Mixed Feelings

As I finished my packing tonight, and said good-bye to everyone, I was thinking back on these nine months and how quickly it has gone. I can't really believe it's already here. And ... I have been almost feeling sad to leave, even though I'll be back in a few weeks. I am of course THRILLED to be seeing friends, being in America again, spending time with my family, and just generally being 'normal' again, doing familiar things. But at the same time, it's bringing more urgency to my need to really consider His will for me, whether that be staying on past April or not (my visa expires in April). Part of me so wants to go back to the familiarity of home, but the other part of me really loves Hong Kong. There's many difficulties and challenges, but then something little will happen that will remind me how much I like it here. So who knows ... I suppose being home for these next few weeks will be very telling, ie I'll see just how much I miss Hong Kong, and the people here.

I've learned to live in a different way, adapted to such a different culture, and just had so many new experiences and met such an array of people from all over the world. On Friday, the kids were hugging me and a few even looked at me with their big eyes, saying, "You are coming back, right??" Soooo sweet. One of the kids, if I can call a 16-year-old a kid, is even coming along with me to the airport tomorrow to see me off, which I'm happy about. She even sought me out to have dinner tonight, and is holding me to a promise to get together to watch a DVD when I'm back. I love being loved by people (an obvious statement, but still worth saying). And I have to say, I have felt very loved lately, which has been encouraging and confirming my call to this place.

It's hard to describe the overwhelming confirmation that you are where you are meant to be. Every time I speak Chinglish at the grocery store, smush into a full double decker bus, or walk along busy streets weaving through throngs of people, I am full of the sense that these are the people among whom I have been called to live. What a feeling.

So, I can't wait to see many of you in a day or two, but I think it's also a blessing that I have grow so accustomed to this place that I will miss it.

Finger Lickin' Good

Each work day, we have an incredibly servant-hearted, small team that cooks lunch for us. They are made up of many nationalities, and quite often, for cost reasons, we receive rice and a meat and vegetable for our meal. The meat is often a curry chicken or pork, or perhaps sausages, and sometimes we even get treated to potatoes.

Our cook who has been with us a while, departed yesterday to go live with her daughter in America (she is originally from India). So, a short-term team took over our cooking, and this morning as I walked by the kitchen, my stomach rumbled as I smelled the unmistakable scent of FRIED CHICKEN. Now, this may not seem like much of a big deal to those of you in Western countries, but I haven't once even heard mention of homemade fried chicken while living in Asia, and had pretty much forgotten about it (not that I really ate it that much at home either, but still). So, for lunch we had fried chicken, boiled potatoes, and vegetables. It was AMAZING! After months and months of rice and curry, we were devouring the fried chicken and potatoes. I'm so thankful for the little things.

World Without Salvation

Each Wednesday night, our team gathers together to share food, sing songs, and study the Word together. Tonight, we talked about what the world would be like if He hadn't come into it to save us.

We each thought about how different the world would be without His salvation. The OT prophecies would not have been fulfilled, meaning our belief and faith in the Father would now waver dramatically, or even be given up on. There would not be grace, or hope. I would not have the assurance of knowing the Father if the Son was not there to lead the way.

It's a scary thing to take Him out of the world. I remember life before I knew him, and how chaotic and sad I was so much of the time (though I hid it pretty well behind a smile). Now, however, the smile is real, the pain is gone, and I have hope.

Christmas is a time to be reflecting on Him, and in doing so I am filled with thanks for his perfect and ultimate Gift of Himself.

The Cultural Divide

Our team here is made up of people from over 30 countries. That being said, you can imagine the variety of cultural misunderstandings, funny moments, and the huge learning curve we each have as we live so closely together.

Tonight I went for a walk with Lisa, an older German lady on our team. She is very regimented in her schedule, always punctual, and very tidy in her workspace and appearance. I would normally think this was just how she is, but another guy on our team is Swiss German and I also had a Swiss-German girl stay with me last weekend as she passed through HK, and they are both different from each other, but very similar to how Lisa is. Tonight, as I walked with Lisa, we somehow got on the subject of people in power, and how they can take it too far and hurt so many people. She used China as an example, meanwhile in my head I'm thinking, "You're German!" She did eventually bring up Hitler, and it was actually very interesting to hear her take on it, having grown up with that being such a large part of the history she learned. I love history, so I enjoyed hearing her talk about growing up in Germany in the wake of genocide.

Cultural differences can be funny as well. Maz and I spent many a night debating words we use, and what words are "right" to use. Examples: they say Maths, instead of Math (ie "He is working on his Maths for class." weird, right?); I say barette, she says hair clip; I say kitchen counter, she says bench; I say ground beef, she says mince; I could go on, and on, and ON. Just a few weeks ago, she asked me, "Have you heard the phrase 'more cowbell'?" (those of you my age reading this are now laughing hysterically). I laughed, then calmed myself and told her I had. Josh showed her the SNL clip so she'd know what it was, but she didn't find it that funny. But most Americans in our generation know immediately what that means, and think it's funny. Go figure.

Another lady here, Indian, was telling me how when she first moved here and had two Westerners as her roommates. She said for the longest time she thought they didn't like her, because they would just come and go, they didn't eat together, and just generally kept their own schedules. In her culture, you prepare the meal together and eat it together, so it took her a while to adjust to this. Also, while us Westerners sometimes opt for very casual ware, the Africans always look nice, especially the women. Even in their casual clothes, they are very put together. Asians can sometimes be a little offensive to Westerners, because to them, especially in HK, it's not rude to be straightforward (ie saying to a guy "You're fat"). We have a Filipino guy who recently joined us, and he said he feels lonely because he's used to having six people sleeping in the same room with him.

It can sometimes be very challenging in this environment. To some cultures, it's normal to sit close together, while some of us find that uncomfortable. Some people think it's unfriendly if you don't eat your meals together, while others don't necessarily feel obligated to spend any time with roommates they don't know that well, despite being roommates.

It's taken a lot of adjusting, and still is difficult sometimes. At times, I just want to break out some old slang phrases or call it ground beef, but I adapt since I'm in the minoity here. I am looking forward to being home next week and just not having to think about it anymore, though I anticipate some reverse culture shock and I will definitely miss my multi-cultured friends while I am home.

Yum Yum Dim Sum!

I love dim sum. It's not just about the food, which is delicious, but it's the whole experience of a family style Chinese meal.

You need, at minumum, 6 people to make it worthwhile, and today a group of 9 of us walked the 20 minutes up the road to a great place we all like because of it's yummy food and low price. The Chinese people working there welcomed us, and Sheila, our Chinese speaker (she's from the UK but her parents are Chinese so she speaks the language), got us a table. (They always put us in a back corner so the big table of non-Chinese people doesn't distract everyone else.) We sat around the big round table, and went through the tradition of washing our dishes in the hot water provided. Then our jasmine tea arrived, and we all poured ourselves a cup. After deciding what dishes to order, Sheila called over the server and ordered in Chinese. They had a short conversation, and Sheila laughed and told us the server was asking if we thought we would be able to finish all the food we were ordering. We all said, "Yes!"

Dish after dish arrived, and we spun the lazy susan around, pulling the various foods off the plates with chopsticks, dipping in the many sauces, sliding food into our bowls, pouring more tea, and just generally making a big mess and making loud conversation as we very much enjoyed the meal. At one point, Laura was eating an egg custard bun, which is a sweet egg custard wrapped in plain flour dough (it's yummy!), and as she bit into it the very hot custard inside squirted out, all over her arm and the arm of the guy sitting next to her. We laughed for a good long while over that.

Then Sheila struck up a conversation with our server, in Chinese, and apparently the girl asked Sheila how long she had been a believer, and said she could tell we were all believers just by looking at us, because she could see it in our faces. Amazing. Sheila carried on a conversation with her, finding out that this girl is a new believer herself and they discussed that for a bit. It was really encouraging for this server girl to meet Sheila and talk to her about her new life in Him. How cool!!

It's amazing how He works in so many places and in so many things, whether it is fellowship over dim sum with your brothers and sisters, or striking up a conversation in a restaurant and learning about a person you otherwise may not have taken the time to notice. Plus, good food certainly makes me glad He cares about the little things.

Hong Kong Road Trip

On Saturday, I had the unique privilege of going to a crafts fair to which Crossroads had been invited to sell our fair trade items as part of a fundraiser. The fair was in a place called Stanley, which is at the bottom of Hong Kong Island, and quite a ways from my home in the New Territories. Josh, who grew up here and knows his way around, gave me driving directions and early Saturday Sally, who usually handles the crafts, and I loaded the van and set off.

I have only ever driven to the airport and around Tuen Mun (and bear in mind I'm on the left side of the road, sitting on the right side of the car, which is WEIRD), which is small enough, and both are pretty straightforward routes. Driving to Stanley was a new experience for me, since it required driving through Kowloon, then through Central and Wan Chai, Repulse Bay, and finally to Stanley. I stayed on the highway for the most part, and fortunately the bus I take to the city follows mostly the same route so I knew how to get to Central (though it's different to drive it than just to be a passenger). Once in Central, I kept on the highway and successfully maneuvered between all the people crossing the many lanes of traffic each way as they all shooted off to various tunnels and exits. We made our way through the Aberdeen Tunnel and along about 20 minutes of very winding, two lane roads (ie one way each way). I could never see around the hairpin turns, but double decker buses, mini buses, and many cars kept barrelling around them at me, giving me about three heart attacks on the way.

We finally made it into Stanley, and I had to make a blind right turn, nearly getting smushed by a big bus. I made it to the school field we were to set up in, got unloaded, and set off to find parking. I got lost, at one point having to make a scary u-turn (it was a tightly curving road, so I just had to pray no one came around the corner as I made my u-turn, and also that I would make it and not have to go into reverse, because again if someone came shooting around the corner, I'd be smashed). Fortunately I made the turn, and got back to the school where I found a parking place.

Back at the fair, finally, I settled into our stall, and watched Santa appear in a big, shiny helicopter (which kicked up a lot of dust). Children ran to him and trailed him as he climbed into a black convertible and did a lap around the grounds 9as you do). However, this paled in comparison to later, when Santa joined the Scottish dance troupe for traditional highland dancing, in full-on Santa gear (I hope you are getting a mental image of this - it was priceless). We also had a magic show, a demonstration by the Hong Kong police dogs, and Chinese acrobats. My favorite part was when a group performed the Lion Dance, which is really interesting to watch because they just have to be so coordinated not to fall. (The Lion Dance is popular during Chinese New Year ... two people with a lion costume and they jump around on stilts ... much more impressive than my explanation, I promise!)

By the end of the day, exhausted, we loaded up again and headed back. I of course got lost, but eventually we worked our way back the right way, though I ended up off the highway and had to drive through Wan Chai and Central in rush hour. This time I had about two heart attacks, but as I threw caution to the wind, and became like other HK drivers (ie no blinker, no checking blind spots, just going where I please and assuming no one will hit me and they will be watching and letting me through) we made it out the tunnel, and back on the highway home.

All in all, it was a great day. And now I feel even more comfortable driving here, negotiating the roads and traffic and trusting the buses won't run me over.

Thinking Back

Sometimes I get so homesick I can hardly stand it. I'll watch a movie, or hear a song, or talk online with a friend from Texas, and an intense desire to walk out my door and into something familiar comes over me, to the point sometimes where I resent being here. Most of the time, this isn't the case, fortunately, and I am constantly re-affirmed that I should be here right now, but that doesn't make it any easier when all I want are comfortable, familiar friends, my mom's meatloaf, and a good, overdue cuddle with my dog.

Today, I was listening to Christmas music (yay December!) and writing out my Christmas cards. Some songs bring such strong memories, and Christmastime is already such a favorite time of year for me. It was hard to look out the window, and not be met by views of home, but it also allowed me some time to think about one of the songs I was listening to.

Have you ever heard the Relient K song, "I Celebrate the Day"? Well, it talks about celebrating the day JC was born to die so we could one day ask Him to save us. It asks if He realized the first time He opened His eyes He would be my savior, and that His first breath would change this world forever. It goes on to say how incredible it is to look back and think this baby would one day save me, that He was born so I might live. I've heard the song a million times, but somehow it hit me new today. I admit I'm not as good as I could be at spending significant time with Him daily. Thinking about the words in the song, and the awesome gift that baby is, really made me stop and consider how much He loves me, I love Him, and how desperately I need to renew our friendship. So if you are given to 'thinking' of me, that's something you can certainly lift up.

Homesickness is hard, but a good friend makes it easier, and I am becoming more aware of my need to make that Good Friend a bigger part of my day, and let Him help me and comfort me.