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.

[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