Wealthy

"Oh very wealthy."

This comment haunted me all yesterday evening and today. We were out looking for a taylor to hem some of my pants and a Chinese man offered to help us find a store. He took us to the directory of this 'mini' mall to show us where it was and then asked us where we lived. We said, "Hoy yat ho yuen" and he replied, "Oh very wealthy." We answered... "oh no, not wealthy," thanked him, and headed off to the store. I was stunned... what do you say to a comment like that? We are by no means wealthy but we are blessed by a wonderful God. I'm still not sure exactly what to think about this. It makes me question our ability to minister to the population of HK that is middle class. It also makes me question if the color of our skin make us appear unapproachable because it seems most westerners are quite wealthy. It also made me aware that not everyone in HK is well off. I'm sure that sounds like a dumb statement but when you are a part of a wealthy congregation and most of your contacts are not hurting financially you can forget that not everyone lives that way. I am thankful for this brief conversation because it opened my eyes and got my brain thinking.

We met some MN friends for coffee at Starbucks today. It really is a small world. When we first moved to MN, there was a hired man doing our sound and his name was Ed. Mike had contact with him but I don't recall ever meeting him. Anyway... his wife Joelle grew up in HK and they were back visiting so they got our contact info and asked to see us. It was so much fun to chat about MN life versus HK life and just get to know them a little. It's funny how you end up spending time with people (sometimes even complete strangers) because you have one little thing in common. We didn't really know Ed and Joelle before today but we still met up, there are women here I've met simply because we all have children, some people we've just clicked with because we're from North America. Funny how being across the world and away from families ties people together.


Here are the answers to my tag...
What were you doing 10 years ago? 1996 I was 16, a junior in High School, and a workaholic. LOL My life was band and Chick-fil-a.

What were you doing 1 year ago? Realizing that a move to Hong Kong was very possible and trying to deal with that as well as preparing for the arrival of Isabella.

Five snacks you enjoy: Cheese and crackers, saltines, pretzels, ice cream, M&M's

Five songs to which you know all the lyrics: Theme song to Fresh Prince, a few Praise and numerous Children's songs LOL

Five bad habits: not replacing the toilet paper, using lots of dishes throughout one day, having 'the drawer', staying up later than I should, won't talk on the phone

Five things you like doing: playing the piano, doing TaeBo, getting a pedicure/facial, being with family, laughing

Five things you would never wear, buy or get again: tapered pants, tube top, itchy clothes, nike running shoes, any Tom Cruise movie made after 1995

Five favorite toys: piano, my camera, Powerbook G4, dvd player, toaster :)

Above is a layout I made the other day using MandaBeans Persimmon kit and NJR's Shmootzy Frames. This has got to be one of my favorite pictures of Isabella. She was about 5 months old and giggling up a storm. Everyone at church called her a little doll and I couldn't agree more. I love the dress and matching hat and her smile just topped it off. Love her to pieces!