Finally, the brothers decided to build their own Assembly Hall, following the model of Assembly Halls in Martinique and Guadeloupe. It had a metal framework with a roof of galvanized sheets. It was large enough to accommodate about a thousand people, yet it could be easily dismantled. The next order of business was to find a piece of land where this Assembly Hall could be erected for use. Jean-Daniel Michotte made part of his property available. This arrangement lasted for several years.

An Extraordinary Building Project

As interest in the truth grew, a larger Assembly Hall became necessary. The brothers began looking for property large enough to construct a 2,000-seat Assembly Hall. After searching for several years, they found a well-situated 7.5-acre [3 ha] property at a reasonable price. Since the local brothers did not have the needed background in engineering and construction, the France branch was asked to assist. The project that was devised was truly extraordinary. It was carried out in 1993. The construction included a 21,500-square-foot [2,000 sq m] Assembly Hall, five Kingdom Halls, three apartments for special pioneers, and three missionary homes, and they were all built in just eight weeks!

Much of the material was shipped from France in 32 large containers. Tractors, trucks, buses, blocks, galvanized sheets, and other building materials, as well as a large supply of food, were among the cargo. Regional Building Committees in France that were involved in the project worked very hard.

During the course of the project, some 800 brothers and sisters came from France at their own expense to work with 500 local brothers and sisters on four different sites. The westernmost site was 150 miles [250 km] from the easternmost site, so good communication was needed. The French brothers came in shifts during the two-month period, but at one point there were 500 from France working with 422 local Witnesses. Providing accommodations for all the workers was a challenge. Many local families hosted two or three French workers; no one stayed in a hotel. Transportation for the workers was also required. One brother relates: “I would make a detour and drop off some workers at the site on my way to work and then pick them up after work. We did our best to make the workers feel at ease.”

While the main group was in Matoury at the site for the Assembly Hall (which was also designed to accommodate a Kingdom Hall),

[Pictures on page 251]

An eight-week international building project: (1) Assembly Hall in Matoury;