Typhoon Warning: Hong Kong!

Saying goodbye to Korea and all my new friends and family there was so hard! But it was time for our next adventure... Hong Kong! Now, let me just say in all honesty, I was not excited for Hong Kong. I did not want to leave Korea and I had no idea what to expect in China. But, the airfare was so cheap we couldn't pass up the opportunity to go. My besty, Brittany Crisp, was metropolitan witnessing in LA with some friends from the Chinese congregation and hooked me up with a newlywed couple to stay with in Hong Kong. THEY WERE AMAZING!!! Vincent & Sandy were the best. They took such good care of us! Vincent picked us up from the airport and even held up a sign with our names, ever so professionally. So we took the 1 hr bus ride to there home, dropped off our bags, grabbed a quick snack then went straight to their meeting... Their Cantonese meeting. It was sooo hard to stay awake! It was crazy hot and humid outside but they were blasting the AC in the Kingdom Hall so it was so refreshing. We had been so busy in Korea with jam packed schedules so to sit still and not understand what was going on at the meeting made it so hard to stay awake. So I got up to wash my hands and hopefully wake up a little, and when I walked into the restroom that's exactly what happened! As soon as I walked in I saw the BIGGEST cockroach I've ever seen in my life!!! Sandy was walking in behind me and just stomped on it and I literally had to cover my mouth so that I wouldn't scream out loud! It was so gross! After meeting a large group of us went out to dinner, where I learned how to peel and eat head on shrimp. It was an interesting day to say the least. 

The next day we woke up early to go in service. We met with the group and while our hosts went on bible studies, we went and did cart witnessing in the park. I was determined to witness in English and after hours of greeting people in English and offering English literature with no success I finally tried greeting people in Cantonese, and finally placed some magazines!! It was nice, but it was HOT and crazy humid so we were ready for a lunch break. The entire service group, and more came and met us and we crammed like 15 people at one circular table but it was fun. Afterwards, two of the young girls, Wendy & Erica, in our group took us shopping. Later we met up with some friends of Erica's for dinner. We had a blast! 

Monday we toured Bethel which was so different from any other Bethel facility I've ever visited. As you can imagine, real estate is very expensive in Hong Kong and everything is industrial. So instead of a large property with residential building and dining halls, in Hong Kong they have 2 floors in a high rise building. Which was really exciting. They had just opened the 2nd floor just 10 days prior to our visit! We learned of the growth for Hong Kong Bethel over the years. Once upon a time, they operated out of multiple tiny locations. Then a few years back they consolidated into a high rise building sharing a floor with another company. Then, in 2011 they expanded yet again to their own full floor. The 19th floor to be exact and now, we also occupy the 22nd floor! We were so excited to hear and even more excited to be some of the first to tour the new facility. Yet, everyone was so excited to meet us! Sandy, our host, is a part-time Bethel commuter and told them we were delegates at the International Convention in Seoul. They gathered around us and wanted to see photos, videos, and wanted to hear all about the program. Which was funny to me because we were so excited to meet them and wanted to hear about what they do. I even got to meet the hair dresser! She really encouraged me to strive for my goals of working at Bethel! She joked and said she wished she would've known I was coming so that I could've done her hair. That would've been the coolest experience!!! After our tour we walked across the street into this weird building to have lunch. We went up some stairs and into the Bethel Guest Dining Hall. It was so different from anything else. A few subway stations away was the residential building which we planned on seeing but I ended up getting sick. Which ruined our plans for the rest of the day :/ We had planned on visiting some of the major tourist spots and doing more shopping but I was miserably nauseous. We finally got home around 5pm and I was out for the night. I was super dizzy, kept throwing up and just needed some rest. Our hosts took Krystal to dinner and shopping but I was out! 

That night a typhoon came in! It was kind of scary, the extreme winds, rain, thunder, and lightening along with the extreme heat was crazy! This, also ruined some plans! The next day we planned on visiting Dinseyland Hong Kong so we hoped the weather would calm down. When we woke up, the typhoon had actually gotten worse. To the extent that we couldn't leave the house, all stores were closed and all public transportation was shut down. All we could do now was... Nothing. We laid around our tiny room and watched (my favorite) Korean dramas! By 10:30 the typhoon warning had been lowered from a level 8 to a level 3 so we were able to leave and transportation was back on! We got there  in the late afternoon and the weather was still terrible but it was our only day to go and we had already paid so we went! 

We had a blast! It was actually a really cool way to end our trip. It felt like home walking down Main Street, USA. It looks exactly like the Main Street at Disneyland in California. The rides were awesome, and I think the attractions and shows are better in Hong Kong. With the exception of the fireworks show. California's is WAAAY better. Yet, as I stood there watching the fireworks I couldn't help but smile as I reflected on the entire trip. It was such a great way to finish this adventure. I learned so much about life, and myself, and my goals on this trip. It was the best experience of my life. And while Hong Kong had more things go wrong, then right. It was still an experience and I still learned from it. That's what traveling is all about I think. You're not going to fall in love with every place, and culture that you come across as you travel. But how else would you know, if you never went and experienced it first hand? 

So now I'm home, back in California. Tired, no. Devastated, maybe. Sick of sitting, yes! But one thing I know for sure is that this trip has forever changed me. It built me up. It broke me down. It helped me see what really matters- serving Jehovah whole souled no matter where you are or what you do- give it all you got! 

Xoxo