Out of 59 passports only 1 didn’t process for the full thirty days. My best friend Ashli only received a 15 day Visa for China. Ashli’s tent flooding in Swaziland, her passport molding, and her visa processing for only 15 days put us right where the King wanted our team. We arrived at Crossroads in Hong Kong on Sunday the ninth and each found a niche to be serving in. Crossroads is a charity that exists to help the poor through Global Hand, Global Distribution, Global Handicraft, and Global Experience.
Global hand is a website used to connect organizations and people with resources to organizations and people with needs. Global Distribution takes in goods and ships them to places with needs and also gives to local people who qualify. The furniture is very nice and they even have a clothing boutique here for the local people. Global Handicraft is a store that sells jewelry, carved items, bags, and all sorts of things made from people around the world. The Café is a part of this because they use fair trade coffee and sell baked goods from a local bakery. Global Experience helps people to feel poverty from the inside instead of just looking at it from the outside. They have actors who put on a refugee run, an aids experience, a blind experience, and a poverty experience. The head of the UN and the CEO of Nike have been through some of these experiences and were touched. Many conferences around the world ask Crossroads to set up these experiences so that their people can feel and be moved in their heart.
Some of my teammates have been sorting, others taking inventory, and the rest helping clients, while I have been in the café. Working alongside Qwen in the Silk Road Café has been a blast! I have always wanted to work in a coffee shop and learn to make drinks and I have been able to make all sorts of drinks. Meeting so many people from all over the world and getting to know the volunteers, who come in on the daily for their caffeine fix, has been another perk. I love people and coffee so it was the spot for me. When the café is not so busy, I have been able to get to know Qwen, who is a full time volunteer from Cameroon. I also help clean the place and sing joyfully while I do that. They decorated it with a Kazakhstan theme and even play ethnic music. This place is the cutest! I am posting pictures below:
I can’t speak of all the many blessings in too much detail because I have to watch my language in this location of the world. However, I will say the King has poured out blessing on top of blessing since we got here on Sunday. I will tell you plenty of stories when I get home if you ask! For those of you who know I have a bad memory, don’t worry because I made sure to journal all the fantastic details. Seriously the stories of the people are INSANE.
One thing I have learned about myself is that I must wear waterproof mascara if I am going to wear any mascara at all. The King is always catching me off guard. It is like if I put on regular mascara I am expecting Him not to show up. I find myself being moved in my spirit on a daily basis and water comes from my heart and leaks out of my eyes. Some might say I am emotional but those in the same walk as me know that I can’t help but tear up when I experience His presence, sovereignty, favor, provision, love, grace, and power. The encouragement I have received this week has been dead on. The time on this base has rejuvenated me. I have had two moms love on me like I was their own child. Families and individuals have taken us out to eat, which means really good food, and one lady even invited us over for chocolate fondue. He set up divine appointments and all ends are receiving. I am full. I have been encouraged and stretched. I have seen the King provide in extravagant ways. One of these days when I am home I will have so much more to share, but just know we have a good King.
