Traveling with God to Hong Kong

Before my 3 days 2 nights Hong Kong trip, I prayed to God to that He would accompany me all through it. Praise be to Him, that was exactly what He did.

Since the first day, I learned that I should recognize His sign about where to go and not to go. If I was stubborn to go on my way, follow my own plan, I would most likely end up in disappointing places (like Victoria Peak, spending 3 hours for the queue + the traveling up just to discover that there was a big mall and expensive café on it! And the view up there was not that grand or impressive at night. The zoological and botanical garden wasn’t that impressive, either. It was fine but it has nothing unique, just a park with some plants and animals just like other parks that I had visited in other countries). That first day’s mistake was a great lesson for the other two days. I learned that when God wanted me to go somewhere for sightseeing, He would provide ways and conveniences. Everything would flow so smoothly with all the necessary help. Things would be so easy to find. But if He didn’t want me to go, I would be circling around but couldn’t find my way, and the help from asking other people would be useless. On day 2 and 3, I learned to recognize the signs (but not without mistakes) and I felt so blessed.  There were times when He wanted me to stop all the sightseeing and went straight back to my room and pray. And when I obeyed, I was really blessed.
Going to church was a different lesson. I went to mass everyday when I was there. I couldn’t use the right signs-wrong signs technique, because going to church was something I already know that it was the right thing to do. Sometimes obstacles would be placed on my way toward mass. I would be sweating, having leg aches, and getting so exhausted finding my way there. But when I arrived, I was really blessed too. And I learned that the little suffering that came my way was His gift, so that I could suffer with Him a bit during Lent. I could offer up all of my physical pain to Him.  I went to St. Joseph church twice on this trip, and both times I was blessed with His presence. I went to St. Francis of Assisi church twice, too. And I was blessed because Mother Mary would wake me up in the morning with her song just in time to prepare myself and I would be given the enjoyment of the morning stroll in such a very peaceful area, watching Hong Kong people having their morning routine. 

Since I was traveling during Lent, I had to keep my promise not to eat or drink more than the regular meals, no snacks or favorite drink. But Hong Kong was a great place of temptation of this sort. Markets and food places are abound and you could spend hours walking around one area, seeing this and that or wanting to taste this or drink that. I admitted I slipped a bit, but most of the time I tried my best most of the time to drink and eat just enough to go on with my day, and not to order too much in restaurants. I learned that God didn’t allow me to look for any famous food places or eateries I saw in the guidebook. I had to eat at the place His spirit led me and I would be blessed. I know this may sound really crazy and some people would say it’s all in my mind, but deep inside I knew that I did the right thing when I obeyed and I was blessed with many good food at inexpensive prices.  

Another thing I learned was that the most precious thing could be so near. I don’t have to go a far distance for it. The most interesting sightseeing on this trip was the Mei Ho House heritage museum at my youth hostel. I felt so touched and impressed by the fighting spirit of some Hong Kong people in the past who suffered from the Great Fire and had to rebuild their lives all over again. It was just right inside the next building, ten steps from the hostel door. And it was free!
I also learned that when God allowed or granted me something as a blessing, although it may sound like an unreasonable request, He would show great kindness by allowing me to have them all so easily and I would have enough time for everything else that I have to do. On the last day, just before going to the airport, God was so kind to give me everything that I asked for and I still made it to the airport in time. 

And at night, my sleep sometimes would contain His message. And when I asked Him through the Bible, I was able to understand what He told me. God was really there on my trip and I had nothing to say but forever grateful to Him. The good experience that I had wasn’t at all my doing, but it was His kindness to grant my wish. And I believe that it was by the prayed of the Carmel nuns and some other people who prayed for me about this trip. 

Now…I have to confess. There was darkness on the trip. It had nothing to do with me walking around Hong Kong by myself. It was the great pain and disappointment that I felt when the person who told me that he would accompany me on my flight to and back from Hong King turned out to bring a friend whom I don’t even know and left me waiting at the airport for a long time without showing up. It was the hardest for me on the way back. I just couldn’t find the reason why he did that to me. If I didn’t want to have his company on the airport and on the flight, I wouldn’t have decided to travel this month. I would have chosen another month and kept these 3 days to my regular writing trip in Thailand. He was the one asking me if I wanted to join him during the flight and I was stupid enough to believe that he meant it.

Oh well, actually it was the spiritual wound inside my heart that hurt me. I shouldn’t blame another person. Each one of us has a dark matter or an unhealed / unresolved issue hidden within, and this is mine. To tell the truth, I was preparing my mind to be so nice to the person no matter what happened or even if he didn’t show up, but at the end I couldn’t do it. The pain was too much to bear. The old wound inside was open and kept on bleeding tears and blood and I had to pray all the time during my flight back just to keep myself together. I ended up pouring all my anger on the phone to my best friend. This big stumble destroyed the blessings inside of me that received while I was in Hong Kong. Thanks god, it was cleared away after I did the confession on Sunday, but I must say that it is still an unresolved issue. Only God can help me. Even today I still have to pray that God would protect me from bitterness when I see this person again. I really want to love him with a heart open and free like the sky, but I really can’t when something is not yet healed in my spirit.