My update from Staurday (Posted a Few Days Late)

I am writing this on my computer on Saturday. I don’t know when I will be able to post it to the web, so sorry if this is a few days old by the time I post it.

I am having so much fun getting to learn about a new culture and meet so many amazing new people. In the office, there are just four of us so far, with a fifth coming soon (hopefully late August or early September). Nathan, the interim pastor, is from Texas, went to UMHB, just had his second child, and is taking classes with DTS while he is in Hong Kong. He has taken me under his wing this week and don e a lot to help me get adjusted and meet new people. Brenda and Candy are the secretaries. They’re awesome. A few of my DBU friends who have met Candy before jokingly say that she knows everything. The funny part is I’m not really sure it’s a joke. Any information I need (like how and where to get insurance, how to get internet for my apartment, how to get my employment visa, etc.) she knows the answer to. The only bad thing about Candy is that she likes to laugh at me when I share the new discoveries I’ve made about life in Hong Kong with her. (How was I supposed to know that the same card you scan to get onto the buses and trains can also be used to pay in stores???) The fifth person coming to the office is Dr. Dan Williams. (Yes, those of you from SOBC read that right. My church in Hong Kong just hired a Dr. Dan.) The church is very excited for him to come and start ministering here in Hong Kong.

Last night, I got to go to Shillage, IBC’s youth group, for the first time. Somehow, during my first night of Shillage, I ended up leading music, leading a game, and being the speaker. I don’t quite know how that happened, but I had a great time getting to meet the kids I’ll be working with for the next year. After Shillage, we went to Burger King to hang out, which is a Shillage tradition.

While at Burger King, I was talking with some of the students, and they had all sorts of questions about guns. Guns are not allowed in Hong Kong (unless you are in law enforcement or transporting money), and at one point in the conversation, I asked the kids if they had ever heard a gunshot, and they said no. I was shocked. Growing up in America, I heard gun shots while I was sitting in church every Sunday morning, and these kids had never heard one in their life. I found that very interesting.

Today, I got to meet a fellow DBU student for lunch. His name is Herman Chan, and anyone from DBU reading this should look him up and meet him. I met him today for the first time, and he brought me out for authentic Chinese food for lunch, taught me about some Chinese culture, then showed me around some of the more touristy areas of Mong Kok (a part of Honk Kong) and helped me to find some things I needed for my computer that I never would have found without his help.

Tonight will be a late night, as I’m going out to watch the US vs. Ghana World Cup game with some of the men from my church. The game starts at 2:30 am Hong Kong time. I hope I can stay awake for church in the morning.