Our brothers and sisters in Venezuela continue to face many trials, such as an ongoing economic and civil crisis as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, they found various means not only to observe the Memorial of Christ’s death but also to invite others.

For example, during the two weeks leading up to the Memorial, armed conflicts broke out in La Victoria, Apure State, near the border with Colombia. All the publishers in the local congregation had to flee to Colombia. The brothers and sisters in the Arauquita Congregation in Colombia were able to assist the brothers from Venezuela to tie in virtually to the Memorial.

One congregation in Falcón State is located in an area where it is difficult to acquire both telephone service and Internet access. So the congregation transmitted the Memorial discourse to the 70 publishers using walkie-talkies, or handheld two-way radios.

One sister says: “Although we cannot hug or see each other, we can hear our brothers’ voices. We feel as if we are all together.”

In the days leading up to the Memorial, congregations made a concerted effort to invite people from remote areas of the country to listen to the program. A variety of methods for listening to the Memorial discourse were made available. More than 3,000 invitations were sent. The effort was successful. In the coastal town of Araya for example, more than one hundred people listened to the Memorial talk over the telephone.

The Venezuela branch also arranged to broadcast the Memorial on 82 radio stations and nine television channels. At least 8,000 brothers and invited guests observed the Memorial in this way. The program was broadcast in several indigenous languages, such as Guahibo, Pemon, Piaroa, Pumé, Warao, Wayuunaiki, and Yekuana.

In Guasipati, Bolívar State, the Memorial talk was scheduled to be broadcast one time on a local radio station beginning at 6:30 p.m. Unfortunately, the area often experiences rolling power outages. This meant that some would be unable to hear the entire Memorial discourse. However, because of a technical problem at the radio station, the talk continued to be broadcast on loop more than ten times throughout the night. As a result, listeners could hear the full Memorial talk at different times. Reports indicate that more than 600 people tied in. One brother commented: “Jehovah did not want anyone to miss this special talk!”

Despite being “distressed by various trials,” our brothers “are greatly rejoicing” as they saw Jehovah bless their efforts to observe the Memorial and invite others.—1 Peter 1:6, 7.