Move Back to Bogotá

By the mid-1970’s branch operations in Barranquilla had outgrown the premises. As the search for available property got under way, no one imagined that it would lead them back to where the branch was first established in 1946, Bogotá, or that Colombia would soon have a new Bethel Home and a factory that would be printing magazines for four neighboring countries as well as for Colombia.

Down through the years, Colombia received the Society’s magazines from Brooklyn, first by surface mail and then by bulk ocean freight shipments. Because of the time involved in transportation, Colombia was always months behind other countries in the dates for the distribution of the magazines as well as for the weekly Watchtower study dates. How fine it would be if someday they could print their own magazines there in Colombia!

Well, now they do. William (Bill) Lensink, factory overseer, will tell us how this came about. Bill has been in Colombia since 1969, when as a small boy he moved there with his family from Canada to serve where the need was greater.

“In June 1982 Brooklyn wrote that they would be sending an offset printing press to Colombia in January 1983,” Bill begins.

Colombia prints “The Watchtower” and “Awake!” for five Latin-American countries