Overcoming Obstacles in the Southeast

Meanwhile, in the southeast the preaching work was being done with great difficulty. In the states of Chiapas and Tabasco, there was much poverty, especially in the more remote places in the hills. How would the Kingdom message reach these people?

While attending a convention in 1934, the Ortiz family were invited to join the pioneer ranks. Their territory would be Tabasco State. Brother Ortiz relates: “I bought two horses, one for the load and the other for my 12-year-old daughter, Estela. We were five in all. My 15-year-old daughter, a married daughter, and another 15-year-old brother accompanied us.”

They covered many towns in Tabasco and placed a lot of literature. But in Tapijalapa they were arrested and taken to the military headquarters. “The mayor was a colonel,” Brother Ortiz later related. “He asked me harshly if I did not know that this kind of literature was prohibited in the state. I answered by saying that I thought that we were in the Mexican Republic and that I had my credential issued by the Secretariat of Government. He answered that it was worth no more than the paper it was written on. They took all our valuables away from us and all the literature we had in our bags.”

Of greater concern to Brother Ortiz, however, was the welfare of two of the group who were in another town. Brother Ortiz’ daughter and another sister were witnessing together there. The police knew that two were missing from the group, so they sent men to look for them. “This was about six o’clock in the evening,” Brother Ortiz says, “and the town was 20 kilometers [12 miles] away over mountainous terrain and it was pouring down rain. I figured that they would get there around midnight. I hated to think what could happen to these sisters, two girls, 16 and 20 years old, in the hands of those [men]. One of the girls was my daughter, so imagine what thoughts stormed my mind!” He prayed earnestly until sleep finally overcame him. How relieved he was next morning to find that Jehovah had answered his prayer and that the two girls had not been molested!

After the group had been detained for several days without sufficient food or sanitary facilities, a soldier escort was assigned to take them out of the state. On being released, one of the first things they did was to get some soap, find a river, and then wash both themselves and their clothing.