Swadica- Welocme to Thailand!

Soooooo....

Definitely plan your trip to the airport ahead of time and ESPECIALLY when you are in a foreign country. KP and I had a plan... a vague plan. Everyone in Hong Kong is so chill we thought it would work out.... So we were supposed to catch this smaller bus to a bigger bus that goes to the airport. Except that no one told us the bus comes every 40 mins and we definitely missed it. But that's cool. I went to college so I guess I have problem solving skills. We can just take a taxi. So let's figure out where to pick one up. And of course in the back of our minds we have a time clock ticking. We see this cute little Chinese schoolgirl walking and ask her if she speaks English. A little. We ask her where to get a taxi and discover girl don't speak good English. So we continue to round the corner and there is a TAXI! We hop inside and tell him where to go and he doesn't speak ANY English. We vaguely know the direction of the stop we are headed. We've been there once before at night and going the opposite direction, but we could probably figure it out. So then we play a scary game of pointing left and right. This looks right, oh, that kind of looks familiar. Then we get tot his strange stretch that looks completely unfamiliar. We're definitely lost. Pull Over, we will get out and find and English speaking taxi driver. So he drops us off and then we realize we are at the place we are supposed to be!!!! God totally kicked it down! We get in line for the right bus and cram on with everyone else like Sardines, but the bus ride is Gorgeous- bridges, waterways and skyrises.

Get to the airport, board the plane. Oh and the guy I'm sitting next to I think is British because he keeps mumbling something about cheers, but he definitely has Tourette's because he kept elbowing me in his sleep and the pilot was hungover because it was the craziest turbulence I've ever experienced. Yes, totally his fault. Then Kristine wanted to take a 8 hour train to Chaing Mai because we flew into Bangkok. But we bought a flight instead. BEST part about Thailand is the food! I had green curry and thai iced tea!!!! They put magic inside. Best airport food I will eat ever! Then we arrive in Chaing Mai and it is perfect and gorgeous and green and much prettier than I remember! It is so fun to be back here again. It feels so right and familiar. The air is cozy. Then Kristine and I waltz out of the airport and start walking down the street with our ghetto rigged bags like hobos. Lots of stares. We find the airport mall and chill for a few hours trying to figure out the name of where we are staying and then get in another Taxi- sung tao (there is no back- it's completely open) with a guy who only speaks Thai. Here we go again! and the city has changed so much since 2009 when K lived here so she doesn't recognize anything. But God so was with us and she found a familiar 7 eleven. And now we sit in out cute little thai room ready for an exciting week!!!!

Dragon's Back

Ummmm… best day EVVVER!!!! Today our friend Verilu took us on a 5 hour hike of the dragon’s back. The trail was named that because it literally goes up and down like a dragon’s back. There is a portion where you walk through the lush, thick jungle and all the while you are climbing the mountain. At the top of the mountain you discover you are on an Isthmus with breathtaking views of the ocean below on both sides. It was raining for part of the journey, so it was cool, but wet and some of the pathways were particularly slippery on the mud and rocks. But we made it with no injuries and it was one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever been on in my life! The city will peekaboo through the mountains for a fantastic hong kong flavor!

The internet is being dumb here in the village, so I only can upload 2 pictures. It won't do justice, but use your imagination... 

Afterwards, food was in order to cure our starving. Indonesian fried rice, new york style pizza, starbucks and then off to see 007 Skyfall. Did the antagonist totally outshine bond?! Incredible acting and who doesn’t love Judi? The script was fun and the humor hit. Very well cast. I was definitely the loudest in the theatre. Then Kristine and I had our own little Bond adventure trying to get home after we realized that the metro stops running at midnight. What???!!! We are 40 mins from home. We were literally running through the metro mall and racing down the stilled escalators. I couldn’t stop laughing, which wasn’t helping. Thankfully our friend Eric speaks Cantonese, so we discovered there is a mysterious bus that goes near our village and then we can take a cab. We have 12 minutes until the busses stop. We frantically call friends  who look up the schedule and then we figure out the bus, now only to find the stop. 6 minutes left… more stairs?! Like we didn’t already hike a mountain today?! We reach one of the many exits and it just happens to be the right one for the bus sign is our beacon of hope. The bus ride is soooo beautiful. The shining skyrises and bridges of Hong Kong dazzle as we zoom past to our bus stop (which the angel lady on the bus directed us to). Then we wait politely in line for a taxi with all the other locals- I think that’s so cute and Asian of everyone. Home safe. Sleep! Like I said, best day ever! 

OHHHH and I have 54 mosquito bites, just so you know.... So when you think you are in pain, just think of me and it will make you feel better.

The Secret Garden

This is a strange little story for all my girls out there or anyone who hates bugs:

Kristine (KP) and I were informed that we were going to be painting all day directly outside our cozy apartment. Just as we were about to pour the paint, one of the staff members tells us we are now helping a woman move. “Sure, I mean, we are in flip flops, but yeah we can be flexible.” After moving an apartment down three flights of a stairwell even smaller than Euro style, we load the moving truck. Okay, now back to paint.

Oh, wait… she needs help moving into her new place. Sweet, we can do that. There weren’t enough seats for the 4 of us (2 other guys were there… thank God) plus her, so I found myself sitting on a bag of clothes in the back of a Chinese moving van, which was very exciting at the beginning. Then a half hour later the smell of gasoline was overwhelming and I kept thinking (why we think these strange things I have no idea) “What if we get into a crazy accident? or the truck flips? What if I die here in the back of this Chinese moving truck?” Sad, yes. But more pathetic than anything else because it is always disappointing to die so dumbly.

THEN…. we get to the village. I drink some water. Hydrated, check. The lady doesn’t mention that the house she is moving into is secret garden status. AKA abandoned for years. IF ONLY I could express the scene. Try to imagine a gate overgrown with vines and a two story mansion hidden behind the brush in the middle of this ancient village. At first you imagine all the parties and grand entrances. You see the people with champagne glasses laughing and the camera pans out to reveal chandeliers….okay, well maybe there was tea instead of champagne because this is Asia not the roaring 20’s, Christina. Anyway, we step into the house and I have not seen so many spiders in my life. Now picture (and remember you are a girl) an eerie yet beautiful haunted mansion , cobwebs on cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, spiders dancing on the walls and threatening from every side of the room. The dust is thick as we make footsteps through it all. Leaves and vines have found their various corners and a curiosity grips the air. The rooms are many and the patio is open, a tile mural spreads over the wall in the main room where grand pictures used to hang as children played the piano, or at least that’s what I imagined. The stairs were far too foreboding so I took the Chinese woman’s word that the second floor existed.

Kristine and I took each step with caution, tension gripping every muscle as we inched from one infested room to another overwhelmed by the creepy crawlers, but enchanted by the architecture. We began to sweep, grabbing for each others hands whenever possible for encouragement. I continued the constant turning to make sure a rat-sized spider couldn’t sneak up on me. A sudden scream and a cockroach rushes for the hole in the wall. Dingy dust permeates the air and I imagine what the bite of a black widow or brown recluse would do…thankfully the closest hospital is down the street. And then, yep. I feel a slight tickle on my shoulder and as I turn and flail, one of the guys taps my other shoulder. He walks away laughing. Boys think they are so funny sometimes. KP and I are being brave. She has arachnophobia and I’m very seriously grossed out. Anyway, the Chinese lady is cleaning like this is normal and the guys are helping toss rotting wood out of the house. The kicker- a stinging pinch grabs my leg. Mosquitoes!!!!!!! And they never come in less than a clan. I’ve been so stressed, I haven’t noticed the 10 new bites I’ve discovered. In the next 5 minutes I kill several of them on my skin and then the itching comes- breaking point. I’m done. KP and I politely leave the room, drop the brooms and keep staring at our legs and arms in a severely paranoid fashion waiting by the door to leave. The Chinese woman pretends not to understand when we say we have to go, which at that moment made me so angry. She spoke English well. Anyways, we prayed over the house. She felt God told her to fix it up for missionaries and pastors to stay in.

Now, stop. I know what you are thinking, the over- exaggeration of a sheltered American snob. But I don’t think it was the wisest to be in a clearly condemned house, fighting off all kinds of poisonous vermin, inhaling who knows what through the stagnant dust of generations past. We went back to our clean apartment and painted, hung out with a friend in the city, had noodles, McFlurries and everything. It wasn’t until late that night in the “about to fall asleep chat” where we processed our shock and panic. Anyway, it was a strangely funny, yet scary and mysterious experience. No repeats needed.  

Ministries of LOVE

Here are some different outeaches we've done:

We went out to deliver food to the drug addicts of the city the other night. We prayed then packed boxes of white rice, steamed veggies and chicken. We passed them out to the people. These people have no jobs and spend their days by the clinic because the government will give them drugs to keep them from doing dangerous  crimes. Yes, logical. I like that we are able to bless them in a practical way. I tried to start conversations, but no one really spoke English. It was mostly awkward, but I smiled a lot to make up for the barrier. The little girl I tried to befriend kept running away from me shyly. Anyway, KP and I were fascinated because the little girl was blowing bubbles. So, her uncle came up blew cigarette smoke into the bubbles to make smoke bubbles and she giggled as she popped them and the smoke drifted out.

The same evening we went downtown to do a late night prayer walk. We were specifically targeting the red light district. We went around and noticed all the hourly hotels that we actually had passed by many times earlier in the trip. After they were pointed out to us, we saw the signs everywhere. The most heart wrenching moment for me was when we walked by a sign that listed: “Chinese, Russian, Malaysian, Vietnamese…ect” with various prices next to the different races. Girls bought for their race. The reality hit me and I literally got sick to my stomach. That’s never happened to me before. We went to a nearby park and prayed for the city, for the girls and worshipped God. Life is so different for so many people. And it’s culturally accepted that businessmen hire prostitutes on the weekends. What an empty way to live. We continue to pray.

KP and I visited a Napali church service this evening. The worship is an hour and the message is about an hour. Of course, it was in Napali, but there was a friendly 12 year old boy to translate for us and tell us which Bible verses to read. “It’s okay, I speak English,” he whispered kindly with a smile. The spirit of God does not know language barriers because God was speaking to me so strongly in that service. The church was small with white walls, neon lights and minimal Christmas decorations. The people are humble and simple. As they sang, tears began to well in my eyes because of the purity of their love and worship. I don’t know if you have ever been overwhelmed by the beauty of a specific people or community, but their peaceful yet passionate worship was enchanting. After every service, they eat traditional Napali food, and can I just say, best chicken wings I’ve ever had. Rice, curry, spice- so good. The children adored Kristine. Most everyone our age and younger spoke English, so we made a lot of friends and quickly. One of the little girls asked KP if she would be her BFF right before taking cute, goofy pictures together. Great. Now I have to compete with an adorable 8 year old. It was truly a pleasure to go and they wanted us to come back and stay in HK longer. This seems to be a theme with the people we meet. God has given us so much favor with people on this trip and we have had the honor of making so many instant best friends. Sheesh, why can’t I make friends like this in LA?! The C3 and YWAM people also want us to stay. KP and I were talking, “It’s a good thing we are going to Thailand next week. I’m already getting emotionally attached to everyone.”

FRIENDS!!!!!!

We have been loving the YWAM people here! Very few are Americans, but they are all so kind. We teach the Chnese students English in the afternoons. I got a beginning group of 6 year olds. The cute, quiet one is my favorite. I imagine if I was 6 and Chinese, I would be like her. They are a little rambunctious, but we have a grand time. We are also washing cars, painting windows, scrubbing mildew and washing walls to get the facility ready for the next season. Everyone is really grateful for our help. On our off time, we see the city with our new best friend, Eric. He has lived in San Diego for 3 years working with C3 there, so we have a lot in common. He takes Kristine and I around to all the “hot spots” in the city. We all laugh and joke around so much it hurts. Lots of fun memories!

 This is eric, our pretty legit tour guide.

 Above is our other San Diego friend, Verilu! She took us out for these AMAZING burgers with bree (spelling?) cheese melted on top!!!

 Tim Shau Tsui or TST as the locals call it. The downtown place to hang out, shop and get street food!!!

 Mang Kok ladies market- most densely populated area in the WORLD….as you can see here….where’s waldo (or Christina) haha. Can you find me. Although this game would work better with Kristine. Her black hair blends better…

 Micky D's!!!! We went there to sit down because, oh yeah, China has no benches. none. too many people. That's proably why they are all so skinny....

 Did I mention we lovvvvve the metro???. This is one of the views.

 In the back is the skyline of HK Island. I heart my bestie!!!!! Oh and it's Christmas EVERYWHERE in China because they just delete thanksgiving. The malls and tourist areas are all decorated and even the village houses have wreaths!

 We had to get boba with true Chinese green tea!!!!! So good!

I figured I should put up a picture of me actually doing the "mission" part instead of just hanging out. It's hard to take pics when you are working on the houses. We are pretty tired after these work days, but they are very rewarding :)

# 1 Spot in HK!!!

The Buddah Lookout

 Took a tram to the giant buddah (don’t know the official name…lol) The tram was 20 minutes long and the view is indescribable!!!!! The pictures don’t do justice. We literally could not stop snapping our cameras…

then you get to the top and it looks like giant Ireland mountain descending inot the water… at least to someone who'e never been to ireland before...

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 This is the view of the Budda from the tram- The YWAM friends say they walk around it and pray -the base of it has a giant crack and every year it gets bigger.. It's just a good reminder of who the real true God is

 It is a HUGE hike to the top!

 It is a gorgeous view of the surrounding dense vegetation. The view combined with the old Chinese traditional structure and the golden afternoon sun made the moment simply beautiful, like the call of a vast adventure and ancient mysteries.....

OHH and there was definitely this European couple at the top of the buddah making out hard core…Oh, Europeans...... just sayin’

 This is the entry way. It just looked cool. I'm sure it has some kind of meaning...

 This is the fishing village at the base of the buddah- soooo CUTE (i know i've used that word a billlion times ;))And of course it has the token starbucks.

Mainland China

We’ve been crossing the Chinese boarder daily to work with the Church in China. It’s a lot of traveling and we get 4 stamps in our passport each day x4. It makes our passports look super cool, but only an actress would think that. Our work is slightly dangerous, so we are very focused.

We are in love with the food here and we walk soooo much that we just try everything. One of our favorites is this bowl of chicken and rice and the edges of the bowl are so hot that the rice gets cooked and crunchy around the edges…. and the sauce. AH! So, I may or may not turn into a total fatty on this trip. Haha, but for real.

The metro is so crowded in the morning, you can’t always make the first or second or third train and then the crowd control lady comes and yells at people in Chinese to move because you are literally that pathetic. May or may not have happened. The CUTEST CLOTHES IVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!!!! Why aren’t our malls this cool?!!! Every time we walk by a store, I have to say out loud, “Christina, you are on a mission trip, not a shopping spree.” It’s been difficult. And it’s okay, unless you are a stylish person, I don’t expect you to understand.

Tomorrow, we begin our work with YWAM for the next couple weeks. We are excited to meet all the staff. We get to start the day with worship in the morning. Oh….. and one last thing. Our roof has this SUPER legit balcony where you can see the sparkle of the distant skyscrapers, the clay roofs of houses for miles, and the metro zooming somewhere else (every 3 mins).The view combined with clinking dishes, childrens’ laughter and dog barking somewhere near truly let the moment land. I’m in Hong Kong. A beautiful city with this beautiful night all to myself and there is something intimate about the moment, something deep that you will remember fondly. I know, I’m such a girl sometimes haha. 

 Here we are at the Schenzhen boarder in Mainland China! We are here to work with the church in China and we are so honored to be working with a people so devoted to their faith. They love God so much and it’s very encouraging. These people also have incredible faith. We are already attached.
 

 This is Dennis Balcome, a very influential missionary in China. He ministered to Kristine and I for over an hour. His stories were absolutely incredible. Lots of blind being healed, raising from the dead, people in wheelchairs walking. He has been here since 1969. We were so blessed to spend time learning the recent history of the Chinese church from a firsthand account.

 Also, there is a huge shopping center right by the Schenzhen Chinese boarder with lots of name brands, floors and floors of shops and people grabbing me to come inside. Because Kristine and I looked obviously western we got a lot of attention. We bartered for things and got them down to less than half the original asking price, which is what our HK contacts instructed. Of course this involved us “walking away” a couple times. So fun, but exhausting!!! Thank God we don’t have to barter for everything in the US. I’d be too overwhelmed to go to the mall.

 These are the toilets in China… um, yes. Very SCARY!!!

 This in Nuen Long, the city closest to us (we are staying in a suburb). Everyone is out and active in the evening and the weather is perfect- a warm breeze in the evening excitement. Lots of traffic, yelling, stands, beggars, signs, lights and it sounds like you’ve won the lottery every time the crosswalk bell goes off. Kristine and I already have “our” noodle place. SO good and spicy, they hand roll the noodles and it’s so cheap. I will be on the hunt for authentic Chinese noodles in LA!!!!

 The Nuen Long fruit and veggie and meat market, noisy, but has it’s own beauty. The beauty of everyday life, the simple things.

 

This is the fountain in Hung Hom, by the water in Kowloon. It’s where all the westerners come to stay. You can tell because from the starbucks window while sipping a gingerbread latte, I was convinced I

was in Manhattan for a second.

Our Chinese church friends gave us peanuts ( WAYYY better than the peanuts in the USA, we are getting jipped. Just sayin’. I am looking for Chinese peanut butter) and dragon fruit (stains like a pomegranate, but with the texture of a kiwi, you scoop it with a spoon), grapes and baby apples. This is our dinner J