Trinidad Builds It in Four Days!

“IF YOU can put up that church in four days, I’ll give you all the ice you need, free of charge!” That was the ice vendor’s challenging offer when he heard that the local congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses was trying to build a Kingdom Hall nearby in just four days. He was willing to bet that they could not do it. After all, this was Trinidad, where time overruns were normal in the construction industry, and the Siparia Congregation had only 72 members. Since Jehovah’s Witnesses do not gamble, they bought enough ice from the vendor to make cold drinks for the 300 perspiring volunteers and went to work.​—Isaiah 65:11.

Could they do it? They felt they could. After all, they had been planning the project for the past six months. The foundation had been laid a month before, when certain plumbing and electrical installations had been completed, and needed materials were stored on site.

With curious neighbors watching, the work began on Friday evening, May 17, 1985, as over a hundred volunteers converged on the site. When Saturday, May 18, dawned, the framework had been completed, roof covering had started, and the masons began to lay bricks. By midday the roofing was finished, the public-address system was installed, and a cautiously confident sign appeared:

Kingdom Hall Construction

Estimated Building Time​—4 Days

May 18, 19, 25, 26

But who were these workers? The work force was comprised of people of widely different backgrounds. Here was a young doctor applying paint with almost surgical precision. And what about that woman building the stage? She is a single parent who drives a taxi for a living. A mason, 40 years in the business, was working side by side with a technical-school graduate who recently finished his masonry course. We must mention, too, the number of women who worked not only cooking but digging drains, painting, laying the lawn, carrying bricks, doing mortar work.

How did the public react? When water ran out and further mortar work seemed unlikely, the nearby fire chief, overwhelmed by what was being attempted, sent a fire tender to deliver water three times during the night. He even brought friends to see for themselves what was being accomplished. Across the street from the hall, one woman graciously allowed the Witnesses to store materials on her premises. She attended the first meeting held in the hall.

And what about our ice vendor mentioned earlier? By the second day, all the ice had been used up. But he had seen what had happened thus far and offered the Witnesses money to buy more ice. Yes, now he believes that Jehovah’s Witnesses can do it!