As I looked through my journal I see there are posts I failed to share. So I’ll share them now:

Friday the 9th of May. Day three in Hong Kong.

I arrived a few days ago, here in Hong Kong. John, my contact in the China union, picked me up from the airport. It seemed other worldly as we rode the train through both lush green as well as concrete jungle. The high-rising apartment and business buildings shot out of the jungle. Gondola cars passed over the trees. As we weaved in and out of green hillsides I unloaded questions that I had packed away over the last month and a half. I was full of excitement and so relieved to finally be filling in the blanks that had been nagging at me all this time. I paced myself, however. I knew I had a whole week here in Hong Kong to get all of my questions answered.

Fruit was served for dinner. A welcome treat after 29 hours with nothing but plane food! Sleep came easy… until 2:50 am. I woke up feeling groggy and like I had just taken an overextended nap. After visiting the bathroom I returned to my seemingly drugged sleep. At 5:00 am my alarm woke me easily. I’m never up at this hour but according to my body clock it was 3:00 pm! I spent an hour praying and reading the book of James. This is one of the habits I’m committed to creating during my time in China; spending an hour each morning in prayer and Bible study.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a deep devotional life. It’s easy to get complacent and casual with my relationship with God. That’s one of things I look forward to changing here.

Breakfast is served at 6:30 and there’s more fruit. We all carpool to the China Adventist Union office. I join the younger group of employees for the morning devotion. One of the ladies translates so that I can follow along. Mandarin sounds so strange! It sounds sporadic, like someone is changing their mind on what they are going to say right in the middle of the word, but it happens on every word. It’s rather overwhelming considering the challenge it’s going to be learning this language!

I’ve downloaded several apps onto my iPad to help me along the language process. I don’t think I have ever done something more challenging! I feel like I’m really beginning from scratch!! Even words that I should just know by osmosis, like McDonalds and Subway don’t sound much like the original.

Another thing I’m surprised about is how young everyone looks! About a third of the staff at the Union office look like they are in their late teens and early twenties. However, while talking with them about their life I’m finding out they might be closer to mid-thirties. The Asians have been blessed with a special wrinkle resistant skin!

After morning devotions John sat me down and started in on my orientation. We are working through a list of 462 things that he has compiled over the years concerning Chinese culture: how to find good food, how to make friends, how to stay out of trouble, etc., etc.

Sunday the 10th of May:

Today I woke up around 5:15 and read 2 Peter chapter 1. At six O’clock I headed out for my first real exercise since I’ve been in Hong Kong. I headed up a long flight of concrete stairs John pointed out the day before. I believe he said there were 536 of them! The air was cool and very humid. I charged up the first 100 steps or so before my lack of oxygen caught up to me. I slowed to a walk and started heaving in the thick moist air. I wondered to myself if I should have brought some water but just breathing seems to be hydrating me just fine! The steps turn into a steep cement walkway. The city looks amazing behind me, wispy rain clouds framing the giant high-risers. The trail winds upward, passing by several squatters huts. One of them has a pretty impressive garden growing some nice squash plants. I’m strangely attracted to the idea of living a simple life hidden away on a mountainside. No costly housing, no noise or rat race. Ever since I was a kid I’ve loved the idea of living out in the middle of mountains, harvesting trees for lumber and making furniture that I take into town once a month to trade or sell for food and supplies. Solar energy. Hard work. Fresh air. And of course my wife and two or three kids that complete work by my side would make it a perfect home! I think originally it was five or six kids! It gets less as I get older however! If I didn’t feel like this world was going to end and that people need to hear about a loving God who is coming soon I would probably be planning to build my small cabin somewhere in the west elk wilderness, in Colorado.

I can’t shake the feeling that I’m in another world. New smells, new sounds, and new sights meet me moment by moment! A high humming sound most likely coming from the ships in the bay provides the sound in the air waves. This mixed with the soft cloud filled sky leaves me with a serene feeling of awe. I discover a map of the trial I’m following. To my surprise the trail continues for miles into the lush hills!

I decide to walk another half mile up to the top of this hill. Here the concrete trail turns into a well crafted rock trail and as I near the top, the heavy clouds start to lighten their watery burden. I make a dash for a shelter on the summit. The rain turns into downpour just as I reach my destination! Clouds swallow up my view on all four sides. I’m soon joined by a middle aged man who excitingly speaks a few phrases of Cantonese to me. I respond with a smile and a nod. I imagine he is talking about the weather. He is smart enough to have an umbrella with him. After a few minutes the rain died down enough for him to make attempt at continuing on his way. He made it about thirty paces before, like a boom-a-ring, he came running back. He again rattled off something in Cantonese. I figured by now he’d probably figured out that I didn’t understand a word he was speaking, so I didn’t try to communicate. He offered me some water. I gestured that I was ok, “no thanks”. He then proceeded to gurgle and spit one mouth full after another until he had emptied his whole water bottle. I had heard that Chinese people have the habit of spitting and now I was beginning to see how true that is! Even without the water he was hacking and spitting in a rather exaggerated manner. It’s just a part of their culture I guess!

The rain soon died down and I decided to make a run for it. I made a gesture to my new friend and explained I was leaving. “Bye”, he said, as he waved me on my way. Down, down, down, I raced the steams of rain water flowing to the bottom of the hill. Soon I was at the 536 stairs. I ran down them too, thinking how grateful I was that I grew up racing across river rocks in bare feet as a kid. I’ve always loved moving quickly through obstacles so that my brain has no choice but to focus completely on the task at hand. I made it, though my legs are feeling a bit like jello! It’s 7:15 am and time for breakfast.