Branch Dedications Bring Joy

“The congregations continued to be made firm in the faith and to increase in number from day to day,” wrote Luke as he described the speedy growth of Christianity in the first century. (Acts 16:5) Likewise in our 20th century, the steady yield in the number of Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide is solid proof that the call of the Lamb’s bride, “Come!” is being answered. (Rev. 22:17) What a cause for rejoicing! Along with that jubilation, too, comes the expansion of existing branch offices and the building of entirely new ones, with factories and Bethel Homes. For that reason, eight branch dedication programs were conducted during the past service year. Let us take a quick look at these exciting developments.

Ecuador

October 11, 1987, was a day of good cheer for our brothers in Ecuador as the new branch office complex was dedicated by Brother Daniel Sydlik of the Governing Body. During his stirring dedication discourse to an audience of 5,500 persons, he said: “For a sacrifice to be meaningful to Jehovah, it must first mean something to us.” How true those words were, since over a three-year period, more than 200 Ecuadoreans and 270 other Witnesses from 14 countries had come to work at the branch site at their own personal expense! Even a 12-year-old boy wanted to contribute to the construction project and made, perhaps, the most heart-touching contribution of all. While dying of leukemia, he asked his mother to send his contribution of S/​118 sucres (59 cents) to the brothers at the branch.

In 1977 a brother out of his kindheartedness had donated an 84-acre [34 ha] strip of land, just about 11 miles [18 km] from the city limits of Guayaquil. Here the branch complex and Assembly Hall were built. Now that these beautiful buildings are completed, they will have a share in spreading the name of God by their very location. Each year hundreds of thousands of people motoring their way to the beaches will pass by this new branch complex.

Papua New Guinea

The date: December 12, 1987. The occasion? The dedication of a new branch office in a land of 700 languages​—Papua New Guinea. And, the speaker? Brother Robert W. Wallen from Brooklyn headquarters, who, serving as zone overseer, gave the dedication talk to a happy audience of 564.

More than 35 years ago, in December 1951, two zealous Witnesses, Tom and Rowena Kitto, first brought the truth to the capital of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby. By 1955, 61 publishers were busily preaching the good news. Today, the branch counts a peak of 2,023 publishers.

A branch was established there in September 1960, and the living room in the house of a publisher served as the first branch office. Later, the branch moved to a larger building. But the growth of the Kingdom work called for further expansion. So in May 1982, planning for a new branch office and home began. Based on plans drawn up at Brooklyn headquarters, a four-story building that includes residence, office, and factory space was constructed by volunteers from Australia, New Zealand, and, of course, Papua New Guinea. A total of 200 full-time workers (averaging 54 at any given time) donated their time and labor over a four-year period. In accord with the strict migration and labor laws in this country, the Government Labour Department requested that we train one Papua New Guinean with each volunteer worker on the project. Thus, 30 local brothers and sisters learned trades on the site.

The branch office has a unique appearance. For the first time in Papua New Guinea, colored concrete block was used on a building. There were times when workers felt exhausted and inadequate to cope with various problems, but Jehovah infused them with “power” to overcome their weaknesses. (Isa. 40:29) The new branch stands not as a monument to a builder but as testimony to the fact that Jehovah’s spirit has been operative on his imperfect servants. What happiness filled the hearts of our brothers when the final touches completed the project!

Guyana

Aquila and Prisca used their house for theocratic purposes back in the first century. (1 Cor. 16:19) Likewise, a loving, humble brother in Guyana let his home be used for a branch office from 1914 until 1946, the year the first branch office and missionary home building was acquired. In 1946, the peak of publishers was 91. However, the 1987 service year saw a peak of 1,353 publishers. Plans to build a new branch office resulted from this fine increase.

A noble feat was accomplished by the hardworking sisters on the building project. They operated a makeshift cement-block factory. About 120 of them in teams of 10 to 12 at a time and using 16 molds were able to produce some 12,080 cement blocks in 55 days. The building itself could tell quite a story!

On weekends the building site was alive with volunteer workers from the local congregations. The country’s prime minister and his entourage even visited the work site and made complimentary remarks. One local carpenter commented: “You people are getting first-class work done on your building.”

On the evening of January 14, 1988, Brother Don A. Adams from Brooklyn headquarters, visiting as zone overseer, delivered the dedication discourse to 1,935 people gathered in the spacious auditorium of the National Cultural Center in Georgetown.

Ghana

The truth has been preached in Ghana since 1924, but Saturday, January 30, 1988, will go down in the history of this land’s branch as a day to remember​—new branch facilities were dedicated. The dedication discourse was given by Brother Theodore Jaracz of the Governing Body to an audience of 3,812 persons. The buildings have provided a powerful witness to Jehovah’s name. For example, a sister from the midwestern United States, whose unbelieving husband attended the Investment Conference for Ghana at the Kwame Nkrumah Conference Center in Accra, writes:

“While my husband was attending the conference, the Center was frequently referred to as the second nicest building in Ghana. This caused him to ask his guide, a Ghanaian building contractor, ‘What’s the nicest building?’ The guide answered: ‘Some church those Jehovah’s Witnesses built!’”

Among their many visitors during the year were 40 students and lecturers from the architecture faculty of the University of Science and Technology at Kumasi, some 200 miles [300 km] north of Accra. The group was so impressed by the new branch that the university’s lecturers proposed making the tour a periodic arrangement.

Ghana’s first branch opened its doors in Accra on January 1, 1948. Toward the close of the 1960’s, the 7,000 publishers had outgrown the “one-room” branch office. So a two-story, eight-bedroom Bethel Home was built. It was dedicated on March 19, 1963. Expansion took place again in 1973, and then in 1978 the present 18-acre [7 ha] property was acquired to accommodate printing operations.

Hawaii

Rain was falling early in the morning on April 3, 1988, in Honolulu, but the spirit was not dampened for the 5,870 who gathered in an arena to hear the refreshing dedication discourse given by Brother Milton G. Henschel of the Governing Body. Another 2,838 brothers, assembled on Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island of Hawaii, were tied in by telephone line for the day-long program originating in Honolulu. This dedication program concluded a whirlwind of theocratic activity that had begun in late March when several members of the Governing Body shared in the celebration of the Memorial as well as special assembly days on the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii. What a grand spiritual occasion that proved to be in the 70-year history of Jehovah’s people in Hawaii.

How was property found on an island where building lots are at a premium? In 1985 a former supermarket building was put up for sale. Since the location was ideal, it was purchased in November of that year. After completing extensive planning and remodeling, in August 1987, office operations were transferred to the new location, which also accommodates two Kingdom Halls. The Bethel family settled into spacious new quarters located on the second floor.

When Charles T. Russell, the first president of the Watch Tower Society, visited Honolulu in 1912, there were no Bible Students in the islands. Today, Hawaii has 72 congregations and a peak of 5,729 publishers.

Hong Kong

Throughout the years of Kingdom activity in Hong Kong, Jehovah has never failed to provide what is needed at the right time. All were reminded of this fact on May 7, 1988, when a new building was dedicated to Him by Brother Lyman A. Swingle of the Governing Body. But why the need for this new building?

Let us take a brief look at what has happened in Hong Kong since September 1, 1950, when a branch office was first established on Tai Po Road to care for all of nine publishers. Several years later, the branch was moved to 312 Prince Edward Road. By 1979 a search began for another location, which seemed an almost impossible task in this crowded city. Then one day a sister noted in a newspaper that a property was for sale at 4 Kent Road, Kowloon Tong. This was purchased, and the branch moved to a clean, quiet suburb ideally located in relation to the congregations throughout the colony.

The number of publishers reached the 1,000 mark in June 1983. Just four years later, the 1,600 mark was attained. To take on more work, the Bethel family would have to increase.

All efforts to purchase property on either side of the branch complex were in vain. Then one day a letter arrived in the mail advertising property for sale on the same street just four doors from the branch. When the brothers went to see it, they could hardly believe their eyes! Here was a modern building that had never been used. Yes, this became the new addition to Bethel. It is the building that Brother Swingle dedicated.

Portugal

In Portugal, where, as a famous poet said, “the land ends and the sea begins,” fishing is one of the main activities. But in recent decades in this small European country on the Atlantic Coast, a different type of fishing has taken place, affecting the lives of multitudes of its almost ten million inhabitants.

On May 13, 1925, a spiritual fishing work began when Brother Rutherford visited Lisbon and gave a talk to a gathering of more than 2,000 persons. However, difficult years lay ahead for Jehovah’s people. The work was banned, our brothers were harassed and imprisoned, and the branch office operated underground from different homes.

As if struck by lightning, an old dictatorship was suddenly brought to an end by a political revolution on April 25, 1974. And by December, religious liberty for Jehovah’s people officially arrived. A large 20-room home was rented in February 1975 in Estoril to serve as the branch office and to care for the work not only in Portugal but also in Madeira, the Azores, Angola, and São Tomé. Ten years later this proved to be inadequate, for the number of publishers had swelled to 28,984. Thus, land for new facilities was sought and found, and an outside firm was contracted to put up the reinforced concrete shell. The rest of the construction project was completed by volunteer workers, all Witnesses.

How could such a large complex be financed? Although Portugal is not a wealthy country, the brothers contributed “beyond their actual ability” and were richly blessed for it. (2 Cor. 8:2-4) One family with five children consulted together to see what they could do to help. The daughters contributed their jewelry, and a son the money he saved for a bicycle. In a letter to the branch, the father wrote: “This contribution is the result of the sale of three bracelets, five rings, and a pair of earrings, besides the money from the children’s piggy banks.”

The dedication program was held on Saturday morning, April 23, 1988, in the new Kingdom Hall and was transmitted by closed-circuit television to the factory and by telephone hookup to the Restelo Soccer Stadium in Lisbon. The morning program concluded with the faith-stirring dedication talk by Brother Milton G. Henschel.

In the afternoon, Brother Henschel traveled to the stadium and spoke to an all-time record attendance of 45,522 persons on the theme “Will the Stones Have to Cry Out?” The facts prove that the stones will not have to cry out in Portugal, as the new August peak of 33,739 publishers testifies. Now in Portugal there is 1 Witness preaching the good news for every 291 inhabitants.

Cyprus

Cyprus, the third-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, has been the scene of Christian activity ever since Paul and Barnabas set foot there in 47-48 C.E. (Acts 13:12) With a population of some 620,000, the island is made up of Greek, Turkish, Armenian, and Maronite communities.

In modern times, the truth was introduced into Cyprus in 1924. From 3 publishers of the good news in 1925, the number increased to 59 in 1948 at which time the first branch office of the Society was established. By the time a new branch office and Bethel Home were built in 1969, the number of publishers had risen to 485.

But things changed dramatically in 1974. The use of the branch office came to an abrupt end. A coup to overthrow the president took place, followed a few days later by the invasion of the northern part of Cyprus by troops. During the fighting, the branch was evacuated as bullets penetrated the shuttered windows. So from 1974 the work was directed from a building that originally served as a missionary home in Limassol, the second-largest town in the island.

A building in Nissou, a small village more than 12 miles [19 km] from the capital, Nicosia, was bought and renovated. Brother Carey Barber of the Governing Body dedicated the new branch premises on August 2, 1988.

[Picture on page 22]

In the South American country of Guyana, the new Bethel Home is a clay-brick structure. Dedicated January 14, 1988

[Picture on page 22]

The U-shaped building of the Ecuador branch houses the offices, kitchen, dining rooms, laundry, and residence rooms. Dedicated October 11, 1987

[Pictures on page 27]

The Papua New Guinea branch has residence rooms on the upper levels. The building also has an infirmary, a library, offices, a recording studio, a laundry, a kitchen, and a dining hall. Dedicated December 12, 1987

[Pictures on page 28]

The factory, offices, reception area, and Kingdom Hall of the Ghana branch are grouped in the form of a big “U.” Dedicated January 30, 1988

[Pictures on page 29]

The branch facility in Hawaii includes offices, a conference room, a dining room, and a kitchen. Also located in this complex are two Kingdom Halls. Dedicated April 3, 1988

[Pictures on page 30]

The residence block of the Portugal branch has 40 rooms, with a service wing. Solar heat is used. The four-story factory building has an office area and a Kingdom Hall. Dedicated April 23, 1988

[Picture on page 33]

In Cyprus, the branch has four apartments facing gardens. A Kingdom Hall was built alongside the property. Dedicated August 2, 1988

[Picture on page 33]

The new Hong Kong branch adds to the Kent Road facilities six bedrooms with bathrooms, a kitchen, and a dining room that can comfortably seat up to 36 persons. Dedicated May 7, 1988