Since my eldest brother had gone to South Africa in 1931, I decided to join him there in the full-time preaching work.

JOYFUL DAYS DURING EARLY GROWTH IN SOUTH AFRICA

March 1935 found me in Cape Town, South Africa. Here was a vast field for preaching the good news, there being only about 240 proclaimers of God’s kingdom throughout the country. I covered the entire length of South Africa from south to north in just four months, preaching in many places along the way.

While preaching the good news in the Eastern Transvaal and Swaziland, in 1936, we witnessed for five months without coming across a single congregation of Jehovah’s people. But we had very encouraging experiences.

For example, the area around Barberton had a number of forestry settlements, and on one occasion we suddenly came upon one after sundown. Approaching the settlement, named Coetzeestroom, we reached an elevated spot from where we could cover the whole area with recordings from our transcription machine. A brief musical recording was played, followed by recorded Bible talks. It was a delight to call on the people the next day. They were poor, their houses small. Almost all of them associated our visit with the recorded message that they had heard the previous night. Some, in fact, said: “To us it was like a voice coming from heaven.”

A still happier surprise was that we came to the home of a Witness who had been working in isolation. What an animated discussion we had with him and his family! We felt that his household would greatly appreciate sharing in a Bible study with us. Not only did he and his family join in, but so did six others whose interest he had already developed! This in an area that seemed to be miles away from everywhere.

From Swaziland we worked our way down through northern Natal to Durban. In the short space of twenty months, I visited all the provinces of the Republic of South Africa. Then, in October 1936, I was invited to work in the Society’s branch office in Cape Town.

I had already met my Christian brothers in the branch office, and they all seemed very able and efficient in their work. Just where would I fit in and be of practical help? My four fellow workers, all older in years and more experienced, were very helpful to me. While I was on board ship the pace was slow; in the pioneer ministry it was faster, but in the branch office it was very much faster, almost bewildering at times.

JEHOVAH MAKES IT GROW DESPITE WAR

While taking a walk on the winding main road in Clifton in Cape Town one afternoon, I suddenly became aware that the newspaper boys were calling out: “War special!” “War special!” The second world war was on, with South Africa quickly becoming a participant.

Suddenly a ban was placed on the importation of all Watch Tower literature. One day two detectives arrived at the branch office with a form authorizing them to seize all the literature of the Society. Was this to be the end of our using Bible study helps?

Alertly the branch overseer called the attention of the detectives to the fact that the authorization required that each and every one of the publications be named on the list​—otherwise they could not rightly seize them. This proved to be the correct position, and off the detectives went. We knew, however, that they would be back.

Accordingly, without delay, the branch overseer, George Phillips, got busy in the legal defense of the good news. This led to a number of favorable Supreme Court decisions so that in due time thousands of cartons of literature held up in the Cape Town docks were released. Meantime Jehovah blessed the efforts of his people in a remarkable way. Our peak of Kingdom proclaimers moved up from 555 in 1939 to 1,253 in 1941. By the end of the war in 1945 we nearly tripled, reporting 3,466 preachers.

But while the war was still on we received a wonderful booklet called “Peace​—Can It Last?” Digesting its contents, we could dimly envision a mighty postwar preaching work. Any lingering doubts we may have had about this were dissipated as we heard of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead getting under way for the training of missionaries to go to all parts of the world.

JEHOVAH MAKES THINGS GROW STILL MORE AS THE WAR ENDS

In 1946 about a dozen of us from South Africa attended the international assembly in Cleveland, Ohio. Later, our first Gilead graduate arrived in South Africa. Learning much about the Gilead missionary school in New York, I was moved to fill out an application to attend the school. What joy when, in 1950, I was accepted! I left behind in South Africa over 7,600 proclaimers of God’s kingdom, twice as many as we had in 1945!