December in Hong Kong

December has been a pretty amazing month for us, well - especially for me I think. First I had two classes that had to put on some kind of Christmas performance. Where to begin? I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't grow up in Sunday school and I hadn't ever participated in a Nativity play but here I was doing it. And the kids - they are 4 and 5 - what are they able to do? I gave it to God - it's His story and wow weren't those kids amazing! I wrote a script for the nativity play and taught the kids their parts. Thankfully they practiced a lot with their parents at home because when the time came they knew their stuff. I taught them three songs - a cute hip version of Joy to the World, Christmas is a Time (for Love) and Wasn't That a Mighty Day? I made up motions and taught them and they loved it. We practiced in small groups, whole groups and finally in the multi-purpose room. Luckily all the classes were sharing the set so I didn't have to worry much about that. And it was so great, those kids really shined and did beyond what I thought we were capable of. Isn't that how God works? And through the whole experience I gained an insight into this beloved Christmas story. It wasn't just a story but a revelation of love. Wow. That same week I had two concerts of my own. I joined the Hong Kong Community Wind Band just a month before and had a lot of catching up to do to be ready for these concerts but somehow it worked out. I am definitely rusty but it all came together and it was fun. I am posting videos but not on here. It take too long to upload and keeps failing. We are a volunteer band of teachers and a few people from the community led by Mike Ross who teaches band here at ICS. He's great. The first concert was here at our school. The second was at the Hong Kong Arts Center. They do outdoor concerts and we were the first to play that night. So cool. Don't mind Ernie's commentary or singing. :) We were in the middle of our cold snap that night and it was a little hard to play but fun nevertheless. We resume in February.

Ernie and I have been taking the opportunity to relax and explore a bit this week we've been off. We have seen so many neat things around our community. We took a looonnng walk the other night and saw a group of people singing karaoke and dancing by the water near this little park. Chinese country - I have no words to explain that. But some of the songs were good and the dancing was neat. Then we found this neat park with a waterfall and bridges and coy and goldfish. It was beautiful. We saw green astro turf shadows in another park - some art project. That was cool. The Christmas lights reflecting off the water was magical and the temperature was wonderful. We've discovered new restaurants and had fun shopping for various things. We went to the racetrack last night which is huge here. It was so fun to watch the beautiful horses run and the Asian people drink 10 cups of tea. LOL! Finding places is never easy here but somehow we always end up where we intended to go and we always get home so we count it all as good! There's always so much going on here. This morning Ernie saw ladies doing their Tai Chi group with fans when he went to the store. And tonight was the most special of all. We went to the Christmas Eve service at our church and it was packed! I made a new friend named Brittney who is from Texas and lives right by where I work! We exchanged numbers. I think she's a kindred spirit. Then we sang carols and partook in the Lord's Supper and then the lights went out and we lit candles and sang Silent Night and Oh Come All Ye Faithful all holding our candles up as lights in a dark world and it was so amazing! After the service we went out for a bite and there were all kinds of groups we saw gathered caroling and sharing on the way home. It was so awesome to see. And I'm not feeling homesick. Don't get me wrong - I miss my family and friends very much during this time when we always spend special time together but I feel peaceful. I've done everything that is important to me and we have two potluck Christmas dinners to go to with friends tomorrow on Christmas and the day after Christmas. We are not alone and we are in Hong Kong so that just makes it cool. The presents are wrapped and under the tree and we are ready. Happy Birthday Jesus and thank you for the most amazing gift of love - the best gift on this Christmas day. We wish everyone the Merriest of Christmases! We love you!