Chinatown Stories Volume 2
Rev. Don Ng, Senior Pastor, First Chinese Baptist Church, San Francisco
May 28, 2008
Silver Coins
In your hands you have discovered a treasure chest full of life stories that captures what life is like for Asian Americans in the latter half of the twentieth century. Many are baby-boomers who enjoyed the variety of opportunities made available to them after World War II; while others are men and women who faced life courageously during the war in Korea. There are some names that you will instantly recognized because they have achieved “celebrity” status as the result of their professions; while there are many others whose name is no less common than your own. But in God’s sight, every person who has generously shared her/his life’s story with us is precious as silver coins in a treasure chest.
Volume 2 of Chinatown Stories of Life and Faith continues the purpose of collecting life stories with the belief that every story is valuable and worth telling because it’s rich in experiences and touched by God. It’s like the parable that Jesus told of the woman who having ten silver coins loses one of them. She lights a lamp, sweeps the house, and searches carefully until she finds it. And when she does, she invites her friends and neighbors to rejoice because she has found her lost coin. (Luke 15:8-10)
Whenever I read this parable, I always wondered where did the woman eventually find her lost coin? Did it roll under the dresser? Might it have been tugged into the sofa? Maybe she left it in one of her pockets? I wonder if the silver coin had any feelings, did it felt lost? The 60 stories in this volume reflect as different as 60 ways of life. Every one is different and unique. Some life stories portray a lifetime of growing up in the First Chinese Baptist Church while others have taken and perhaps are still on an amazing journey that in faith we hope we will all be found like the lost coin. These valuable stories or silver coins are presented as much as possible in the form that each person shared with the book project editor Dr. James Chuck.
You will discover what life was like growing up in San Francisco as a Chinese-American. As expected, there was an extraordinary emphasis on being a family, getting a good education, and opportunities to succeed and achieve in the workplace. Growing up Asian American in the latter half of the twentieth century still meant that people experienced the reality of prejudice, discrimination, and racism. The way these people were able to overcome these obstacles reflect the durability and gleam of these “silver coins.” We hope that in your reading of these stories that you may consider gathering your memories and milestones on paper or computer screen to record and discover a treasure chest for yourself that is filled with silver coins! Those who are interested in the fields of Asian American studies and American history would mine many treasures from this book.
As the parable ends, Jesus said that when the lost silver coin was found, “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God.”