In Loving
Memory of Dr. S.S. Chang
(For Chinese version, click the link below)
By Eleanor (Bi-ho) Chen
Dr. Chang dedicated his life to caring for his medical patients
and fighting for democracy in Taiwan. For more than 30 years, he spared no
effort while supporting Taiwan’s democratic movement. Although his long-term
contributions to the Taiwanese community in the Bay Area through the Taiwanese
American Center (TAC), Taiwanese Alliance for Interculture (TAI), Formosan
Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), Taiwanese Association of Seniors, and other
efforts are widely known, not many people have heard the story of how Dr. Chang
became a Christian in his later years. Since I had the great fortune of knowing
Dr. Chang during that period of his life, I would like to take this opportunity
to share about his experience in coming to faith as a believer in Jesus Christ.
In mid-August 2007, Canaan Taiwanese Christian Church held
its annual retreat. My husband, Liu-kang, and I invited Maysing and Dr. Chang to
attend the weekend conference and offered to give them a ride. On the morning
of the retreat, Maysing left a message on my iPhone, saying she had important
matters to take care of and thus could not attend the retreat after all. Worried,
I called her back to ask what was wrong and how I could help her. She said she
needed to talk to her eldest daughter, Gloria, but because Gloria was teaching
piano, it was hard to connect with her.
We eventually learned that Dr. Chang’s third brother, Han-tiong,
had unfortunately been diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer (adenocarcinoma) and
that Han-tiong’s oncologist had chosen to privately notify Dr. Chang first
regarding his brother’s diagnosis. So a deep sorrow was hanging over Maysing
and Dr. Chang’s hearts, discouraging them from attending the church retreat.
Gloria offered to drive her parents to the retreat the following day (Arriving
Saturday afternoon), but I worried that they would miss most of the retreat’s
sessions. So I tried to encourage them to go on Friday with Liu-kang and me if
at all possible!
Liu-kang and I waited patiently at their house that day.
After much discussion, we finally persuaded them to come with us to the
retreat, and we arrived at the Asilomar conference grounds in Monterey just
before dark on Friday evening. Our two rooms were right next to each other, making
it easy for us to enjoy conversations together each night after the conference
sessions.
The retreat ended after lunch on Sunday. David Weng then invited
the conference speaker (Pastor Fuli Liu) and some brothers and sisters from
Canaan to sit at a table together with Dr. Chang and Maysing. Pastor Liu seized
this opportunity to explain the Gospel of Jesus Christ briefly to Dr. Chang
using a small booklet. Every page of the booklet had a picture with a chair in
the middle, representing the thrones in our hearts. Pastor Liu explained that
each of us sits on the throne in our own heart and reigns according to our own
will. To believe in Jesus, a person must climb down from his/her throne and allow
Jesus Christ to sit on the throne in his/her heart, thus letting the Lord Jesus
direct his/her life through the Holy Spirit. After explaining the Gospel, Pastor
Liu asked Dr. Chang if he was willing to accept Jesus as Lord of his life. We
were all very happy when Dr. Chang nodded his head in response to Pastor Liu’s
question.
Pastor Liu then led Dr. Chang in a closing prayer accepting
the Lord Jesus into his heart. All of us at the table had witnessed this
wonderful decision, and everyone was very happy. Honestly, I was a little bit
worried that Dr. Chang had nodded out of politeness since he was so kind and
gentle. However, I later realized that my worries were unfounded because anyone
who is willing to come to the Lord will be accepted by Him. Jesus promised: “Whoever
comes to me, I will never abandon him!” Jesus also declared: “I am the
resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will
live.”
Looking back, God’s good intentions were always there; the
group that David Weng gathered together to sit and talk with Dr. Chang did not
happen just by chance. So Pastor Liu led Dr. Chang to the Lord in the last half
hour after the retreat had ended. I didn't expect God’s salvation to come miraculously
onto Dr. Chang so soon.
(The pictures in Pastor Liu’s booklet were similar to the illustrations
below.)
After returning from the retreat, Dr. Chang and Maysing eagerly
started hosting a weekly prayer and Bible study meeting in their home. They
prayed for Han-tiong to recover from lung cancer, and they invited some
brothers and sisters from church to participate, fully demonstrating their deep
love for Han-tiong as his brother and sister-in-law. We all prayed earnestly to
the Lord for Han-tiong.
Han-tiong was prescribed Tarceva, a targeted therapy drug,
to try to treat his lung cancer. He took Tarceva for more than a month, but
unfortunately, it was finally declared not effective. During this time, my
husband, Liu-kang, made a private suggestion to Han-tiong’s wife, San-mei.
Liu-kang told her that the most important thing was to ask Han-tiong if he was
willing to put his faith in the Lord Jesus.
San-mei made this request of Han-tiong and even asked if he
would be willing to become baptized as a gift to her. After seriously considering
her question for a week, Han-tiong decided to believe in the Lord and be
baptized. He also said that he wanted to speak at his baptism about his new
faith in Christ.
At this point, Han-tiong’s lung cancer was worsening, so he had
to breathe with the assistance of an oxygen tank throughout his baptism
ceremony. Even so, he was eager to share his testimony and bear witness for the
Lord. His baptism was very touching, bringing tears to many of the fellow
Taiwanese who had come to witness Han-tiong’s baptism. Everyone had seen the
change in Han-tiong and knew that he had truly decided to believe in the Lord.
Previously, Han-tiong had often argued with me at TAC that
he was a much better person than many baptized Christians. He would say, “I go
to church every week and perform many acts of service for the church, so I
don’t need to be baptized.” Despite his former arguments, Han-tiong was filled
with joy after his baptism. About a week later, God took Han-tiong back to heaven.
Han-tiong’s baptism brought great comfort to his wife, San-mei. She was very
encouraged, enabling her to maintain strong faith in God and move forward bravely
in life!
Although Han-tiong’s life in this world came to an end too
soon, we rejoice that he has already obtained eternal life through the Lord
Jesus and is now resting in the Lord's arms, free from all sickness and pain.
In fact, this is the greatest blessing. After all, everyone dies, and it is
indeed the greatest blessing in life to have eternal life! Now Dr. Chang has
also gained eternal life and is resting in the arms of the Lord. We will meet
again as brothers and sisters in Christ in the near future. This really is the
greatest blessing!
Looking back over the past seven years, Dr. Chang suffered greatly
from Alzheimer’s disease. Maysing faithfully took care of Dr. Chang for all
these years. At first, Maysing cared for him at home. However, 2.5 years ago, Dr.
Chang had declined to the point that Maysing could not take care of him by
herself. Even so, she hesitated repeatedly and delayed sending him to an
Alzheimer’s Center. On April 30, 2019, Dr. Chang finally moved into Brookdale
Senior Living in North Fremont. Maysing visited the center daily to keep Dr.
Chang company and take care of him. She even helped feed another resident at
the home. (This resident’s wife could not come every day, so she thanked Maysing
for her kind help.) Although Maysing still wished that she could bring Dr.
Chang back to their home, she was eventually persuaded by some of her relatives
and good friends that it was best for Dr. Chang to be at Brookdale since she
could no longer lift him.
I have fond memories
of the grand 80th birthday party that Maysing hosted for Dr. Chang at Brookdale
on August 30, 2019. The wonderful program included an accomplished, retired
musician singing many songs from operas. Afterwards, all of the housemates and
invited friends had a lovely dinner together. It was such a lively celebration.
We gathered together as old friends with everyone chatting and laughing. What a
wonderful memory of our lives together pre-pandemic!
(Dr. Chang’s 80th birthday party with friends in the Brookdale
outer court, Aug. 30, 2019)
Unfortunately, for the past two years, visits to Dr. Chang have
been greatly restricted because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet Maysing always continued
to visit him—rain or shine—even though she could only stand outside his window,
watching him affectionately in the dark. Each day, she spent a lot of time
cooking delicious, nutritious food for Dr. Chang to eat. However, although she
brought the food to Brookdale, she could not go inside to feed him. Instead,
she could only ask the staff inside to help feed Dr. Chang the delicious food
she had made for him.
During this period, I asked Maysing why she didn’t visit Dr.
Chang earlier in the day instead of waiting until it was dark. Maysing explained
that she had to take care of her grandson during the day, so she could only see
Dr. Chang in the evening. What a wonderful and devoted grandma!
In recent months as the Covid-19 surge lessened, Brookdale
allowed Maysing to go inside the center and see Dr. Chang. However, his condition
had become worse at this point, which made Maysing very sad, bringing her to tears.
Whenever friends asked how Dr. Chang was doing, Maysing would cry, so people tried
not to make Maysing sad; instead of asking directly about Dr. Chang, I and many
others simply prayed for him and Maysing.
I will always remember Dr. Chang smiling at TAC. His
magnificent and resounding singing was even more memorable! One of his favorite
songs was “Don't Feed Goldfish at the Bottom of the Cup.” Even after he was
diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2014, my husband, Liu-kang, often played
ping-pong with Dr. Chang. The two of them would try to rally the ball for as
long as they could and would document their highest record on the bulletin
board nearby. Dr. Fang also played ping-pong with Dr. Chang, and together they
broke the record Liu-kang had set with Dr. Chang. Both Liu-kang and Dr. Fang surpassed
more than 1,600 times back and forth while playing ping-pong with Dr. Chang. When
I shared this amazing statistic with some non-TAC ping-pong players, they found
it hard to imagine. However, many of the friends who played ping-pong at TAC
back can bear witness to the ping-pong records set by Dr. Chang, Liu-kang, and
Dr. Fang. I admire them for their patience, love, and companionship for Dr.
Chang.
On the day when Dr. Chang returned to heaven, two very
beautiful dragonfruit flowers bloomed at night in my backyard. I immediately sent
the photo to Maysing and dedicated the flowers to my husband, Liu-kang, and Dr.
Chang in heaven—one flower each! I believe Liu-kang is happy to meet Dr. Chang again
in heaven. I hope Maysing can bravely wipe away all her tears and be comforted
by the knowledge that the Lord is always walking with us, so we are never
alone, and that we will all be reunited one day in heaven with our husbands, as
well as the relatives and friends who have left this earth ahead of us. This is
the glorious hope that the Lord Jesus has given to those who put their faith in
Him!
Rest in peace, Dr. Chang. We miss you so much. See you again
in heaven someday!
