Team Hong Kong Newsletter # 12
This Week at Crossroads
February 25, 2008
by Maria Sensenig

"Would you like a small or a large? Is that for here or take away? Did you want the vanilla chai or the spiced?" These were the questions coming out of my mouth on Wednesday and Thursday as Karen and I started our first days at the cafe at Crossroads. After several weeks of moving around to different departments and doing all sorts of odd jobs, we've now been placed into different areas where we will hopefully stay for the remainder of our time there.
Now as you may or may not know my plan for this past fall was to move to Seattle and work in a coffee shop. God interrupted that plan, but here I am in Hong Kong, working in a coffee shop. I really see it as a gift from Him. Unfortunately it wasn't all fun and games this week. My patience was tested to the limit by our trainer, the broken espresso machine, and the computer messing up all our records at the end of the day. We are, however, feeling very optimistic and ready to give it another shot this week.
As mentioned in an earlier newsletter, along with distributing goods all over the world, Crossroads also does many simulations, games, and other activities to raise awareness about everything from AIDS to refugees to what it's like to be blind. The purpose of the newest activity is to enlighten people about sweatshops and child labor and we were part of the guinea pig group that got to test it before it goes into full swing. It was quite interesting as Karen and I, workers from a clothing factory, found ourselves arguing our case with Ben and Josh, owners of a shoe store, and others who represented the CEO's of the shoe company and the actual sweatshop owners. While we presented our conditions and demanded improvements to be made, the other groups spent the time shifting the blame from one to the other, not wanting to commit to anything that might reduce the millions that were flowing into their pockets. It was interesting and thought provoking and just one more way Crossroads is helping the world.

Prayer Requests:
- We handed out about 800 flyers about an English night we're starting, pray for a good response!

Praises:
- Only a few hours after handing out the flyers someone was at the church doors ready to sign up!
- After a few months where we saw little progress in connecting with the youth, we had a really good night on Saturday. We were able to join in their sharing and prayer request time and it was great listening to them as well as sharing what is going on with us.

Team Hong Kong Newsletter #11
Crunch, Crunch, Mmm...
February 18, 2008
by Joshua Blank

Although the Chinese New Year officially lasts 15 days (until the 21st of February this year), the majority of the celebrations ended last week. As most people returned to work, things quieted down and everything began returning to the normal, busy pace of life in this city. We also have continued to settle down into a more regular routine. In light of this, I was a little unprepared for what I experienced yesterday:

People were milling about everywhere. Some were scurrying around taking care of last minute details while others leisurely mingled and talked with their friends. I was attempting to be helpful without getting in the way of too many people, but was not being all that successful at either task. Finally, Pastor Jeremiah got everyone's attention and had us all sit down. I found myself seated at a small table boasting an enormous bowl of food, surrounded by church members who did not speak much English. As the only Westerner at the table, everyone felt that I needed special attention so I was served first. The centerpiece among the strange-looking and unidentifiable food items heaped into my bowl was a big shrimp, with all the parts attached (but I think that knowing some of the other contents of my bowl would have been more disturbing than this was). Eating the shrimp, however, was a bit of a problem. I would have liked to pull off the shell with my hands before eating it, but everyone else at my table was separating the shell from the meat in their mouths. Not wanting to be rude, I attempted to do the same, but with limited success. Let's just say I ate more of the shell than I had intended to.

It was all part of the festivities surrounding the 32nd anniversary of Agape Mennonite Church. After the morning worship service, which commemorated how God has blessed the church this past year and detailed some of the plans for the future, nearly 50 people filled the building for a time of food and fellowship. Coming right on the heels of the Chinese New Year, everyone seemed to be in a festive mood. It was a wonderful time of celebrating the past and looking forward to the future.

Praises:
- For the amazing things that God has done during the past 32 years at Agape and the amazing things that are still to come.
- The chance that we have had to experience Chinese New Year in Hong Kong, opening our eyes to some of the culture and traditions upon which this city is built
- Many new opportunities are developing for us to get more involved in God's work here

Prayer Requests:
- That we would be able to take part in the developing opportunities for ministry here
- Continued patience with the language barrier
- The 3 Mennonite churches have talked about coming together to form 1 bigger church, possibly even this year. Pray that the leaders would have wisdom in decision making throughout this process.

Dragon/Lion Dance

Here's a more elaborate dragon/lion dance than the last one I posted. This one has both the dragon and the lion, whereas the last one was only the lion.

and, to finish with a bang, the grand finale of Hong Kong's Chinese New Year's fireworks!

-Ben

Team Hong Kong Newsletter #10
Welcoming in the Rat
February 10, 2008
by Karen Martin

Somewhere in the haze of waking up I heard the thump of drums and the crashing of cymbals. Yes, it was slightly unusual. The truth is, there are quite a few noises that I have trouble identifying from my bed. As I listened a bit longer, I realized that it was the beat of a dragon dance. This is a traditional way to welcome in the new year.

The Che Kung Temple is not far from Agape Chuch. I could probably walk there in a minute. Right now the soccer field in front of it is filled with small stands. It's a sparkling mass of red. There are sticks of incense, hand held fans, wind catchers, and other plastic toys being sold. The amount of people coming to the temple is unbelievable. They come to offer prayers to the god, in hopes that the coming year will be successful.

Chinese culture and tradition were a very rich and vivid part of our week. Even for those of us who have not grown up with these traditions, celebration of the Lunar New Year was a highly anticipated event. Thursday marked the beginning of the Year of the Rat. There has been an unfamiliar sense of celebation in the air. Mostly out of curiousity, I took a walk yesterday to see, hear, and observe. People were everywhere. Many were dressed up and walking with family members or friends. They seemed to be relaxed and happy. What a contrast to the normal pace of the streets! Usually people quickly walk by while jabbering on their cell phones. It has been interesting to be in the midst of the new year's celebration. I have learned that there is meaning in all the foods, flowers, and activities which make up these 15 days of celebration. Most of the symbolizms or meanings involve good luck, prosperity, and a good future. 'San nihn faai lohk' - Happy New Year!

This week also brought the beginning of Lent. We remember Christ's sacrifice and anticipate the celebration of His resurrection. This is a season of preparation. During this Chinese new year's time, we have set aside time to reflect on our Creator. Psalms 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." We invite you to join with us as we quiet our hearts and listen to His voice.

Praises:
-This week has been a flurry of activity and celebration
-We have spent more time than usual with the youth from Agape Church


Prayer Requests:
-We are setting aside time this week to specifically pray for our remaining time here in Hong Kong. We invite you to join us.

Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! The last couple days, we've been experiencing some interesting cultural events. Here are a few pictures and videos of some of them. The days leading up to Chinese New Year are huge days for flower markets. They sell all kinds of flowers, some I've never seen or heard of before, as well as balloons, food, and the same kind of useless stuff you would find at a carnival. On New Years Eve, even the smaller markets, like this one, are packed.




This was my favorite of the "New Year" flowers. Since we were told that prices start falling after midnight, I went and got one at 2am. During the first couple days of the New Year, groups of people will go around and perform dragon dances. Store keepers and business owners pay them to dance in front of their buildings, which they believe will bring good luck for the next year. The smaller version of a dragon dance is a lion dance. We heard drums down by the street and got there in time to see some of a lion dance (although for all I know, it could be a small dragon).

Team Hong Kong Newsletter #9
The Couch
February 4, 2008
by Ben Herr

Chinese New Year is a time of getting rid of the old, and bringing in the new. Because of limited housing space, bringing in the new means taking the old to the dumpster. So Chinese New Year is a great time to get your furniture as well as other things. You can find nice stuff in the dump.

That was the advice we were given, that was the advice we took. So after the first couple dumpsters we walked past had shown nothing more exciting than a suitcase, we found what would be the last one before we went home. And there it sat. Being the unobservant dumpster diver that I am, I noticed that one of the dumpsters was about twice as tall as the rest and very oddly shaped. It took me a while to realize that it was a sofa sitting on top of a bin.

So after Josh and I performed the hauling job, the couch was sitting in front of the church. We wanted it on the roof. And it certainly wouldn't fit through the door that leads to the roof. Fortunately, there was a balcony conveniently located halfway up the building. With the help of a ladder, a makeshift rope job, and a little pushing and heaving, we got the couch to the balcony. That was the easy part.


From this point on, however, things got a lot more complicated. Using the ladder on the balcony was not ideal, because the balcony was narrow, and we didn't want someone standing on the ladder pushing up, because of the potential tip factor. There was also a ledge that stuck out about three feet from roof level that we would have to get it around. My brilliant idea to take it around the side of the building where there was only a small ledge was initially vetoed because we couldn't be on the tin roof below (snicker snicker) because we weren’t sure if it would hold us and we definitely didn't want to drop it there (cough cough) because one step down from that part of the roof was the neighbor's roof. After the situation was analyzed, however, the upside of my idea was realized and we decided to go around the side of the building.

Josh found some electrical wire to give some extra length to our short rope, so we tied up the couch--which, by the way, wasn't very heavy for a couch, but wasn't the lightest couch either--and Maria, Karen, and I pulled from the top, while Josh guided it off the balcony and around the corner.

We had it to lifting position, so we began to pull. We pulled about two inches before gravity won the battle. Our wire turned out not to be strong enough, it snapped, and the couch thumped down onto the roof (see the "cough cough" above). Fortunately, it stopped on our part of the roof and didn't go onto the neighbors. Unfortunately, the loud bang brought out the neighbor.

We interrupt this story for a brief history on our neighbor and what we knew about him. Our neighbor is a older man who has a dog or two (there's Lisa and occasionally there will be another one around) and has a nice garden of potted plants. We've heard him play some kind of instrument but we still haven't figured out what it is, and we have guessed from some evening smells that he is a very capable cook. We never found out his name, but one day saw him wearing a shirt that said "Andy" on the back, so it stuck. The most important thing to know about him right now is that he speaks zero English.

I can't imagine what he must have thought when he stepped outside his house to see the foreigners standing on the roof and balcony looking at a couch on the roof. Through a series of hand gestures, he correctly guessed that we were trying to get it on the roof. He disappeared into his house, came back out with a basket full of rope, climbed onto the tin roof (see the "snicker snicker" above) and walked right on up to where the couch had landed. By that time, Josh and I had gotten the couch back on the balcony. The next bit was very interesting to say the least. "Andy" went to work tying up the couch and trying to communicate with us mostly through pointing, gesturing (funny how none of the Cantonese we had learned translated to getting couches onto the roof), and after several tries at doing what he wanted (he chuckled when we misunderstood him) we were all set. He and Josh got the couch onto the roof, and from there, we pulled, pulled, stopped to get around the air conditioner, pulled some more, and finally had the couch on the roof. Josh went and invited him to come up to the roof with us (though I'm not sure how) and we all laughed and took pictures with him and the couch.


Despite not having much contact with him during our first two months, I had always assumed that at some spur-of-the-moment event, we'd do something with our neighbor. I just never guessed it would be such a bizarre spur-of-the-moment event. I was extremely surprised by his willingness to help us with the couch, and blessed by his cheerful personality. We got him a bag of pistachios as a thank you gift, and I hope this will have been the first of many interactions with him.

Praises:
-More outreach opportunities are being planned

Prayer Requests:
-Even though we are getting more outreach opportunities, we wish we be more involved with people from Hong Kong. Pray for wisdom to know how to do this despite the large language barrier.