Living Spring of Life
By Junshan Li, Spring's Dad, October, 2009
Born To A Christian Family
Spring was born in March 1992 in Eugene, Oregon to
a Christian family that had immigrated to the United States from mainland China
(Refer to:
Is A Man Really Worth Something?). As the firstborn, her American name was given to her by a returned
missionary, sister Martha Peterson. Her Chinese name is Siquan Li (
),
which means "God's grace to us is like a Spring of Living Water." Indeed, from the first day
of Spring's birth, the God of grace has showered her with multiple blessings.
When Spring Is Still Small...
Spring was a very sweet little girl growing up.
She would smile and say "Hi" to everyone she met. She especially enjoyed outside walks, gardens,
playgrounds, flowers, and animals. She used to play with kitties all day long with her best
childhood friend Maggie (Liu). As a family we used to visit the country fair in Lane County's
huge fairground right behind our backyard. Spring would gently touch horses' nose and feel sheep
and goats that were on display.
At around the age of two, Spring sometimes gave some surprises. One day she seemed upset about something.
She came to her mom and said: "You don't really love me. It looks like I was not born by you!"
On another occasion, she was asking her parents: "Where does this world come from?" Even at such a
young age, her thoughts could be very deep.
Spring's First Trip To China
In the summer of 1996,
when Spring was four years old, she made her first big trip with her mom to China, spending about five
months there. Following this lengthy trip, her parents noted several changes in their daughter:
-
She had a tan because of the hot summer sun;
-
She was more mature;
-
Her spoken Chinese was more fluent;
-
She learned to use chopsticks.
Spring's Excellent Performance During Christian Conferences
Even when Spring was very small,
she would go to all the Christian conferences that her parents chose to attend. These include West Coast
Christian Conference, annual Christian Family Conference in Virginia, annual Northeast Christian Conference
in Harvey Cedars, NJ, and Memorial Weekend Retreat in NJ or PA. Spring greatly enjoyed the children's ministry
at these conferences. But many times during morning prayer or with other fellowship groups, Spring would sit
quietly, enjoying her own activities. As Spring grew, she made her own friends at these conferences and she
began spending more time with them. Eventually, her parents could seldom have a meal with her.
She had grown up.
Learn How To Pray For Real
Spring started to learn how to pray when she was still very small. She has a pure and simple heart.
Her first prayers were simple ones that her mom taught her. She would usually pray like this in Chinese:
"Lord, thank You for giving us this new day. Please help us to know You more and to do things according to
Your will. In Jesus name, Amen!"
Several of Spring's prayers that were miraculously answered by the Lord really gave her
first-hand experience connecting with the Almighty. One time her hand had a rash and her
parents encouraged her to pray for the Lord's healing. She prayed just with her simple and
single-hearted faith. After a few days, the rash was gone. On another occasion she lost a small
twig that she liked to hold and play with. Because she really wanted to find that twig she prayed,
and when she looked it was right there.
When Spring was about 7 or 8 years old, we were living in New Paltz, NY. During one winter,
Spring was assigned to pick up our mail at the outdoor group mailbox. After the passage of a
few days we discovered that the small mailbox key was gone and surmised she must have lost it
somewhere on her way back to the apartment. That was the only key we had and it was very
important for us to find that small mailbox key. It was snowing and the key could have been
buried under the snow for days. We could have missed our mail and the bills would be overdue.
In such a situation, Spring and her dad prayed together three times, asking the Lord to guide
them to find the key. After the third prayer, Spring was very glad to find the mailbox key
just under a tree, still on top of the snow! As a result, Spring's faith in the Lord was greatly
assured. She still remembers this story vividly after many years.
From A Youth Chef To The Best Chef
Spring started her cooking
adventures at a very young age, probably when she was about 8 or 9 years old. The first thing she
learned was how to prepare Chinese noodles. When she was about 11 or 12 years old, Spring was already
able to cook a full table of dishes for the whole family. During more recent years, Spring's
cooking skills have become more sophisticated. Her dishes are very tasty, creative, and attractive.
She has really mastered the art of cooking. Not only is she able to cook Chinese cuisine but she is also
good at cooking Pizza, noodles, and all kinds of cookies and cakes. She and her friend Ruth Chao once
imagined opening a cookie store as their future profession. Thus you can see how much fun Spring and her
friend have in cooking!
Spring Has A New Skill: Knitting
When Spring's grandma immigrated
to the U.S. in April 2004 and lived with us she started to teach Spring how to knit. It seems that
in no time at all Spring caught onto the art of knitting. The first thing she knitted was a long scarf.
After that she knitted many scarves with different colors, and her knitting speed improved. She has made
gifts out of her knitting work to many of her friends. I believe that if time permitted, Spring could make
a variety of knitted products. Happy knitting, Spring!
Spring's Many Interests -
Arts, Music, Singing, Reading, And Writing
When Spring was still small,
she revealed her artistic talent. She was good at colors, shapes, and contours. She drew an impressive
"Three Sisters" mountain range picture when she was just about 6 years of age. We have hung this art work
of hers on a wall for several years. She is also a very good photographer. She knows how to take photos
at artistic angles and is sensitive to light effects. Spring also has a pair of very skillful hands
in working with crafts for children.
Spring likes music and
loves singing. She has memorized the lyrics of many Christian songs and can sing both English and Chinese
songs for several hours without stop. Spring learned to play the clarinet during her junior high school
years. Now she is learning how to play the guitar by herself.
Spring is an avid reader.
When she was very young her American grandpa showed his love by sending many good Christian story books
and well known children's adventure book series. Spring quickly devoured them. Even before her junior years,
she had read the Nancy Drew series (over 30 detective story books) several times. Because of the many years
of reading, Spring became an advanced reader. Her reading skill has been proven in her school social
science courses and the SAT reading tests.
Based on the wide scope
of her reading, Spring developed her own writing style. She writes with clarity, structure, and with
many insights of whatever topic she takes on. She used to write her diaries, travel reflections, and
special experiences. She wrote a very insightful story even when she was about six years old. In the
story, she described how she observed a caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly. To this day,
we have still kept many of Spring's writing notebooks. Most recently, she received an outstanding award
for her writing in her AP Language and Composition class.
Spring's Academic Achievements
As a student, attitude is everything.
Spring always has the best attitude towards her school work. She is punctual, hard working, and eager to learn.
Spring never missed a single school day from kindergarten through high school unless she was quite sick or
for some special Christian conference during the summer when there was a time conflict. She has been a top
notch student throughout these years in all her subjects except one course in Geometry where she received a
C+ because of displacement due to the family moving to a different state. Most recently, Spring took four AP
courses (Biology 5, Chemistry 4, English Language and Composition 5, and European History 5) on and before her
11th grade. She finished them all with 3 A's and an A- (AP Chemistry). As a result, the College Board awarded
her with "AP Scholar With Honor."
Spring As "A Pioneer"
Spring arrived at the most famous
high school in New York State, Jericho High School in Long Island, for her 10th grade in the fall of 2007.
To her surprise she found out that there was no Christian Club there, although Jericho High School had many
other kinds of student clubs. The reason might be due to a large Jewish community in the school staff and student
body. As a committed Christian, Spring was burdened and determined to start a brand new "Christian Club" in Jericho
High School. It was her desire that in her high school years, there should be not only study and school work, but
also fellowship and encouragement from attending Christians.
At first she was met with much opposition. The school administration used all kinds of excuses for not
allowing a "Christian Club" in this Jewish stronghold. But Spring never gave up. She would call her friends
and attend youth Christian meetings in neighboring high schools.
She also did much research on the policies and principles related to clubs on school properties so that she
could take a stand and defend her rights for a Christian Club. She also mobilized her Christian friends in Jericho
High to fight for their cause. She and her friend Sophia pleaded to the school principal and visited the principal's
office numerous times in order to obtain permission.
While doing research for their cause they also found advisors in Christian teachers at Jericho High to support
and pray for them. Eventually, after almost one semester requesting and being denied, the school principal
surrendered, granted their request and gave them a green light. As a result, Jericho High School started the
first ever "Christian Club" in the spring 2008 semester. Yes! Spring, you are truly a Pioneer, indeed!
Spring of Blessing
To her parents, Spring is always a sweet and obedient girl. To her Christian brothers and sisters,
Spring is always fun, friendly, and considerate and so nice to be around. To her school friends and
peers, Spring has always been helpful, bright, and a diligent example. To her teachers and guidance
counselors, Spring is a model outstanding student and emerging scientist, an excellent reader, listener,
and a promising young writer. It is hard to imagine that Spring grows so fast. She is like a blossoming
beautiful flower. She is God's special gift to us. We cannot bear that she will soon be like a bird flying
away somewhere to God's designated place for further growth. She is a fountain of blessings. Everyone who
has met Spring will miss her.
God bless you and be with you, Spring!
