First Days in HK

My first four days of living in Hong Kong proved to be exactly what one would expect of me. I left Jeff's cell phone on a bench and it was stolen asap - welcome to Stanley. I found a furniture store and stocked the house - welcome to the land of two day delivery instead of two month delivery. I thought it made sense to go out at 9pm on our first night in HK to shop for wares - welcome to jetlag and a psychotic seven year old. I locked myself, the girls, and the ac repairman out of our home for three hours (and, yes, he waited) - welcome to the world of "no extra keys" at the gatehouse. We have been invited out for three different meals and met at least four different families that have shared all contact information for me to actually use - welcome to the expat community of HK. And, best of all we made it to church service that we truly loved - welcome to church in a high rise. 

After two days here I was crying quietly and prayed so hard for God to carry this weight. I felt somewhat isolated even in the midst of my sweet family. Since that prayer, I have been invited to two different women's Bible studies and have met people that I never thought I would ever meet here. One woman from High Point took me to Stanley Market and introduced me to her favorite vendors and then sent me off in a taxi back to my house. She was holding a small bag of extra school uniform shirts to give to me, but, in the shuffle to speak carefully to the Cantonese-speaking driver, I forgot to get the shirts. Within the hour, the property manager showed up at our door with the shirts (the same manager that doesn't hold extra keys). We met another couple at church and they offered to take us to lunch with a few other people; when they realized a family of six always requires two taxis, they offered to take Forrest with them in their car. And, yes, we allowed him to go and we knew these people for a whopping 75 minutes. For some reason, none of us, including Forrest, found this odd.