The friend’s abode
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It would be hard to overstate Brother Chang’s asset value to our abbey. Entering the front door of the Mission Home, you found yourself in a broad, two-story ground-floor entry hall. From there, you could turn right immediately and climb the stairs to the main floor. Or you could proceed a few steps forward and turn either left, into my publications / supply office, or right, into Chang’s “office,” of which you can form an idea from the background of this picture. From these spare quarters, he supplied a very large fraction of our missionary suits. Kinda the Paris/Hong Kong version of Davis County’s Mac Christensen.
One day, he was measuring me for a couple of wonderfully durable outfits when he delivered a line that has become a staple of our family discourse. Squinting at the measuring tape, he intoned: “Oooh, big butts!” Hmph.
President Hinckley always addressed Chang and referred to him as “Elder Chang.” And indeed, he was an elder in the Church and a branch member in good standing. Frequently invited to share the staff’s midday (and principal) meal, he would take a turn leading us in prayer, but with a difference: his English was pretty good, and his French likewise, but he always prayed in pidgin. Startling, if you haven’t become used to it.
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