ENGLISH PIONEERS GIVE US A HAND

During 1931 the Society had held a series of assemblies in different cities, including London and Paris. Brother Gabler spoke at these two assemblies and explained the great need for volunteers to help in the almost virgin Spanish field. As a result, three pioneers came forward to accept the challenge​—Ernest Eden, Frank Taylor and John Cooke.

By July of 1932 these three English pioneers had begun their preaching work in the industrial city of Bilbao, the provincial capital of Vizcaya. This province is part of the region known as the Basque provinces, where the Basque language is spoken. Incidentally, no one really knows the exact origin of this intriguing tongue that has absolutely no relationship to the Spanish language.

Using a Spanish testimony card that explained their mission, the pioneers gave a witness in Bilbao and placed much literature. If a door happened to be open, they might just step inside.

During the three months of preaching in Bilbao, the pioneers placed a total of 459 books, 1,032 booklets and 509 copies of Luz y Verdad (Light and Truth), the equivalent of the magazine The Golden Age (now Awake!). This was accomplished despite the fact that the people were very religious. Much of the territory was made up of apartments, and most of the doors were adorned with a picture of the so-called “sacred heart.” Often Jesus and Mary were shown holding their own bleeding hearts in their hands and offering a certain number of days of remission from purgatory to those exhibiting this ghastly spectacle.

EN ROUTE TO MADRID

After completing their work in Bilbao, the pioneers started to witness along the northern coast of Spain. How did they obtain more literature as they traveled from place to place? They arranged with the Madrid office of the Society to have boxes sent ahead to various railway stations. As they traveled, they would call at the depots and pick up the literature awaiting them.

Our intrepid pioneers left the rainy mountainous area of the north and began working their way south through the cities of León, Palencia, Burgos, Valladolid, Salamanca, Segovia and Madrid. When they came onto the meseta, the high inland plateau of Castile, they were delighted with the picturesque scenery and intrigued with the life-style, so reminiscent of Bible lands. Skins were used for storing and carrying wine, and women could be seen with earthenware pots of water atop their heads. Little olive oil lamps still served as lights, and in many places cars and buses rarely were seen, the means of transport being donkey and mule. Grapes still were pressed for wine by barefoot men, and oxen dragged a flail around the threshing floor to separate the grain from the chaff. Many people were living in caves. In fact, that is still true in some regions, but these caves are clean and nicely arranged. During the summer they are cool and in winter they are cozy.

When the English pioneers were in Madrid, they had an unusual addition to their ranks, a young shepherd named Domingo. He had come from a remote village in Navarra. What had drawn him to Madrid? Well, one day, while tending sheep, he found a copy of Luz y Verdad in a ditch by the roadside. He enjoyed it so much that he sent away for the books it mentioned, and all during the winter he read them avidly. However, his discovery of this new “way” brought opposition and lying attacks against the truth. (Acts 9:2) So, he headed for Madrid to learn something about the people responsible for these publications. The distance from his town of Pamplona to Madrid is more than four hundred kilometers (250 miles), but Domingo walked it! For the first time in his life he had left his native village. Once in Madrid, he found the Society’s office and started studying the Bible with the English pioneers. Satisfied that this was the truth, he unconditionally offered himself for the preaching work and became a pioneer.

TRUTH SPREADS IN THREE DIRECTIONS

The summer of 1933 marked the parting of the ways for pioneers John, Ernest and Frank. Ernest Eden took Domingo and struck out for the northwest. In time, Frank was assigned the whole of southern Spain, an area almost as big as Portugal. This fascinating territory included all of Andalusia and covered the southern coast from Huelva to Alicante. Meanwhile, John Cooke went some sixty-four kilometers (40 miles) south of Madrid to the ancient city of Toledo.