trials | Going the Wong Way HK

Learning to Listen

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Going The Wong Way HK

I tell my grade 4 class – especially a few boys – okay, let’s be honest, most of my boys, that listening is a skill. They’re not quite at the stage of understanding what this actually means nor do they understand the application of it. It’s quite frustrating. Teachers, friends, parents, you know exactly what I mean.

The Bible recounts for us a story about a boy named Samuel (1 Samuel 3). He was placed in the care of Eli and God calls him several times. Each time God speaks, Samuel responds by saying “Here I am, for you called me” thinking that Eli is the one calling. Eli in his wisdom instructs Samuel how he ought to respond if he hears his name again. God, indeed, calls again a fourth time, and Samuel responds by saying, “Speak, for your servant hears.”

As we pray and seek the Lord regarding the direction of our family, I need not only to hear … but listen. Listening involves action. So many times we hear but so little of us respond properly, so little of us respond properly to God’s voice.

We have shared many times that living in Hong Kong is a struggle. It’s not easy.

Grocery shopping basically takes anywhere from 2 to 5 hours. Gloria needs to walk from our village to the MTR station, take the train for about 45 mins to her destination. By the time she finds what she’s looking for, going through the crowds with her cart, it’s quite exhausting. Oh, it would be easier if we had a car, but we don’t. Thankful though, for the times when friends give her a ride and go shopping together! You know who you are!!

The list could also include: hot weather in the summer, Mosquito-Pa-Looza every day, pushing and shoving, lack of personal space, rude people that we encounter daily, the crazy amount of people who smoke, the constant grind of people walking, moving at lightning speed because they don’t want to miss a train, bus, tram. Crowds. Enough said.

Hong Kong is a love – hate relationship.

Are we complaining? No, it’s just reality. Are there aspects of Hong Kong that we love? Absolutely. However, this is Hong Kong.

And so … how do we hear God in the midst of all this crazy?

“Be still and know that I am God.”

Sometimes the question is: How do we be still? Where do we find peace in the midst of chaos? So much for desiring to leave the rat race.

What is God saying to us these days? What are we hearing through the noise? Are we even paying attention?

What about you? What is God saying to you lately? What do you hear in your noisy world? Are you paying attention to God?

And so , we continue to pray. We continue to seek the One who led us here to Hong Kong in the first place. We continue to be in His Word. We desire to be obedient. Pray that our motives be pure.

Samuel was obedient and God used him for His glory, for His purpose.

Will continue to share with you our journey as we do our best to put Christ first in our lives.

You are loved.

Typhoon Mangkhut

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Going The Wong Way HK

Hong Kong just endured one of the biggest and severe typhoons ever recorded. In sixty years, Hong Kong has only recorded 15 T10’s … the equivalent of a Category 5 Hurricane. We’ve only been in Hong Kong just over a year now, and have experienced 2 T10’s. This time, it was a little different. Living in a Village Home, the outcome was, well, let’s just say adventurous. I went out for a quick walk just to “feel” the wind and rain. Luckily, I only stayed for a short period of time, mainly because I got scared! When I returned inside, within 15 minutes, things were flying around. First it was just a box that landed in our “yard,” and finally we had pieces of someone’s roof that landed on our outdoor table, then the rest of the roof in front of our place. Crazy!

We were really fortunate that nothing major was damaged, nor did I get impaled by anything sharp or flying. As for our boys, they were a bit scared, nervous, anxious – but thankful for Google Play and they were able to watch Coco! Haha! It was still indeed, a unique experience for our family to go through.

I was reminded during this ordeal that God is still in control. He is Lord of all. Scripture doesn’t tell us that He is Lord of some … BUT All. He knew about this typhoon. He knew which tree would be uprooted. He knew that I would venture out to take a quick video. God knew. This was not a surprise. Typhoon Mangkhut did not just appear. God’s power was definitely on display. In life, we often go through many storms. It’s not a matter of IF, but WHEN. Storms, trials, circumstances … whatever word you would like to use, will come, it’s how we respond. With Typhoon Manghkut, we stayed inside. The people of Hong Kong stayed inside. Despite the power of this typhoon, the death toll is at a minimum. People stayed close to their home. Some even built forts in their hallways to stay safe. I really have to ask myself though, “How do I respond in the midst of storms, trials?” Honestly, in this season of life in HK – not good.

I need to remind myself that God is still in control. I need to remind myself to stay close to “home.” God knows the struggles that I would go through. God knows who will encourage me. God knows what my future holds. God knows. I need to take comfort in that. I need to trust Him again.

As for clean up, the process has already begun here in HK. We didn’t have school the past 2 days, which was much needed for all of us. The same can be said of my own heart. The clean up is beginning again … it’s never ending … always a process. In my last blog, I asked, “God, why do you have us here in HK?” … I think I know the answer …

Friends … you are loved.

365

Posted on July 23, 2018 by Going The Wong Way HK

365.

One year.

So much has happened.

Blogging consistently is not my forte. Posting pics on Social Media? Well, that’s pretty easy, even our boys are doing it!!

It’s hard to imagine that we have now been in Hong Kong for one year. A year ago, we were on the way to the airport with our dear friends. I can still remember it like it was yesterday. Watching Malachi run back into our house, one last time, it was so difficult. Saying good bye to my mom and brother – it was like having your heart taken out, yet we still came.

Now that we’ve been here a year, it’s time to reflect on the lesson’s learned.

We are thankful for God’s provision, His hand of protection and how He continues to sustain us and provide for our family. Trust me, there have been many days where we’ve wanted to come home. Days where we questioned God – why did you bring us to Hong Kong? This has actually been a conversation that we have had more recently than not.

This blog unfortunately is not all hype and excitement nor celebratory. Just a heads up.

Our Facebook and Instagram pages may paint a different story – Food, travel, Food, adventures, however, the struggle is real. We struggle with not having a vehicle. We struggle with how the culture of Hong Kong is so different than home. We struggle with the people. We struggle with not living in our own home back in Brooklin. BUT … we knew this coming here. However, we still struggle. In short, it’s been a challenging year.

On the other hand, we have been blessed and thankful for the opportunities to travel, to explore, go on adventures. This past year alone, our family visited Kuala Lumpur, Cambodia, Osaka, Kyoto, and Macau. We’re already planning trips to Thailand and Taiwan. We would never have had these opportunities if we were still living in Canada. There are definitely trade offs.

So what have we learned? What has God taught us?

Today also marked our 13th wedding anniversary. Gloria and I celebrated by going out for lunch at Festival Walk. Thankful for good friends who looked after our boys.

During lunch, Gloria asked me how I’m enjoying Hong Kong. On the surface, it’s okay la. Experiencing the culture, the food, the sights and YET, there’s still a sense of wanting to belong, a longing to have community. The friends that we have here, are great and there are those whom I believe will be life long friends.

I shared that I do love the fact that we can travel and share this time with one another, with our boys. These are memories that we will have.

So what is God or what has God taught me?

I need Him. We need Him. We can’t do this on our own strength. We need to rely on God daily. He’s also the same God that lead us to Hong Kong. God didn’t bring us here all the way from Brooklin, Ontario, just to leave us.
Everything is not always going to be perfect. Need to recognize this. We are living in Hong Kong. Will share more at an appropriate time.
Humble dependence. This really goes back to the first point.

God continues to reveal so much about my heart. Areas in which I need to surrender more and more. He must increase, I must decrease.

And so, the million dollar question for us at times is: When do we go home? Or as Timothy would say, “Daddy, when are we going back to Canada forever?” My response to our son, pray. Pray and ask God for His leading. In the meantime, we are here.

Pray that we would continue to be faithful. Pray that we would seek out opportunities to continue to serve our Lord. Pray that I would lead and shepherd my family better.

Till next time.

Dan

2018 … what’s next?

Posted on December 31, 2017 by Going The Wong Way HK

Happy New Year friends!

It’s been quite a while since we have shared with you on our Blog and what better time than now to update you with what’s been going on with Team Wong.

For the past month we have continued with our galavanting around Hong Kong, going to different restaurants, sites and eventually ending up at the Happiest Place on Earth! Yes, Disneyland! We love Disney! It was definitely our happy place.

As we approach New Year’s in a couple of hours, there is much to reflect on. There is much to be thankful for. There is much to consider.

2017 has been a year of change in our family, if you haven’t guessed already! Haha! As I reflect back on what God has done, what He is doing, it’s amazing that we’ve lasted Hong Kong as long as we have.

Our time in Hong Kong has been challenging in many ways. We continue to look for a church that we can call home. I believe that God is working in my heart with regards to this. Not sure what the lesson is at this moment, however, I do know that I need to be in the Word consistently and be praying more fervently. Our Family Worship during this season of life has been way too sporadic, and that’s my fault for not leading better. This indeed is an area of my life that I need to work on in the New Year.

As for fellowship is concerned, our SG is growing closer to one another. We continue to study the book of Colossians and hope to be done soon, however, the time spent digging into the Word together has been meaningful and it’s a joy to lead, even though there are days when I feel so inadequate. I think the fact that we all (with the exception of one member) have a Harvest Bible Chapel connection has bonded us quickly. We actually call ourselves Harvest Hong Kong (unofficially) but our love for the Word and Worship that we have all experienced at Harvest Brampton, York or Durham bring us together like family.

I have appreciated my time teaching at ICS. The faculty, leadership are encouraging and I absolutely love my class. My students are so much fun!! Every year, students have given me a number of different nicknames, ranging from Wong to Wongy to Mr. W and now, Mr. Ping Pong, Mr. Kapong and Mida Wong … haha! There is a family / community feel at ICS which has made the transition so much easier. Thank You ICS.

We are also thankful for our 7th Floor family here at ICS as well. Doing life with friends who are going through exactly the same thing has been a comfort, knowing that we are not the only ones who struggle with life here in HK. God indeed has been faithful.

My reflection of 2017 does not just start and end with our time in Hong Kong. I can still remember the lead up to our departure. Last minute decisions that had to be made, getting together with close friends “one last time”, Malachi running back into our home on July 21 taking a “last look” brought tears to our eyes … and still does when I think about it. Moving on!!

Our ride to the airport with our dear friends, the conversation that I had in my vehicle, and I’m sure Gloria in hers. Our Small Group hosting a farewell party for us, we were super appreciative! We miss our friends. We miss Harvest Durham. We miss good, solid preaching.

More recently, I had the opportunity to touch base with some staff members back at Norman G. Powers. Do I ever miss teaching at NGP! I miss the “off comments, jokes” that we shared, certain staff members who use strong adjectives, the relaxed environment, Friday Treats!! NGP, I do miss all of you dearly!! Let’s Skype in soon!!

Finally, to close out the year 2017, we were thankful for the many visitors that we had from home. It was so special for us to spend time with Vivian, Gabby, Samuel, one of my best friends Dennis and more importantly, my Mom who came to visit and stayed for 6 weeks with us here in Hong Kong. We miss our friends, but definitely miss our family. We were able to create new memories with my Mom, our boys spent valuable time with their Grandmother and it allowed us to have meaningful dialogue with one another. Malachi and Timothy especially miss their Uncle Duncan. We are looking forward to having more visitors in 2018 and to be given the opportunity to grow in our friendships and relationships.

So what’s next? Well, as a family we desire to be in God’s Word more consistently with much regularity. We will continue to seek the Lord with regards to church. Praying for much fruit with my Grade 4 class. We look forward to developing strong relationships with our new friends here in Hong Kong. Praying for our Small Group – to grow in our love for the Lord. Pray that we would use our time wisely as we mentor / disciple others.

2018 will continue to be a year of change, a year of growth, a year of dependence on the Lord.

As a family we just finished looking at Psalm 121. “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth … The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” We learned that God is our helper. He never slumbers nor sleeps. He is our shade. The Lord keeps us. What better way to enter the New Year than this? To be reminded that the Lord loves us. That He is faithful. He will never leave us. May we continue to look to the hills when we find ourselves struggling and to know without any doubt, that our God is there to help, encourage, support, love us. May we continue to lean into God daily. Praying that 2018 would be a year that our love for God would grow.

Friends, we miss you. It was a difficult Christmas season. Thankful for His provision. Thankful for His love. Don’t be strangers … we would love to hear from you. May we all have a desire to Know Him more this upcoming year.

You are loved!

Lessons from James … again …

Posted on November 14, 2017 by Going The Wong Way HK

Hi friends … it’s me again … I know I said that Gloria would be blogging this time around, however, it’s been a bit crazy over here in Hong Kong. Promise. She will be blogging soon.

A few Blogs ago, I shared from the Book of James. Our family just finished James a couple of evenings ago … which is good. There’s so many lessons packed into such a small book … and I’ll do my best to succinctly share some of the lessons from James that I’ve been personally learning.

James 1:19 says, “be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” … during our time of transition, this has been somewhat challenging and difficult, especially toward our boys. It’s more been “quick to anger, quick to speak, super slow to hear” … there have been moments where I would rather forget and pray that my boys would not repeat my words or actions. The Lord is working on this area of my heart.

James 3:1 says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” Wow … it’s been a huge blessing and responsibility to be able to teach my class God’s Word every single day. I need to hold God’s Word high, but importantly, ensure that what I’m teaching is sound doctrine and Biblical. In our short time here in HK, we have come to notice and realize that although there are many churches, sound doctrine is not something that we see nor hear. Biblical teaching has been a challenge as well. In having some meaningful conversations with friends and colleagues, the positive, is that many also see this, have a concern about it, and do have a genuine desire to see people grow in the knowledge and understanding of who Christ is, what the Bible teaches. We are leading a Small Group every Wednesday and starting this weekend, Gloria and I will be leading another Small Group with some of high school students whom we’ve come to know and dearly love! Pray that we exposit the Word correctly … handle the truth with much grace, mercy and love.

Chapter 5:7 … “Be patient, therefore, brothers …” Let’s just stop there. I think God is working on this particular area of my heart as well … be patient. I’m really not a patient person … I like to get things done, quickly, efficiently. I’m praying about this one.

Chapter 5:13-20 … this section mentions the word Pray / Prayer 8 times. I think it’s safe to say that’s it’s important … a real good reminder that we need to be in prayer – in trials, thanksgiving, when sick / ill, for one another, fervently in prayer for something / someone. What does my prayer life look like right now? Who / What do I often pray about?

So much to work on! And so, we continue with our transition, we continue to put forth our best here at ICS and in HK. We truly believe that God is working on our hearts, pruning us, preparing us for the work of the ministry. Preparing us for something down the road!

Friends in Canada, we miss you … Friends here in HK, thank you.

You are loved!

Direction … Clarity

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Going The Wong Way HK

Friends … it’s Wednesday evening, here in Hong Kong, which makes it Tuesday morning back in Canada. Hallowe’en has come and gone and I loved seeing some of pics on FaceBook of our friends back in Canada! Good times.

Our boys experienced a different level of ‘trick or treating’ this year – literally. They went to a couple of rooms at our current place of residence and that was it. I don’t think they really minded at all, which was encouraging. They didn’t rake in pillow case after pillow case like they’re used to, but that’s ok.

In our last Blog, we shared about some of the struggles that we continue to have, what we’re praying for, and we are thankful that you are praying with us. One story that we didn’t share with you occurred a few weeks ago now.

After our Family Fun Day at ICS, our family went for a quick dinner. On our way to the MTR station, we witnessed a father scolding his son, publicly. We stayed to watch. What we saw was disturbing. The father was reaming his son out, aggressively approached his son, motioned his hand to smack him. I yelled at him to stop. He looked at me with surprise. He didn’t know that I knew Chinese. The man eventually did slap his son across his face, kicked him and threatened him continually. Gloria called the police. I approached the kid and asked him to walk away to safety, the father yelled obscenities at me, although I didn’t even know it until later. I did finally speak up and spoke to the man in Chinese … to his surprise.

How did this end? I had the opportunity to share Christ with the kid … and in Chinese. That was a God thing. Really.

The police did come … not sure what happened after though …

Why am I sharing this story with you? Well, we are learning that this type of behavior in Hong Kong is quite common. Father’s in Hong Kong seem to be missing the point. Many are absent in their children’s lives. It’s so sad and unfortunate!

Where does Team Wong fit into all of this? If you know me or our family, something is always brewing. God has been faithful to us during our time thus far. We know that He has a plan for us. We are remaining firm despite not having a home church. Our family is trying to be as consistent as we can with Family worship. Small Group is helpful as it really forces me to dig into the Word and to share with our friends. As we’ve been praying for direction and clarity, I was reminded by a good friend, that it seems like we’re both in a fog, or as my friend said:

“It’s like there is a plan or specific direction, but I’m blind to what it is.”

Yup … this is so true. There is a sense though, that we are coming out of the fog. God has definitely placed a desire on our hearts to disciple young people here in Hong Kong. Team Wong will be starting a Life Group (aka Small Group) in a couple of weeks for some of the youth at our school. We are also praying intentionally for the launch of our home church … also probably in a couple of weeks. God is moving.

More recently, like two days ago, I went to Starbucks for a meeting with a good friend here. Shared some of our frustrations … and he said to me:

“It may seem that God is stirring something in your heart.”

And this too is true.

So much more to share friends. Gloria will be sharing the next few Blogs. Would you continue to pray for and with us as we seek the Lord for better clarity and direction.

Trusting Him with all things.

You are loved.

When Trials Come …

Posted on September 11, 2017 by Going The Wong Way HK

Hi friends,

It’s been a while since we’ve last posted. We are well. Life in HK has been really busy with teaching, making connections, going out to eat, shopping, looking for a church (which is another blog to come in the near future) and building relationships.

Last night, our family finally returned to doing Family Worship. There have been “consequences” as a result of neglecting our precious time. I’ll be honest, the busyness of life in Hong Kong can easily suck you in. The pace of life, the weather, you name it. And so, last night we began to read James. It didn’t take long after we started to read that we stopped. James 1: 1, 2 says “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” And STOP. As a family, we talked about what trials are. We shared that it’s like a test. Team Wong has gone through many trials in our new chapter. We’ve only been in Hong Kong 8 weeks. That’s. All.

It was a sweet time to hear Malachi and Timothy share. We talked about our trial of moving to Hong Kong, our boys miss our 4 bedroom home, the space, their own bathroom. They miss their bikes and having the freedom to just go outside and play road hockey with their Uncle Duncan. To be able to see their grandmother on a regular basis – thankful that my mom will be coming to Hong Kong in November. Gloria misses driving and going to buy groceries once a week, sometimes once every two weeks. Here in HK … it’s more like every other day, sometimes it’s multiple times a day. I do miss my NGP family, colleagues, inside jokes that we share. We sure miss our Harvest Durham family – SG, Ian’s preaching. Harvest Family, don’t take it for granted.

So as a family, we are going through trials of various kinds. We are encouraged though. Thankful for the people in our lives, those who live with us on the 7th Floor at ICS, colleagues – now friends who are supportive, who prayed and pray for us. God is faithful.

James didn’t start his letter by saying, “when you face trials of various kinds”, no he started by say, “Count it all joy, my brothers …”. Wow. This is where it matters. We shared with our boys, that “Count it all joy” is a matter of the heart. Malachi shared that “count it all joy” means – we need to be thankful. Are we thankful? Absolutely. God has provided for us, more than we could imagine and we are confident that He’s not finished.

As we continue to seek Christ, serve Him here at ICS, we do have a number of prayer requests: Pray for discernment regarding opportunities to lead / go on missions trips, finding a church to attend, pray for insight and wisdom in terms of what ministry we should get ourselves involved with – intentional discipleship / mentoring, Bible Study, outreach … the list goes on. It actually does. No jokes. Pray for our SG that we started leading … a couple of weeks ago. It’s good to be back at it.

Friends, we miss you. Continue to love the Lord with all your heart. We are also praying for you as well. James ends by saying, “For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” This is our prayer, we we would continue have our eyes on the Lord. That our walk with the Lord would remain firm, that we would continue to be more like Christ.

Till our next Blog.

You are loved!