In an earlier account I spoke of my yearning to “hear” the
voice of God. That experience caused me to search for other people who shared
my desire to come into a more intimate contact with our Creator. It was only a
few months after my experience that I learned of a Christian group living in
Montgomery, Alabama who believed that God speaks today and who believed in an
open canon of scriptures. That church is
known today as the Community of Christ. I was stationed at Maxwell Air Force
Base at that time. That church really appealed to me and I started to associate
myself with them. I loved listening to what they called “testimonies” of their
encounter with our Heavenly Father. But
that association did not last long. Being a member of the United States Air
Force, I found myself within two months on a troop ship on my way to Japan. I
served initially in Japan and during that time I soon made contact with members
of the church group there under the leadership of Carl Crum, a High Priest in
the church. The group met in Tokyo every two weeks to worship and fellowship. We
met in a Quonset hut in downtown Tokyo that the military had converted into a
house of worship. Different faiths were assigned their turn in using it for
their worship. In his professional life Brother Carl Crum was assigned to the
US Embassy in Tokyo. After I became a
new member of the mission I spent many hours being taught by Brother Crum and
his wife in their home.
In December 1954 I was baptized by him in a Seventh Day Adventist
Church in Tokyo. The church had been kind to allow us the use of their
baptismal font. He told me that I was the first member of the church to be
baptized in Japan. After becoming a church member I took every opportunity to
meet with the church members and also to study on my own. I loved hearing their
stories. I enjoyed their warm friendship. Being so far from home we were a
close knit family. I was present when one of my Air Force friends - Les
Cunningham - married a beautiful Japanese bride – Etseko. We never know how our brothers and sisters in
the faith can influence our lives. In Les’s case – he became responsible years
later for a major change in my scientific studies at The Ohio State University.
But in 1955 while still serving in Japan I was unexpectedly
transferred to Taiwan or “Formosa” as it was called then – some 1,376 miles
away. Our mission was secret then and our transfer from Japan occurred within
hours – overnight in fact.
When our church group met the following Sunday, I was found
missing. When at subsequent Sunday meetings I continued to be absent the group begun
to place inquires with my squadron at Tachikawa AFB. When that failed to bring any results,
Brother Crum made inquiries at church headquarters in Independence, Mo. The
church finally placed an inquiry in the Herald - all to no avail. A young man
had come to Japan, was baptized there, worshipped and fellowshipped with the
members of the mission but then mysteriously disappeared without a trace. That
disturbed and saddened my church family in Japan.
But Joachim or “Joe” as he is commonly called knew where he
was but he could not tell his church friends about it... He spent his time
assisting the National Chinese Army in the field of Radio Electronics that he
had been trained for: He often traveled to different locations of the
beautiful, some 245 miles long tropical island to advise the Chinese in the
construction, maintenance and use of their latest radio equipment sites. He had
been assigned to a unit called MAAG which stood for “Military Assistance
Advisory Group” which operated out of Taipei and consisted of members of all
military services. Taiwan is a stunningly beautiful island. It was a pleasure
to serve there and to work with the wonderful national and Taiwanese peoples.
My final assignment was in the Pescadores Island located
between Taiwan and the mainland China. But I had periodic opportunity to return
to Taipei and to Japan for personal and military purposes.
During one of my visits to the MAAG compound I intended to
send a package with my belongings to the United States where my wife to be was
waiting for my eventual return. It involved a package of about 20 x 20 x 25
inches that I carried to the military post office there. When I arrived there
was a long line already waiting. I grumbled inside because I loathed standing
in line. I have often remarked that living in Germany during the war I had
spent half of my life standing in line. So I put the package on the ground and
asked the soldier who had lined up behind me to “kick” my package forward as
the line moved to the post office window. He promised that he would. I left to
buy film at the PX and other items.
When I returned my package had made considerable progress
thanks to my friend in line. But I also saw another person – a civilian in a
white rain coat – standing beside it. When I arrived he looked at me with
seemingly great interest. He finally asked me: “Is this your package, airman?
Is this your name on the package?”
I nodded, wondering what he was driving at. His immediate
answer was: “I am Gordon Stewart Wight and live with my family here in Taiwan
as a technical employee for the US government. I think you need to come with me because there
is more going on here than you and I can comprehend right now.
I did not understand what he was driving at but politely
followed him to his car chauffeured by a Chinese national. We drove to his home in Taipei just a few
miles away and on the way he told me an astonishing story:
He told me that he had been sitting in his living room that
day when he felt driven to go to the post office. He asked his wife Maxine if
there was a need to mail or to pick something up there. She did not think that
there was any reason for him to go to the post office. However her husband
insisted that he had to go to the post office and to do so now. She responded
by reminding him that it normally required a two hour wait to obtain a chauffeur
and a car. He insisted nevertheless that she call for a vehicle. They were both
astounded when a car arrived ten minutes later. Stewart found himself let off
at the MAAG compound, wandering aimlessly in front of the post office. He saw
the long line in front of the building and tried to cross it to get to the
other side. In the process he tripped over an object on the ground. With increasing amazement he read my name on
the return address of the package. He recognized that name. He had seen it in a
church publication – the Saints Herald. He could not believe when I returned a
short time later that the package belonged to me and that that was my name on
it.
I soon learned that Stewart was a very spiritual man, a
High Priest in the church and it became obvious to me that the Lord had used
him to answer the prayers of all the Saints who wanted to know what had
happened to me. He talked to me about his urging to come to the post office
that day with tears rolling down his cheeks.
Stewart and Maxine influenced my spiritual life in profound
ways. They had four handsome children to whom I became a “big brother” every
time I had the opportunity to visit their home. Maxine taught at the
Chinese/American High School and participated in diplomatic/social functions to
which she had been routinely invited. She involved me in those activities too.
The Wight family became my role model of what a good, Christian family should
be. I was raised by good God fearing parents but as long as I lived with them
they fought bitterly and often. I witnessed one of those unfortunate events
when I was only five years old and I resolved then and there that my family
life would not be like that. I want to reassure the reader that my parents cared
for me and ensured my safety in extremely difficult and dangerous times. But to
this day I am aware that God sent me to the Wight family so that I could learn
to model my future family after theirs. They helped lay the foundation for a
family centered upon our Heavenly Father and the loving teachings of His son
Jesus Christ.
I may have been out of sight for my new found brothers and
sisters in the vast oriental geography, but my Heavenly Father knew exactly
where I was. More important – He knew exactly what I needed at this stage of my
life.
