PASTOR ALBERT'S "LAST SUPPER"

ALBERT would call this the LAST SUPPER. Pastor Albert Lai is the originator of this expression. Indeed, my "last supper" was quite tasty.

Dessert brought over by Karen Lee and Ken.

This was a mighty good box of assorted sushi.

I ARRIVED HOME SAFELY ABOUT 9:00 PM ON SATURDAY NIGHT AFTER A PLANE TRIP OF 13 HOURS FROM HONG KONG TO DETROIT, AN 8 HOUR LAYOVER IN DETROIT AND A 1.5 HOUR PLANE TRIP FROM DETROIT TO CENTRAL WISCONSIN AIRPORT.

Andrew came by in my car to pick me up and then, after taking him home, I completed the trip to the log cabin.

What a marvelous trip. I am thankful to God for safekeeping and for this special opportunity to interact with sisters and brothers in Hong Kong. I'm hoping that at the end of October, I will be able to make another trip to Hong Kong - but will probably be serving in JiangMen (Mainland China). Don't know if it is possible to blog from there.

Thank you for following me on this trip, including me in your prayers, and encouraging me along the way.

BITTERSWEET

BITTERSWEET:   Sad and happy to be leaving.

Face painting at LCK's anniversary

More face painting

I'd call it a melancholy, sad to leave yet happy to return, day. At the LSL morning assembly, I had the honor to hand out awards to students for good English. Then before their unison morning prayer, they had a special prayer of thanks for me and my service at the school. I said goodbye to the teachers I worked with, and also the kids.

African culture was the focus of one of the rooms. The students did a terrific job of making the many displays.

Two of a larger dance troupe. Entertainment was the order of the day.

One room was filled with art projects that the children had done. What a creative art program they have.

Brogan and I had dinner with Tony and his family last
year in his sixth floor apartment.

I talked with Joel Scheiwe, friend and colleague of some of my China trips, and we found that we could have lunch together. Funny, when we went to lunch, he only had American dollars or a MasterCard. I told him I would be glad to pay. Went to a noodle shop. Had a great conversation - of like minds when it comes to the church and its involvement in reaching the world for Jesus.

At 2, I was at LCK for the beginning of their celebration of 30 years as a school. President Yung of the Lutheran Hong Kong Synod was present to speak. Kids did presentations, and there were booths downstairs for food. Many of the classrooms had been WONDERFULLY decked out with different areas of focus.

Had my last meal of sushi tonight. While purchasing it, I met Karen Lee who informed me that Principal Chan could not see me off tomorrow morning. She will prepay a taxi to take me to the airport, leaving here at 7:45am. Albert and Angie said they would stop by to say "Goodbye."

Many classrooms had boards with pictures and artwork. Impressive.

You can tell I was impressed with the art.

About 8 pm my phone rang, and Karen and Ken stopped by to take a couple of pictures and also to bring me a couple pieces of fancy cake.

I'm pretty well packed and ready to go.

FOOD DAY! (Isn't that every day?)

WE COULD CALL TODAY "FOOD DAY!"

Judy left this morning at 6:30 to care for the team from South Dakota, so I have this duplex all to myself again with refrig, stove, washer, and microwave. She won't return until later on Sunday. Classy!

I had accepted a breakfast invitation with with Macy’s mom, Angie. During our conversation over oatmeal and noodles, I was able to encourage her in her faith walk. She was baptized about three years ago and is now going to take her first basic doctrine class - through a Baptist school, since the Lutherans don't have any daytime courses. That’s neat. Her daughter is such a nice child.

Alan and SandyPiepenbrink were invited to the party also. Maisie, an LCK teacher who sat between us, did most of the translating for us. Many of the teachers are quite proficient in English. I did have gifts for those of the school that I had worked with, but this was obviously not the time to share them - that would be tomorrow after the Open House festivities. English speaking is a real plus for the school.                    Enjoy the food photos (I wish you could have been there with us).

A kind of sweet bun - I was surprised that this was the first item served.

A noodle dish with mushrooms and green onions. The flavor was great. Served with a quite spicy red dipping sauce.

Vegetables and mushrooms with a few bamboo shoots thrown in for texture. A great dish.

An assortment of goodies from cake to sweet rice (yellow wrapped) to a variety of dumplings.

A soft rice outer covering with a tasty mango center.These also tasted like dessert. 

The cold boiled chicken was served with a green herb dipping sauce. Notice the head - not for comsumption.

All of the dishes were set on the central lazy susan to make it easy for our table of 12 to choose food. We also had rice with some herbal flavoring, another dish of wonderful tasting noodles, and taro root with tapioca "soup" for a dessert. Following the sumptuous meal, I returned to LCK and then headed back to LSL by the 16 passenger mini van. It is so precarious when riding that everyone must be seated when they travel. They never take more than the 16.

On a day like today with off and on rain, sometimes heavy, one needs to heed the warning of such signs as this. Marble and tile floors can be extremely slippery, and, while I've never seen anyone slip and fall, I've caught myself in precaious situations - ready to slip and fall.
I found a stand that sold many dried fruits, nuts and assorted goods. They had wasabi peas which were out of this world. I told Matthew that I would bring some back for him. The other day, Matthew, goofing around as he does, suggested that I teach this "riddle" to students: 

 "Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." Would you have the courage to try it on a 6th grader?

Lobster with noodles. Notice in the next picture, the tool to break the claws (but it was pretty well cut up).

Pretty spicy, but tasty. I didn't get this soon enough to get the whole plate intact as it was served.

This was a nice fish dish with vegetables. We were also served another fish dish (with bones),sweet and sour pork, mushrooms and bok choy, two different chicken dishes, and a chicken soup at the beginning of the meal. Judging from the many different kinds of meat, it was a classy, and probably expensive meal.

I did ask Ms. Lam about the cost of the noon meal. The total cost for the 48 or so of us was $4000 HK - that translates out to less than $10 per person for a rather fabulous meal.

The evening meal offered more taste treats. I met Albert at the gate and we went to Ocean Walk, the shopping center that sits on top of the ferry pier terminal. Joining us were Principal John Chan, Coordinator Karen Lee, Sharon and Joanna Owens (Macau), Alan and Shirley, and Albert.

I gave my bowl gifts to Karen, Principal John, and Albert. Principal John gave me a little desk object with the word thanksgiving in Chinese. Then Sharon gave me a round embroidered wall hanging. It was a nice evening.

You'll perhaps want to look at the double decker bus videos of the trip from Tuen Mun to another central point, Tsuen Wan. http://youtu.be/CWDbV3wvWFI  and  http://youtu.be/IxZrwGMDqL4 .

What a pleasant day. The morning was light with two recess periods, one "welcome to school" greeting time, and two class periods. School was out at noon at LCK, so I headed back to LSL.

The new video for today is students at LCK learning to pass the baton:  http://youtu.be/2yE7Jifax14

Designated library helpers assist Ms. Lo with returning books to their shelves. All of my LCK classes were in the library, and Ms. Lo did the translation work for me. She is such a capable teacher and keeps a very attractive library.

 

 I decided to go for the noodles again for lunch. The wonton soup had been good so I ordered it once again. Interestingly, other wontons are stuffed with pork. These wontons are stuffed with shrimp.

Talked to Ken about spraying the apartment and fixing the water leak in one of my faucets. Spraying is done, the spout is off of the faucet until?
Met Kaiqi Hua about 3 at our light rail station. He was baptized by Jonathan Lange (Merced, CA) in 2011 and is studying here in Hong Kong for three months. It was most interesting since he doesn't speak Cantonese, only Mandarin and English. He also has a hard time to get around here in Hong Kong.

Bamboo is still use as scaffolding. In my mind, I'm thinking that it will never stand the test, but it obviously does. I'm sure that it is substantially cheaper than steel. There is a great deal of building all over Hong Kong. You can see the 40 story (standard size) apartment buildings going up when you travel on the train or bus. Road repair is common - most often widening the roads to provide for the everr increasing number of vehicles. Right near the LSL school, they are building a new subway line - to stretch all the way from Kowloon to the Mainland border. At the LCK school, they are widening the current expressway and making lots of noise while doing it (windows are all shut.) Supper this evening was sushi. I told Judy I would buy since it was marked down at the Wellcome super market. It was mighty tasty indeed.

A light evening too. Maybe I can get on Skype.

ANOTHER NEW VIDEO - this time I'm leading P3 kids in the singing and motions that go with "I'm in Love with the King."  http://youtu.be/ITT9WyIttY0

Lui Cheung Kwong Primary school has 700 students. This morning at the beginning of the school day, they all gathered in the assembly hall, standing orderly, in lines, according to classes. Some of the grade levels have up to 5 sections, some with over 30 students in a class. They are identified as P1B or P4A. In the first year of school, there is no differentiation between students in the first year, but then, in the second year, they are graded by ability, the highest level being the A group.

Morning assembly: prayer, announcements, kids telling stories on stage, my introduction and song

I was introduced in the large assembly and as my welcome I sang this song (burma shave tune): I like to smile, but never frown; My mouth turns up, but never down. Jesus loves me, it is true; And that is why I smile at you. I also spoke a few words of greeting and an appreciation for allowing me to come to their school.

The school is preparing for their 30th anniversary celebration this weekend, so vice-principal, Annie Wong, gave a pep talk to enthuse students to attend the "carnival" like activities. When she talked about the games and prizes, children expressed visible and vocal joy. Maisie (coordinating teacher) invited me (on the day they had scheduled me off) to an anniversary celebration luncheon on Thursday noon. So, I will come over for that event but spend the rest of the day at LSL.

Reading in the library (where I taught). The mask keeps from sharing germs.

What surprises me is the the children are so disciplined. Then again, they have to be if there is going to be other than chaos in the school and in the classroom. When the students stand in line, the teachers are constantly patroling their class to see that there is no talking, bags and books are placed properly to the student's left, and each student is standing "at attention" with hands behind the back. There are lines painted on the floor which can be used so that the line is straight.

Almost like the military

I am thankful that I caught the correct bus this morning. I let the first one go by because I didn't see the 44 listed on it anywhere. I guess you'd call it "gun shy." I really did not want the trip to LCK to take 1 hour and 45 minutes like it did yesterday.

The second floor of the school has a very strong smell of mildew and when I get on that floor, my body and lungs say "This is bad." But the office that they prepared for me is on the second floor and so it is where I go to rest and it's the room where I keep my things. I guess my lungs will just have to "tough it out."

I'm not certain about schools giving me money. Today Maisie brought in an envelope and explained that the school does not have any money to pay me a salary for coming here. But they did want to give me an expression of their thanks. So, an envelope that contained $400 HK was given to me (that is about $50 US). I don't come for money, and as I told Vice-principal Wong this morning, I come to be a servant to the school. I will do those kinds of things that the school would like me to do to assist in giving the best possible education to their children.

There I am right in the middle of a great P4 singing group.

Following class (my last class was cancelled and my after school  Bible reading was also cancelled due to prep time for the upcoming anniversary celebration) I was asked to do a couple of lines for a video piece that advertised the celebration (and opportunity for new students to inspect the site). Then down to Allan and Shirley's apartment for a 6 pm dinner.

Watching the gynast women train made my body ache. I don't know how they do it. P90X would never equip you for this kind of training.  Watch at  http://youtu.be/IoNHPodECvE

NEW VIDEO:  On Saturday, LCK primary school celebrates their 30th anniversary. The video is of the school "band" playing Happy Birthday. Note that all the instruments are Chinese except the snare drum. http://youtu.be/wSHq7uw-PU4

Students have finished library time and are waiting to
be led back to the classroom

As I began writing tonight, one of my friendly roaches crossed my desk (I got him). A moment later, I walked into my eating/kitchen area and a gecko startled me as he ran down the wall. It’s nice to have friends with me. Judy Newhouse is also back from Australia – their team got back about noon after a good trip “down under.” Judy lives in the other half of this duplex. She’s got all the conveniences, so I will have to be kind to her so that I can continue to enjoy the refrig, stove, and microwave.

I had a bit of an interesting morning. I finished talking to Rob and Penny on Skype and then hurried out the door to catch my #44 bus to take me the 10 minute ride to LCK. When I arrived at the bus stop,there was already a line of 12 people waiting (and the mini busses only hold 16). The bus didn’t arrive, and after 15 minutes, people began looking down the street to the right, obviously nervous about the time.

Suddenly it appeared and roared right up to my stop. I was excited to get on because I didn’t want to be late for my first day at LCK, and it was going to be nip and tuck.  I boarded with 14 other passengers. And the bus took off. At the next stop it picked up one more passenger, filling the bus.

Students at LCK spend their lunch hour in a variety of games.
The upperclassmen are very caring for the younger ones.

Now comes the interesting part. The bus didn’t turn at the swimming pool (my first landmark to watch for); in fact, I didn’t even see the pool. It proceeded on to an expressway with no more stops. It was then that I realized that I was not on the right bus. Oops!

What to do…  I called Shirley and Alan. Shirley answered and passed me to Alan. Obviously I had to wait until the bus stopped or got to the end of the line. It traveled on and on. I saw signs pointing both to Kowloon (downtown) and Shenzen (Mainland China). I was cool because I had no choice. I knew that I could not go across the border because I didn’t have a visa. And if we went to Kowloon, I could probably find my way back to Tuen Mun.

Students love to pose as they have fun. I'm not sure what all the finger signals mean, but they love it.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, we stopped and all but three of us got off. At the next stop, only two of us were left. Fortunately, the next stop was the end of the line and the two of us got off. I motioned to the driver that I wanted to go back to Tuen Mun, but I know that he didn’t understand. So I got off, watched where he drove, and then scurried over to that bus to get on once again. I even cut into a big line of people (not good!) so that I could be one of the sixteen on this bus. I made it.

Expressway, then to side streets. One man in the back said, “On Ting,” and I knew that was my stop. So I said to the driver “On Ting” and he nodded affirmatively. Once off I was disoriented and didn’t recognize  anything (big highway with train tracks for the light rail). So I turned to Alan once again for guidance. Well, I’m here typing, so you know that I made it. Praise the Lord! 

As I left the bus, I noticed the number on the side:  4136666 (I thought the sixes did it). I had taken 49S, an express bus. I’ll watch much more carefully from now on since I promised to be at LCK for their morning assembly tomorrow.

The English Ambassador is an offshoot of a program
offered through the NET, a native speaker hired by the
government.

I sang songs in the library, ate my school lunch with 5 giggly fourth grade girls, and interacted with the kids during recess. The layout all came back to me since we had been in this school last year with our team of 6.

Tonight Judy and I went to a sushi restaurant (sushi comes around on a conveyor belt) where you pay by the color of the plate. What a nice taste treat.

By the way, the Christian faith is taught in each of these Lutheran primary schools. Yet it is the government who pays the salaries of all of the teachers whether or not they teach in a school where religious instruction is a part of the curriculum. I find that interesting (maybe a bit similar to our offering vouchers to parents to choose the school that they wish for their children.

BEAUTY IN FLOWERS



This morning, I was to present the message at Holy Word Lutheran Church. I got Albert the slides (only to find out that it was a pptx file and he couldn’t open it. Back to the room and sent him the  appropriate Divine Drama file (ppt). The message went well with Albert translating.

Funny with translation, one never knows how accurate it is. Sometimes his Chinese went far longer or shorter than my English. I was given a thank you card. Enclosed was a $500HK bill – maybe about $60. A very nice gesture. Pastor Samuel distributed what Divine Plans I brought with me.

View the short video of closing worship. http://youtu.be/cROsEzXw4eA

Took Albert, Lauren, and Dustin to the noodle shop for lunch. I had my longed-for curry rice – and it was good with a nice taste of spice in it. The others had wontan noodles and Albert had some thin fat strips with noodles. The soup was complimentary in that it came with the "set."

It's pleasant to sit outside where one can watch the people go by. The light rail station is directly in front of the restaurant so there's a steady stream of traffic.

The sun decided to shine again (second time since I've been here), so I head off to the nearby recreational park for a hike. When I arrived, I discovered that the "recreational park" was simply a riding stable. Horses in paddocks.

While this scene looks like the "gold coast," most of these are simply regular apartments that have been built near the water.

So once again I headed for the beach. This time it was a busy place. There's a picnic area with about 40 grilling pits surrounded by picnic tables. Every grill was lit and every table was occupied. Lots of folks were on the beach digging holes, building sand castles, sitting quietly while others strolled along the waters edge. I was able to find a good number of clamshells.

I sat in the park for a good long while listening to various music groups, watching the senior citizens exercising, enjoying the antics of the kids, and observing the young couples walking hand in hand.

It started getting cool, so I headed back, taking the route that went right past the bakery. It's a place where I like to purchase warm custard tarts (like little custard pies). My taste buds simply call out when I near that bakery.               

You can see the flute play and women sing at: http://youtu.be/MNC6W2-MJQ

Tonight I still want to go and pick up some dried mushrooms at the grocery store to take back to the States with me. Karol loves to use these mushrooms in stir fries.



 I did appreciate today. It was relaxing and very laid back. I'm ready to leave my apartment at 7:15 tomorrow morning to go to Lui Cheung Kwong Lutheran Primary School (LCK). I have five library periods (Bible story, singing, and conversation) besides morning and afternoon greeting time along with the two recess periods.

MY FRIEND, THE BIRD.  This bird regularly calls to me from the tree outside of my door. It is loud, clear, and insistant. Can someone identify this wonderful watchman. Hear him at http://youtu.be/EJgruyI-VkA

ADVENTURE IN HONG KONG

There’s nothing like the unknown. After a 10 hour sleep last night, I spent the early part of the morning in a leisurely way getting my breakfast (a banana and multi-grain cheerios – just dawned on me that these are the happy breakfast, cheery o’s  – for the benefit of the Selle clan whose lives revolve around food) and preparing for the day.

A panoramic view of some of the gazebos at Butterfly Beach Park

My first excursion was back to Butterfly Beach park – such a relaxing place. Music, the senior citizens  exercising on the playground devices, and people strolling along the beach or just sitting and chatting. When I tired of that, I returned to the apartment to pick up my noodle shop menu.

I was greeted warmly at the noodle shop and motioned that I wanted to sit outside. I pulled out my menu (some items translated so I would know what I was ordering). I was poured the warm tea, and then the waitress came over to offer me a choice, fork or chopsticks. I think she was surprised at my choice.

From the Chinese menu, I ordered noodles with squid balls and green vegetables with oyster sauce. The food is served with complimentary tea.

Returned to the apartment to pick up the grocery cart (I know enough not to shop on an empty stomach), and I also had made a grocery list. Picked up milk, butter, bread, sushi, an 8 pack of beer, paper toweling, and some pear juice. Returned home with my goods to get ready for my trip downtown.

     Part of the many bay areas surrounding the island and peninsula of Hong Kong. I never fail to see all varieties of ships in the water: tugs, dredges, container ships, ferry boats, fishermen, and more.

Took the 59M bus to the end of the line and then caught the MTR (rail/subway) for Central. That was the last stop on the line, but there weren’t many people who got off there so I took the next train and backtracked to Admiralty (where lots of people had gotten off). Walked up lots of stairs and came out in the middle of lots of tall buildings (must have been an office area). Got back on the subway and took it to Yau Ma Tei. This is next to Mong Kok where we had the Bible study. I knew that there were stores there – it was near the Ladies Market (night market). See the video for a visual look:  http://youtu.be/qI2eg3x2ppU

Well, I was on the money. Lots of jewelry stores displaying gold in their windows (probably for the Mainland Chinese who come to spend their money here), clothing stores, etc. While I expected people, I wasn’t expecting to many. In some places, it was difficult to traverse the sidewalk. After an hour walking aimlessly, I tired of all the people.

  They say that the Mainland Chinese come to spend their money here in Hong Kong. Now that a good number of Mainlanders are coming into money (legally or illegally), the  come to Hong Kong to purchase up-scale items. It seems that they always pay in cash. I am sure that the shopkeepers and big box stores are appreciative of the business.

A couple of police motorcycles screaming caught my attention and I hung around. The big event of the afternoon was a Falun Lafa (Gong) parade. Traffic was stopped appropriately while the five block entourage slowly moved down the street.

Falun Lafa is opposed to communist rule – thus, on the Mainland, it was banned with many put into prison. They carried Chinese lettered signs, with an occasional English translation. The one I remember went something like this:  “80 million Chinese killed by CCP (Chinese Communist Party.”

I couldn't leave you wondering what there was to eat in Hong Kong. You've heard of dim sum, chop suey, rice and vegetables, and noodles. This smorgasboard above might or might not tempt you: heart, liver, intestines, fish, tofu, and more (I couldn't identify the rest).

After that I was tired so I looked for the subway (Mong Kok) and headed home. Bought some spicy wasabi peas and now will sit and relax.  I will have to prepare my part for a “sermon” presentation tomorrow morning at 10 here at Holy Word Lutheran Church. I will be explaining the “Divine Plan” from Crossways International (author is Harry Wendt) and offering to some a copy of the Plan.