A Visit to the Hills and Slums of Rio

Their reputation as people who are truly devoted to God has enabled Witnesses in Rio de Janeiro who live in areas dominated by drug traffic to continue in their ministry in these sections. There are several congregations in these localities, and as one elder explained, the more the brothers preach, the better it is. The brothers become known to the drug traffickers and are not bothered by them. There are hills with more than 200,000 inhabitants living in slum conditions. The vast majority of these people are not involved with drugs, but their financial circumstances do not allow them to live elsewhere.

An elder who lived in another part of the city drove into a slum area to give a public talk in one of the congregations. When he parked his car in front of the Kingdom Hall, two armed youths appeared, asking who he was. When he identified himself as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and said that he had come to give a public Bible talk, the youths told him to go ahead and not to worry about his car because it would not be touched.

“On one occasion,” related Francisco Duarte, a circuit overseer, “the traffickers came to the Kingdom Hall at the end of a meeting to warn the brothers that there was going to be a shoot-out. My wife and I were a bit frightened, but the publishers kept on talking normally, in spite of the sound of shooting. After a while, the traffickers returned to say that we could leave, since the shooting was over.”

It is not wise for anyone from outside the area to walk about without being accompanied by someone who lives in that locality. It is also necessary to dress so as not to attract the attention of thieves. Brother Duarte, although accompanied by a local publisher, was stopped by a man who asked for his watch. “At first I thought it was a holdup,” Brother Duarte recalled, “but the man continued, saying: ‘I know you are the new circuit overseer, but if you continue to use that gilt watch, someone will steal it, thinking it is gold. You use my watch and keep yours in your pocket.’ He was a brother. With that, I learned to be more careful.”

A youth who belonged to a gang of drug traffickers and who began to study the Bible discerned that he would have to change his occupation. But how? He knew that if anyone leaves a gang, he is generally killed by his colleagues as a security measure—so that gang secrets will not be revealed to others. In spite of this, the youth mustered up courage, prayed to Jehovah, and went to talk to the gang leader. The youth explained that he was studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses, read some Bible texts, and said that he could not continue with the gang. He found that the gang leader had himself studied the Bible in the past. The youth was released without reprisals and is now an active publisher in the congregation.

Interestingly, a number of doctors who appreciate the advantages of alternative, bloodless medical treatments have promoted seminars in Brazil in order to discuss the matter with others in the medical profession. Some of our brothers who are doctors or who serve as members of HLCs have been invited. Such a seminar was held first in Rio de Janeiro and then in other cities. Later, the Regional Council of Medicine in Rio de Janeiro issued a statement encouraging the use of alternative treatments.