Hello Hong Kong!
This morning I finally made it to Hong Kong!
The journey didn’t quite go as planned. On Sunday afternoon, my flight out of Birmingham Airport to Zurich was delayed, which meant I missed my connecting flight onto Hong Kong!
Alas, there were no more flights that evening. However, Swiss Air kindly put me up in a hotel for the night and fed and watered me, so I can’t really complain. They also rebooked me onto a Cathy Pacific flight for the next day.
My journey took 33 hours in total, which was pretty exhausting. It also meant I arrived at Hong Kong International at 7 a.m. this morning, a day late.
Many of you will know that flying is not something I particularly enjoy (understatement of the year!), but I was thankful for God’s peace. I even managed not to grip the armrest the whole journey!
The Revd Canon Stephen Miller, Regional Director East Asian - Mission to the Seafarers) kindly picked me up and brought me back to the ‘Mariners Club’ where I will be spending the next four weeks before Emma and the children come across.
I am staying in a very homely one-bedroom apartment just across the road from the container port. It really is a great location, and I am so thankful for the mission's kindness in accommodating me. I was amazed to be greeted with some produce from the local M&S supermarket, including British Eggs!
After dropping my bags off, I went straight down to join the team for morning prayer. There are a number of Chaplaincy organisations represented here: Anglican, Roman Catholic, Danish Seamen's Mission, and German Seamen's Mission. It was great to chat with them all over tea afterwards about some of the challenges and opportunities that the different missions, both here in Hong Kong and around the world, face going forward.
It was then onto some practicalities: installing a much-needed HK SIM card and purchasing an Octopus Card (similar to Swift/oyster for public transport) before heading out to the market to buy some safety boots for when I start Ship Visiting. I was very grateful for Port Chaplain Rev'd Kim Kee Lee, who helped me get all these things sorted out so quickly!
I’m afraid the lack of sleep (I can never sleep on planes!) and jet lag caught up with me this afternoon, so I had a quick power nap before heading out to the local supermarket for some much-needed supplies. Thank you, HK Language Group, for the recommendation!
Tomorrow, I plan to explore Hong Kong a little, and on Thursday, I will head out with The Mission on their' Dayspring' boat to visit ships in anchorage. Hopefully, some more pics soon!
Thank you for your continued prayers:)