True, Dignified, Righteous, Pure
Lovely, and Well Spoken Of
During the process in which Brother Wu, after his kidney transplant, was taking immunosuppressant drugs and undergoing dialysis, his immunity was low and he was prone to develop certain skin conditions. Brother Li Jinke (李金科) would tell me about Brother Wu's condition. I would go to see Brother Wu and bring him ointment, and I always felt as though I were going to show concern for him; but in fact the measure of his concern for us was far, far greater than our concern for him. Often, through sharing some of his experiences, he stirred us up to love the Lord. He once mentioned that his father had a stroke in his early years, and although his mother, amid great difficulty, strove to raise them—the brothers and sisters—she still lived the church life joyfully every day and brought them all up. He said that, looking back, it was the Lord who had raised them up. Although Brother Wu had passed through stroke, high blood pressure, kidney transplant, and dialysis, he still said to us jokingly, "Thank the Lord I am still alive. Many who are younger than I have already gone to see the Lord, yet I am still able to be here loving the Lord and serving the Lord—this is very glorious."
Although his body had many ailments, we all saw Brother Wu's expending for the sake of the church. At first we thought he seemed to be busy only with the church, but when we had the opportunity to hear him speak about matters of upbringing, even though he was very busy, he would recount in detail all the bits and pieces concerning his second son, from childhood until sending him abroad—from which one could see Brother Wu's love for his children. After hearing it, we were all very much supplied, knowing that every child is different. His capacity to accept every kind of situation was very great, and he would give different counsel for different people; but the one thing that never changed was the love within him that came from the Lord.
Brother Wu met in the same district as we did at Hall One. On the last Lord's Day of his life, one could see that he was extremely unwell—his blood pressure was low, his head was dizzy, and he could not stand up. Yet he still exercised his spirit and spoke for the Lord, exercising his spirit to overcome the discomfort of his body. It was moving, and very hard to forget.
Witness: He Liu Naixiang
In 1995 I entered college and lived the church life at Hall One in Taipei. In the blink of an eye, twenty-five years have passed. I came to know Brother Paul Wu from my student days, but we did not have much contact.
It was not until I graduated from college and began attending the training that I had more contact with and came to know Brother Wu better. After finishing the training, I entered the workplace and stepped into family life, and the way I walked was full of stumbling... He was always there to comfort, encourage, and strengthen at the right time. When I was married, without a second word he prepared for us a wonderful hotel suite. We wanted to save money, but he always took into account the feelings of the parents on both sides. For the wedding meeting and the wedding banquet, he gave his support all along the way; from morning till night, he and Sister Wu took part in the whole thing. Many years ago, when I went with the brothers to Southern California to attend the summer training, in the midst of all his busyness he insisted that he treat us to a meal no matter what; in the end, because he had a service fellowship and could not come in person, he specially charged his son and daughter-in-law that they must surely host us.
For me, rather than calling him a responsible brother, I would say he was more like a kind and exhorting father. Brother Wu bore upon his shoulders the burden of all the churches, yet toward us he was an approachable and easygoing elder, caring for our children, our work, our living, and so on... The last time I chatted with him, he especially mentioned that being a parent is not only a matter of providing for the children materially; there is also the need to accompany them, otherwise, before one realizes it, they have grown up and will have lives of their own...
Recalling these years, he was a magnanimous, wise, and flexible elder. His speaking made us feel that following the Lord is something doable; his presence made us feel secure. In this brother we saw the pattern of one who loves the Lord, one who lived out what is recorded in the book of Philippians—the true, the dignified, the righteous, the pure, the lovely, and what is well spoken of.