Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. II Timothy 3:12

The families arrived in the small town of Espigas Argentina during a torrential downpour. The once prosperous town was built on a stop of a heavily used railway and profited from the multitude of travelers that would often stop for rest and supplies. The rail was later abandoned and the majority of the town’s working population moved on. Now Espigas is mostly inhabited by the very old and the very young.

It was Espigas that these believers decided to make their new home. They were skilled woodcutters, and the area offered timber for their trade. They also farmed pigs to sell to the local population. And like every true Christian, they wanted to share the Message that was so dear to their hearts. Their expectations were high when they arrived that night.

The sun came out in all its glory the next morning. Their clothes, soaked from the night before, were hanging outside on the line. The townspeople took notice of the clothes and were curious about the strangers.

The long dresses and humble look of the newcomers were greeted with suspicion. Word soon spread that gypsies had taken up residents in their town. Gypsies had a bad reputation, and these invaders were not welcome.

The brothers worked hard cutting timber and selling pigs. The townspeople wanted them to fail in their business, so they gave very little advice on how to survive. With no friends, times were tough for the pilgrim families.

It was time to get to work on the most important reason for their relocation: Spreading the Message of God’s prophet, William Branham. The downtrodden are often the most receptive to the Gospel, so the first stop was the local police station. The officer told them that there were no prisoners in the city, and therefore no jail. In a threatening tone, he then told them that the people cast away those who come to the city with bad intentions.

Word soon spread that these people from far away lands were there to spread their “new faith.” The local Catholic church had been closed for some time, but was quickly reopened when the priest was made aware of their “malicious” objectives.

It was not long before the patriarch of the little group, Brother Marcelo, went to be with the Lord after a long battle with cancer. The responsibility then fell on another brother to shepherd the small group of 20 people.

Brother Eladio Silva, VGR assistant distributor in Argentina, received word of this group’s difficult circumstances. Two weeks ago, he visited the little congregation to encourage them, bring them more Spanish material, and find out how VGR could better serve them. They were awed by the testimonies from Brother Eladio about the great work the Lord is doing through the distribution of Brother Branham’s Message. He explained in detail the printing, recording, translating, and distributing of Brother Branham’s Message. They were amazed that VGR did work in parts of the world other than Argentina, and in languages other than Spanish.

The encouragement Brother Eladio gave them strengthened their resolve to succeed in this dying town. They send their sincere thanks to all the believers who support this great work. To know that they have friends in other parts of the world who are praying for them is comfort beyond measure.