We are home, Safe and Sound

Greetings to all.
We are back in the Good Old U.S. of A. Our flights were very long, we traveled with AsianaAir from Hong Kong to Seoul Korea and then on to Chicago and they were so nice and extememly helpful... they served all of the children on board their child's meals first before serving the rest of the plane, they let families with children board before everyone else (something American flights used to do, not anylonger) and were just so pleasant. We were very crunched for time on all of our flights, but we really had no problems until we got to Chicago. We got through immigration ok, the line was very long though and customs quickly (again, long line but once we got there we went through fast. The man took one look at us with all of our luggage and kids and their backpack and said, I'm welcoming you home, have a nice night... and that was it!
Then we had to go down to American Airlines and that was when the rudeness began. No we didn't get to board first regarless of the kids... My Guzheng arrived to Chicago no problems, but did not make it to Cleveland, and our flight was delayed due to various things, doors not closing properly, the air conditioning was working right, there were storms etc... each thing happened one after another etc. so we were supposed to arrive in Cleveland at 9:55 p.m. and we didn't even leave until 10:15 from Chicago and all tht time waiting in the smaller plane. By that time Ariella had had enough. She was crying and cranky and just exhausted. I had not slept much from Hong Kong to Chicago (only about 45 minutes) and had expected to get home by around 11 and go to sleep... but with the delays, we were sitting and just waiting on the plane, so my eyes were blurred, I couldn't think and Ariella was crying. Tj had slept maybe 4 or 5 hours but was still tired himself. The only one who was ok was Micah, he sat there and entertained everyone with a story about pirates... he just kept going and going and going and going...
But we eventually arrived very tired after our 36 hour day... Tj didn't eat anything in Chicago so he wanted to stop and eat... so by the time we got to Lexington it was about 2:30 A.M. and then we were surprised by our friends in Lexington by a mini make-over for our anniversary.. We had new table settings and table ware. Cleaned carpets and new living room lamp. Bathrooms had an entire new towel set and shower curtain and things for the counter and we had brand new sheets on our bed.
Our back porch was glowing so we went outside to find little lights hanging all around and everything cleaned up, with fresh mulch and cleaned up flower beds(we didn't do a whole lot before we left) and the biggest surprise, someone had installed a central air unit! WOW that was so awesome and sooo... huge. We had tons of little cards wishing us a Happy Anniversary and the kids had gifts in there rooms as well. So we were so excitec by everything and talking we didn't get to bed until about 4:30-5 a.m. We slept soundly in our own beds (hooray) until 10:15 when someone knocked on our door and woke me up... so I got up and started to unpack and at 11 I started to make breakfast/lunch (we had eggs and sausage and bagels in our refrigerator! at 11:45 I tried to wake up Tj and the kids.. Micah and Ariella would not budge at all, so Tj and I ate at 12 noon, by 12:30 they were still sleeping so I went back to bed. Tj had to get up and take care of some things. Our dear friend and lady in the church passed away 20 minutes before we landed in Cleveland. She went into the hospital about 4 days before we left for Hong Kong with heart problems and has been struggling ever since. So he is now preparing for the funeral on Saturday. Well anyway I went back to bed, Micah apparently got up about 4 in the afternoon I woke up about 5:15p.m. and Ariella was still sleeping! So we woke her up.
We had dinner around 6:30 (I guess dinner and breakfast all in one for the kids) and tried to play Mah Jong but that was impossible with very excited kids. My Guzheng was delivered safely at 9 p.m. Tj exhuasted went to bed, I let the kids play while I did laundry, then I gave them a bath and put them to bed at 10:30 Ariella went right to sleep (she was really tired I guess) and Micah is not asleep as I'm typing. So we are home, thank you all for your prayers and support. This trip was an incredible experience for us.
Take care and God Bless, we will be sending out letters with our trip highlights at some point in the future. After we are all acclimated to this time zone etc.
Not to get Micah ready for Kindergarten.. YIKES!

Last Day in Hong Kong

It's 6:45 a.m. on our last full day here in Hong Kong. We have packing to do, cleaning the house and Tj wants to go to Kowloon one last time... I also have my last Guzheng lesson...Goodbye's to say. We have a lot to do, but while the house is still quiet I was going to let everyone know we are ok and will be heading back tomorrow. Our plane leaves at 1:15 p.m. here. Sunday was very nice, we had a nice service, Tj wrapped up a lot of things during Sunday School and afternoon bible study. I taught a lesson on Covenant which went well. We then had Chinese Barbeque in the evening... Said our good byes... played some more music... They are all so generous and many gave gifts and toys to the children, (I do not think they realize we have a limit on luggage to take home with us) The church also presented us with a beautiful plate. It is by a Chinese artist who paint various themes of Christ as Chinese and with a Chinese style. Our hosts, Ken and Lynda have several in their home. The one we were presented with was of Jesus as the Good Shepherd.
Yesterday, we had planned on taking Scott and Evelyn and their girls to DisneyHOng KOng to thank them for all they have done. Because one of Scott's teacher's quit suddenly at work, they were unable to go... They did let us take Jasmyn. Also the Columbian lady at church, Janed invited us to go with her and her husband Ronald. Their son Ryan and Micah have become good friends. This was the first time we had met Ronald, he is a policeman who works in Kowloon. Just this month he has switched jobs and is now a "detective" who works with China investigating Commercial theft. He previously worked the street and says he would prefer that more active job than his current one mainly in the office. Ronald was quite taken with Ariella... He loved her, (his wife is almost 5 months pregnant)he said he hope they have a little girl with blond hair and blue eyes. Janed laughed and said impossible. He said if they had a daughter like Ariella he would spoil her and whatever she wanted he would give her. He is Chinese and I think expressed the sentiment of many of the people here who just were in awe of Ariella. It was nice traveling with Ronald because he would always be able to tell us what was going on, and people were always more inclined to give him more information than when it was just us, the "Enlish speaking foreigners." We stayed for the fireworks andd made our way through the huge mass of sweaty,smelly, exhausted bodies trying to keep an eye on four kids under the age of 5 in the process. we hada good time, and headed home. We said our good-byes to our newly made friends. Janed asks us to pray for Ronald, that this good man would see his need for Christ.
Thank you all for your prayers for us. Pray for Tj and I as we travel back home tomorrow. I think everyone is ready to be back home! Although there was some sadness when we told Micah and Ariella to tell Ryan good-bye. "We will see him later" Micah said.. Tj thought me cruel when I said, No Micah we are going back home, we don't know if you will see him again. Also they were upset when we said this is your last time at Disney... Micah says no we will go back home and next week we will come back and go again. If it were only that simple.
God's Peace
Barbie

From the land of Minor resolutions

I don't know how much time we will have between now and next Wednesday to post much on our blog. Things have been very busy and it seems like everyday gets more and more filled and each day becomes more precious as we realize how many are left in Hong Kong.
Tuesday night we had people over for Mah Jong. It was a lot of fun and we get the impression that people do not have others over to just "hang out" very often.
The couple from church May and Allan came, May is the one who was so excited to teach us, she brought a friend from work. Neither speak much English, both became very animated about Mah Jong. Allan refuses to play the game. We found out that here in HK it kind of has a bad connotation amung the Christians because it is considered a gambling game and people become very addicted to the game and the money involved. We, of course, did not play with money. Allan choose to watch 24 (they are still in the middle of last season) 24 (with Keifer Sutherland) seems to be pretty popular over here. So even though we could speak very little with Allan, we had 24 in common with him :)
Olivia also came with her mother. She was so excited because her mother really does very little (ok she has done nothing with her friends from church in the last 12 years that she has been coming here) Olivia is only 30 and became a Christian around 18, she still lives at home and in all that time her parents keep to themselves and say you worship your God, we will not bother or molest you, we will worship our gods, you do not bother or molest us.
It was nice to have her mother and May's friend with us. Also a man Paul, from church who is American came over to watch, he is married to a Chinese lady. Her family plays the game at family gatherings and they are never very patient or nice with him if he tries to join in the game because he asks too many questions! (They say the game makes everyone turn ugly) So he came over to watch and better understand the game as well.
At the end of the night, I can say they game is fun, the hardest part for us is, the characters are not in English, once we understood the rules of the game, our biggest struggle was trying to figure out what went with what, we kind of learned our numbers (1-10) in Cantonese as we tried to keep up with the rest. They were very patient and humored us quite a bit. Brenda, we can't wait to teach you how, that is of course if we can remember how to play!
Yesterday (Wednesday)for our anniversary, we went to the local amusement park that everyone loves. Ocean Park. There was a lot to see, it is part amusement rides part zoo/aquarium with a Shark exhibit and aquarium. Panda Bear exhibit. Everything is on Hong Kong Island and several of the rides are on the edge of a mountain overseeing the beautiful South China Sea. The view is amazing.

We are blessed.

Friday night was the Chinese bible study. I (Barbie) was able to attend this one. It was a great time even though I had to follow along the quick discussion via an interpreter. They were studying the end of John 8. The group of 9 that meet every week is a mixture of new Christians and more seasoned Christians. No one seemed afraid to ask questions or give their own opinions or thoughts. At the end we had a time of discussion on sharing our faith. Some struggled with the thought of vocalizing their Christianity to everyone they came into contact with, prefering to live a life of love and to be an upstanding person at work and with friends and if they are noticed to have something that others do not they could then share their faith. Both sides had good arguments and I commented that this same struggle could have been discussed at home in Ohio with our own church.
As for this morning (Sunday) we had to walk in a monsoon. Literally, an active southwest monsoon brought heavy rain today and walking by myself to church with the kids and umbrellas and bibles and music, and snacks for children proved rather difficult. Especially when certain areas that we walked through the water came up to mid-calf. Needless to say, by the time we got to church Micah and I were soaked up to our knees.
The service was nice, they love to sing, their rhythm is atrocious and melody fun to follow, but they love to sing praises to God. They are getting used to our sense of humor and we are to theirs. They have now enjoyed Tj's cookies for the second Sunday in a row and some were almost fighting for the last few cookies.
The afternoon prayer time and bible study was very good, with much discussion and sharing of insight. The prayer time includes singing songs with interludes of prayer. It is a blessed time for us to sit and share in this experience with them without concern of having to go to this function or that party etc. (Micah and Ariella take a nap upstairs) Please pray for Charity. She is a very new Christian, she just got baptized about a month and a half ago. She was not in church today because she had gone to the doctor this morning to look at an area in her neck. They think it may be a goiter or possibly her thyroid. There was some talk of cancer. We don't yet know the details partly due to language barrier and partly because I don't think anyone really knew for sure what was going on. The hard part is, most Philippine workers come to work for families, by law the families are required to pay for insurance, her employers are illigally employing her in the way that they have not been doing so. Hong Kong has socialized medicine, so if you are a tax payer, you can get free medical care. Most of the domestic workers pay $400 HK a month for a tax. For some reason Charity has not been doing so, we don't know if that is related to the legality of her employment or not, but because of this she must pay out of pocket for her medical expenses. She is a dear girl who has really taken to Ariella, pray that her faith would be strengthened through this unsure time.

This is our last full week left here in Hong Kong and it is starting to fill up. A Chinese couple (who speak very little English) will be coming over Tuesday evening to teach us the Chinese game Mah Jong. Olivia will be joining us to help interpret the instructions, the Burmese doctor, Helen will be having us in her home for a Burmese meal. We have a trip to a an area waterfall somewhere in the week as well as keeping up with the Guzheng. I have developed a good relationship with the ladies at the music store and hope to have an opportunity to share Christ with them before we leave.
Tj has nothing more to add because as usual on Sunday nights, he says his brain is fried.
God Bless,
Barbie

Pictures for your viewing.

Ok, we have posted some pictures of some of our travels this week. Smiles.

Memorable Miday Musings of a Middle-aged Man

Barbie has done most of the writing for the Blog so far, much to her credit. I think its way past time for me to give an update. I have seen that spiritually Hong Kong is much like the other major cities of the world, there is great opportunity, but also great suffering. There is great excitement and rush in life, but great apathy as well.
It has saddened us greatly; as I’m sure Jean has told many of you, to see the plight of many of the underclass’ here. It is interesting to see the Hand of God work. Often we don’t realize the direction He wills until the road is well underway. So it is with the Fairview Church. While Ken and Linda’s calling has for the last 30 years been to the Chinese here in Hong Kong, in the last few years his ministry has had impact in the Philippines. Many of the upperclass here in Hong Kong have “Domestic Helpers” a term for a live in nanny/maid/whatever-unpleasant-task-you-don’t-want-to-do person, it is actually cheaper than child care (the wages while low in Hong Kong are very good in the Philippines) and you get someone to clean your house. . It is not necessarily just the Philippines; it is many of the third world countries like Indonesia, or wherever they can get cheap labor. They work 24 hours for six day’s a week, their only time and day off is Sunday. They work typically for a two year contract, many of them working more (some we know have been here for upwards of 14 years). They are apart from their families back in the Philippines, and though many are women, there are some men, typically drivers. (One we know named Rex has a three year old daughter in the Philippines, the last time he saw her was Christmas. There is simply no work or opportunities in the Philippines so he sends all his money back to his family.) What has been amazing is to see how Ken and Linda are able to train the women here in Hong Kong to go back to the Philippines. So much has been done there. Many churches have been planted as a result of this mission. Ken equips the women and then they go and plant churches, or revive the churches they attend in the Philippines. Some of the women who go to already established churches are better equipped, trained and knowledgeable than the pastors there! The pastors go to them for council, prayer and direction!! While they are here some suffer abuse, discrimination and no to little rights. If they complain, if they file a grievance, they will simply be shipped back home, after all they aren’t citizens, likewise, the Philippines government will not press any issue or defend them for fear Hong Kong will simply go elsewhere for their workers. It is one step above modern slavery, I can only guess what kinds of abuses these young women suffer. And suffering it is. If they have a good “employer” it is seen as the greatest of blessings. However, the situation makes for a wonderful Sunday experience, the people who come to FCC on Sunday truly appreciate the blessings they get from gathering together, from the fellowship of each other, from the music (no matter how…musically challenged it is!) and the blessing of having someplace to come where they will be treated with dignity and common love. I jokingly said to one wonderful lady, “Edna, will you be here this afternoon?” In a response that betrayed a sincerity I have rarely encountered she said, “Of course! This is my home, I have nowhere else to go. This is my home.” I cannot tell you how this effected me. I see the fellowship and blessing in a different light, I see my own ingratitude, my own spoiled lack of appreciation. Friends we are blessed beyond measure, we have resources and gifts the likes of which most of the rest of the world could only dream, yet we are selfish and stubborn with them stingy with them. I thank the Lord that we have a church that sees the blessing that God has given her (physical, spiritual and relational) as things to be shared, and opened. If there is a need and the church can meet it, then we must meet it, we must be open with the talent and the tools that God has entrusted to us. It is not my church, it is not something for me to use, misuse or neglect at my whim, it is the Bride of Christ, and I am privileged, honored to be a part. Well, I’ll get off the soapbox (at lest until I get home, or the next time I blog.) We love you all and miss you dearly.

Museum of History

You know, the hardest part about keeping a blog is having to think of a title every time you sit down to write. Kind of silly, but oh well. Another exhausting day and too tired to sit and put pictures up. Will make more of an effort tomorrow. It is almost midnight here so will write quickly, our bodies feel their age and we are tired. The kids have been such troopers as we have toted them around everywhere. The day started with me going for my morning Guzheng practice, which went fairly well. I get to see the music store receptionist every day since I go in to practice M-F. Every day she tries to ask me more questions about myself. Her English is not very established so it is difficult but we get by. She knows that I am here to help with the church. I have been very discouraged with my lessons because I only have 4 lessons to get the basics and the technique with playing it is so different and important. I also can not speak Cantonese and my teacher no English, so basically we let music and laughter be our language, but we definatly lose a lot in the translation. I was so discouraged after my lesson yesterday that I had our friend Olivia from church call and ask my teacher what she was trying to tell me. She said I was very clever and in one week had accomplished what other students do in about 4, but I really needed to relax.  Easier said than done. So went to practice, Tj made lunch, we had sweet rolls from the bakery for dessert, then we loaded the back pack and kids and headed downtown to Kowloon for the Hong Kong Museum of History. 

Wednesday is free admission day so we thought we'd check it out. We left at about 2 and it took us a little over an hour to get to the closest stop (we are quite comfortable with the Public transportation system by now). The Museum was suppose to be a 10 minute walk from the stop, but we were basically in a very high tourist area and got side tracked numerous times along the way taking us about an hour to get there. Tj who has been very interested in an iPod and kept on the lookout for one, found one much cheaper than others he had seen around as well as on-line, so we got stuck there for about 30 minutes. He actually did not end up getting one and instead was convinced and enticed by all the Akira X mini has to offer and picked one up. It is completely Asian, but can do alot more than an iPod... we have seven days to figure out if he likes it or not.
Anyway we eventually got the Museum and we all really enjoyed it, even the kids. They closed at 6 so we didn't have a lot of time, and rushed through the last half. After that we looked for dinner and walked all over, again getting side tracked at various times and eventually found ourselves at HardRock Cafe Hong Kong. So Aunt Fran and Tom Brown, we ate dinner there and picked up those items you requested. They only had one type of magnet though, so we hope it is what you wanted Aunt Fran, they did have several different guitar pins, so we just hope it is ok.
Then we went to Kowloon/Hong Kong Island bay the lights at night are gorgeous. looked around a mall, toy store, clothing stores etc. Started back to the subway, got stopped at a movie place that had movies for $19 Hk which is about $2.5o US... yes we got a few.
Back on the subway and trains and bus back home, and of course everywhere we went people are always laughing, trying to touch or pat Ariella, several take pictures of her, out of the 6.8 million people in Hong Kong I think about 40 of them have pictures of her on their phone now. Anyway we made it home.
As far as the church goes, we are a little dissapointed we do not have a lot to do during the week with them, the bible studies I thought I would be doing with the Columbian lady, Janed have not happened. Being 4 months pregnant, she has either not felt well or been busy with her part time job or just has not contacted me. She was not in church on Sunday either. Tj thought he would be doing his bible study today with the Burmese doctors that he did last week. He has tried calling and has not gotten ahold of them and neither they of him. So we decided we would just continue to explore this part of the world while we are here if we can't do more with the people of the church. All the other Phillipine ladies are busy working for their families during the week so just pray we can make an impact on the people we do get to develop relationships with, we pray that God is using us even though we do not feel we are doing a whole lot during the week. Maybe the bus drivers, bakery ladies, music store employees, etc. we sure do get to see them quite a bit :)

So that was longer than I was expecting, but we are off to bed. Good night,
Barbie

We're still here

Well, I am going to write really quick before heading to bed. My sister tells me, You haven't written on the blog and people are wondering how you are doing. My response? Well we didn't think people were really reading, we rarely have any comments by anyone. ha ha,,, but seriously, not alot has happened since Sunday. Church went well, Barbie had a very heart to heart with one of the Chinese ladies in the church... Queenie. Good time crying and praying together. She is divorced and shunned by part of society. More on that later, but she has a heart for women in this country. Suicide rate is very high here, and mainly for women. She knows they have no hope and she knows that at times she has felt like without God she could see herself on the same path. But thank the Lord she does have Christ in herlife, as her guide. Please pray for her strength, and where God may lead her, and how God may use her to minister to the hopeless women of this society.
Today we went out sightseeing with a dear lady from church, Helen. She is a retired Burmese doctor. Her husband is as well. Will write more on our experiences today and probably post pictures, but not tonight. Am tired and everyone else is already in bed. We had a young Chinese girl, Olivia (single, still lives at home with parents, and is only Christian in her family) over for dinner as well as Scott & Evelyn Smyth. Scott requested Mexican food, and so we tried to oblidge. It was quite new for Olivia, but very hard to find everything we needed for true "authentic" Mexican... can anyone say "Cilantro" or "Cumin"? Aparently not... but we did our best and had Mexican, Hong Kong style. Will write more tomorrow. Good Night or to most of you, have a nice day.
barbnie]]]\