 |
GOD'S LAND Characters |
|
|
“If a man take no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at home.” -- Confucius
HOU “XIU” – comes from a middle-class family outside of Taipei. Her family worked hard and valued good educations for their three children. Xiu’s childhood was a fairly happy one, mixed with family love and hard work during school until her father died when she was in college. She persevered, finished pre-med and started on her PhD. She knew that with this profession she would have a more comfortable life than she knew growing up. During her college years she came to find that some men found her attractive and she explored relationships with a few. She herself was not attracted to the conventional college guy but to the quiet, intellectual types, preferably a little older. She immediately fell for Hou while she was a resident. She wore certain outfits that might attract him to no avail she thought, until one night they got together at a Christmas party near the hospital. Soon her thoughts moved away from medicine and towards a family. The two of them agreed on their long-range desires and decided to wed. Initially the wedding was to be a small affair, not to interfere with her studies. But it’s hard to corral one’s joy. The wedding curtailed their honeymoon plans for the time being, they had wanted to go to Florida. Instead they let Xiu finish her program and by the time she was to receive her degree, she was eight-months pregnant. They had OLLIE, a nickname for him that stuck; he was so chubby at birth he looked like the fatter half of Laurel and Hardy. For both of them this was the happiest day of their lives, with the newborn they felt everyday was a honeymoon. Xiu was very happy being a mother, other friends of hers were having babies at the same time. While Hou was at work, Xiu and Ollie would spend hours in the park with their friends gossiping and playing in the dirt. Then they would return to their beautiful apartment overlooking the city to help the maid fix the dinner. After a while the daily activity only changed when Ollie started school. One day after picking him up, as she went up the elevator, she hummed an American country song that she heard on a commercial that morning. This was the last time Xiu would be this happy. That evening Hou told her that they would move to America
HOU MING-TIEN - comes from a family that was not the happiest. His father was very harsh with him and would act hastily when his son would do the smallest thing to get him mad. Hou's mother was sickly and died when he was a teen-ager. Because of this he pursued medicine, he wanted to somehow relieve people's suffering. He went on to become a very good med-student and high earning doctor. As he studied in college, he became interested in the spiritual. He naturally developed into a person that believed excess and partying was foolish (especially when there was so much suffering that could be dealt with instead) He met his wife after college and his sense of humor and desire to raise a happy family finally came out. As Hou investigated other religions and 'the Meaning' he treated a patient who was affiliated with 'Teacher Chen' and later attended some prayer services. Hou became a financial sponsor of Teacher Chen and was given more personal attention. He felt that the Teacher could understand him differently than anyone else. His secular mind was able to contort enough to believe what the Teacher was saying. Nothing to him seemed to be beyond the realm of possibility. He was pressed into a more solitary service with the Teacher, becoming more ascetic and leaving the material ways behind. Hou stressed that whatever he was to do his wife had to have a say, he could desert his post at the hospital but could not desert her. This intense pressure came at a time when she was about to deliver their first child and Hou would not let anything take his family away. Teacher Chen felt that little sacrifice had to be made, as families were welcome in the community. Hou was told by Teacher Chen about the prophesies in America and to bring his family, his son was now almost eight. He knew that his wife did not share his views and enjoyed her life as a well-paid doctor's wife. She was already concerned that a sizeable portion of his salary was going to Teacher Chen, but this was his money and as long as it doesn't effect their family... She took the news of the move very hard and Ollie too did not want to go. Hou offered to allow her to stay but due to the impending disaster, Ollie would have to come. She was not about to be without Ollie so she bitterly resigned to go. They took Ollie out of his school and sold their luxury apartment and moved to Garland, Texas.
HOU OLLIE has lived for a short eight years. His parents encouraged him to read as young as he could. Even comic books were encouraged. Contrary to his father, Ollie is a sports nut. He occasionally talks his father into leaving work early and taking him to baseball games. He knows the stats of most of the top players and rattles them off at the games while his father reads his newspaper. He also likes basketball, Pizza Hut and milkshakes. He is a gentle young man that loves to learn, at this age he enjoys school and the thrill from raising his hand quickest when the teacher asks a question. Playing with frogs also provides amusement. He knows that America has Disneyland, Michael Jordan, cowboys and its where McDonalds comes from.
TEACHER CHEN - is the reincarnation of Christ and the father of Buddha in previous lives. He is able to communicate directly with God. He does what he can to prepare the world for the ‘Final Tribulation.’ He has two children that are also reincarnations of Jesus and Buddha. To him, Garland sounds like “God’s Land.” He was told that this was the focal point for previous tribulations in ancient history. When Jesus does return, he will look just like Teacher Chen but will be able to speak any language and walk through walls. In his life before he was ‘awakened’ TEACHER CHEN was as a college professor, but this is unimportant.
LIU RICHARD – was a teaching assistant under Teacher Chen. He is the mouthpiece for the Church to the West as he speaks serviceable English. He has a wife and four sons; they have been convinced that their father is privileged to be the key assistant to Teacher Chen. They were the first full family to join the movement. The two youngest boys have never tasted meat and have nightmares about the end of the world
|