Return to Hong Kong - Moon Festival - New Beginnings

Flowers awaited me upon my return to Hong Kong.

I'm back in Hong Kong!  This week I start a new job as International Student Coordinator at the Lutheran School of Theology... and as the Mekong Mission Forum Network Implementation Committee Assistant Coordinator... whew, that's a mouthful! Do I know what I'm getting myself into? Not really!

I do know that I get to help serve students coming from Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, who are studying at LTS in Hong Kong, in order to be better equipped to serve their growing churches in countries where few people know who Jesus Christ is, and the people who carry his name are often persecuted.

I start on Thursday. The learning curve for me will be steep.  

Last night we attended a brief memorial service for the Mom of one of the students from Myanmar.  The Mom had died while her daughter was far from home (here in Hong Kong), reminding us of the sacrifices so many families are willing to make in order to help these LTS students follow their calling to study here. But the students reminded each other (and us!) of the hope of the Gospel we share, which make these present sacrifices so worthwhile.

Near the end of the little service, one of the LTS professors stood up to recite, by heart, this scripture passage:

⁹ However, as it is written:
   “What no eye has seen,
   what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
   the things God has prepared for those who love him—
 ¹⁰ these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
   The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
                                                                         -- II Corinthians, 2:9-10

Watching the full moon from our roof on  Moon Festival (Monday night). Today (Tuesday) is a public holiday here in Hong Kong.  "Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars" - Psalm 148:3  The deep things of God, indeed!