Alas, we have come to our last post of our extended trip to Hong Kong and I just want to share some of the remaining notable events that took place, beginning with my mom’s birthday celebration at the Royal Garden Hotel.
One really meaningful project we did was to spread Jesus’ love to the homeless community in a small area of Hong Kong (Sham Shui Po) right before Christmas. In previous years when we spent the holidays back home in the Bay Area, we would put together care packages for the homeless over the holidays, full of necessities to help get them through the cold, harsh winter. In Hong Kong, we decided to pass out rice boxes instead. Brianne invited 2 of her friends to join and the girls spent the morning writing and drawing out words to convey Jesus’ love.
As we distributed the rice boxes and gospel cards, we took the time to chat with some of the homeless people to hear their stories. They were incredibly grateful for our gesture, and we learned that these people are every bit as human as we are. They just happened to be down on their luck, or abandoned by their family, and despite needing the essentials to survive day by day, they really just want to be acknowledged as real people. Next time you pass by a homeless person, try looking them in the eye and giving them a smile. Or better yet, stop to say hello and ask how you can help. Maybe they just need a bottle of water at the moment. Or a prayer together. Small acts of kindness can really go a long way, and while we may feel like helping one homeless person cannot make any type of impact on the larger problem of homelessness, the kind gesture can help revive someone’s dignity, or give them hope for the future.
And because a picture is worth a thousand words, here are the photos to tell of the rest of our trip….
Rare date night for Alan and I: Street food + Jacky Cheung concert!
And more casual outings with the fam bam….
You’d think it gets easier to say good bye since we see our family in Hong Kong at least several times a year, but it doesn’t. Our good byes are still tearful and sad, and we still dread the separation immensely.
A huge shoutout of appreciation to my sis and brother in law for their top notch hospitality throughout our stay. They always go out of their way to make sure our stay is comfortable and joyous, despite our intrusion into their very busy lives. So grateful for them!!!
