Lots of New Posts

Well I just posted a bunch of new posts. Not including this one, I just posted 6 new posts. I hope you enjoy reading them all.

New Church Location/New Worship Pastor

Back in May our church officially opened its doors. Well, the doors to the new location. For the last 8 years, my church has been nomadic: every Sunday a different location. Every Sunday God provided a location for us to meet. Back in October, the church Elders announced that they had finally found a location for the church and asked for a church vote. The church also needed to raise money to be able to do the building out of the space. The people of the church voted positively for the location and they also pledged to give the entire amount that was needed for the buildout. $20million Hong Kong (almost $3 million US) By the time the building was complete in May all of the money had been raised. The new address for the church is 633 King's Road. If you are interested here's my church's website. Island ECC

Along with a new building, we also got a new worship pastor two weeks ago. His name is Jeff Caylor. He's originally from INDIANA!! Most recently, he worked in Colorado Springs for Focus on the Family. Besides being a worship pastor, Jeff is also a recording artist. He has a great CD that you will want to check out. jeffcaylor.com I think you will really enjoy it.

Ann Leaving

I mentioned back in May that Ann Osburn was going to be coming to Hong Kong for 2 months. Well, that two months has already come and gone. She arrived on May 13th. I had made plans for the next day's lunch for us to eat with the Nelson's who are from Evansville and currently live in China. They were passing through Hong Kong on their way back to the states. So for Ann's first official meal in Hong Kong she had Italian food. Since I had to go back to school, they took her on a bit of a whirlwind tour of Hong Kong island and took her to a very popular place.

Krispie Kreme Donuts.

Ann spent the next few days getting over jet lag and adjusting to life in the big crazy city. She started her classes on Monday May 19th. She had two classes a day one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Form 5 students who had been out of school since February, studying for and taking public exams, came back to the school to be in her classes. This was additional practice for their oral English Exam that they had to take during June.

Towards the end of the school year, the Form 5 students have a graduation dinner with their teachers, and since Ann was currently working with them on their exam practice they invited her to join too. It was a nice evening. I hadn't seen some of the students since February, so it was nice to see them again. It was funny to see some of them too, because I am so used to seeing them in their uniforms and for this dinner they get all dressed up.

Ann, Janice and Me

Vivian, Iris and Phoebe --
(They call themselves the VIP girls: because of their initials)

One of the things that Ann was hoping to do while here in Hong Kong was visit an orphanage in Mainland China. Unfortunately the Chinese government has stopped all groups going to volunteer at orphanages until after the Olympics. But Ann got to do something that she wasn't expecting to do. I have two friends here that are Bible Smugglers. I introduced Ann to them and they asked her if she would like to go with them. So the week before Ann left she went across the border twice smuggling Bibles.

While Ann was here we also did quite a few fun things...Disneyland, Shopping and Massages in Mainland China and Afternoon High Tea at the Grand Hyatt.

Ann left on bright and early on July 7th. It was really hard to see her go and not to be getting on the plane with her. I cried at the airport and pretty much the whole way back to my apartment. It was really weird walking in and not seeing her and her stuff. I had gotten used to having a roommate for the last two months and now I had to go back to being by myself.

Ann hadn't been feeling well right before she left Hong Kong, so as soon as her plane landed in Evansville she went to the doctor and found out that she has Mono. Please pray for her as she continues to recover from that and also as she continues to seek God's will for her life. For me, please pray that I won't be as homesick as I have been this past month. It really makes it hard for me to be an effective witness when I really want to be in the States. I apologize if you emailed me this month and I didn't get back to you. It's hard to write when you are homesick.

Navy Visit

At the end of June another group of Navy Ships were in town. This time I hosted 4 sailors from the USS Decatur. The end of the school year, we only have half days, so I was able to meet up with them in the afternoon and take them through Hong Kong Park and to the Peak. Then Ann joined us for another great dinner at the "American Peking Restaurant." We had a great meal and a fun time. After dinner we headed to the ladies market so they could do some shopping.

Charles, Ann, Me, Nichole, Beth and Sonya

Nikelle's Bridal Shower

My dearest friend here in Hong Kong is Nikelle. She and I lived together the first time I was here and over the four years that I was back in the States, we continued to keep in touch: she came to visit me and I came back to Hong Kong to visit her. Then when I moved back, she was very generous to open her home to me until I could find a place to live.

Well she is getting married this October, so I decided to throw her a Bridal Shower. Apparently, Bridal Showers are an American thing. None of the ladies in the English Department had ever been to one. Not even Nikelle: she is from Australia. It was a pleasure to plan this for her and a blast to be at since everything was so new for all the ladies.

Working on the word scramble

Using Toilet Paper to design a wedding dress

The three TP brides

The whole group
Back: Koey, Melva, Daphne
Middle: Christina, Teresa, Ann, Nikelle, Katie, Natalia
Front: May, Florence, So

Filipino Ministry

Back in January I got the opportunity to do a cooking class for some Filipino ladies who are a part of the Filipino ministry that my church runs. This ministry is an outreach to domestic helpers. The cooking classes are so that the women can learn to cook "Western" food for their employers. I found out the end of May, what good cooks these ladies really are. The church held a cooking contest for them and I got to be a judge. We had to judge not only on taste but also the presentation of the food. It was all so good; it was hard to declare a winner.

Shannon Hilliard--Pastor's wife gave the devotional

Yummy Food!

Some of the ladies

If by chance you know some different Filipino foods, here is a list of the dishes and drinks that they prepared.

Ube Halaya, Fresh Lumpia, Pancit Malabon, Puot Pao, Guinattang Halu-Halo, Glutinous Rice in Lumpia wrapper, Maja Blanca, Banana Turon, Biko, Bibingka, Buko Salad, Palabok, Leche Flan, Bihon Guisado, Suman Inangit, Calamansi Juice, Sagot & Gulaman, Pinamansi, Halu-Halo, Mango Puree Sago.

Prayer Request

Why do I seem to start my newsletters with some variation of "it's been too long" I don't know about you but time just seems to slip away and I don't always find the time to sit down and write out all that has been going on. I need to get better at doing little bits when I have time, rather than trying to find big blocks of time.

It is definitely Summertime in Hong Kong. The combination of heat, humidity and pollution makes it awful to be outside. I am so very thankful for Willis Carrier and his wonderful invention of Air Conditioning. I wouldn't be able to make it in HongKong without it.

Back in May, I sent out some prayer requests so I thought I would update you on these.

1. One of my students, Ruby: her father just passed away last week. It was very sudden and unexpected. Please pray for comfort for her and her family and also for any financial needs that they may have without him. (She is doing fairly well, I don't have much of a chance to talk with her, but when I see her in the hallways she is always full of smiles, so I think that is a good sign)

2. One of my students, Phoebe: her mom has been diagnosed with Cancer. I am not sure what kind, but they are doing more tests on her. (Phoebe said that the tumor is not cancerous after all, but the doctor wants to watch it and will be doing follow-up checks regularly on it)

3. One of my co-workers, Teresa: her daughter was rushed to the hospital yesterday due to some kind of epileptic episode. The doctors are doing tests, but are unsure of what is causing this in her. Her daughter is 7 years old. (Teresa's daughter is home from the hospital and hasn't had another episode. Please pray for wisdom for them as they try to decide if they should put her on medication or what type of treatment that they should do.)

4. A friend of mine: she has been dealing depression. (She has realized her need for Jesus, realizing He is beyond just a distant thing that is talked about at church, but rather that she is able to trust Him with all of her needs and rely on Him for strength to deal with all things. Please pray that she will continue this searching and reaching out for God. She is starting to come to church with me and we are doing a Bible Study together every week.)

In all of the situations please pray for wisdom for me in talking with them and comforting them. Pray that they will see Jesus through me and that I can point them to the one that will give them the ultimate healing and comfort. (God has truly given me wisdom in a variety of situations. As it says in I Corinthians, I am able to “boast in the Lord.” I have been able to point people to God and explain that the wisdom I have is not my own, but rather from God.)

5. Ann arrived last week. Please continue to pray for her adjustment to life in HK. Also pray for the time she spends with the students that she will be able to connect with them quickly, help them with their English and show them Jesus. (Ann has come and gone already. The eight weeks she was here flew by. I have more about her time here in a post on my blog. )

Thank you all so much for your prayers and the continued financial support, I am so thankful that I have this support team behind me. I couldn't be here without you.