Subject: Experience given by Bro. Splane of the Governing Body at an assembly on Oahu.
In an eastern European country
in 1989 there was a huge earthquake. 8.9
30,000 people died in 4 minutes. It
happened in the morning and a man had just
returned from taking his small son to
school. After he made sure his wife was
alright, he went straight back to the
school to find his son. When he got there
he saw that the school was completely
flattened, like a pancake. Just rubble.
He stood there devastated, completely
destroyed. Then he remembered a promise
he had made to his son some time
back. He had told him that as long as there
was life and breath in his body, he would
always be there for him. So with that
promise in his mind he went around to the
northeast side of the rubble where his
son's classroom had been and started
digging through the debris. Soon the
neighbor came out and said, "Sir, I
know you're distraught but you have to
accept that your child is dead.
There's nothing you can do." The man didn't
stop digging, he just looked at the
neighbor and said, "Are you going to help me now?"
Later, the fire chief came and told the
man he had to stop, there was no one
left alive and he was putting himself in
danger. Again, the father simply
asked, "Are you going to help me
now?" After many more hours of digging the
chief of police came and told him he was
putting other people in danger, and
ordered him to go home and leave it to the
professionals. The man again said
nothing but, "Are you going to help
me now?"
Finally, after 38 hours of digging
through concrete and twisted metal, the
man moved a final boulder and found a
small space where several children had
been protected. His son was among them,
and the first thing he said to his father
was, "Daddy, I told them not to be
scared. I told them you would
come."
Br. Splane paused and then he
said... "The faithful slave is engaged in a
massive search and rescue mission.
It is an enormous task, and what they are
asking from you and me is: 'Are you
going to help me now?'" Then he walked off
the stage.