In Baia-Mare, Cluj-Napoca, Tirgu-Mures, and Ocna Mureş, the brothers held dozens of assemblies attended by hundreds of Witnesses and interested people. A highlight of the gathering in Baia-Mare in June 1945 was the baptism, held six miles [ten km] out of town. After the talk was given in a brother’s garden, the 118 candidates were immersed in the Lăpuşul River, which flowed by the garden. It was an unforgettable baptism in a beautiful setting.

In Tirgu-Mures, the brothers rented a theater that could seat 3,000. The day before the assembly, delegates began arriving by train, by horse-drawn carriage, by bicycle, and on foot. Some immediately started to preach and to invite people to the public discourse, which dealt with Noah’s ark. When the brothers saw placards with beautifully composed text advertising the talk all over town, many wept with joy. Never, they had thought, would they enjoy such freedom to preach the good news!

The brothers’ hard work was richly rewarded​—so many attended that two loudspeakers had to be mounted outside the theater for the overflow audience. As a result, many neighbors were able to hear the program from their windows. City officials and other prominent individuals were invited so that they could see and hear Jehovah’s Witnesses firsthand. Amazingly, they filled all the seats reserved for them. They also joined in the singing.

[Picture on page 102]

A circuit assembly in Baia-Mare in 1945