It was almost time for the meeting to start, and we had been rushing to make it into the Kingdom Hall before the song.

You had been a couple seconds ahead of us but your longer legs had carried you much farther to the door than me.

I remember being intrigued by your stature, the way your hair was styled and even the blue shirt you had paired with your brown tweed suit. The glasses were the perfect finishing touch and I wonder why you no longer have the wonderfully vintage frames (the story is you’ve lost it while swimming in a pond).

A wonderfully bright and toothy smile had greeted me and I had taken a liking to you immediately (although to be fair, I had thought you were much older than myself. Imagine my chagrin, then, to realize you were actually younger than me).

(And I recall thinking with AH that you reminded us of a cartoon character that helped endear you to us. Of course, which character I will never tell you but it still brings  a smile to me)

It was such a different experience, having the door held open for you as I was just new to the Chinese Congregation.

And it would take almost six months after that moment before we would start to interact regularly, before then you had been just one of the nondescript white brothers (albeit with the bluest of eyes, your saving grace I must admit).

An impeccable sense of humor, a zealous attitude towards the preaching work and space. I loved that you had space, a more conservative manner while dealing with sisters.

(Although this whole time I’ve been hearing rumors that you were racist-not that I’ve ever seen it displayed. Stories that I’m very skeptical of, as again I’ve never actually witnessed any racist behaviour. )

(And stories that you were a little crass and insensitive, again, nothing that I’ve experienced. Mostly thought you were funny due to the sarcasm but that might just be the Jersey in me.)

You were so supportive in getting my hours done, I honestly don’t know how I’d have managed my time if you hadn’t been there to support on the weekends before I started to commute to Patterson.

So in short I must say, you’ve influenced my life tremendously whether you are aware or not and for all the support and love that you’ve shown towards our Congregation, I am grateful.

In the four years that I’ve known you, you have matured into such a loving and mature brother and I look forward to seeing where your growth will lead you.

I love you more than I can express in words and you are a dear friend to me.

Happy 10th Full Time Service Anniversary! 🙂