After an unremarkable November filled for the first year away from home with NO TEARS (if you're confused, see November 2012 for reference), I headed back to the United States for Christmas and a Wedding! Not too much to say about that, except that it was a beautiful event where my very best friend got to marry a pretty upstanding fella, if I do say so. Here's a preview of that event...
But onto the more pressing news of the day...
I've been dreading this blog post, to be perfectly frank. Because I'm leaving Hong Kong. I don't want to go. I mean, I do, but I don't, too. I'm a mess! Instead of writing a whole sad-sack blurb, I'll just include excerpts from my resignation letter...
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| Checking out my new digs... |
I have, after a
period of discernment, prayer, and thought, accepted a position as Youth
Director of two churches in the United States, which have elected to
collaborate on a Youth Ministry program.
I will be settling in the Washington, DC area. Many things went into my decision, but the primary thing I
can point to is God’s clear call away.
Many of you have heard and seen my heart for Hong Kong, and the church's youth and children. This
process and timing of being called away has been as surprising for me as it
probably is for you. But, I am
confident that I serve a God whose purposes are far above mine and whose will
is greater than what I can immediately see. I trust in his eternal perspective as opposed to my limited,
worldly perspective.
I
am excited for this new opportunity to grow and be stretched in my
ministry. I believe that serving
these two churches will provide lots of new challenges and help me see even
more ways of doing ministry. I am
looking forward to being back in the United States, closer to family and
friends and for the events and milestones that I will be able to be more
present for.
You
all have blessed me immensely, and I am so thankful for the time I have had to
grow and serve alongside you all.
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| Naval Academy with Heather...Navy kids, what do you expect? |
So, there's the news. I am very excited about moving to DC - it's a city that I grew to love very much in the short amount of time I spent there after Christmas, but I am very sad to be leaving Hong Kong. I feel like I have just started to really "live" in HK, so that's a bit of a disappointment. I am, however, excited for cold weather, American things like Target (judge away) and being on the same continent as friends and family. I am not excited for reverse culture shock, which nearly kills me every time I go back to the US. I have no idea what it'll be like after being gone for such a long time.
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| Culture shock most often looks like this...do we really need 200 varieties of canned soup?! |
One slightly sad yet hilarious side effect of this move is that I had to go through the thousands of pictures I've taken in Hong Kong of funny, inexplicable and just downright confounding things and I've discovered that there is a veritable treasure trove. I'll be posting these and commenting them over the next few weeks as I prepare to leave HK. And don't worry, there are many more adventures in store for this traveler. Thanks for reading my blog and for keeping up with me over these past couple of years! There's more ahead.
-The Adventurer
