Phil & Sue's HK Adventure: July 2007

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1. Going so they might come 2. Comings & Goings, 3. Finances 4. Hong Kong’s 10^th Anniversary, 5. Zambia success story, 6. Croatia, Forgotten, fostered fathered, 7. Only in HK (cont.),

1. Going so they may come

Well I (Phil) have been home a week after nearly a month of travel around New Zealand and Australia. We have a problem. The work here has expanded so much that we are finding ourselves in need of a large input of new staff (both in Hong Kong and Kazakhstan). And so Crossroads has released me from much of my day to day work to do what I can to try to tell people about our work to encourage them to come short or long term.
So I have been doing just that. Telling the story and letting the MD do what he chooses with people’s hearts.
We had some great meetings and met some great people. And hopefully I will see some of them back here at Crossroads. I am grateful for the generous help of so many (too many to mention by name for fear of forgetting someone) and it was also great to have catch up time with family (both ours and the CR family).
I really must get back to New Zealand for a proper holiday it is such a beautiful place, but I just saw snatches as we rushed by. And this time take Sue. My next trip will probably be to Singapore and Malaysia in August, then the UK in October and North America somewhere around the end of the year.
We then will be back in Australia and NZ for a combined holiday speaking tour somewhere around Feb (this time including Perth and Melbourne).

2. Comings and goings
Over the last few weeks we have had a large group of boys here from Trinity Grammar in Sydney (where Phil worked for 5 years). It has been wonderful to have them here and see them become excited and educated about World need. The Head Master Milton Cujes and I first talked about sending a group here 4 years ago when I told him of our plan to come to Crossroads and now it has come to fruition. I hope it is the first of many groups from the School. It was also great to have some catch up time with old Common Room buddies, Alan & Maureen Pride who led the team here.
This month sees the arrival of Alison and Claire from our Sydney Club, then in August we look forward to seeing our son Rob along with Amanda, Dev, Peter, Benson and Kenny all from our Sydney club.
It will be something.

3. Finances
The MD has been good in our time at Crossroads. However just these last few months we have seen an unexpected drop off in support. Nothing major but enough that we feel we need to bring this need to you for your chats. Details on how to support us are in the side bar.
4. Hong Kong 10^th Anniversary
Last Sunday July 1^st was the 10^th Anniversary of the hand over of Hong Kong to China after it had been ruled by Britain since 1841. We were privileged to witness the amazing firework display that were part of the celebrations from the comfort of the Pacific Club as guests of Gregg & Kay. It was quite something.
Hong Kong has changed a lot in the past 10 years, but in so many ways is the same Hong Kong I first visited in the mid 80s. The colour, the pace of life, the energetic capitalism that marks Hong Kong is still very much there. The changes are more related to working out its place in the world under the ‘one country two systems’ mantra that we hear so often.
One thing I do know that it is the perfect place for Crossroads to be. In the middle of the World’s largest manufacturing and shipping hub, how could it not be?

5. Zambia: Success Story
Uneducated, unemployed and miserable, Collins was at a dead-end. Caring for HIV and AIDS patients, a noble thing to do, did not help put food on the table, or pay for his siblings’ education. Collins knew the consequence of being uneducated and did not want his four sisters to suffer the same fate.
One day Collins saw a team of people on a student recruitment drive in the high-density compound where he and his family lived. Hesitating, he approached the team and began speaking with one of the team members who assured him that his level of education was fine for a course in tailoring.
“It was a dream come true and a turning point in my life when I finally enrolled for the course in tailoring,” recalls Collins. “I received full sponsorship and successfully completed the course. I felt my spirit uplifted and my parents were very happy about my new development which brightened the hopes of our family. I am very successful and have a monthly average income equivalent to US$75 dollars. I now support the education of my sisters and also help my father put food on the table with improved meals.”
The biggest challenge during the course was limited hand sewing machines for a class of 30. They only had three sewing machines, which made sharing difficult during the practical component of the course. Crossroads was delighted to be able to provide these sewing machines, along with many other items sent in the 40-foot container and we are very happy to hear how they are helping our recipient in empowering many households and the youths.

6. Forgotten; Fostered; Fathered.
“When you have a dog you love a dog; how not with your own children?” Anna and Dusan (not their real names) did not care for their children though, nor did they know how to, they simply left their children to starve. Their youngest child, 5 months old, died of starvation through neglect. Their other two children, Tomislav and Emin, are now in a mental institution because their brain did not develop properly due to lack of food when they were small. Only Nikola, the eldest, is living a ‘normal’ life.
Our recipients care for children such as these by placing them into foster families who open their homes and their lives to these children and treat them as their very own. Our recipient provides and equips these families with a house and van as well as pays them a salary so they can be full-time parents. This means that the parents are always available for the children. Currently they have three different families in three different homes. In total, the three families look after 16 children, including their own. This means the foster children can grow up in a normal family as normal children would. Our recipient said, “Children in orphanages do not live this way; they do not have a normal life. In an orphanage workers go home after their shift and can leave all the problems there. When you have a problem in your own family, though, their problem is your problem, and you solve the problem. This way, children learn how to be a mother and father. They learn what they see. With good parenting, children can know how to be good parents. When the children are given this security and this love, we trust that they will find their way, that they will forgive their parents and others that have brought about this bad situation.”
Our recipient used the goods sent in two 40’ foot containers to help furnish these homes and the main office. Also, pop corn was donated from a humanitarian aid organisation but they could not make it because they did not have a microwave. “The microwave may seem like a small thing but now the children can eat their pop corn and it makes them happy. The CD players also made the kids very happy because kids like music. To have their own things is important,” said our recipient. We are very grateful to our recipient for providing the resources for these families to focus fully on the parenting these children.

7. Only in Hong Kong . . .
. . . can 100,000 gather around a harbour to watch a fireworks display and have the crowds cleared within an hour after the event.
We do think of you and chat to our Father about you often.

Every blessing

PHIL & SUE