Tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.” Mark 9:41
Brother Chiang Huan-Lin was born on March 17, 1924 in WuXi, JiangSu. After losing his mother at the young age of five, he was raised by his aunt who treated him like her own. He often reminisced about the unusual kindergarten he attended. Due to the outbreak of the war and losing his father to illness, he had to drop out of school and went to live at the restaurants in Suzhou and Shanghai where his relatives worked. Before long, Brother Chiang, a bright and brilliant lad, acquired an exquisite skill in cooking. At seventeen, he grieved over the loss of his newlywed wife. Later, he married his wife’s sister and had a son named Hui Yang. At the dawn of the Taiwan liberation, he was offered an opportunity to work at the Royal Rest House situated at Grass Mountain (Yang Ming Mountain) in Taiwan. When touring the beautiful Taiwan island, he gladly accepted the offer. Following the outbreak of the civil war, Brother Chiang was stranded in Taiwan together with the National Army. The Lord had mercy on him that he did not suffer much hardship from the civil war. Several years later, his wife passed away in Mainland China. Once again, in the midst of the turmoil era, his aunt assumed the responsibility to raise his son, Huey Yuen. From then on, Brother Chiang had always felt greatly indebted to his aunt for the love and care she had given them.
Brother Chiang was hardworking, frugal, optimistic and always strived to better himself. Unlike his colleagues, he refrained from unnecessary spending on leisure and entertainment. Other than the money he spent on a haircut, he invested all of his monthly income into gold. After the fire at the Rest House on the Grass Mountain, he took a job in the city and went into a partnership to establish a restaurant named Taipei Dim Sum World. His proficient cooking skills were soon well recognized, and he met Madam Yang E Chun (Mrs. Chiang) during that time. Interestingly, Brother Chiang happened to be the only one who could understand Madam Yang’s handwriting. They soon went from good business partners to good partners for life. The Lord had united Brother Chiang, who was an orphan and twice widowed, with Madam Yang, a girl deserted by her adopted parents due to superstition. For over fifty years, the Lord blessed their marriage with peace and joy. They were also blessed with two sons (Bin Yang, Hung Yuan) and a daughter (Hui Yin).
Brother Chiang’s exquisite cooking and Mrs. Chiang’s relentless efforts in managing made their business flourish enormously. Later, they ventured into a partnership with friends to establish The Red Bean Cuisine and Da Li Cuisine. Da Li Cuisine was an extremely popular, grand restaurant, which was an upscale reception choice among the royalty, government officials and social elites. Despite his newfound success in business, Brother Chiang continued to live a simple and diligent lifestyle. He was always ready to provide a generous and helping hand to his friends and relatives in need. Even though he was often being taken advantage of, at times even deceived by them, he would still resolve to help them at his own expense. He was a very generous man and had light regard of earthly wealth. Due to Brother Chiang’s busy work schedule, he was unable to spend much time with his children; however, he treasured every moment he spent with them. No matter how tired he was, he would prepare great tasty meals for them to enjoy. His greatest joy was to sit at the dining table and watched them indulge in the good food. He had a high regard for a good education. As such, he put all three of his children through twelve years of private school, which was very expensive at the time. They cherished his sacrificial provision and determined to be good even when the parents were not always home for them.
In the early eighties, with his partners of many years going overseas and his children going overseas to further their studies, Brother Chiang decided to migrate to the US via an investing avenue. Unfortunately, under his US partner’s poor management, his business incurred huge tax liabilities and debts, and eventually went under. He suffered great financial losses. The misfortune had cost him a large part of his life savings. To make matters worse, his newly acquired resident alien (green card) status was in jeopardy due to a piece of serious information provided incorrectly. During that time, due to Brother Chiang’s immigration status, he was stranded in the US (leaving the US would mean forsaking his resident alien status). However, the Lord is merciful and good, after two years of waiting; the INS decided to unconditionally issued him a new green card. During his time in the US, his business in Taiwan faced unprecedented hardship. Due to the bad economy, the majority of his establishments had gone under. Worse still, Mrs. Chiang was diagnosed with breast cancer. He worried about her very much, and was torn between whether to return to Taiwan to be with her, jeopardizing his resident alien status and ultimately admitting to a total failure of his US investment. He struggled deeply, and tossed and turned with nightmares and sleeplessness. The experience had transformed him from being optimistic to pessimistic. However, the end of a man is the beginning of God’s salvation.
At the time, Brother Chiang was living with his younger son, Hung Yuan, and attended church gatherings with him. He had frequent exposures to the Gospel, which would have been unthinkable during his busy life in Taiwan. The brotherly love, care and prayer of the brethren soon became his inner strength and support. Also, through the caring of newborn Ruth, his first granddaughter, he was able to make up for the lost family time that he missed due to his busy work schedule. While Mrs. Chiang was recuperating well in Taiwan, she had vowed to go to church if their green card status was resolved. Finally, on Easter Day in1996, after years of intercession and Bible study, they were both baptized under God’s name. Brother Chiang was laid back and humorous in nature. At times, one might wonder if he was serious about his belief. On the other hand, Mrs. Chiang’s life was greatly changed after her conversion. She was faithful and joyful. Brother Chiang saw the change and felt grateful to the Lord. Brother Chiang loved to serve the church with his exquisite cooking expertise and liked to attend all meetings, big or small. He was able to bless the brethren with great tasty food, especially after a feast of God’s word. What a great blessing! The elderly brothers and sisters from the Evergreen fellowship enjoyed the frequent food gatherings. Brother Chiang was often referred to as the “Imperial Chef”, for he had once served President Chiang Kai Shek at the Grass Mountain Royal Rest House. As for Brother Chiang, being a humble and honest man, such referral truly made him uneasy.
Brother Chiang’s long term diabetic condition finally began to take a toll on his kidneys and heart. He needed to receive dialysis treatments. The Lord’s merciful provision, the proximity of the dialysis center (within one mile from home) and both sons living close by, eased the family’s burden of caring. During the three years of dialysis treatment, Brother Chiang was blessed with quality medical service and loving care from Sister Chiang and Bin Yuen, and his condition began to stabilize. This summer, during his visit to Taiwan, he suffered a serious bleeding condition from a dialysis session. After receiving a blood transfusion at the hospital, feeling weak and feeble, he went home to recuperate. During that time, he thanked Mrs. Chiang numerous times for what she had done for him. He also had a telephone conversation with his grandchildren in the US. After having a fine meal prepared by son Bin Yuen, Brother Chiang went to be with the Lord in his sleep, at his old home and on his old bed, silently and peacefully. The Lord was merciful to him and couldn’t have provided a better way for him to be with the Lord, one that he had always prayed and asked for. Although Brother Chiang’s service for the Lord may not stand out as extraordinary, he had served Him wholeheartedly. Even while he was receiving dialysis treatment in the US, despite his feeble condition, he would insist on preparing meals for those attending the young couple fellowship, many who he had not even met before. As it is written in Mark 9:41, “Tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.” What Brother Chiang served was superbly prepared food. He had served the true and glorious King, Jesus, with his great and exquisite skill, which unquestionably made him a true and well deserved “Imperial Chef”.
God is always merciful and faithful in His provision. During Brother Chiang’s last days, most of his children and grandchildren just happened to be in Taiwan. Through the memorial service, many relatives and close friends were able to offer their last respect to him. It was also a good witnessing opportunity to share God’s love and grace. We sincerely hope that everyone would receive Jesus as their Savior. And one day, with joy and in His glory, we shall meet again in heaven.
