LEARNING TO ORGANIZE

Without a doubt, the time had come to organize the Kingdom work further. In reply to the letter of Carvalho and Garrido, the Society sent two representatives to Portugal in May 1947. Brothers F. W. Franz and H. C. Covington were met at the Lisbon airport on May 5 by a group of eight happy brothers. For these few dedicated servants of Jehovah who had remained faithful over the years, this was an outstanding moment. The brothers were overjoyed at hearing Brother Franz give a talk in Portuguese on the subject “Organization Instructions.” At this time four servants were temporarily assigned to handle the first congregation in Lisbon.

During this visit Brothers Covington, Franz, Carvalho and Garrido investigated the possibility of legalizing the work and obtaining permission to send in missionaries. Their request was flatly denied.

The first meeting for the missionary was quite an occasion. Relates Brother Cooke: “I gave my first talk to the Almada group in Spanish, and it was translated into Portuguese by Eliseu Garrido.

On September 27, 1948, the first baptism was held after the arrival of Brother Cooke, with a total of eight baptized, including Eliseu Garrido.