Sunday August 15th 8:23 PM - Bethany

     Well, it's finally hit.  We have to go home.  But we don't want to!!!  Tomorrow is our last day here and we fly out tomorrow night at midnight (ish).  We're trying to get all the last things in...gifts to buy, places to see, people to say goodbye to, thank you gifts to deliver.  It's been such a wonderful trip...we're so blessed to have been able to come.
      Today we went to church this morning and Wayne and I sang(me) and played piano(wayne) to one of my songs "Different Kind of Good".  It went well in both services and it wasn't even all that bad to listen to the sermon twice!  It was a good message. After church we went to a congee and noodle restaurant in the mall with 2 american couples and our good friend Elizabeth.  I'd been ordered to try congee while i was here and I put it off until the very end becuase I knew I wouldn't like it....but I was wrong.  It was good!  We got fried dough sticks to dip into it.  Everyone tried some.  I didn't have the guts to order the "thousand year old eggs" to go in it.  I had chicken and mushrooms.  Thousand year old eggs are black with a slimey green center.  Apparently they hard boil them and then bury them in the ground for a long time.  CRAZY.  Maryah said they use them on fear factor sor the really gross thing people have to eat.  No thank you.  I did do congee though!  I was proud.
     After lunch we came home and rested a little before going back to church for my concert. I wore my new chinese shirt...you'll see in the pictures.  There was a little tuning trouble at first, but God provided and I felt Him working through me in great ways.  Michelle later told me that she thought the message God gave me to share was exactly what these ladies needed to hear.  After the concert we spent about 30 minutes signing CDs, taking pictures and talking.  Boy do they love to laugh!  Such wonderful ladies.  I'm so grateful God brought us here to experience all of this. Now we're about to watch a movie recommended by Jonathan called "The Lion's Roar"....I'm just hoping it has english subtitles :).

August 14 - 9:01 pm - Sitting in Michelle's Living Room Floor - Bethany

   Well once again we've gotten behind.  We're just having way too much fun.  We're not ready to leave this city and we're all going to miss it!  Let me do a little re-cap of the past 3 days (or so)
     Wednesday we came back from camp and Maryah and I went straight to Harry Lee's Jewelry to get my jade cross from the jade market put on a chain.  Esther is so sweet.  She only charged me $50 HK (about 6 or 7 dollars american) for both.  After that Michelle, Wayne, Maryah and I all met up at this great Italian restaurant in Festival Walk.  The food was AMAZING..and boy did it feel nice to have a napkin and not have to eat with chopsticks.  Although it felt a little strange.  Michelle left us to go do praise band practice and the 3 of us headed back to the flat and watched O Brother Where Art Thou. Culture culture culture. 
     Thursday was a big day for everyone.  It was our day to let Michelle have her flat to herself...so the three musketeers headed out on a big adventure in the city.  The plan was to go to the zoo and then to stanley market.  Despite a few set backs...we made it...and had a great time. Actually, when we got on the bus we thought went to the zoo we asked the driver (in cantonese thank you very much!) if the bus went to the zoo.  He said yes so we got on.  We went upstairs on the double decker right in the front (our favorite spot) and rode and rode and rode. At one stop...the driver stopped the bus, came upstairs and said "if you want to go to zoo, you get off here"  We were so floored that he had gone out of his way to help us.  Most of our time with bus drivers has been dodging them on the road.  We were very impressed. The zoo is amazing, REALLY steep on a hill, and FREE.,  There were some really monkeys who put on a show for us and made us laugh til our stomachs hurt.  The zoo accomplished, we set out to Stanley.  Stanley Market is on the south eastern side of the island and only one bus goes all the way.  I promise we walked ALL OVER the Central area of town looking for that stupid #6 bus!!!  Finally we gave up and took a taxi..which was a great idea because he spoke english (just enough to be cute) and told us all about how the "big potatoes" that lived in the Repulse Bay area.  We had a good time shopping and a fabulous dinner.  It was really exciting to think that we were just on the other side of the ocean from home.  Such a big thought. 
      Friday we all slept until about 12 or so...then slowly got up.  Michelle went to work on some stuff at the church and Wayne and I followed a little while after to practice for singing special music on Sunday. He really is an amazing pianist.  He totally picked up my songs just by hearing them once or twice.  I'm jealous...but grateful for him :).  After practicing he went back to the flat and Michelle and I went to Festival Walk to get her some food and change some of my money.  On the way back to the flat we ran into Maryah who was on her way to Lok Fu to walk around..so I went with her.  We went in search of gifts and this great version of Monopoly Hong Kong style.  We met Wayne and Michelle back at Festival Walk to watch a movie that just came out here called "Quill". It's a Japanese movie dubbed to Cantonese with English suntitles about a seeing eye dog named Quill.  It was really cute.  Except for the parts where the subtitles stopped coming and the cantonese kept going.  Kinda felt out of the loop. The whole crowd would laugh and we would be like "what??".  It was really pretty funny.  After the movie we watched the semi-pro figure skaters practicing late night at the rink in the mall.   They were really good....but then we had to leave before the busses stopped running.  Turned out they had already stopped so we walked home.  It wasn't as bad as i expected :).  Wayne headed home and Michelle and Maryah and I stayed up to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games in Greece.  It was pretty neat.  Parts were just funny....like the people out of thousands of perfomers that they picked to do close ups on were the ones who didn't know what they were doing and watching their neighbor to figure it out.  SO FUNNY.
     This morning (Saturday) we woke up really late again....and then went to find lunch before the Kingmans came to pick me up to get my nails done.  For those of you who don't know, I get three nails done on my right hand to play guitar with.  Last week they broke off and I'm playing a concert at the church tomorrow night so I have to have them. There was a place in Happy Valley that charged $150 HK ($20 US) per NAIL for acrylic.  Fortunately Stephanie Kingman knew a place that charged $30 HK per nail...so she took me there. They didn't speak any English so she had to go in and tell them what I needed before she left.  It was really interesting listening to them talk because I"ve learned enough words to pick some up.  I knew when they were talking about me becuase they would either say "mei gwok yan" (american) or they would point :).  I also picked up other words...like in the music they were playing one of the songs was "yat (one) blah blah blah leung (two) blah blah blah sam (three) blah blah blah" so I knew a kinda what the song was saying. It was fun.  Michelle, Wayne and Maryah met me at the McDonalds around the corner afterwards and we walked to the SPCA (animal shelter) to see about getting Michelle a dog.  She's gotten used to having someone at home happy to see her....so we thought a dog would help with some stress relief. We got there and after playing with some puppies, they told Michelle about the fostering program. When the puppies first come in they go to a foster parent until they are old enough to adopt...so Michelle might end up doing that.  That way she won't feel back about leaving it when she goes back to the states.  Anyway, after that we took the KCR (the train) to Festival Walk where we bought the food to grill for dinner and Maryah bought a camera (she's been debating for days and finally gave in) and now Wayne and I are listening to music while Michelle and Maryah grill dinner.  Gotta love this setup!  
    SO now you're up to date! We come home in 2 days!  We're not ready to leave here but I think we're all ready for a little bit of home. 
   

All About Camp - By Bethany Nobles :)

   This past Monday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon, Maryah, Michelle, Wayne, 10 great students, and I went to the Sai Kung District in the New Territories of Hong Kong and had a blast!  It was a beutiful ride up to the camp, and when we got there, EVERYTHING was in Chinese.  It is a large facility that provides housing, food, and activities for a variety of sizes of groups for a variety of reason.  While we were there, there was a YMCA group and what seemed like a scouts type organization group.  Everyone eats at the same time and participates in whatever activities they choose but everything else is separate.  During our time we swam ALOT, slept, ALOT, played board games (cause it got too hot to go outside)..the kids rode bikes, jumped on the trampoline, did archery..etc.  It was alot of fun for everybody...and Maryah  and I actually got to rest!
   Wayne stayed with the boys, Michelle with the younger girls (11-12) and Maryah and I were with the older girls (13-14). That sounds young, but our girls were so mature!  We got into our first small group discussion time after worship and were just amazed at the questions and insights these girls had.  They brought up alot of good questions and God provided Maryah and I with the words to answer.  I truly believe that we all grew closer to Christ in our time together.  It was really nice to have honest conversation with intelligent girls about our Savior.
    Now for the important part...the food.  It wasn't so bad!  Of course it was all Chinese and family style.  There were no utinsels except chopsticks, all of the meat had bones, and some of the green stuff's origin was questionable, but when all else fails..there's rice!  Luckily there were coke machines and we brought some snacks.  Wayne and I did all the shopping which was an adventure in itself....we had to try to think like asian kids rather than americans.  
     Tuesday night we did Bar-B-Q...now THAT was an experience!  Chinese bar-b-q is not like American.  We were given a cart full of raw meat (some I recognized and some I did not) and some long metal sticks.  There was also some honey, plates, a roll of toilet paper, and some oranges.  There was a man at the site that set up the charcoal and used a blow torch to light it quickly then we all just sat around the fire and cooked our own meat.  Camping style.  It was really interesting...the kids had to tell us how not to burn our meat and about how long to cook each one.  I was a really good time.  THEN we pulled out the American style camp fire food.  SMORES!  Some of them had never had them before, so we had to explain the concept.  They were a hit, but most of the kids only ate one because they were too sweet.  It was a lot of fun to share traditions.
     After a night of board games and good discussions, and  a morning of more good discussion and throwing some oranges...
     We headed home.  I'm really glad that we went and I'm grateful that each of the campers came.  God most definitely meant for all of us to be there.

Monday August 9 - 9:44 am

   So sorry to be behind on journaling.  There's just so much to do and see here...we're loving every minute of it!  I think Maryah stopped off at Friday...but I gotta tell you a few cute stories before I continue.
      I believe it was Tuesday...not sure....but Michelle was teaching the bible verse to the VBS kids in between songs.  The verse was "though my sins are like scarlet they shall be made white as snow".  She said "ok...now what color is snow?" the kids respond "white"...Michelle says "ok, now who can point to something in this room that is white?"...Most kids pointed at the wall...but one little voice in the back said "YOU ARE!!"  We all died laughing.  Michelle turned red as can be....and we haven't let her live it down since!
     The other funny story is that when Maryah and I were in the flower market, we went inside a few different shops to look around.  In one of the first ones, we went in and smiled at the lady who said nothing to us but smiled back.  Once we'd gotten about half way into the store, another lady came in speaking cantonese.  I didn't catch most of what she said until she said "ying man"...which means english.  I turned around and said in cantonese "yes, we speak english. We're american".....She stood there shocked for a second and then just turned and walked away.  It was pretty funny.
     OK...so that was....wednesday.  Friday, we had the last day of VBS.  It was sad to think that I wouldn't see alot of these kids again and they were headed back to homes where they wouldn't hear about Jesus.  I pray that they heard the truth this week and that it sunk into their cute little heads.  After VBS we all came home and took a nap.  It was an exhausting week.  Then we split up and Michelle and I went to the International Baptist Youth Conference that was here in town. It was amazing to see so many youth from so many different countries.  After the conference we when to Tsim Sha Tsui to walk around and ended up going into a dress shop and meeting the sweetest lady named May Wong.  Michelle had taken her mother there to buy some dresses and May remembered Michelle and was so excited to see her!  She gave us both hugs and said "so happy you are here".  We had a good talk with her and she asked us to come back and visit. 
      After Ms Wong's shop, we headed over to "Ned Kelly's Last Stand".  This place is a must for any american visiting Hong Kong.  You walk in and you start smiling and you can't stop until you leave.  The place itself is small and dark because of all the wood paneling.  It's set up a little bit like a saloon...and the band is playing music that would make you feel the same.  They played everything from "sing sing sing" to "new york new york "...modified to "mong kok mong kok" to be more local :)  We had a great time and met a sailor (who, coincidentally, didn't cuss once during our whole conversation :)) from Norfolk..not Virginia.  He travels all over the world working  in ship yards.  He told us stories about west africa, singapore....lots of places.  The best story was how he met his wife and how much he loves his sons.  He was so engrossed in telling us all about his family that he didn't even see when the band went back on stage and we all were startled when they started up again.  He was a very nice man...hard to understand through his thick English accent...but very nice.

    Saturday started slow but ended up being a fabulous day.  We all slept in until about NOON and then slowly started to get ready.  We left the flat about 1:30 or so and headed out to Mr Lee's Jewelry shop.  Michelle's been a customer of Mr. Lee's since she got here.  He's a believer and his assistant is not, so Michelle makes a point to be a friend to Esther (the assistant).  They have the most beautiful things in their shop.  They even served us each a drink while we tried on beautiful rings that say "faith, hope, love" in chinese characters.  We all bought one...for $12 American. We couldn't believe the price. Mr. Lee gave us "best price"...which is the way to say "give me the lowest you can go".  
   On our way to Mr. Lee's we saw some girls drinking "bubble tea" aka "pearl tea" aka "boba". Basically it's a milk tea with tapioca pearls in it.  It was something I just had to try...so we asked esther to show us where it was.  She took us there and helped us order.  The tea part was wonderful....the tapioca part was just squishy.
     From the "bubble tea" place, we set out to find the world's longest escalator!  Maryah had heard from someone that it was here, and Michelle knew where it was.  It's in an area of town called "Soho"..and what a great place it is!  there are countless sections of escalator...all ramped rather than steps.  at the end of each section is a set of stairs to take you to little shops down on the street level.  There were so many great looking shops...but my favorite was a little shop with the front covered with lanterns.  Maryah and I both were shopping for paper lanterns (a la...the Yeu Hwa incident)...and we found beautiful ones here for...best price.  We made it all the way to the top....hoping to catch a taxi or a bus to ride down.  Our fearless leader Michelle led us on....and on....and on...and...well you get the picture.  We didn't ride a bus down. We walked.  It was a beautiful walk...and boy did we sleep well that night! 
      We finally got to a bus and road it into Aberdeen (the southern part of the HK Island).  We had been given a mission to make a toast to the "boys of 69" at the Tai Pak floating restaurant in Aberdeen....so we did.  It was just an adventure getting there.  Thank God for maps and the kindness of strangers.  No sooner had Michelle gotten the words "keep an eye out for an english speaking native" out of her mouth...did an articulate young man come up and ask if he could help us.  He told us which way to go and we made it in plenty of time.  We've found that to be the case with so many Hong Kong people.  They're all happy to help you find your way if you look lost :) And boy did we look lost! 
     We made it to the restaurant...waited a VERY long time..and ended up being seated in the "fine dining" section...which was way too hoitytoity for our taste or our budget.  We found a way to fill our tummies though and enjoyed ourselved anyway.  Michelle did a great job finding a bus to take us all the way from Aberdeen to Kowloon Tong so we rested all the way home.  What a great day.

    Sunday was a very long day for Michelle but pretty restful for us.  We went to church for the 9:30 service and then went to sunday school. The Kingman's invited us out to lunch and took us to this great place at the beach near Stanley (South Eastern side of HK Island) called Reminisces.  It was very good..family style dining.  They ordered a squid stuffed with rice.....and that's exactly what it was.  Tentacles and all.  I tasted it but I just dont' do well with things that look like they did when they were alive.  It was one of Alice's favorites though.  We had a wonderful time...and we didn't even have to take a bus!  The Kingmans have a really nice car.
    After some rest at the flat, Wayne and I left a sleeping Maryah to get groceries for camp.  Now THAT was an experience.  Sunday night is not the time to go to the ParkNShop Super Store.  It was PACKED.  Not to mention we had no idea what to get for a 2 and a half day camp for 15 asian children for breakfast and snacks. We managed...but we pushed a few old ladies around :)
      We made it back to the church with our "loot" just in time or the service ot let out.  We dropped off the groceries and headed back tot he flat with the guitar and the garlic bread we bought to relax a little. When Michelle and Maryah got home, we got the hankerin for McDonalds, so Wayne and I treked to Lok Fu (not far from the flat) for some McD's!  I had the best Big Mac, Fries,and a Coke I've ever had in my life.  I love Chinese food, but we're starting to really miss American food.  I'm sure we'll miss Chinese food when we get back! After a Big Mac, all that's left to do is sleep...so we did.