In the meantime, the two missionaries had moved to a more permanent home, just three minutes’ walk from the Kingdom Hall. Because of the high rents, it had taken them two months to find a suitable home. The place consisted of a small room with just about enough space for two beds and a tiny kitchenette. The rent? In U.S. money, $80 per month and that was considered cheap!

The Shanghai branch arranged for a baptism in July 1948. The brothers were very grateful to see nine baptized; all but one were Chinese.

Another Gilead graduate, an American-born Chinese brother, Lew Ti Himm, arrived in Shanghai in January 1949. Accompanying him were four other brothers, Cyril Charles and Joseph McGrath en route to Taiwan to serve as missionaries and William Carnie and Roy Spencer en route to Hong Kong as their missionary assignment. By means of special meetings with the transit missionary brothers, the Shanghai congregation was strengthened.

TRUTH BEGINS TO SPREAD IN HONG KONG

Just before World War II, Paul Lam, a young man who spoke English, came in contact with the truth. He tells how: “Just out of school and starting work, I noted many rich people who spent their money like water. I envied them. So I began looking for wealth. One day while browsing in a secondhand bookstore a book entitled ‘Riches’ caught my eye. Just what I want, I thought! I noticed it was a Bible book, and since I was a ‘Christian’ I bought it.” He found the teachings about hell, Trinity and others very interesting and logical. In the book, he saw a “colorful library” of other books of the Society advertised and so all during the war he kept searching in secondhand bookstores until he had them all. After the war was over he wrote to two of the Watch Tower Society’s branches, the one in Australia and the one in India. He ordered more publications and subscribed for The Watchtower and Awake! With visits from publishers from Shanghai and the arrival of the first missionaries, Paul Lam made more rapid progress.

In the wake of the Communist takeover in China, Hong Kong had become a crowded city. But Paul Lam helped to find temporary accommodations for the two Gilead graduates of the eleventh class, William Carnie and Roy Spencer, when they arrived on January 16, 1949. It took more than three months to locate more permanent quarters. This was at No. 1 Beautiful Terrace on Hong Kong Island, high up the side of a hill and quite a climb. Their quarters were one room, 11 feet by 11 feet. The missionaries installed a double bunk bed and folding cots and made room for forty cartons of literature they had brought. Sleeping, cooking, washing, ironing, yes, everything had to be done in this one room!

Meetings were arranged almost immediately by the two missionaries. These were held in English. Paul Lam attended and enjoyed the association of the brothers. The missionaries could see that language would be a problem. In Hong Kong the Cantonese dialect is spoken, and those understanding English sufficiently to learn the truth were few. So, Paul Lam began teaching Cantonese to the two brothers in the evening. He also accompanied the missionaries as translator in the field work, and at public talks that were held he was again the translator.

In those days foreigners were welcomed into most homes and literature placements were good. However, many persons looked upon this as an opportunity to learn English and nothing more. In the fall of 1949, Brother Carnie placed an English copy of the book “Let God Be True” with a Mrs. Liang, who just wanted to be polite to a stranger. When he called back this Chinese woman showed no interest. However, her son Fu-lone recalls: “She thought it would be good for me to have some discussions with a European in order to improve my English.” Fu-lone had been educated in a mission school, and all in his family except him were nominal Christians. He went along with his mother’s suggestion and had discussions with Brother Carnie. But he was not really interested, and being too embarrassed to say so, he just stopped being at home. So Brother Carnie stopped calling. A few months later Fu-lone became sick and had to stay in bed. Now he had time to consider more seriously what he had learned and came to the conclusion that there must be a Creator. Shortly thereafter Brother Carnie called again and found this young man in a more receptive frame of mind. Then one evening the chapter on hell attracted his attention and the information so stirred him that he completed reading “Let God Be True” in two days. When Brother Carnie returned, he was surprised to find that the young lad had now accepted the truth in his heart.