Adventist Mission

Kyle Family Blog 4

CINDY

Hong Kong and Beijing

Rob, as most medical professionals, has to keep his physical therapy license current by taking continuing education (CE) courses each year. This year he choose to go to the 5th World Congress of Sports Trauma in Hong Kong. The boys and I usually don't go along with him to his CEs, but since we had frequent flyer miles, all five of our tickets were free (minus the $35 booking fee). It has been an educational and inspirational trip for all of us. I wish I had the ability to convey to you all that we encountered in China, but for now I will tell you about our first big 'adventure'.

We arrived late Monday and it is now Friday as I am sitting at the hotel pool waiting for Rob to come back from his second day at the course. While the boys swim, I have time to reflect about today's activities. The plan was simple. We would leave the hotel, ride the train down two stops to Hung Hon, and get off and pick up the tickets for our cross country train ride to Beijing scheduled for Sunday. Other than not knowing exactly where to go and wasting a bit of time, all went smoothly.

Second on our daily plan was to ride down to the China Resource building to pick up our mainland China visas that we applied for on Wednesday. I had the exact amount for all six visas plus money for food, water, train passes, and souvenir money the boys had brought.

We were running late because of our lack of 'big city experience'. When we arrived at Wan Chai station, we ran the entire way, winding in and out of the sardine-packed sidewalks and bridges. The visa office would close from 12-2 p.m. for lunch. We prayed silently for God to allow us to make it there before 12 so we could finish the day by shopping for souvenirs at Stanley Market and prepare for the Sabbath after that.

We made it to the building by 11:45! Happily, I saw a nonexistent line in what would normally be a 30 minute wait. I stepped up to window one. It was a check window to see if I was who I said I was. Very simple, but an important step. Window two was where I was to pay the cashier for the visas. I was praising God quietly for all He had done for us. With a big grin on my face I took out the 6120 HKD to pay for the visas.

As the stoic cashier saw me counting the money she pointed to the screen. 7020 HKD! I asked why it cost more, but she just pointed to the screen. I scrambled to find the extra 900 HKD. Robby was holding the money sack (it hung around his neck, tucked into his shirt), and I asked him to get out all the money. We were short 120 HKD and didn't know what to do.

I prayed again. "Lord, if you want us to go to Beijing, You will have to work this out. Thy will be done." I told the cashier that I didn't have all the money. "Back at 2 p.m." was all she told me in broken English. I had until 5 p.m. to get the money or we would not be on the train to Beijing on Sunday.

Maybe we should not go to Beijing. After all, there is quite a lot of unrest there right now. These were my thoughts and then God helped me remember my emergency $20 USD I tucked away in one of my folders. I pulled it out and went back up to the first window, and asked the lady if the 20 would work. Of course it would not be accepted, what was I thinking....it is foreign money.

What I must tell you is that we tried to apply for our visas Tuesday, our first day in Hong Kong, but the lines were too long. Wednesday we went back early and applied. A young gentleman told us we would get the visas back on Friday. That was exactly what I was trying to do this day. When all God-driven human effort was put forth, God saw fit to perform a miracle.

First, He brought to my memory the nice young man from Wednesday. He then knew this man had HKDs that he would exchange for my 20 USD. I asked him if he would exchange the money and he gladly gave me 140 HKD for my 20 USD. Then, this is a miracle on top of a miracle, God put another 100 HKD in the money pouch around Robby's neck. I know He did. We counted the money carefully and multiple times when we came up short initially.

I immediately went to window two and, with a smile on my face again, handed the lady the money. It was almost lunch time. I'm sure she wanted to go and not have to deal with anyone else until after lunch at 2 p.m. She scanned the bills with a special light to detect any fakes.... she found one! It was a 500 HKD bill. "Nother one," she said demandingly. I stared. I prayed. Then I talked. "I don't have any more money." "Nother one," she said again. Lord, did she charge too much the first time? Is she now asking for another ONE hundred HKD instead of 500?

Quickly I counted the loose change in the pouch--87 HKD. I pushed it under the window and said that I only had 87. With a frustrated look she grabbed the original 500 bill, looked through the light once more, and thrust all six passports at me from behind the window. I thanked her twice and God over and over again. Why was the lady so obstinate toward us? It could be a number of reasons. I am not to judge her or her actions. I pray that my smiles or my pleasant attitude brought a little Son shine into her life.

Now, 87 HKD does not get five people very far on public transit in Hong Kong. The plan to go down to Stanley Market was a wash, but we were thankful for our visas. And that God gave us enough money to ride all the way back to the hotel, and for bread and water (literally) for lunch. Also, we had extra time to prepare for the Sabbath and hike to Monkey Mountain with John and Connie Ash, an opportunity we would not have had had we gone to Stanley Market.

God does not promise smooth sailing in all our daily encounters and activities. What He does promise is Romans 8:28.

It has been a real joy blogging this month. It has made all six of us dig deep into our thoughts to share sometimes very private feelings with all of you. I hope that you will remember our family as you pray each day. Pray that God will open doors for us to share His Son. Also, remember the children in our neighborhood as we embark on a journey to know Jesus as our best friend.

Cindy

Photographs
1. Great Wall, Beijing
2. Train system MTR in Hong Kong: Rob, Robby, and Benjamin
3. Benjamin at Temple of Heaven, Beijing
4. Jacob and Christopher wearing Chinese field hat at Hong Kong Museum
5 & 6. Monkey mountain Sabbath hike in Hong Kong
7. Cindy and Rob, Beijing
8. Forbidden City, Beijing

Meet the Kyles
Kyle Family Blog 1
Kyle Family Blog 2
Kyle Family Blog 3

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