“Life’s Water” Bubbles Forth in Cape Verde
“THE existence and practice of worship of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Cape Verde since the year 1958 is a noteworthy fact,” explained the minister of justice of the Republic of Cape Verde. He was speaking to two Witnesses who had been summoned to his office. “We regret that it took so long for Jehovah’s Witnesses to be legally recognized,” he added.
That meeting, held on November 30, 1990, will long be remembered by Jehovah’s Witnesses in Cape Verde. It signaled their official recognition as a legal religious association in that country. To the two Witnesses present, however, it sounded a personal note, for it was in 1958 that one of them—Luis Andrade—came across some Bible literature published by the Watch Tower Society. After reading the publications from cover to cover, he knew that he had found the truth. Eagerly, he shared what he had learned with Francisco Tavares, a longtime friend. During the next few years, both of them continued to take in the waters of truth by reading the Watchtower and Awake! magazines, received by subscription. Ten years later, in 1968, they were baptized during the first visit of a traveling overseer to Cape Verde.
Brothers Andrade and Tavares recognized their responsibility to have a part in sounding out the invitation: “Come! . . . take life’s water free.” (Revelation 22:17) They were willing to accept the challenge of their scattered and difficult territory. Cape Verde consists of ten main islands plus some islets in the Atlantic Ocean, about 350 miles [560 km] west of Dakar, Senegal. The name Cape Verde, meaning “Green Cape,” was originally applied to the peninsula on the African coast. However, these islands are far from being green, since the rainfall is meager, and the 350,000 inhabitants must eke out a living from the parched land.
During the last 30 years, missionaries and special pioneers have worked hard as full-time ministers bringing life’s water to the islanders. What has been the outcome of such labor? Recently, a traveling overseer from Portugal made a visit to the congregations in Cape Verde. We will let him tell us what he found.
São Vicente Hears the “Pure Language”
Our first stop in Cape Verde was the city of Porto Grande on São Vicente Island. Driving from the airport into town, we saw the rocky hillsides covered with windblown sand. Desertification of North Africa has already reached the islands of Cape Verde! From December to February, the harmattan—the hot, dry wind from the Sahara—sweeps across the ocean and covers the islands with sheets of sand and dust. At times the dust clouds are so thick that planes cannot fly. What little vegetation remains is dried up when the harmattan arrives.
Spiritually speaking, however, sources of water are readily available. Jehovah’s Witnesses have established two congregations in Porto Grande, and 167 Kingdom publishers are busy taking the life-giving waters of truth to the 47,000 inhabitants of São Vicente Island. On weekends, some 400 people come to the Bible-based meetings at the Kingdom Hall.
During the week-long visits, final preparations were being made for the “Pure Language” District Convention to be held at the best theater in the city. (Zephaniah 3:9) Along with the local people, delegates from the islands of Santo Antão and São Nicolau brought the attendance to a peak of 756. Twenty-four persons were baptized. The program included a Bible drama presented by the Witnesses. A man who was the rehearsal director for a film production attended the drama and observed: “We trained for a year and even then we had a lot of problems. The participants in your drama did much better with only two months of training.” With the successful conclusion of the convention, it was time for us to move on to the city of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde Republic, on the island of São Tiago.
A Cleansed People
In recent years many residents of other islands have flocked to the capital in search of employment. As a result, thousands of primitive huts have been built on the outskirts of the city, further straining the limited water supply and sanitary provisions. To supplement their income, many families raise goats, pigs, and chickens. It is common to see these roaming freely in the streets. This has contributed to the spread of disease.
In spite of such difficult conditions, however, there are now two thriving congregations in Praia, with a total of about 130 Kingdom publishers. These happy Witnesses certainly have ‘benefited themselves’ by applying what they have learned from the Bible. Endeavoring to be a clean and holy people, our brothers and their children have enjoyed better health, both spiritually and physically. Though their life is hard, they are spiritually rich.—Isaiah 48:17; 1 Peter 1:15, 16.
As we arrived, the brothers were busy preparing for their district convention. Witnesses and interested persons from all over São Tiago as well as the islands of Sal and Fogo made their way to the convention, and Jehovah blessed them with a peak attendance of 472. Everyone was so happy, including the many little ones with shining faces! As we sat in the midst of that attentive throng, it was evident that we should never despise “the day of small things.” (Zechariah 4:10) All of this had grown from two persons who learned the truth just over 30 years ago!
Before leaving the island, we went to visit the two small groups, Vila Assomada and Tarrafal, outside the city. The island was hilly, barren, and dry. But here and there, we saw green patches of flourishing vegetation and trees—acres of coconut palms, bananas, papayas, mangoes, and so forth. This called to mind Isaiah’s prophecy that some day even the desert will blossom. (Isaiah 35:1) Like an oasis, even now the two small groups of Witnesses offer abundant spiritual food and drink to the thousands living, as it were, in a spiritually parched land.
Fiery Zeal in Fogo Island
The next island was Fogo, meaning “fire.” Its volcanic origin explains the name. Cano Peak is still an active volcano. It rises from the sea in an almost perfect cone to a peak of 9,300 feet [2,800 m]. The island had just had a substantial rainfall, the first of such intensity in years. There was an air of exhilaration among the people, and they were unusually busy with their bean and manioc crops, staples in the Cape Verde diet.
However, these appreciative people were not too busy to stop and take in waters of truth from the Bible. We were able to meet with three different groups, even though it was a struggle to get to them because cars were few and in poor repair. We were overjoyed when a total of 162 persons came to the meetings, for there were only 42 Kingdom publishers on the island. This was a reflection of the zeal of this small group of brothers and sisters, who spend an average of 15 hours each month bringing the symbolic water of truth and life to the 32,000 inhabitants of Fogo Island.
Fruitage in a Catholic Land
We had yet to visit our brothers on Santo Antão and São Nicolau islands. As these names indicate, the Roman Catholic Church has exerted its influence over the islands for several centuries. Although Catholicism remains the principal religion in Cape Verde, many sincere people are turning to the Bible for its refreshing waters of truth.
The 49 Kingdom publishers in the two small congregations on opposite ends of Santo Antão work hard to meet the spiritual needs of its 44,000 inhabitants. When 512 persons came to the public Bible talk at the Porto Novo Congregation, it was clear to the 32 Kingdom publishers there that many sheeplike people in Santo Antão are thirsting for the waters of truth.
The work on São Nicolau Island started some years ago when a pioneer sister in Portugal by means of correspondence conducted a Bible study with a family on the island. Then, in 1978, another pioneer in Portugal decided to return to his native island, São Nicolau, to share Bible truth with its 15,000 inhabitants. When he conducted the first Bible meeting on the island, the attendance was just one person—him! But Jehovah God answered the fervent prayers he offered at that meeting. During our visit, the 48 publishers in the three congregations were thrilled to see that a total of 335 persons had come to the meetings.
The first circuit assembly on the island was held during our visit, and the local theater was made available to us free of charge. Town officials provided sound equipment and free transportation. The 19 publishers of the host congregation cared for the accommodations for 100 delegates and prepared food for the 208 in attendance. In spite of the many hardships our brothers face daily, they made a contribution to the Society’s Kingdom Hall Fund.
The fine conduct of Jehovah’s Witnesses is well-known here, and many employers seek them out when workers are needed. For example, the owner of the only gas station on the island asked a Witness to work for him, since he needed someone honest. The brother already had a job but said he would see if he could find someone else. “Only if he is a baptized Witness!” insisted the owner. Two months later he told our brother: “Jehovah’s Witnesses are the only people who should handle money!”
The Last Stop—Sal Island
Our final stop on this trip was the island of Sal. Its name means “salt,” and that readily indicates the main industry on this island. Here the small congregation consists of 22 publishers, who work hard to bring the Kingdom message to the 6,500 residents. It was a real pleasure to share the good news with these islanders, for we were invited inside at almost every home and were able to talk to several members of the household.
The visit to Sal Island completed our tour. What a blessing it was to work with these faithful servants of Jehovah in Cape Verde! There are now 531 Kingdom publishers on these islands, and that number will surely grow as the 2,567 persons who attended the Memorial of Christ’s death in 1991 continue to receive spiritual provisions. Though most of Jehovah’s Witnesses here have little materially, they are rich and well-nourished spiritually. And how grateful they are that Jehovah is causing life’s water to bubble forth abundantly on these islands to his glory and praise!
[Map on page 24]
(For fully formatted text, see publication.)
CAPE VERDE
SANTO ANTÃO
SÃO VICENTE
SÃO NICOLAU
SANTA LUZIA
SAL
BOA VISTA
MAIO
SÃO TIAGO
FOGO
BRAVA
Praia
Atlantic Ocean