ON April 14, 1989, I was conducting a meeting in the town of Maumere, on Flores Island, when government officials burst into the house and arrested me and three others.

The guards at the local prison tried to force us to salute the flag. When we refused, they beat us and kicked us and made us stand in the blistering sun for five days. We shivered at night on hard cement floors in our tiny cells, filthy, exhausted, and aching from our wounds. The prison warden repeatedly urged us to compromise, but we replied, “Until we die, we will not salute.” Like countless Christians before us, we felt privileged to “suffer for the sake of righteousness.”​—1 Pet. 3:14.

ON January 19, 1999, growing hostility between Muslims and Christians exploded into violence about three kilometers (1.8 miles) from my home. The situation was chaotic.a

After seeing to the safety of my family, I phoned other publishers to check on their welfare. I urged them to remain calm and to avoid dangerous areas. Later, the elders visited the flock to strengthen them spiritually and to encourage them to meet for worship in small groups.

The branch office urged us to evacuate any publishers who were living in dangerous areas, and we passed that direction on to several families. One brother who refused to leave was later killed by an armed mob. But every person who heeded the direction from the branch office survived.