ONE MORE WEEK!

Today I went to lunch with my boys and they asked how long I have left in Hong Kong.......and with a sad face replied "One week on Sunday."

I LOVE teaching at LCK. I'm teaching Form 3/4 (grades 9/10) and it is so much fun. Edison is the trouble maker of the group, and as much as I shout at him during class...I know there's no beef. I love playing Big Brother 2 with him after class and between breaks. Today I let my kids have a chill day and let them go relatively wild in the last hour. We listened to Coldplay and played hangman and were so loud.

Back at the primary school, we made Megabed in the girls room, and the boys now stay on the 2nd floor. Only Laura and I teach in the mornings, so we get the afternoons to ourselves at home. Today we took a nap in Megabed and she reminded me to work on my blog. Later we will go to the store to buy toothpaste and dinner for teeth and babysitting tonight, respectively.

China was fun......way different from Hong Kong. The pollution was disgusting and the atmosphere was just so different. It's less noisy (where we were at least) and the traffic was redic. We were trapped in a church (where we also worked) on the 4th floor, so anytime getting out of there was so refreshing. I loved our morning strolls to McDonalds for iced coffee and the random food stands/carts where we would grab Chinese breakfast. There were 3 hilarious kids there: Bruce Lee, Michael Jackson, and Iskander (but I renamed him Jackie Chan). And I made a good friendship with a kid who I named Mateo. He and I did not get along at first, but then something inside me changed and like magic we became BFF's. It was pretty BA.

My writing is getting sloppy......so it is a sign to stop. Goodbye HK, if I never write again!

Father Abraham Had Many Sons

The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.

"I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you."

I am so blessed to serve in Hong Kong, and I thank God for being part of his great nation. Three weeks in, I am finding joy in my work and the small things that impact others. I had no idea how just a smile could change a whole situation and lend confidence to those who are shy. My favorite part of this trip so far has been building relationships with the community; I really love my teammates and students who have allowed me to be myself with them and have taken the time to get to know me. I am so amazed to see the Lord work through me and break me out of my mold to follow his plans. Though I often am frustrated that Hong Kong organization and planning almost always falls through, it is nice to know that I am not in control.

New Timezone

Laura and I left Melbourne at 7am Thursday morning, flew from Orlando to Newark, then onward to Hong Kong. The Hong Kong flight was a greuling 16 hours, and I only managed to sleep 2 hours since leaving my house. Our flight from Newark was delayed an hour, so we flew into HK right after the sun had gone down and got to see fireworks from the plane. The landing was as impressive as I was foretold, scooping around mountains onto the runway.

We arrived around 8pm (HK-time....12 hr difference) and came to our "home". We live in a school; I share a (class)room with three other girls (Laura, Catherine, Kristen), and our team leader family lives in the room next door. The boys are on another floor. I slept on a tiny bed last night, but now I've permanently traded beds with Tayt next door that fits more my size. I love everyone here already and feel at "home" with them.

There's so much to say, so I'm just going to skip to the fun stuff. We met some important people in the HK synod and went to lunch with them today. We were taken to a ridic fancy restaurant and ate so much amazing Chinese food (yet to use a fork). Eating-etiquette was REALLY different from Western etiquette, like seniority at the table and offering food to others before you grab your own. The whole experience was fabulous and I wish it had never ended. Later in the day we went to the supermarket and grabbed some groceries, then walked around Butterfly Beach. We then met up with Roper for dinner and experienced a Hot Pot. We sat around a table with a couple of hot plates with pots on top. Both pots had water, but one had tomatoes and the other had curry spices. Then the waiter kept bringing raw foods over, and we learned that we had to put the food into the water to boil and cook. It was the strangest thing!!! In the back of the restaurant were large fishtanks (like in Red Lobster) with fish, etc....then I saw a guy take a huge net and pull out a HUGE LIVE FISH! Plenty of "see"food. I took a picture of the raw shrimp on our table which prompted all the non-whites in the restaurant to stare and laugh at us. We cooked the shrimp, and then were told to break off the heads, then the legs, then the shell....and it was delish. Other fun foods: frog legs, oysters, and some things we couldn't identify. I guess that's a good thing!

Synchronously

This is an exciting time of year crammed with Wimbledon, the World Cup, and Hong Kong. I was just watching the Roddick-Llodra match and saw my inspiration for the day: an Englishman in the audience, all decked out in England colors. Listening to his earbuds, he cheered alone in the packed stands of Wimbledon to the scoring-goal of England in the World Cup. I admire his multitasking efforts and hope to accomplish the same today while finishing my HK preparations.

Tennis Abroad

It's French Open season, and I'm already anticipating my favorite Grand Slam: Wimbledon. I can't wait to watch it......IN HONG KONG!
Pearl TV
Star Sports

Future Home

Lutheran Tsang Shing Siu Leun School