Wong Yeh

From the desk of Chris...

Several months ago when we were trying to pack our lives into a few suitcases, we had to make a lot of hard decisions about what we did and did not need to take to China with us.  But there was one thing that was never on the chopping block: our soccer cleats. Though they were dirty and smelly we lugged them half way across the world in hopes of finding a pickup soccer game in Hengyang, China. And we did! Here's a pic of me playing soccer for the first time in Hengyang... and no, your eyes are not playing tricks on you... I really am a giant compared to everyone else!

The guy to my left is named Wong Yeh. He speaks very broken, basic English, which is still much better than my Chinese. The day we met he told me that I was the first foreign teacher to ever play soccer at the campus and he gave me his soccer ball! He said "I know it doesn't look good, but it plays well." Out of all the soccer balls I've ever owned, this one has definitely become my favorite.

As Allie mentioned in her last post, a few days ago was a national holiday, the Mid-Autumn Festival. This festival marks the first full moon on the lunar calendar during Mid-Autumn, and on this night you're supposed to watch the full moon and eat these things called "moon cakes." Moon cakes come in fancy boxes and look good but are absolutely horrendous. For some odd reason people give these out to their friends and think its a good thing! They may be filled with either meat or fruit... and if you can't read Chinese, the only way to find out is to eat one!

 

Since people give these to their friends, I thought that it would be nice to give one to Wong Yeh. After soccer I figured it was time to do my "good deed" and gave him a moon cake. He was thankful, but told me that this holiday is actually very sad for his family and for other Chinese. They actually try to forget the holiday because it reminds them of how poor they are. They cannot afford to buy moon cakes for their friends, so this holiday makes them sad. Boy, was I taken aback. Here I am giving this guy something that I don't even want, something he can't afford to buy himself, and yet on the FIRST DAY we met, he gave me his soccer ball! His family may be poor, but he sure is rich in spirit! I am constantly amazed and humbled by the people I meet in China.

Several days later when we finished playing Wong Yeh pulled 3 Gatorades out of his bag... 1 for himself, the other 2 he had bought for Allie and me.

As Jesus looked up, He saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. "Truly I tell you," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." -- Luke 21:1-4