My mom, Mrs. Mei-Lan May Mah was a soft-spoken person. She was born in 1920 in the town of Toisan in Guangdong, China. She came from a rigorous teaching family. She described herself as a shy person. For that reason, when some of her brothers and sisters studied in the city or went overseas to pursue higher education, she was not one of them. She only attended the school her father built. With the help of her sixth oldest brother, she learned the art of caligraphy.

At school, her teachers and fellow classmates did not call her Mei-Lan, but used that same brother’s name instead because they said the both of them looked so much alike.

Her father loved horses, so whenever his children went looking for spouses, his priority would be to pick someone with the last name of Mah, symbolizing a horse’s strength and power.

One day, there came an elderly gentleman walking into Mei-Lan’s village, asking people whether they knew of a good girl who he could introduce to his son. The people told him Uncle Ming-Wan has a daughter at home. She is not too tall, not too short. She is not too chubby, not too skinny. She is just perfect. This elderly gentleman’s name happened to be Mah. There was nothing else about this man’s family that needed to be known. Both of them were 18. It was a match.

After the wedding, reality set in. Father-in-law’s younger wife was an authoritarian, whatever she said, everyone had to listen, including the older wife, who had no say whatsoever. During family gatherings with her own parents and other siblings, Mom was always the last one to show up because she had to work constantly to satisfy the younger wife’s demands. Through that stressful environment, Mom found time to help other wives write letters to their husbands overseas as well as her own husband who had left China for Canada.

Many years of hardship went by, we moved to Canton, then Macau, then Hong Kong. We settled at North Point, living on a second floor. One of Mom’s nieces lived on the main floor. The two of them, along with a distant aunt, would always go to Chun Yeung market together. Whenever one of them was absent, shop owners would ask, “What happened to the other one?”

This aunt had a daughter who had been introduced to a young fellow in Canada. They communicated through writing. The daughter could not write well, so the aunt would ask Mom and the niece to help her with the replies, which eventually lead to a marriage. Mom would never refuse someone asking for help.

Mom had a generous nature. So generous that some of her relatives thought that she was well-off, which was not the case. They would write to her that their roof was leaking, their windows and doors needed repairs, or their children needed tuition. Even though she only had enough for herself, Mom tried hard to save and send funds to help all of them.

Before we immigrated to Canada under the Family Reunification Policy, Mom’s niece already had 3 teenage children and another newborn baby boy. With the niece’s husband returning to Canada, Mom volunteered to wash their diapers and their clothes by hand for them. That lasted for 3 years until she left Hong Kong.

Arriving in Canada, to help pay the mortgage, Mom worked hard on an assembly line making car components until she retired.

After retirement, Mom started going to Church with me, where she joined the Fellowship Group and became a believer. She enjoyed participating in different Church activities. She was baptized on Easter 2000 and said in her witness speech that she wished she began following Jesus much earlier.

After becoming a Christian, Mom read the Bible daily. She would read from the Old Testament to the New Testament once every year, a process she enjoyed very much.

My mom was filled with joy and laughter whenever her 3 grandchildren visited her. She felt even more blessed when her great-grandchildren came along.

In 2013, Mom suffered a stroke that restricted her movement and caused her to stay home for much of the rest of her life. During those days, Sisters in Christ Mrs. Chan and Mrs. Ng, and Reverend So visited her numerous times, reading Bible verses with her. My Mom was very grateful for their kindness and love.

On April 15th, 2025, God took my Mom back into His loving arms. She will no longer suffer physically, but instead will be able to move freely in her spirit. For that we are thankful. We also have the bright hope that we will meet again someday in Heaven, this giving us strength and peace in our hearts.






母親馬陳美蘭女士，品性溫和恬靜，家庭管教嚴𧫴，形容自己怕羞，所以兄姊們或去省城讀書，或去遠洋留學，她都不是其中一員；只在父親開辨的學校就讀，在家則在六兄指導下，練習如何把字寫得工整。在校時老師同學不是稱她為美蘭，而是用六兄的名字稱呼她，他們說，兄妹長得太柤似了。

她父親對馬情有獨鍾，所以盡量找性馬的人對親。某一天，有位長者走進美蘭的村，問人有沒有好姑娘介紹給他兒子，人們告訴他，明允伯有個女兒在家，生得不高不矮，不肥不瘦，是個乖女。那人剛巧性馬；陳家認為用不著查問家庭狀況，兩人都是十八歲，就這樣促成婚事了。

入了馬家，才知道家翁的小妾專橫無比，她要你做什麼，都要聽她的，原配家姑毫無地位。在那樣的環境中吃盡苦頭，每逢姊妹娘家聚會，她都是最遲歸隊的一個，因為要儘可能滿足小妾的要求，才能離開。在忙碌期間，幸能抽出時間，替一些妯娌寫家書給跟她先生一樣，在海外謀生的丈夫。多年後移居廣州，後去澳門和香港。在港時住在座落北角的二樓，有個姪女住樓下，兩人和另一位附近的遠房姑母，三人常同去春央街市買餸；間中一人沒空，檔主會問，另一個為什麼𣎴來？

這姑母有個適齡女兒，有人介紹身處加國的男生彼此交往，互通書信，女兒有書寫問題，每次要回信，姑母就交給兩個不知如何拒絕的嫂姪代筆，結果促成姻緣。

美蘭生性慷慨，有親戚以為她環境好，其實不然 ，寫信告訴她，家裏屋頂漏水，門窗要更換，或孩子要交學費等；她雖然只是自給自足，會盡力節省，滙款幫助他們。

在家庭團聚政策下，移民加國前，住在樓下，已有三個青少年兒女，與家姑同住的姪女，夫婿回港探親，後生了個男嬰，母親見他們人多工多，便義務替他們用手洗尿布和衣服，長達三年之久，直至離港來加。抵加後，在汽車零件廠勤力工作，幫忙供屋，直至退休。

退休後去教會崇拜聽道，相信了耶穌，參與團契活動，非常寫意。二千年復活節洗禮，講見證時說，後晦沒有早些相信耶穌。信主後勤讀聖經，每年從新約到舊約都讀一遍，樂此不疲。

2013年中風，行動不便才待在家中。其間主內姊妺陳太、伍太和蘇牧師多次探望，同讀經文和談天說近況，他們的愛心和關懷，我們心存感恩。

平日三個孫兒有空時探訪，在她面前整古做怪，常引得她開懐大笑，十分開心；後更有可愛曾孫兒，更帶來欣慰和歡笑。

現蒙主恩召，在那美好樂園與神同在，不再受疾病所困，我們深感安慰，並有活潑盼望，日後會在天家重聚，帶給我們力量和心中平安！