A superior kind of freedom, however, has been offered to the people of Latvia ever since the 1920’s​—the freedom that comes from knowing Bible truth. Concerning this spiritual freedom, a report said: “The common people, . . . both men and women, receive the message with tears of joy.”

How did that good news reach Latvia? Our story begins with a prayer of seaman Ans Insberg.

Ans wrote: “One starry night at sea, I poured out my heart to the Lord and asked him to lead me to the people who worshipped him with spirit and truth. (John 4:24) I had seen much hypocrisy among churchgoers in my native Latvia and wanted none of that. Then in 1914 in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A., I saw the ‘Photo-Drama of Creation,’ a Biblical production of the International Bible Students, as Jehovah’s Witnesses were then known. My prayer was answered; I had found the truth! I was baptized on January 9, 1916, and took up the preaching work, going back to sea whenever my funds ran low.”

Shortly after World War I, Ans gave the Kingdom message wide circulation in Latvia. At his own expense, he placed notices proclaiming God’s Kingdom in Latvian newspapers. A retired schoolteacher named Krastin̗š learned the truth from those notices and may have been the first Bible Student residing in Latvia to dedicate his life to Jehovah.