Hello you rusty old blog ... I've got some news for you: I'm moving to Hong Kong!
Yes, yes, I can hardly believe it myself! It seems quite random, I know. Where have I been all these years, only to show up now and announce this dramatic change? I understand, old blog, you're understandably a bit confused and bewildered .. so I'll try to help you with a little backstory:
You see, for the last, oh, decade or so, God has been preparing a
place in my heart for speakers of Cantonese, a dialect group located predominately in south
eastern China, which includes the area of Hong Kong. Interestingly enough, a big
part of my circle of friends in Vancouver are Cantonese speakers, many with a
heart specifically for Hong Kong.
So, over time I made some contacts with various churches and
ministries in the Hong Kong area, including this one, International Christian
Assembly (ICA). Their website is here: http://www.icahk.org.
But I didn't act on any of these connections, sensing the timing
wasn't right, and God had other work for me in Vancouver. In this last stage of
time, as things developed, I ended up in Richmond, British Columbia, a
predominately Chinese area (so much so that it has been termed 'the most
Chinese city outside of Asia'). So I was getting closer, both geographically,
and culturally, to a place like Hong Kong. But what actually sparked the move?
And wait, are you moving there for good? (These are your questions, probably, dear blog.)
Well, those are good questions, blog, because it could be argued
that Richmond has enough Cantonese speakers to fulfill a call from God to that
language group. And, for a while, I thought that might be the case .. but,
crazily, these kinds of 'calling' thoughts were still way in the back of my
mind .. I had hardly acted on them at all ..
Until
one fateful day ..
In case you didn't know, within the past year or so I began work
in Vancouver with a financial services company, and was positioned nicely to
operate, not only in Canada (as a resident), but also across the border, in the
US (as a citizen). I had just gotten licensed in Canada, and was all set to
open up shop in the US as well. But God had other plans.
I arrived home one night, just after an inspiring session of
strategizing and preparation for next steps in the industry to break into the
US market, and as soon as I entered my room, something hit me .. though I would
not say I often experience such dramatic encounters, I very clearly sensed God
speak deep into my spirit, "this is not what I called you for."
I knew something was wrong, and if this was God, I
didn’t want to miss what he had for me, so I immediately fired up one of
my connections in Hong Kong again, with ICA, and asked if there were still any
needs there. I immediately got connected with Pastor Lindy Heung-Shea, who
heads up several ministries at ICA. Have you ever experienced an "open door"? Well, this felt like an "open vacuum"—suddenly I felt myself pulled forward
powerfully into something it seemed God had prepared me for for a long time.
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| Random street in the Soho area of Hong Kong |
Within the span of a few days I was boarding a plane to Hong Kong for a month-long introduction to ministries, quite literally, waiting for me ..
by that, I mean that people had been praying for help and had sensed that
someone like me was on the way .. how humbling to meet people who had been
interceding for me without ever having met me! But I did seem to be fulfilling
the words God had spoken to them! Amazingly, I found my plane ticket, my entire
stay, even the income I would have made in Vancouver reimbursed! Not only that,
but, (if you know Hong Kong, you know this is huge, space is at a premium here)
a place to live was provided for me, a three bedroom flat, all to myself! At
first, I thought, Wow, ok, rich church, I guess that’s how they do things here
… but later, I heard from Pastor Lindy: "Nathan, you don’t realize the
favor here, I mean, flying someone over like this, and everything is paid for,
this is completely unheard of, this never happens!"
Part of the one month period was to see if the fit was right, if
I was a good match for them, and they for me.
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| one of my first in person meetings with Pastor Lindy (soon after my arrival) |
Long story short, ICA and I got along quite well! I was asked to
help Lindy head up three of the ministries she leads.
First, the Hong Kong School of Supernatural Ministry
This is a training and equipping center which raises up leaders
in all realms of society, so far we've trained up pastors, business leaders,
and lay ministers from 40 churches, in Hong Kong and beyond, to bring the
kingdom of God into their various spheres of influence, and to inspire a move
of God to ignite all of Asia, and the world!
So there's a lot going on here, and so far, it's all very fun and fulfilling work! More to come! But first, some pictures:
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| The ICA Main Church on King's Road, seen from Kam Hong Street |
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| Approaching the ICA Tanner Road location |
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| Many small groups and other meetings happen here |
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| It's also the location for The Healing Rooms |
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| Typical sidestreet scene in many areas of Hong Kong |
