Lisbon’s parks and gardens serve as a fine natural setting in which to speak of the restored Paradise. Armando Lourenço, now an elder, tells how he learned the truth in 1956: “I was sitting in the Lisbon Campo Grande Park reading my Bible one sunny afternoon when Josué Guilhermino sat down and asked the question Philip had put to the Ethiopian, ‘Do you really understand what you are reading?’ I answered with the same question the Ethiopian presented to Philip, ‘Really, how can I, unless someone helps me?’ “ (Acts 8:30, 31) Brother Lourenço was baptized four months later and eventually went to Gilead School, returned to Portugal and served as a circuit overseer for many years in different parts of the country.

A TIME OF EXPANSION

Interest was increasing, and the Kingdom Halls were overflowing. It was a time for expansion in Portugal. So Brother Piccone was assigned as the first full-time circuit overseer, visiting isolated groups and interested persons in all parts of the country. On his arrival at the home of an interested lady in Monção, in the northernmost Minho province, word swiftly spread that a foreigner was in town. No sooner had he begun witnessing to her than the neighbors began arriving. It was not necessary to leave the house to visit others, since it constantly was full of people eager to hear the good news.

In the fall of 1959 Brother Piccone visited the Azores. He relates: “Visiting the Azores is quite an experience since only two of the nine islands have docks. Being situated in mid-Atlantic, these islands are often surrounded by stormy seas, as was the case when we arrived. It was quite a challenge to get off the steamer’s ladder into the waiting rowboat. We had to wait until a wave brought the rowboat to the exact level of the ladder and then jump, hopefully, at the right moment! It was quite a job to get the Society’s film equipment, luggage and literature off the ship in safe condition. From there, skilled oarsmen rode the waves, timing their arrival to shore to avoid capsizing the boat.

“Showing the film on Pico Island presented more obstacles. Since the brothers lived in a village where there was no electricity, we had to walk about five miles to the next town to see what could be arranged. On our way into town a man picking grapes noticed I was a stranger, so he invited us to visit his wine cellar and hospitably offered a drink. The conversation turned to the subject of the film projection, and to our amazement, his brother, who was treading grapes in the winepress, owned the local movie house! Arrangements were made to show the Society’s film there the following night. The next day, as we approached the hall, we had a pleasant surprise. Rockets were being fired to inform everyone in the neighborhood that a movie was to be shown. An attendance of some one hundred and fifty came to see the film.”

The truth continued to spread throughout the Azores. In 1960 Santa Maria, an island well known to transatlantic plane travelers, received the truth. Delayed at the airport while repairs were being made on the plane, a brother took advantage of the time and witnessed to a man, who subscribed for The Watchtower and was encouraged to speak to others. He was told that if he could arrange for enough to subscribe for the magazine, he could receive a visit from one of the Society’s representatives to get help to understand the Bible. The man went around to his friends and obtained several subscriptions. He then wrote the Society, requesting that someone visit them. The traveling overseer was surprised to find that 19 turned up to see the Society’s film.