Fall In Hong Kong & Events at ICS.

It is fall in Hong Kong and winter is setting in. It does not snow here, even at the peak of winter. However, it does get cold and one needs sweaters and sweatshirts. Many Hong Kong people were winter jackets.

I am currently the coordinator for Week Without Walls (WWW) in ICS Middle School. By the way WWW is a week in which different students and staff members engage in activities outside regular school program. Staff and students are placed in different trips or events. Some of the events are adventure-based, some are service-based, and others are just for fun. Some trips are held in Hong Kong, others are held outside Hong Kong. This year we had faculty and students that went to mainland China, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Macao.

Alex went to Malaysia and he liked it a lot. Their trip was an adventure trip. Our family was a little bit apprehensive about his going, because it was the first time he was traveling with dad or mom to a different country and for many days. Of course, he had some of his friends and some teachers with him. We are glad that he survived it and actually loved it.

Personally, I went to Indonesia. Ours was a service trip. We first flew into Singapore and then went by boat to Bantam, Indonesia. From there we proceeded to some smaller islands where we visited two different local schools, helping out with projects and interacting with the students in sports, singing, and learning. In one of the schools we helped them prepare concrete for a volleyball court. In another location, we helped the villagers to build a concrete bridge, and gave gifts (especially educational materials) to students in a school in the school.

While Alex and I were gone for week without walls, Tamari and Chika were in Hong Kong. They had a good time too.
I coached under-12 boys soccer in season one. My players did quite well and secured the silver medal in among all the international schools in Hong Kong.

We will be spending Christmas this year in Australia. We thank God for the privilege to visit yet another continent. We feel that it is easier and cheaper to go there while we are still in Hong Kong. We will be visiting the west coast – Perth and neighboring cities.

In Hong Kong, Christmas is already in the air. There are so many decorations and people are busy exchanging gifts. At our school, there have been a number of concerts – High School, Middle School, Elementary school, and Kindergarten. I will write more about Christmas when we come back from Australia.

Our Second Year in Hong Kong

We have started our second year in Honk Kong and feel that we have adjusted to life in the city. It is quite a safe city and things work well for the most part. The frequency and versatility of the modes of transport are very commendable. We are well.
The new school year has started and things are going pretty well. Our school held a welcome dinner to receive both new and returning teachers. We wore our Nigerian outfit to the dinner and many people admired them and took pictures with us.

Alex is in grade 6 (middle school) and so far, likes it, thinking it is fun to go from one class to another when the bell rings to end each class. In the elementary school, they used to line up and go as whole class for lunch, recess and specials. Chika is in grade 5 and doing okay at the moment. He is still getting used the grade.

The Middle School camp was supposed to be from Wednesday September 24th to Friday

September 26th. However, a typhoon (severe weather condition) struck Hong Kong Tuesday night to early hours of Wednesday. Consequently, schools were closed on Wednesday for safety reasons and so the camp was held on Thursday and Friday only.
The camp went well. It is a part of the “alternative education” component of our school’s curriculum. The students engage in many outdoor activities, social interactions and discussions, and a few Bible messages. It is a great fun time.
The elementary school camp is for 4th and 5th graders. Chikacha is looking forward participating in it. Last year he went with Alex, but since Alex is in the middle school now, he has go alone. Of course, there are other students in his class and the teachers at the camp.
The Week Without Walls event in our school will take place in the week of November 10th to 14th. I am coordinating it for the middle school. Alex will be going to Malaysia, without mom or dad. That will be the first time he will spend a week with any other member of our family. I will be in Indonesia on a similar trip, while Tamari and Chika will be in Hong Kong. We will see how that goes. I will write more on that next time.

Vacation In Nigeria

We are back to Hong Kong from Nigeria. Our trip was great. We were apprehensive prior to the trip. In fact, at one point we were even considering canceling the trip because of some horrible situations present in Nigeria at the time.

Some people, foreigners and indigenes alike, were being kidnapped and huge ransoms demanded before their release. There were also cases of armed robbery going on. In the midst of our confusion, we prayed and sought God’s face and He told us to go, promising to protect us. He also gave us Psalm 92 and 97.

Please praise God for He is faithful. He kept His word, protecting us during our flights, on the roads and particularly while staying in the village in Nigeria. We spent approximately one month there, including traveling time. Not only were we safe, but also we really enjoyed our stay and interactions with members of our extended family and the numerous visitors that came.

Furthermore, it was wonderful to see that my dad’s health has improved. He is in his early 90’s and currently the oldest person in the village. He fell down a few years ago and dislocated his hip. Since then, he has been unable to walk and had been mostly confined to his bed. It was nice to see him able to move around again, although slowly and with the help of two walking sticks. Indeed, it was good that Alex and Chika were able to interact with him. They have been praying, for about two years now, for God to preserve my dad's life so that they can see him. Their prayer has been answered.

Although the vacation went well, one negative aspect was that Tamari and the boys had a skin reaction to some mosquito and possibly, sand-fly bites they sustained. A number of the bites got infected and were painful. They had to be placed on antibiotics and are recovering well.


We returned recently, and will be enjoying one week with the boys around Hong Kong before Tamari and I start teaching during the two-week summer school.

End of Year 1 in Hong Kong & Summer

School has ended for the 2007/2008 session. It is amazing to realize that a whole school year has just gone by. A lot was accomplished though. My students did a number of challenging projects and presentations, among other things.
God has been very gracious to our family. He has helped us in numerous ways: financially, health-wise and protection/safety. Alex and Chika have been doing well at school. When the school reopens in August, Alex will be in grade 6 (middle school) and Chika will be in grade 5.

We are traveling to Nigeria for the first part of this summer vacation. We are flying from Hong Kong to Doha, Qatar in the Middle East and then to Lagos, Nigeria. We have about eight hours of layover in Doha, before continuing to Lagos, Nigeria. We will be in the city (Lagos) for a few days, after which we would then travel to a quieter and rural setting in the southeastern part of Nigeria.
Tamari, Alex, and Chika have not been to Nigeria in a long time. In fact, the last time they were there was seven years ago. Alex was three and Chika was two. I went there two years ago though. It will be nice for us to interact with our relatives in Nigeria and reinforce some connections.

The last part of our summer will be spent in Hong Kong taking part in a summer school in our current school. Henry will teach 'Science Exploration '– a curriculum he designed, while Tamari will teach a class of K -2. The summer school is for two weeks, actually 10 school days, each day running from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon. We hope that payment from the summer school will help offset part of the cost of our trip to Nigeria.

Visit To Beijing, China

My family was in Beijing from Thursday April 20th to 28th 2008. That was the first time we visited Mainland China. By the way, Hong Kong still has a separate governmental administration from China, so you need a Chinese visa to go from Hong Kong into Mainland China. This separate administration will continue for another forty years or so. It was interesting to see the differences between the two places. For the first time in seven months we were not so limited by space as we feel we are in Hong Kong, Beijing is spread out and there aren’t as many thirty story high-rise buildings everywhere you turn. Everyone is not rushing around so much as well. On the downside – people are poorer and the grey hue and lack of HK fashion and techno gadgets everywhere were glaringly different than we are used to seeing here.
The Great Wall: It was a great privilege to visit the Great Wall of China, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is a major tourist attraction. You can hike up and down the mountain to the wall, or use cable car service. They also have a toboggan ride down the mountain, which the family thoroughly enjoyed!
Tiananmen Square: This is said to be the world’s largest public square. Around the square are the “Great Hall of the People” and the “Forbidden City” – the latter so called because it was off limits for 500 years. We also visited the “Temple of Prayer for Good Harvest”, more popular known as the “Temple of Heaven.” It is located on a different part of Beijing city.

Fundraising at the Carnival For Care for Children Organization: Among the activities we carried out during out trip was a fundraising carnival. Alex acted as one of the two clowns. Henry helped with soccer, Chika had fun hiding eggs for the hunt, while Tamari helped with the jumping castle.
During a different event (called Sunday Night Live), Chika and Tamari acted in a wordless drama performance. The drama took place during the intermission in the gospel-music show.

Chinese New Year & Chika's Birthday

Chinese New Year in Hong Kong and other parts of south-east Asia is like Christmas season. It was celebrated this year on the 7th and 8th of February. In fact, it is the most important holiday for many people here. There are a lot of decorations, and festivities. Many offices and shops were closed and people were in merry mood.
Our school had a week vacation. However, we did not travel outside Hong Kong, although a number of our colleagues did. We hope to travel during the Easter and summer vacations. For Easter, we are considering going to the Philippines, Thailand or Hainan Island (China). For the summer, we will be in Nigeria, by God’s grace.

Chikacha has just turned nine years old. Happy Birthday Kacha! Our family prayed over him and celebrated with cake and ice cream. The following day, a few of his friends came over to our house and celebrated further with him. By the way, Alex is currently ten and a half. He will be eleven years old on August 26th this year. It is amazing how time flies. We are very grateful to God though, because they are doing very well. Alex is in grade five while Chika is in grade 4.
The facilities in the new school building are certainly better than what we had in the old campus. There are better equipped classrooms, laboratories, two gymnasia, a standard-sized swimming pool, fitness center and more.

Our Life In Hong Kong

Alex and Chika were away for five days on “week without walls” camp. That was the first time they have gone away from mom and dad for that long. We were a bit concerned about that, but they coped very well. We thank God for that. They are increasingly growing independent and, in a way, we like that, since Hong Kong is a pretty safe place.

Also, the boys participated in a soccer as a way to acquire some skills and get some exercise. They played once a week on Saturdays. They are continuing in January, but will be practicing at a different location on Friday evenings and for longer time.
Their classes at school put up some performances - bands and singing. They also took part in the Christmas peagent organized by the children’s ministry of our local church – The Vine Fellowship. Chika participated in singing while Alex was an actor.

I was an under-12 soccer coach for International Christian School during the first season of games/sports. We did okay and were in the third place out of six teams in our league. Some of my players had never played in an organized soccer team before. So it was like starting from the scratch.

The secondary component of our school went on week without walls in November (26th – 30th). It was the first time I participated in this program. It was really fun. Another teacher and I had sixteen students with us and we went biking, bouldering, camping, and kayaking. We also went on a canyon.
The Christmas break was a good time to unwind. My family did not travel out of Hong Kong. However, it was a good time to sleep in, travel within and enjoy Hong Kong. We visited the beach at Cheng Chau, the botanical and zoological garden, the Ocean Park (a park that has cable cars, many rides, and the largest aquarium in the world). We also travelled on the longest escalator in the world. It takes 20 minutes to complete. We were a little bit disappointed though, because the escalator is not one continuous piece. It is a chain of escalators from Central to Mid-Levels.