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ARCHIVED WEBSITE
MATERIAL
APRIL 2007
The
Story of Bing Xiu Jian (article
and photo)
Virginia Branch photos
IOKDS SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT IN TAIWAN
THE STORY OF BING XIU JIAN
I
thought you’d be interested in this update! I just received some
great news about one of the first scholarship recipients that IOKDS awarded
to Kids Alive. I want to include a little history on this young lady’s
life written by one of our missionaries in Taiwan, Gene Anderson. He and
his wife, Shelly, oversee the Anderson Graduate Ministry (helping the
adult alumni (most are handicapped) who lived in our Taiwan Children’s
Home, make their place in life. You can go online at www.KidsAlive.org
and learn more about that ongoing ministry in Taiwan...
Valerie J
Blohm, Executive
Administrative Assistant, Kids Alive® International
Her formal name is Bing Xiu Jian, however, she is more commonly known as “Cookie”! She was at the Kids Alive Home in Taiwan when I first arrived there over 17 years ago. She was my teacher long before I was hers. I can remember her quizzing me over things in my Mandarin Chinese book while I was studying outside and shooting some baskets, you know, play a little basketball, do a little studying, play some more basketball, do a little more studying... She got curious about my book when I wasn't looking at it and then decided to see how well I knew what was in there.But she did become my student by fourth grade or so. I mostly spent time teaching her Chinese typing skills. She's one of the fastest typists I have ever had, reaching a speed of 100 Chinese characters per minute during a ten minute typing session at the home.
After finishing high school, she took about a year to attend a cram school. I can't recall if that was to help her be ready for her college entrance exam or preparing her for a civil service exam. At any rate, on her first attempt to test into college, her scores were too low. That was when she wanted to boost her math scores to help her overall total score. So she asked whether I would tutor her in math. Her family used to drive her out on Saturdays and she and I would work on math for about six hours each Saturday at the kitchen table. Cookie was like part of the family on Saturdays and ate lunch with us. Then later in the afternoon, her family would drive over and pick her up. It's about a 45 minute trip from her village home to our house in town, so it was a real sacrifice for the family.
She did score well enough to get into college and attended a university in Yi-lan. Being handicapped (from polio), she couldn't even get into her dorm room right away. The maintenance staff had to make some quick modifications, and then she was ready for school. She still had to be carried into some of her classrooms because they were not wheelchair accessible. Her major was foreign languages.
By the way, when she was accepted to college, that's when we began looking into the scholarship for her with The International Order of the King’s Daughters and Sons. (She applied and received a $1000 scholarship for two years from IOKDS.)
We remember once talking to her on the phone her first year and noting how sad and homesick she seemed, so we got the whole family together and drove about seven miles north to see her over a weekend. We took her out for supper, took her shopping, and just basically tried to let her do whatever she wanted. It helped her make it through that rough time. This is also part of our outreach to graduates.
Now, she has graduated and is not currently employed, but is looking to take the civil service exam so that she can get a government job. With her language skills and computer skills, I think that she would be well suited for such employment.
LENDING A HAND
Members of Good Will Circle in Warrenton, VA wrapping boxes for Operation Christmas Child; the same group making quilts for children at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk, VA. They have made and donated many quilts; Reverend Gloria White Flowers of Sheltering Arms Circle (Richmond, VA) working at a fund raiser for the Circle. She is selling porcelain dolls.
Chautauqua
Scholarship
Program
Information
on the Program and how to apply.
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