Autumn Homecoming

Autumn has arrived in Hong Kong! (I think!) This is our first year in HK, so I had to ask my students if the seasons had indeed changed (or was I just getting used to the heat and humidity?!), and they have all confirmed that these breezy and sunny days with slightly lower temperatures and humidity means that we are now in Autumn. And it is glorious! The guidebooks all tote October as THE month to be in HK, as it is sunny and pleasantly warm with only a few rainy days and thus lower humidity from the summer months. I think they are right. Something to keep in mind for those of you thinking of a visit....

In fact, we had the 'Mid-Autumn' Festival a couple of weeks ago, where everyone eats copious amounts of 'Moon cakes' and stares at the full moon with family and friends (it brings good luck for the coming year, so I was told), however, at that time I wasn't really feeling an Autumnal bite. I even asked some people, 'How is this considered MID Autumn, when I haven't noticed the start of the season- it's only early October?' but they assured me repeatedly that it was mid-Autumn... I didn't get a good answer... but as the holidays follow the lunar calendar, I guess you can't argue... and after all, China is a huge country, so it must be mid-Autumn somewhere (like inner Mongolia)!

Oh, and for the record, you can pre-order gluten-free 'Moon Cakes' from a health food shop in Central, so I was able to participate in the feasting! That was thrilling for me! It is customary for people to give these cakes to friends and family, and apparently your teachers, as we received some from students, so Ryan had the added joy of eating Moon Cakes for two- those given to him and those given to me! People know of my allergy, but I think they felt it would be rude not to gift me one as well... everyone is very thoughtful.

The other exciting news from us is that we have moved to a new home down the hill from the seminary. It is much more spacious and we have great views! We are very happy and feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to live in an apartment in an historical home surrounded by a big yard. We also have charge of two beautiful grey cats who live on the roof patio above us and Ryan enjoys feeding them twice a day. We also have several dogs on the grounds to keep us on our toes!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support,
K&R

Please pray for the people of Myanmar

The situation in Myanmar has been front page news here in Hong Kong.... I am not sure how much people are talking about it outside of Asia, but I hope all of you are aware of the recent protests by the people of Myanmar, led by the Buddhist monks, and the subsequent crackdown by the military regime who controls the country. We have many students here at LTS from Myanmar, and they are concerned for their families and for the future of their people.

We were all very excited in the beginning as the government surprised the world by tolerating the peaceful demonstrations. Unfortunately, the government has changed its course and is now imprisoning monks, using force and violence against them and others (including foreign journalists- a Japanese camera man was shot), and forcing some to flee while others live in fear. According to our students, lives are being disrupted and food prices have soared, as you can imagine, but information is tightly controlled by the regime (or military junta, as they call it here on the nightly news) and so we don't really know what all is going on inside the country.

Please pray for the people of Myanmar in their struggle for peace, justice, and their human rights. Remember the LTS students from Myanmar who are studying far away from their homes and their families and are worrying about the security situation in their country.

Teaching has begun!

We are now members of the teaching profession! It's exciting to be working after months of packings, orientations, unpackings... (although to be honest, we are moving again this week to another apartment, so I guess this transition phase has not ended yet! We are really happy about our new place, but no one is ever thrilled to bits by the prospect of another move).

Our classes are wonderful. We are privileged to be teaching such a motivated group. And, they are very nice people, so it's always delightful to run into them around campus! We are teaching two regular classes, one tutorial, editing the work of our peers and graduate students (last week we finished the editing of our first Th.D. dissertation!) and also running ten conversation class groups.

In addition to this, we are parents in a 'family' group at LTS, which mostly entails the management and organization of group activities with those international students in our family. We are also helping LTS as they work to create an English language center for Christians from the poorer Mekong Delta region of South East Asia.

Ryan recently has taken on the role of faculty secretary, as one of our dear colleagues has been diagnosed with cancer. (Please keep him in your prayers. He is a good friend and neighbor of ours and also the Pastor at one of the Churches we attend.) On a brighter note, I am pleased to announce that I am on the committee planning LTS's 95th anniversary year celebrations! The party starts next autumn! I don't actually know what this means for me, but I pulled an American and volunteered during our last faculty meeting. I think I was the only person who volunteered to do anything- I don't think it's part of the culture to outwardly assert you are a good person to undertake a responsibility, however, I felt I should get involved and it sounded like a position which would not require theological expertise! (I have experience in planning 'fun' and maybe this could be a place for creative flair?!)

When I asked him about our 'job news,' Ryan prattled on, "We have had four different job offers we have had to turn down, three of which were from major financial institutions, that shall remain nameless, however, they do print their own money...." I know all of you miss his witty or off-kilter sense of humour...

From Hong Kong with love...