But Ms. Chin said that, at first, some teachers balked.

But Ms. Chin would not go so far as to call herself happy.

That evening, Ms. Chin asked the group to pray for her parents.

But, Ms. Chin said, her father considers all that too stressful.

But Ms. Chin is not one to wallow in her troubles.

"Nobody knew what to do with anything," Ms. Chin said.

You just have to set it" properly, Ms. Chin explained.

"I have a lot of respect for him," Ms. Chin said.

But Ms. Chin grew teary when recalling how she first met her father at the age of 9.

He gave Ms. Chin money over the years but never acknowledged her as a daughter, she said.