Closing Reflections from Hong Kong
It’s been an interesting week in Hong Kong. Even as I look back on it now, I’m struggling to really digest what I’ve been a part of.
The city is quite overwhelming. It is completely westernized-American style dress, TV, advertisements, malls, etc.- yet very different. It has, along with much of China and the developing world, experienced hyper-industrialization. On a pennisula and a few tiny islands are packed 8 million people. Every square inch seems like a jumbled assortment of advertisements, a vendors, or a high rises. Get out of the city a little bit and you’ll encounter beautifully manicured fung shui style parks, and hillside villages with rice patties and ancestral shrines.
The church does has a presence here, analogous in many ways to the suburban US Church. However, as we saw in the beautiful, yet disturbing monasteries and shrines, there are still millions of Buddhists, Taoists, and Confuscians who need to meet our Daddy.
The ministry we assisted is not your typical outreach. Your typical missionary is someone who moves to a place, learns the culture, and tries to present Daddy’s Son to them in ways that are culturally appropriate. The friends we made here have a very different mission: serve and equip the Chinese Church.
In many ways it is an immensely fruitful mission. Whereas a typical missionary spends years before he or she sees any progress, this mission, you know that your actions have immediate results. The downside is, you could spend years and never actually see the results.
I am immensely grateful for the team here and their willingness to serve thanklessly. The Chinese church, and the whole world as a result, will be indebted to them for years to come.
Time to go to Delhi.
