...for walking through

Well it's been awhile since my post. I'll be honest, I was happily detained that time with good friends and entirely too much traveling. I'll try not too leave out any pertinent details. But I must warn you, some things may have happened 4 weeks ago and sometimes I don't remember things. I do remember the good things that happened though.

Ok so after figuring out where to start with all this, I've realized not much happened those first 2 weeks. All the good stuff happened the recent 2 weeks:

So I was lucky enough to get the weekend off from work so that I could go to OSU Homecoming. My first since leaving Stillwater. It was great seeing all my friends again. It was nice to play catch up with all that I'm missing. Keep in mind these are the same friends I only met and befriended last April. Still, I missed them. It was a great time hanging out and watching awkward movies.

A few of my last posts involved a lot about "doors". Well I'm not going into any detail about those doors, sorry. I just have a feeling each, there are two doors if you weren't keeping up, will be around for awhile. Each will need addressing when that certain time comes. One door was well solidified as to what it was while the other was more of a mystery. That mystery door came out of nowhere and am now excited to see where it's going. I'm no longer staring at that door but have stepped through it.

So onto the exciting part of it. The part I know nothing about. To be honest with you, it was that part that had the most appeal. I'm a big picture person and I saw this big picture as nothing but promising...it sounds like I'm some sort of psychic. The only problem is that the big picture I see isn't a sure thing. But with this door, I'm willing take that risk.

Onto to more recent items. I recently got back from a trip to Hong Kong. It wasn't related to any of my past trips. I tagged along with my dad on one of his business trips. But for him, this trip was different. We went to visit friends of his; one who runs the world's largest golf club (haha, picturing a really big golf club and not the clubhouse) and another who runs a dance ministry. The golf club was ridiculous to see. It covers about 8 square miles and has 216 holes of golf; not consecutive. Ridiculous is the best word I could use to describe it. The dance ministry was also pretty cool to see.

Going on this trip was advantageous for two reasons. 1. I got to visit my favorite city in the world with a loose schedule to see the place. 2. I get to go back to a place that I've been but for completely different reasons.

Seeing Hong Kong was great but there were some heart issues that I've been having regarding why I love going overseas. Is the traveling and seeing new places and eating new things that entice me? Or is it the goals I go with or the people I talk with? Going to Hong Kong/China for no reason whatsoever has really made that clear. I enjoyed seeing the city and all but it wasn't what I loved. I love going with goals greater than myself and leading/showing others what God can do there. I was really glad to have learned that little detail of my travels.

Overview: the last 2 weeks or so have been great. From walking through doors to free couches in Stillwater to long 13 hours flights to Hong Kong and to learning my real motivations for going overseas. I wouldn't change a thing.

east meets west

So in a couple of days I'll be headed to Hong Kong, my favorite city in the world. It is truly a sight to see. The best way I can describe the looks of the city like this; take the lights of Las Vegas, the buildings of Manhattan and the harbor of Seattle and you get Hong Kong. As far as the culture goes... I'm not even gonna try.

I'm tagging along with my dad on a business trip, apparently I'm going as his translator. I'm ok with that because now he's at my mercy. Maybe I'll come up with some tacky phrase I'll trick him into saying, like "Wo shi ni da ba ba". Which is directly translated into "I am your daddy". I'll keep you all informed.

This is my first trip overseas for a reason other than missions. I'll have no team to follow or lead, no grand reason to "suffer" and no village to visit. It's going be different and I'm good with that. For the first time I'll have no mission accomplish and I'll really have time to really assess my presence there. I can really figure out if East Asia is the place for me and that I'm not just in love with going on short term trips because it's exciting or fulfilling.

Other than figuring out my place in Hong Kong, I really have no expectations. I'm hoping to see parts of the city I've never had the chance of seeing and hoping to see some of my favorite spots more than just once. One part I'm actually pretty excited about: getting away by myself. I'll be with my dad pretty much the whole time but getting away for an hour or two a day to explore the city is going to be great. Don't get me wrong, I love my dad but to spend every waking moment with him might be too much.

My dad and I will be in more places than just HK, we are actually going into China for a night. HK is technically not China but that is for another post. We'll be going in to a nearby major city just to the north. I'm excited for this because now my dad gets to see the China I love. I love HK, but not like I love China. We are going into a city I've never been to but I'm hoping to find some good food and see the city for an afternoon.

I'm looking forward to all this, I'm hoping to learn new things and to refine the things I already know. I know this will never happen but I want to be that guy who knows how to move about HK with no problems, to act like I've been there before and to be the guy that people ask travel advice from.