Year Book of Jehovah's Witnesses - Watchtower Archive

234 Yearbook
South America, and the principal language is Spanish.
The Watch Tower missionaries there have gone forward,
learning the language of the people and helping
them gain a knowledge of Jehovah's purposes. They
are preaching the Word, and the Lord has certainly
blessed their efforts. They had a 70 per cent increase
during the 1950 service year, reaching a new peak of
147, and with marvelous prospects for the future. The
branch servant gives us some very interesting observations,
which are reported here.
With all the work done in the few years here, Jehovah's
witnesses are not lulled to sleep thinking they have put a
substantial 'dent' in this old world's organization. Oh no!
for we haven't even covered all the capital city of Lima
once yet. Here the objective was to increase the number of
home Bible studies and push forward the public meeting
work during the year. The Lima company ran 42 such meetings
during the year as well as 2 circuit assemblies. The days
spent with the brethren during the two assemblies were
really joyous ones. The people got to see that these assemblies
are for their benefit to bring them life-giving knowledge. How
they did enjoy the cafeteria arrangements too provided along
the same lines as in the States! The attendances equaled that
of the Memorial celebration.
The branch too was busier this year because of the new
companies formed and the additional missionary homes now
operating. Compiling the report from month to month indicated
how the percentage of increase was making a fuir
bid to surpass that of the previous year, and it did. The
experiences of the brethren were many and will give the
reader some idea of how the people of good will from every
walk of life are "hearing", and saying "come" too, inviting
others to drink of the water of life and live. One Gilead
graduate writes:
"'1'he poor people are so steeped In the tmdltions of men
that they gullibly accept the assertion of the Catholic
Hierarchy that the term 'Christian' applies only to the
Catholics; hence, they think the two terms are synonymous.
Practically everyone here believes there are only two kinds
of religion, and they call the one 'Protestant' and the other
'Christian' (CathOliC). One Gilead missionary overheard
one of his Bible studies enthUSiastically answering her
Catholic mother's question as to what religion the 'truth'
is. She said, 'It's not Methodist, it's not Pentecostal, it's not
Adventist, why, it's not even Christian! It's just the plain
truth, that's all I' "