good news of the Kingdom to the people of Colombia. They are very receptive. But only a small percentage of the people own a Bible. A smaller percentage have any knowledge of it, and the majority do not even understand that the Bible has chapters and verses.”
Can you imagine how happy a Witness in Medellín was when two young men took time out from their busy carpenter trade to study the Bible! When he apologized for the poor Spanish he spoke, they replied: “Do not let it bother you, because we are learning the truth. Besides, this is the first time in our life that anyone has taken the time to teach us anything about the Bible and God’s purposes for mankind. We are grateful for this.”
Yes, the bearers of Bible truth are being welcomed in Colombia. They have gained a reputation for being champions of Bible truth. Many thousands of Colombians would say “Sí, sí” (“Yes, yes”) to the following expression of a Colombian military general: “With pleasure I grant you permission for your assemblies. You never give us any problems. Teaching of the type you give is just what this country needs.”