In the eastern part of the city, the First Chinese Baptist Church of Phoenix has served as a central hub for Asian immigrants in the Valley for decades.
These days, both the young and older pack the English service, a living showcase of the generations that have sat in these pews, and sometimes, found solace here.
“When I was a little kid — like 1st and 2nd Grade — I always, I don’t want to say hated, but despised the fact that I was Chinese. I wished I looked like all the other kids in school, but I didn’t. And of course, you got teased a great deal,” said Roxanne Song Ong, the church’s nursery director…