The Discovery Begins

On Sunday, April 1, 1945, Gilead graduates Lennart and Virginia Johnson arrived in Ciudad Trujillo (now Santo Domingo), the capital of the Dominican Republic. As the first Witnesses in the country, they were entering a land whose history was riddled with conflict and struggle.a “This is a real pioneering territory,” reported the 1946 Yearbook, “and these Gileadites had to start from scratch.” Just imagine: There was no branch office, there were no Kingdom Halls, and there were no congregations. The missionaries knew no one in the country, they knew very little Spanish, and they had neither a home nor any furniture. What would they do?

“We went to the Victoria Hotel and acquired accommodations​—five dollars a day for the two of us, including meals,” recalled Lennart. “That very afternoon we started our first home Bible study. It happened this way: Two Dominican women with whom we had studied the Bible in Brooklyn had given us the names of relatives and acquaintances, one of whom was a Dr. Green. When we visited him, we also met his neighbor Moses Rollins. After they learned how we got their names and addresses, they listened intently to the Kingdom message and agreed to a Bible study. Soon Moses became the first local Kingdom publisher.”

Four more missionaries arrived early in June 1945, and soon they had placed a considerable amount of literature and had started many Bible studies. By October it became apparent that a meeting place was needed. So, the missionaries modified the living and dining rooms of their missionary home to make an improvised Kingdom Hall. As many as 40 people were attending the meetings.

One of the first people to respond to the truth was Pablo Bruzaud, known to everyone as Palé. He operated a bus line between Santiago and Ciudad Trujillo, so he made frequent trips to the capital. One day while in Ciudad Trujillo, Palé spoke with some Witnesses and accepted the book “The Truth Shall Make You Free.” He began studying the Bible daily with them. Palé soon began preaching with the missionaries and providing transportation for them. Later, he met Lennart Johnson and traveled with him from Ciudad Trujillo to Santiago and over the mountains to the coastal town of Puerto Plata to visit a group of interested people who had written to the world headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, for information.

A Visit From Brothers Knorr and Franz

In March 1946, Nathan Knorr and Frederick Franz from world headquarters visited the Dominican Republic. There was much anticipation for the visit, and in addition to the brothers, 75 interested people attended a talk given by Brother Knorr. During the visit, Brother Knorr made arrangements to establish a branch office in the Dominican Republic.

More missionaries arrived, and by the end of the 1946 service year, there were 28 publishers in the country. Since the good news was just getting established in this land, the missionaries spent many evenings meticulously mapping out the territory to ensure an organized and thorough preaching campaign.

The Work Expands

In 1947, there were over 59 publishers participating in the preaching work. That same year, some missionaries who had served in Cuba were reassigned to the Dominican Republic. Among them were Roy and Juanita Brandt. Brother Brandt was appointed as branch servant and continued as such for the next ten years.

By the end of the 1948 service year, there were about 110 publishers preaching the good news alongside the hardworking missionaries. However, those zealous preachers did not realize that extremely difficult times were on the horizon.

“One Day We Will Find Them”

About 1935, in a region of the country called the Cibao Valley, Pablo González began reading the Bible. He associated briefly with a Protestant group, but he left when he saw that their conduct did not line up with what he had read in the Scriptures. However, he continued studying God’s Word on his own and began telling others what he was learning​—first his family and neighbors and then others in nearby communities. He sold his farm and cattle and used the money to finance his traveling ministry.

By 1942, Pablo was visiting at least 200 families in the surrounding areas and holding regular meetings, although he had not come in contact with Jehovah’s Witnesses. He urged people to study the Bible and to live in harmony with it. Many took to heart what he said and stopped using tobacco and practicing polygamy.

Among those who listened to Pablo’s Biblical message was Celeste Rosario. “When I was 17,” she recalled, “my mother’s cousin, Negro Jiménez, belonged to one of the groups directed by Pablo González. He visited my family and read some scriptures from the Bible, and that was enough for me to decide to leave the Catholic Church. What was read to us in church was in Latin, which we didn’t understand. Shortly thereafter, Pablo González visited us and encouraged us. He said: ‘We don’t belong to any of the many religions that we know, but we have brothers around the world. We don’t yet know who they are or what they are called, but one day we will find them.’”

Pablo had formed groups of Bible students in Los Cacaos Salcedo, Monte Adentro, Salcedo, and Villa Tenares. In 1948, when he stopped in Santiago to change buses, he saw some Witnesses preaching on the street, and they gave him a Watchtower. On another trip, a sister placed two books with Pablo and invited him to the Memorial of Christ’s death in Santiago. At the Memorial he was very impressed by what he heard and came to the conclusion that he had at last found the truth and that those present at that meeting were the ones whom he had been hoping to find.

The missionaries visited those with whom Pablo had been studying. At one of Pablo’s meeting places, they found 27 adults happily waiting for them. Some of those in attendance had trekked 15 miles (25 km) on foot; others had come 30 miles (50 km) on horseback! At the next meeting place, 78 people were present, and at another location, 69 had gathered for the meeting.

Pablo gave the missionaries a list of some 150 interested people. Those humble and spiritually-minded people were already studying the Bible and applying its principles. What they needed was organization and direction. “The missionaries visited us, and we had a meeting,” recalled Celeste. “Arrangements were made to have a baptism. I was the first one in my family to be baptized. Later my mother, Fidelia Jiménez, and my sister, Carmen, were baptized.”

The first circuit assembly in the Dominican Republic, which was held in Santiago on September 23-25, 1949, provided further impetus to the preaching work. Many inquisitive ones came, and the attendance swelled to 260 for the public talk on Sunday. Twenty-eight were baptized. The three-day assembly convinced many new ones that this was the organization that God was using to accomplish his will.