Millions of Jehovah’s Witnesses along with invited guests commemorated the Lord’s Evening Meal on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Many overcame considerable challenges to attend this special event.

For instance, in Ukraine, thousands of individuals attended the Memorial despite bad weather and heavy fighting in some areas. With unstable conditions in a town in eastern Ukraine, the elders provided those in the congregation with a recording of the Memorial discourse one week in advance. A few days later, a powerful storm—not heavy fighting—caused the area to lose Internet access and electricity. However, everyone in the congregation was able to benefit from the prerecorded Memorial discourse despite the utility outages and ongoing war.

Fifteen-year-old Violetta from Kazakhstan faced family opposition. Her grandfather, with whom she lives, was strongly opposed for some 20 years. He would often try to prevent the family from attending the meetings and even destroyed their literature. However, love for his granddaughter gradually moved him to engage in spiritual conversations with her. And to Violetta’s surprise, this year her grandfather accepted a Bible study and attended the Memorial!

For others, isolation and distance made attending the Memorial a challenge. In Timor-Leste, a total of 55 Bible studies are being regularly conducted by telephone with people living in the cities of Same and Suai. Both cities are located several hours by motorbike from the nearest congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Therefore, arrangements were made in each city to conduct the Memorial in private homes. One elder traveled four hours one way to present the Memorial discourse in Same, with 56 individuals in attendance. Another elder traveled some seven hours to Suai, where more than 50 people attended the Memorial.

Our brothers in Hualpén, Chile, also faced challenges in finding a location for the Memorial. They sought the help of the local religious affairs officer in finding a suitable place to conduct the commemoration. The congregation elders were pleased when the officer contacted them and offered them a school cafeteria a few hours before the Memorial was to take place. Our brothers sprang into action and converted the cafeteria into an attractive meeting location. Both the religious affairs officer and the city’s mayor accepted the brothers’ invitation to attend the Memorial. The mayor commented: “I applaud the attendees for their order and respect—even the children were well-behaved. You can count on our support in the future.”

We also rejoiced at hearing the news that our brothers in Monaco gained legal registration in November 2022. After commemorating the Memorial in an attractive rented facility, one invited guest commented: “This room is truly beautiful, but it is the people present who make it even more beautiful.”

How encouraging it is that so many overcame these and other challenges to obey Christ’s command to meet together “in remembrance” of his death!—Luke 22:19.