Journey

I just got back from Singapore and on my way back to Hong Kong I keep thinking about all the journeys/holidays that I have had since I went to England. I recalled my first holiday to Spain after graduated from high school, first trip with my uni friends to Norway, the craziest hitch hiking trip to Prague etc. All those memories passed through my mind and they were still very fresh to me that it seems they just happened not so long ago. If you asked me which my favourite trip is, I probably cannot answer you directly, but I guess I can tell you my favourite moments in each of those trips. And they all have something in common.

I never am a person who loves rushing through different sights, taking pictures and leave. I may have taken some amazing and beautiful photos, and then upload them all to Facebook to proudly ‘present’ that I have been to there, which can be quite satisfying; but it feels like something, something important, is missing there. For me this kind of travel seems detach the place from its culture and people. It is just like a person having his body but without his soul; he looks alive from the outside but is actually dead from the inside. The best moments that I have had in my trips are the moments that I start connecting with the people, and hence its culture too.

On our second last day hitch, we were lost in Germany and it was getting dark. A man came passed us but returned to speak to us to see if we needed any help (I think he could sense that we were lost at that time). After we spoke to him about our situation, he thought for a while and decided to host us for a night if we really needed it (He called his wife to check if it is ok before he gave us the offer). Jens and his wife Annaca cooked us dinner, gave us beer, hot shower and warm bed for a night. I mean how often in your life that you could experience this! But what I found incredible is the fact that they couldn’t speak very good English (and of course we couldn’t speak German at all!). They tried their very best to communicate with us with their limited English and it is just truly blessed for us to be able to experience it.

Take this trip to Singapore for instance. One of the best moments that I had is when me and my friend went to an island called Sentosa. We walked down to the beach to a place called the Southern Point of Continental Asia, we then sat on the top floor of one of the towers there, listened to the sound of sea waves and chatted! That was what we did for the whole afternoon - just chatted, for hours, till the Sun was about to set before us. Apart from that we didn’t do anything at all! To be honest it was probably the most relaxing time that I have had in weeks! But it think the reason we had such a good time is because we enjoyed each other’s company, this is what I believe is the most important after all.

Only you start to connect with its people and culture, you start to get know the place. It works with travelling, and it works actually the same with your personal journey with God – only you start connect and relate to Him, you start to get to know who He really is. This is particular true to me when I looked back to my journey with God. The friend who went to Sentosa with me took me to airport on the day of my departure and we chatted (again) on the way. We somehow came to the conversation about what our lives will be like 4-5 years down the line. I looked back to my life 5 years ago when I just became a Christian. Over the years God has taught me something new about Him and myself every year and shape me to be the Jeremy that I am now. If you asked me 5 years ago what I would be like 5 years later, I would never have a glimpse of thought that I would have gone this far in my journey with Him. If this is true to me now then I am sure it will be true for the next 5, 10 and 15 years and so on. Maybe I just need to let God surprise us (He is good at it!), as long as I know “In all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28), then it is enough for me.

2012.09.11

Hong Kong