Ming Yu Chang

My father, Ming Yu Chang, was born on November 7th, 1929 in Foochow, Fuchien, China. Dad’s parents and his whole family emigrated from China to Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia in the early 1900s. Dad’s own father passed away when my Dad was six years old. Dad grew up in a small village by the Rajang River. He loved to play with his cousins, and, one time when they were swimming in the river, he almost drowned but God saved him. That was the first testimony of God’s power in his life. He had grown up in a Christian home so he loved God and was very active in the church ever since he was young.

As a teenager during the Japanese War, he had to work in the rice field and rubber plantation to provide for his widowed mother, younger sister, and mute baby brother, whom he supported all his life. Life was really hard for my Dad because he had to work long hours under the scorching hot sun and carried very heavy loads of rice and rubber. He almost died from overwork and poor health due to poor nutrition. God saved him once again. During the Japanese wartime, there was no school so my Dad educated himself by reading books deep into the night using candlelight. When the war ended in 1945, a missionary encouraged my Dad to go to a school that taught English. He studied for three years and graduated from high school. Right after graduation, he was hired by two schools to teach English, and he met my Mom in one of the schools. They got married on January 6th, 1956. Together they had five children: Lily, Henry, Roselyn, Marilyn, and Alex.

My Dad was the church leader who rallied the villagers to work hard over several years to raise funds to build a church in Binatang. He loved to lead worship and church services. He was often invited to preach in the neighbouring village churches. He was a very well respected community leader whom people turned to for advice. Dad had a big heart and helped people in need, especially the sick and the elderly, by driving them to hospitals in the middle of the night. As a young child, I would spend hours waiting for my Dad to return home safely.

In the early 1960s, my Dad was chosen by the Catholic priests to become the Headmaster of St. Augustine Primary School in Binatang. That was very unusual because all the other teachers in the school were Catholics and my Dad was a devoted Methodist; however, the priests really esteemed my Dad. Dad was a very disciplined and dedicated teacher who had produced many successful students who remember him well to this day.

In 1968, my maternal Grandma and Uncle Yek invited my Dad to join the Yek Family’s timber business. Our family had to move to Kuching, then to Simanggang. Dad was the managing director who helped to build up the company in Malaysia while my Uncle expanded the timber business to Indonesia. In 1971, my Uncle Yek suddenly died, so my Dad had to travel back and forth between Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia to manage the business. He was an astute businessman who led with integrity, so he was very well respected among the timber business community in Sarawak. He was also a very kind employer, managing thousands of workers in several sawmills in Malaysia and Indonesia. He always looked out for the well-being of the employees and their families. He often gave scholarships to young people who wanted to further themselves in education. His life was threatened many times for helping families who were targeted by the opposing political party. He gave work to these people so that they could provide for their families. He loved to help the weak and the needy. He often told me, “If I follow what God commands me to do to help those in need, God will protect me and not let even one strand of my hair be harmed.”

In December 1978, my Dad and Mom immigrated to Canada with the whole family. My parents came to Canada to give a better life to their children and to future generations. Dad was a loving father to five children, a loving grandfather to eight grandchildren, and a loving great grandfather to three great grandchildren. He was looking forward to welcoming his fourth great grandchild at the end of July this year. We are most grateful to Dad for introducing Christ to us and for helping us grow in our faith. That is the most precious gift he gave us. He provided very well for us and encouraged us to go as far as we could in our education so that we could have good careers. He also gave very generously to all of us to help us have a strong start in our family lives. He had a very tender side, too. In 1984, I was very seriously sick for months. Dad was by my side, taking care of me, praying for me by my bed early every morning, and feeding me food and drink spoon-by-spoon. I can never forget the tenderness and love he showed me. All of us children have learned a lot of moral values and life lessons from our Dad. We are most grateful for the Christian heritage he gave us to pass on to our own children and to future generations.

Dad brought us to join the Evangelical Chinese Bible Church, and we were active members of the church. My Dad continued to travel for 10 more years back-and-forth between Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia for business. Despite his full work schedule, Dad became a deacon of the church, serving faithfully in the church for many years. He was a member of the Church Building Committee that built the current church at 5110 Marine Drive, Burnaby. He sent donations to build three churches in Russia. In the 1990s, he built a church, two high schools, one primary school, a road, and a bridge in Foochow, China. He also spent three years writing a book on the first 100 years’ history of the Chang Family and the Yek Family in Sarawak.

In 1997, my Mom was diagnosed with cancer, and, since that time, she had many health issues. She was totally bedridden for the last six years of her life. My Dad was devoted to her, praying and singing to her every day. In the last few years of Dad’s life, his health was deteriorating with severe kidney and heart problems. We are eternally grateful to our dear sister, Marilyn, who gave the best care to my Mom and Dad around the clock, at the expense of her own health over the past 10 years. We would also like to give our most sincere thanks to our helpers: Michelle, Fei Fei, and Yu Ping. My Dad passed away peacefully with all five children, two sons-in-law, and three helpers by his bedside, singing his favourite songs. He went to be with our Lord and my Mom on Thursday, February 2nd, 2023 in the early morning, at 12:50 a.m.

We are very comforted to know that my Dad is no longer suffering and he is now resting in God’s loving arms and reunited with my Mom.

Ba, all of us, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will miss you so much, and we look forward to seeing you again in Heaven one day.

By Lily Lowe

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hamiltonharronfunerals.com for the Chang family.