“It Had the Ring of Truth”

But there were friendly people just waiting to come into the truth in Bogotá. One was 23-year-old David Guerrero. He came from a devout Catholic family. At the age of ten, however, his father’s death triggered doubts about religion. That personal tragedy convinced him, contrary to Catholic teachings, that the dead are nonexistent. Thus, years later, when he was working in a small sweater factory owned by his brother, he was primed for hearing the truth from two missionaries who entered the Guerrero shop.

David continues the story: “One morning my brother called me up front to talk with some foreigners who were having trouble explaining the purpose of their visit. I came, with the little English I knew, and found to my surprise two nicely dressed North American girls. They wanted to talk to us about the Bible. ‘Takes a lot of courage to do a work like that in a neighborhood like this,’ I thought. Well, the visit ended, and I found myself with two books with interesting titles, one named ‘The Truth Shall Make You Free’ and the other called Children. The girls promised to return.”

David began reading large portions here and there in the books. “I liked what I read,” he said. “It had the ring of truth. And those people were doing the right thing, taking this message directly to the people.”

The Witnesses returned a few days later with a missionary couple and arranged for a Bible study, and soon David was attending the meetings. “And before I knew it, I had become a Kingdom publisher,” he said.

On the last Sunday in January 1946, the second Witness baptism on record in Colombia took place with 30 people present. Seven of the new publishers symbolized their dedication by baptism, David Guerrero included. The missionaries were delighted with the subtropical setting for the baptism, located 4,000 feet [1,200 m] down from the savanna. A profusion of colorful birds and flowers, coffee plants, and a clear mountain stream in the midst of bamboo and banana trees graced the site​—just what many had imagined an assignment in the tropics would be like.

Later, David Guerrero married missionary Helen Langford. After living in the United States for a time, they returned to Colombia to pioneer and later to enjoy privileges of the traveling overseer work.