October 5, 1990: The Day I Arrived in Hong Kong

Today is the 30th anniversary of the day I arrived in Hong Kong. It was a Korean Airlines flight and because of my bargain basement discount ticket took me almost two days to make the journey. My itinerary was Detroit to New York (where I then had a NINE hour layover) to Anchorage, Alaska to Seoul, Korea, and then finally to Hong Kong. (Ah, to be a young 24 year old again)

I had my first experience of landing at the old Kai Tak airport which offered a famed “white knuckled” last minute bank which seemed to just barely clear the building tops. Old Hong Kongers often reminisce together about the old landing at Kai Tak.

My new roommate Toby met me at the airport and took me to the church on Prince Edward Road where I would be working for the next 6 months. Toby left saying he would return in a couple hours to take me to our apartment in Fanling. I sat there in the church office blurry eyed after my long flight when a man approached me who was a leader in the church ministry I’d be working for.

“Excuse me” he asked, “are you busy?”

“No, not at all” I replied

“Great, because we need the toilets cleaned” he explained. Turn out not only did they need the toilets cleaned but they had no cleaning supplies so the man took me to the window, pointed down at the street and attempted to tell a guy who had just got off a plane how to navigate the streets near Mong Kok in search of cleaning supplies.

Somehow it worked, I found a little “mom and pop” shop and 30 minutes later I was scrubbing ceramic toilet basins completely convinced I was being “tested”. That the powers that be here at the church must want to see if I had a servant’s heart and I was going to prove to them I did.

Of course I realise now I wasn’t being tested. The toilets needed cleaning and I was just some twenty something sitting there doing nothing.

Later Toby took me out to Fanling where our apartment was. We shared a tiny one bedroom apartment with a tiny living area and kitchenette. Our rent was a whopping HK$ 1000 (US$ 130) and my share would come to HK$ 500 (US$ 65)

I was a poor missionary so I struggled to pay even this small amount.

Two days later I was in church on Sunday morning and a young 19 year old girl walked into the service and I thought “Wow, now this place is starting to pick up a little”

A year and a half later I married that girl…and we are still here in Hong Kong. I had no idea that this amazing city which blends culture from the East and West would become a home for Tammy and I. Where our children were all born, and where we would live most of our adult life.

It all started 30 years ago today.

Who would have guessed!

Peace,

Steve