Election in HK

Just now I was walking down the street and passed a Pizza Hut delivery man. I greeted him in Cantonese and smiled. He smiled back playfully and replied "Obama."
You may think we would have dodged all the election hype being on the other side of the world, but I have been amazed at what a big deal it is to everyone, American or not. Yesterday morning 10:30 our time, I was reading an article online about the terrible violence in Congo and the plight of the quarter million refugees. My heart was heavy over the situation and I was crying out to the Lord for relief. At that time I got a call from Johnny, our friend from the Congo. He was ecstatic yelling in the phone "Thank you God . . . Obamba first black president . . . no more white house, black house!" He then passed the phone to another African friend who was celebrating with him, but I couldn't even make out what his friend was saying because he was over taken by tears (literally sobbing) at the excitement of Obama's presidency. I thought it was ironic that we were both so moved by the news of each other's countries. However you sway politically, history was certainly made and I can't help but feel caught up in the excitement.

Guam Cross Country 2008

Oct 22nd-28th I helped lead a group from our XC team to participate in the Asia Pacific Invitational. It consisted of a 5k race early friday morning and an 8k relay Sat morning. Most of the athletes ran their fastest times of the season. We got to enjoy the sand, surf, and overdosed on american fast food:(.

Half a Year

Josiah celebrated his six month birthday at the party of his girlfriend, Zara, twice his age. It was his first party and he even got his own party hat and goodie bag!

Every night as we put Josiah to bed Jason and I pray over him for protection, that he would know the love of Jesus, and for him to sleep (it works- last night he slept 11 hours straight!) Most importantly we end the day with a prayer of thanksgiving for the gift Josiah is to us.

Here are six things we love about our son:
1. the gusto with which he splashes in the tub
2. his resilience, he takes a tumble and keeps on going
3. his wide, two toothed smile- it is so contagious people across the train catch it
4. the bewildered face he makes the first bite he takes of every meal
5. his chubby, sturdy legs that love to stand
6. his interest in everything going on around him, he doesn't miss a beat

Little Pumpkin

I was determined that Josiah needed to experience a pumpkin for his first Halloween. So you can imagine my excitement when I found a gorgeous one in the wet- market (a far cry from the quintessential pumpkin patch). In my novice Cantonese I thought the vendor said $25, but then realized the pumpkin was $250hkd. You pay for novelty. I couldn't justify that purchase. Today I went to the markets with my Philipina friend Flora. She couldn't understand why I would take a picture of my son with a vegetable, but showed me where you can get these cute Japanese pumpkins. Josiah was very curious and slightly suspicious. . . enjoy!

Kaadori Farm

We can't go to traditional farms or pumpkins patches here this time of year, but last weekend we did take a family hike to a local organic farm and botanical gardens. It is so beautiful and has lots of hiking trails, waterfalls, and butterflies! Josiah loves hiking in his backpack and nodded off about half way through the hike.

Wordless Wednesday

My definition of a bad day

Most days of my life are great. I have a beautiful wife and son, a job I enjoy, and lots of love and support from family and friends all around. This past Tuesday was not a great day. Bummer #1. I had organized a XC meet for 8 teams from all over Hong Kong with over 150 runners. The races were going smoothly until the high school race was 3/5 the way done and 90% of the runners took the wrong turn finishing the race way before they should have. The race was pretty much a total failure and it was my fault since the course wasn't marked clearly enough. Bummer #2. After the race I was going around picking up cones when I almost stepped on a king cobra. It whirled around, hissed and flared its hood at me. Had I taken one step further I would have had a nice ride to the ER. Bummer #3. Then for some unknown reason, perhaps stress, that evening I contracted hives. It was probably equivalent to rolling in a bush of poison oak with just your skivies on. No sleep, no rest, no relief. The next day I went to the doc and got some powerful antihistamines that knocked me out cold and seemed to knock out the allergic reaction as well. After some reflection I realized it could have been worse. Both races could have gone off course. I could have been bit by the cobra, and I could have a life long condition of eczema or something similar. Despite the ups and downs in life there is always an opportunity to be thankful no matter the circumstances.