I knew that Jiajing would not meet me at church today because of a post school function, so I sat with people I didn’t know, and the family of nine children sat behind me. Since the sermon was in Chinese and the guest speaker was from a big church down the street where they think loud is the only sound setting, she was loud. I always have a pair of ear plugs for such occasions, so I put them in and got out my good Christian book and read. At the end of the service my eleven year old friend who was sitting behind me will give me a summary of the sermon. She is really good at that.
At the end of the sermon we have our offering, announcements and a closing hymn. During the announcements I happen to notice two people at the side entrance. They were Jiajing’s parents. Her mom came in, but her dad stayed outside. She noticed me and walked down the side aisle, across the back of the church, up my side aisle and sat down next to me. I had no idea why she was there and knew that I was going to need an interpreter at the end of the service to find out.
At the end of the service I motioned to the next to the oldest girl from the family behind me to come to my rescue. She came over to help me out, but it was so noisy in the church we couldn’t talk so we went outside and became a center of attention. This group had formed around us wondering why I was the center of this conversation. The conversation was about a ticket Jiajing needed to travel with me. With all the students headed toward the US, flights are loading up and prices are going through the roof. I had a ticket on hold for her, but the pressure was so great the airline cancelled the hold, which was good for two more days, and increased the price by $700. The ticket would now cost Jiajing’s mom more than a years’ salary to purchase and so she wanted to know all the details and be sure everything was ok. She also wanted to hear once more where Jiajing was going to stay once we arrived in the US.
Having her only child, her daughter, leaving for at least four years is not easy. Having me in the picture is making it bearable. Letting her daughter go and the very large financial burden for this family is a big thing and don’t forget that 85% of these students will not return to China, but will find some way to stay in the US. I am sure they are wondering if Jiajing will be one of them. When will they see her again?
We got through the interview and they wanted to take me to lunch. Even with a language barrier, we had a great time. After dinner they took me home so I could catch a nap. After my nap, Jiajing called and asked if I would come to the coffee shop to join her and three friends. They wanted to take me out to supper. What a great time and what a great day.
At the end of the sermon we have our offering, announcements and a closing hymn. During the announcements I happen to notice two people at the side entrance. They were Jiajing’s parents. Her mom came in, but her dad stayed outside. She noticed me and walked down the side aisle, across the back of the church, up my side aisle and sat down next to me. I had no idea why she was there and knew that I was going to need an interpreter at the end of the service to find out.
At the end of the service I motioned to the next to the oldest girl from the family behind me to come to my rescue. She came over to help me out, but it was so noisy in the church we couldn’t talk so we went outside and became a center of attention. This group had formed around us wondering why I was the center of this conversation. The conversation was about a ticket Jiajing needed to travel with me. With all the students headed toward the US, flights are loading up and prices are going through the roof. I had a ticket on hold for her, but the pressure was so great the airline cancelled the hold, which was good for two more days, and increased the price by $700. The ticket would now cost Jiajing’s mom more than a years’ salary to purchase and so she wanted to know all the details and be sure everything was ok. She also wanted to hear once more where Jiajing was going to stay once we arrived in the US.
Having her only child, her daughter, leaving for at least four years is not easy. Having me in the picture is making it bearable. Letting her daughter go and the very large financial burden for this family is a big thing and don’t forget that 85% of these students will not return to China, but will find some way to stay in the US. I am sure they are wondering if Jiajing will be one of them. When will they see her again?
We got through the interview and they wanted to take me to lunch. Even with a language barrier, we had a great time. After dinner they took me home so I could catch a nap. After my nap, Jiajing called and asked if I would come to the coffee shop to join her and three friends. They wanted to take me out to supper. What a great time and what a great day.
