Reflections on a Long and Blessed Life No 53: Good-by California, Hello The Orient

Of course, million have left America and gone to live overseas: the military, business people, the diplomatic corps, missionaries... Yet for each person or family doing this it is a unique experience. Since most missionaries from the Lutheran Church sent abroad were fresh out of the seminary we had a very meager weight allowance for shipment of personal goods: 600 pounds if I remember correctly. So we had to get rid of lots of stuff including, of course, our car, almost all furniture, boxes of memories, etc. But it was important to us that 4-year-old David’s toys make the trip.

The Mission Board travel department was very slow and inefficient in arranging for our travel and the folks in Hong Kong were ever more anxious for our arrival; After all, I was an educator and school terms were opening and teacher-training classed needed to be taught.

So we got it done. Sold or gave away lots of stuff. Made a visit to our folks in Texas knowing that we would not see any of them for at least 5 years and aware that some would not be seen again on this earth. But it got done. We were to go by plane rather than ship. The farewell parties were held, the commissioning service was well done, the good-by hugs were exchanged and we were on the Pan Am prop plane with first stop, Hawaii and change of plane. Then it got interesting. A plane engine failed. Emergency landing at Wake Island turned out to be a long stopover. The airline was helpful even putting us on a bus and giving is a tour of the island while the repairs were made. Then off to the next stop: Tokyo. Again: engine failure. One engine was completely stopped. We made it to Tokyo, slept a few hours in a hotel and then towere quickly loaded on a flight to Hong Kong.

Landing at Hong Kong in those days (as many pilots still attest to this day) was always a challenge. Had to avoid getting into the prohibited air space of China, stay above the high rises along the landing path and come to a quick stop before the end of the taxiway which ended right at the Hong Kong ocean front. Another interesting aspect of the landing: the single taxiway actually crossed a public highway. When a plane came in for landing a gate game across the car highway and the planes zoomed down the runway right in front of the line of stopped cars.

When we landed we had quite a reception. We got off the plane and walked across the tarmac to the reception area. We still have the picture of little David all excitedly carrying his suitcase, me in coat and tie and Jane all decked our in formal dress, hose and hat. A reception committee of both missionaries and Chinese brothers and sisters were there plus a special greeter as well. By great co-incidence for the first time in its history the President (Chief Bishop) of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod was making his first trip abroad. It was The Rev. Dr. John W. Behnken standing in line to greet us.

We went from that flight of many, many hours directly to a dinner for President Behnken and a welcome for us. This was an entirely new dining experience for us all .Traditional Chinese food and service with no knives or forks, only chop sticks. It was great. And the after-meal activity was very disturbing. As we exited the not so formal restaurant on Nathan Road we were inundated with people: emaciated old people, young mothers with babies, crippled persons, all begging for food, money, anything. We had to push through them to get to our parked car jamming our way not only through the crowd of people on the sidewalk but also the never-before seen rickshaws, push carts, bicycles, taxis and busses,

Two of the women missionaries took us to their home where we stayed until we found our own apartment. Their apartment was on Tung Choi Street which was just 20 feet south of Boundary Street in Kowloon. Boundary Street marked the official boundary between Kowloon and the New Territories. It marked which land was to automatically revert to China in 1997. We were the only non-Chinese residents in the area.

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There was no time to waste. Within seven days of our arrival we were enrolled in Cantonese language classes at Hong Kong University and had a private language teacher assigned to us, I was teaching a course (through an interpreter) on Christian Education. Jane played the organ for a worship service which was all in Chinese and she had to rely on head shakes to know when to play the hymns or the liturgy. David had to follow the rule: Never leave the apartment and stay off the furniture inside! We were in a new land!

Reflections on a Long and Blessed Life No.52: Surprise! Surprise!

 It was a beautiful late Spring weekend in 1956. On Friday night a small group of members of Zion Lutheran Church, Glendale, CA invited Jane and me to a member home for wonderful steak dinner. As the evening drew to a close they wheeled out as beautiful new television set. It was a gift to us, our very first TV. Surprise!

On Saturday I was on the roof of our house with a ladder next to the chimney and was installing the antennae, which was needed to get reception in those days. When the mailman came I noticed he had a big fat brown envelope. I glanced at it, and saw it was from the national office of The Lutheran Church. I assumed it was just another  mass mailing of church literature, completed the installation of the TV antenna and then joyfully sat down and enjoyed our very own TV. After dinner I decided to open the mail. Turned out the mailing was to me personally. More surprisingly it actually contained a call to service (a job opportunity in everyday lay language) And it was not an ordinary call. It was a call to serve as an educational missionary in Hong Kong. Surprise!

Hong Kong. I didn’t even know where it was. I had never expressed any interest in overseas work. I had not been interviewed. I knew no Chinese. Yet here it was-and the accompanying material made a big point . This is urgent. Please come and come quickly. We have already opened a few schools; another big one has been approved and most of the construction money promised. We need you to coordinate this whole program.

We dug out a National Geographic magazine, which had a feature on Hong Kong. It located Hong Kong for us and identified it as a British Crown Colony. It was being inundated as a refugee haven for the hundreds of thousands who were fleeing Mao Tse Tung who was making China a terrible Communist state. And discovered that we actually knew three missionaries already in Hong Kong.

The details for the call were pretty straightforward. The call was to me (Mel) but Jane was expected to also carry on “missionary duties” but was not to be compensated for them. The salary was $3,000.00 per year plus adequate housing. The deal was that the Mission Board paid for our passage there-and we were expected to serve a full five years before we were to be granted our first furlough back to the States. We were expected to learn the local language which was Cantonese. Ordinarily newcomers were allowed to spend most of their early time in language study-but in our case the demands of the job were such that I was to both study language and carry on the usual duties of my assignment.

This was, of course, a major life changing decision for us to make. It had appeared that my future lay in teaching at the college level(I had done that the previous two summers).I was in the very early stages of exploring getting my PhD D at UCLA. Of course it meant leaving behind our family and Jane was the only daughter of her parents. David was a much-loved grandson. Also, David was suffering from severe asthma. Jane had been experiencing some undiagnosed ailments and the level of medical service in Hong Kong at that time was just developing. We had been in Glendale serving Zion for only two years.

In retrospect Jane claims that she knew within 48 hours that I was going to accept that call. She may have been right because in any event I soon announced to the congregation that I was leaving my position as principal and teacher at Zion. We had decided. We felt this was where God wanted us. There were challenges ahead. We were going. And so we started getting rid of most of our earthly possessions. We got our medical shots. We planned a trans-Pacific voyage on a passenger ship and were headed for a new life. It was scary. It was exciting. And it was all (we believed) a God imposed surprise! 

Reflectionson a Long and BlessedLife No. 51: Glendale California: Challenges and Joy

After serving as principal and teacher at St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Tracy, California for four years I accepted a call to Zion Lutheran Church and School in Glendale, California. We were there only two years and the two years were years full of challenge and joy.

CHALLENGES. My basic assignment in Glendale was to open a new school. In contrast to what was happening to Lutheran schools in many other Los Angeles areas it was tough getting enrollment at Zion. The congregation’s median age was well beyond child bearing. The school was located downtown on a small lot. Public transportation was unavailable. The public schools were good. I gave it my best shot, even personally picking up and delivering back home at my own expense several students who lived a distance away. The school grew very slowly. We had only13 students in grades 1-4, all in one room. Yet, the school did grow eventually enrolling well over 100 until many years later the elementary grades were dropped and a strong early childhood program still flourishes.

Our financial situation and living arrangements left much to be desired. When we arrived the congregation had rented for us a small upstairs apartment with the landlady living on the same floor with us She took it upon herself to  teach our young son David “how to behave properly” and as part of that process spanked him when she thought that was what he needed. My salary was $200.00 a month (plus that apartment).One of the members suggested that it was time for me to get a credit card. I applied for a card for gasoline only with Texaco. My application was denied because  of ”insufficient income”.

Jane was asked to serve as the congregation’s organist and choir director. However among other demands there were these two: when the Sunday School children left the church to go to their individual  classrooms they must always without exception, march out to the tune of “Onward Christian Soldiers”. Every single worship service must end with  singing  exactly the same hymn. Our pastor was very conservative. Once we had dinner at his home with some guests. He offered the table grace. But after the guests had left he spoke with me. He explained that he hoped he had not done wrong by inappropriately joining in prayer with people who were not Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod members. He explained that the guests were actually Wisconsin Synod Lutherans.

JOY. We had left Tracy which was a wonderful small city of 10,000 residents heavily related to the agricultural community which surrounded it. Glendale is an integral part of the greater Los Angles area. We took in many of the wonderful offerings that were right there. We listened to music at he Hollywood Bowl. We loved taking guests to the Grauman Chinese Theater, to Hollywood and Vine, to the homes of the stars in Beverly Hills. It was great to go to the Rose Bowl Parade and watch football there and at the L.A. Coliseum. I remember the extravagance of eating at a famous restaurant in the La Cienega area.  Two friends took us there for a farewell dinner. It was the most expensive meal I had ever eaten: the wonderful steak cost an extravagant total of $4.00. ( Remember this was 1956 !) I must also admit that already in those years the city was often clouded over by a terrible layer of dark and heavy smog.

As is true wherever one lives; we were with some wonderful people. The DeVillers treated us with affection and affirmation. Mr. Roth saw to it that he always brought a good supply of beer when he came. Parents of my pupils invited us to their homes for dinner. The principals of the surrounding Lutheran schools were a marvelous source of learning, support and encouragement. I sang in an all-male chorus that practiced at Faith, Inglewood which introduced me to another urban environment. We took day trips to the California gold country and enjoyed an extended stay at Yosemite National Park.

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We were in Glendale for o ly two years. I am grateful for those two years and they served as the transition point to our next adventure:10 years in Hong Kong.

Reflections on a Long and Blessed Life No. 50: A Bad Habit

Very early in my professional career I developed a bad habit. It started while I was at St. Paul, Tracy CA and got worse through the years. I did not overcome it until after I retired. The bad habit: workaholism. I was a workaholic. At first it was something that had little effect on anyone else. I was single. I was living alone in a single rented bedroom. There were so many tasks to do. I was asked to do them. I felt I could do them well so I did them.

In those early days I taught grades 4-8. I was the school principal. I taught Sunday School teachers every other week. I taught a Bible Class every Sunday. Weekly I went to choir practice. On a regular basis I went to school board meeting, church council meetings, men’s club, P.T.A Executive Committee and then regular PTA meetings. I served on the denomination’s District Youth Committee, the area Principals Conference Committee. I attended graduate school and gathered used newspapers to sell to raise money for school supplies. On Sunday evenings I led the youth group (the Walther League. .I played on city sports teams throughout the year moving from basketball to softball to baseball.   

When I got married and had first one and eventually 5 children I never slowed down. I took calls (new positions) with different specific responsibilities, all of which just spurred me on.   

Of course, these actions had undesirable consequences. I was unfair to Jane and my children. The task of raising them fell very much to her. It was only rarely that I took time to read to them, bathe them or dress them or do fun things with them. In later years it got so bad that I did not even want to take vacations. I remember that after I had been in Hong Kong for 4 years without taking a vacation the Board for Missions sent me a formal warning “If I did not take a vacation they would no longer guarantee paying for my health plan.”   

Why all this hyper-activity? Several factors: 1. I really enjoyed what I was doing. I loved my work and the challenges it presented and the difference it made. 2.These positive results “felt good” and spurred me on to do more. 3.People affirmed me.4. I was doing “God’s work”. Somehow or other it failed to register in my brain that spending time with wife and family, taking care of my body, getting a good night’s sleep would also be doing” God’s work”. And so it was that year after year I just took for granted that I would work 70+ hour work weeks, never go to bed before 11:00, and on Sunday night (when I did not have another duty) I was sure to be at my desk from 8:00-11:00 pm.  

 Now in retrospect I see that I was stubborn and unresponsive to the good advice and incredible forbearance of my wife and family. I am eternally grateful that they (and God) have forgiven me. I have finally learned), at least most of the time, to say “No” when that is the appropriate answer.  .

I have learned to not work “after dinner”, to enjoy reading good books , even before 11:00 pm. I have learned to admire my children, all of whom have done a much better job than I did at balancing work, family, self-care etc.  

And I am grateful to know that having been forgiven by both God and family I need not lament my past failures. Rather, I have come to live the more balanced life to which God had called me now for almost 90 years and who knows for how many more.