More Stories

To continue... I have since had a few showers, though our living conditions are a bit unsatinery, it was wonderful to have a shower at all and they're cold... great because it's really hot here! :) But this is a really cool story I must tell you. So, everyone from home in the college and career group went on a trip to Utah (the Zion trip). I had to miss it to come here, and I saw all the pictures and wished so much I could have gone. Well first, the apartment that we're staying in here in the village is called "Zion." And then this morning, we all hiked up "the mountain", which is one of the big mountains that once you reach the top, you can see Hong Kong on one side and mainland China on the other. It was my first time ever climbing a mountain, and since they are rolling mountains, I actually climbed a few to get to the top. It was really intense at times and I was nearly dying at some points... but it was one of the most amazing things I've ever done!! The way down was quite dangerous, for it started raining and a lot of the trail was rocks and clay... very slippery. But that made it even more of a challenge! So through this, and other small ways, it was like God brought parts of that trip to me here... and He knew how special it would be for me.

And I must correct my last blog... there are no "cities" in Hong Kong, only different districts. So we have been to many different districts, eaten many types of food, have spent time with people with many different ethnicities... just yesterday we went to an international church... it was AWESOME! All the people in the worship band and all over were from Australia, Africa, Asia, Caribbean, and the US. Then we spent some time with Philipino women... they come here to work as maids and are not thought of very highly... they're so special and many of them really love the Lord. Saturday we spent time with a Nepalese ministry... we invited families from all over the village to come and we planned a children's program. We did a skit and played games and taught them songs (Shamarah and I did "deep and wide"). It was so much fun! Before that, we helped tutor the kids in English and math and did some door painting for them.

Though some things are pretty tough here, overall I truly like it! If only I could show pictures... there will be plenty... eventually. :)

The Adventure Begins!

I made it here to Hong Kong safely... a long distance to travel, stopping in Korea on the way! This blog will be completely unorganized due to time constraints so here we go. We got up at 3:30am Monday morning to clean and head out for the airport and did not arrive until late Tuesday night (transferring to Hong Kong time, about 12 hours ahead). The flights were awesome, with the main one providing a tv for each person with movies and games... SWEET! :) We flew Korean air, so I got to try some Korean food... which although it was airplane food, was so good! Funny thing, they gave each American a big sheet of directions on how to mix all the ingredients together. The driver picked us up from the airport and... they drive on the left side of the road with the driver on the right side, although most of the road signs are on the left. He took us to the base, which is in the oldest village in Hong Kong (850 years). It is like no place I have ever been... seriously I've taken over 200 pictures already. When Wednesday came, I quote from my journal that night "it's Wednesday... have not showered since Sunday... it's super hot and humid here... sweating... all the time... so tired... haven't slept straight through a few hours in days... jet-lag extreme soaked in sweat... swollen ankles and feet from travel... everyones trying to figure out their swollen feet with multiple theories and hypotheses... so funny". I'm laughing so much right now reading all the things I wrote! And I wrote tons more than that... but I'm limited. The only A/C we get is at night from 10pm-6am... and it's hotter than FL here. I like it though because it causes me to drink more water. Let's see... shoes must be taken off anytime your indoors... I like this. The base here has worship every single morning and intercession every afternoon... INCREDIBLE! The tap water is universally safe in Hong Kong.
We're surrounded by beautiful rolling green mountains and I could go on and on about the village... I love it!!! When I can post pictures you will see what I mean. There are so many sounds... mainly of all different birds and crickets... during quiet times in the mornings, we go up on the roof of the base with multiple couches and chairs and when I close my eyes, it sounds like what I would imagine a jungle would sound like. There are many smells as well, much of which include incense. Ancestor worship is very big here, with altars everywhere for burning incense and worshiping. Just right outside people's doors everywhere are incense and there are many temples for worship as well. The atmosphere is very heavy. But the people are so lovely... and so sweet! Each day has been filled with something new, working with different ministries in different cities (with youth, kids, and prayer walks). We've been meeting new friends out in the village and spending time with them. The food is delicious and the cities are big and bustling. We have taken the train (like a subway) multiple places... my first time on one... so fun! And funny cultural difference... out the tons of cars of people, our small group were the only ones talking and laughing with each other.
I'm out of time...

And June Begins

A couple more weeks have gone by... no... have FLOWN by! Lectures have been great as speakers continue to be more and more amazing! And last weekend we made a trip down to Miami with two other schools (School of Evangelism and Basic Leadership School). We spent both Friday and Saturday nights volunteering to help the police department during the big Memorial Day events. It was our job to help with crowd control where all the clubs are located... basically keeping people out of the streets so as not to get hit by cars and asking them to abide by the laws of the city so as not to get arrested. We started this at 7:30pm Friday and stayed out until about 4am. Then a few hours were spent sleeping on the floor of a church, eating some food, and back out at 7:30pm to do it all over again. This was a pretty cool opportunity - to be involved with the church in Miami Beach and their interaction with the community and police department. All in all, it was definitely an intense experience!

This morning was one of my most favorite things yet! We normally have worship and intercession with the entire base on Mondays... but today was unique! The School of Worship set up the entire room with multiple stations allowing for different types of worship. One station had a big bag of soil, little pots, and all kinds of flower seeds. This represented life and creation with the Father. Another station had a Christmas tree with a plate of cookies, little presents under the tree, and a box to put a note in. The presents were a list of the gifts of the Spirit... and we could write a note to the Father. Next to that was a big table with paints and brushes and newspaper and blank pages for us to create something for Him. Then there was a table with pens and paper for you to write a poem or song or draw something. There was a separate area behind that, a secret place, with a mirror to see how wonderfully you were made. And the last station had fire (a candle), wind (a fan), dirt, dust, and water... all with verses corresponding to them. The whole room was covered with candles and filled with worship songs from around the world. Of course, I'm leaving out SO many details! If you know my heart for worship... you know how incredibly impacting this was!

Outreach is only 3 weeks away... CRAZY! Plans have changed a bit... we're going 3 different places instead of just 1. And finances are coming in... exciting!... please keep those in your prayers.