“A Large Door” Opens in Portugal
ON April 25, 1974, “a large door that leads to activity” suddenly opened wide for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Portugal. Overnight, a completely unexpected military revolution toppled a forty-eight-year-old dictatorship. Freedom of worship was proclaimed, as well as the restoration of all other civil liberties. What a welcome change for these faithful Christians! For years their work had been banned and they had been persecuted as a minority religion. Big things have been happening for them in Portugal since then.
Motivated by love for God and neighbor, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Portugal have seized the opportunity to preach this “good news of the kingdom” vigorously as never before. And in so short a time, they have found many people who have seen the futility of believing that any human system can solve the problems of mankind. These honest-hearted persons have recognized the basic difficulties that remain, in spite of history’s long experiments with so many ‘isms,’ such as feudalism, fascism, communism, socialism and imperialism. Happily, they have found the only answer to humankind’s problems. “Where?” you may ask. In the oldest historical document existing, the Holy Bible. Man’s only hope is government by God, yes, God’s kingdom.
To grasp what is taking place in Portugal, consider this: The twenty-year period from 1950 to 1969 saw the number of active witnesses of Jehovah grow from 58 to a peak of 6,037. But in just twenty months from April 1974 over 6,270 people were baptized as Jehovah’s Christian witnesses! On an average, more than ten new disciples have been made each day! For many, this has meant making big changes in their lives. Now they are more than ‘traditional’ believers in God. They have a living faith that moves them to action. Joyfully they are worshiping God “with spirit and truth.”—John 4:24.
BRANCH OFFICE OPENED
A big forward step toward reorganizing the work came on February 14, 1975. On this date a contract was signed to rent fine facilities that would serve as headquarters for the local Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses. A modern, well-designed building having twenty rooms and ideally suited for overseeing the expansion of the Witnesses’ work in Portugal has since been in use in Estoril, a town near Lisbon.
Within a two-month period, four large containers of Bible literature totaling some sixty tons were received from the Watchtower Society’s factory in Brooklyn, New York. In addition, a total of 333,700 books were printed commercially by the Association in Portugal during 1975. The desire for Bible literature is so great that it is common for congregation overseers to come to Estoril, with their own trucks, anxious to pick up 500 or even 1,000 books!
The opening of this branch Bethel home (“Bethel” meaning “House of God”) has brought blessings in more than one way. It is located on property that has a fine lawn as well as a vegetable garden in the rear, and it so happens that a Witness whose husband is a professional gardener of the municipality attends a nearby congregation. Her husband is a friendly man who enjoys associating with Jehovah’s Witnesses. He even allowed his home to be used for meetings in the days of the ban, although at the time he himself did not manifest a personal desire to study the Bible. Since the gardens at Bethel needed a professional touch, this man was asked whether he would like to help. He happily accepted and spent several days working there in the spring of 1975. His association with the Bethel family made a deep impression on his mind and heart. When one of the family offered to study the Bible with him, he was reluctant, but finally agreed. All he needed was ‘to start,’ for he then made rapid progress and was baptized in early December 1975.
This gardener, though, had been busy sowing a different kind of “seed” even before his baptism. Being a persuasive talker, he had already interested a municipal fiscal (inspector) in God’s kingdom. This food inspector quickly grasped the sense of the message, refused henceforth to engage in dishonest practices and started attending Bible study meetings. The fiscal spoke with a neighbor who also started attending the weekly Bible study in his own home, as well as congregation meetings. As a result, on the day of the gardener’s baptism, four interested people with whom he studies were present. What a splendid way to show how speaking the truth had produced an active disciple of Jesus Christ! Although the gardener still enjoys planting and tending gardens, he is even happier in cultivating, as fruitage, the “word of the kingdom” by speaking it out to others.—Matt. 13:18-23.
KINGDOM HALLS MULTIPLY
On January 9, 1975, word went out to the congregations that they could open Kingdom Halls. This ‘open door’ really thrilled the Witnesses! Since then a total of seventy-two fine halls have been rented, decorated and inaugurated with dedication programs. Another forty halls are presently being readied for dedication. Rents in large cities are high, so three or four congregations use the same hall in order to meet these expenses. To obtain sufficient funds for establishing clean and dignified Kingdom Halls, some of Jehovah’s Witnesses have sold personal belongings such as radios, tape recorders, gold rings, bracelets and brooches. Children have brought their entire savings to the congregation, turning over their “piggy banks”! In one congregation, the womenfolk gathered together all their jewelry as a donation.
An unusual experience took place at Funchal, Madeira. The only location suitable for a Kingdom Hall was a warehouse that would require much rebuilding. The owner agreed to the alterations, and members of the local congregations started to work. As a truckload of lumber was being unloaded one Friday afternoon, the Witness in charge of construction remarked to the owner, who happened to be present, that they were going to put up the ceiling that weekend. The owner could hardly believe his ears. Thinking such a task impossible, he was moved by curiosity to visit the premises on Monday morning. To his amazement, his eyes beheld a beautiful wood ceiling. He remarked: “Even if I paid a contractor to get the job done, it would take at least a couple of weeks, and here you people did it on a single weekend!” This incident, plus the spirit of brotherly love so visibly evident among the three congregations working on the hall, greatly impressed the owner. Just before the meeting for dedication of the Kingdom Hall, he surprised the local Witnesses by telling them that use of the hall would be free of charge for eleven months. He also made a large monetary contribution and sent refreshments for the workers.
THE FIRST LARGE ASSEMBLIES
Legal recognition also meant that annual district assemblies could now be held in Portugal. This was an entirely new experience. What a challenge! Everything had to start from scratch, as there was no previous assembly organization or equipment—not even a loudspeaker, or a pot for the cafeteria. During January 1975 plans for the summer district assemblies were outlined at a special meeting with all traveling overseers.
When assembly time came, everyone rose to the occasion in a wonderful way. The departments functioned well, serving their purpose to help the Witnesses to attend a four-day program, containing much sound counsel on how Christians may meet and overcome the challenges of these turbulent days. During July and August of 1975 a total of 34,529 persons attended the public meeting of the three district assemblies in Portugal, plus 410 for the Azores and 629 at Funchal, Madeira.
Events of such magnitude do not pass unnoticed. The Pôrto daily, Jornal de Notícias, of August 2, 1975, stated about the assembly in that city: “The atmosphere is peaceful and cordial, characteristic of Jehovah’s Witnesses. This is the religious group, that, after the Catholics, is the largest in our country, already numbering more than 16,000 members.”
Commenting on the Kingdom songs, the O Comércio do Pôrto, of August 4, 1975, remarked: “The songs, with words and music both written and composed by members of Jehovah’s Witnesses, are based on the Bible and speak of the joy in waiting on Jehovah, the happiness of the meek and patient ones that God blesses and in the coming of a Kingdom that already has begun to rule.
“The songs are very beautiful, and without doubt are a form of participation in and of transmitting truths of the Holy Scriptures.”
A Lisbon newspaper, Tempo, gave outstanding coverage to the Lisbon assemblies held at the same football stadium during two successive weeks. This newspaper devoted a regular eight-page supplement entirely to Jehovah’s Witnesses, giving a total of 1,100 column centimeters (433 inches) of publicity. The August 7, 1975, issue of Tempo stated about the first Lisbon convention: “What most impressed our reporters about this assembly was the absence of policemen. A body of 1,100 volunteers took care of the entire organization of the assembly, including attendants for traffic, supervision of parking lots, cleaning personnel, first aid, transportation, the selling of refreshments and sandwiches at 6 booths placed around the stadium as well as the preparation and distribution of about 6,000 meals an hour in a canteen mounted in the Sports Gymnasium.”
There was no doubt about it. The “Divine Sovereignty” District Assemblies were a grand success in every way.
EXPANDING THROUGHOUT PORTUGAL
From October to December 1975 a special campaign was launched to preach the “good news” in towns, villages and rurals that had never yet heard the message of God’s kingdom. Fifty-eight special full-time workers were organized in car groups to work along every road and to call on every home. The results?
In the first month of the campaign one group of four Witnesses distributed a total of 2,241 Bibles and books. Public talks were given to groups of interested people. In one small hamlet, a very sincere and hospitable Catholic family offered free accommodations to the group. Every night when the Witnesses returned, the kind lady would have a meal prepared. She showed great interest in the Bible educational work these “pioneers” were doing and her first words each night were: “And how did your work go today? Did the people listen well?” This warmhearted lady was also in charge of the sacristy, being the principal supporter of the parish priest. But his visits had become few and far between. It was a pleasant surprise for the group when this lady gathered twenty-three people from that small hamlet to hear a Bible talk in her own home.
THE BIBLE COMES INTO ITS OWN!
All the years during the ban it had been difficult for congregations to receive sufficient copies of the Bible. In fact, commercial Bible stores refused even to sell them in bulk to Jehovah’s Witnesses. What a cause for rejoicing when 60,000 copies of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures were received from New York, to be used in the first door-to-door Bible campaign, held in the months of November and December 1975. Having the Portuguese Bible to offer to the people, the Witnesses were fired with great zeal. A new house-to-house worker in Braga, a very religious city in the north, enthusiastically distributed twenty-five Bibles in the first week of the campaign.
A rural congregation of some twenty Witnesses distributed 104 Bibles—an average of over five each—during the first month of the campaign.
BRIGHT PROSPECTS AHEAD
Although the greater Lisbon area alone now has over a hundred congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the city of Lisbon a ratio of one Witness to every 176 inhabitants, those persons that are “hungering and thirsting for righteousness” are still being found in great numbers.—Matt. 5:6.
There are now more than 18,000 active witnesses of Jehovah in Portugal. Reports show that these are joined regularly by other thousands at their meetings at Kingdom Halls throughout the country. Then, when you consider that 45,221 persons assembled to observe the Memorial of Christ’s death in April 1976, it can readily be understood why Jehovah’s Witnesses in Portugal are happy that “a large door that leads to activity” has been opened before them. Joyfully and zealously, they have passed through that door and seized their service privileges as a great blessing. (1 Cor. 16:9) They are not slacking the hand. In recent months they have enjoyed so many blessings that they feel like David, when he said of his blessings: “They have become more numerous than I can recount.”—Ps. 40:5.
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Branch Office of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Estoril, Portugal