Saying goodbye is always the hardest part

So ends our few short days in Guizhou. Although I forgot my camera, and therefore currently have no pictures to display about the trip, I am fairly confident I don't need pictures to relay my emotions.

I am perfectly thrilled that I chose to come. Just seeing the joy beaming from the faces of all those children made it ALL worthwhile. Their lives are so simple, sometimes to the point of lacking, but they are still so happy. Whatever we gifted to them, even just a little bit, was received with the utmost gratitude and almost wonderment. What a far cry from our affluent world! And in return, innocent joy oozed from the children, and such warmth from the teachers, principal, and village chief! Never before has any time in my life come close to these past few days. What our team and the villagers were able to share together was truly priceless.

Sure, it took 1.5 hours of end-to-end bumping on a washed out road to get to school every morning, and the hotel every night. Sure, it was 37 degrees and humid, without air conditioning. Sure, bathroom amenities, or the lack thereof, made several things rather inconvenient. But in the end, I wouldn't have it any other way. It's hardly been 5 hours since we left the school, and already I am filled with a sense of emptiness. I miss them all, and if I have a chance to come next year, I would, in a heartbeat.

If there was one regret, it would be this: that we were not able to preach the Gospel, due to China's laws. And so, as I sit here right now, on the verge of tears, I hope that our love has been able to shine a light on something different, that they might be able to recognize it, and search for that something different. I pray that when they search for this, they will be able to find God, and when they have done so, to believe in Him, so that they might not just receive momentary joy in this life, but a rich, abundant, and eternal joy in the next.

May this dream one day be fulfilled.

T-minus 7h 7m

Guizhou, here I come.

To be perfectly honest, I'm totally flummoxed. I'm anxious, apprehensive, and yet elated, and positively excited, all at the same time. With just over 7 hours before leaving the comfort of home for a trip I will likely never forget, this sensory overload is perhaps the last thing I needed. And yet it exists. So bear with me here.

An opportunity like this has actually been presented to me twice already. Once last year, once earlier this year. And yet, both times, out of sheer bloody-mindedness, I refused. I delayed. I fretted about. I flat out avoided the issue. I was, in other words, being an ass. Or a coward. Or both.

And yet, midway through May, once again the issue arose. This time, because my aunt wanted me to come along on the volunteer trip her company was organizing. Well, something clicked. Third time's the charm, they say, and so it was. It was the third time something like this presented itself to me. I got the point. I was Jonah, and this was my Nineveh. I can't just sit there and waste my summer, pouring out the idle vapourings of a mind diseased. God was saying, clear as ever, "Go!"

Sometimes, commands from on high don't come directly. They come through opportunities, and you have to recognize them. Not only that, but then you have to take them. For the perpetually stubborn, such as myself, sometimes once isn't enough. Twice isn't enough. Thankfully, our God is a gracious one.

And so, here I stand, at this moment, on the brink of what promises to be a new chapter. People, pray for me. Pray that I will be a beacon of God's glory to the children and teachers that we meet. Even though we cannot explicitly preach the Gospel, even though this isn't a religious trip, pray that God's love, through me, will bear witness. And on a similar vein, pray for the physical and logistical aspects of this trip, for our entire team. Thank you so very much, people.

And, God, because I realize I haven't earnestly thought of you behind the scenes, I would like to take this time to finally say, after a few months of delay, thanks for this opportunity. Bless it, for your own sake.

Writer's Block

You may have noticed that it's been a week since the last post. That's because of two things. One, I SAW PEOPLE OVER THE WEEKEND AND DID COOL STUFFS LIKE BADMINTON AND GOLF. Yippee! So that's a complete distraction from blogging already. Two, asides from that, nothing really happened...so I had no reason to blog.

So anyways, tomorrow is Thursday, and it happens to be the last workday of the week for me, because I took Friday off. I'll be seeing friends again ^_^ AND WE'RE WATCHING DESPICABLE ME. OMGWTFBBQ I'VE HEARD IT'S REALLY CUTE. Please pray that I don't die of fluffiness xD. Mebbe I'll do a movie review afterwards.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaanywho, back to earth now. The above paragraphs are probably totally different from any style of writing I have ever used on either blogs of mine. Usually I save the giddiness for chatting with friends cause it's more fun that way, but well...none of them are online right now, and I needed some way to get myself started with this post, so...yeah...

On a complete non sequitur, it is now...1, 2, 3...3 days and a night until I leave for Guizhou. Fun stuff. I'm actually fairly excited, although at the same time slightly apprehensive. Excited because this is pretty cool and meaningful, but apprehensive cause it's such a new and exotic experience. I really hope the love of God will be able to shine through from my actions, so that the kids and the people there can really notice something different, even though I'm not allowed to explicitly say anything about God. For those of you reading this, a prayer request for: physical protection on the trip, a sincere heart towards the children, a way to glorify God through this, and an experience I can learn from and cherish forever.

And that's where things stand. For now, this is Eddie Wong, signing off from Hong Kong. Good night, everyone!

A recap of the week

I sat in the office for 4 days...on Wednesday I went up to visit the company factory at Dongguan. That was quite the trip. I could never have imagined the amount of heavy machinery and modern technology that goes into a board game. Never again will I take for granted what appears to be a simple board game. Oh, by the way, a shout out to all you Monopoly owners out there...chances are that board came out of our factory. And have no fear, for this is the cleanest factory in China. It may not be largest, but size isn't everything.

Also, this week was rather eventful for weather. No, Typhoon Chanthu did not manage to come even remotely close to a direct hit, but it did generate the first black rainstorm warning of the year. Hong Kong's rainstorm warning signals range from amber to red to black. Amber means 30 mm/hr has fallen or is expected to fall. Red is 50, and black is 70. Yes, 70 mm/hr. Once you've been in the tropics, you really can't complain about the rain in Vancouver. It's almost pathetic what passes as a rainfall warning back there. I believe the criteria is 40 mm/DAY. It's also embarassing what passes for a snowfall warning in Vancouver, but I won't get into that today.

Right, so I got vaccinated today. On both arms. It was necessary since I'm going to Guizhou soon for a short volunteering trip. So it's all good. I'm vaccinated, the stuff is generally all set to go, and the mood is positive. Except my arms are slightly sore, and I'm golfing tomorrow. Whoops. We'll see how it ends up.

Well, that's about it for this week...you can't really say THAT much about sitting in an office. Even though it consumes the better part of the day, nothing of true excitement happens but for once a blue moon. If something even distantly resembling action happens at work, be sure that it will wind its way onto this blog. For now, the pillows and sheets beckon. A good evening to you all.