Agustín Sequeira, then a professor of mathematics at a college run by Josephine nuns, recollects the religious atmosphere in Matagalpa at the time. He states: “The people were predominantly Catholic and afraid of priests but especially of the bishop. He was the godfather of one of my children.”

This climate of fear made it hard for the branch to secure accommodations for the missionaries. For example, when arranging for the rental of a house, the branch office informed the owner, a lawyer, that the missionaries would be holding Christian meetings there. “No problem,” he said.

Describing what ensued, Doris Niehoff says: “The day we arrived with all our furniture, the owner appeared with a worried expression. He said that he had sent us a telegram advising us not to come. Why? The bishop had threatened him that if he rented to us, his son would be unable to attend the Catholic school. Fortunately, we had not received the telegram and had already paid a month’s rent.”

“We found another house that month but with great difficulty,” Doris adds. “When the bishop tried to pressure the plucky local businessman who owned it, the latter replied: ‘Well, if you pay me the four hundred cordobas each month, I’ll kick them out.’ Of course, the bishop did not pay. Undeterred, however, he went to all the stores and put up posters, warning people not to talk to Jehovah’s Witnesses. He also told the shop owners not to sell to us.”

Despite the missionaries’ zeal, no one in Matagalpa seemed keen to take a stand for Bible truth. Agustín, the professor of mathematics, however, had many unanswered questions. For instance, he wondered why the pyramids still exist when the Pharaohs who built them are long dead! He still remembers clearly that a missionary called on him and showed him from the Bible the answers to his questions. Agustín explains: “I was captivated by the scriptures showing that man was created, not to die, but to live forever on a paradise earth and that the dead will be resurrected. I quickly recognized that this was the truth.” How did Agustín respond? “I began to preach to everyone at the college where I taught, including the principal, a nun,” says Agustín. “She then invited me to visit her on Sunday to discuss ‘the end of the world.’ To my surprise, when I arrived, the bishop of Matagalpa was there waiting for me.”

“So, Compadre,” he said, “they tell me you are losing the faith.”

“What faith?” I replied. “The one I never had? It is now that I am learning to have true faith.”

Thus began a three-hour discussion, with the nun listening in. Agustín’s zeal for his newfound faith moved him to be quite frank at times. He even called the unchristian belief of the immortality of the human soul a moneymaking scheme that exploits innocent people. To illustrate the point to the bishop, Agustín said: “Imagine, for example, that my mother died. Naturally, I turn to you to say Mass because her soul is in purgatory. You charge me for the service. After eight days, another Mass. After one year, still another, and so on. Yet, you never say to me: ‘Compadre, I won’t perform any more Masses because your mother’s soul is now out of purgatory.’”

“Ah!” said the bishop, “That’s because only God knows when it comes out!”

“Then how did you know when it entered so that you could start charging me?” retorted Agustín.

At one point during the discussion when Agustín began to quote yet another Bible text, the nun said to the bishop: “Look, Monsignor! He uses a bad Bible; it’s Lutheran!”

“No,” replied the bishop, “that’s the Bible I gave him.”

As the discussion continued, Agustín was surprised to hear the bishop say that one should not believe everything in the Bible. “After that meeting,” says Agustín, “I was convinced that the clergy of Christendom, like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, prefer church tradition to God’s Word.”

In February 1962, Agustín Sequeira became Matagalpa’s first baptized publisher. He continued to make spiritual progress, later serving as a pioneer and an elder and since 1991 as a member of the Nicaragua Branch Committee.

[Picture on page 79]

Agustín Sequeira was the first publisher in Matagalpa