Settling In
(To see more, visit my blog at jennyoumans.com)
First of all, I really want to thank everyone who has supported me, whether you financially contributed to my fundraising or have supported me through prayer and well-wishes, I cannot thank you enough. I’ll be fundraising all year (and every year I’m here), but knowing that I already have so many people behind me has made me feel really encouraged. Learn more on the Fundraising + Support page. I honestly wouldn’t be able to be here if it wasn’t for my amazing donors and supporters. I would also really love to talk to anyone who might be interested or may know someone who is interested in hearing more about ICM and/or my journey. I’ve got a lot of work to do here and would squeal if I got to share all of this with more people! ICM is honestly making a difference in the lives of so many people, and that’s just beyond exciting to me.
So, I’ve been living in Hong Kong for 2 whole weeks and I
can’t believe how much I’m loving the city. I thought I would be
terrified walking on streets I’ve never seen (nor can I
pronounce), eating foods I’ve never heard of (nor can I
pronounce) and starting a new job with new people. But. I have
been feeling mostly just…welcome. Hong Kong is so inviting and
over-all accessible that I actually haven’t felt totally
displaced. I wasn’t expecting it, but I sure do appreciate
it.
My apartment (I’m supposed to call it a “flat”) is great. I was
definitely feeling a bit shocked walking in on the night I
arrived, it’s probably the smallest bedroom I’ve ever seen, but
it’s really beginning to feel like home. Not to mention, my
roommate Stephany is so sweet, and has been SO helpful while I
adjust and get settled in to a new home in a new city. Thank you
Steph, you are awesome. She even has a little fluffy bunny named
Darley (we call him DarDar) who makes things a little bit more
fun(ny) too.
I’ve worked two full weeks so far, and am really enjoying the
work and the people. I’ve already gotten to work – prepping for
the annual HK Banquet in October and doing lots of designing for
the upcoming Annual Report. I know this is what God wants me to
be doing, and I’m finding a lot of peace in knowing that. Next
week I will really see the reason I’m here; I’m heading to the
Philippines to go through ICM 101. There I’ll get a better
understanding of ICM’s strategy for alleviating poverty in the
area. I’ll be attending lectures, in-community service, a “Day in
the Life” teaching with an ICM trainer and get to meet the
beautiful people we do this work for. I’ve seen a million
pictures of the slums I’ll be visiting, but actually walking in
the communities and meeting the people, will be, I’m sure, quite
eye-opening. I can’t wait to share my experiences with you all.
By the way….YOU can go on an ICM trip…learn more here!
Each day I tell myself, “if you can pick up and move to
Hong Kong by yourself, you can go out and explore Hong Kong by
yourself”. I’m still making friends, visiting churches and
getting to know people, so I’ve been making sure I spend time
really experiencing the city; wandering through markets, taking
buses across town, island-hopping and even getting lost (okay,
that wasn’t really on purpose). It’s actually making adjusting to
all these new things much more interesting.
Photos can be found on my blog, link above.