Archive for the ‘China 2013’ Category

• Hello from Hong Kong

  Date: 2013.05.06 | Category: China 2013

  It has been an interesting day.  Learned a lot about the culture and life here in Hong Kong.  6,000+ people per square kilometer as compared to our 31/sq km in the U.S.  Land is at a premium so they build skyscrapers 50-60+ stories high.  The average size apartment is 300-400 sq foot for a family of 3-4.  The average yearly wage is $1,300 for workers.  There is no middle class here.  You are poor or you are rich.  There is not much for middle ground.  It is beautiful.  Everything lies down in the harbor.  We went to Victoria’s Peak today and we were in the clouds.  Actually breathing clouds.  Couldn’t see a thing when we looked down but saw a shirt in the window for sale that said “blessed”.

  I wanted to buy it and advertise my life everywhere I went.   Blessed, blessed, blessed.  I feel so blessed.   I know I am blessed and not just by things. It’s true, I have too many things.  I’m having a hard time dealing with this fact especially after Francis Chan’s Crazy Love book.  I have felt this way for a long time.  How much is enough to spend on yourself?  How much should you give away.  Read about what he has done.  It is amazing.  He downsized and has given away so much.  That is what we should do.  I recently read a verse in the bible that talked about this in new testament days.  Acts 2:42-47   Wouldn’t it be great if that is how we all lived?  Those with help those that are struggling.  True brotherhood.  True loving your neighbor as Christ loved you.

  Anyway, I’m sure I will talk about this later.  What I’d like to talk about is Min.  I can’t believe that we are a day away.  I know we will change her life.  I know that she will come to know how much she is loved.  But the truth is this must be a very hard week for her.  She was abandoned during the next week, two weeks before her 8th birthday.   What must that have been like?  Did her family try hard to care for her?  Was she in an accident that lead to her paraplegia?  Was she abused?  Did they want to take care of her and had no money to do that?  They live in a very poor rural community.   We can’t even wrap our heads around what that means.  No insurance, no aid to help care for her, no paved roads for a girl in a wheelchair.  So they left her in a very visible spot, outside, near the dam.  What kind of dam?  I don’t know.  I just know she was found and taken to an orphanage.  An orphanage that loves her but just can’t provide for her.  She isn’t able to walk nor is she able to be carried by the very small workers.

  That is a whole other post.  If you want to feel huge, go to China.  My weight has always been an issue with me, but today I am happy I am strong.  Today I am happy that I have carried and moved Codey every day for the last 26 years.  My father-in-law used to say I reminded him of the story of the boy who grew up carrying his calf.  He gradually grew stronger the larger the calf got.  Anyway, because I have carried Codey all these years, I will now be able to carry my little 80 pound, 13 year old daughter.  See….all things work together for good.  It’s amazing when you stand back and look at it.

  But today I want to talk about Min and what this means for her.  Can you imagine the courage this girl has?  She will be taken to a land where she knows no one and will have to learn the language.  She is a brave, brave girl.  She has been asked if this is what she wants and she says “yes”.  She wants a family.  She is excited about her big family.  She has no idea what is about to hit her.  We are all so ready to love her.  The girls, especially Cassie and Grace, have been dreaming about her for weeks.  They were fighting over who gets to brush her hair first, style it first, paint her nails first.  Oh boy, Min is in for some loving.

  But imagine what that must have been like for her, two weeks before her 8th birthday, left beside a dam.  Did she cry?  Did she understand?  Did they leave her without her knowing they were going to?  Did they discuss it and decide it was for the best?  So although I know how much her life is going to change for the better, she doesn’t know.  For that reason, please cover my little girl with prayer.  Prayers for peace.  Prayers for understanding.

  One more day and you will be forever mine.  Although, truth-be-told, she’s been mine since the day I read the article about her in Love Without Boundaries.  God makes families in the most wonderful way.