“There are 62 congregations in Barranquilla today, more than in any other city in the country except Bogotá,” says Rogelio Jones, the city overseer and a builder who has helped the Society in construction projects since the 1950’s. “And the preaching done along the coast has been effective. Almost everyone in town has a relative, friend, or workmate who is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Caribbean coastal region is perhaps the only place in Colombia where people consistently differentiate between Jehovah’s Witnesses and other non-Catholic groups.”

[Picture on page 88]

Rogelio Jones, José Villadiego, and Farah Morán​—a building contractor, a former lottery ticket salesman, and a former owner of a haberdashery store—​early publishers still active in Barranquilla