From Invalid to Active Praiser of God

TWO of Jehovah’s Witnesses sharing in the house-to-house ministry in February 1984 spoke to a woman in the village of Corcovada, Añasco, Puerto Rico. They heard a noise from inside and asked the woman if someone was sick.

“Yes,” she responded, “it is my husband. He has been sick for 14 years and never comes out of the room except to bathe and eat.”

The two Witnesses asked if they could talk to the husband. His wife said that he didn’t like to talk to anyone, but if the Witnesses wanted to go in, they could.

“We entered the room,” explained one of the Witnesses, “and found the man in bed. On seeing his condition, we felt pity for him. He was so weak that he trembled. We told him about God’s Kingdom and the hope of living in a world without sickness or even death. Tears rolled down his face. I asked him if he would like to live in that new world where no one would be sick.”​—Revelation 21:3, 4.

“Yes,” he answered. “We offered to come back and study the Bible with him. With his approval we returned, and the study was held while he lay in bed.

“After a few visits, I suggested that he sit up in bed so that it would be easier for him to study. He made the effort, although at first he could sit up for only a short time because he would get dizzy. After a few more studies, as he got stronger, I suggested that we hold the study in the living room. He agreed, and each week we would help him to walk out there.

“The man made fine progress in his studies, even though he could hardly see and his hands trembled so much that it was difficult for him to hold a magnifying glass. He told us that in the 14 years that he had been ill, he had not visited a doctor because he was unable to leave the house. So we made arrangements to take him to a doctor.

“An operation was successfully performed on his eyes, and soon he was reading the Bible without the aid of the magnifying glass. Even his hands ceased to tremble. He began regularly walking around the house, and eventually he would go to bed only to sleep at night. Soon after that he started to attend our Christian meetings at the Kingdom Hall.

“In time the former invalid’s love for Jehovah God and His promises impelled him to talk to others about the things he had learned. Shortly, he joined us in the house-to-house ministry, which greatly surprised his neighbors and friends. His health improved so much that he even began working on his farm.”

In November 1988 this experience was related at a circuit assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the man, Pedro Martínez, appeared on the platform. Eventually, in November 1989, he symbolized his dedication to Jehovah by water baptism.