Determined to Assemble Together
“HEAVIEST rainfall in 80 years kills 28,” the next day’s headlines read. In just six hours, from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m., a total of about 10 inches (25 cm) had fallen on northern Taiwan. Especially hard hit was Taipei City. In those few hours, what was normally a month’s precipitation fell, causing flooding as high as 13 feet (4 m) in some places. But northern Taiwan was the area from which Jehovah’s Witnesses were to congregate that day, and Taipei the city where their assembly was being held! Would they still be able to assemble on this second day of their semiannual circuit assembly?
When we awoke that day, June 3, 1984, my wife and I did not realize just how bad the storm was. Strong downpours are quite common in the monsoon season, and we thought little of it. Gradually, an unusual quietness became apparent. The city buses, which normally stop every few minutes in front of the apartment house where we were staying, were not running. And when, at 7:30 a.m., the electricity went off, we began to appreciate that this was no normal monsoon shower. Concerned over the assembly that was scheduled to start at 9:55 a.m., I called the one in charge of sound at the assembly to make sure there would be battery-operated amplifying equipment and flashlights there in case of power failure during the program.
At about that time, we started to hear from our neighbors and friends about widespread flooding in our part of the city. Determined to be at the assembly on time for the morning session, we left shortly after 8 a.m. on our motorbike for what would normally be a 20-minute ride to the Assembly Hall. As soon as we left our street, we realized there would be problems in getting through. The four different routes we tried proved to be impassable when we approached lower ground. Many times in the past we had ridden through water 12-16 inches (30-40 cm) deep while visiting congregations during the rainy season. But now, even buses and trucks were getting stuck in the waist-deep water. So we took the motorbike back home and decided to try to walk out of the area. We were still determined to assemble with our spiritual brothers that day.
Walking also proved to be difficult. Although the rain had now stopped, the water continued to rise. Brown water spouted out like fountains from the gutters and manholes as we approached the Ching Mei River, for the swollen waters behind the levees were already much higher than the surrounding land. We hooked arms tightly and slowly waded through the swift current—cautiously checking each step so that we would not fall into any holes. It was only when we got to the top of the river bridge that we fully realized the seriousness of the situation. What was normally a little stream amid a wide riverbed used for growing vegetables and raising hogs, some 49 feet (15 m) below the bridge, was now a wild torrent filling the bed almost to the top of the levees—and just about 3 feet (1 m) below the bridge!
Flooding on the other side of the bridge looked even more serious. But some men coming through mentioned that conditions down the road were not as bad and that buses and taxis were traveling the streets there. So we struck out for that area. But the farther we went, the stronger the current seemed to become. My wife, shorter than I, had to hang on tightly to me just to keep her balance. Then we came to a spot that seemed impassable. From a side street, a strong, deep, riverlike flood of water was shooting out. Happily, two ropes had been strung across this section, and by hanging on to them we were able to make our way through. As we progressed to higher ground the water decreased and finally we were able to stop, empty our boots of water and thus lighten the load on our feet.
Arriving at the first unflooded road, we faced another problem that stood in the way of our reaching the Assembly Hall: The few buses running were hopelessly crowded and most of the taxis refused to take passengers. But finally one, already with a passenger, stopped for us. After many detours to get around flooded areas we arrived at the Assembly Hall at a little after 10 a.m.
To our delight, most of the Witnesses were already there and waiting for the assembly to start. All had made great efforts to get there, wading through varying depths of water, as buses and motorcycles—usually used by most—could not get through. How wonderful it was to see their appreciation for the assembly program! There are only 417 Witnesses in this section, but many interested persons also braved the floods in their determination to assemble with them and be refreshed with the Bible’s spiritual truths. The attendance of 629 at the morning session swelled to 764 for the main talk in the afternoon! Over 30 persons had died by drowning or in mud slides in our area of northern Taiwan, yet none of those who were determined to assemble had suffered any harm. Thankful for Jehovah God’s protection, they enjoyed the fine program.
Yes, we were confident that Jehovah would protect all of us in our determination to get to the assembly—without our worrying overly much about our homes and the things there. And really, none attending suffered any serious loss or damage. But we all gained much by the sweet association with our fellow Christians and the outstanding program presented. This proved to us that, although it is easy to put off going to Christian meetings or assemblies when there are some inconveniences, those who make the effort will be richly rewarded.—Contributed.