Perspectives from the Peak

This past week we went to The Peak (highest point in Hong Kong) with our German colleagues & their young family. We took the famous, 120 year old Peak Tram. Although it was a cloudy day, the perspectives, as you can see, were fantastic. It's fun exploring places with little ones. They make us slow down, and take notice of the turtles in the pond and the splashes of water from the fountains, how sturdy the cables of the tram really are (quite strong, dear, we'll be safe) and how quickly the clouds roll in the sky, painting the skyscrapers white, then gray.

For those of you who sent me English language children's picture books... just wanted you to know that they are a HUGE hit with my kids at the Hoppy Palace. It's amazing how good art and funny stories can transcend cultures. The youngest children can enjoy just the colors & the sounds of the words, the slightly older students love discovering new details in the pictures & actions of the stories.

Please ask all the Pray-ers you know to pray for the success (in God's eyes) of the Ma On Shan Lutheran Primary School... where I will be going for the first time on this next Monday afternoon to lead devotions for the staff! I've only met the principal so far, and he's just a lovely, older Chinese man. The school is quite small by Hong Kong standards and this is a pivotal year... there are new housing projects going up in the area and this school would be a natural place for folks to send their kids... and most of them will be families that have never heard the Gospel. However, the projects are not yet finished, and this year enrollment at the school is so low that there is a danger of the school closing before these new neighborhood kids even move in. So the idea is to have a superb English-language program at the school (which would make it a magnet school) to attract area kids and parents, who would then also get to hear the wonderful story of God's love for us through Jesus. I am in awe of the way in which God is using my "tent-making" experience... tutoring small children (from wealthy homes) at the "Hoppy Palace" English language center ... to train me for this "free" work in the Gospel with children from more modest backgrounds here in Hong Kong...

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -- spoken through the prophet Jeremiah ca. the year 628 BC !