Macau!

The long wait is over. I've finally arrived in Macau! Truthfully, I arrived in Macau about a day and a half ago. However, between the tiredness and business, I haven't been able to update you on what I've been doing. I'm still tired, but now that the day is over I'm no longer busy, so I finally have time to post an update.

First, let me tell you about the trip. On Saturday morning, I woke up at the lovely hour of 4:30 to pack the last few items and head to the airport with my parents (thanks Mom and Dad!) for a 7:10 flight to DFW, followed by another flight to Toronto. I arrived at YYZ at about two in the afternoon and my flight to Hong Kong didn't leave until 1:40 AM, so I had plenty of time to leave the airport and do some sightseeing: walking around, looking at buildings, and checking out the botanical gardens. My last flight was from Toronto to Hong Kong, on Cathay Pacific Airlines. I was expecting the worst, since at 15 hours, it is a very long flight. Instead, it was one of the best flights I've been on. Very good service, comfortable seats, good food, and a personal entertainment system with all the movies, TV shows, and music you could possibly want. Furthermore, I slept very well, partly due to the comfortable seats but mostly because I had been awake for about 24 straight hours before the flight. I finally arrived at Hong Kong International Airport at about 5:00 AM local time, feeling quite well rested. After about an hour, the rest of the team showed up in Hong Kong (they had taken a different flight, connecting in San Francisco), and we caught the 10:00 ferry to Taipa, Macau, finally arriving at our destination at 11:00 Monday morning. After traveling for about 40 consecutive hours, I had finally reached Macau.

Our first day, Monday, was spent getting acclimated, walking around Macau, meeting our local contacts, holding an orientation meeting (no pun intended), and most importantly, trying to stay awake for as long as possible. We actually managed to stay up until 8PM, which I consider a success. Some impressions of Macau from the walk: it is hilly, hot, humid, and you have to do a lot of walking. However, it is also very pretty, with lots of greenery, fountains, gardens, and European architecture (which comes from being a former Portuguese colony). One of the locals explained that Macau is very safe, with violent crime almost non-existent, which I find reassuring (however, there is still a fair amount of pickpocketing). Also, the drivers here are not nearly as crazy as those in mainland China.

This morning, we did our first distribution from 9 to 12, near the ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral. As the oldest surviving example of European architecture in the far east, it is the most popular tourist destination in Macau, attracting thousands of visitors from the mainland every day. We distributed 900 Chinese-language packets today, each one holding a Blibe and several tracts, and many of the recipients expressed to us how happy they were to receive it. I could go on and on, but let me be brief and say that it was quite a blessing to me and the rest of the team to be a part of this. Please pray that the Chinese people we met would be receptive to the information in the packets.

For lunch, we went to a very fancy dim sum restaurant, where we gorged ourselves on delicious Chinese food. Afterwards, we went on a prayer walk through the Grand Lisboa, a Macau casino. Gambling is a huge industry for Macau, with 34 casinos employing 14.5% of Macau's working population. While walking through the casino, it was clear that many of the people there, both employees and gamblers, had a lot of bad things going on, so it was great to be able to pray for them.

Which brings me to now. It's about 7pm here and we're about to head out to dinner. So that's all I have to say for now (well, I could probably say more if I wasn't so tired and hungry). I'll post some pictures soon. Please pray for me and the rest of the team that we'll get good rest tonight and be ready to "sow more seeds" among the Chinese people we meet. Also, if you'd like more info or a different perspective, check out my teammate Kim's blog:  http://worldfacemissions.blogspot.com/