During WWII, the Lord graciously protected me through many dangerous experiences in the U.S. Navy, and I came to know the Lord Jesus as my Lord and Savior. When the war was over, He led me to Westmont, a Christian college. With the help of many godly professors I learned to honor the Bible as the Word of God.

After my graduation in 1949, the door was opened for me to help an orphanage of a Hebron mission in South China. By the time I settled down in the fall of 1949, China had become a Communist country. Knowing the environment was not favorable to the gospel of Christ, there were fears and concerns in my being. Soon my zeal for the gospel dried up. In my desperation I found the local church in Canton (Guangzhou). While many Christian groups had to close their doors, the believers in the local church were still burning. There was a group of college students from Ling Nam University full of vitality and bearing the testimony of Jesus. At that time I read Watchman Nee’s ministry. The book Concerning Our Mission (now, The Normal Christian Church Life) helped to change the course of my Christian life. I realized that I, as a member of His Body, need to function and move together with the Body. Prior to this time, I tried to serve the Lord individually like a “One Man Army.” From that time on, I began to apply the principle of the Body by fellowshipping with a few faithful believers before any action. In one instance, while I was planning to return to Guangzhou from Hong Kong, an elder in the local church said that in one week he expected to be in Guangzhou to conduct a special meeting. I agreed to wait in order to travel together with him. During the wait period, a young brother in Christ from the orphanage came to Hong Kong and asked me not to return to China. The political climate had changed, and the special meeting in Canton was cancelled. Both the elder and I remained in Hong Kong. This was one of many experiences that taught me to open to the fellowship of the members of the Body and not act as an individual, independent Christian.

In 1953 I returned to the U.S.; and in 1958 Witness Lee came and visited us in San Francisco. Our family had the privilege to hear his message on “Enjoying the Lord” according to John 6:57, and the hymn “Lord Jesus I long in Thy presence to live…” (Hymns, #389). At the end of 1962 we heard Witness Lee’s messages on “the all inclusive Christ” in Los Angeles.

By observing what the Lord has done through Witness Lee’s ministry from 1962 through 1997, 35 years, I think that Witness Lee’s coming to the U.S. was indeed for “the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 1:9). I’m so grateful that our family, (three generations), is a beneficiary of this ministry and of the love of many believers in many local churches.

J.K.

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