For example, during the war Pacifico Pantas read Bible publications that belonged to his neighbors who were Witnesses. He says: “I began attending meetings. Next I applied for general [now, regular] pioneer service, but I hadn’t been baptized yet. They asked me to get baptized, so I did.” That was in 1946. Pacifico’s pioneering took him to several parts of the country. He enjoyed other privileges too. He says: “I was invited to the 16th class of Gilead and was able to attend the 1950 international assembly in New York City. After graduation I served as a circuit overseer in the states of Minnesota and North Dakota, U.S.A., and then returned to the Philippines to serve as a district overseer for the country south of the Pasig River, from Manila all the way to Mindanao.”

In the following years, Brother Pantas enjoyed a variety of assignments at Bethel and as a traveling overseer. Then in 1963, Pacifico got married. He and his wife had children, so it became necessary for them to settle down to raise their family. They kept on serving Jehovah as a family, and all three children have grown up as praisers of Jehovah. These three presently serve as elders, and one has graduated from Ministerial Training School. Another is serving at Bethel. Even in his older years, Brother Pantas remains a positive force in the congregation.

[Box/Picture on page 217, 218]

An Interview With Pacifico Pantas

Born: 1926

Baptized: 1946

Profile: Graduated from the 16th class of Gilead in 1951. Currently serves as an elder in Quezon City.

During the second world war, we had Jehovah’s Witnesses for neighbors in the province of Laguna. They invited me to help myself to their library. The books were good: Creation, Vindication, Reconciliation, Religion, Enemies, Children, and lots more. When the Japanese burned our town, we became separated from the Witnesses, but I found them again over a year later in Manila. I began attending meetings, and after I was baptized, I joined a group of pioneers. Our assignment was the whole province of Tayabas, later named Quezon. We worked from town to town and slept in empty buses, homes of interested people, and the like.

When we reached Mauban, a group of guerrilla fighters raided the town. We were asleep on the second floor of the town hall. The commotion woke us up. It seemed that the policemen below us had been trapped. We could hear them dropping their guns on the floor.

The fighters stormed upstairs. One of them shone a flashlight on us and said: “Who are you?” We pretended to be asleep. He asked again and added: “Aren’t you spies from the Philippine constabulary?”

“No, sir,” we answered.

He said: “But you are wearing khaki.”

We explained that the clothes had been donated and that our shoes were what our brothers in America had shipped in a relief package.

The commander said: “OK, I’ll take the shoes.” So I took off my shoes. He also wanted my pants. Soon all of us were in our underpants. It was good that we had some clothes stored nearby. Actually, we were glad they took what they did. Otherwise, the whole town would have thought that we were spies for the fighters!

We bought some wooden shoes, went back to Manila, and then went on to the Visayan Islands to continue preaching.

Brother Pantas shared in the full-time ministry and served as a servant to the brethren (now called a circuit overseer) before attending Gilead School. Upon returning to the Philippines, he served as a district overseer and at the branch office before raising a family.