As the persecution increased, so did the number of those who responded to the Kingdom message. Thus, the fewer than 1,300 Witnesses in Portugal in 1962 grew to over 13,000 by 1974!

What a joy it has been to see the preaching work prosper in Portugal and in the territories under the supervision of our branch! These include Angola, the Azores, Cape Verde, Madeira, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Over the years it has been thrilling to see missionaries from Portugal sent out to serve in these lands, where tremendous interest in the Kingdom message has been shown. Imagine our rejoicing now to have more than 88,000 Kingdom proclaimers in these places, including more than 47,000 in Portugal! The Memorial attendance in these countries in 1998 topped 245,000, compared with less than 200 when I became a Witness in 1954.