We're home, safe and sound. My time in Hong Kong was over-the-top incredible. What an honor it was for me to be at Island ECC and I'm grateful for the opportunity to minister in a cross-cultural setting. By the end of the week, I had spoken 7 times, slept very little (jet lag was brutal) and made a handful of unusual connections.
Here are a few unusual facts/observations I learned in Hong Kong:
1. Portions of the island were expanded by "filling in" the ocean. This construction process of making "artificial islands" added 1% to Hong Kong's overall size when the present international airport was built in 1998. To think, we were landing on water.
2. There are only 2 funeral homes on the island to serve the needs of more than 7 million people. One was several blocks from our hotel. Flowers everywhere. Non-stop memorial services. Professional mourners grieve and wail.
3. Spread citizens out in the United States and we end up with about 80 people per square mile. There are more than 14,000 per square mile in Hong Kong. Thick.
4. The island is a melting pot. The church itself represents more than 20 nationalities. English is a staple of a very educated people [the kind of education where a student doesn't get extra credit for not using their bathroom pass for 6 weeks].
5. It's a small world after all. I met students from my former college ministry, people who had just moved from DFW (who knew mutual friends), and a young man who knew someone who knew someone who knew someone. It was like 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon. I'm amazed at how we can still be known in a world of strangers.
1 comment:
We were glad to hear that your speaking engagements went well. We prayed for your travel and trip. I enjoyed your observations also.
Lola & Don
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