John Wen Ti Chang: A Short Story

For most of his life, my father used his Chinese name, Chang Wen Ti, but after he received his U.S. citizenship, he became known as John Wen Ti Chang. What 's in a name? To my father, his name change was a symbol of a new start. Known in China, and Shanghai, specifically, he was the orphan from Suzhou who eventually made a big name for himself in the world of Jade. No one would have dreamt during his early years, that he would be famous for anything much less as the owner and the creator of the world’s largest and most spectacular Jade Pagoda and the collection of the finest jade carvings of China. As much as he was lauded for his achievements, he lived as a humble man giving credit of his achievements to the grace of God and for His glory.

It didn’t go with the décor of the room or house. I especially didn’t understand the last line, Joshua 24:15 but I have always remembered it. It was written in white on deep red velour and the red bled into the white in the years it hung there. It wasn’t until years later that I realize that my father had in his humble way shown he had chosen to serve the Lord. I look forward to meeting him again in heaven when I will fall on my knees in front of him and ask his forgiveness for being such a stupid and indifferent daughter. I am so

• He was the reason my mother wasn’t with me when I had those awful mumps and needed her, as she was in the hospital giving birth to my baby brother.

• He was the one who tore me away from my precious grandmother, my siblings, the only home I had ever known to come to this strange land called America.

• He was the one who got seasick and mother left me to care for my six month old baby brother on the ship full of mean strangers in order to go and tend to him and I was so scared.

• He was the one who “spanked” me the first and only time I ever got spanked for not paying attention while he was teaching me English.

• He was the one who refused to buy me a bicycle for years after my trike broke, and then allowed my little brother to have a bike when he was only 7…and I had had to wait until I was