The government had refused entry to Witness missionaries. However, in October 1945 the Society arranged for two Gilead graduates from Bolivia to get in touch with the Department of Foreign Affairs in order to find out what was holding up the visas for our missionaries. Through inquiry, it was learned that by coming into the country as tourists, and then paying $25 per person, missionaries could in time get their visas to remain here. So it was that after much correspondence and many efforts eight Gilead missionaries finally arrived in Peru on October 20, 1946. That original group included Walter and Christine Akin and Nellena and Verda Pool, who would spend decades here aiding sheeplike ones.

The original group of eight missionaries divided Lima into eight territories. It fell to Brother and Sister Akin to work the section called Lince, which proved to be a very fruitful field. How could Sister Akin ever forget witnessing at her first door there? She presented her testimony card to the lady of the house, read a verse or two from the Spanish Bible, and mentioned the contribution for the literature. The lady seemed interested, rattled off something in Spanish, and started to push Sister Akin down the street. They came to a halt in front of a tailor shop. The lady pointed to her wedding ring, and it dawned on Sister Akin that she wanted her to talk to her husband, the tailor. Imagine our sister’s surprise at seeing, not just one, but five tailors in that shop! With a prayer in her heart to Jehovah, she courageously gave a witness and offered the book “The Truth Shall Make You Free.” All five men tried to converse with Sister Akin, and finally the owner pointed to her wedding ring. That meant, Come back with your husband. Well, this led to a home Bible study and to some “letters of recommendation,” eventual associates in Jehovah’s service. (2 Cor. 3:1-3) Years later the Akins could point to their “letters” resulting from that first Bible study in Lima. Luis and Adriana Sanchez later became regular pioneers. Another of those five tailors, Flavio Ramos, eventually became a special pioneer in Lima. One young man who accepted the book from Sister Akin in that tailor shop later became a special pioneer serving high in the Andes.