Day 573 Hong Kong Day 2 on Lamma Island

My view at breakfast from the hotel was lovely <3

After breakfast, I walked back to Yung Shue
 Wan village as I saw a church there yesterday.
I was one of about 18 folks in attendance,
however the service was in Chinese and English. 

The service spoke straight to my heart.  The pastor even called on me at one point.  The Chinese love their 'lectures' and this was more like an educational lecture, with the pastor 'teaching'. He started by asking three questions, to which his congregants furiously took notes and were searching their Bibles. His message then said the following... 

When our children are young, we take our time with them very seriously, to love them and to teach them discipline.  When they go to primary school, our time with them is measured in hours.  When our children go to secondary school, our time with them is measured in minutes.  When our children go to university, our time with them is measured in seconds.  As adults, our time spent with them may be only a few days a year.  

And that is when my tears flowed.  

He spoke directly to this empty nesting momma's hurting heart. 

I was trying to squelch my tears, and he called on me and asked when was the last time I spoke with my mother? It had been less than two days before, when I arrived in Hong Kong and had a phone with free international calling in my motel. (whew! I don't know what happens if you give the 'wrong' answer in a Chinese Christian Church, and I didn't want to find out, lol.)  He then went on to say, it is very important to know what is happening with our aging parents and our grown children. Our limited time with them should not be 'spent in quarrel'.  

How true that is... 

I was glad I had wandered in to church that day. His message, though in broken English, was heard loud and clear, and I felt it was meant for me.  The homesick struggle has been real since I got back to China last month, and I have just been in a funk something awful.  I felt like He 'gets me' and the words spoken in that sermon were the feelings I had been dealing with for the last six weeks but I only had tears. He understood my hurt, and sadness, and loneliness. Somehow, though, the tears in that church, on that Sunday morning on Lamma Island, felt different.  They felt like cleansing tears.  I swear I felt the veil of sadness and loneliness lifting. When I stepped out of the church and into this little island village, I no longer felt sad or sorry for myself.  I felt ok for the first time in quite some time.  I was happy to be right where I was in that moment.  I was alone, but not lonely. I was ready to relish in exploring this island and enjoying my time there.  I felt healed. 

He meets you right where you are...even in a tiny church, on a tiny island in Hong Kong. 

Life is good.

I walked back to my boutique hotel at the beach,
changed into my bikini and grabbed my book :)

While I laid in the sun and read, I listened to this guy
not far from me. I was wishing that I was listening to
Len play his guitar, but for the first time I didn't feel
sad thinking about him. It made me smile instead.

I watched this Russian couple tossing their three kids
in the ocean. It reminded me of taking all the kids to
Destin Beach, FL, so many years ago- and I didn't feel sad.
I called the father over and showed him my photo. He
spoke no English, but his wife spoke a little.  I was
able to get her email and send the photo to her :-)

They built a sweet sand castle, or sand sculpture.
I thought it looked very beautiful and 'artsy'.
The kids were too shy for me to take their picture.

A little later, I got hungry for a snack...

...and I enjoyed my first ear of corn here in
Asia. It wasn't Indiana sweet corn slathered
in butter, but at least it didn't taste like
field corn- which is how it usually tastes.

These girls were trying to use the timer
on their camera to get a 'jump shot' in the
water.  After a few misses, I offered to
take their photo. They were adorable.

Then they offered to take mine :)

By about 3pm, it was beginning to get
cloudy, so I decided to hike to the other
 end of Lamma Island.  It was at least an
hour's walk away- up and down hills.

It was very jungle-y and the air
smelled so green and fresh!

I passed a wee little waterfall,
but I couldn't stick my head in it.

Sometimes I would venture off the path,

only to find another breathtaking view :-)

After the last climb, Sok Kwu Wan came in to view.

Beautiful

Sok Kwu Wan is Lamma's Fisherfolk Village, home to the
largest fish farming zone in Hong Kong.  That is what you
see pictured here- fish farms.  

It was still quite a trek down to the village where there is an
exhibition hall showcasing the culture and history of fishing
and various boats in Hong Kong. I was afraid of running out
of daylight, so I'll have to save that for the next trip!

As I turned toward home, I passed a 'doggy latrine.'
I was hoping to find one for myself, but no such
luck. I made fast tracks back to the beach!

Oh, but there's another pretty view!

And another...

...and another.  Even though there's a huge power
plant around the bay from the beach, the sun
was still pretty setting on the water :-)

I enjoyed my free happy hour cocktail
from the hotel, and watched the last
of the setting sun.

Then I got cleaned up and walked back to the Yung Shue Wan
village on the OTHER side of the island.  I saw an
Indian food restaurant after church that morning, and
I was jonesin' for some Indian food.  I had way too
much food but it was so delicious!  After all the walking
 in the hot sun, I figured I deserved it- dessert, too ;-)

This 'dessert' was ah-mazing!  It was a very
thin flat bread, which bits of fresh mango,
drizzled with sweetened condensed milk, and
folded over several times and grilled.
Oh. My. Goodness. Gracious.

I reallllllly like Lamma Island!

And who should I happen to run in to on my way back to the hotel?

The secondary principal again, who happens to have a Guidance position open.

Geesh....

G'nite, y'all!