When the Divine Will International Assembly was held in New York City, in 1958, delegates from 123 countries and island groups were in attendance. Nineteen Witnesses from Guadeloupe were among them. What they saw and heard broadened their appreciation for the theocratic arrangement. Said Verneil Andrémont, who was one of those delegates: “That convention was a revelation for me. I understood how things must be done.” The branch overseer, expressing the general feelings of the entire group, wrote: “How wide open were our eyes to register all we could see, and our ears so we could understand! Not just the unusual extent of land, which is surprising when coming from one of the small islands of the Caribbean, nor the tremendous buildings towering high up in the air, nor the astonishing heavy traffic in the streets, but having before one’s eyes the amazing sight of great crowds, yes, all brothers and sisters from the four corners of the earth, peacefully and unitedly worshiping the one true God. Two huge stadiums were filled with them!”

Even in what some might view as small matters, that convention affected the lives of our brothers. For instance, Léonel Nestor, a 78-year-old brother whose house was also used as a Kingdom Hall, felt the need to paint it so that it would better represent Jehovah’s organization. As a result, that Kingdom Hall was the first house to be painted in his village.

Verneil Andrémont, one of Guadeloupe’s 19 delegates at the 1958 international convention