Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast is one of the countries that once was part of a federation of eight territories in West Africa. From 1895 to 1958 France administered these territories. The federation was called French West Africa.

It was back in the late 1400’s that the Ivory Coast received its name from the trade in elephant tusk ivory. Now, due to widespread hunting, the elephant is confined largely to the forested areas of the southwest. The days of finding specimens with 220-pound (100-kg) tusks are gone. Tusks of elephants found today may weight a maximum of about 40 to 50 pounds (18 to 23 kg).

The Ivory Coast became a French colony in the 1890’s. Then, in 1960, it became an independent country. Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who led the independence movement of French territories in western Africa, was elected president in 1960. He has been reelected every five years since then, and so still heads the government.

The country lies on the bulge of West Africa, bounded on the west by Liberia and Guinea, and  on the east by Ghana. To the north are the landlocked countries of Upper Volta and Mali. Ivory Coast has about 125,000 square miles (322,000 km²) of land area, some 15 times as large as El Salvador in area. It is roughly the size of the state of New Mexico in the United States.

The Ivory Coast is typical of most people’s notion of the tropics. The climate along the coast is hot and humid. Lush forests, which make up almost half of the total land area, spread north, gradually giving way to the central bushy savanna, and finally to the arid scrub savanna. The effects of the recent droughts have stretched down somewhat from the Sahara Desert, but have hardly affected the tropical rain forests farther south.

Some 7,500,000 people live in the Ivory Coast, about half of whom are under 20 years old. More than a million live in the beautiful capital city of Abidjan, which was a relatively small town of about 20,000 in 1945. As one goes up country from this coastal capital, one can see the people working in the large plantations of bananas, coffee, cocoa and pineapple. Toward the cities of Gagnoa and Daloa in the west, the people might be seen in the rice fields, or up in the logging camps, felling huge mahogany trees.

The population of the Ivory Coast is made up of many different tribal groups; over 60 of them inhabited the country by the end of the last century. Intermingling was rare, each group keeping its distance from the other and making a living by subsistence farming. The Ashanti tribes to the east come from Ghana; the Bete come from the western forests that stretch into Liberia; the tall desert people from Mali and Upper Volta,  and the Dan people from the mountains of Guinea. Along the coast, next to the lagoons fringed with sand and coconut palms, live the Ebries, whose main economic activity is lagoon fishing.

Although French is the official language, the country abounds with languages and dialects. The people speak some 70 indigenous languages of five major linguistic groups. There has been little or no attempt to put most of these into written form. The great commercial language is Dyula, spoken by the Moslem traders but used by many other persons for the purpose of commerce. Thus many in the Ivory Coast speak three languages: their own native dialect, French, and Dyula.

THE RELIGION OF THE PEOPLE

When the Ivory Coast became a French colony in the 1890’s, Catholic missionaries established a foothold here. From their coastal base, they gradually spread their teachings, hand in glove with the colonizing power. Many groups, especially of the coastal area, accepted Catholicism, yet they also held to their tribal religion based on animism. This is the belief that inanimate objects, such as rivers, lakes and lagoons, have souls or are inhabited by spirits worthy of reverence.

In the northern region, the Moslem religion gained influence with the influx of the Sudanic tribes that had already converted to Islam. However, Islam’s spread was met with great resistance, and only rarely did the animists accept this new religion of “submission.” Even when they did, they also held to their animist beliefs.

In recent times Protestant sects have also made some headway. From 1913 to 1936 a new religion known as Harrism spread rapidly in the Ivory  Coast. It is named after its founder, William Wade Harris, a Liberian preacher. His teachings were based on the Hebrew Scriptures, with a strong local flavor that linked up singing, dancing and pagan rites with certain Scriptural ideas.

Other sects and groups of Protestantism sprang up as more religious liberty was granted when the country took the road to independence. It was into this religious atmosphere, where an estimated 60 percent of the population was animist, 25 percent Moslem and 15 percent professed Christian, that the light of true Christianity began to shine in the Ivory Coast a little over 30 years ago.

FIRST RECORDED FIELD SERVICE

When William C. Walden and George L. Covert graduated from Gilead in February 1948, they were assigned to Ivory Coast. Due to difficulties in obtaining visas, the Society finally sent them to the Gold Coast (now Ghana) to try to gain entry into Ivory Coast from there.

In March 1949 Alfred G. Baker, then the branch overseer of the Gold Coast, and William Walden went to Abidjan. There they contacted the French governor, and made application for visas. The governor seemed impressed with the documentation presented, but no immediate action was taken. During their four-day stay in Abidjan the brothers did the first recorded field service in the Ivory Coast.

Time dragged by​—a whole year—​yet, despite repeated correspondence about the matter, no permission was granted for the entry of missionaries. Finally, the Gold Coast branch sent Alfred Elias Shooter to the Ivory Coast as a regular pioneer. Alfred had been a pioneer in Accra, the capital of the Gold Coast.

 REGULAR PREACHING STARTS

Brother Shooter’s first field service report from Abidjan was received in Accra in June 1950. He had spent 100 hours preaching the good news, made 20 return visits, and started two home Bible studies. The following month he revived an inactive publisher who had moved to Abidjan from Accra. By August Alfred was conducting 12 Bible studies.

Brother Shooter took a part-time job in order to pay the rent for a small room by the lagoon in Treichville, a section of Abidjan. In December 1950 he attended a national assembly in the Gold Coast, where Brother Baker was able to discuss the work in Ivory Coast with him. Alfred’s wife joined him as a regular pioneer in Abidjan in February 1951. Between them, they were able to do much to help the people of the Ivory Coast learn Bible truths. Seventeen attended the Memorial in Abidjan in March 1951, and 25 came to a special public talk. A book study group was started, with a regular attendance of 12.

GILEAD GRADUATES ENTER

In July 1951 Gabriel and Florence Paterson, graduates of Gilead’s 16th class, gained entry to the Ivory Coast, taking up residence with the Shooters. Gabriel, a native of the Gold Coast, years before had studied with Alfred Shooter, helping him to a knowledge of the truth. Their meeting in a foreign assignment was a reunion of great joy.

Times were not easy for these young couples. Gabriel describes their accommodations:

“On our arrival in Abidjan Alfred had made an extension of their one room with cardboard. He roofed it with tarred paper for a sleeping place  for Florence and me. Under this paper-roofed shelter, we prepared our meals and ate together. When it rained we awoke as the water dripped in. We took shelter in a corner, making an effort not to disturb our hosts.”

THE FIRST DISCIPLE

Such trying conditions did not discourage the pioneers. Soon their activity bore real fruitage. Robert Markin, a man from the Gold Coast, saw a copy of “Let God Be True” in the office of a friend. He asked if he could borrow the book. Rather than part with it, his friend told him where the Patersons and Shooters lived.

Robert immediately made his way down to the little house beside the lagoon. He obtained the book, and Brother Paterson went with him to his home where they studied for two hours. The next morning Gabriel invited Robert to go in field service to see how the witnessing work was accomplished. Thus, the first resident of Ivory Coast was on the road to becoming a witness of Jehovah. Robert Markin was baptized, along with two others, in Abidjan’s Gbobo lagoon in April 1952.

Meetings were soon held in Robert’s home. To start with they were generally conducted in English, with translations into French, the Ghanian languages of Ewe and Twi, or one of the local languages, depending on who was present. At first the sole members of this budding group were foreigners to Ivory Coast, people from the Gold Coast, French Togoland and Dahomey. It was not until 1954 that some local Ivory Coast people were baptized.

LEGAL ACTION AGAINST BROTHERS

In the summer of 1952, after five persons had joined the pioneers in the preaching work, the  brothers were reported to the police. Brother Paterson was arrested and his house was searched. It should be noted that none of the Society’s literature had received government approval. The European police superintendent said that he was sorry to have to take action, but since his men had found over 100 volumes of forbidden literature he would be forced to report the matter to the authorities. However, he took some of the books to read himself, and became a good friend of Brother Paterson.

The brothers were called to trial at the nearby town of Grand Bassam, where the Supreme Court then was. They were charged with being in possession of forbidden literature and not having an “Alien’s Pass Card.”

Alfred Baker, branch servant of the Gold Coast, came over to Ivory Coast and engaged a lawyer  for the brothers. The lawyer argued the case very convincingly, but the Court upheld the government ruling: “No preaching or literature of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Ivory Coast.” Brothers Paterson and Shooter were convicted and given suspended prison sentences ranging from one to six months. In addition, a fine of 5,000 francs was imposed.

A few months later the brothers were working in the service in Grand Bassam. There in the marketplace, they found the Society’s confiscated publications on sale! The government had apparently been so little concerned about the matter that they had sold the seized literature to a commercial salesman. The brothers promptly bought back many of their own books! This was certainly a blessing in view of the difficulty in getting literature into the country.

HELP FROM GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

At the same time, the police and immigration authorities tried to have the pioneers deported on the grounds that they had no visas. This harassment continued through 1952 and into 1953. In the process of seeking to acquire permanent visas, the brothers visited numerous government offices. They contacted some influential members of the government, including Félix Houphouët-Boigny and Ouezzin Coulibaly.

Mr. Houphouët-Boigny, who later became president of the Ivory Coast, was then the president of the Democratic African Republic, president of the territorial parliament of Ivory Coast, as well as member of parliament to the Government at Palais Bourbon, Paris, France. Brother Paterson explained his problems to this prominent official, who listened sympathetically. Mr. Houphouët-Boigny  then promised that he would see to it that the brothers stayed in the country. “The truth,” he remarked, “has no barrier whatsoever. It is like a mighty river; dam it and it will overflow the dam.” He referred them to his deputy, Ouezzin Coulibaly, who later became very friendly with Brother Paterson.

The Alien’s Pass Card needed to be issued in Dakar, Senegal, the seat of government for French West Africa. Mr. Coulibaly interceded, helping Brother Paterson obtain one easily. He also arranged to have Brother Paterson’s visa extended, speaking in his behalf to the Head of National Security. This official explained that a Catholic priest and a Methodist minister had come to see him to tell him that what Jehovah’s Witnesses were preaching was not good for the people of Ivory Coast. But what was Mr. Coulibaly’s view? He said: “I represent the people of this country. We are the people, and we like Jehovah’s Witnesses and so we want them to stay here in this country.”

LAYING A FINE FOUNDATION

Following the intercession of Mr. Coulibaly the brothers had a measure of peace to continue with their God-given assignment. In 1953 a peak of 17 Kingdom publishers was reached. In March, 85 attended the Memorial.

Brother Paterson recommended to the Society: “It is possible to establish a congregation here because some of the publishers are now capable of serving as servants.” Thus, on April 1, 1954, the first congregation was formed in Treichville, Abidjan.

The brothers would rent a small truck to travel to the outlying areas to preach, singing Kingdom  songs as they went. After preaching in the morning, they had a little picnic and then held a public talk in a school hall or in the courtyard of an interested person. Afterward, they would pile into the truck, tired but happy, to return home, still singing! In 1954 there was an average of 19 publishers each month in the field service.

CHURCH PILLARS BECOME WITNESSES

Among the highlights of 1955 was the stand for the truth taken by two pillars in the local church. Interestingly, one of them, Samuel Denoo, was the friend in whose office Robert Markin had seen a copy of “Let God Be True.” And it was Samuel that directed Robert to Brother Paterson, resulting in Robert becoming the first disciple in the Ivory Coast.

Well, Samuel Denoo was one of the executive members of the local Methodist Church. He and the president of the Bible class group, Emmanuel Kwaku Glago, invited Brother Paterson to speak to the church group. His talk was well received and Bible studies were started with many of the group, including Mr. Denoo and Mr. Glago.

These two local pillars of the church soon came along in the truth, but not without opposition. They were summoned by the Methodist Church pastors to explain why they had abandoned their former church and joined Jehovah’s Witnesses. Samuel Denoo explained:

“You know very well that I had more than one wife. Yet you appointed me one of the advisers of the church and a member of the executive committee. Jehovah’s Witnesses would not baptize me until I had brought my life into harmony with the Scriptures. By the help of Jehovah’s Witnesses I  have come to know who Jehovah is and how to worship him.”

Emmanuel Glago emphasized basic differences between the Methodist Church and Jehovah’s Witnesses. “In your church the layman worships and obeys the clergy rather than God,” he said. “Jehovah’s Witnesses, who have no clergy-laity distinctions, worship and obey Jehovah God by preaching and teaching the good news of the Kingdom as His servants.”

One of the clergy responded that the two of them could come back and they would be allowed to preach in church. But Emmanuel answered: “What am I going to preach? Is it not the same old stuff​—immortality of the human soul, a fiery hell after death, the ‘mysterious’ Trinity, and so forth? No, I do not want it. I have come to the conclusion from the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses  that these doctrines of the Church are false and drawn from paganism.”

The discussion continued for more than two hours, but the pastors left without having regained their members. Samuel Denoo soon thereafter volunteered his home as a Kingdom Hall. In time it became the home for most of the missionaries who were assigned to Ivory Coast.

THE 1955 ASSEMBLY IN GOLD COAST

The major highlight of 1955 was undoubtedly the assembly held in Accra, Gold Coast, November 17 to 20. Twenty-five from Ivory Coast attended, traveling alternately by small truck and boat. At the border Brother Paterson got out of the boat, told the border officials that these were “New World” citizens on their way to attend a convention of “fellow citizens” in Accra. The boat was allowed to pass with none of the brothers being disturbed.

Eventually the group arrived in Accra. At the assembly grounds what a marvel met their eyes! They had scarcely seen 100 persons together for a Christian meeting. But here were 7,000 in attendance at the first session, with 14,331 present for the public meeting! The Shooters, who had opened up the work in the Ivory Coast, now stayed in the Gold Coast. However, the rest of the brothers from the Ivory Coast returned with new vigor to carry on the preaching work.

STARTING THE WORK IN BOUAKÉ

Up until 1955 witnessing had been limited to Abidjan and its outlying areas. Although some had preached to their relatives in other places, nobody was contacting these persons regularly. However, after the Accra assembly, Robert Markin  was assigned by his employers to Bouaké, the second largest town in Ivory Coast.

At first Robert was concerned as to how he would get on, being isolated from his brothers. But Brother Paterson told him: “When you get up there, don’t get a small house, get a big one. Then you will be able to hold meetings in it for all the interested persons that will come along.”

On arrival in Bouaké, Robert found that his nephew had already found him a house, a small one. So, faithful to instructions from Brother Paterson, Robert turned it down and found another large enough to hold the future congregation. Very soon while in the preaching work he met a family of Moslems. Twenty of them started coming along for discussions. In a short time quite a few in the town were showing interest. For the whole country, there was an average of 53 sharing in the Kingdom preaching in 1956.

TRAVELING OVERSEERS VISIT

In October 1957 visits by a circuit overseer were initiated. William T. Darko from the Gold Coast (that year its name was changed to Ghana) served the congregation in Abidjan and the small group of isolated publishers in Bouaké. At this time there were also isolated publishers in Daloa, Dimbokro, Grand Bassam and in Koumassi, an outlying suburb of Abidjan. In December 1957 Brother Paterson was appointed the circuit overseer. The following year the group at Bouaké was reporting 16 publishers.

SPECIAL PIONEER GOES TO BOUAKÉ

Daniel Keboh, a Nigerian special pioneer who was living in Ghana, came to Bouaké in September 1958 to serve. He arrived after two days of traveling  by intertown lorries, covered with red dust, tired, but happy to have found his brothers. The following day, accompanied by one of the local brothers, he went to the police station to register his presence in the town.

The police promptly confiscated Daniel’s literature and detained the two of them for some hours. The brothers were asked many questions about their activities and, three months later, they were given a summons to appear in court. The judge fined them 2,500 francs each.

The African subordinate officers, however, were sympathetic, telling the brothers not to pay the fine. These men said that if they were sent to collect the fine they would say that they had been unable to contact the brothers. This experience fairly well illustrates the official attitude toward Jehovah’s Witnesses at the time. Despite what had occurred, Daniel was not discouraged, and he started witnessing in Bouaké.

FOREIGNERS FORCED TO LEAVE

In 1958 there were still very few local persons who had accepted the truth in the Ivory Coast. The majority of brothers were originally from Togo and Dahomey (now called Benin), and so often our religion was referred to as Dahomean. One brother said that people would often mistake him for a Dahomean simply because he was a Witness.

Then, in 1958, trouble centering around the foreigners living in the Ivory Coast broke out. There were riots, and much suffering. The situation deteriorated to the point that the government could no longer guarantee the safety of Togolese or Dahomean citizens living in the Ivory  Coast. Thus, these were required to return to their home countries.

None of the brothers were killed in the riots, but their lives were endangered, as were the lives of other foreigners. So, in obedience to the government decree, many brothers also left the country. As a result, the Ivory Coast lost about 25 Kingdom publishers, the fruit of two years’ labor. Since many of these were brothers who were taking the lead in the congregation, the loss was very much felt.

The question now was, would the local brothers stand on their own? The answer was, of course, Yes! Brother Paterson started immediately to train them to shoulder responsibilities in the Abidjan congregation so that they would be able to look after things when he was away visiting isolated publishers. The preaching activity continued and, in time, new disciples began to replace those who left as a result of the riots. However, the average number of publishers dropped from 60 in 1958 to 46 in 1959 due to the departures.

HE HELPED THE WORK GROW

About this time Blaise Bley, who worked at the airport in Abidjan, received a copy of the French Watchtower. Liking what he read, he wrote for further information. Finally, Brother Paterson received his address and contacted him. A Bible study was started, and in March 1959 Blaise was among the 20 delegates from Ivory Coast who journeyed to Kumasi, Ghana, to attend the Divine Will assembly. What a thrill it was for him to be in the crowd of 13,754 persons who received counsel and encouragement from God’s Word!

Since Blaise lived in the Abidjan suburb of Port-Bouët, about 6 miles (10 km) from where  the meetings were held, it was difficult for him to attend three times a week. So Brother Bley gathered together other interested persons living in his area and arranged regular meetings for them there. Thus the nucleus of the Port-Bouët congregation was formed.

In June 1959 the first circuit assembly was held in the Ivory Coast with an attendance of 62. Six months later another assembly was held in Abidjan. On this occasion 153 persons enjoyed seeing for the first time the Society’s film about the Divine Will assemblies.

STEADY PROGRESS

Daniel Keboh, the special pioneer at Bouaké, was transferred to the town of Gagnoa in the west of the country. He was joined there by another special pioneer from Ghana, Abraham Amponsah.  It was not long before a small group was flourishing. The brothers were visited by the district overseer from Ghana, Ernest Funk, who showed one of the Society’s films to a crowd of several hundred persons there. A Moslem chief in Gagnoa kindly loaned his sound equipment for the showing, and even sent one of his men over to operate the equipment.

The scattered suburbs of Abidjan were receiving a witness too. Besides the group meeting in Port-Bouët, another began operating in the Koumassi area of town. The town of Grand Bassam, about 25 miles (40 km) down the coast from Abidjan, was also receiving a witness. Today, a congregation of about 30 publishers thrives there.

These different groups received help from special pioneers who came in from Ghana: George Kwakye to Koumassi and Jacob Hackman to Grand Bassam. David Adu-Manuh was assigned to take over from Brother Paterson as circuit overseer, since the Patersons were reassigned to Ghana. Thus the 1961 service year ended with a fine peak of 121 Kingdom publishers.

AN EVENTFUL JOURNEY

The year 1962 started well with a delegation from Ivory Coast attending the district assembly in Accra, Ghana. The group traveled along the coast, crossing the lagoons at the border, and then used the intertown lorry service. One takes a certain risk when using this form of transport, since the drivers frequently have a slightly fatalistic attitude toward their work. “If it is God’s will that we get from here to there, nothing can stop us,” they say, and drive accordingly! Thus, accidents are frequent, and alas, this trip in the lorry proved to be no exception.

 On the Ghana side of the border, near Takaoradi, the lorry left the road and overturned. One brother who was fast asleep was thrown completely clear of the lorry into a clump of reeds. After a few minutes of anxious searching the brothers found him there, unharmed! None of the brothers were seriously hurt, although several of the other passengers sustained severe injuries. After treatment at a hospital for minor cuts, and an overnight stay with local brothers, the delegation continued to the assembly the following day, and enjoyed it to the full!

TROUBLE IN BOUAKÉ

At a circuit assembly in Bouaké in 1962 an unfortunate incident occurred that adversely affected the growth of the Kingdom preaching for a number of years. The first night 182 persons were in attendance. Later during the assembly a disfellowshiped person came and caused a disturbance. While being restrained physically, he suddenly slumped to the ground and appeared to go into an epileptic fit. At this moment the police, who had been called, arrived. They supervised his removal to the hospital, where he died.

It should be noted that people here often do not accept death as due simply to natural causes. Even death from old age may be blamed on witchcraft or poisoning. Thus, in this case, the fact that this man was known to be ill and had been warned by his doctor not to get excited or angry did not weigh at all with his relatives. They firmly believed that he had been murdered, even though the hospital announced he had died of a heart attack.

Due to the accusations made, eventually nine brothers were imprisoned. Five of them were  released a few days later, but the remaining four were formally charged with murder. After spending four months in jail, three more were released; the autopsies conclusively established their innocence. The remaining brother was held for some time longer for his own safety, it was said, since relatives of the dead man were seeking vengeance.

While in jail the brothers gave a fearless testimony. The local Seventh-day Adventists stopped visiting the prison when confronted with the situation of having to answer the brothers’ questions in front of all the prisoners. The brothers were permitted to give public lectures in prison, and before their release as many as 30 persons were attending them. Other regular meetings also were held, and two of the prisoners began to take a stand for the truth.

The brothers were finally completely exonerated, but the incident had far-reaching effects. The group at Gagnoa, composed chiefly of the dead man’s relatives, ceased to exist after a short while. And the congregation in Bouaké was also disbanded, since for a long time afterward it was very dangerous for the brothers to be seen in town.

MORE HELP ASSIGNED

In September 1962, Brother and Sister Simmons, missionaries expelled from Haiti, arrived in the Ivory Coast. The following month an assembly was held in Abidjan with a peak attendance of 108, the smaller attendance reflecting the recent troubles. The branch servant of Ghana, Herbert Jennings, was present. He felt that more missionaries would be a stabilizing influence in the country. Thus Brother and Sister Enevoldsen of Gilead’s 37th class were assigned here, arriving in  Abidjan in January 1963. Some months later, Cosmas Klévor, a special pioneer, was sent from Ghana.

On arrival Brother Klévor was surprised to be received with a great deal of suspicion by the brothers, and wondered why. But then the brothers’ faces lighted up when Cosmas named the missionary brothers that he had come to find. They explained that just a few minutes before they had spoken with an impostor, a man claiming to be a Witness from a foreign country. The brothers feared that Cosmas was trying the same trick!

MISSIONARY ACCOMMODATIONS

In January 1964 the missionaries moved from the apartment where they had been staying to Samuel Denoo’s house. The Kingdom Hall already was located in his large home on the main street in Treichville. In time as many as 15 missionaries were accommodated here. The place had distinct advantages over the previous location, although it had its drawbacks as well.

Not the least of the disadvantages was the fact that the house stood right at a crossroads, next to traffic lights, and the sound of the traffic was very disturbing. In addition, a man and his four wives lived in the compound next door, and almost every morning the missionaries awoke at dawn to the screams of a younger wife being beaten by a senior one. In later years, when that building was demolished and a new one went up in its place, everybody breathed a sigh of relief. But then it was discovered that the new building housed a nightclub, and screams from it often were even more unbearable!

 ASSEMBLIES IN 1964

The year got off to a good start with a circuit assembly in the Koumassi section of Abidjan attended by 152. Abidjan’s second congregation was formed here during 1964. George Kwakye gave one of the assembly talks on the value of courage. He was just quoting Jesus’ words about not fearing those who can kill the body but not the soul, when a snake appeared on the platform. Alarmed by the frightened gestures of the brothers in the front row, George fled to the back of the auditorium. After the snake had been disposed of by other brothers, George reappeared, somewhat sheepishly, to take up his talk where he left off!

Shortly afterward, in March, a district assembly was arranged in Abidjan at the Cultural Center in Treichville. Upon complaints that an illegal gathering was being held, the police broke up the assembly. They took to the station several of the brothers who had been on the program, telling them that they were not allowed to hold public assemblies since the work of Jehovah’s Witnesses was not recognized in the Ivory Coast. However, the assembly was successfully continued in the Kingdom Hall in Treichville. During 1964 a peak of 143 publishers was reached, the highest yet obtained in the country.

SEEKING LEGAL RECOGNITION

The brothers decided to inquire about the possibility of registering the activities of the Watchtower Society. Since the Ivory Coast was now an independent African country, it was felt that efforts might meet with more success than formerly. So a letter from the Watch Tower Society’s president was sent to the president of the Ivory Coast  on September 14, 1964, requesting legal recognition of the work.

In the meantime the preaching work continued to be carried on. In fact, in May 1965 another circuit assembly was held, this time in Grand Bassam, with the fine attendance of 200 at the public talk. But then, on June 3, 1965, notice was published that the government had refused permission to Jehovah’s Witnesses to carry on their activities in the Ivory Coast.

Did this actually change anything? Not to a great extent, at least not at first. Even before this decree was issued the work of Jehovah’s Witnesses had not been recognized in Ivory Coast. Yet the missionaries had not been asked to leave the country, nor had meetings been prohibited. The meetings in Treichville, for example, were held in the Kingdom Hall plainly marked with a large sign. The only concession to the newly passed decree was that the brothers now closed the windows during the meetings, despite the tropical climate.

Amazingly, four new missionaries were now granted visas permitting them to stay in Ivory Coast. And this despite the fact that they were plainly identified as missionaries of the banned Society! Thus Gilead graduates Joseph and Marcia Crawford, and Joseph and Lillie Hines, arrived on November 4, 1965. They were unaware of the restrictions placed on the work​—it was not mentioned to them. So they started out enthusiastically in service, one of the missionaries placing over 300 magazines in the first month.

ARRESTS AND HARASSMENT

Shortly afterward, however, real difficulties began. Daniel Keboh was imprisoned in Koumassi  on January 1, 1966. He lived in the courtyard below the Koumassi missionary home. When the new missionaries who were living there realized that Daniel’s door had remained locked for two nights in a row, they began to make inquiries. Imagine their consternation on discovering that he had been imprisoned for preaching a banned religion!

The missionaries rushed home and took down the sign from the Kingdom Hall, which was on the floor below the missionary home. They even packed their bags in preparation for expulsion from the country. Eventually, however, they realized that matters were not that serious. However, from then on they were a little more circumspect in the way they carried on their preaching.

Some months later, on June 5, further action was taken by the police. They went to the Kingdom Hall in Koumassi and arrested the congregation overseer, George Kwakye, along with two other brothers. They took away the information board, the yeartext, literature and other things. The next day, when two brothers, Samuel Attiou and Ernest Nomel, went to visit the imprisoned brothers, they, too, were promptly arrested.

Having obtained the name of Robert Lasme from the information board, the police went to his house to arrest him. At this very time a congregation meeting was in progress there. However, Sister Lasme, who was on guard at the door, saw the policemen approaching and gave a signal. All but three of the brothers were able to slip out. These three rushed to the bedroom, and climbed into bed. Two policemen took a brief look in, but saw no sign of anyone. When they went to look in the back of the house, the three brothers escaped!

 Nevertheless, six Koumassi brothers were in prison, and the missionaries were not allowed to visit them. However, a sister was permitted to bring them food, and she was able to smuggle two Bibles in to them. Every night the brothers conducted a meeting and sang Kingdom songs. The other prisoners in their cell block, some of whom would attend these meetings, used to say, “God is with us in this block.” They loved to hear the brothers sing.

When the brothers were finally brought to court, the public prosecutor said that it was not forbidden to know or teach the Bible in Ivory Coast, but that it was forbidden to propagate the ideas of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He did not say wherein lay the difference. The brothers were given a suspended sentence and ordered to pay fines totaling 350,000 francs. Later, on appeal, a higher court struck off the fines. The brothers returned to Koumassi and continued preaching and assembling as before.

Yet this was not the only such incident. Lawrence  Lambert was also arrested. He was badly treated by the police, who interrogated him at length. They were trying to find out the names of all the brothers living in the area so that these, too, could be arrested. But Brother Lambert replied: “Does the priest know all the names of those who attend Mass at his Church?” They were unable to get any names from him.

Another incident reflects the general attitude of officials toward Jehovah’s Witnesses at the time. A Nigerian fellow, who was not a Witness, was taken to prison because he had the name “Jehovah” painted on his truck. He was released only when he was able to convince the authorities that he was not a Witness.

SEEKING RELIEF FROM THE BAN

It now became clear that it would be difficult for the work to progress with the ban still in force. So now every effort was made to have it lifted. Missionaries Joseph Hines and Joseph Crawford were able to obtain interviews with the Minister of the Interior, Mr. Nanlo Bamba, and his French administrative assistant, Mr. Christian Blaud. Officials of the United States embassy also intervened on the Society’s behalf, since the denial of registration to an American organization was involved.

The Watch Tower Society also prepared a 13-page document in April 1967 that explained our position of neutrality. It made clear that we were not discouraging people from performing their civil duties, but rather that we lay stress on the importance of citizens being obedient to the authorities. Copies of official documents showing that our work is legally recognized in other West African countries were also obtained. These documents,  along with a letter dated May 18, 1967, were delivered to President Félix Houphouët-Boigny. It was later reported that he read the letter, approved of what it said, and sent it down to the Minister of the Interior.

Almost immediately four brothers were sent again to call on the Minister of the Interior, Mr. Nanlo Bamba. Since ours had often been referred to as a “foreign” society, four Ivory Coast brothers went this time. The first thing that the Minister did was to ask each one of them from which tribe he came. Discovering that they all belonged to tribes from the Ivory Coast, he was satisfied and let the interview continue. Then he raised the point of military service and said that Jehovah’s Witnesses would not fight for their country. Our stand of Christian neutrality was explained and some of the Society’s publications were given to him. No decision on the matter was then made, as Mr. Bamba said other officials had to be consulted.

LEARNING ABOUT THE DECISION

It was two weeks later, early in June 1967, that a Witness and an interested person were engaged in the house-to-house preaching activity. The interested person continued working after the Witness left because he was enjoying it so much. As he listened in amazement, a householder said: “Jehovah’s Witnesses were forbidden to carry on their work in Ivory Coast, but now they have been granted authority to preach.” The man reassured him that he was one of the officials who handled the matter and that the decision had been made two weeks before!

The new publisher rushed to the missionary home with the good news. The next day they visited  this government official in his office and received from him a copy of the official ordinance. It showed that Jehovah’s Witnesses had indeed received official recognition and permission to continue their work for one year, after which renewal could be applied for on a yearly basis.

“The legal registration of the witnessing work gave everyone the feeling that a large weight had been removed from their shoulders,” noted one of the missionaries. “We were very happy to have endured this critical period in the history of the work of Jehovah’s people in Ivory Coast.”

On hearing the news of the lifting of the ban, the brothers showed their delight in traditional fashion. They gathered together after one meeting and sang and sang until they were too tired to sing anymore.

AN OUTSTANDING EXAMPLE OF ENDURANCE

In 1967 missionary Lillie Hines began studying with a 16-year-old Baule girl named Pauline. Her father was in government service, and she was expected to follow a certain course outlined by him. She would have the best of everything, including education in private boarding schools.

In time her father put pressure on her to stop studying the Bible. She was taken before a tribal council, but that did not deter her. Next, witchcraft was employed​—a beautiful gold ring that, unknown to her, had been blessed by a witch doctor was given her. She began to have severe headaches, but remembering that they started after she began wearing the ring, she got rid of it and gradually the headaches stopped. Even beatings and threats did not succeed in making her give up her studies.

 Guards were hired to stop her from attending meetings. But she would fool them. Once she disguised herself as an old woman, walked past the guards and proceeded on to an assembly. There she took off her disguise and enjoyed the sessions. Afterward she dressed up again as an old woman and went home, right past the guards.

On another occasion she slipped away over the back fence, caught the train going to Bouaké, was baptized at the assembly there, caught another train returning to Abidjan and arrived back at school before anyone knew she was gone. Her father found out later that she had been to Bouaké and he asked her with whom she had gone. “With the sisters,” came the reply. Thinking, of course, she meant the nuns from her school, he said, “It was OK.”

When her father did find out she was baptized by Jehovah’s Witnesses, he was furious. He packed up her belongings, put her in the care of a prominent politician, and sent her off to finish her schooling in Paris, France. There he hoped that the dazzle and glitter of worldly attractions would preoccupy her so she would forget her new religion.

Although Pauline did find life in Paris dazzling, this did not dampen her zeal for Jehovah. She located the address of the branch headquarters from an Awake! magazine, and began to attend meetings there regularly. Later she started going to a congregation nearer to where she lived in the suburbs. At school she started Bible studies with a number of her classmates, at least seven of whom are now baptized!

Pauline has since returned to Ivory Coast and serves with her husband in one of the Abidjan  congregations. She does not regret having given up material wealth for the sake of the Kingdom. Nor does she regret having lost her father’s favor, although she does hope that one day he may have a change of heart. Her main desire is to serve Jehovah completely and to assist her husband in training their children in the way of Jehovah.

FIRST ASSEMBLY AFTER THE BAN

By September 1967 the brothers were ready to enjoy their first circuit assembly since May 1965. Not even the fact that they had to change the location of the assembly at the last minute, or the fact that the new place had no lights and so the program had to be rearranged for the afternoon, could dampen the enthusiasm of the brothers. This was the best assembly they had ever had; it was the first time they were completely free to gather together. Despite the hindrances, 416 came to the public talk. What a marvelous increase over the 200 at the assembly two years before!

 MANY MORE MISSIONARIES

At this assembly in September 1967, it was learned that more missionaries had been assigned to the Ivory Coast. Seven of them arrived by the year’s end, bringing the total in the country to 11. At this time a new missionary home was established in the Abidjan suburb of Adjamé.

Then, in November 1967, Don Adams from the Society’s Brooklyn headquarters made a zone visit, and he recommended sending even more missionaries. So, in March and April of 1968, nine more of them arrived. After a three-week crash course in French, four were assigned to open a new missionary home in Bouaké. In October 1968, yet nine more missionaries arrived.

What was it like for a foreign missionary to come and work in this country? Heidelind Pohl observes:

“Stepping off the plane it felt like coming into a sauna bath. Arriving at the Treichville missionary home, I was amazed to see shutters but no windowpanes, which were not needed, of course, in this climate. In fact, it was so hot that often during the night I climbed out of bed and lay down on a mat on the cement floor to cool down a bit.

“In the territory people were very kind. I hardly spoke any French at first, but everyone was so patient. Sometimes they would ask what we had in our witnessing bags, and pull out a book they wanted. Starting Bible studies is no problem. There were times I had 20 or more.

“One man I called on took a ‘Truth’ book and started coming to meetings. He wrote to his fiancée in Benin about his newfound faith. She did not appreciate it at all, and told him to forget about her if he continued in this religion. I called on him for the first time in October. By the end of December he was out in the field service, after he had  cleaned up his life. The next March he was baptized, and he now serves as an elder in one of the Abidjan congregations. His fiancée wrote to him asking his forgiveness. He went home on vacation and arranged for a sister to study with her. A year later they were married.”

EXPANSION IN BOUAKÉ

Since the trouble in Bouaké in 1962, when the congregation was dissolved, there had been only three or four Kingdom publishers in that town. What would happen when the missionaries began their work there? In just two years the number of publishers leaped to 50, with an average of 80 attending all meetings. One of the missionaries, Otto Hauck, assisted 12 people to the point of baptism in that period. One of these was high school director Santé Poté.

Santé is a man of high principles, who refused to listen to his Catholic friends who were encouraging him to take additional wives. Soon he and his wife and four of his children were baptized. Although he continues his employment in a school, he serves as a regular pioneer, and from time to time his wife pioneers with him.

CONQUERING RELIGIOUS SUPERSTITION

Aside from the city of Abidjan, where there is a mixture of people from many tribes, most towns in the country are predominately composed of people of one or two main tribes. Bouaké is inhabited mostly by people of the Baule tribe, although many Moslems from northern areas live there too. The Baules are a forest people, related to the Ashantis of Ghana. They are generally believers in the native, animist religions, putting great faith in fetishes.

 In most small villages near Bouaké there is a large fetish, usually a carved representation of some spirit or animal. The fetish may be a mask carved out of a piece of wood to represent an ancestor of the village. It is believed that the spirit that lives in the carving will leave it at night to walk around the village and protect it from all evil. The fetish is also believed to kill those who are unfaithful to it, and sacrifices are constantly required to appease it. The sacrifices may consist of eggs or rice, or even a sheep or some bottles of liquor. The fetish priest usually takes care of these!

In Abidjan, the missionary Marcia Crawford studied with a Baule couple from a village near Bouaké. The woman’s older brother also sat in on the study, but was very critical of what was being taught. The wife, however, showed great interest, and so Marcia was sorry when the couple moved back to Bouaké. Happily this was about the time the missionaries opened a home in Bouaké, and so the study was continued. In time, the husband also progressed in the truth, finally burning all his fetish objects.

Two days after this the husband received an urgent message from his father to come to his village. His panic-stricken father told him that the fetish priest had looked into the sacred calabash and had seen the souls of everyone in the village with the exception of his son’s. “This man is no longer one of us,” the priest had announced. “His soul has left us and therefore he is weak and no longer protected against any fetish.”

The son told his father that this was the best news he could have. It meant that he no longer was counted among those practicing demonism.  Furthermore, he told his father, he now had the greatest of all protection against the fetish. From that moment he never looked back, and the fetish was not able to harm him.

However, his problems were many. He had five children by various women, besides six by his wife. All of these children were brought under one roof and taught Bible principles, and they eventually became a united family.

In the meantime, Marcia Crawford in Abidjan met the wife’s brother again, the one who had been critical when he sat in on the studies. To her surprise he asked for a copy of Awake! Had he changed his way of thinking? Indeed, he had! The vast change wrought in his sister’s family by the healing power of the truth had so impressed him that he now started to study regularly. Then all three, husband, wife and brother were baptized together at the “Peace on Earth” assembly in 1969.

FINE PROGRESS IN 1968

The year 1968 started well with the establishing of a fifth congregation in Abidjan. Then, in February, the brothers enjoyed their first district assembly since the ban, with 486 attending the public talk. In March the new Kingdom Ministry School for elders was held in Treichville. It was conducted by Brother Crawford who was then serving as circuit servant. The course was certainly a great help in bringing about organizational improvement in the congregations.

In April 577 persons attended the Memorial, an excellent increase of 175 over the year before. And the average number of publishers leaped from 180 in 1967 to 220 in 1968. Most of these Kingdom proclaimers were associating with the six congregations in the country.

 “TRUTH” BOOK SPEEDS UP INGATHERING

In October 1968 the “Good News for All Nations” district assembly proved a real impetus to the ingathering. A fine crowd of 646 attended, and 21 were baptized. But the real highlight was the release in French of the new book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. This book revolutionized the Bible study activity and proved a wonderful help in bringing people quickly to a knowledge of the truth. With an average of only 220 publishers in the country, Bible studies leaped to 950 in six months. The first 5,000 copies of the book sent by the Society were distributed in a few weeks.

All the missionaries were amazed at the ease with which the new book could be placed and studies started. It was not uncommon for people to stop them on the street and ask for a copy of “that blue book.” People would come around to the missionary home and Kingdom Halls asking for a copy, and beg that someone come to study with them. Some people would even peek into the service bag of a Witness as he stood at their door and, spying the Truth book, would ask immediately to have one.

STRENGTHENING ISOLATED PUBLISHERS

In 1968 Cosmas Klévor was assigned to make a tour to visit isolated brothers and interested persons throughout the country. It was not always easy locating them, since postal addresses are not the same as house addresses in Ivory Coast. Also, the streets of the towns are frequently unnamed.

The first town visited was Dimbokro. Cosmas showed the brother and interested persons there  how to conduct meetings. They were thrilled, and resolved to have a Theocratic School and service meeting each week. There is now a congregation of 24 publishers in this town.

From there Cosmas continued to Guiglo and Duékoué. All he knew about the brother in Duékoué was that he worked for a logging company. So Cosmas went to the assistant district commissioner for the area and asked him if he knew of one of Jehovah’s Witnesses who worked for a logging company in the area. He did, and even drove Cosmas to the brother’s place, quite some distance out of town.

The brother was the head of the logging company’s workshop, and he had witnessed to all his fellow workers. That night he arranged for these men to attend a talk given by Cosmas. One of these workers made fine progress in the truth.

Brother Klévor followed up this tour by another one several months later. While in Abengourou, a town in the east of the country, a little eight-year-old girl came to Cosmas and said that she knew the Witnesses had the truth. How had she come to that conclusion? Well, earlier her parents had sent her to live with a Witness in Grand Bassam to attend school there. The Witness took her to meetings and taught her the truth. However, when the parents learned about this they did not like it, so they sent her away to school in Abengourou. As soon as she heard that a Witness was in town, she began to go from house to house in the area to find him. Cosmas put her in contact with an interested person in the town to help her progress.

Brother Klévor then continued on to Daloa. There he found that the Truth book was being placed, not only by the isolated publisher there,  but also by a worldly person, who was charging nearly a dollar, U.S., a copy! Cosmas put those who had obtained books from the worldly person in contact with the Witness in town. He also recommended that they study their books, something the other man had not done.

HELP ASSIGNED TO NEW PLACES

The need for qualified publishers to assist interested people in these places became evident. There were no missionary homes in the country outside of Abidjan and Bouaké. So in June 1970 a home was opened up in Daloa, and a few months later another missionary home was opened in the town of Abengourou.

About the same time, still another missionary home was opened in the far west, in the scenic town of Man. “How different were the surroundings,” noted Shirley Mitchell, whose assignment was changed from Abidjan to here. “I arrived at night in a large truck along with my personal possessions. What a beautiful surprise in the morning to see mountains all around us! They weren’t very high, but so pleasant and relaxing to look at.” Shirley went on to describe the reaction of the people in Man to the Kingdom message:

“Many persons didn’t speak French and many couldn’t read. But they were eager to hear what we had to say. When we arrived at their home, they would quickly search for someone to do the translating for us. Sometimes we found ourselves talking to a group of ten or more.

“Often people even came to our home to ask us to study the Bible with them. I remember one man who came while I was cooking for the missionary home family. He had a relative that knew the Witnesses, and his interest was kindled by what his  relative had said. But he couldn’t read. So I told him that I would study with him and help him to learn to read, but that he must come to our meetings regularly. He agreed. He learned to read and write, and now he serves as a ministerial servant in the congregation.”

Linda Berry is another missionary that began working in Man in 1971. She contacted an Indian veterinarian by the name of Rabinadrath Louis. He and his wife started right away coming to meetings. Rabinadrath, however, had quite a problem to overcome​—smoking! The circuit assembly was coming up, and he tried very hard to quit before the assembly. What he did was eat peanuts every time he felt like having a cigarette. However, he ate so many peanuts that he became sick and was unable to attend the assembly. But finally, with Jehovah’s help, he was able to rid himself of the smoking habit. Both he and his wife made good progress in the truth, and they are now part of the congregation in Man.

Circuit overseer Joseph Appiah had a significant experience on his trip from Daloa to visit the newly formed congregation in Man. He explains:

“The bus conductor refused my wife and me the last two seats. This was because the owner of the bus had two relatives who wanted to go in that same direction. They arrived at the bus station and were given our places. However, after traveling about 80 kilometers [50 miles], the bus was involved in a serious accident. It crashed with a big truck, and the two relatives of the bus owner died on the spot. Many other passengers were injured. Later, on arriving in the area of the accident, people told us that our God is very powerful. This gave us a fine opportunity to witness to them.”

 CIRCUIT ASSEMBLY IN BOUAKÉ

In March 1969 a circuit assembly was planned for Bouaké. The mayor granted the brothers the use of the town hall free of charge. But a few days before the assembly the radio announced that a political party would be conducting meetings there during the days the assembly was scheduled. When the mayor contacted the party leaders, they did not seem to want to cooperate in the matter. However, the mayor told the brothers to go ahead and move in. So they did, somewhat nervously, since there were some party members stationed near the hall watching the proceedings. The last thing the brothers wanted was trouble, like what they had had in 1962!

However, when the assembly started there was no interference. A peaceful assembly was held, and 343 attended the public talk. The assembly received good publicity in the national paper, an article reproducing much of the special Awake! on “Why Does God Permit Wickedness?” So an outstanding witness was given, and the event associated with Bouaké in everybody’s mind was now a successful assembly rather than the previous trouble.

“PEACE ON EARTH” ASSEMBLIES

During the following months, missionaries left to attend the “Peace on Earth” assemblies in their respective countries. When they returned they helped to organize the finest assembly Ivory Coast had up until then. Not only was the attendance of 929 good, and the number of 78 baptized outstanding, but the program was received with exceptional enthusiasm. The dramas particularly were enjoyed.

 HIGHLIGHTS OF 1970

Fine theocratic growth was realized in the Ivory Coast in 1970. In March, 1,234 came to the Memorial, more than double the number who attended just two years before. During the year the number of congregations was increased to 10, and, on the average, 389 publishers reported field service each month. Significantly, 132 were baptized during the year, about one third of all the publishers in the country!

In August 1970 an exceptional circuit assembly was enjoyed in Grand Bassam. On Sunday morning nearly 400 gathered for the text and comments, and almost all of these went out in the witness work. This is a fairly small town, and it seemed that there were groups of Witnesses on every street corner. Also, an excellent crowd of 801 persons came out for the public talk, “Law and Order​—When and How?” It proved to be a particularly appropriate subject in view of the fact that the local newspaper had described Jehovah’s Witnesses as seditious.

While permission had been obtained from the police in Abidjan to hold the assembly, they had apparently neglected to inform the police official in Grand Bassam. He contacted the brothers to find out what the assembly was all about. Afterward, he was well satisfied, commenting that if all people observed the law as well as Jehovah’s Witnesses did the police would not have the troubles that they have in maintaining law and order.

The principal highlight of 1970, however, was the “Men of Goodwill” District Assembly held in Abidjan during December. For the first time delegates attended from countries as far away as the United States. They came on tours arranged  by the Society. Among the visitors was F. W. Franz, then vice-president of the Watch Tower Society. The local brothers were especially happy to be able to speak with someone of the Governing Body, since the great majority of the brothers had come into the truth quite recently and had never met anyone with the true Christian hope of heavenly life. The Ivory Coast has never had anyone partake of the Memorial emblems in symbol of that hope.

Due to the elections being held in the country prior to the assembly, advertising of the assembly had been restricted. Also, since the authorities decided to repair the Cultural Center where the assembly was to have been held, the assembly site was changed at the last minute to the Boxing Club. Yet, despite these difficulties, 1,003 attended the public talk! Portions of the Bible drama and short extracts of the assembly were shown on the national television network.

BRANCH ORGANIZED

The following month, January 1971, Nathan H. Knorr, the Watch Tower Society’s president, visited Abidjan. A meeting was arranged for those in the capital, but when they heard about it brothers came pouring in from all over the country. In all, there were 761 who came together for the talk and slide showing, and they were greatly encouraged spiritually.

Brother Knorr expressed a desire to see a branch set up in Ivory Coast. He felt it would enable the brothers to appreciate Jehovah’s organization more, and, as a result, greater spiritual progress could be made. Samuel Gilman, the former branch overseer in Malagasy Republic who had come to the Ivory Coast the year before, was  given instructions on following through with this. Thus on September 1, 1971, the Ivory Coast branch began operation, taking oversight of the preaching in Ivory Coast and also the work in Upper Volta.

OPENING UP OF MORE AREAS

When the company for which he worked assigned Brother Agodio Api to the port city of San Pedro in 1972, that city received its first Witness inhabitant. Brother Api found much interest, and wrote asking for special pioneers to be sent to help in caring for the spiritual needs of these persons. Finally, Samuel and Thelma Gilman made the day-long trip over rough, dirt roads, arriving around six o’clock in the evening. They were tired, covered with red dust, but happy to find their brother.

Shortly after their arrival, Brother Gilman was informed that in 20 minutes he was scheduled to give a talk to interested persons in town. So he quickly washed off the dust, changed clothes and was privileged to give encouragement to 39 persons whom Agodio had invited to come together for this special occasion. Special pioneers were soon sent into this area, and now there is a congregation of 30 publishers and three pioneers here.

The Gilmans enjoyed fine hospitality in the home of the schoolteacher with whom they stayed. For example, he prepared a special typical meal of the area. It consisted of hippopotamus meat, which Brother Gilman confessed to be “not my favorite meat!” The host told them: “It is too bad you were not here last week; you could have had elephant meat with us.”

 The way the preaching work was opened up in the San Pedro area is rather typical of how it began in other areas. Brothers would write to the branch office stating that they had found persons who had shown interest in the Kingdom message. Then the circuit overseer would be sent there to work the territory for a week. On his recommendation, special pioneers, as they became available, would be assigned to follow up the interest, and eventually congregations would be established in the area.

One of the missionaries, Ryall Shipley, visited the northern towns of Ferkéssédougou and Korhogo. He reported that the field there seemed ripe for a spiritual harvest. Later special pioneers were assigned, and in both these towns there are now congregations of Witnesses.

PREACHING IN GAGNOA

In September 1971 four missionaries were sent to Gagnoa, bringing the total number of publishers there to five. One of the missionaries, Waltruad Bischof, relates:

“The first day in Gagnoa I placed two magazines with a man who lived in another town. When he came to Gagnoa again, he obtained more magazines. Soon two special pioneers were sent to his hometown, and with their help he quickly accepted the truth. The meetings were held in his house, and soon he invited the pioneers to move in with him. With such close contact with Jehovah’s servants, he made fine progress.”

Sometime there is clear indication of angelic direction in locating sheeplike ones. For example, Sister Bischof was approached by a young man who had heard about Jehovah’s Witnesses from his brother who lived in Abidjan. He wanted to  learn more, and so an arrangement was made to meet this youth at a particular place the following day.

The next day, however, the youth came early, waited for 15 minutes, and then left to attend school. When Sister Bischof arrived he was nowhere to be seen. Later, she began thinking of Revelation 14:6 and how the “angel” flying in midheaven was directing our work. So she prayed to Jehovah for help in finding this young man, and it was not long afterward that, walking along a road, she saw him. He too had been searching for her. He had gone to a small Protestant display stand where Bibles were sold, and had asked if they could direct him to Jehovah’s Witnesses. They said that they could not help him. So he had come back looking along the same road, and they met.

A Bible study using the Truth book was started. Boniface Triffo Kohi was a humble student, and he tried to put into practice the new things he was learning. For example, he once asked whether it was good to have a book that was supposed to explain the meaning of dreams. Deuteronomy 18:9-13 was read. Right away Boniface saw that it would be best to destroy his book, which he did. His family was very surprised, since the book had cost about four dollars, U.S.​—a lot of money for a student. After that he made fine progress, and now serves as a special pioneer. Presently there is a thriving congregation of 30 publishers in Gagnoa.

“DIVINE VICTORY” INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY

In December 1973 a real stimulus to Jehovah’s people in Ivory Coast was the “Divine Victory” International Assembly. The brothers again were  happy to be served by a member of the Governing Body, this time by William Jackson.

Again the site for the assembly was the Boxing Club in Abidjan. The attendance of 2,080 for the public talk was more than double the size of the crowd three years before at the assembly attended by Brother F. W. Franz. And it was particularly thrilling to see 103 persons present themselves for baptism, more persons than were baptized in the whole country up through 1964!

CLERGY OPPOSITION

Over the years the brothers in Ivory Coast have often met with opposition from the religious leaders. Joseph Appiah, who serves as a circuit overseer, explained how that opposition on one occasion backfired:

“While we were visiting Tiegba, a small island about 100 kilometers [60 miles] from Abidjan, Catholic priests tried to interfere with our work. All the villagers were told not to listen to us because Jehovah’s Witnesses are false prophets. But what happened? During the showing of the Society’s slides almost the whole village came, about 600 people! They saw from the pictures how many people have been misled by false religion. After the talk the priest ordered the young folks to stone us. However, an old man stopped them when he stood up and told the young boys: ‘We have been misled for 40 years in this village. These slides have shown me something new in my life.’”

In another instance the clergy attempted to prevent the holding of a circuit assembly. Brother Appiah explains what happened:

“In April 1974 the Society arranged for a circuit assembly in Agboville, about 90 kilometers [56 miles] from Abidjan. After I obtained permission  from the police commissioner, the Catholic priests tried to influence him to cancel our assembly. We were to use the Cultural Center for the meeting. A week before the assembly, the commissioner called us and told us we couldn’t use this hall. However, we asked him to authorize us to hold our meeting in town if possible, and he agreed to it.

“Immediately we arranged for the assembly to be held in the courtyard of a local brother’s home. The problem was obtaining a location to hold the baptism, as there was no river in the area. Several hotels refused us the use of their swimming pools. However, Jehovah did not let us down. We received permission from an old Frenchman who had a swimming pool. He was an ardent member of the Catholic Church, but friendly to us. We had just finished baptizing the last of the 29 candidates when over came the priest to tell the Frenchman not to allow us to use his pool. He was a few minutes too late! We had a fine attendance of 454 persons for the public talk.”

SPEEDED-UP GROWTH

During the first half of the 1970’s it was encouraging to see the preaching work expand out to the four corners of the country. In 1970 there were just 10 congregations in the Ivory Coast, and an average each month of 389 publishers proclaiming the Kingdom message. Five years later there were 34 congregations, and an average of 949 Kingdom publishers preaching each month.

Much of this expansion occurred in the smaller cities and towns outside the capital where many of the missionaries had been sent. The missionaries did well in helping to establish a number of congregations, but then the activity in such places seemed to come to a standstill. Why?

 Language was one problem. Although French is the official language of the country​—and most of the missionaries were able to master it—​each region has its own tribal language too. So to help people in these areas to progress spiritually it was important to have persons who knew the local language, as well as the customs and thinking of the people of that region.

For this reason, over the next few years special pioneers were assigned to take over from the missionaries in these towns of the interior, including Man, Abengourou and Gagnoa. It was determined that the missionaries could better use their time and abilities in Abidjan, strengthening the new congregations there and working among the city’s more than 1,000,000 inhabitants.

EXPANSION IN ABIDJAN

As missionary homes were closed in the interior, new ones were opened in Abidjan. The upper floor of Gabriel Diané’s house in the Williamsville suburb of the capital had accommodations for eight missionaries. Some of these were able to strengthen the newly formed Williamsville congregation, while others were assigned out to the nearby suburb of Adjamé. There the congregation had recently been divided, making two congregations.

A number of missionaries came to the Ivory Coast from other African countries where the work was banned. For example, Stephen and Barbara Hardy arrived from Uganda in May 1973. After serving awhile in towns in the interior, they came to Abidjan where they were assigned to the Port-Bouët congregation. At the very first meeting several interested people asked them to study  the Bible with them. These new ones made good progress, and the congregation quickly grew from 28 publishers to over 50.

A NEW BRANCH BUILDING

In January 1972 Brother Knorr visited again, this time accompanied by Brooklyn factory servant, Max Larson. Brother Knorr commented: “We hope to build you a little branch here one day.” However, it was not until September 1978, that a plot of land in the Deux Plateaux suburb of the city was purchased. Then, during June of 1980, construction began on this new branch building.

The building is certainly needed. At present there is not adequate space for literature storage. The new branch not only will solve this problem, but also will provide space for an office, Kingdom Hall and accommodations for about 12 persons. It will be a more suitable center for the Kingdom activity in Ivory Coast.

“VICTORIOUS FAITH” INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY

The major event for 1978 was the “Victorious Faith” International Assembly in December in Abidjan’s Stade Camproux football stadium. Throughout the year preparations were being made for it. These included arrangements for brothers from other African countries, as well as a large group of brothers coming on the Society’s tours beginning in the United States, to attend. Lyman Swingle of the Governing Body was present, and so was William Jackson once again.

Friday of the assembly saw hundreds of enthusiastic brothers pour out into the Abidjan suburbs to proclaim their victorious faith, distributing the new brochure Jehovah’s Witnesses  in the Twentieth Century. Brother and Sister Swingle and Brother Jackson worked along with some of the missionaries. They soon emptied their plastic bags of literature that was eagerly snapped up by interested people. Sister Grace DeCecca, for 63 years a member of the Brooklyn headquarters family, enjoyed the field service too, getting along well despite her advanced 89 years. What a witness Abidjan received!

That evening, after the sessions, a special meal was arranged for the missionaries and the visiting brothers from headquarters. All together, 64 were present. Among them was Florence Paterson, who had traveled over from Ghana. She and her husband were the first missionaries to arrive in the Ivory Coast back in 1951. She observed: “I remember how years ago it was difficult to convince the local people that there were white people who were Jehovah’s Witnesses. But now, just look at all these missionaries coming from all over the world!”

At the climax of the assembly at the football stadium on December 17 how grand it was to see 2,728 persons from 19 countries present!

Jehovah has indeed blessed the work here with willing workers, missionaries and special pioneers. Now the fruitage of their labors is being seen in a marvelous way. A peak of 1,322 publishers was reached in January 1980. And, with over 1,600 home Bible studies being conducted, the prospects are good for yet greater increases in the number of Kingdom praisers. The brothers in the Ivory Coast have expressed their determination to persevere in Kingdom service, bearing much fruit as disciples of Christ Jesus.

 [Map on page 145]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

ivory coast

MALI

UPPER VOLTA

GUINEA

GHANA

LIBERIA

ATLANTIC OCEAN

Ferkéssédougou

Korhogo

Man

Bouaké

Daloa

Abengourou

Guiglo

Dimbokro

Gagnoa

Agboville

San Pedro

ABIDJAN

Port-Bouët

Grand Bassam

[Picture on page 151]

Gabriel and Florence Paterson, early Gilead graduates in the Ivory Coast

[Picture on page 155]

Robert Markin (left) and Samuel Denoo were among the first to become witnesses of Jehovah in the Ivory Coast

[Picture on page 160]

Blaise Bley, working at the Abidjan airport, received a French “Watchtower,” liked what he read, and eventually became a baptized believer

[Picture on page 168]

Daniel Keboh, who had pioneered in different places, was one of those imprisoned for preaching in the Koumassi section of Abidjan

[Picture on page 173]

Pauline Brou gave up material wealth and lost her father’s favor to serve Jehovah completely