Gods Are Expensive

14/03/2021

Prayer Updates

Gods Are Expensive

[Part One of Kwan Kwan’s Story]...   

Kwan Kwan was born in Dong Guan, in Guangdong province of Mainland China in 1945, a period of turmoil and unrest. 

Her mother was the first wife of her father and a strong-willed woman. Just ten days after Kwan Kwan’s entry into the world, her mother left for Hong Kong. She had accepted work as an Ayi, a nursemaid, for a wealthy family. Kwan Kwan was left behind in her father’s house to be raised by her father’s parents.

Three years later, they also migrated to Hong Kong, travelling on foot. But the little girl was not to be returned to her mother’s arms.

Her father had other relationships and children, but Kwan Kwan was never accepted by her father like his other children. And even though her Dad was considered a man of means and influence …some even calling him the ‘mafia’ of the vegetable market, Kwan Kwan was not to benefit from his prosperity. His last wife, her ‘step mother’ was close to her own age and antagonistic toward her.  At age 13, she was asked to move out and stay with an aunt.

So, what was supposed to be a secure and loving childhood for Kwan Kwan was to elude her. As she grew up, she heard that her mother was living in luxury, caring for other people’s children, while her life looked very different.

Yet, there was a tenacious spirit in Kwan Kwan. She had no education and could neither read nor write. She decided hard work was the way ahead. She had watched her aunty using a knitting machine she had taught herself how to use one. She earned enough money to enrol in night school, attending after work.

She also began to collect idols – buddhas, deities and guardians. Perhaps the gods would have mercy and change her luck.

Visits to the temple always cost money; three joss (incense) sticks per statue, candles for prayers, paper money to burn, amulets and donations for long-burning incense for prosperity and health. Gods were expensive!

Later she married and had three children. Her husband worked as a tailor but still, life remained a struggle. She earned extra money selling jeans and putting together electronic devices. A small break came when she was accepted for a job with the UK Police in Hong Kong. Her night school had paid off and she could now complete the forms and do the basic office work the job required. She worked there while the children were at school. It meant she could pay into their pension plan. It would furnish her with a small amount in her old age…even though it would not nearly be enough to live on.

When they grew up, one by one, her children found the Lord. Kwan Kwan was furious! She raged, “How can you follow this foreign God? Why do you tithe to Him? You should give that money to me!”

In 1996, tragedy struck. As she stepped out of a minibus she slipped, falling under the wheels. Her knee was crushed. In the hospital, they announced the grim news that if the blood did not return to her lower leg by 4 pm it would need to be amputated. Her children prayed and called on other Christians to pray too. God answered their prayers at 3.55 pm. With minutes to spare, blood flow was restored to the damaged limb.





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