Chapter 8: "Enoch Face to Face with The Law"

(This post is dated 1-22-20 to create chapter sequence. Back to Chapter 7.)

Until recently, Enoch's only experience with the law was in China. That adversarial relationship was formed through experiences like the following:

[Actual dates and details redacted]

"When I was seven, my dad and another pastor established the _________ Church. At that time, the church was only 30-40 people, but the church rented a space in Guiyang. I remember meeting in that space, but some things I did not know back then because my parents tried to protect me from these things. That was the first space that the government began to harass our church even though they did not stop the congregation from meeting weekly. Later, the government pressured the landlord to no longer rent the space to us

"Sometimes our church had large gatherings in public places with permission from local authorities. Sometimes these events were weddings. One time, I remember we had permission to gather at an open park down by the river. Hundreds of people were there. Many people were being baptized in the river that day. (That reason for gathering was not mentioned on the permit.) Soon many police forces were there. It was very frightening. My father talked to the police while the other pastor finished all the baptisms. The police sent everyone home. Large public gatherings, even when proper steps are followed and a permit is granted, the police do not like.   

   

"After that, the church decided to buy a place to meet not in public places. I remember the church members praying about this for a long time, and then, with the help of some businessmen in the congregation, we bought a large space in a tall office building in Guiyang. In August we moved into this new space and the government's harassment of the church was greater than before. Dad and the other pastor were often called to meet with the government, but they have always adhered to the principle of “house church” (meaning independent church like in America). By December, [the] Church had about 600 people, meeting in the office space and two other spaces each week. The government tried to force our church to join the "three-self," a church system they control, they dictate meeting hours, they forbid attendance of young people under 18 or college students, and recently they add facial recognition monitors to three-self buildings so they know who goes there. Dad and other pastors resolutely opposed the church being dictated by government over God’s word in the Bible.

"Eventually, the government came to the church space and arrested people, confiscated all computers, books, Bibles, and teaching materials in the church building. There were more than 500 police on the scene to intimidate and control all those present, and on that day they took my father away from the church. When my mother went to pick him up at the jail (after ten day maximum without a trial), she saw him taken away with a black hood over his head to await his sentence in prison.

"Even though my father was in prison, my brother and mother and I were not idle. Although the government people did not come to the school to harass me, they did stay outside our house all day. Whenever my mother or us go outside together, these police officers followed us, and sometimes even block us from re-entering. One time, my family was kept outside the door by the police for 24 hours.

"Another time. I remember the date because it was Children's Day in China, June 1st. My mother tried to take my brother and I to McDonald's. A mother from church came to our house and extended special treat. As we step out of the building to go to the bus, the plain-clothed police who are always posted there tried to stop us from leaving, but my mother still insisted on going out. They follow us to the bus stop, shouting loudly to both mothers that they cannot take us anywhere. The bus was coming soon. My mother talked firmly with the police who kept trying to block our way. I don’t know why I felt brave enough to do this but I couldn’t help but shout out loud at them: "Dining! Is it illegal?" After that, they listened and pretended to be nice and asked us to go by their car to McDonald’s, but my mother refused their kindness.

"So we took the bus to the McDonald's store where we stayed for more than an hour. But even there, the policemen followed to guard us. When we got up to return home, they came over and said softly: "Sister ______, now you are done eating you will take our car and go back. Right?" Mom saw them with this pleasant attitude. She took pity on them because they are assigned to do this thing, and it must be hard, so this time, we just went to the police car. The other lady took the bus.

"At our apartment building, people saw us getting out of the police car like criminals. For no reason we were treated like that. Fifteen is almost not a child but also not so old. I forget many June 1 “Children’s Days,” but this one I will never forget. I never feel like a child again after that day.

"Later that same year. I came home from school on the bus around 6 o'clock in the afternoon, went up to our 4th floor apartment, and when I opened the door, I was shocked. There were strange men in the living room, all dressed in plain clothes but looking and acting like police. They were tall and tall, and they still had cameras in their hands and looking all around taking pictures. I glanced at my grandmother, my mother, and my brother who said nothing so I went back to my room, sat on the ground, and panicked in my heart (though I did not know what was happening, I was still a little scared). I prayed silently for a few minutes in my heart, slowly calming down. But I didn't go out and watch, I stayed in my room all the time, picking up a book to pass this disturbing time. 

"After the police left, my mother came to talk to me about this, saying that today the police came to copy the house. They came with more than 20 people, rummaging around, checking out the computer, U disk, and so on. By the time I arrived only these few tall men were still there.  My mother asked me if I was alright. I said I was afraid at first. She shared that she was also frightened. But then I told her that I calmed down after prayer. My mother praised me and said that I am very good. She also said: "It is the grace of the Lord to experience these things when you are young. It is good for your life." I seem to accept this without knowing it.

"Since my father was arrested, our family has been harassed by the government and police. In the neighborhood we live in (there are nearly 500 households in many apartment buildings), those neighbors often use strange eyes as we pass or say things they only guess about behind us. Mom also told us how to face these situations. Mom said: "Dad is not arrested for crimes, but for faith, for the Lord's church. For this he goes to jail. This is to be proud. We should not be ashamed. We will continue in faith to do as we believe. Let others say what they will..." So when Dad was not [my mother says “was not” like the story of Enoch in the Bible] but I mean to say when he was gone in prison the past two and a half years, my mother, brother and I were under surveillance from police and gossip from neighbors who saw all those police going through our house with no explanation, and we are not free to tell the truth about where my father was."

We have never met Enoch's mother. We communicate through translators and friends. We serve "in loco parentis" here in his home away from home. But it is clear that both of Enoch's parents are  strong in their faith and spirit, and both helped prepared him for the current chapters of his life.

Until recently, however, the above experiences and many more were Enoch's only context for "life on the wrong side of the law." So I hope you find the following as refreshing and funny as we did when Enoch confessed to us his brush with law enforcement here in the states.

Calvary Christian Schools is a fully accredited private school. In the state of Michigan we are required to jump through all the same "hoops" required of public schools: fire drills, tornado drills, lock down drills, "active shooter" drills, etc. We also have many parents who are in public safety and emergency first  response teams. A few weeks ago, three local fire and police departments scheduled an "active shooter" workshop to take place in our building DURING SCHOOL HOURS. The idea was to keep the whole training session very low profile. No notes home; no media, etc. Fire engines, ambulances, and squad cars were all parked behind the building. Most of the reenactments were happening in the cafeteria and the main hallway. Several victims in "bloody" makeup were in triage on the floor. Everything was going fine while the students were in class. Then the bell rang.

This interruption and call for "crowd control" was also part of the drill. A big burly bald officer was assigned to stand in the hall, strike the universally "STOP" position (wide foot-base, tall posture, and right hand up, palm facing oncoming pedestrians). Did you know that this is a universal non-verbal communication? All around the world a police officer in this stance means "STOP.! Do no proceed. Do not take another step. Danger ahead," etc. Everybody knows that. Right? Well... right about this time, Enoch was coming down the stairway from Art class. His next class is in the main high school wing, which was on the far side of all the "dead bodies."

But Enoch did not see the "actors" on the floor; he saw only the big, burly bald officer standing about fifty feet ahead of him. You have to know Enoch to fully imagine his response, but he rightly assumed that "law enforcement" in the US, as opposed to his family's experience in China, is a very positive thing. Police are the good guys, and here was one of the good guys standing right in our hallway with his hand held high. True he was not smiling like the guy in the photograph, but that detail went unnoticed.

When Enoch saw him, his walk changed to a friendly spirited pace directly toward the officer, and with a big innocent smile on his face he smacked the upright hand thinking he was trying to "high five" him.

"Easy there, fella!" the officer said firmly, "STOP. This means do not go past me. You need to find another way around this hallway."

Enoch's smile was dashed. His shoulders drooped in humility. He turned around, as all of the other kids in the hallway had already done, and slunk into the restroom, took out his phone, and called "mom" for help.

"How do I get to my next class if the hall is blocked?" he whispered.

"Where are you?" she asked from the school office, forgetting momentarily that there was a police drill in the hallway.

"I'm in the bathroom by the gym. I think the policeman is not happy with me. He told me to stop."

She explained an alternate route, and the rest of his day went as usual.

Enoch did not share the part about the high five until later that night. By then his embarrassment brought laughter to the whole family and more importantly to him as he re-enacted the story, snickering as he spoke.  Even now, weeks later, if I see a police officer (as we did in our recent trip to Chicago), I'll say "Hey, Enoch, I dare you to go high five that policeman." He just laughs. This was not only his first encounter with the law in America, it is his first experience with what American's call "an inside joke." What he doesn't yet know is that "inside jokes" can orbit in family circles for a lifetime.

[On to Chapter 9]