After some days of preaching along with Salvador in nearby towns and villages, John and Eric accompanied by Salvador cycled the 145 kilometers (90 miles) to Huesca. Was the journey worth while? Indeed it was! There, subscriber Nemesio Orús gave them a warm welcome and just “drank in” the truth. However, in his zeal and desire to associate with these brothers, he acted rather indiscreetly and caused his wife to become jealous, so that she secretly laid false charges with the police against the brothers. The Guardia Civil or rural police came to the apartment and arrested John and Eric, but at the Civil Guard headquarters the matter was resolved.

The Cookes visited Nemesio on various occasions and thought it would be good to observe the Memorial in Huesca on April 17, 1935, inviting Salvador Sirera to attend as well. So, John wrote to Nemesio with this suggestion. Imagine his surprise upon receiving Nemesio’s answer to the effect that he was thrilled with the idea and that he had already bought the lamb in readiness for the occasion! Obviously, his understanding of the Memorial was still a little deficient, even though his zeal was commendable. Can you imagine what it must have been like to keep a live young lamb for days in a small fourth-floor flat? Nevertheless, the Memorial was celebrated and it was a great occasion for the small group of Jesus Christ’s followers. In fact, it was about the nearest they ever came to an assembly in Spain in those days.

Baptisms were few and far between in those days. Even so, John Cooke was not prepared to baptize anyone without good reason. In fact, on three occasions Nemesio Orús cycled the seventy-two kilometers (45 miles) from Huesca to Zaragoza, but John kept telling him to wait a little longer and be sure he was making a stable decision about baptism. Finally, in May of 1936, arrangements were made to baptize Nemesio, Antonio Gargallo and José Romanos in the river Ebro, close to Zaragoza.