I cannot believe the number of invitations I have been getting exactly these past two weeks - four, including one today (1st). I am scheduled to speak this Friday(4th)at a couples fellowship, next Saturday at an evangelistic meeting, a day retreat in May (10th)on 2 Peter 1 and now a speaking engagement in late May. I was nervous at first but now I do not have time for that, so I am going to take things one talk at a time. Many things are on my mind, including my sibling's immigration status and my coming domicile. We have bought tickets to fly to Los Angeles at the end of July. Like Wife said, these opportunities do not exist in L.A.
Yesterday's talk (4th) turned out better than I thought even though Wife said I did better previously on the same message. All my nervousness of speaking to believers were gone as soon as I realized I will have to face unbelievers next week. Today we had a good night walk at Ma Wan, thinking about the last two and a half years in Hong Kong, and how we are at the crossroads again, with her health and my domicile returning us to the starting point. Also, I am reminded I am still an outsider as I will not get the HK$6,000 rebate from the government's surplus that is promised to all locals. In fact we are glad some doors are closed so we that can look for new ones.
I woke up this morning (8th) from a dream which reflects my anxiety over speaking at this Saturday's evangelistic meeting. The venue was no longer before a packed auditorium, but a car port garage, so I am happy. I just finished putting the bilingual sermon together today. I hope my Cantonese is up to par. Just last week, I bought a bottle of conditioner instead of a shampoo, which goes to show my Chinese is not there yet. Hong Kong people are still very superstitious. The attendant at the apartment I rented told me today that my neighbor complained that I was hanging a frying pan by my kitchen window, bringing bad luck to her.
For the last few days I have been swimming seven laps after work, which is a big step for me. Yesterday (11th) I started working on my next given passage- Luke 4:15. It is a hard passage, so I am praying for a miracle. Today (12th) I managed to recover from the shock of a receiving a difficult passage. The preparation for the first part/point went well. I have more than two weeks to go.
Wife said the evangelistic message (12th) and all went well: my Cantonese, voice tone and appearance. Her brother-in-law attended and two people accepted Christ. Wife was my biggest fan last night. She said the preaching was a landmark in my ministry and the first time she felt my sermon was that good and I have earned the right to do whatever I want in ministry. On top of that, she was happiest that I was able to cook dinner, boil her herbal medicine and paid attention to her tiredness after her long travel home yesterday morning - all before attending the service. I was hardly nervous in the afternoon while Wife couldn't walk or sit straight. I stumbled for a few opening seconds but was at ease throughout, except I exceeded 20 mins. by 5 mins. I was told a night before to reduce it to 20 minutes but the message was already done by then. Wife shares her perspective.
Today (17th) my heart is heavy because it is the first anniversary of Doris' operation for cancer. I wrote a prayer for her. At this time last year, I rushed back from Taiwan, where I was teaching midway through a class, to be with her in the morning, but she did not come out of the operation table till evening. It was tough to see her crushed body for the month or so in recovery. Our lives have certainly changed since that day, but her struggle is even greater. Here is her reflection. Things will be more challenging in the future, but I am sure God knows things ahead better than us.
I wrote a prayer (17th) for Wife a year after her surgery, but she thought I copied it from the internet, only to say "Wow, now it is different" when she knew it was an original:
"It was a year to forget
But as you remember one year ago today,
May the Lord...
attend your need
bless your health
carry your burden
delight your day
ease your mind
free your chains
grant you peace
heal your body
impart you strength
keep you focused
lighten your load
mend your hurt
nurse your wound
order your life
quiet your struggle
restore your energy
scatter your weakness
toughen your character
uplift your soul
vindicate your pain
watch your step
x-ray your future
yoke to you
and
zap your darkness."
God’s presence be to you, with you and before you.
Hubby
It's been slow and sleepy going into the last week of the month. Today (26th) I couldn't keep awake in the morning even after coffee, so we decided to take a walk in our neighborhood park, where we spend more than an hour sitting and talking about our dreams and plans for the future in ministry. I hope to have a small vacation with Wife at the end of the month before returning to the States at the end of July to check on my domicile requirements. At night we took another walk before the winds made Wife give up.
Today (27th) we had wonton noodles for lunch at TY after worship - HK$97 for 2 combos and one drink. It was more satisfying than the last time I was there. On the way home Wife wanted to buy a MX mini-Mango cake, with four servings, but I offered to buy the chocolate cake instead, and that she would have to pay for the Mango cake since we already had one last week. She asked for the price and the salesperson said HK$88 or HK$68 with a Standard Chartered credit card. She balked at the $20 difference, so I bought three various pieces at our regular store for a total of HK$42, a 50% savings. We enjoyed the chocolate cake, mango cake and chestnut cake at home.
I was emotional today (30th) visiting my former colleague Jon Hon, whose nervous system fell apart nearly a year ago. Hon was supposed to live till September last year, but he persisted to the present. He has two daughters still in high school. God alone knows what the future is in store for him and his family. He could not talk, but when he laughed, he did with all his heart, which showed on his brightened face. My tears brought tears to his eyes as we prayed. It has been months since my last visit and so today was the best time since I did not have class with the young ministers at church. After that I went out for lunch with a student and checked on another minister in the afternnon at Tai Koo. In the afternoon tears welled in my eyes again, thinking of a minister who was fighting depression. Ministry is never easy.
