WHERE TO HOLD CIRCUIT ASSEMBLIES?

The work in Réunion got off to such a good start that it was a challenge to find places that were big enough for assemblies. In 1964, the brothers planned their first local circuit assembly. After months of searching, however, they could find only one place​—an upstairs restaurant in Saint-Denis. The building was old, expensive to rent, and made out of timber. The owners said that it would hold the weight of over 200 people, the expected attendance.

Left with no choice, the brothers booked the restaurant, and a favorably disposed man contributed a loudspeaker system. When the day arrived and the brothers began to fill the building, the floor creaked and groaned, but it held. The attendance on Sunday was 230, and 21 were baptized.

Soon thereafter, Louis Nelaupe, the brother who had grown up in Cirque de Mafate, kindly offered space on his land in Saint-Denis for the construction of a temporary Assembly Hall. With a simple, open design, the structure had a wooden frame, an iron roof, and walls of plaited palm leaves.

The first assembly held there was a three-day district convention. “On the first morning,” recalls delegate Myriam Andrien, “we went out in service and came back to a hot lunch​—a real Creole meal of rice, beans, and chicken with hot chili peppers thrown in. For palates not accustomed to hot peppers, the cooks prepared a rougail marmaille, or children’s chutney.”

The Assembly Hall was extended as attendances grew, and it also served as a Kingdom Hall. In time, the families that rented homes that were on that piece of property left, and Louis donated all the land to the congregation. The site now boasts a handsome brick Kingdom Hall, which is shared by two congregations in Saint-Denis.

Temporary meeting place, Saint-Denis, 1965