2008/06 Special Edition
Their Hope Starts with You!
Hope is like a grain of seed. Once you plant it in a suitable soil, it will sprout, grow and bloom the brilliance of life, no matter how hard the environment is. This is willpower and strength.
I went to Hong Kong and visited a friend on the second day after the Sichuan earthquake. I have not seen this friend for a long time. This friend was a very strong and healthy person, but he is in the last stage of cancer since 2 years ago. To him, this is a strong quake and his world is a calamity. His friends and family are sad for him. But, he had to face this adversity: coming to a dead-end with no light! The unbearable physical pain almost made him give up his life.
However, there are hands assisting him. They accepted, embraced and supported him. These are the hands of his wife, daughter, mother and some newly acquainted friends. With their caring touches, he not only regained the desire to live, but also joyously welcomes each new day. Looking at the faraway peak by the window, he has unexplainable feelings of, “Lest I might wake up my family, I would quietly leave the bedroom when I am awaken by the pain. I would sleep while sitting down in the living room. I would tell myself that I have earned one more day when I see the sunrise.”
This is hope, not regret! This is strength, not helplessness.
His wife listened to our conversation with a smile. We talked about how cancer brought him pain, how worried his mother was, how he received help and encouragement from the friends at his church… “It is time to take your medicine” his wife reminded him tenderly. When I heard and saw this, I felt how sincerity and love gave him hope.
I have another friend who is a photographer. His way of doing relief work was taking water into the disaster area at the World Trade Center on the day of 9/11. He also took pictures of World Trade Center while it was falling. This experience brought him fear of sirens from police, ambulance or fire engine.
This friend was not a direct victim and not hurt physically, but a rescuer. Witnessing the occurrence of the disaster, he felt the pain of the victims and he became depressed. Ultimately, his family was ruined and it was difficult for him to work. Fortunately, he had a few good friends who embraced and helped him in sincerity and love in his most difficult time. They supported him as he started a new business. One of them always sang and encouraged him. My friend has not only recovered from depression, he also has a sound business now.
After his recovery, he met a young man with depression caused by cancer. The young man wanted to commit suicide. Because my friend had been through the pain, he could understand what this young man was going through. To help this young man to have the desire to live, he brought a new sound system and sang with him. This young man regained hope and lived with strength until he died.
Other friends of mine also help other people with sincerity and love. One of them was an orphan himself and others have burden of helping the orphans. They all voluntarily joined the CCHC’s Children Village ministry. They not only raised funds for the ministry, but also visit the villages frequently with all expenses coming out of their own pockets. They are very excited when they talk about the children in the villages as if these were their own children.
The children in the villages were helpless and in extreme difficulty. Because of these friends, they have hope and are being taken care of meticulously.
These drastic stories are nothing compared to the Sichuan earthquake. However, they have the same inspiration to me: victims gain hope when others are willing to help by accepting them, embracing them and supporting them. It is true to the cancer patient, the photographer, the children; it will be true to the Sichuan victims too.
An eighty year old lady lives in an old building with no elevator. Each time she climbs the stairs, she needs someone to pull her a little bit. One day, I took her home and pulled her up the stairs. I found that I did not need to use any energy to pull her after she climbed a few steps. What I did was to stand by her and hold her lightly. It is by her own strength that enables her to climb up the stairs.
I believe this is also true when we help a victim: it is all their own strength that enables them to recover from the trauma and what we do is to support them lightly. Even though our strength is little, it enables them to have hope, thus stimulates their potential.
What we can do to help in such a big disaster as the Sichuan earthquake is very little. However, this little action is like a spark, it brings hope and it provides light for the people to go forward and to build their future.
My sister experienced an earthquake in Central America. She lost her young daughter. I never asked how she recovered from this pain, but I think there must have been someone who was by her side and gave her hope. Did the couple pull together in this time of pain? Was it their caring friends and family who cared, comforted and encouraged them? Whomever! It must be someone who expressed sincerity and love to them.
Dear friends, please give your help to the despair victims with sincerity and love so they have hope. Their hope starts with you!
● Rev. Billy Yip (Associate Executive Director)
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