Hello O Excellent Ones,
On Saturday afternoon (today Feb 11) I went with a group of high school students from my school to the Shun mon Springs youth center. Located up in the hills of Shatin it is a tranquil place surrounded by jungle and the sounds of a murmuring spring (hence the name) that makes you feel instantly relaxed. It is run by an organization called the St Stephen's Society, which was started by the legendary, (to Hong Kong anyway) Jackie Pullinger. The facilities are top notch, but the people who run the place are even better. All have a fierce devotion to God, Jesus Christ and helping the boys, who attend the center, to get better and eventually become contributors to society. The boys, who come from all walks of life, have some how failed at family life, school, or lost their way to drugs. Shun mon Springs gives them a chance to find their way by following the Lord: The Way, The Truth, and The Life.
Most of the students I took from my school today come from good homes and are all relatively well to do. They also all attend church and have a good genuine faith in the Lord. Still it is rare for them to interact with kids from a lower socio economic bracket than themselves and especially with those who have had trouble with the law.
Yet by worshipping, playing sports, and then having a barbecue together all the kids, my school and the center kids, were allowed to be just kids and it was a positive experience for everyone. Worship was interesting in that the songs were sung in Cantonese and English. It was beautiful really. After worship the girls, especially, had a screaming good time going up the climbing wall while the boys got rid of some testosterone playing soccer, basketball, and ping pong. Well, on second thought the testosterone release may not have been that strong with ping pong.
The barbecue was, well, different. Little stands for the charcoal were lit up by mini blow torches. Of course by the time the coals were perfect starvation had driven most of us to eat half cooked food, or burnt offerings, and thus there was no more room for a well cooked piece of flesh. Barbecues are always the same, in that sense, around the world. There were hotdogs, but no buns, ketchup or musturd. Heck you might as well eat the dog raw then, but there was also fish, fish balls, pork chops, chicken and mushrooms wrapped in tinfoil. All good and interesting.
Yet the best part was getting to know the guys and one aspect I like about Christianity is that having meals and getting to know one another while stuffing your face is very Biblical. Jesus did it all the time. So pray for the kids, all the kids, that got to know one another today, and maybe in the future they will treat those from different socio economic brackets than themselves with kindness and respect, rather than ignoring them.
Love adios and peng on!
Dirk
On Saturday afternoon (today Feb 11) I went with a group of high school students from my school to the Shun mon Springs youth center. Located up in the hills of Shatin it is a tranquil place surrounded by jungle and the sounds of a murmuring spring (hence the name) that makes you feel instantly relaxed. It is run by an organization called the St Stephen's Society, which was started by the legendary, (to Hong Kong anyway) Jackie Pullinger. The facilities are top notch, but the people who run the place are even better. All have a fierce devotion to God, Jesus Christ and helping the boys, who attend the center, to get better and eventually become contributors to society. The boys, who come from all walks of life, have some how failed at family life, school, or lost their way to drugs. Shun mon Springs gives them a chance to find their way by following the Lord: The Way, The Truth, and The Life.
Most of the students I took from my school today come from good homes and are all relatively well to do. They also all attend church and have a good genuine faith in the Lord. Still it is rare for them to interact with kids from a lower socio economic bracket than themselves and especially with those who have had trouble with the law.
Yet by worshipping, playing sports, and then having a barbecue together all the kids, my school and the center kids, were allowed to be just kids and it was a positive experience for everyone. Worship was interesting in that the songs were sung in Cantonese and English. It was beautiful really. After worship the girls, especially, had a screaming good time going up the climbing wall while the boys got rid of some testosterone playing soccer, basketball, and ping pong. Well, on second thought the testosterone release may not have been that strong with ping pong.
The barbecue was, well, different. Little stands for the charcoal were lit up by mini blow torches. Of course by the time the coals were perfect starvation had driven most of us to eat half cooked food, or burnt offerings, and thus there was no more room for a well cooked piece of flesh. Barbecues are always the same, in that sense, around the world. There were hotdogs, but no buns, ketchup or musturd. Heck you might as well eat the dog raw then, but there was also fish, fish balls, pork chops, chicken and mushrooms wrapped in tinfoil. All good and interesting.
Yet the best part was getting to know the guys and one aspect I like about Christianity is that having meals and getting to know one another while stuffing your face is very Biblical. Jesus did it all the time. So pray for the kids, all the kids, that got to know one another today, and maybe in the future they will treat those from different socio economic brackets than themselves with kindness and respect, rather than ignoring them.
Love adios and peng on!
Dirk
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