Tonight Tom went to the pinnacle of culture, so much culture some would say it was chockers. Tom went to the Speed Way tonight, it was a beautiful thing for the two qualifying races we watched before the hail arrived. It was a fantastic night...

Tom's Dinner
Litre Cars Rounding the first corner.
And then the hail came...

I (Christy) have been seeing amazing photos of the autumn colours in the US at the moment as well as photos of families going to the pumpkin patch** to choose out a pumpkin.  I must admit I am a little jealous and wish we could take Peter to a pumpkin patch although he wouldn't really remember it this year. The colours look beautiful and I can picture the cool air this time of year. 

Of course, I did walk outside today and it was down to 29c and maybe 80% humidity and I thought "what a nice cool day!"

I am scheming as to how to get Peter by a pumpkin. They are selling them (small ones) at our supermarket for about $10USD!

**A pumpkin patch is more than a kid's clothing store in Australia. It is a farm where kids are allowed to come and choose out a pumpkin from the field, pet some baby animals and generally have a good time. I did it many years ago when I was little.

Was wandering through the supermarket yesterday admiring some imported food items that I would buy if living in the US. However, here they cost a bit more.

Here's a few examples of items that cost about $10USD here:

• 1 box Honey Nut or Regular Cheerios
• 1 pack of 8 hot dogs
• 1 tub of Yogurt
• 1 pack of sliced sandwich meat (12 slices)
• 1 bag of 3 type shredded cheese
• 1 pack of Bacon

So, what would you be willing to pay?

At the end of the day, we look at them on the shelf and pass them by for cheaper options.

We are watching the weather this week as another typhoon/tropical storm is headed straight for Hong Kong. This is about the 5th or 6th since the end of July. These storms aren't as intense as a hurricane but they bring a lot of wind & rain for a day or two. So far they haven't actually "hit" us but come very close. 

Click on this link to see the tracker: http://www.hko.gov.hk/wxinfo/currwx/tc_pos.htm

For the past couple of weeks we've had Tom's parents here in Hong Kong. The other weekend we went out to Lantau to see the old houses where we used to live, below are the photos of our houses; buildings 16, 20 and 69:

We also walked around the village where we lived:

We also did a bit of sight seeing around Hong Kong:

Mum and Dad also had time with baby:

I have recently been inspired by a friend's website who shows the most amazing cakes that she has made. I really enjoy baking and have been asked to make a friend's wedding cake in December and want to get some practice in over the next few months.

Here are a few photos of a world cake I made for our friend, KT's 30th bday. It is chocolate cake covered in 3 different types of frosting and decorated with little cookie people dressed as people of the world.

The cake before people added	The people
"Ant Proofing" for the night Fill pan with water prop up cake with cups/mugs
The finished cake

We are always happy to have friends visit and enjoyed our time with Pete last week.

Tom & I celebrated our 3rd Wedding Anniversary on the 9th of July. We went to HK Disney for the day and got completely drenched in a downpour of rain. Besides that we had a good time on the rides and watching a few shows.

We then stayed at a hotel close to our home. The room and the view was great. We found the bed a bit funny as it was super wide but just as short as our one at home (feet hang off the end). Here is Tom demonstrating the funny bed:

Too short...
The view

We had a 4th of July party here for the 5 Americans on team. Everyone came to our place and we had "traditional" 4th of July food: Hot dogs, Jello, Chips, Watermelon, Coke & Apple Pie.

One of our friends had the great idea of then going to HK Disney to watch the fireworks (which are done every night at Disney). So we jumped in a car, drove 30 minutes and watched the fireworks from the parking lot of the Disney Hotel. It was great.

Here we are entering week 36 and waiting for the baby to come. The books & doctors say that the baby is considered full term at 37 and could really come at any time. So, we are trying to prepare as much as possible for the "anytime" scenario. Some of the guys have gone on a test run to the hospital so they know how to drive there. We are also going through the checklist given by the hospital of what to bring. I have to ignore large sections of baby books that say "the hospital will provide A,B & C" as here you pretty much have to bring your own. So, for example, you have to bring your own roll of toilet paper, drinking glass & bar of soap. The list goes on and some of it we are not sure what the things are- lost in translation. They also advise that if you are "leaking liquor" to come to the hospital immediately. I think that that would be a concern but not sure if that is really what they are trying to say. A similiar thing happened when I asked the Dr about drugs (thinking pain relief) and she thought I was saying that I was taking illegal drugs. After a short panic (on her part) I clarified and all was ok.

We have received the final piece of furniture (mentioned in an earlier blog) and have the baby room set up and ready. Have put in a few photos below

Also, here I am at 36 weeks standing in the rain waiting for our bus. Another photo of me and my friend, Helen who is due about 7 weeks after me.

Tom and I went to our closest city centre which is called Tuen Mun. We thought we'd do a bit of exploring while still able on our own. The temperature was a pleasant 87F but the weather station said it felt like 111F today. We were so excited that it has stopped raining after the wettest month ever recorded in HK. A record of 1270 mm of rain fell in June (about 4 ft).

I've passed this abandoned house several times and have always wanted to have a closer look at it.

We also hiked up a path along the side of the house and found a great village hidden up in the trees.

Mail boxes for the village
Bananas everywhere!
Tom & Me in the village

We then headed back into the craziness of the shopping centre and the high rise apartment buildings

And took a bus back to our home. These are the fancy apartments next to where they live. The blue sky makes them look even better!

Over the past few weeks I have become a big fan of AsiaExpat.com which is a website with a variety of information for expats living in the major cities of Asia. My favourite part is the Classified baby section where people sell amazing stuff. The thing in Hong Kong is that there isn't much space to fit stuff so once you get something new, or no longer need what you have you get rid of it and expats tend to import beautiful baby stuff.

I have been looking at the site in search of baby items that we have still been in need of. We have already got an amazing "moses basket" which is a little basket you can put the baby in to keep them in your room and some other bits and pieces that were just too expensive to buy new.

We were down to needing one more thing... a baby changing table. A few came and went on the site but none that really suited or they were still too expensive even used. A few days ago, I saw a beautiful lightwood one that can be folded down to a change table or up to be a shelf when the kid is older. We decided to get this one as the weeks are flying and the baby could potentially come at any time.

I messaged the seller and sent him a map link from the CRI website as it has clear directions to where we live. That night I got a message from him saying, "after seeing who you work for, I hesitate to sell you the table..." I read that and panicked thinking "why would anyone not like who we work for?!" BUT then I read the next sentance: "I would like to give these things to you for free instead!" FOR FREE! A beautiful changing table that was for sale and now this person who we have never met wants to give it to us for free! Tom & I were so amazed! The whole night I kept thinking of this and the kindness of strangers and of how our Father knows what we need and brings it from places we can't even imagine!

So, we are thankful for this gift coming to us next week and thankful for the provision that comes in ways we never expect. Reminds me of something Aslan says in the new Prince Caspian movie how things "never happen the same way twice."

For the past few months I have been managing our Fair Trade Cafe onsite. What is fair trade? Well its basically buying goods that are guaranteed to be paying a fair wage to all the workers along the supply chain rather than just to the ones that are in a position to take advantage. It is a great place to work and I have had a lot of fun looking after it. Here's a photo of me and my wonderful friends, Karen, Maria & Ronica who also work with me.

Not sure if the rest of the world gets to see much of these creatures that are the mascot for the Olympics this year. You can buy any trinket imaginable with their little faces on it. I took this photo in a park this week. They are called the "Friendlies"

Yesterday (Friday) was World Refugee Day. A time to reflect and remember the millions that are displaced from their homes due to conflict, famine and other issues. We have a huge tent set up outside where we hosted a joint event with the UNHCR to remember these people. It was a good night of messages, presentations/video clips and songs from our very own singer/songwriter on team. Yesterday was the launch of her new album which speaks to these issues of poverty, child soldiers, Internally Displaced people and refugees.

It was a very busy day in a very hot & humid Hong Kong! After about 2 weeks of torrential rain and the whole tent area being a soggy marshland, the sun came out on Thursday and the ground began to dry up.  We have had the most beautiful (although hot & humid) days here where the sky is a dark blue colour and the clouds are big, white fluffy ones with actual definition to their edges.  Last night we could even see multiple stars. To those who have not lived here, these things may seem strange to mention and you might find it weird to see us staring up just looking at the sky but we usually live in a haze of smog that prevents clear visibility almost every day of the year.

Today the events (and beautiful weather) continue as we have an open day to the public allowing people to come in on tours & go through some of our simulation activities to learn what it is like to be a refugee, an aids victim & a poor person.  It is a big day and all our team is working very hard to make it a success.

After living in Asia for a while you get more used to people telling you that you are very big, fat, etc.  This doesn't always mean you are but considering the general size of us compared to some locals, we are pretty big people.

Today 5 of us crammed into a taxi for a short ride into the city. The taxi driver pulled out his calculator, turned to Christy and asked how much she weighed. She didn't reply with a number but he proceeded to calculate how much weight he was driving in his taxi proclaiming that it was over 1500!  We were all pretty shocked and also unsure what measurement (kgs/pounds) we was using.  Sigh.......

This morning we woke up to a "Black Rainstorm" warning. This is issued when the rain is so heavy and flooding danger is really high that many public services are shut. People are advised to stay home and out of the rain. (Sort of like a snow day) There was a lot of thunder & lightening and non stop very heavy continuous rain all day. Actually, it has been raining for over 24 hours non stop.

One friend was even stuck across town after a massive landslide covered the road shutting the freeway to the airport for hours.

Our site had quite a lot of flooding but thankfully not much stock was damaged.

We were amazed to see the photos in this news link of the city and of places we do go to at times.

http://www.china.org.cn/china/2008-06/07/content_15684165.htm

Here's what the observatory has to say about black storms:

Very heavy rain has fallen or is expected to fall generally over Hong Kong, exceeding 70 millimetres in an hour, and is likely to continue.

Nearly 12 inches of rain fell Saturday morning!

Yesterday we had a reporter & photographer come to visit our fair trade cafe and marketplace to do a story on them. They wanted to be able to take some photos of made coffees for the article. I had some practice on Monday to get ready for the big event. I really have enjoyed managing our cafe on site. It is a great place to speak with volunteers involved in all departments as they come through for a break. It is also good to know that our use of fair trade coffee, sugar and other items is giving people a fair wage in the nearby countries.

Here are a few photos of my practice coffees: (the article will be coming out the end of June)

Thanks to all who have written us concerning the earthquake in China a few weeks ago. It is a very tragic time for the country and is sad to hear the continued reports of so many lost lives. I was recently reminded of the even greater impact on families as many have lost their child, their only child, in this earthquake. Please be thinking of them.

Each year we have prepared containers of goods in case of a natural disaster in the nearby area. Usually these goods go to flood affected areas but this year we have been allowed to direct the containers to earthquake relief. Yesterday, the first of 2 was loaded on our site by a great volunteer group. You can see a few photos on the website link below:

http://www.crossroads.org.hk/

If you are interested in making a donation towards this relief effort, the options are also shown on the Crossroads web page or you can email us for more details.

Today we were given the amazing gift of a boat trip through the more beautiful areas of HK. Actually, 3 boats were needed to carry about 50 of our team! The donors provided the boats and arranged for us to have a 10 course meal at a small fishing village/island close to where we could swim. The weather & water were beautiful and we had a great time. Have put in a few photos below.