Yi Lin Wu—Taichung, Taiwan

Editor's note: On June 30, 2021, a fire broke out in the fifteen-story Chiao Yu Building in Changhua City. Three floors of the building housed the Passion Fruit Hotel, which was designated as a quarantine hotel—part of Taiwan's strategy to control the spread of COVID-19. Preacher Chien Kuang Chen was one of four people who passed away in the fire. Here, his widow recounts the terrifying experience, her last moments with her beloved husband, and how, despite it all, God has granted her peace, a resolute faith, and a renewed sense of purpose in life.

In the face of the inexplicable calamity that befell Job, Job's friends could only rationalize it as divine punishment for Job's hidden sins. However, the Bible reveals that mistaking this calamity for divine punishment was not only a misconception, but a sin. Yet, such thinking is not only characteristic of Job's friends but something we could be guilty of ourselves. It is bewildering to think that such violence could befall a just man, one who was blameless and upright, who feared God and shunned evil (Job 1:1). Similarly, we may expect God to protect His workers today and make their way as smooth-sailing as possible. We are surprised when tragedy strikes His faithful servants.

HE LEADS ME BESIDE THE STILL WATERS

The preacher and I were sent to Thailand to support the church and missionary work. During the years we served in Thailand, we regularly returned to Taiwan during our vacations. This time, as we were returning to Taiwan during the ongoing pandemic, we had to stay at a quarantine hotel for two weeks. We took an anti-epidemic taxi from Taoyuan Airport directly to the Passion Fruit Hotel, which was a relatively new hotel in Changhua.

As part of the quarantine procedure, the preacher and I were assigned individual rooms, even though we were husband and wife, and we could only leave our rooms to collect our meals. Hence, we would communicate via Line^[1] and plan our meal times so we could meet each other outside. We were content just to be able to see each other.

On the fourth night, after 7 p.m., a fire broke out in the hotel. Initially, I noticed a faint smell of smoke in the air but thought it could not be a fire. Nevertheless, I left my room and knocked on the preacher's door. As he exited his room, it slipped his mind to keep the door from closing. The hotel did not provide quarantine guests with keys, so he was now locked out of his room.

We did not think much of it at the time, and since others were also coming out of their rooms, we took the opportunity to walk to Preacher Yao's room. Preacher Yao had arrived at the quarantine hotel four days before us. While we were chatting with Preacher Yao, the firefighters arrived. The firefighters instructed us to return to our rooms, following the quarantine procedure. As the preacher's room was locked, we entered my room. The smoke followed soon after.

YEA, THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH

The smoke came thick and fast, and in a matter of minutes, it filled the room such that we could not even see our own hands. Breathing was almost impossible, and I had to stand on a small table to reach the open window. Out of the window, I could see the thick plumes of smoke and the fire rising from the lower levels of the building.

Throughout this time, I frequently called out to the preacher to ask if he was feeling okay, and he would reply that he was fine. After about half an hour, I could hear the preacher praying. My first thought was that the preacher was not feeling well and he was calling out to God for help. He prayed for a few minutes before his voice stopped.

When he went quiet, I cried out, "Are you okay? Are you okay?" But he did not respond. Fearing that he fainted, I quickly got off the table and blindly groped around to find him. Thankfully, the preacher was sitting next to the table where I was standing.

When I found him, I told him, "Get up quickly. Don't sleep. You can't sleep like this." He looked very calm, almost like he was resting, just breathing normally. However, the reality was that he was too weak to get up or even utter a response. I told him I would help him to the window where he could breathe better.

But I soon realized I did not have the strength to move him, let alone lift him, and I had no choice but to lay him on the ground where I thought the air would be better. I started CPR on him and kept telling him not to sleep, but I, too, was finding it difficult to breathe and feeling faint. I had to climb quickly to the window to catch my breath before returning to the preacher to continue CPR. This went on for some time until I had no energy left to climb down from the window. The last thing I recall saying to the preacher was, "Are you leaving me?"

It was at this point when I felt the most helpless and could only focus on God. When the fire started, and the smoke filled the room, I was anxious and full of adrenaline, going back and forth between the window and the preacher, until finally, I could not even do that. I could only call on God, clinging to the window, crying and praying. I said, "God, if there was anything that we lacked or failed to do as husband and wife, please forgive us and have mercy on us. No matter if we live or die, we will follow Your will. May the Lord's will be done."

At that time, I felt peace at the thought that we might die.

Suddenly, I heard the firefighters coming into the room. I quickly flashed my phone's torchlight toward the ground so they could see the preacher lying there first. I watched them try to save him, but they signaled that his heart and lungs had stopped functioning. Then, the firefighter turned to me and told me to come down. He escorted me out of the building and into an ambulance to be sent to Changhua Xiuchuan Hospital.

FOR YOU ARE WITH ME; YOUR ROD AND YOUR STAFF, THEY COMFORT ME

I broke down when I arrived at the emergency room at around 1 a.m., six hours after the fire had started. My emotions and thoughts overwhelmed me, and I could not stop crying. The preacher was still at the hotel, and I did not know when he would be rescued. I could only pray to God that the preacher would be sent to the same hospital emergency room so we could at least be together. Should he be sent to another hospital, I did not know how I would even be able to find him.

After an hour, I saw the paramedics wheeling another patient to the bed diagonally across from mine. I recognized that it was the preacher by his clothes. As I gathered myself to walk over to him, the doctor came and told me to prepare myself mentally as the preacher's condition was not good. With that, I walked over to see the preacher. Even though we had just come from the scene of a fire, from a smoke and soot-filled room, I saw the preacher's face as like that of a bride adorned to be taken to meet her groom in her new heavenly home. The preacher was smiling and more beautiful than I had ever seen him in our thirty years of marriage. I was deeply comforted by this vision of the preacher's radiant face. I thanked God for allowing the preacher to be sent to the same hospital so I could see him one last time, and even more so that He showed me the preacher beautifully adorned and prepared to return to his heavenly home.

I was kept in the ward for further treatment, and although brothers and sisters were not allowed to visit me, many of them sent words of comfort and encouragement. In one of the messages I received, a preacher reminded me that when we encounter disasters, we should quieten our thoughts and trust in God. Only with a quiet heart can we reflect on our circumstances. The preacher's words resonated with me as I was mostly left alone with my thoughts during my time in the hospital. I was able to reflect on why God let this happen to my family and what His will was in all of this. And despite all that happened, even though my husband was taken away from me, even though I went through great tribulation and faced the fragility of life, I survived. I still endured great discomfort as I recovered, but I felt the peace and comfort of God, as He was personally with me each step of the way.

YOU ANOINT MY HEAD WITH OIL; MY CUP RUNS OVER

I believe that, in the midst of adversity, God personally comforted me. Reflecting on all that happened on our return to Taiwan: first, God had given the preacher and me the wonderful opportunity to work together as husband and wife in Thailand, and those years were the best period of my life thus far. Second, just before the fire spread, the preacher was locked out of his room, which meant that we could face death together. Third, the preacher was praying even as his life was ending, and it greatly comforted me to know that he was entering paradise in communion with God in prayer. Fourth, we were able to meet again in the emergency room of the hospital, and God showed me that the preacher was radiantly prepared to be received into His paradise. Finally, my fellow brothers and sisters continued to provide me with care and comfort after the preacher's passing. May the Lord remember their love and prayers!

After all this, I feel as though I have already died and God has redeemed my life again. This redemption strongly compels me to share about the grace of God. I have been keenly reminded that everything we hold dear in this world will one day pass away, so there is no value in comparing ourselves with others and what they may have. There is only one thing of value that we have to do with our time on earth: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Mt 6:33–34). Hence, we ought to persevere in our faith and love for God, and whether it is doing his work or attending services to worship Him, we ought to do more and love Him more.

We never know when we will be taken away or if we will have a "next time" to attend service or serve God. There is no better occasion to do what we need to do. Seize the opportunity and accept the holy work we have been asked to do. Simply thank God and say, "I will do my best." If we are given the most delicious food or most beautiful clothes, we would not wait till we are old, weary, and unable to enjoy them; we would take the opportunity to eat or wear them immediately. It ought to be the same with our faith.

AND I WILL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER

In my journey of faith, I am truly grateful that God gave me a husband who doted on me throughout our thirty-five years of marriage. While it is commonly said that absence makes the heart grow fonder, I sincerely hope that those blessed with a spouse do not wait till death has separated them before they begin to cherish and grow in their love for the other.

Too often, we hear of spouses bickering and calling each other the most unpleasant names—things we would not even say to strangers or acquaintances. Perhaps some things irk us about our spouses, or worse still, others are influencing us to believe our spouses have certain shortcomings. But we have all taken our vows to walk this path together with them till death do us part. Do not wait till you have lost your partner like I have before you realize what you have lost.

Finally, despite everything we may go through in life, we have already been given the greatest treasure—we have been baptized into the only church that is saved, the True Jesus Church. We have been baptized with water and Spirit and have received the certain promise of eternal life with our heavenly Father. Having faced death, standing helpless before God, I am now more confident than ever that our faith is the only thing that matters in this world. I am sure that this path leads towards my heavenly home, where I will meet our heavenly Father and my husband once again. The Lord is coming soon, and dearest brothers and sisters, when He comes, I sincerely hope we have all remained on the right path.

Man is nothing; we only have strength through God's help. As vessels of God, we are to carry out His will to manifest His glory, and rely on His guidance to show us what we should do. May all glory and praise be unto God of heaven. Amen!