Welcome to the Mayhem

I’m really hesitant to tell you my first impression of China. Not because it was a bad one, but rather you might be forced to question my sanity. I’m incredibly determined not to miss a single moment of this experience, so I’m constantly telling myself to take note of every detail. Remember every sound, and face, and color.
It was about 7:30 in the evening when I finally found the exit doors of the airport. Everybody knows that you haven’t actually visited a new country until you’ve been outside of the airport, so this was my big moment. I could see the waiting car through the automatic glass doors and as I approached they were thrown open before me. The months of anticipation and planning and excitement collided together and like a wave, it hit me: pancakes. Seriously, China smelled like pancakes. I thought it was strange too, that my first inclination was to make a run for the nearest IHOP. I wasn’t even hungry.
I didn’t have a whole lot of time to dwell on breakfast food because in just minutes we were zipping through the most densely populated city I had ever seen. This place makes New York City look like wide open space. Every single available surface is utilized to its full potential, allowing 7 million people to exist in approximately 15 miles. A far cry from the expanses of my native Colorado. Our driver expertly navigated his way to Kowloon, the most central part of the city. My eyes began to adjust and decipher the messages that the sea of neon was screaming at me. British, Japanese, Thai, Italian, you name it, they’ve got it. And it’s probably all in the same block. There are enough Indian tailors encamped on street corners to keep the entire nation of Ethiopia looking like Armani models. And judging from their sales techniques, the mere color of my skin is a billboard telling them that I am desperate for a new custom tailored suit.
In Kowloon, we came to a stop in front of Hankow Centre, my new home. One of my favorite couples that I have worked with on the Impact World Tour for years, Marty and Candice Emmett, have adopted me into their family that just a year ago grew by identical twin boys, Malachi and Josiah. The five of us share a wonderful apartment that by Hong Kong standards is huge. The local committee here decided that this location was much more conducive to the demands of our job, so we won’t be living on Noah’s Ark after all. Though it was quite a disappointment to realize I won’t be needing my life guarding skills, it’s hard to be upset about the incredible location that we now reside in. Flexibility has always been the name of this game and the Lord has blessed us through it. Our apartment is actually in the same building that our office is in, and quite literally a stone’s throw to the nearest starbucks. But I checked, and they don’t serve pancakes.