The branch office quickly dispatched circuit overseer Frans van Vliet to Padang. He discovered that Azis had talked to his neighbor, Nazar Ris, a spiritually hungry civil servant. Both men and their families accepted the truth. Brother Azis became a faithful elder. Nazar Ris became a special pioneer, and many of his children are zealous Witnesses today.

Soon afterward, Frans van Vliet visited an inactive Dutch brother who was rebuilding a war-damaged oil refinery in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. Frans accompanied the brother in service and encouraged him to study with several interested people. Before the brother returned to the Netherlands, he had established a small group in Balikpapan.