Chapter 1
Dream
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s through a smoky veil, I enter into the dream; I am walking down an airport jet-way somewhere in China. I pass by a pilot, whose face I don’t recognize. The word HANGZHOU is hanging like a sheer curtain in the sky. Beyond a river, I see a village. A voice says, "The people there make their dwellings out of sticks and are called the ‘stick’ people."
In the next scene, I'm in a humble stick hut, warming my hands by a fire with Asian women. Someone says, “Her clothes came out of her backpack when she crossed the river.” Another voice mentions a woman who died the previous evening, suggesting her clothes might fit me. Later, wearing a gray Mandarin jacket of the deceased woman, I walk to the village along a dirt road. I turn left through a gated opening with pillars on either side. I pass by an aged duplex building on my left and a single-story house on my right. Turning right at the corner there is a two-story rose-colored apartment building to my left. An obese Asian man, known as the “Lord of the high place," sits on a balcony at the top of the stairs holding a cup of tea. (Within my heart I knew he was not my Lord.) The rich man, holding a cup of tea delicately in his fat hands, was wearing a beautifully embroidered silk jacket. He invited me to join him for tea. I secretly thought it would be an opportunity to share the love of Jesus with him. A servant handed me a cup of tea in an ornately decorated cup. As I start to move closer to my host, I stumble and spill the tea on his jacket. Everyone is stunned and I feel embarrassingly clumsy. The dream ends - reality begins. After such an extraordinary dream, one that had a word spelled out before my eyes, I called a friend, a missionary to Asia Pacific, and told her about the dream. I was curious if she had ever heard of a city in China named Hangzhou. She wasn’t familiar with the word but found it on her map. The city Hangzhou is a famous city in China and is known as “The Garden City.” We agreed that it was an interesting dream and left it at that. ~~~~~~~~ At this time, my husband and I were living on the island of Guam in Micronesia. Along with several other pilots, he had to go to Houston to train on some new equipment. Knowing this, we started looking for a glorified storage facility, which to us meant a place to stash our stuff and hang our clothes while we traveled to and from Houston. My husband heard about a new place in what was known as “Little Manila.” about a new apartment for rent located in the “Little Manila.” The price would be right at $650 a month. He thought we could squeeze all our Guam belongings into the 800 sq. apartment and sleep there on our trips back to Guam. On the drive there, my husband kept looking at me apprehensively. He was waiting for my reaction to the trash in the area. As a neat-nick from the U.S., my assessment was that the area was close to becoming a garbage dump. There was even the sickening sight of a dead, bloated dog along the shoulder of the road. Oddly, right in the middle of the road stood a power pole! We drove around it and continued on our way. Suddenly, my dream starts resurfacing in my mind when we turned left and drove through an ornate entrance with tall pillars on either side. In a deja’vu moment I see a small housing area. On the left was a duplex! On the right, a single-story house! Passing the house, we turned right. To my utter amazement, on the left was a two-story, rose-colored apartment building! I’m thinking… "nener - nener - nener, nener" We parked and walked up polished tile steps to a stunning landing decorated with burgundy and pink floral tiles that added a bit of class to the “Little Manila” apartment complex. Opening the door to the apartment on our left, and we entered the main living area. It was a small great room blended with the kitchen. The cabinets painted the color of ripe raspberries complemented the tiled burgundy and pink counter. One room had French doors, which opened onto a balcony overlooking the little village with all its construction projects. I couldn’t believe the noise. Somewhere close by, a thousand roosters were making an awful racket. It seemed there was a cock-fighting arena down the road. The landlord said it was no problem. We’d get used to it. My husband said, “Well, what do you think?” I took a deep breath and with a bit of excitement, “It appears that it’s my destiny. I had a dream about it.” Somehow we managed to cram all of our stuff into the 800 square foot apartment. A short time after settling in, a Chinese family moved in next door. |
Our new neighbors, Moses and Mary Sun, with their three-year-old daughter, Lisa, and baby, Joshua, were also referred to the apartment building. Moses, a missionary to China, recorded short-wave radio broadcasts of the gospel from his apartment. Mary, with a master’s degree in Japanese Literature, was equally interesting.
We enjoyed being neighbors for nearly a year. Mary taught me to make many Chinese dishes. One I especially like was Chinese Tea Eggs. (Recipe at bottom). I laugh at this: I gave Mary a stylish outfit I bought in Paris. The two-piece ensemble with open-flounced sleeves on the blouse with a skirt, fitted at the hips and flowing mid-calf in pleats, looked fabulous on her with her black-obsidian hair. But when she wore it to church, she paired it with a completely different pink floral top! The vision really messed with my conservative mind. The months and seasons of the year flew by and soon we were getting ready for Christmas. Early on Christmas morning, after seeing a friend off at the airport, we returned to the apartment to nap before our Christmas festivities at church. Suddenly, I heard a terrible commotion next door. I woke my husband and said, “Quick, something is wrong at the Sun’s.” We jumped up and ran out the door. Moses was standing there, yelling at a 911 dispatcher in Chinese, too upset to speak in English. While my husband helped him, I hurried into their apartment. Mary, panicked, held out the limp body of little Joshua, saying, “My baby dying. My baby no breathe.” Indeed, his face was turning blue, and his eyes were rolled back. I said, “Quick, Mama, open his lips, and give him tiny breaths. Tiny breaths, Mama, tiny breaths!” Mary did that a few times, and then I had her turn Joshua over and pat him on the back. Nothing! Our eyes pierced each other’s as our alarm continued to mount. Mary breathed into him, again. Still nothing. My heart was racing along with Mary’s. Tears began streaming down our faces. Then, suddenly, the third time she patted his back, he gave a great gasp and began to breathe. He looked at his mama, clearly thinking she had been giving him kisses and lifted his head to kiss her back. (Oh, thank you, Jesus!) We gently stripped Joshua down and cooled his fevered body in the bath. Meanwhile, Moses got through 911, and the paramedics were on their way. Moses sat on the sofa, wringing his hands, saying repeatedly, “Chinese medicine no good!” I encouraged him that Chinese medicine was good. He was right in thinking that the fever would burn out the bacteria, but I cautioned him that he had to be careful to monitor high fevers. Joshua went to the hospital that Christmas day and in the week that followed, he experienced six more seizures. The good news is that he fully recovered and, to this day, is a healthy young boy. ~~~~~~~~ My interpretation of these events is that the Good Lord spoiled the plans of the enemy to take little Joshua’s life. Perhaps one day he will become a great spiritual warrior for God, just like his papa. ~~~~~~~~ Thwart the Enemy with the Armor of God! Ephesians 6:10-20 fitly tells us: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. "Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” |
Moses and Mary Sun with Lisa and Joshua