Visa run to Hong Kong (香港)

Well as you may remember a while back we found out that we had a visa problem where we would need to leave the country 2 days before our flight home was scheduled. We looked at all of our options which included: 

1. Trip to the Philippines. (What should have been a very cheap trip would have ended up costing over $1000 USD. Also currently there are travel warnings for Americans not to travel there because of kidnapping.)

2. Change our return flight. ( Because we bought the "cheapest" tickets we could find they were not changeable.)

3. Pay a fine ( The fine can range anywhere from about $70 USD per person to $600 USD, and we didn't want to risk our relationship with Taiwan in case we have the opportunity to return someday.)  

4.Trip to Hong Kong. (Best Choice not only would it resolve our visa problem but also it would let Hannah fulfill a lifelong goal of going to mainland China.)

So after much thought and prayer we booked our flights to Hong Kong April 25-27th. There is also a Bethal branch in Hong Kong, so I called to schedule a tour for Friday. I wanted to get an English tour if possible, and the sister was very kind, she asked if we would also like to eat lunch with the Bethel family of-course we accepted. Aside from visiting Bethel we really didn't know what to do in Hong Kong. We are still really bad at this whole travel thing. More about that later though... Also Quick fun fact Hong Kong is the Cantonese pronunciation in Mandarin it is: Xiānggǎng. 香港

On Thursday we took a bus to Taipei where the international airport is located. Buses are much cheaper than the High Speed Rail. A single ticket to Taipei on the HSR will run you about 650nt or aprox 23 USD where as a single ticket on the bus will only run you 150nt or about 5 USD.

We arrived a few hours before our flight but after getting checked in we really only had a short time to grab something to eat. But none the less we made it with out any problems.

Taipei International Airport

Hannah At the Hello Kitty Self check in counter.

International flights are great they serve you a meal no matter how short the flight is our flight to Hong Kong took less than 2 hours yet we still got lunch.

As we flew into Hong Kong we were amazed! It was clear and the way the sun was hitting the city and the ocean it was just beautiful! Nothing like we were expecting. Here are some shots from the plane:

So our first impression of Hong Kong was: "This is beautiful we are going to love it here!"  As we walked around everything was in English and everyone we talked to spoke English very well. We felt like this was truly going to be a vacation. Much needed since school has been a nightmare lately. We talked with a lady at information and she told us the cheapest way to get to our hotel. We bought our octopus cards (used for all public transport except taxis) and headed to our bus. 

Because Hong Kong has a very heavy British influence they drive on the left side of the street, very strange! We rode the bus for about an hour and a half and then got off at the stop we had been told. Then we promptly got very very lost and walked back and forth and in circles trying to figure out where we were and where we needed to go. Finally a kind man took pity on us and asked us if we needed help, which we did! He told us exactly where we needed to go in flawless English. As we were walking on the street to our hotel we saw several hamster sized (As Hannah puts it) roaches, come our of the storm drains. They were 2 to 3 inches long! When we first saw them a man walking right in front of us stomped one and then kept walking, like it was totally normal. We have heard that that will happen in older parts of Taiwan, but weve never seen it. We freaked out and picked up our pace to the hotel. The hotel was very nice and pretty new but in an older area. After checking in we went to get dinner. We didn't realize that in Hong Kong the main language is Cantonese not Mandarin so we could not use our Chinese that we have been learning. Very frustrating!

On the Bus driving on the "Wrong" side of the road

Walking in Circles trying to find hotel

The next morning I asked for directions to Bethel and the girl at the front desk helped me find the easiest way there taxi and then MTR (basically a subway system). We have been spoiled though with our apartment in Taiwan when we need a taxi we ask our guard they call us one and it is there in 3 min. We ended up waiting over 25 min for a taxi. We even saw 2 men in front of us get in a fight over who's taxi it was, when the taxi just drove off with out anyone in it. Finally we got a taxi and made it to the MTR at which point Hannah realized she didn't have her Octopus card with her! SHe had to go buy a one way ticket. Finally we made it  to the correct station near Bethel. We were very stressed and very late and didn't know where to go. So our Second impression of Hong Kong was " We hate it hear it is dirty and gross and we can't get anywhere!"

On board the crowded MTR

The Building where Bethel is located. Because Land is very expensive in Hong Kong  they  only own a floor instead of the whole building. They have many locations for residence through out Hong Kong and recently purchased another floor of this building so next year that will be open as well. 

Front Desk

As we were trying to figure out where to go a Sister came up to us and asked "Are you witnesses? Are you going to Bethel? Let me show you the way." She was from California and currently serving in  Bethel. We really felt it was Jehovah taking care of us since we were near our breaking point. When we arrived at Bethel the reception was so warm and loving and they didn't mind at all that we were late. The sister who gave us the tour was the one who I had talked to originally. Her name was Teresa. She asked us what we had planned after the tour and lunch. We told her we had no idea what to do, that we wanted to ask them what they recommended. She left for a few min then came back with a map and told us what we could do and exactly how to get there. She lined out 6 or 7 interesting places we could go. And all of the things had "pioneer rates" aka very cheap :). She even gave us her personal phone number in case we got lost. Her nick name at Bethel is "Mother Teresa."

The Tour was very interesting. And the growth in Hong Kong is extraordinary! The video that they showed said that there were over 30 serving at Bethel but the new figure is actually more than 230.

Our Tour Group

"Mother Teresa"

Teresa was on a translation team for 30 years she told us that it normally takes about 6 weeks to translate a 32 page magazine. She also showed us how the translation has improved. In the beginning they only did a direct translation instead of translating the meaning they translated the words. When a word didn't exist they would approximate the sounds like you would do for a name. This made the old literature much harder to understand  

Old Publications translated into Chinese

This was the First Our Kingdom Ministry. it was Hand Written

 At the end of the tour she told us about Harold King and Nancy Yuan's experiences in China. Harold King was a British brother sent to China as a missionary who was imprisoned for over 6 years for his ministry. Nancy Yuan was a Chinese housewife that got the truth in Shanghai  She was baptized and began preaching. She was sent to prison for 20 years. We got to watch a video with interviews from both of them. Teresa also shared some parts of Nancy Yuan's experience with us, since she actually got to attend pioneer school with her. She told us how they would feed her rice mixed with sand. She said the hardest part of her imprisonment was not being visited by her children, the youngest of which was 2 when she was imprisoned.

Truly fine examples of unbreakable faith and trust in Jehovah!

After the tour we walked to another building where the kitchen was and enjoyed lunch with the Bethel family.

 Entrance to bethals dining room

 After eating lunch and enjoying lots of great association we followed our tour plans given to us by "Mother Teresa." Our first stop was the "Star Walk" similar to the board walk in Hollywood with all the names and hand prints of famous actors only these were all Chinese Actors.

It was a little chilly so we decided to go to Starbucks where we were happy to find out that our gift cards work unlike in Taiwan. It was very crowded but a man called us over and said he was almost done and that we could have his table. As it turns out he is a teacher in mainland China and we got to talk with him and witness for about half an hour.  

After that we asked a young man to take our picture. He was very nice and did so. We mentioned in passing that we were headed to the Ferry to go to the other side of the Bay. He said that was where he was headed as well and that he would go with us. It was a little awkward because he just attached him self to us for about 3 hours. However we feel we got to give him a very unique witness. Not only in just talking with him but also we ran into a sister that we had met at Bethel and he saw us talking with her and we met a group who were booth witnessing. The world wide brotherhood is so wonderful no mater where you are when you meet fellow brothers and sisters it is like meeting an old friend. Hannah was even able to help them since they had ran out of English magazines and she got to place a set with a lady that had approached them.

A "Chinese Junk"

Our journey with him ended as naturally as we could have hoped for when our plans finally differed. The Last thing that Teresa had recommended for us was to go up to the peak at night for an amazing view of the city.

Back on the other side of the bay there was a band singing "Poker Face" with Cantonese mixed in. There is just something really funny about that. :)

We Made it Back to the Hotel safe, sound and exhausted. The Next day we  headed to the airport this time taking the MTR which although was a little more expensive it was much faster and much easier. (Although the entrance to it from our hotel did not have an elevator so I had to carry our suit case up 4 flights of stairs.)

Our Flight was delayed by an hour. But the return flight to Taipei took only 1 hour 5 mins I don't know why the time was cut almost in half? Once back in Taiwan we went through immigration and we can now stay up to 180 more days. However we only have a little over 30 remaining, hard to believe! 

After about 3.5hrs on 2 buses we made it home around 8pm. Its strange how 3 days in Hong Kong really only ended up being 1 because of travel time.

On Sunday we visited the English congregation in Taichung for what will probably be our last time. It was so nice to get to talk to all of the friends and fully understand the talk and Watchtower study. After the meeting we went to lunch and then preaching on the square. 

Taichung English congregation

Booth witnessing at the square.

Also Had to include this Shot, look at the dog on the scooter. :)

Well that is all for now.

Love Phil & Hannah

 

Phil's first number 3 talk in Chinese

4-19-13 The day of my talk arrived.. After a lot of fear, prayer and practice it was time for my first number 3 talk in Chinese. There are a lot of times when I wonder if I am actually improving in any measurable way. But with this talk assignment I actually felt like I have grown. I started by doing research and writing the talk in English, then I translated using what I have learned in school and some lines from the source material. After I had it all together I had a brother here check and make sure it made sense, to my surprise he only changed a handful of things. I think to me this is definite proof that the trip has been worth it. I never could have done this before we came.

The theme was "Are All Humans Children of God?"

Here is the Transcript:

Nǐ kěnéng tīngguò yǒuxiē jīdūtú shuō:“Wǒmen dōu shì shàngdì de érnǚ”

 kěshì zhēnde shì zhèyàngzi ma?

 Wǒmen zhīdào wǒmen dōu cúnzài yīnwèi yēhéhuá chuàngzàole yàdāng.

 Qǐng nǐ kàn lùjiā fúyīn 3:38. (READ)

 Wǒmen dōu shì bù wánměi de rén... Suǒyǐ wǒmen bìngfēi shēnglái jiù yǒuquán zuò shàngdì de érnǚ.

Ràng wǒmen kàn yēhéhuá duì zhège wèntí de kànfǎ shì shénme.

Qǐng nǐ kàn yuēhàn yīshū 3:10 (READ)

suǒyǐ, zhè jié jīngwén gàosu wǒmen; yào dàngzuò shàngdì de érnǚ, jiù yǒu yīxiē yāoqiú cái kěyǐ. Rúguǒ wǒmen méiyǒu zuò yīgè zhèngyì de rén, érqiě méiyǒu ài wǒmen de dìxiōng,

nà, wǒmen jiù bùshì shàngdì de érnǚ. Wǒmen jiùshì móguǐ de érnǚ.

Zhè shì yīgè yánzhòng de shì. Shì wǒmen yào kǎolǜ de. Xiànzài qǐng kàn luómǎshū 8:19-21. (READ)

suǒyǐ, wǒmen biànchéng wánměi de rén zhīhòu, érqiě biǎomíngliǎo wǒmen zìjǐ jiāndìng bù yí de zhōngyú yēhéhuá de yǔzhòu tǒngzhì quán zhīhòu, wǒmen cái yǒu shēnwéi shàngdì de érnǚ de shūróng .

 Zhǒngzú de rén dōu néng xiǎngyǒu zhè zhǒng fúfen.

 Suǒyǐ jiélùn shì, suīrán wǒmen dōu shì shàngdì suǒ chuàngzào de, wǒmen bìxū

1) jìxù zuò zhèngyì de rén,

2) ài wǒmen de dìxiōngmen,

3) zhōngyú yēhéhuá.

Zhèyàng wǒmen cái nénggòu chéngwéi tā de érnǚ.

English version:

You may have heard Christians say: “we are all God’s Children.” But is this really the case?

We know that we all exist because Jehovah created Adam our forefather let’s read Luke 3:38. But does this mean that we really are children of God? Well let’s get Jehovah’s viewpoint because really that is the one that matters. Let’s turn to 1 John 3:10. So from this scripture we see that there are requirements to be one of God’s Children. If we do not carry on in righteousness or we do not love our brother, then we are not children of God rather we are children of the devil. A very serious thing to consider. Let’s now read Romans 8:19-21 So only after we have been restored to perfection and demonstrated our unshakable loyalty to Jehovah will we truly be children of God with all of its benefits. So although we were all created by God we must carry on in righteousness, love our brothers and remain loyal to Jehovah in order for us to become his children. 

And just for fun here is the character version:

你可能聼過有些基督徒說：“我們都是上帝的兒女”可是真的是這樣子嗎?

我們知道我們都存在因爲耶和華創造了亞當. 請你看 路加福音3:38.

我們都是不完美的人... 所以我們並非生來就有權做上帝的兒女。

讓我們看耶和華對這個問題的看法是什麼.

請你看約翰一書3:10 (READ) 所以, 這節經文告訴我們; 要當作上帝的兒女, 就有一些要求才可以.

如果我們沒有作一個正義的人, 而且沒有愛我們的弟兄, 那,我們就不是上帝的兒女.  我們就是魔鬼的兒女.

這是一個嚴重的事.  是我們要考慮的

現在請看羅馬書8:19-21.  (READ) 所以, 我們變成完美的人之後, 而且表明了我們自己堅定不移地忠於耶和華的宇宙統治權之後, 我們才有身為上帝的兒女的殊榮.

种族的人都能享有这种福分.

所以結論是，雖然我們都是上帝所創造的, 我們必須1)繼續作正義的人, 2)愛我們的弟兄們，3)忠於耶和華.  這樣我們才能夠成為他的兒女。

The brothers and sisters were overwhelmingly kind. After the meeting, so many came up to me to thank me for my talk and told me I did very well. Several told me they could see my progress. (at least that is what Hannah translated for me). Several of the Taiwanese sisters told me it surprised them how well I did. They told me how clear and understandable it was. I know though that all the credit goes to Jehovah and his support. 

When we first I  arrived in Taiwan I didn't want to give talks here. The idea terrified me, since everyone here would understand what I say wrong! But I am so glad that I did.

Well that is all for now 

love Phil & Hannah

Weekend in Taipei

Well another busy week as usual it started with Hannah Subbing for one of the sisters who teaches English at a Cram school. But she will tell you more about that in another post. On Friday Hannah had a talk, this time as a house holder and in the second school. It started out interestingly, the sister gave Hannah the talk, hand written in characters which the majority of Hannah could not read. Hand written characters are so much harder to read than printed ones which are not easy to read to begin with. So Hannah went to her house and had her read the talk to her and she transcribed it into pinyin. Hannah stayed for several hours after they finished the talk. She a blast talking with the sister. (Who doesn't speak English) She was so happy she is able to communicate like that now.  The talk went very well, it was the first time we had gone to the second school which was interesting because it is super small. There were a total of 9 people in the room and I had to stand ( I did say it was super small :) ). Here is their talk:

On Saturday (4-13-13) we had made plans to go see Ahshia and her family in Taipei. We were hoping to see Melanie, but she was in the hospital going through another round of radiation. She is doing well now, it she be the last of her treatments.

When we made the plans with Ahshia, we asked when we should come, they told us "Come early so we can do a lot of things." Hannah said "ok when should we come? is 8 am too early?". They said "No that is fine." So we went to the bus station and got our tickets we said we wanted to be there by 8 am and they told us we needed to be at the bus station about 4:50 am. After we bought our tickets, we talked to ahshia again and told them we would arrive at 8 AM and they all seemed confused, they asked "Why so early!?".  Somewhere something was lost in translation.

 The bus made really good time and didnt have as many stops though, so we ended up arriving a little after 7 am. We were disappointed. We were hoping to sleep as much as possible on the bus since we only had about 2.5 hours of sleep that night. We were ok though.

Poor Ahshia got very sick the night before and wasnt able to come, so her niece and nephew took us around Taipei.

Our First spot was the 101 building. Up until 2010 it was the tallest building in the world. It also currently has the world's fastest elevator. Even though it was cloudy we still got an amazing view of the city.

Pearson Jr. (Ashia's Great Nephew)

MRT (taipei's Subway)

Me & Pearson Riding the Bus

Waiting to ride the Worlds fastest Elevator

Only took 35 seconds to get from floor 5 to floor 89. Our ears popped several times

                                          

In order to both compensate for wind and Earthquakes Buildings like this require a Damper. Basically  it shifts the opposite way when the building moves in order to reduce the stress and keep everything balanced. They said when the earthquake hit a few weeks ago it moved 2cm. 

The Buildings mascots are called Damper babies . 

Pearson, Ruby, and Pearson Jr.

After the 101 building we went to lunch at a famous dumpling place, it was delicious!

Then after a ride on the MRT we took the Maokong Gondola to the TaiPei Zoo. 

We got to take one with a glass bottom. 

The Zoo was really neat and even though we didn't stay very long we got to see a lot of animals.

Gray Wolf

Very Fat Squirrel

Red Panda

Penguins

Asian Black Bear

Cougar

He was so funny rolling around in the rocks, it reminded us of our Jack back home.

Water Buffalo 

Horses

Giant Panda

We felt really privileged to get to see them, the Taipei zoo is one of only about 22 zoos in the world where you can see Giant Pandas.

 The next day we got to visit the congregation in Taipei where Meiyin attends. The congregation was really friendly. After we got to eat with her and the speaker.

After lunch we went to the night market in Taipei to do some shopping and after Ahshia went to the doctor she was able to join us for some shopping and dinner.

After dinner we went to the bus station to head back home we arrived a little after 12. 

Well that is all for now. Love Phil & Hannah