A Journey To Hope
Story by: Chuckua Yang
1981-1985
A A New Life in the New World USA—1981-1985
My wife Poyee, our first four month old son, my siblings, a sister, and four brothers, and I arrived at San Francisco International Airport in the evening of March 25, 1981. We took a bus across the Golden Gate Bridge to a single six stories building on a hillside somewhere in the San Francisco areas. We stayed there for two days and two nights waiting for the next flight schedule, I assumed. In the early morning of March 26, 1981, Poyee and I stood at the parking lot struggling with the breeze and freeze cold air and trying to catch our breaths while we looked over to the other hillside, village and hilltops of the Bay area. There we saw some tall buildings, trees, and animals such as, sheep and cows feeding on grass, but saw no people anywhere. That was a very emotional moment for us, we were holding each other’s hands and crying; “Is this Heaven; how did we get here; is this a dream or reality?” Then came a lady from the building. She said something to us but we didn’t understand, then she reached her hands out to us and cheered us with comfort, and took us inside for breakfast.
On the afternoon of March 27, 1981, we were sent back to the airport by a bus to catch our flight to an unknown destiny. We arrived in Denver International Airport that late evening. There we met with a cousin whom we’d never met before, alone with a stranger and an interpreter, (the stranger who we learned later on that she was our sponsor), we talked for a few minutes and collected our belongings at the bagging area. Then our cousin and the interpreter just disappeared and left us behind to the sponsor. We rode with the sponsor in a big SUV to our final destiny. About an hour and a half later, we got to our new home; a very nice and furnished home─ a home which we’d never lived in before compared to our home back in Thailand and Laos which was a structure covered with palm leaves surrounded by bamboo walls. In the morning of March 28, 1981, we woke up and found a big pile of snow around the house and elsewhere. It was the first time we had ever seen snow. Later that morning, our sponsor came. Her name was Ginger Guthrie, her husband Dave, her parents Chester and Ruby, her son Dwight, and her daughters Shirley
and Kathy. They led us to play with snows and showed us how to make our first snowman ever in our front yard. They also taught us how to use the stove, sink, bathroom; how to do bedding, washing, cooking, and more. The next day our Grandpa Chester came, he took us to a shoe store and bought us each a pair of shoe and socks. On Sunday, Ginger picked us up with her SUV and took us to church for the first time. There we met so many people (all strangers) and was introduced to the church. A few months later we learned that the church sponsored our family. They assigned our family each with a different kind of assistant, care, help, etc, to each family member of the congregation. Each Saturday and some weekdays, someone (a family) came and took us to his/her place, or somewhere for a day to have fun following with lunch and dinner. We did have language barriers which was hard for the both of us, but that was not an issue because we can still understand each other by the sight language. We have been in this friendship routinely for two years until March 1983, when my family moved to Boulder, Colorado where our cousins lived. The reason we moved was because we wanted to get close to our uncle who was in his old age with some health issues. During these two years—without the Love, Help, Care, and Support from the church, (the sponsors) my family’s life wasn’t easy, but harder. Since we moved, our connections with the church were lost as of today. Because some of them were at their old age, now I don’t really know how they’ve been doing and where they are. My family and I may never be able to repay them for what they have done for us. If the clock can be turned back once again, I will do so that my family and I will stand in front of them and to say thank you.
In Loveland, Colorado, two months after my family arrived home, I went to work at a part time job for a restaurant as a janitor for six months; then changed to another Job at a Factory Company which made potteries for another six months. I was riding a bicycle to work for those years. April 1983, I purchased my first car, Plymouth Dodge Station Wagon, and got my first license ever to drive. Later, I moved on to a better job at the Hewlett—Packard Company (HP) and worked as an electronic assembler. Finally I worked as a technician for a company called Life Product which made Ventilators for hospitals and personal use. Beside the jobs, I was attending an ESL class once a week to help my English, and went to a Vocational Tech Center during the night, four days a week, to earn my welding skill. In two years, I graduated with a diploma; sadly, due to eyes sight problem I had to quit that kind of job. As for my wife Poyee, she had a big job to do at home. She took care of my younger brothers and our son who have not been to school yet, and prepared foods and others for the siblings.“SHE WAS, SHE IS, AND SHE WILL ALWAYS BE MY BLESSED WIFE.”
Our life in the U.S., with the sponsors, it was a life transformation. It was like we’ve been reborn once again to another parent. They gave us a new life, encouragement, love, help, care, and support. Without them we may not have been here in the U.S., and enjoying the life we have now. Most importantly, if we were not blessed into the U.S., we may not have the chance to know Christ and to become a Christian and to serve the Lord. Therefore, a big thank you to my sponsors, those still there today, and to those Saint who have gone before us. May the Grace and Mercy of our Lord bless on all of them and the souls of those Saint. My family was fully converted and baptized into Christianity in September 1983, while we lived in Boulder, Colorado.
While in Colorado, Poyee and I worked for about five years until September 1985, when our family finally moved to Oroville, California. The reason we moved to Oroville was because Poyee was sensitive to the cold winters so we had to find a warmer country to live in.
