Team Hong Kong Newsletter #19
The Balloon-Making Master
April 14, 2008
by Joshua Blank
"What animal would you like?"
"I would like a...a dog."
"What color?"
"Red. I would like a red dog."
(Here's where I would insert cool sound effects, but since I don't really know how, you'll just have to make up your own.)
"Here you go."
"Thank you."
"What animal would you like?"
This is a short example of what my day was like yesterday. I was making balloon animals for kids, and trying to get them to speak some English before handing over the balloon. On my left, Mike, a teacher who just recently has come to Hong Kong after teaching in China for about 10 years, ran an "English Corner" where he played simple games with the kids which forced them to use some of their English. Also close by, Ben helped the kids do the really cool hole-in-one mini-golf challenge he had built earlier in the week.
It was all part of the festivities the Tuen Mun Center held on Sunday. After a joint worship service with the 3 Hong Kong Mennonite Churches, they held a small flea market kind of thing inside the Center and also set up six stands in the square in front of the Center for interacting with the kids in the area. It was all designed to bring awareness about what is happening at the Center -- for both church members and the surrounding community.
I think it's really been neat to see the Center grow. When we first arrived, it had just been purchased and we helped with the renovation for two weeks. It had it's official opening around Christmas, creating a place for classes to be taught, Bible study groups to meet, and for people to gather for the many other activities that occur there -- including the church service that is held every other week. But the work behind the opening of this Center has been in process for over 10 years. It involves a long story about how God has clearly called some people to work in the Tuen Mun area, and how God has opened the right doors at the right times, allowing everything to fall into place in His perfect timing. I won't attempt to go into all the details since I'm not all that familiar with them myself, but I do know enough to say that it is a truly amazing story of God's heart for the people of Tuen Mun. Just as it was difficult for the kids to tell what part of the balloon animal I was making at any particular time until I was finished (and even then sometimes it was still difficult to tell, but that's not the point), so also it is often quite difficult to see the good things that God is doing until He's put the finishing touches on it and is handing you the balloon. While during the process it often looks like a jumbled mess, in the end, you can see what the intent was all along. And fortunately for everyone, God's the balloon-making Master.
Praises:
- There was an amazing turn out for the festivities yesterday, not to mention the beautiful weather.
- On Friday we had our lunch time Bible study with some Form 4 (about 9th grade) students. There were more students than the previous time, and our discussion went well.
Prayer Requests:
- On Saturday we are leaving for a 4-day trip into China.
- Continued guidance and creativity as we are planning activities for the kids during the EMM Cambodia retreat in early May.
The Balloon-Making Master
April 14, 2008
by Joshua Blank
"What animal would you like?"
"I would like a...a dog."
"What color?"
"Red. I would like a red dog."
(Here's where I would insert cool sound effects, but since I don't really know how, you'll just have to make up your own.)
"Here you go."
"Thank you."
"What animal would you like?"
This is a short example of what my day was like yesterday. I was making balloon animals for kids, and trying to get them to speak some English before handing over the balloon. On my left, Mike, a teacher who just recently has come to Hong Kong after teaching in China for about 10 years, ran an "English Corner" where he played simple games with the kids which forced them to use some of their English. Also close by, Ben helped the kids do the really cool hole-in-one mini-golf challenge he had built earlier in the week.
It was all part of the festivities the Tuen Mun Center held on Sunday. After a joint worship service with the 3 Hong Kong Mennonite Churches, they held a small flea market kind of thing inside the Center and also set up six stands in the square in front of the Center for interacting with the kids in the area. It was all designed to bring awareness about what is happening at the Center -- for both church members and the surrounding community.
I think it's really been neat to see the Center grow. When we first arrived, it had just been purchased and we helped with the renovation for two weeks. It had it's official opening around Christmas, creating a place for classes to be taught, Bible study groups to meet, and for people to gather for the many other activities that occur there -- including the church service that is held every other week. But the work behind the opening of this Center has been in process for over 10 years. It involves a long story about how God has clearly called some people to work in the Tuen Mun area, and how God has opened the right doors at the right times, allowing everything to fall into place in His perfect timing. I won't attempt to go into all the details since I'm not all that familiar with them myself, but I do know enough to say that it is a truly amazing story of God's heart for the people of Tuen Mun. Just as it was difficult for the kids to tell what part of the balloon animal I was making at any particular time until I was finished (and even then sometimes it was still difficult to tell, but that's not the point), so also it is often quite difficult to see the good things that God is doing until He's put the finishing touches on it and is handing you the balloon. While during the process it often looks like a jumbled mess, in the end, you can see what the intent was all along. And fortunately for everyone, God's the balloon-making Master.
Praises:
- There was an amazing turn out for the festivities yesterday, not to mention the beautiful weather.
- On Friday we had our lunch time Bible study with some Form 4 (about 9th grade) students. There were more students than the previous time, and our discussion went well.
Prayer Requests:
- On Saturday we are leaving for a 4-day trip into China.
- Continued guidance and creativity as we are planning activities for the kids during the EMM Cambodia retreat in early May.
Here you can see some of the stands they set up outside.
This is Ben's hole-in-one challenge. He made it out of some extra wood one of the missionaries had lying around from random pieces of random furniture. On the left you can see Glenn and Austin Kauffman looking into the prize box.
Here's the line of kids waiting for a balloon. I learned how to make some of the animals really fast.
While the stands were doing their thing outside, it looked like complete chaos inside. On the right, you can see Pastor Jeremiah, with his back turned to the camera.
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