Sik Gong Guandong Wa/Speak Cantonese

My Waaahhh, today was such a full day and I have had little sleep, and jet lag still. Anna took me to an English speaking church and they were all very very nice...almost too nice but it was quite fun anyways. I am already starting to speak English with Chinese grammar, and leaving out stuff like Hong Kong people speak adding in bits of Chinese. Its funny how when people leave any where there are waves of bu bye, drawn out on the bye and lots of actual waving. The ladies at church, we met one from Shanghai and this other lady who is a friend of Rita, they more like forced prayer on us but it was very sweet and it was good to be prayed for even if it was a little weird at first. I realized later that it was a big blessing to be prayed for and invited in to their group so rigorously. I need to learn more Cantonese. Anyways, then we went to sik yum cha with Sam goo ma, sam goo Jurng, Rita and Justin, William and of course, Anna. Other wise known as the Mok clan, although Rita is married now. I enjoy their company a lot, Sam goo ma dressed up nice in her American bought dress, and Rita is bubbly and warm as ever, also she is funnier when paired with Anna. They are different styles but both very strong personalities, later Anna commented that she follows after her Dad and Rita follows after her mom. Anna and I are a lot alike; maybe that is why we get along. Strong headed, independent, maybe having a sensibility more of a man in some ways. We walked all around Time Square and then Causeway Bay, it was very hot and humid but still many times she'd grab my hand. Perhaps because she was afraid she'd loose me, but anyways she would steer me around like a mother would an overgrown child. And it was nice to follow after her, as her long shadow so to speak. I pampered myself a little buying some white shoes, up until this point I've never bought white shoes before...only black. This is certainly a change. I think she knows like every shop owner at every store we visited, and then she dragged me around until we got to the hair dresser. In Hong Kong everything is just stuck in a corner, in an odd looking place from the outside, but it is nice on the inside. Everything begins with a dirty hallway with some doors that look like people live there and then ending with the destination. Brian was the hair dresser and everyone there spoke some English. Staring at myself in the mirror though I felt very self conscious and pretty insecure about how I look. But, then I prayed and counted to five, letting the fear in and then pushing it out again with the Holy Spirit. I got my hair washed by this wonderful man, who had amazing hands...oh man I wanted to marry him right their just so he could wash my hair every week. He was deft at washing my hair and massaging out all the little bits of stress from my head. I almost feel asleep to the rocky motion and the flowing water. The water was reminding me of the springs of living water that I want to wash over me and get in all those dirty crevices. I felt pampered and healthy, like...this is what its like to be ok buying yourself a nice haircut, with a fancy barber with torn up jeans.
Oooh yeah and then Anna and I had a heart to heart about men, dating and her possibly moving to the states in a couple years if her mom can get her a visa. It takes three to five years she said. Her mom is also worried about her not being married, but I told her I thought it was better to be alone and wait for the right one, than settle for less and not really be in a relationship we like. I also think it is better to wait for the right one than put your heart on the chopping block for some chump who will be a jerk to you when the going gets tough. Anna became a Christian 16 years ago, she said in college, then Rita and William followed along. They have been praying for their parents for some time now and I think it is not long before Sam goo ma is a Christian. At first her parents were very apposed to her being a Christian because of the Buddhist mentality, and because they wanted her to be with family on Sunday to sik yumm cha(eat dim summ)...turns out yum cha is still on, but they pray before they eat. Eating together is much better than even the poem by li young lee. It was clear though between the two of us that the issue with dating when you want to be serious about it is that, it's hard to risk it when you've been burned before. The pain of hard break ups is like nothing I've ever experienced; it is like having an eagle fly by and pick you up by your heart and dropping you to the ground. You have to still walk and go through life because of survival; you can't wait around for him to sweep down and attack again. And they are flesh wounds that sometimes heal on the outside but get bacteria inside that cause infections and could kill you if you don't get the right medicine. The right medicine being, God coming into your life and heart and healing, and some combination of listening and obeying when you are faced with your own brokenness.
I also went to church with Auntie Anita who is some what of a dilemia to me at the moment. Its clear to me she's a little wary of me because she speaks about as much English as I do Cantonese. And she's a little embarrassed to try and speak to me and vise versa. So I went to Cantonese catholic church to maybe show some good will and get to know her on her turf...unfortunately we didn't get to sit together. I was so tired I almost fell asleep listening to the Cantonese liturgy which was beautiful as the acoustics were astounding. I closed my eyes and let the words fade into the ocean of my mind and it was like a lullaby. I could only understand a few words, God, Jehovah, Jesus, Beginning, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, heaven, Amen. That was the sermon I heard and the worship I could muster. I liked it a lot. I think I'll try to get over my shyness with Anita, it seems like that is the way to go, to show her I care. Eric told her to speak English to me and she said, speak Guangdong wa. So I guess that is my challenge... to walk forward, without hesitation, and to speak loudly crossing the barrier with fear and trembling, but with faith..