Each Sunday at church I usually sit either directly behind or in front of this family of nine children; eight girls and one boy. This is planned because with Loice's help I know what page to turn to in my English/Chinese hymnal and what Scripture is being read. After each sermon she gives me a great summary of the sermon. She is eleven and writes a whole page summary.
We have been trying for over a year to arrange a time for me to come to their home for a visit. The arrangement was finally made and I went home with them after church on May 10th. As soon as we arrived, two of the middle aged girls, called peelers, got out about two dozen cucumbers and started pealing them. I could tell they had experience. In a short time they were cutting them up into small pieces. The younger of the two could sure handle that big knife.
There were four loaves of bread ready for slicing. Two were done at this time.
A bowl of hard boiled eggs were added to the table and we were ready to eat. The Sunday noon meal is always very simple.
After eating the clean up girls put our dishes into a pan and brought the water to a boil. This way they know they are clean and safe to eat from the next time. While that was happening, Loice and I snuggled up together in a chair and looked at her photo album of her life. I could tell this could go on for hours. As we looked at the pictures and I listened to the commentary, the three younger ones went for their naps, along with their mother who is expecting her tenth child in September. The two oldest ones read. The four remaining girls convinced me to play a game with them. At the time of the picture, the older of the three had gotten up from her nap.
The oldest one had my camera and was taking some of these pictures. I had requested one of how they sleep so many in such a small space. In the picture below, two sleep on top and two below. In another room, four more do the same thing. The two year old boy sleeps in a small storage room off the parent's bedroom.
This home has a serious mold problem so the family is packing to move to a new place; one that is a little larger. They need one more bedroom for the next planned batch of children. With four in a room and packing, the rooms are quite an experience to see.
The girl's hair was nicely braided and so pictures of their hair were taken.
After finishing the game, it was back to the photo album. At the rate we were going I am sure Loice was planning on an overnighter for me. Loice and I got back in the big chair, but were soon joined two others. When the boy got up he joined us. It was hot and humid and with all those bodies on you we were all soon wet with sweat.
By now one of the older girls told Loice to speed it up as they wanted us to watch the video, "Treasures in the Snow." The first part of the album went in slow motion, but now it was fast forward. We got to the end and headed upstairs to this small room and sat body to body to watch the video. It was in Chinese, but that was not a problem as Loice sat next to me and interpreted as the actors spoke. As an eleven year old she is better than most college students learning to do this. I got to enjoy the English version of the film very much.
It was getting late and I needed to go, but I had to promise to return. It was truly a grandpa experience. For me it was an interaction with children I had never experienced before. Their mom, who also calls me grandpa Steve, told me that I had sure found a special place in the hearts of her children. It was truly a special time with a very special family.
