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"Yes," 1answered. "Mr. Armstrong goes where God sends him,
no! where !he United States State Oepartment says he can or cannot go. Where a
conflict exists, Mr. Armstrong obeys the laws of God,
not the laws of man. " ' 'Then," Mr. Wen replied, "/ wi/1 see that you cometo China."
and mission, asked me, "Despite the
estrangement of our countries, despite
the fact your passport says you cannot
come to China, will you and Mr. Arm–
strong be willing to come anyway?'·
" Yes," 1 answered. " Mr. Armstrong
goes where God sends him, not where
the United States State Oepartment
says he can or cannot go. Where a
conflict exists. Mr. Armstrong obeys the
laws of God, not the laws of man."
"Then," Mr. Wen replied, " 1will see
that you come to China."
Barriers arose. Wen helped us all he
could, but in Peking, Chinese officials,
while approving me, balked at inviting
Mr. Armstrong. The reason was not
hard to tind: as a consisten! anticommu–
nist writer and preacher he had for
years identitied communism as being
anti-God. He had never differentiated
among the various mutations commu–
nism had undergone in Russia, Yugosla–
via or China; none of the forms was
compatible with religion as he saw it.
Nor would he alter his views lo point out
that Chinese communism was less anti–
God than the Russian type, a moditica–
tion, we were told, that would have
pleased the ofticals and resulted in an
invitation.
An impasse resulted, but thanks to
Wen and our Ethiopian friends, signals
carne back that the doors were lett open,
though not widely enough al the time lo
admit us. Years went by, with our China
adventure on the back burner. Then
Japanese friends enter the story.
Our relations with the Japanese have
been so close that they call themselves
Mr. Armstrong's sons and my brothers. 1
myself am totally immersed in the Japa–
nese culture and spend most of my
spare time studying the language. Their
leaders, seeking to normalize relations
with their huge neighbor, had been
traveling frequently to Peking and, while
there, planting seeds in our behalf. They
were spreading the word that Mr. Arm–
strong and his close aide were good
people working through a good institu–
tion lo make a good effort lo bring
about what all nations seek- a better
world understanding. And that, certainly
not leas!, we were prepared , even
anxious. to pul sorne of our treasure
where our heart was, to donate some–
thing quite tangible, quite useful, through
PIANIST ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN
is presented a gift by Herbert W. Armstrong and
Stanley R. Rader at Mr. Rubinstein 's concert in the Ambassador Auditorium in
Pasadena, California, in 1974.
December 1980
the Ambassador lnternational Cultural
Foundation, to China.
With realization of the true nature of
our intent ions, the objections slowly
dissolved and a journey was in the
planning stages for the fati of
1977
when Mr. Armstrong-as previously
mentioned-became seriously ill with
congestive hear t failure . For three
weeks his condition was critical , requir–
ing at one time mouth-to-mouth resusci–
tation and manual heart massage.
Nurses were in attendance around the
clock, but much of the credit for his
recovery should go to his second wife,
the former Ramona Martín, who was at
his bedside constantly, offering devo–
tion and love. Loma Armstrong had died
10
years earli er, three months before
she and her husband would have cele–
brated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Ramona and Herbert Armstrong had
been married about tour months when
the illness struck. Mrs. Armstrong was
39, the daughter of a longtime Church
member. A member herself, she had
worked for us many years. In
1974,
she
was transferred to my staff. and, since 1
worked so closely with Mr. Armstrong,
they became acquainted. They fell in
love, and alter a long courtship, were
married on April
17, 1977.
1 gave the
bride away at a joyous occasion. Since
then, the Armstrongs have been living in
Tucson, a happy and devoted couple.
When Mr. Armstrong recovered from
his illness, plans for the China trip had to
be postponed again. The reason: new
problems with Garner Ted. The pastor
general had found it necessary lo dis–
miss his son from the Work and felt he
should remain in the country lo oversee
the reorganization of the Church under
the laws of God.
Since the China trip was now in the
final stages of preparation, Mr. Arm–
strong and 1 agreed it should not be
postponed. We decided that 1 would
journey there lo lay the groundwork for
a later visit by him. Since the written
word is the most effective instrument for
advancing cultural understanding be–
tween peoples. 1felt that a program of
helping the Chinese develop their librar–
ies should be one of our goals in China .
Our Japanese friends broached the
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