Waiting for Christmas....

Five weeks of Truth English Bible Club, count them FIVE long weeks. 

We went from this in October to

these in November

So here's the grand finale in December

Almost all of the kids came back every week.  They LOVED the crafts  and didn't want to leave. In fact I think we might be in trouble with the school because they were late for their bus back to China so often.  I think.  I don't actually know.  Sometimes it's good not to know.

You can't help but love these kids but they are ROWDY!!! Maybe, for just a moment, they contemplated the God of the universe who created jewels of all colors, and children with all kinds of interests, curiosities, and capabilities...  maybe, maybe.

So that's what I did on Thursdays these past coupla months. We had twenty-four kids enrolled, six adults, and bedlam.  It makes me appreciate my "real" job (or my paying one, anyway :) which is now with international seminary students, who are calm!  interested!  glad to be at school! and they don't jump on the chairs and tables (or at least not as much)!

from L to R: an American visitor from California, two grad students from Myanmar and one from Mainland China.

The 2 students from Cambodia have finally gotten their student visas after waiting and wondering for more than three months and have arrived!

bringing our Cambodian student population up to three!

Lao students huddled against the cold (55F) which seems very cold indeed when you've just arrived from Laos. But they're happy to be here anyway!

Who knows which of the things we work for are worthwhile, which are of lasting significance, which are worth our time and talents and treasures?  I love the season of Advent (Yes, we've got another whole week of it, folks!) because it reminds me, in the midst of the world's frenzy, that there's power and strength in toughing things out (for a season), waiting them out, watch and see, which things show signs of fruition...

"Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God."
-- I Corinthians 4:5

And on a very personal note, did I mention the BOYS are arriving next week!!!!!!!    Waiting.... waiting..... oooh it's hard to wait!!!!!!!!!!

A Hong Kong Wedding and What we did NOT eat for Thanksgiving

Sunday we went to the first wedding I've been to in Hong Kong. One of the members of the Cantonese speaking church where I am the sacramental pastor was getting married.  Luckily for me, marriage is not considered a sacrament in the Lutheran Church, so I got to sit and enjoy the ceremony. The bride was beautiful, the church choir sang, and some of the children from the Ma-On-Shan grade school where I lead the Truth English Bible Club were present (the bride is one of our volunteers for this ministry)

A couple of other things that made this wedding different -- at the reception the bride changed her dress a whopping five times!  Turns out these dresses are rented for the occasion.  She was totally gorgeous, and the hoots and hollers were fun to listen to.

And then there was the thirteen course banquet.  Thirteen.  Courses.  We bravely tackled the first 5.  Slowed down on 6 & 7.  Slowed way down on #8 which is featured here:

Webbed goose foot.

Which is what we did NOT eat for Thanksgiving this year.

   She
 ¹ I am a rose of Sharon,
   a lily of the valleys.
   He
 ² Like a lily among thorns
   is my darling among the young women.
   She
 ³ Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
   is my beloved among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
   and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

-- From the Song of Songs, a popular wedding text from the Bible

Planning for some jungle bedlam...

The posters are up, the kids are primed, and Thursday will be the start of our 

Big Jungle Adventure Truth English Bible Club

with local Hong Kong kids and some Chinese Mainland kids 

at Ma On Shan Lutheran Primary School.  

Some of them come from Christian homes, but many don't, 

and their English is, let's just say, minimal.

The question is, can fun, games, a good deal of chaos, songs, snacks, art projects, and those basic Bible Stories from the Old and New Testaments, somehow convey the essential truth that

the God of the Universe 

wants to be in relationship with kids of every nation, culture, and tribe, 

including very specifically, these kids, 

as well as you and me?

They are loved.  We are loved.  

Can we believe it?

This should be interesting.  Last spring we did it with two separate groups of  six or seven children at a time.  This year we have FIFTEEN P3 kids and SIX P4 "helpers". 
(We had decided as a leadership group that we wouldn't have helpers, given their pretty terrible behavior last spring, and lo and behold I was just given the list of participants from the official school list and it includes... six "helpers".)

So, who wants to sing a big round of:

"Who's the King of the Jungle?  WHO? WHO?
Who's the King of the sea (bubble, bubble, bubble)
Who's the King of the universe and
Who's the King of me???????

Stay tuned, I'm gonna try making some videos. Only maybe not the first week.

"...there is that great beast, which you have made 

as a plaything. "-- Psalm 104:26 Bible in Basic English

Eight weeks of Bible club bedlam draw to a close.

Open House at the Ma On Shan Lutheran Primary School. Above: Primary3 students on their last day of Bible Club, below: Primary One students (future Bible Club participants!)

We had one  last Truth English Bible Club session and presentation for parents, with all the kids together on a Saturday morning at a school open house.  Surprise surprise we even had a new student on the last day of our club!  We've learned a lot through our first 8 week trial program, as we get ready for a full launch next fall.  All the kids got a "certificate of completion", and their very own copy of the "Where Is Jesus" simple English language book we had been using.  When we asked the P3 students if they'd be interested in returning next year as older "helpers" in the program, they unanimously shouted yes!  After all the mayhem, confusion, running around, discouragement on our part (the adult leaders) the children themselves all said, YES!

Halleluia!  (I definitely need the summer to rest up for it, though)   :)

A Holy Week Reading of the Passion with 200 Grade Schoolers... in Chinese!

It's been an amazing Holy Week 2011 so far.

Wednesday seminary class presentation - an  game involving a slippery table, water glasses, and lots of laughter.  Highly educational!

Wednesday afternoon, "e" is for egg with my English phonics classes

Holy Thursday - Wayne went for a Holy Week walk with four of his students.

Tuesday night -- Coloring Easter eggs with adult English students who had never done it before

I forgot to specify that we should use WHITE eggs for Easter egg coloring.  So they improvised with some crayons we had on hand

Thursday morning a highly talented group from my church turned this group of 150+ Primary School students into energetic participants in a reading of the Passion of Christ according to St. Mark.... yup, in Chinese, of course!!!  (My part consisted of telling them this was a good idea in the first place.  They were understandably skeptical!).  The 19 year old son of the school principal made an awesome (last minute) Jesus, the teachers were exceptional at portraying the voices of the "bad guy" high priests, the narrator from our church was amazing, and I think the children GOT the story! Since we can't say "Alleluia" until Sunday morning, let me just say, WOW.  (And thank God THAT's over :)

Truth English Bible Club takes a nosedive...

After a GREAT start to our Truth English Bible Club three weeks ago, we had a totally out of control "club meeting" last week.

We do the same story two weeks in a row, first with group A, then with Group B.  Group B is, shall we say, a bit challenging?  More than a bit?

The first two meetings (Unit One) we focused on the Palm Sunday story, and while we could tell that Group B was a little feisty, we thought things went pretty well that first week with them.

The second two meetings (Unit Two) were about the Last Supper.  We had some yummy bread and grape juice, and had borrowed the chalice from the church to show them the cup we use in our church services. We did a pretty amazing craft, borrowing from Leonardo DaVinci's "Last Supper", they colored "Da Vinci-esque" pictures and filled in the names of the disciples, and then in a grand finale, I had them put glitter glue on the pictures of the bread and wine: gold glitter for Christ's body in the bread, red glitter for Christ's blood in the wine.  (Ah me, where DO I get these fits of inspiration?!?)


Little did we know these 9 and 10 year olds (of Group B) would race around the room with their full cups of grape juice and practically riot during the jaunty marching music of "We are Marching in the Light of God."  And did they understand even one word of the English Bible story I was trying to share with them?  Methinks not.

Group A sat long enough to enjoy a cup of grape juice. 

Hmmm, We are definitely going to a refine a few of our plans before the next meetings (April 13th & 20th).  May I ask you all to double up on those prayers for me, for all the kind ministry mentors from the church (and now we have an experienced teacher from the Netherlands who's helping us, as well, yippee) , and especially, please pray for those fascinating, complicated, maddening, beautiful kids God is calling us to serve :)


"Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God." -- Jesus, quoted in Luke 18:16
(this is the old King James version, and you'll forgive me if I say this past week, we did indeed SUFFER the little children...)

Ash Wednesday and Ambitions

I'm one of those strange people who sometimes likes flowers best when the petals start to fall.

The cross of ashes I received on my forehead at this morning's chapel service reminds me that all things are destined to crumble and fade away. 

Buds unfurl, petals drop, and is there a Mind of God who remembers the moments, shakes them up, and saves them?

More than a mere "Mind of God" we Christians believe there is a Man of God who does this,  Jesus of Nazareth, in whose footsteps we travel a 40 day Lenten path, strewn with temptations, dropped petals, and huge ambitions to make a better world.

At the church I serve as a sacramental pastor, the evangelist (and day to day, week to week leader of the little parish) resigned his position and just had his last Sunday at the church.  I was invited to a scrumptious dim sum luncheon in his honor, so here's a picture of me with our kind Lutheran School principal, Principal Li, and this very devoted church worker, who will be taking some time off and then maybe pursuing some more academic studies.   I can only believe that all of his hard work with this parish will be redeemed, even though the fruits aren't readily apparent yet.

Tomorrow, church members and I are launching an 8 week pilot project at the Lutheran School, an after school Truth English Bible Club for Grade 3 kids.

First Bible story on the agenda: Jesus' Entrance into Jerusalem.  We will:

• learn the story 
• learn the English words: donkey, king, palm branches, coats
• sing "We are Marching in the Light of God" and wave palm branches (probably bamboo branches, which are free since they grow in our yard)", 
• make a palm branch craft out of green paper
• recite half of a Bible verse:

"Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!"  -- Mark 11:9b  (NIRV)

Afterward, a yummy snack, prepared by a church member.

I am more than a bit nervous about this launch.  It's something new!  Did I tell you that I still don't speak much (ok, hardly any) Chinese??  And they don't speak much English!

May our ambitions be redeemed. May the children be blessed.  May our church blossom. May we learn to walk, these 40 days, with Jesus.

Stewardship 101: What's it all for?

A new semester has begun at LTS (the Lutheran School of Theology in Hong Kong) and Wayne and I have been busy preparing for classes!  He's the full time professor, teaching Marriage and Family Care as well as Christian Counseling and Spiritual Discernment.  He also has a boatload of students to counsel, meetings to attend, and student papers and theses proposals to guide & edit.

I'm a part-time lecturer at LTS. This semester I've been asked to teach a course on Stewardship, so my first lectures have been on stewardship in service of God's Mysteries. Here are some of the mysteries we get to take part in here in Hong Kong:

The Lutheran parish Wayne serves as sacramental pastor is located in an area of Hong Kong sometimes referred to as "the City of Tears" because of the  poverty, unemployment, familial disruptions, and suicides which take place there. This Lutheran church reaches out to families and special needs adults to give a new vision of God's kingdom, where Jesus teaches us that the least among us is is actually the greatest.

Meanwhile, at the church where I serve as sacramental minister, we are beginning to lay down plans for a deeper inreach to the Lutheran Primary School (where the church is located), through in-school and after-school English and Bible Story programs.  The school has a reputation for serving special needs children and children who commute from Mainland China, so we at the Lutheran church which meets at the school have a unique opportunity... and unique challenges.


What's it all for, the good stewardship of all the resources with which God has blessed us?

To serve those whom many in the world consider to be small and insignificant, and to be part of God's mysterious way of making them, and our relationships with them,  the most important and significant of all.

"Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries."
            -- St. Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians 4:1

Bursts of Joy - Christmas in Hong Kong Part I

 Bursts of joy:

I. This is the second Christmas that I got to tell the REAL Christmas story to Hong Kong first & second graders. They listened wide eyed as if they'd never heard it before. For some of them it WAS the first time hearing it. 

II.  At the prison, we watched the film version of The Nativity Story with the prisoners, and they seemed fascinated as well.  Even though it got mixed reviews from the critics, I like this 2006 version of the story & I highly recommend it to families everywhere.   It was terrific joining in with the prisoners to belt out "Joy to the World" from the ugly yellow cement walls of our meeting room. We aren't allowed to give gifts or bring in any special snacks, so the Christmas story was really "stripped" down to the bare essentials.  And it still works!  It's Good News!
III.  And our personal good news is that the boys are on their way!  As I write, the older two are en route over the ocean somewhere, ready to join the third "wise guy" brother for our family Christmas celebration.  Last year their flight was delayed because of snow in Chicago and Wayne and I missed Christmas Eve services for what may have been the first time in our lives.  This year we are looking forward to worship at Union Church  at 8 p.m. (what a civilized time for a Christmas Eve Candlelight service :) and on the following 2 days of Christmas Wayne and I are participating in Lutheran Church services... and between us we will be doing 16 baptisms!  (Baptisms on Christmas are a tradition here in Hong Kong, as they were in Africa... who knew?)

Come back for more reports soon on Christmas 2010 in Hong Kong!

Very Merry & Rowdy third-graders at the Ma On Shan Lutheran School with their St. Nicholas and angel tree gifts in hand.

Angels announce with shouts of mirth /  him who brings new life to earth.

Set every peak and valley humming /  with the word, the Lord is coming,

People look east and sing today/  Love, the Lord, is on the way.

                   -- ("People Look East" French Advent Carol, verse 4)

 

/a/ is for Apple, /k/ is for Cake!

Thursday was Apple Cake Day at the Lutheran Primary School, apples chopped & cake lovingly baked from scratch by yours truly, for primary school kids learning English, and hopefully something about Advent and the Christian understanding of preparing for the birth of Jesus.

Unlike many American kids, these students don't go for super sweet, so I made an easy apple bundt cake recipe I found on the web, substituted whole wheat for some of the flour to make it even healthier, baked it for the THREE hours my oven takes to get anything done... and lugged it over on the metro, then walked through the warren of public housing buildings to get to the school.

I forgot to bring forks so the teacher handed out toothpicks for the kids to eat with (since apparently eating anything with your fingers is verboten in Hong Kong culture). ok.  But toothpicks?  I thought there was maybe some special Chinese technique for eating with toothpicks but the kids struggled with it as much as I did, and I wondered whether some may have thought this is an American way to eat cake, one toothpick crumb at a time. 

I did make a big show of washing my hands before handling the cake to cut it, carefully demonstrating and enunciating, "Now, I am washing my hands", only to be greeted by squeals and hoots as I began drying my hands on the towel placed above the classroom sink.  Turns out that towel is for wiping floors and... whatever else needs wiping in a classroom.  But not hands.

The kind teacher then gave me toilet paper to dry my hands with.  Toilet paper??

There is still lots to be learned about this world of Hong Kong.

 "People look east, the time is near
of the crowning of the year.
Make your house fair as you are able,
trim the hearth and set the table.
People look east, and sing today --
Love, the Guest is on the way."  -- Advent hymn (text: Eleanor Farjeon 1881-1965)

 

 

These are the towels NOT to be used for drying hands.

Lutheran Primary School Days Resume!!!

My weekly English language and Bible classes have resumed at the Lutheran Primary School.

Today I got to teach the two first grade classes separately (an attempt to put them together last time was an exciting disaster) so I first got to teach the group of 12 boys, most of them with special needs, and then the somewhat larger group of more "typical" first graders, although this group too has at least one student who is completely non-verbal and mostly enjoys turning the classroom sink faucets on and off.

It was fun!

Last time I had introduced them to God's name (since the English part of the lesson was "My name is") and I think in another few, um,  months they will be very solid on God's name is "God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit."  I have them make a modified sign of the cross as we say the words.  I wonder what they are really thinking as we do this :)

Then I started teaching them the song that was a huge hit with last year's first graders: "God made the world".  They loved it when I modified the song to ask each one their name (for example, Wing-Wing) and had everyone sing: "God made Wing-Wing, God made Wing-Wing, in my Bible book it says that God made Wing-Wing." It's got a catchy tune to it, and Wing-Wing and each of the other kids I called on was all smiles when she or he was serenaded.  We'll try and make sure each one gets a turn in the coming weeks.

Then it was on to the Second Graders, who swarmed me with great shouts of "Pastor Christa!".  This may be because they remember the colored pencils, sesame ice-cream, and sticker treats I gave them last year, but that's ok 'cause I'm a big believer in teaching God's Word in a way which reflects Psalm 119:103

"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth."

Anyway, it was very sweet to MY taste to be back in school with them.  Thanks to all of you out there supporting us with funds and prayer.  Make that, prayer and funds, 'cause that's the order we need it in, teachers and students alike :)

By the way... one of the Lutheran Theological Seminary students told me recently that she became a Christian believer during her Christian Primary School days here in Hong Kong.  Her family was not Christian and she ended up at a Buddhist High School, but something in those early school years clicked for her, and she has since helped bring several of her family members to hope and freedom in Christ as well.  So who knows what the Holy Spirit may be up to with and through the teachers and kids of the Lutheran School at Ma On Shan??!!?

Saying Good bye (with Sesame Ice-Cream)

I'll won't see the Ma On Shan Lutheran school kids until September, so we reviewed the long i sound, /i/ is for ice-cream! Sesame ice-cream!

We sang "Who made the Colors of the Rainbow" with the first and second graders, and I reminded them that the same One who created all of those colors is the One who made each one of them and loves them, each one uniquely, and all of them together.

The 6th graders practiced their English graduation speeches, which they've already memorized even though graduation day is a couple of weeks away for them (I was very impressed.) I'm hoping to persuade some of those 6th graders to come back next year to help with an after-school English and Bible story program back at the Primary School. I'll be looking for good VBS type program materials in the US this summer to bring back for them. (In case any readers of this blog have some good suggestions, please pass them on! :)

I look forward to seeing them again in September. And maybe getting more of that delicious sesame ice-cream!

    

Taste and see that the LORD is good;
 blessed are those who take refuge in him.

                             --Psalm 34:8

Who's the King of the Jungle?

Last week we worked ourselves up to tackle "Who's the King of the Jungle?" in the P2 classroom, complete with gorilla noises and chest thumping and bubbles.

What, you don't know this classic?

Who's the King of the Jungle
(whoo-whoo)
Who's the King of the Sea
(bubble, bubble, bubble)


Who's the King of the Universe
and who's the King of Me?


His name is J-E-S-U-S, YES!
He's the King of me
He's the King of the Universe
the Jungle and the Sea
(bubble, bubble, bubble)

This is not a great song theologically (ahem) but it is rather  appropriate  for Hong Kong, since we live literally between the jungle and the sea, with monkeys swinging in our trees and bazillions of strange sea creatures wriggling in the ocean bays.

It's been raining and raining, with snails and slugs creeping everywhere, and frogs hopping through the wet grass and moaning throughout the night, sounding like cows with a bad stomach ache .  The hallways of the Lutheran Primary School are dripping with humidity, the hallway floors flooded with rain (the hallways are open to the outside) and everyone is beginning to be a little stressed out with  end of the year evaluations and tests looming.

This song is a great stress reliever, you should try it. 

This coming week we are doing the /i/ vowel sound, so I think we'll be doing another one of my favorite stress- relief activities, eating ice cream!

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." -- Jesus, quoted in Luke 18:16