Lessons From Hong Kong

LESSON 1:  God's Grace

We have been home now for only about 3 weeks.  Already, God is using the addition of Peter to our mix.  The first thing to say about our time in Hong Kong til now is "God's grace".  One of my favorite lines from the hymn Amazing Grace goes like this:

"'tis grace hath brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home"

For us this couldn't be more true.  We went to get Peter so heavy-hearted and God met us in it.  When we awoke on that Sunday morning, we had no idea how God was going to move. 

(Back Story 1)  Our dear friends, the Putnams, approached us several months prior to travel about our trip to Hong Kong.  Tracy told me that she had a friend from college that was Christian and lived with her husband and kids in Hong Kong.  She asked me if I would want to be in contact with her and I was very grateful to be.  Agnes, her husband Desmond and family would impact our lives forever.  God sovereignly placed Agnes in Tracy's life all those years ago with our trip to Hong Kong in view.  God knew exactly what we would need that Sunday so far away from home.  What a gift it was too.

Agnes met us in the lobby of our hotel to take us to a gospel preaching Baptist church of 11,000 members.  I was completely undone as we sang familiar hymns in English while the 65 member choir sang the same in Cantonese.  All I kept thinking about was the grace of God.  Then the Reverend preached from Romans Chpt. 8 and we listened to precious truths that mean so much to us and watched as it resonated in the hearts and souls of our Cantonese brothers and sisters.  For me, it was very hard to stay the flow of tears.  What is it going to sound like in heaven when every tongue and every tribe of people lift up there voices together to praise the Lamb?  Standing there on that day gave me a taste I will never forget. We spent the whole day with this precious family and boy did we laugh.  We were apart of the same eternal family and although we didn't look the same, the aroma of Christ was the same.

We returned to the hotel exhausted and wanting to eat food we understood.  Instead, we just fell asleep.  When we awoke we could feel the gravity pressing us down on the bed.  The grief of Thom's father's death and all the family was going through broke over us like a waterfall.  It was 5 a.m. and our desperation met us as all our burdens and tears poured out to our Father.  We wept together and cried out to Jesus to help us.  During this precious time God led us to repent of self-sufficiency.  The burdens we were feeling and the weight pressing down on us was our attempt to pull off this adoption and just get through each day as it came, somehow in our own strength.  We cried out for forgiveness and started piling all our cares, all our fears, all our brokenness before our Father and the gravity lifted and peace overcame us.

Our first lesson on foreign soil was to Trust in the Lord with all of our heart, Lean not on our own understanding, in ALL our ways Acknowledge Him and He made our path straight. Such a weighty subject and yet somehow we just felt lighter.  And since coming home, trusting God has become a practice with each day where we lay our burdens at His feet desperate for His Fatherly comfort and care.  Thank you Father for your sanctifying grace and your sustaining grace.  Thank you Jesus for saving grace.  Thank you for the grace of adoption!