Notes 14-15 - Brother Dong Not the Source of the Churches in South America
14The Work in South America Preceded Dong Yu Lan
Dong Yu Lan, testimony given in Taipei, Taiwan, November 23, 1981:
In 1958 and 1959, Brother Lee returned from his visit to Europe and America. He told us, "You have been enjoying the Lord so much in Taipei, while Christianity in the West is still in a state of desolation. You should receive the burden to migrate." Thank the Lord; at that time, not knowing anything, I moved to Brazil in a simple way.
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Chang Wu-Chen, testimony given in Taipei, Taiwan, November 23, 1981:
In 1958 and 1959, Brother Lee shared in a conference that the Lord's recovery had not yet spread out. Although in Taiwan many people had been under the leading and received training, they just "occupied the nest without laying eggs." At that time, a few brothers had the burden to go to Brazil. Brother Dong went to Brazil in 1960. In 1970, I visited Brazil and stayed there for two weeks. Later, because something happened in Hong Kong, I came back and went to Hong Kong with Brother Lee.
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Dong Yu Lan, testimony given in Taipei, Taiwan, November 23, 1981:
In 1972, the Lord sent Brother Chang Wu-chen to Brazil, thus opening the door to the local people.
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Interview with Samuel Cheng, May 8, 2008:
Chang Wu-Chen had fellowship with Brother Lee in Los Angeles about me going to Brazil. Brother Lee felt good about it. I received letters from Chang Wu-Chen and Witness Lee about my going to Brazil. In 1974, I went there, arriving on January 1, 1974.
Statement from Fernando Monte-Serrat, October 26, 2007:
By that time [in the mid-1970s], it was Brothers Chang Wu Chen, and Samuel Cheng (Cheng Pao Shu) who released conferences in Brazil.
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Statement from Fernando Monte-Serrat, October 26, 2007:
In 1977, because of an urgent need, Brother Dong was forced to give some messages in a conference in the city of Belo Horizonte, together with Brother Samuel Ma (Ma Shou Tao). From that time on Brother Dong started to give conferences throughout Brazil as well as in other South American countries.
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15Churches in Parts of South America Not Raised Up through Dong Yu Lan's Work
Letter from 12 churches in Chile, October 31, 2007:
The churches in southern Chile started in the year 1978 in three cities, Quillota, Maipú and Concepción, from the direct influence of the writings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee.
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Although the church in Concepción, Paraguay, was established through Brother Dong, the churches in Paraguay in general were not. According to a letter sent October 28, 2007, signed by seventeen leading brothers in Paraguay:
The churches in Paraguay were raised up through Brother Lee's ministry starting in the 1980s. In response to a petition by saints in Asunción, Brother Lee-Daw Jieung was sent by Brother Lee as a co-worker to labor in Paraguay for the Lord's recovery. Brother Lee-Daw Jieung has labored faithfully here for many years. The work here has never been under the hand of Dong Yu Lan.
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Other quotes regarding the crucial role of Brother Lee's ministry in raising up the Lord's recovery in South America:
Marco Mello, accompanied by Pedro Dong and Dong Yu Lan, speaking at the memorial meeting for Brother Lee, recorded in A Memorial Biography of Brother Witness Lee, p. 61:
We thank the Lord that the number of saints and the number of churches continue to increase due to the enjoyment of Brother Lee's ministry, the spread of his literature, and the God-ordained way.
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Click the icon to see a picture of Marco Mello, Pedro Dong, and Dong Yu Lan at the memorial meeting for Brother Witness Lee on July 9, 1997. 
Dong Yu Lan, testimony given in Taipei, Taiwan, November 23, 1981:
When God's work began, the word was needed. How do you supply them? You cannot just tell them to call on the Lord all day long; you cannot just tell them to pray-read the Word all day long. You need to give them something. I myself attended the training of the ministry in the United States in 1968, 1970, 1971, and 1973. In 1975, after I returned from the training, I had some fellowship with the brothers concerning bringing them to Brother Lee for the perfecting of the word of the ministry. As a result, from 1976, every summer and winter, we had brothers from Brazil who went to the United States for the training. We received much help. After each training, all of our messages and church activities were based on the content of the messages from the training.
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Ezra Ma, "Fellowship Given During the Winter Training of 2000 Concerning the Lord's Move in South America," The Ministry Magazine, vol. 5, no. 5, May 2001, p. 133:
Praise the Lord for His recovery! We are one Body, under one ministry, and in one move. All the fruit—the outcome of the work—is the fruit of the ministry. In all these years in South America, we have been under the ministry of Brother Watchman Nee and Brother Witness Lee.
Witness Lee, Words of Training for the New Way, Vol. 1 , p. 31:
Recently I received a letter from Paraguay in South America requesting two hundred fifty sets of Life-studies at one time. Another letter came from a brother who was a preacher in the Republic of Ecuador in South America. This brother's work was quite effective. He had already baptized over two thousand people and had established over twenty churches. He said that his sister had led him to see this way, and now he needed the truth materials to supply those under his leading. He presented this need to us and asked us to supply him. Even people from India have also requested our publications. It has been due to the supply of these publications and video tapes that the Lord's recovery has been able to spread rapidly to the six continents.
