Donald Nowills, who was assigned to oversee the work at the branch after the missionaries were deported, was just 20 years old and had been baptized for only four years. Although he had served as a circuit overseer for a few months, his work at the branch was new to him. Brother Nowills had a modest little office in his house, which was made of wood and galvanized iron and had a dirt floor. It was located in Gualey, a very dangerous section of Ciudad Trujillo. With the help of Félix Marte, he made copies of The Watchtower for the entire country.

Mary Glass, whose husband, Enrique, was imprisoned at the time, assisted Brother Nowills. “I would leave my secular work at 5:00 p.m.,” she explains, “and go to Brother Nowills’ office to type The Watchtower. Then Brother Nowills would duplicate copies on a mimeograph machine. Then, a sister from Santiago, code-named ‘the angel,’ would put the mimeographed magazines in the bottom of an empty five-gallon vegetable-oil can. She then laid a cloth over the literature and covered it with cassava, potatoes, or taros. Next, she placed on top of that a burlap (hessian) sack. Then she would take public transportation to the north of the country and leave one copy with each congregation. Families took turns borrowing that copy so that they could study it together.”

“We had to be very cautious,” adds Mary, “since the streets were crawling with government agents who were trying to discover where The Watchtower was being printed. But they never did. Jehovah always protected us.”

“Cautious as Serpents and Yet Innocent as Doves”

It was vital that Jehovah’s loyal servants continue receiving spiritual food during the ban, but it was a dangerous time in the country for true worshippers. During those years, many brothers were arrested and sentenced to several prison terms.

“When I learned the truth in 1953,” explains Juanita Borges, “I knew very well that, as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I ran the risk of being arrested. And that is exactly what happened. In November 1958, while I was visiting Sister Eneida Suárez, the secret police came and accused us of having a meeting. We were sentenced to three months in prison, and we each had to pay a fine of 100 pesos​—then equivalent to $100 (U.S.).”

The government did all it could to stop the Witnesses from meeting together, but the brothers were not deterred. However, they had to be “cautious as serpents and yet innocent as doves.” (Matt. 10:16) Andrea Almánzar recalls: “When attending the meetings, we had to arrive at different times. Then, we often left very late in the evening because we had to stagger our departures to avoid creating suspicion.”

Jeremías Glass, born while his father, León, was in prison, became a publisher in 1957 when he was seven years old. He remembers the secret meetings that were held in his home and the precautions that they took to avoid detection. “All in attendance were given a small piece of cardboard with a number on it indicating the order in which they should leave,” explains Jeremías. “When a meeting ended, my father would put me in the doorway to check the numbers on the pieces of cardboard and to direct those departing to do so in twos and to leave in alternating directions.”

Another precaution was to schedule meetings at times when the risk of getting caught was lower. For example, Mercedes García learned the truth from her uncle, Pablo González. When she was only seven years old, her mother died while her father was imprisoned, leaving her and her nine brothers and sisters on their own. Mercedes was baptized in 1959 when she was nine years old. To avoid detection, the brothers had the baptism talk at 3:30 a.m. The talk was held at a brother’s house, and then the immersion took place in the Ozama River, which runs through the capital. Mercedes says, “We were on our way home by 5:30 a.m. while the rest of the neighborhood was just waking up.”