When I arrived in Ecuador in 1951, there were fewer than 200 Kingdom publishers. Disciple-making seemed slow for the first 25 years or so. Our Bible teachings were quite different from the unscriptural traditions of Catholicism, and our adherence to the Bible’s instructions on faithfulness to one marriage mate was especially unpopular.​—Hebrews 13:4.

In Machala we also had the privilege of building the first congregation-owned Kingdom Hall in Ecuador. That was 35 years ago, in 1960. In those early days, we had only about 15 in attendance at our meetings. Today Machala has 11 thriving congregations!

The last 15 years have yielded bumper crops in the spiritual harvest here in Ecuador. From some 5,000 Kingdom publishers in 1980, we now have more than 26,000. I have reaped the blessing of helping well over a hundred of these to baptism.