Monday, January 25, 2016

Old Post - Christmas and New year in HK!

Just a little disclaimer- I've been sitting on this post for a while and although the content in this post is old, I hope you all still enjoy reading about my time with family over the Christmas holiday.


Hey Guys! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year. With the New Year comes new resolutions to (hopefully) follow and work towards throughout the coming months. While I didn't make any particular New Year's resolution, I think that we can all agree that my absence in blogging could be improved. Anyways, I wanted to update you all on what I have been up to this past month or so.

Since living in Hong Kong for almost 5 months now (wow time sure does fly!), I know how tough it can be being away from friends and family. I was very fortunate to have my family visit me in Hong Kong for a week and a half during the Christmas holiday! It was so nice to see familiar faces that I had missed so much during a time when it is most important to be with family. I got to play tourist with them and take them to some of my favorite places in HK as well as explore some new territory. We went hiking, sailing, explored small villages, and ate all of the food. A trip to Hong Kong is not a true experience unless you plan your itinerary around your next meal.

Cameron Christmas Vacation

Although we didn't follow our typical family Christmas traditions, we made the most of what we had and were reminded what is most important, each others' company. Instead of visiting family friends and eating a Christmas ham and peppermint cake on Christmas Eve, we ordered Chinese take out and ate fried rice and spring rolls. Instead of arriving at Church knowing where we would have a seat, we waited 2 hours in a line hoping we would get tickets to the Cathedral Christmas Eve service. Instead of spending Christmas day with our immediate family, we had dinner with my new friends and their families from all around the world. I think people can get really worked up around how they expect Christmas to be in their mind, but if you take away those expectations and focus on what's important- finding Christmas joy with the ones you love most wherever you are.

While I was blessed to have my family travel across the world to spend Christmas with me, I was reminded that others are not as fortunate. The holiday season can be especially lonely for those who do not get to spend it with their loved ones. Seafarers work for months without holiday leave and are unable to be with their loved ones to celebrate Christmas. Here at the mission, we tried our best to bring the joy of Christmas to every ship we visited. Leading up to Christmas we worked diligently wrapping, packing, and giving over 6,000 Christmas presents to seafarers. While this gesture seems small, it brought smiles to every seafarer we visited. Some seafarers do not practice the Christian traditions of Christmas, but we were still able to share the joy of Christmas with every seafarer that anchored in Hong Kong.

I still don't know what the year 2016 has in store for me, but my final chapters of 2015 reminded me how fortunate I am to have such an incredible experience to live and work in Hong Kong and to have such an amazing family to share that experience with. It hasn't always been easy for me in Hong Kong and it can sometimes be very tough not to think of my life ahead when I return to the US, but I hope to take every new experience 2016 offers me and run with them.



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