Recap #3 (Hong Kong)

Hong Kong was short-lived for us. We only spent a couple days there. It was a time for us to learn about and prepare for entering Chinese culture, as China was our next destination and the culture and lack of acceptance of Christianity would be an entirely new experience for all of us. We needed to be ready for what was coming!

Our trip to Hong Kong was a memorable one for me. We had a 12 or 13 or 14 hour (I can't remember exactly...it was long, I know that) red-eye flight. I think I might have slept a total of an hour on the whole flight! It was rough, but the cool thing was that God really spoke to me during that flight. I had an extended time of prayer for my friends and family, which was pretty meaningful. As I prayed for my family members, God showed me how blessed I am to have such a loving, supportive, and just plain wonderful family. My heart was filled with gratitude for the amazing parents I have. They have sincere and caring hearts, and selflessly love me and my two sisters. My parents put everything they have into loving us, providing for us, and teaching us about life. And my two sisters are so unique and different from me. It's pretty comical. But I know that they have this amazing capacity to care for others that simply astounds me. I know that if and when I stop to take the time to appreciate my family and the amazing qualities they possess, there is much that I can learn from them. I hope to be able to love them well and be grateful for them each and every day. God has blessed me abundantly!

While in Hong Kong we stayed at the YWAM base, where we were warmly welcomed by the staff. It was interesting to see how different their base was from the Denver base, and to embrace the wide-reach and great diversity of YWAM. Pretty cool! In addition to our China preparation, we were able to engage in some prayer walks and even attended a Nepali church service as part of our ministry time in Hong Kong. Our team also got to do some sight-seeing and be tourists for a day, which was pretty fun! We were able to walk around downtown for a bit, then we rode this tram up a hill/mountain to the top of the city. The view was absolutely breath-taking!

Downtown Hong Kong

The tram ride to the top of the city!

 Christina and I on the tram

View from the top!

Hong Kong

Posing at the top 

The girls on the team stop for bubble tea--typical.

Ministry with kids from the Nepali church. Craft time!

Some other quick insights from my time with God while in Hong Kong:

"'I would love to treat you as my own children! I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land--the finest possession in the world. I looked forward to your calling me "Father," and I wanted you never to turn from me.'"   (Jeremiah 3:19)

God's heart for us is so beautiful it's baffling. He desires us so much. He longs for intimate relationship with us, and he tell us that in his Word. He doesn't hold back from us; he is completely selfless in his love for us. He always wants to show us how much he loves us, even if we aren't faithful to show him our love for him. 

He just wants us to run to him. No matter if we have never run to him before, or if we have put him off for months or years, he just wants us to turn to him. He forgives and forgets the time when we weren't running after him and allowing him to lift us up in his warm and loving embrace. All he cares is that we do come. What a wonderful Father we have.

"'My wayward children,' says the Lord, 'come back to me and I will heal your wayward hearts.'"   (Jeremiah 3:22)