Chapter 14: "Wait for Me to Come Home..."

[This post is dated 1-16-20 only for chapter sequence. Back to Chapter 13.]

 The life-changing circumstances that brought Enoch to our home mean that he cannot return to his own—that is... he cannot return to the way things were even if he were to return to China.

Enoch seems to accept this reality with quiet resolve. As you recall from Chapter Four, his former school would not allow him back. Beyond that concern, is the reality of  the new "Social Credit Score" system in China in which the concept of "Big Brother" meets hall monitor.

We can only imagine where Enoch's family falls in that program.

Enoch himself did not fully imagine the emotional effects of not having a place to call home and faces to call family.  Over time, our home became that place to him, and our extended family became those faces. This did not happen over night.

We are thankful that Enoch is unlike many Asian students in that he is willing to ask us to sit at our little breakfast table and say, "I have something I need to tell you." He then communicates very politely about things that may be bothering him. These are always good talks and often end with  heartfelt gratitude and amazement that "of all the places I could have ended up... I am here with you."

It is amazing, and I must admit that the full significance of decisions made that brought these things to pass were not fully imagined.  When Enoch came to us, each step was driven by a sense of urgency tempered with a sense of improbability of ever happening. It was the stuff of stories —complete with international intrigue mixed with the cliché plot of a baby in a basket left on the doorstep. We did not hesitate to bring that basket in from the weather. Enoch was not a baby--not even a child--but he was a very forlorn young man in need of a loving home and a welcoming school. God provided both.

That was when I began these chapters. But in one sense these chapters are very incomplete because they do not include other characters in Enoch's "American family" who have all been equally affected by that basket on our doorstep. So here I will briefly tell you about our three children, their spouses, and our grandchildren.

My wife and I are what some call “empty nesters,” but our family is more like “Walton’s Mountain” than an empty nest.  All three of our daughters live within minutes and rarely a day goes by without one or all of them dropping in at our house or us going to theirs.

This picture was taken just months before Enoch arrived. We had hired a “sleigh ride” to come to our house the day after Thanksgiving to take us all around Spring Lake. I’m in the gray cap toward the back and my wife is on the left withs her arm behind our two oldest grandchildren.

When this photo was taken, I was merely in email correspondence with a young man in China whose attempts to get a visa had been thwarted twice since July. His father's circumstances made it difficult for them to receive packages via U.S. mail.

Our school’s third effort to get the necessary paperwork to Enoch was sent to an anonymous “helper” who somehow secretly delivered the documents to his parents. Even after successful delivery of I-20 documents, securing an actual visa and passport seemed like a long-shot.

 Nonetheless, every adult in that Thanksgiving 2018 picture knew it was a remote possibility that a new face from far away might possibly be in future pictures. What would that be like? How would he feel about our family? None of us knew, but we knew if God was in it, it would work out.

Two months later, Enoch was with us.

Considering that Enoch is from a family of four with only his little brother and no pets, he fits in amazingly well. One moment I recall was when he came up from behind my grandson who was sitting beside me on the couch . He leaned over Charlie's head and affectionately held his little face in his hands. Charlie looked up and said, "Hi, Enoch." Enoch replied back, and that was that. It struck me as one of the first spontaneous interactions I had seen between them. And I'm sure it was a result of the closeness of the weekend. It did not occur to me at the time that Charlie is just one year younger than Enoch's brother at home.

Two days later, we were back at our home in Spring Lake. It was much quieter, much less crowded, and yet for a moment four of us were in Enoch's room listening to songs on Youtube. I say "Enoch's room" and yet it was our daughter Natalie's room until she got married a few years ago. Natalie and her husband Colton come over often and are very much a part of Enoch's life.

Enoch was looking for a song to sing in an upcoming talent show at school. Natalie suggested Ed Sheeran's song called "Photograph." Enoch listened to it twice. Singing along the second time. Please listen to the song and imagine a confident but thoughtful voice singing along knowing full well the impossibility of the last line of each chorus:

"That's the one. I will try." He smiled. "It is very moving."

"You sang it well. Were you thinking of some girl back home?" Mom joked.

Enoch smiled sheepishly then looked down and said softly, "I was thinking of my brother." 

A few months later, Enoch sang the song himself. We were so proud of him. How he got through it I'll never know. As he sang. I thought of how hard it was for him to decide after many weeks to unpack his suitcase and hang his things in his closet. I thought of all the nights he had cried himself to sleep, and all the challenges that remained ahead for him. But hearing him stand before an audience of about a hundred sympathetic listeners, I knew he had what it takes for the long journey ahead.

[On to Chapter 15]