Our First Christmas in HK

Josiah as one of the wise men at school 

Dear Friends and Family,

We have had an exciting Christmas season and it seems like much has happened since our last post (or least since I [Carol] last wrote).  We hope that your holidays have been filled with joy and peace.  One of the songs that Josiah learned for his Christmas play had a line that I cannot get out of my head because it's so catchy and meaningful too.  It says, "Jesus is the reason, we celebrate the season! He is the reason that we sing!"  Whenever Josiah gets to that part of the song, he shouts it out and I love it.  The song will forever be ingrained in my head, and it's been a great reminder this month that this season is indeed about the birth of our King (another line in the same song). :)

For our first Christmas in Hong Kong, we learned that it's surprisingly celebrated in big ways.  When we're in the train station, Josiah starts singing along to "Joy to the World" and "Silent Night", and it's interesting that religious Christmas songs are played more frequently here than in the States.  When I was in Toys R Us a couple weeks ago trying to find little gifts for the kids' stockings, in the background I could hear the story of the wise men being told over the loudspeakers.  And although Hong Kong is a place where there are not many Christians, people in Hong Kong celebrate the secular part of Christmas in some seemingly bigger ways than the US.  There are huge and pretty incredible Christmas decorations in the malls, a very believable Santa that you can take a picture with at one of the bigger malls, and amazing Christmas light shows and decorations that illuminate the night sky on many skyscrapers.  A couple days before Christmas some of the staff at the school  had a Christmas scavenger hunt around the local mall.  The people that participated shared that the most difficult thing to find on the list, which included items such as candy canes, reindeer, snow, and Santa, was a manger, which is pretty telling as to what Christmas means here in Hong Kong.

Christmas lights near the Central piers

Christmas decorations at the local mall (on a weekday)

One of the best gifts we received this Christmas was a visit from Shannon's family friends.  Tammy and Dennis Wilson visited us for four days through Christmas, and it was so nice to have a full house during the holidays.  It made it seem like we were a little closer to home to have friends from home.  Tammy and Dennis were bonus grandparents to our kids while they were here, and made them feel so loved.  We also enjoyed having Christmas Eve dinner with the other teachers that stayed here over break.

Showing off our stockings!

Josh showing off his manger box

Another fun part of this month was that I started teaching Sunday school at church.  I asked the regular Sunday school teacher how I could help, so we decided to teach on a 4-6 week rotation.  This month I taught the kids about the promises that God gave and fulfilled through Jesus' birth.  Every week there have been 10-15 kids and they have ranged from 2-12 years old.  The age gap has been a little bit of a challenge and there have been a few times when a couple of the children haven't spoken any English, but I have really enjoyed it.  Plus, I found out that the person that normally teaches Sunday school hadn't been able to enjoy being in service with the rest of the congregation without teaching the children for eight years!  So I am really glad that I can share the privilege of teaching these kiddos about Jesus with her.  My favorite moments with the kids this month were singing Christmas songs that helped them remember and celebrate God's promises and the little manger that they made and took home.

It has also been a time of joy for me as I've gotten to know other people in the community a little better.  I was really starting to miss family and friends a lot, but God has provided people in our lives that have encouraged us greatly.  The moms' group and the community of people here at the school have all been so wonderful, and it's been really encouraging to have people that I can relate to and share with whether it be as a mom to little ones, a foreigner, or as a Christian.

Goofing off with classmates while waiting for the train

The biggest thing that's put a smile on my face though is that we've had a friend start attending church with us.  One of Josiah's good friends at school has an aunt that takes care of her during the day since both her parents work.  Almost every school day we walk together since we ride the same train, and Josiah and his friend regularly hold hands and have silly conversations as we go home.  I've gotten to know the aunt pretty well because the kids are friends and we've had a couple playdates too.  On one of the playdates we got to talking about church and she shared that she actually lived in the US for awhile to take care of her mother-in-law until she passed away.  During that time she attended church in the US.  She shared, "I was a Christian in the US but not here in Hong Kong."  When I asked her why, she expressed difficulty in finding a church to attend that seemed genuine.  So I asked if she wanted to come to our church and that Sunday she came!  It turns out that our church is actually only a five minute walk from her place in Central.  Although I sometimes get frustrated at how tiring and crowded our commute to church can be, I'm even more thankful now because it's a great little church that's close to where my friend lives and that she really enjoys.  It continues to reaffirm why God put us there and we hope we can continue to build friendships and share our faith with our neighbors and friends.



Thank you so much for your prayers, emails, facebook messages/posts, letters, surprise packages, and love.  We are often reminded that we are immensely blessed to have people like you that will read our long posts, pray for us, and think about us even when we're miles away.  And we remember, especially during this season, that we love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

Merry Late Christmas and Happy Early New Year!

p.s.- Over the break, we plan on sending a couple more posts filled with pictures that capture some everyday glimpses of things we see and experience here, as well as some of the fun touristy things we have gotten to do.  Check back again soon for more pictures and less writing!