• Bro. Zhanxiang Liu •
An Inspiring and Faithful Servant of the Lord
At the initial stage of the gospel propagation of the Lord’s recovery in Taiwan, Uncle Liu devoted himself in a full-time way to become a co-worker. He preached the gospel, shepherded the saints, and built up the church in more remote areas such as Gangshan, Hualien. He is a faithful servant of the Lord.
The Marriages of My Eldest Sister Eldest Brother My Own
All Being Fixed up by Uncle Liu
Because my father is also a co-worker, then he became acquainted with uncle Liu. And the marriage of all the three children in my father’s family—my eldest wife, my eldest brother, and I was fixed up by uncle Liu. At that time I was working in Shipei, while my wife was living in Shipai yet working in Hsinchu, where the serving brothers introduced I and my wife to contact and fellowship with each other. My wife hasn’t yet known what kind of a brother I am, therefore when she returned to Shipai, she with a sister went to uncle Liu to fellowship about this matter. Uncle Liu just knew my father very well, therefore telling her about my family situation, which has given a great help to my wife. Later brother Liu went to my wife’s home to fellowship with her parents. And he also fellowshipped with my parents. Thank God! We were soon engaged to each other, and it was so. Thank the Lord！This was the Lord’s doing. Now we have been living in the church, here I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to uncle Liu’s serving of us.
Perfected and Taught Me a Lot
Uncle Liu also perfected and taught me a lot. I still can remember when I was a young working saint, several brothers among us exercised to release Brother Lee’s messages on the Lord’s day, each one of us was assigned one part to speak. Once I stood up to speak for a short time, I suddenly I forget the word and cannot continue to speak. It is not suitable for me to stand there, hence I had to sit down. When the saints saw this, they burst into laughter. After the meeting, Uncle Liu sitting in the corner beckoned to me to come to him and let me sit down. After I sat down, he said: “You need to divide the message you would speak into several paragraphs, make an outline for each paragraph, memorize the outlines, and utter the outlines in sequence, then you will not forget the word.” Thank the Lord! Such kind of teaching has given me a great help in serving the Lord and he also led me concerning the matter of serving the Lord. I and uncle Liu were in the same small group, one day he said to me: “There was an elder brother in our small group, yet having not attended the meeting, you go to visit him, please.” I thought I was a young brother and didn’t know how to visit the elder brother, but I still went to visit that brother, who has said happily he would participate in the small group next week. Later this brother was revived by the Lord and he would also like to open his home for the small group meeting. This elder brother once told me, ” brother An, I felt deeply touched from within by your visiting of me that time.” I know that was the work of the Holy Spirit. Uncle Liu was a spiritual man, he knew the need of the saints, and I also realized that to visit the saints in spirit is an indispensable thing with regard to the serving of the Lord.
Not Many Words, but One Sentence Is Sufficient for My Whole Life
When we lived in Shipai, one day a heavy rain happened outside, my wife wanted to go out to buy some groceries, and it was inconvenient for her to take the two children with her, my wife also worried about the two children’s staying at home. At this very moment, brother Liu’s wife, sister Liu came and knocked at the door, she came in and said: “Huangfu, you can buy groceries, I’ll help you look after the children.” My wife was really deeply touched. Both uncle Liu and his wife served us in love in such a way. Uncle Liu didn’t talk much, but only one sentence uttered by him was sufficient for us to use for a lifetime. I can still remember that during our wedding meeting, uncle Liu stood up from his seat and said very warmly: “I just say one word, you should follow your fathers’ footsteps in the future.” He immediately sat down after his speaking. Both of our parents were advanced in years, but they are in the same manner to love the Lord and serve the saints for their lifetime, continuing to do this in their venerable years. The word of uncle Liu we kept in our hearts has also become the driving force for our serving.
What touched and inspired me most was the scene that he attended the meeting. His had mobility problem and must rely on a wheelchair to move. The meetings of Shipai meeting hall took place on the second floor. At the beginning, three or four young brothers carried him by the wheelchair to get upstairs. Later he asked to recover to walk by his own, he was leaning on the railing with his left hand, he first set one foot on a stair, and then he lifted the other feet on the same stair, step by step, stair by stair, he went upwards. After the conclusion of the meeting, he walked backwards to go downstairs with his hands leaning on the guardrail, he first set one foot on a stair, then he drew the other feet on the same stair step by step, stair by stair, he walked downstairs. I cannot remember the number of stairs, but it was very difficult for him to walk every step. Nevertheless, he always, as the Scripture says, “Not abandoning our own assembling together.” Every Sunday he attended the Lord’s table meeting to remember the Lord. His heart to love the Lord did not decreased because of his weak body. He was really an inspiring good example.
Christ Jesus Became His Hope of Glory
Uncle Liu finally fell ill seriously and was in hospital, my wife went to visit him, and prayed with him, my wife prayed that the Lord could heal him, but uncle Liu’s prayer was that the Lord Christ may become his hope of glory. It was not crucial for him that whether he would be healed or not, what mattered was to gain Christ. Thank Lord! Uncle Liu has become our witness, inspiring us to run the race which is set before us. I believe that at the Lord’s coming, uncle Liu would certainly receive the reward according to the Lord’s word: “Well done, good and faithful slave. Enter into the joy of your master. “May the Lord bless him and his descendants.
The Church in Fontana, California, USA
Brother Mengen An and
Sister Huangfu An