Yat Ching Wong

I, Wong (Yung) Yat-Ching, was born in 1930 at the southern corner of Tongshan County in Zhangzhou, Fujian. My father was a devoted Christian and one of the elders in a local Chinese Presbyterian Church.

I have 10 siblings (six brothers and four sisters). My father was a doctor who studied Western Medicine. I was very lucky to have a very civilized and open-minded father. He always encouraged us to be life-long learners and acquire knowledge. After my graduation from the Yue Tak Girl's College, I went to Nanjing to study nursing at the Nanjing National Advanced Midwife Institute.

After I graduated from the Midwife School, I married Mr. Wong Man-Che. We moved to Shanghai in 1951, and I was assigned to work at the Shanghai's No. 4 Peoples Hospital. Over the years, I gave birth to two boys and one girl. My elder son is Wong Ching Kwang (Gene). My younger son is Wong Yat Kwang (Barry), and my youngest one is the only girl; her name is Wong Man Ching (Lisa). I lived there until 1962 and then moved to Hong Kong that summer.

Because my husband needed to support and pay for living expenses for the four of us living in Hong Kong, his own family (mother, sister, nephews, and nieces) in Fujian, as well as, my family in Fujian (including my parents and my siblings), my husband continued to work on commercial vessels non-stop for forty years. Because of the nature of his work, he rarely came home to share his life experiences with us. As a result, I had to raise the three kids by myself while we were in Hong Kong. After the kids were older, I had rare/occasional part-time jobs.

My eldest son, Gene, came to the United States in 1969 for the last two years of high school and then continued his education to become a radiologist. The second son, Barry, went to Canada to further his education the following year. In order to save some money for my two sons’ education, my daughter, Lisa, was sent to Shanghai to live with my relatives in our rented apartment. I went on-board my husband’s ship to live with him and to look after him. I worked as a nurse when my husband was working on a Passenger Cruise ship that mostly travelled in SE Asia. I then started working on a commercial cargo freighter; while on the freighter, I worked as a secretary handling important documents. The life of a seaman was not an easy one. Travel destinations included many European countries, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Africa, Southeast Asia, as well as, China and Japan.

After years of hardships while living at sea, my husband finally retired in 1986 and settled down in Hong Kong.

During our visit to my elder son (who lived in the USA) in 1987, we applied for immigration to the United States of America, and it was granted. We moved to Seattle in 1989 and lived there for the rest of our lives.

I am wholeheartedly thankful to our Father in Heaven for His Blessings, endless love and grace extended to me and my family. God has never forsaken me. He is my Savior. In recollection of my whole life, God helped me to settle in this wonderful and beautiful country. God gave me a warm and harmonious worship place - ECC, as well as, allowed me to enjoy my Sunday services at ECC all these years.

In 1998, my beloved and baptized husband succumbed to lung cancer. He is living in heaven with God now. By God’s grace and mercy, God used Pastor Chow and Ms. Loh (Pastor Loh's wife) to lead my husband to the Lord. I will now join him in heaven. After his death, God sent brothers and sisters in Christ to comfort and support me. My grief has been mitigated by frequent visits from my kids and their daily calls. My daughter and granddaughter (Athena) regularly came and helped to solve my daily problems and needs. All of this gave me a peaceful mind.

My extreme gratitude to My Lord for his mercy, endless love and grace. I will forever praise my God. Amen.