Anything for a Bowl of Soup

I cannot remember the transition from my biological parents to Katy Chan. It was 1957 and I was almost four years old. I was purchased for 200 Taiwanese dollars, enough to feed my parents and two sisters for a few months. My name was changed to White Swan and Katy became my mother.

My earliest recollections are of living in a house with several women who had taken up prostitution as a means of supporting themselves. While the women worked, the children were taken to the attic and kept out of the way. Katy was very mean to me, and after a few months of living this way, she decided to put me in an orphanage. She visited me sometimes, and I was sometimes allowed to visit her in her apartment on Song San Bei Road.

God often weaves the tapestry of our lives in mysterious ways. Katy and Leo began spending time together.

Posted in Taiwan with the military, Leo rented a house for all of us to live in, and the quality of my life was drastically elevated. Even though I still suffered under Katy’s sometimes savage temper, I was being fed. I was beaten less when Leo Dunn was there providing for us.

Then the day came when our benefactor had to return to America, and Katy and I were back to square one. Leo sent money occasionally, and when he did, we ate well. When he didn’t, I would get beaten for eating too much rice or fish. One time in frustration Katy threw me out into the street naked, and I became a street urchin, finding bottles, cans, and whatever else I could scavenge to sell for money. I remember we starved quite a lot in those days, even as I tried very hard to help Katy out.

Once Katy took me to stay with the family of her old nanny, who lived in the same village where my biological parents lived. I vaguely remember meeting my parents on this trip, though I had to promise the nanny that I would never tell Katy that I had seen my real family. If she found out, we would all bear her anger.

In 1959 during the monsoon season, when I was nearly six years old, we lost everything in a great flood. Katy became very ill and was hospitalized for three months. The hospital was free, but I had to provide food for both Katy and myself. I roamed the streets with an older boy who was also homeless, going through garbage, finding cans and bottles to sell and sometimes edible things to fill our stomachs. At night I slept under Katy’s hospital bed and in the daytime searched for food. As a result, I was unable to do homework, so I no longer attended school.

Adopted by Love

By the time I was eight, a lady who lived a few doors down from where we lived took me into her home and fed me. She got permission from Katy to take me to church. I had no idea how it was possible for the people in the church to feed me, clothe me, and give me needed protection. I learned that Christians have kind hearts. And I learned that God knew me, loved me, and had a place for me in His kingdom. The members of the Shin Shang Baptist Church saved me. They adopted me as their child in Christ and showed me I was not worthless but priceless in God’s eyes. They gave me a safe place to go when my mother was at her cruelest. I began to understand that the sacrifices they made for me were the backbone of the Christian religion. Christians love and desire to help others because of Christ’s love. I had never encountered that level of pure love, and I was overwhelmed with happiness.

Through these kind people, I realized that I was, indeed, a swan and not an ugly duckling. I recognized God’s gentleness and concern for me—both body and soul. I was so scared when I stood in front of my mom and, as bravely as I could, told her that I wanted to go only to the church, not to the Buddhist temple. She did not beat me, and I know it was God’s hand that protected me that day. I was baptized the summer of 1961.

Adopted Legally

In 1962 Sgt. Dunn returned to Taiwan and married my mother. He also decided he wanted to adopt me so Katy and I could go with him to his next assignment in Japan. During the process of adopting me, my name was changed from White Swan to Mimi Dunn. I watched as down a dark, long hallway walked a little, tired old lady come to sign and witness the adoption papers for my new parents. Katy instructed me not to say a word. Though I had only seen her once since I was sold, I knew who she was. In that moment I realized I may never see my real mother or sisters again. Only the fact that I knew God was with me was I able to not break down and cry.

Due to having to wait for housing authorization from the military, my mom and I continued to live in poverty for an additional two and a half years until Leo came back to Taiwan and moved us to Japan. We had only two suitcases among the three of us, riding on a military plane. I started back to school—all in English, of which I knew very little—but because I was eager to please, I did quite well and loved being away from my still-hostile home environment. I was now twelve years old and both of my new parents chose to abuse me when they were drunk or unhappy. I did what I could to keep from being beaten or abused in other ways. I searched out a church to attend—the only place I could feel truly safe.

When my dad told me we were moving to America, I was excited but also very scared. I had tried hard to forget the negative memories of Taipei, and by now I actually felt like I belonged to a family, as dysfunctional as it was. When I look back on my life, I realize that if my mother had not bought me and not married Leo Dunn, my life would have been very different. I wonder if I would have had a life at all. I found out in later years that my real father had died soon after I saw him during my secret visit, and my mother died six months after my oldest sister had died of a heart attack. I was told my mother died of a broken heart. My other sister still lives in a hut with a dirt floor in the same small village where we were born. So, like the phoenix, I rose from the ashes.

God is Faithful

Arriving in the U.S., we drove to Idaho where most of my father’s family lived. I had no idea what to expect but, to my joy, they were all very nice to me. God put my Aunt Billie and Uncle Pete in my life. They recognized that my mother was abusive to me, so they went to great lengths to love and care for me. I was able to attend a local church in my neighborhood, and I buried myself in service, singing with a voice that overflowed with gratitude for God’s faithfulness to this little swan.

After graduating from high school with honors, I found a job right away. At age 20, I married a Chinese student studying to be a pharmacist, and we were married for 24 years. Mimi Lee is currently serving in English ministry of CGEF Church in Edmonds, Washington.God blessed us with three children: Michele Tammy (Tien Mei) meaning “heavenly” in Chinese, Patrick Shane (Shin Yin) meaning “God’s blessing,” and Matthew Brian (Bai Yin) meaning “hundredth blessings.” All have been baptized and are following the Lord. I have kept my promise to God: to always love and mentor my children, always pray for them, and always take them to church. They are gifts from God.

Today I am remarried. Both my husband and I actively serve in our church. We hold Bible studies in our home, teaching God’s truth and mentoring others through our life journey that witnesses to God’s grace. My life could have ended very differently. As a child I searched for love and acceptance, and all the while God was searching for me. He placed people in my life to protect me from harm and reveal His love to me. My desire now is to love God by serving His people. “Faith, hope, love…the greatest of these is love.” (I Cor. 13:13)

(Mimi Lee is currently serving in English ministry of CGEF Church in Edmonds, Washington.)