An Adventure to Remember, Part Three - Hong Kong, In the City

If you didn't get a chance to read the beginnings to this story, check it out here and here.

If I ever had any doubts that God takes care of His people, they were removed during this time in Hong Kong! In every step of this adventure, getting stuck in Hong Kong, God was faithful to take provide for us, and keep us safe. He revealed Himself in some strange and amazing ways!

This picture wasn't taken on our trip; I just wanted to include a picture of Kayla and I!

After the rest of our team flew away, Kayla and I got some instructions from the flight attendants. I remember the one male who was working in that terminal, and he just kept saying, "Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry." We got ourselves together, picked up our things and walked through the airport with the flight attendant. Our pace was noticeably slower than the previous, just minutes before, running as fast as we could while carrying our belongings.

The flight attendant walked us down to the immigration offices, so we could sort out some kind of temporary visa or something. I don't actually remember what Kayla had to get, but it was complicated, since she no longer had a passport, and they were skeptical about who she was. It took a while, but she was cleared to leave, and we proceeded into the city, not really knowing what to do.

Before we met with immigration, we had asked the flight attendant what we had to do. She said we needed to go to the Consulate in Hong Kong to get an emergency passport, and then come back to the airport to catch another flight to Vancouver. It was too late in the day though and the Consulate was already closed, so she suggested that we stay at the YWCA, which she explained was a women's shelter. I laughed, thinking, "No, we're not staying in a women's shelter in a city we don't know!"

Feeling sort of competent and independent, Kayla and I boarded the train for the 20 minute ride into Hong Kong. We both were so thankful that we already knew how to get into the city! Once we got into Hong Kong, though, my thoughts on staying in a "shelter" changed. The YWCA was the only place that we knew of to go, and since we had quite a difficult language barrier, we determined that we would go there.

He found a taxi, and told the driver, "YWCA." He looked at us, two sad, nervous, white American girls, and laughed. Then he turned around to face the streets full of maniacal drivers, and took off. I remember thinking, I hope he knows where he's taking us, and hanging on for my life. Drivers in other countries sure do like to take risks!

Finally, he pulled up in front of our "shelter." The YWCA in Hong Kong is one of the nicer hotels I have ever stayed in. We had a room that was on the 20-something'th floor, and had two twin beds. It had a beautiful bathroom, with granite countertops, and a nice, modern sink. It was small, but the beds were comfortable and we were safe. Kayla and I were both able to relax a little, take a shower, call our parents, and Kayla called Aaron, to let them all know where we were. We even used the phone book to look up a Subway, and had sandwiches delivered to our room.

We got a good night of sleep, and in the morning, I looked at a map of Hong Kong, which I had found in the phone book. We were one block from the area that we had visited on our lay-over in the city, just a week before! The only area that we were even slightly familiar with in the entire city! And the US Consulate was only two blocks away... God is so good! I studied the map to see the best route to walk over and get our business taken care of.

Kayla and I gathered up our things, checked out of the hotel, and headed outside. We walked a block or two toward where the consulate should be, and stopped. This is what we saw:

source

Okay, not really, but it seemed like paths went every possible direction, and I couldn't remember which path we were supposed to take. Kayla and I just stood there and looked at each other, thinking, "Oh no, what are we going to do now?"

The next, and final installment of An Adventure to Remember will be posted very soon! Hopefully tomorrow. :)