Lowly and Condescending
He Served Every One of Us
My initial impression of him was only that he was the one who coordinated all the churches throughout Taiwan, bearing a heavy responsibility. I had heard the serving ones say that Brother Wu was very good at reading people, that he remembered the characteristics of each person in his heart and always knew the most fitting place for a person.
My real contact with Brother Wu was when I was about to be married. At that time the brother and I told Brother Yang Liufang (楊柳芳) that we planned to hold a small wedding ceremony in the living room of our home a day later. Brother Yang fellowshipped this with Brother Wu, and then we were told, "Brother Wu wants to fellowship with you."
I still remember that before fellowshipping with Brother Wu, I was anxious and uneasy, not knowing what Brother Wu would say.
The feeling of nervousness was so strong that to this day I still remember that in the dinner I ate before going to find Brother Wu, one of the dishes was salted-egg bitter melon.
In the fellowship, Brother Wu began by saying, "I have a suggestion for you—hold it at the meeting hall; that is better for the sister."
Then he called Brother Liu Tianyuan (劉天元). At that time it was during the video training, and people were still meeting in the evening; but when Brother Liu heard it was a wedding gathering a day later, he found it difficult, regarding the spreading of the news and the possible number of attendees.
But Brother Wu said on the phone, "Just announce it!"
Next, the Gospel Book Room helped print the wedding-gathering flyers; a brother took the initiative to buy flowers; a sister was responsible for playing the piano; and we really did, the next day, hold the wedding gathering at Hall One.
When Brother Zhai Zhaoping (翟兆平) presided, he said that this gathering had not existed two days before.
That day so many people came that the small meeting room could not seat them all, and Brother Wu said, "Had I known, we would have opened the large meeting hall."
On the wedding day, Brother Wu attended the gathering we held at home for my mother-in-law, and he personally drove my parents to Hall One. This service of his—treating the affairs of another's family as his own—I will never forget for all my life.
In any setting, as long as Brother Wu was present, people felt at ease; though he was a responsible brother managing a myriad of affairs, he lowly and condescendingly served every single person.
The evening before my mother-in-law's memorial meeting, while we were preparing at the meeting hall, Brother Wu appeared again. With such a busy brother, I never dared to take the initiative to say anything, deeply afraid of disturbing him.
Brother Wu walked over and said to me, "The testimony you wrote is very good."
His words were simple and warm; the feeling he gave the brothers and sisters was just like a big brother or a father. My mother-in-law's memorial meeting—he also attended throughout and gave the concluding word.
When he saw my father-in-law at the meeting hall, he would take the initiative to greet him. Once, when I was with my child and ran into him in the elevator, he also asked about our situation. A few days later, I heard that he had gone into the hospital because of a gallbladder problem, and only then did I recall that the day I saw him, his complexion was very yellow.
Often when I met Brother Wu, just as I was thinking what to say, he had already spoken first. In his mind there seemed to be an infinitely large archive; he knew the situation of every person.
After we moved to Taitung, occasionally a brother would return from meeting elsewhere and tell us that Brother Wu had asked about and cared for us. Every once in a while, when I returned to Taipei, I would go to see Brother Wu's older sister, Auntie Xinlan (馨蘭). I always thought there would be many more chances to see Brother Wu again. I knew that in his heart he hoped we would grow up.
The Lord must be gathering the overcomers; Brother Wu is with the Lord, and perhaps still knows what we are doing, hoping that what we do will not disappoint him.