The Searchlight of Insight

Wonderful, but hit and run visit...

From our guest blogger, Maureen...

Editor's note: As I sit here and post this blog, Carys is in bed wailing because she misses Blake and Mo. We all do! We had a wonderful 44 hour visit, alas, it was only 44 hours. Blake and Maureen left this afternoon. Maureen's report follows.

Two delightful flights from both Heathrow and Frankfurt has brought us to Hong Kong - had a fab sleep on the last flight, thankfully.  The Caldwell gang were at the airport to meet us and we were wrapped up in endless hugs and kisses on our arrival.  By this point Blake and I were feeling odd from jet lag and lay down for a few hours.  Tess and Charles have given us their bed - sigh, it has been bliss.  Lo and behold, Tess and Charles had a dinner party that evening: Terry and Nick, and Tess' boss from ICM, Deanna and her husband, Dave.  It all made for very interesting company and the kidlets had made settings for us all with handwritten menus.  Blake lasted until the first course and knew he could not manage the meal and instead had a bowl of breakfast cereal... and was then off to bed for the night by approx. 8:30 - 9:00 pm.  I lasted another 30 - 45 minutes and bid my adieus. (At left: Jasper waiting at the airport and Sebastian later on in the day at home.)

We both slept all night long and did not get up until 8 am, feeling so much better.  We lazed around and drank tea whilst chatting and finally got dressed and headed off to church.  So wonderful to see familiar faces at church who greeted us all so warmly.  A fine sermon on humility and what humility is - "not thinking less of oneself  but thinking of oneself less" ... "knowing who and what we are in Christ".  Laurel (a fellow Rafa fan  : )  and her daughters joined us after church at The Flying Pan (in a new location in Wanchai) for a fine breakfast.  I fondly remembered Fintry "Fat Boy" breakfasts as I enjoyed an "English Breakfast." And now we are home with thoughts of going for a hike but after the late night the girls are having a nap and I may join them.  Not sure if Tess and Blake are actually going to do the walk but they are the most stalwart, I must say.
 
This evening we are going to the Aberdeen Boat Club for dinner and more friends of Tess and Charles will be there as well.  So, it has been vintage Hong Kong and soooo worth coming.

The new flat is excellent.  Very high ceilings with a much improved paint job, greenery out most windows, quieter as they are well off the main drag.  The girls have their own room, the boys theirs and of course, a master en suite for Tess and Charles.  They have decorated brilliantly, in my humble opinion  : )  A cosy living room with couches and bean bags, art work and family pictures throughout the flat, a small but efficient kitchen with Liza's bedroom and bathroom off the kitchen.  A large area has been designated for the dining room and makes for a spacious feel to the whole place.  We feel very comfortable.

A Peak of an Adventure!

From our guest blogger, MoZiLLa...

Below is a rendition of our great time with the kids yesterday:

I who never ever gets colds (well, almost never) got a cold upon arriving in HK. I did this last year and I wonder if there is a little something that affects me here. Yesterday I said to Blake, "I am so glad as my cold is almost 100% gone." Whereupon....... a left sided sore throat began which by day's end was one of those that cause you to scrunch when you swallow. Salt gargles, swollen tonsils, hmmmm - praying for healing as there just is not time for this type of silliness. My greatest concern is Blake as he is not a good candidate for this type of thing and woke up this morning with a clogged head. Again, hmmmm.

Yesterday was a day! We got ready and took the gang over to the Queen Mary Hospital to pick up the #54 bus, after having checked with Tess' friends as to what buses we catch to go to the Peak. Off we tore and for a while were the only passengers on the bus and what a ride! We were all seated at the back of the bus and I now know why kids race to the back - we were FLYING as we hit bumps at ridiculous speeds. The driver seemed quite a nice normal man but had no concept of safety for his passengers!! Fortunately there were seat belts. The kids loved it and I only let my mind wander once to the eventuality of this crazy ride causing little stomachs to erupt. Fortunately, none of that.

Reached our destination and the 'normal' driver was very helpful and showed us exactly where we could connect with the next bus. But! ... there is always a 'but'!... by this time I was already up with three of the kids in the aisle thinking that he had stopped to let us off.
Oh no, he decided to floor it and take us to the connecting point. Very nice but I was desperately holding onto these kids and furiously doing physics in my head trying to position my body so that when the next screeching stop came I wouldn't fly down the stairwell with my charges in tow. Thankfully, during a short lull, I threw all four of us into a seat and we held onto each other. All six of us came off the bus alive and I kept remembering the now famous words - "If you deliver them back alive you have done your job." Phew.

Next bus - waited quite a while but the kids were great and the sights were interesting as this was also the Star Ferry terminal. (Blake was having the most trouble at this point as taxis were whizzing by beside us and he was understandably worried about the small gang stepping off the edge at the wrong time). Finally got into the next bus with only one lady jumping the queue ahead of us. She was carrying such a cute baby that it softened the blow! We even sat on the open upper deck - great fun, great view and only Sela was in a funk because she couldn't sit at the inner edge of the seat. Then, big surprise! We had been told the wrong bus to get onto so were unceremoniously tossed off the bus at the Peak Tram Station where as little as 775,000 other tourists and Chinese New Years' travelers lined up. It was pretty awful as the crowding was huge and keeping track of the four so that they did not put a toe on the road was a challenge.

We decided to cab it to the Peak from there but of course that was more easily said than done. We flagged down a cab and just as we approached the cab another party jumped in. I looked at Blake and was so proud of him as he was cool and not losing it. We eventually got to the Peak by cab, wandered a bit along with many, many others and then tackled lunch at McDonalds - again, another difficult challenge as most of HK's population was doing the same thing. Grandad Blake braved the ordering... and reordering.... the trips and I sat and sang songs and miraculously it all came together and we munched through our lunch with me eating an Egg McMuffin at 2 in the afternoon, which should have been a cheeseburger. :-) Had visions of it having been made at 8 that morning and ptomaine poisoning having set in!

Our coup de grace was the walk home - we walked the whole gang down from the Peak to 122 Pokfulam and of course the kids ran the whole way. It was a treat as the wide path is surrounded by the wonderful foliage, birds sang, the sun was out quite often AND we were using up their energy - YIPPEEE. Jasper was an artist at attempts to be carried - "Mo, I don't feel well. I need to be carried." The best quote of the day was when he said, "Mo, I need a piggy back." My reply was, "Gosh, JJ, I would love to give you a piggy back but there is problem because I have only one back and there are four children who would like a piggy back." His reply to me, "No, Mo. You have one back and I am one children." He is a hoot. We collected walking sticks and impalings came close but fortunately nothing extreme happened. Everyone was fed, watered and in bed by 7 pm and 7:40 respectively.
I was in bed by 7:50 and Blake shortly thereafter :-)

It is now 2:12 p.m. Sunday afternoon; had a great time at church with amazing and good behaviour from the kids; home and lunched; Blake walking to Chi Fu; and in 48 minutes a birthday party for one of the kids' friends starts downstairs on the playground. Chuck just phoned and has landed!

Much love, M xox

Dreamy Delights

From our guest blogger, MoZiLLa...

The end of our second full day here and will be in bed at exactly the same moment the children are  :-)  We did that last night and both of us were OUT by 8p.m.!  Ah, the joys of jet lag.

The children are very gorgeous and I notice a difference as to how welcoming they are to us - it is like they know us and are so glad to see us - lots of hugs and sharing.  Seb is not so happy with life in general and we are all trying very hard to figure how best to help him.  I had a "Grandmother's Dream Situation" this afternoon when JJ and I lay down together and he fell asleep beside me (he had coughed and coughed and coughed early this morning and was so tired).  I lay there and just soaked in the beauty of the moment - dear little man.

Much love from all of us here - M   xox

Visitors from Canada

I left on January 26th for a two week plus business trip to the US. During my first week away, Tess' parents - Blake and Maureen, the latter referred to as "Mo" by the kids and others as MoZiLLa - arrived for a visit. Once again, here is our guest blogger, MoZiLLa!

We were so impressed by Oasis Airlines and recommend it highly.  So pristine - even the bathrooms were sparkling.  Not like Air Canada where both of us at times have used bathrooms that had a good inch of ..... er… urine on the floor in the corner?  Quite gross.

We took the airport express into town and there was Tess with Gary and the van.  We were not expecting her/them so this was a lovely surprise.  Gary and Marianne are delightful and already we are very fond of them.  The children are so beautiful and we see maturing differences since the summer. Conversations are 'deeper' and fuller; their speaking is progressing per expectations; their energy is amazing! They are very loving towards us.  I had a grandmother's dream yesterday when JJ, who had coughed a lot in the early morning hours, was sagging after lunch.  He and I cuddled on Blake's and my bed - now a sofa - and I watched him succumb to the arms of Morpheus, all in my arms.  Sigh.  Sigh.

The weather was nasty today (Saturday) and we had a slow and lovely morning - Charles is in the States.  Tess gave Gary and Marianne the day off, bless her, as there really was no reason not to.  We all eventually got dressed, took a cab and headed to Cyberport - a state-of-the-art mall, where the kids could run and run.  It was so empty.  Then we had a bit of lunch..... the state of the floor under the table and chairs by the time we were finished was amazing!!  On our way home we stopped at a really nice children's toy store and each child was allowed to purchase a small item which they then played with upon returning home.  JJ is now resting again as he really isn't feeling great.

Blake and I have been in bed by 8 p.m. each night since we arrived! Not only in bed but asleep!  Seb seems to be up at 6 a.m. these days so am trying to keep things quiet in the early morning so that Tess can rest up.

It is a joy to be here, needless to say.  Haven't got one thing planned for the Philippines, where B;ake & I hope to escape for a few days, so that should be interesting!

First day here we were in The Lanes!  (A very popular shopping area in between buildings in Central/downtown that has been there for decades and the HK government is trying to close.) Such a fun place.  In this city of 8 million we walked straight into Sandi while in the Lanes.  Can you believe it?  As we walked in the 1p.m. crush (lunch is at 1p.m. in the professional world in HK) on a major thoroughfare downtown Blake and I looked at each other, shook our heads and tried to assimilate the differences in our world in the last 24 hours.  Yesterday we wandered up to Chi Foo where there is a shopping mall - more of an old world look and feel to it.  They even have a Wet Market there and of course we wandered through.  The smells at times are really pungent and more than I care to sniff!  And when we came across loads and loads of live chickens in cages and saw 'the chopping block' I told Blake I wouldn't be lingering there and moved on smartly.  Yug.  The other thing that caused my stomach to quiver was seeing eels in buckets - they look too much like snakes and the combination of that along with their impending death.... well, you get it.

Tra la, that is it to date.  Much love to you and keep well.

M   xox

From the Vietnam Queen...

From our guest blogger, MoZiLLa in Vietnam...

hello fans of maureen...

yellowknife's fave gal is having a blast...she is meant to be boarding a plane today with frugal blake to meet up with the four very excited grandchildren and charles and myself in phuket, however after reading these last two epistles i wouldn't be at all surprised if she missed her plane and was found wandering around the streets eating freshly made vietnamese baguette waiting for her husband, barber-trainee blake to get off work.

here are the latest letters....

*****

Good evening to everyone from Ho Chi Minh City where it is currently 26C (weather network says it feels like 39C) and humidity is 94% and I AM LOVING IT! Tomorrow is supposed to be 32C.

A short note to try to express our delight with Hoi An - what a treasure. A 'sleepy' small town where we enjoyed the slower pace and spent hours walking, strolling, perusing, making choices for a riverside restaurant amidst crumbling stones, plastic chairs and rickety tables but wonderful food. We were treated with respect and kindness and it was a pleasure to reciprocate. This morning we enjoyed our complimentary breakfast once again at our rather wonderful hotel - did I mention it is across the street from the bus 'pits' where they are serviced? Oh my.

Following our breakfast of the best fresh white bread, fruit, yogourt, jam, cheese and hot Lipton tea we left with a pre-arranged taxi driver and drove to Marble Mountain for a quick stop. The quick stop turned into a happy purchase of two small marble vases which both Blake and I immediately took a shine to. The young lady who made the transaction seemed to take a shine to us as she gave me a gift of a green bracelet and a small Buddha for Blake as she noticed a wee similarity in their tummies! And this is not the first time his tummy has been a point of interest- locals, after chatting with us for a bit, would sometimes pat his tummy and say, "Happy Buddha!"

From Marble Mountain we drove to the famous Furama Resort (Vietnam's only 5 star luxury hotel of international calibre) in Danang but sadly could not get out and wander through their grounds :-( Would love to have seen more. And then off to the famed China Beach of the Vietnam War - we stopped on the highway, walked down onto the beach and sat under a huge thatched umbrella for about 45 minutes while we drank in the sight, thought of the history of this place, read and relaxed. Our faithful driver then took us through Danang - how glad I am we stayed our 3 days in Hoi An - and dropped us at the airport where we caught the flight to HCMC.

Blake is a cute sight right now as he did not cover up well enough yesterday while we were out walking around for hours on end and although the sun did not actually present itself without clouds it was pretty feisty and Blake is proof. He has the reddest solar dome and knees but thankfully is not too uncomfortable. Lesson learned - always put on sunscreen even if the sun is not actually shining.

Tomorrow is an unknown as to what we will be up to but suspect we will explore the city. Did I mention in the previous letter that we had visited the "Hanoi Hilton" where American flyers were imprisoned during the Vietnam War? Pretty chilling.

Trusting this little update finds each of you well. We continue to be blessed with good health inspite of the lingering cough from the HK plague of a few weeks ago :-) I remember saying to Blake this morning, "I hope I never ever take for granted how wonderful it is to feel healthy." Amen.

Our love to you all from the horn-tootingest-country in the world!

M xox

We have just tumbled in from a couple of hours of wandering around in incredible heat - I LOVE it. But hot it is - feels like 115F according to weathernetwork. A little frustrating as 'doing' is not evolving quite as easily as it has in the past. Nevertheless, HCMC is all part of the package and am not sorry we are here.

Took laundry in today; Blake got a snazzy pair of Puma lookalike sandals; have been able to watch some good tennis on TV in the evenings and Blake has seen Bart Simpson - what more could we ask for? We both got bitten by insects quite a bit in Hoi An but B's have flaired more than mine - not a problem except a bit itchy and I have cream for him. Dined last night at Seventeen Saloon...... big name, not much else. Watched the world neck its way by as couples smooched in the park across the road, the usual bevvie of motorbikes roared past, joined an aerobics class in the same park enroute to our hotel. AND we are soooooo good at crossing the frenetic roads - no panic, no last minute writing of the will, no scrunching our eyes shut and praying that we will somehow live...... miraculously, it just happens :-)

Remind us to tell you how Pepsi Cola saved us from financial embarrassment!

And the fact that there are 14,000 dong to one Canadian dollar has turned Blake into an instant millionaire and he is liking the feeling. Frugal Blake, as Tess loves to call him in her blog, is so happy to negotiate prices when his little tiny dollar equals 14,000! He has even purchased some items without going through angst and pain and hesitation, which is the norm for him - it is such a transformation..... and I am liking the feeling!

Fortunately we are having easy Internet access thus far.

It is 12:33p.m. and I am heading up to our AC room to cool off a little before we venture out again to the Reunification Palace.

Blessings to all,

M xoxo

We are sold on Vietnam!

From our guest blogger, MoZiLLa in Vietnam...

We are currently in Hoi An and not staying where I said we would be!  We are at the Phuong Nam Hotel, very happy with it - my mind did a swoop when I walked into our bedroom in this hotel as it  so reminded me of The English Patient and other movies of that genre - the dark wood furniture, the cool white walls, the sliding dark wood windows and on.  The bathroom is big and more than adequate.  Truly adorable staff.   

Just back from a loooooonnnnng walk.  As we strolled past a teeny tiny shop this afternoon I asked Blake if he was going to be brave and get his hair cut as the hair below his regular hairline at the back of his neck was challenging Tarzan with the need for a 'tidy-up'.  He agreed he needed to keep his eyes open and voila, I turned him around and before you could say much he was in the chair and is now looking most dapper indeed.  Very short and sharp.  I took a few pics to try to capture the tiny-ness of this shop and chose NOT to think about the cleanliness level of the comb and other utensils used on Blake - I doubt they were ever cleaned but wouldn't it be wonderful if I was wrong? 

While Blake was being relieved of his follicles a young woman showed up with another child -  2 already in the shop watching! - and asked me if I would like a massage.  Have you EVER known me to say  'No' to a massage?  And again, before I could blink I was prone in the only other archaic steel chair.  Now this woman had the hands of a  fighter!  I kept thinking about the Clint Eastwood movie with Hilary Swank.  Hilary had nothing on this lady. She beat me up from scalp to shoulders and halfway down my arms, covered my face in Nivea cream I think,  shook and pulled my hair, slapped my face and chin, clunked my forehead and scalp with a block of wood it felt like but was probably her hands, slopped a wet towel from a bucket in the corner of the shop onto my face to wash off the cream, poured some delightful liquid into my hair, sat me up and  started to comb my hair as it was of course standing straight out..... but I had to draw the line there as I just couldn't quite have that comb in my hair!!  We paid, gave our thanks, grinned and  waved and ...... felt like a million dollars.  Blake was now cuter than ever with his new haircut and all that abuse on me was GREAT! and
my neck and shoulders actually felt a little better   :-)

We had dinner at some marvelous local place where we learned we really like Vietnamese Wonton soup.  A nice little dog kept watch just a few feet away, wild motorbike drivers sped by a few feet away from our table, twilight slipped into night.  We drank Lager beer and ended the meal with sweet milk/sugar coffee - mmmmm.  Wandered 'home' hand in hand just loving every ambience-filled moment..... and not just me, Blake is equally as thrilled with it all as I am.

And Hanoi - this gets repetitious but that too was such a good time.  We walked for hours and hours, 'did' the markets, nearly expired from lack of liquid in the middle of the market and I figured Blake would end up a pneumonia victim as he had 100% drenched his shirt and I had visions of him somehow catching a chill..... now think Maureen, how is that possible?..... the heat and the humidity were so high! but nevertheless I was watching out for my boy...... walked around the big lake in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, ate dinner at .... Bobby Chin's.... correct name?.... a 'must do' of Sandi's - excellent food and service.  The following day was THE Halong Bay trip - Pammie, I so wanted it to be the way you described it!  But alas, it was a day for pouring rain.  Nevertheless, off we went, met some super people, braved getting soaked, chose our poor luncheon victims at the fish farm and had a truly delectable meal on board the cruise boat and didn't die on the highways of Hanoi to Halong Bay where painted lines and driving-on-the-correct-side-of-the-highway is laughable.  All in all an experience and fun.  As we were being driven to the airport this morning Blake exclaimed, "Isn't the architecture exquisite"?  And it is as the French influence is prevalent - a yellow mustard colour is a favourite for the buildings, black grills, handsome doorways and frequently the structure is only one room wide and rises for 3 or 4  floors - it takes getting used to as it looks odd to see these buildings often standing on its own.

Blake here - have I told you how many times Mo has told me how much she likes the humid weather?!  I am greasing her fingers as we speak so she can type at super speeds.  Aside from that, this weather is so wonderful for my skin!!!!  My hair is spurting through it to the point that three barbers had to work shifts just to trim the hair on my ears alone   :-)  Mo is threatening to buy more clothes, the lessons and Beatitudes from the Retreat are wearing thin at this point and rather than clothe the poor Mo has decided charity begins at home.  Please start the Prayer Chain tomorrow!!!!
  ...... NO COMMENT  FROM MO AT THIS POINT AS I AM THE ONE TYPING AS HE DICTATES!!!  Blake again:  sorry about that little diatribe! Tomorrow I start my job at the Pizza parlour in town so that I can finance Mo's upcoming shopping expedition.  Must  run now - it's my turn to drive taxi and I have to  learn how to operate the horn, the lights and the accelerator simultaneously.  It would really confuse things if any of the vehicles had brakes!

Regards to all,  Blake.... HE IS SOOOO CHEEKY.  Never believe anything he says  :-)

Much love to all, M    xox

WOW for WTE!

From our guest blogger, MoZiLLa...

Obviously, Tess and I have returned from our WTE with Tess functioning in the capacity as Table Leader/facilitator and me as a Pilgrim.  And now comes the dilemma..... I want to share absolutely everything about the Walk to Emmaus but I won't because the impact of the Walk is so excellent and so profound that it is best experienced with no foreknowledge of what is to come.  That was how I did it, as did pretty well everyone, and I believe it to be the way to go.  What I will share is that this was a Christian spiritual experience, the like of which was utterly unique, from which I emerged truly blessed by God.  So!!  suffice to say that in addition to seeing The Painted Veil I recommend even more passionately that the WTE is a must-do Retreat. (Left: Blake taking the kids to SWCK school on one of his first mornings in Hong Kong.)

When it wound down Sunday at 5 PM who appeared at Mary Knoll (Catholic Monastery) but my darling Blake, Charles and the four children.  What a precious sight that was.  We wee-wee/d the triplets while Charles did the impossible of effectively packing up the 7 seater van with luggage, 2 pillows, 1 mattress, swimming supplies (used by C, B, and the children at the Club that Sunday afternoon) - and then the 8 of us slid in and drove home. (Left: Blake & Charles on Friday morning at a Christian breakfast atop the HSBC headquarters while Tess & MoZiLLa were at Mary Knoll.)

A bath never felt so good; Tess, I think, had a bath and was out cold before you even knew she was missing; the children crashed quickly as they too had had a busy busy day; Blake was exhausted from his weekend duties as grandfather (and busy they were - Charles and Blake took the children, along with Lita and De for crowd control!, to Kowloon and it was apparently the worst Charles ever experienced with LITERALLY EVERYBODY in their faces) so Blake too was in bed and gone after continuing his culinary skills for his dinner and preparing Kraft Dinner  :-)  This left Charles and me.  And we talked long into the night about his WTE and mine.  Rich indeed.

Today is a holiday, although Tuesday.  Charles has to go to work unfortunately as he is finishing up at Juniper and last day will be Friday. He is then taking a month OFF! yipppeeeee! and June 1st begins a new job with Citrix - as HR Director for Asia Pacific.  They are blessed to have him.  He and Blake are meeting up this afternoon and bravely heading back to Kowloon for some fittings for shirts and suits, etc.  And Tess and I are packing up the children and taking them back to the beach with 200 steps AND WILL NOT BE GROCERY SHOPPING AFTER!!  The unbelievably wonderful Lita and De have the day off and in typical fashion asked if that would be alright for them to have the day off or 'were they needed to work?' - they are treasures.

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!  Blake and I will be up early and out the door, catch a taxi to the intown Airporter Train Check-in, and a short 1/2 hour ride to the airport.  We leave for Hanoi (I just checked weather and it is supposed to be showers and thunderstorms the 3 days we are there!).  We plan on a great deal of walking through the French quarter, seeing the many famous sites as well as a day trip to Halong Bay which is world renowned for its beauty - 3,000 islands dotting an emerald bay... might be interesting in a thunderstorm!  We depart for Hoi An (just south of Danang) on Saturday the 5th for another 3 days.  There are many old temples and beautiful beaches along with the historic "China Beach" near Danang for our viewing and exploring pleasure.    On the 8th we embark on the final Vietnam stage of the journey to Ho Chi Minh city where once again we will walk and drink in this different world.  My priority while there is a boat trip along parts of the Mekong Delta - again, a part of history not to be missed.

May 11 we depart from Ho Chi Minh and instead of returning to HK as originally planned a new surprising 'gift' has evolved.  We are flying to Phuket via Bangkok and will meet up with the 6 Caldwells for 6 nights at a resort.  This is the triplets first Asian holiday and should be a not-to-be-missed experience.  This resort has a Kid's Club and if the triplets are considered too young for the Club there are babysitters so Tess and Charles should actually be able to relax and recharge their own batteries a little.  We all return to HK on the 17th - Blake and I are on a different flight and will not arrive back in the flat until around midnight); next day is the final day to run last minute errands (ie:  Blake to Kowloon to pick up his shirts) while that evening Blake has a most important function to attend - it is "Father's Night" at Small World - the four children's school - he, Charles and two adopted fathers for the evening are attending the soiree so that each child has a 'father' at their side who will "ooooh and ahhhhh" at their wonderful works of art, etc.  Blake's eyes will be brimming as you can imagine.  Amazingly that is it! and the following day we climb on the plane for our flight back to Canada.

So my dear family and friends, until we are next in contact - may God continue to bless each of you.

Love from

Maureen and Blake

And now it is retreat time

From our guest blogger, MoZiLLa...

Hello everyone - in a few minutes I am leaving with Charles who is kindly driving me out to Stanley for the Walk to Emmaus Retreat. Tess is already there as one of the table facilitators and from yours truly not only she but another friend (one of the gals who went to Shenzhen with us) have now got the throat, ears, nose and cough plague.... surely it was not moi who 'shared' it with them! Even now I still daily get an on and off sore throat, cough and plugged ears. Sturdy little bug this.  (Painting at Left: Journey to Emmaus, artist unknown.)

For those who may not be familiar - the Walk to Emmaus gets its name from the time when Jesus met a few of His followers (after His resurrection). They were walking along utterly despondent that their Lord had been killed, this 'stranger' joined them as the proceeded down the road to Emmaus and they all chatted and talked about this Jesus who had been killed. It was only after Jesus had departed from them that they suddenly realized that this 'stranger' who had joined them was actually Jesus. Hence, the heavy meaning to the words The Walk to Emmaus intimating that we too can meet with Jesus as we travel along the road (of life).

I still have no idea what to expect but am quite certain it will be just what I need and will be a gift from Him and all these dedicated individuals who have prepared for this weekend for months and months with prayer, prayer meetings, planning, etc. etc. We are staying in, and the Retreat takes place in, a Catholic monastery and is totally ecumenical - rich indeed.

Blake is here!!! He arrived last night and it is sooooooo great to have him with us. The children are thrilled to have Grandad Blake here and he is busy answering endless questions, helping with Dora books, applying stickers, playing on the playground, etc. etc. etc. He just beams. So it is going to be a bit of a hiatus from this little writer but I look forward to being in touch post the Walk.

Blessings,

M

xox

on a junk, saw a junk, watched a junk

From our guest blogger, MoZiLLa...

Last Wednesday evening I was kindly included in an evening's outing to Lamma Island.  Some of the leadership from Union Church wanted to have a fellowship kind of get-together.  A couple that attends Union Church co-own a rather spacious modern junk with 3 other couples and are generous in sharing the boat.  We boarded in the "Fragrant Harbour" at dusk and the beauties of the HK shoreline and skyline were startling - the million lights winked and beckoned from both HK side and Kowloon side of the harbour.  I found it breathtaking.  It was from this modern junk that I saw a sight I have only seen once before - a real junk from the days of 'old China'.  The large sails were dark green and it was majestic as it swept past. 

We dined at Rainbow Restaurant on Lamma - open air, full, loud, fabulous food.  Other groups were cheek to jowl with us and as the wine flowed the standing and bowing and toasting grew ever more frequent as faces grew more florid by the minute.  I rationalized with candor the fact that those nice little fish swimming just over there in those big tanks were suddenly part of dinner - "Now that's what you call fresh"!!  A facet of life here that charms me is the eclectic mix of nationalities.  I sat in my chair, was wonderfully wined and dined and embraced the visual feast of Korean, Chinese (mainland and Hong Kong Island), English, Australian, American, Canadian, Scottish and mixes of the aforementioned.  And of course the  accents.  They tickle my ears.  It was a splendid evening.

The third junk happened last night - Tess and I slipped away around 6:30p.m. and went downtown to see the movie, "The Painted Veil".  RUN - DON'T WALK - to see this movie.  We were thrilled by it.  The cinematography is breathtaking with the story taking place mainly in China as well as England; superb acting.  A poignant tale by Somerset Maugham.  Shall not say another word as I do not wish to ruin it for you all as I know you are going to see it  :-)

Charles is at the Men's Walk to Emmaus this weekend since Thursday evening. He is charge of prayer and the Prayer Chapel.  And next weekend I will be the novice Pilgrim at the Women's Walk.  I truly have almost no idea as to what to expect so..... won't it be exciting to find out. Today Tess and I went to the ABC with the children where they played and played.  We had lunch as well and generally did an excellent job of tiring the gang out  :-)  Now, tomorrow is Lita and De's day off....... do you see where this is going?..... Charles does not get home until after 6 PM......  this leaves Tess and me ....... I think all of you who believe in prayer should do just that on our behalf.... or better still - for the children's sake!!

My love to you all,

M   xox

Forged in the furnace loyalties

From our guest blogger, MoZiLLa...

I could not wait until tomorrow to share this tidbit.

It is currently 2:20 PM... the time of day when naps generally are ending.

Naps in this house usually are successful for the triplets on weekdays as 'school' in the morning tires them out. Today.... not so much.  Instead, they threw another party and when their mother entered their bedroom they had moved the two beds that could be moved, pulled out drawers and emptied their contents as well as liberally dispensing Thomas train track pieces on the floor. Time stood still as all movement within the room froze..... Tess fixed Jasper with a steely eye and asked, "Jasper, who did this mess"?

"Thela and Caryth," Jasper replied.

"Sela, who did this mess?" Tess asked... "Carys and JJ," Sela replied.

"Carys, who did this mess?" Tess asked... "Sela and Jasper," Carys replied.

I stood at the doorway and that is what I heard - I cannot tell a lie! Priceless conversation followed. There were wails of mortification that they had been 'busted' but very little remorse for the actual crime! Some of their comments to Tess had us unable to look at them as we fought back smiles ..... such as JJ's last minute dead-man-walking attempt for clemency: "JJ, you know I have to give you a spanking for disobeying, don't you"?

"No, how about Caryth"? was his manly reply.

I bid you adieu!!

M xox