BC Forest Fires on their Facebook page wrote, “There have been several new fire starts due to lighting.” And earlier in the day, “We have received reports of smoke or a general haze across the entire province. This smoke is from the Colorado wildfires as well as fires in Siberia. We expect conditions to remain smokey across B.C. until Friday. Some days it will be more noticeable than others. Because of the hazy conditions, it will make new fire starts harder to spot, so we are asking for the public’s assistance. If they see smoke of flame please call.” Tess posted, “Something is happening around Princeton it seems.” They responded, “Hello Charles. There is a spot-sized fire approximately 7 km east of Princeton. An Initial Attack team and a helicopter responded and the fire is currently fully guarded.” That’s about 15 kms away from Tulameen. Yes, it’s true folks, about 99% of my Facebook activity is typically Tess. Of course you don’t know that and certainly BC Forest Fires have no idea.
Castanet News is reporting a few small fires popping up here and there and that “Forestry crews are at the ready as potential builds for a severe thunderstorm throughout the Okanagan sometime late Monday afternoon or early evening.” The area 30 kms north and 30 kms east of Tulameen seems to be where the experts are more concerned due to less recent rainfall in that area. Tess and Charmaine have a contingency plan (Tess wrote “… to be continued…” clearly recalling the 2009 ordeal) but that’s not stopping the kids from having loads of fun. A few more pictures here courtesy of Charmaine. Looks as if Jasper banged his head and might be suffering from some hay fever. Meanwhile, there are no forest fires in Hong Kong, nor rain, just clear skies and beautiful summer scenes.
Tess and the gang have emerged from their journey and a long night's sleep. A short message from Tess reported that their location is "quite remote, wifi is very slow… but we are happy. Seb and Jasper slept 13 hours last night. I could not believe it. They were so tired. They were completely disgusted they slept that long their first night here. Area quite like Fintry. All is well here." Appears the kids have lots of space for running around, too. Charmaine posted a few pictures on her FB account that I have re-posted here. (Thank you, Charmaine!)
Meanwhile back at the Hong Kong ranch the Asian prevailing winds have shifted north, pushing the pollution back into China. Or, perhaps more appropriately, pushing Hong Kong's pollution into China! The details of surrounding islands are easily visible – one can almost count the blades of grass it's so clear. I have grown accustomed to the quiet flat, using it to catch-up on work in the evenings.
If everything went according to plan, then just a few hours ago this is the view that Tess and the kids would have enjoyed. They are traveling with Charmaine who chatted with me via Facebook prior to departing Toronto for Kelowna, but since then I have heard nothing. Charmaine is super organized so I have no doubt that between Tess and Charmaine, the now six kids are in very good hands. Today at church a number of people asked how “the gang” was doing and if Sebastian prayed for snow. Indeed, he did.
Meanwhile back in Hong Kong I have completed my four weekend work projects as I enter the new week. Sleep has still been somewhat scarce this past year so I am retiring early to hopefully get caught-up. I am about to read “My Descent into Death: A Second Chance at Life” by Howard Storm. The author will be speaking next Sunday at all three Union Church services. His book is about his near death experience that was extraordinary enough to have Anne Rice write the foreword. If you are in Hong Kong on July 15, you might not want to miss the experience of hearing Howard Storm’s talk.
Finally, here are two pieces of artwork completed by Sebastian this past year. Again, I have no idea what they represent, but I thought them rather unique and precise. Sebastian has a very creative side that he needs to better channel. (Thus the word precise.) In the last few months Sebastian took one of his workbooks and started writing and drawing comics early in the morning. Another time when he was at a tutor, he said to the lady, “I am going to write books and when the books get published the money will come rolling in.” Maybe Anne Rice will write his forewords.
I have just spoken with Tess and the gang, who have safely arrived in Kelowna and checked into Kelowna Inn & Suites. Tess is very impressed with the hotel, so I might as well give it a plug. For less than C$ 160 including taxes etc they are staying in a room that sleeps six and has a “semi-loft.” When I called the front desk to ask for Tess’ room, the bright guy assumed I was the husband and replied, “Yes, of course Mr. Caldwell I’ll put you right through.” Calling from Hong Kong there is no way this guy had Hong Kong caller ID or would known it was me even if he did: I assume he was just on top of his game. Tess said the hotel was perfect and reasonable for their needs.
Tess reported that the Hong Kong to Vancouver flight was long and tough. The kids hardly slept at all, mostly watching movies. Sela read three books on my Kindle, now onto her fourth. The transfer onto Westjet was easy. Jasper reported that, “Westjet was fun.” Well, we all know that Westjet is fun, with all due respect to Cousin Bob who flies for Air Canada. But you’ll be happy to know that Tess rated the kids as overall “exceeding expectations” on the trip.
I attended Cigars Under The Stars last night at Union Church, hosted by Pastor Greg. We enjoyed fantastic homemade cheesecake courtesy of Grant Franke. To digress for a moment, if you haven’t seen the movie “Three Idiots” I highly recommend it. The movie is a funny, endearing, roller coaster with a clever mix of Bollywood and Hollywood. Poignant life lessons are presented throughout and not to be taken lightly as you will see in the final seen of the above video where a group of students call for a colleague named “Joy.” The theme song “All Izz Well” could have light lyrics but they might be packing a punch. Who knows what is meant when some of the characters sing about ways to fail, cope or succeed at college: booze, God, and the next line, “the lamb is clueless for what it’s destined.” (Please watch the video above and provide your own thoughts.) The video features a four-rotor helicopter, (Joy is the individual who originally came up with the idea for the contraption) which brings me back to Cigars Under The Stars.
Minutes for last night’s Cigars Under The Stars include a discussion about possible items that could be affixed beneath a Draganflyer X4 Four Rotor UAV Helicopter. A theological discussion ensued that included Cheesecake Evangelism.
This morning I finally watched a movie about Mother Teresa I’ve had forever. The kids and I started this film twice, but they insisted on not watching beyond when Mother Teresa’s father dies. They found the father dying upsetting. While watching the rest of the film I jotted down some of my favourite lines from the movie:
Mother Teresa in response to a man taking all of her ministry’s food says, “God Bless You.” The man curiously asks how she can bless him when he is taking everything. “You should be cursing me,” he says. Mother Teresa: “How can I curse you when God loves you?”
Mother Teresa: “Ah yes, the children are the beauty of God's love.”
Mother Teresa’s father in response to a warning about being seen as taking sides, “I am just taking sides with those who need help.”
Mother Teresa, also in response to a warning that the people she is amongst are seeking revenge, “Where there is revenge I bring forgiveness.”
Mother Teresa’s mother, the last time she saw her before MT departed for India, “Put your hand in the hand of the Lord and never let go.”
Mother Teresa in response to her authorities resisting her, “In any case, the Lord will do what He wants.”
Mother Teresa: “If things happen it's because the Lord wants them to happen. If they don't it means He doesn't. It's so simple.”
Mother Teresa: “He holds everybody's hand, if only they will let Him.”
Mother Teresa: “Where ever a real Christian goes, he brings joy.”
Mother Teresa: “I am only a pencil in the hands of God and it is He… He who writes.”
Response from Mother Teresa’s authorities, “Who are we to stop the pencil of God?” Indeed.
For those of you who have been good enough to read to the end of this post, I leave you with a treat from Jasper. Before discarding the kids artwork from this past year we took pictures of the classics. At left is a pencil sketch by Jasper. No idea what it is but I suspect it has something to do with Earth and the environment. He was particularly proud of it (as the post-it reads) "because I focused on it." Anybody want to take a guess what Jasper drew and I'll post the answers after asking him?
Tess and the kids have gone to Canada. With the exception of Liza and our new fish Dobby, the house is empty, clean and quiet. Tess and the kids are gone for six weeks until mid-August so the flat is in for a long haul without them. I remember last year it was turbo-charge mode after they left, with all sorts of projects kicking into high gear moments after watching them pass through Immigration. Today it felt different – there are twice as many projects but the turbo hasn’t yet kicked in. Maybe I just need a good night’s sleep. Union Church is hosting an evening for summer bachelors, “Cigars Under The Stars” on the church’s rooftop. This will be my first port of call but meanwhile, I have way too much to do before a hit-and-run, seven day visit to Toronto and the Okanagan later this month.
Tess was a master packer, too. She managed to get an entire summer’s worth of clothes into two suitcases. (I am highly suspicious the “summer collection” will expand once Tess finds herself at outlet malls.) Each one of them also had an appropriately sized carry-on and Tess had her laptop in a backpack. The triplets legally need to sit in booster seats while in Canada. When we dragged the luggage out of the car each one of them dutifully carried their booster seat in one hand while pulling their “wheelies” in the other hand. Sebastian is delighted that he has now graduated from needing a booster seat.
Tess and I had mixed views on technology this year. For a while we contemplated a technology free summer but finally surrendered albeit Sebastian agreed to leave his iTouch in Hong Kong. Sela took my Kindle, loaded with The Bobbsey Twins, Enid Blyton and more. We have four Android tablets, the equivalent to iPads, but much less expensive. The kids call them T-pads. Carys’ t-pad is in the shop for repairs, which is partly why I surrendered my Kindle. The T-pads were also loaded up with books and some of the kids’ favourite movies.
The beauty of technology is that we can communicate back and forth so easily. The kids love to play “DrawSome” and leave endearing messages whenever they send or receive a drawing. Sela wrote me the above message after being unable to send me a text message a few days ago. As I drove home from the airport I somewhat kicked myself for not installing Skype on the T-Pads and realised Seb wouldn’t be able to Skype without his iTouch. But technology is remarkable. Upon arriving home I remotely accessed the kids’ T-pads via Market Android to install Skype. Next time they connect to a wireless Internet connection, Skype will be automatically installed.
Alas, sceptics, nothing replaces the tactile feel of a paper book – that’s the story I’m sticking to for sending my Kindle to Canada – so the kids still had a few paper books in tow. I, too, will appreciate the palpable feel of a paper book this summer. My hope is to finally get to read “Left To Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust,” by Immaculee Ilibagiza and hopefully get caught-up on some blogging, too. After all, there is the remarkable story of Dobby.
Today was Youth Sunday at Union Church and it was extraordinary. The title of the service was, "Where You Lead, I Will Follow." Sebastian, who is asking more and more about what it means to be baptised, decided to skip Sunday school to sit in the sanctuary with Tess and I for the entire service. Next year Seb will be old enough to enter Union Church's Youth Group so today gave him a taste of what's ahead: seriously fun, and extremely moving, times. Despite the message title being, "I Will Follow," I am convinced the service was so powerful that people walked away thinking much bigger thoughts to themselves. Read on to find out why and how.
I watched the crowd closely today to gauge their reaction to each point of the service. I doubt a single person made it through the service without shedding a tear. For starters, the Youth Group performed all the music for the entire service, including Jesus Culture's "One Thing Remains". They did a great job, staying in complete control, never letting the congregation get ahead of them.
During the earlier parts of this year, several members of the Youth Group ran a Youth Alpha Course, essentially a modern, introductory course to Christianity. They did this on their own initiative, organising the entire eight weeks with guests speakers et all. Today one of the partcipants shared his experience of being in the course and one of the leaders shared their experience of leading the course.
These testimonies were followed with a sermon delivered by three Youth Group members, most of whom are on their way to university next year. They handled the sermon with tremendous finesse and humour. Their message was based on scripture in Exodus 13:20-22 and 14:19-20. Each shared about their trials and tribulations as young Christians in ways we were each able to relate to and had a good laugh, too. "What is your Red Sea?" we were asked. When we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place:
God knows that you are there.
He has equipped you, prepared you.
He desires for you to remember that I am God. There is none like unto Me.
He has the situation under control. The situation is not more than you can bear – there is a way of escape. He will not let it destroy you.
He says, "You have My spirit inside of you." You will come out as more than a conqueror.
Start singing. This shows your faith in the Lord… and sang the Youth Group sure did today!
Next came Confirmation for seven individuals who had been mentored through a confirmation course the last few months. Again, each shared a short testimony about their experience during the Confirmation course and walking with Jesus. (At left: Kyle Koster stands with his guitar while he and the rest of the group watch the Youth baptisms.)
Finally, a handful of Youth were baptised. One during the service by sprinkling and three others by immersion immediately following. Overall the service was very moving and Sebastian told me afterwards his favourite part was the baptisms. Seb did well to sit through the entire service, listening, getting only slightly wrestless. I allowed him to doodle on a piece of paper to keep himself occupied. At one point I looked down. He was holding the service bulletin that read, "Where You Lead, I Will Follow" but had changed the I to We.
The month of April is upon us and I just finished my "Gratefully." This is an expression the kids throw around easily and have done so since 1 January, 2012. This year we rolled out a new project with our family. During the Christmas holidays the kids and I went to a small shopping centre (Chi Fu) to purchase 2012 planners. We bought the very small ones for Tess and I, while the kids got the next size up to make it easier for them to write. No, we have not abandoned the calendars in our iPhone and Blackberry. We use the planners for our "Gratefully Project."
For the month of January the project started off with the kids and ourselves, each day, writing three things for which we were grateful. Each day the sentence starts off with, "I am grateful to God for…" The kids stuck with the project with no prompting. Remarkable.
In February the project shifted slightly – the daily Gratefully consisted of two things for which we were each grateful and one person we each thought we needed to forgive. Forgiveness can be difficult for anyone. The kids know what it means and with some trepidation typically hand out forgiveness when they upset each other. At the end of each day we often hear stories of little tit for tats at school, which is why we added forgiveness onto the Gratefully Project. Now each day we write, "I am grateful to God for _______ (two things) and I forgive ______." Even if the kids feel they cannot forgive someone at that moment, they will still write someone that they know they need to forgive in their heart.
What I find most remarkable about the Gratefully Project, is how willing the kids have been to partake. Now we are into April, everyone is up to date, and the kids rarely need to be reminded. In fact we don't prompt them at all.
"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."Ephesians 4:31-32
Editor's note: As I sit here and post this blog, Carys is in bed wailing because she misses Blake and Mo. We all do! We had a wonderful 44 hour visit, alas, it was only 44 hours. Blake and Maureen left this afternoon. Maureen's report follows.
Two delightful flights from both Heathrow and Frankfurt has brought us to Hong Kong – had a fab sleep on the last flight, thankfully. The Caldwell gang were at the airport to meet us and we were wrapped up in endless hugs and kisses on our arrival. By this point Blake and I were feeling odd from jet lag and lay down for a few hours. Tess and Charles have given us their bed – sigh, it has been bliss. Lo and behold, Tess and Charles had a dinner party that evening: Terry and Nick, and Tess' boss from ICM, Deanna and her husband, Dave. It all made for very interesting company and the kidlets had made settings for us all with handwritten menus. Blake lasted until the first course and knew he could not manage the meal and instead had a bowl of breakfast cereal… and was then off to bed for the night by approx. 8:30 – 9:00 pm. I lasted another 30 – 45 minutes and bid my adieus. (At left: Jasper waiting at the airport and Sebastian later on in the day at home.)
We both slept all night long and did not get up until 8 am, feeling so much better. We lazed around and drank tea whilst chatting and finally got dressed and headed off to church. So wonderful to see familiar faces at church who greeted us all so warmly. A fine sermon on humility and what humility is – "not thinking less of oneself but thinking of oneself less" … "knowing who and what we are in Christ". Laurel (a fellow Rafa fan : ) and her daughters joined us after church at The Flying Pan (in a new location in Wanchai) for a fine breakfast. I fondly remembered Fintry "Fat Boy" breakfasts as I enjoyed an "English Breakfast." And now we are home with thoughts of going for a hike but after the late night the girls are having a nap and I may join them. Not sure if Tess and Blake are actually going to do the walk but they are the most stalwart, I must say.
This evening we are going to the Aberdeen Boat Club for dinner and more friends of Tess and Charles will be there as well. So, it has been vintage Hong Kong and soooo worth coming.
The new flat is excellent. Very high ceilings with a much improved paint job, greenery out most windows, quieter as they are well off the main drag. The girls have their own room, the boys theirs and of course, a master en suite for Tess and Charles. They have decorated brilliantly, in my humble opinion : ) A cosy living room with couches and bean bags, art work and family pictures throughout the flat, a small but efficient kitchen with Liza's bedroom and bathroom off the kitchen. A large area has been designated for the dining room and makes for a spacious feel to the whole place. We feel very comfortable.
Today Sebastian turned ten. We finally caved and bought him an iTouch. Generally we are not on the leading edge when it comes to technology. The computer I am using to write this post is eight years old: younger than Sebastian but older than the triplets. Tess and I have Kindles but we don’t have ipads or much else when it comes to gadgets. Naturally the kids have been pressuring us to get their own gadgets, especially phones. I have a lot of fun answering the question, “But how old were you when you got your first phone?” I will cock my head to the side and say with a cryptic voice, “Twenty seven!” This is true and that phone was the size of a shoebox, weighing the same as a large bag of rice. (Left: the first picture taken on Seb's new iTouch just before the kids went to bed.)
Shoeboxes and rice have come a long way since I was twenty-seven, lugging around an almost briefcase sized phone during the BC Yachts years. Today, most household phones no longer have wires attached to them. “Oh I remember them!” reports Sebastian triumphantly. The kids marvel in disbelief at the notion TVs were black and white when I was their age, cartoons were only on the television Saturday mornings and the Internet was only a sparkle in the late Steve Jobs’ eye.
What I didn’t know about Jobs’ latest version of the iTouch, is that the device -0 even though it is not a phone – is Skype enabled. Last night after the kids fell asleep I set-up Seb’s iTouch, loaded on some of his favourite apps, created a Skype account for him and charged the battery. Then I carefully slipped it back into the package.
Tonight we went to the ABC for dinner. The kids played in the pool for Floaty Wednesday – the only time the lifeguards allow inflatables in the pool. After dinner Sebastian opened his presents. (This involved closing his eyes and reaching into a recycable shopping bag because Seb doesn’t want us to waste paper on the environment.) He acted suitably delighted at each small present, strongly suspecting that at the end of the tunnel was the grand prize iTouch.
Back at home we set-up the wireless connection. Sebastian tried calling me on Skype. It worked. Then he called Auntie Pammy and Uncle Ed in Canada. It worked. I sent him a message via Skype chat, “It’s time for bed.” He wrote back, “Hi, ok.”
The idea dawned on me that perhaps, by the time Sebastian does get a phone, it might be obsolete. In fact he may never own a phone, as his parents now know them. Instead, at ten years old, Sebastian, long beyond copper, discarded even fibre, and leapt over technology into the wireless world of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP). That subtle but transformational technology shift is not one I anticipated when he was born ten years ago this morning.
Tess blogged about being willing to leave Hong Kong but not Pokfulam… and that she is processing. Here’s why. Three years ago we seriously considered moving to Sai Kung and looked for property to buy. In general there is more space for less money. We could likely get a house. I know Sai Kung is not everybody’s cup of tea, but we seriously thought about it. We viewed at least 100 properties online and 30 in the flesh. One property caught our eye. We saw it twice: once by ourselves and once with the kids. The kids loved it but the area is somewhat isolated. Tess and I said to each other, “Not quite right, but IF there was a house built immediately in front of that house, it might be perfect.” So we said, “No,” to the disappointment of the delightful realtor because it really is a charming village.
Flash forward three years later shortly after the July snowball fight in Canada. I’m on the phone late one Hong Kong night with Tess back in Canada who says, “I think it’s time to start thinking about Sai Kung again because the kids really need more space.” (I thought: “Start thinking again? Who stopped thinking about it?”) Having just spent a week in their own rented house with a huge yard, and then back on Lake Okanagan for three weeks, the kids were thriving in the wide-open space.
The next day for kicks and giggles I did a quick search. The first property to pop up looked much like the one we’d said “no” to and listed through the same agent. I email Delightful Realtor and asked her if it was the same house. “No,” she replied, “It is a new house, built immediately in front of that house.” Okay, so that’s weird.
Once Tess and the kids returned to Hong Kong we drove out to look at the property, along with four others to bring our in-the-flesh total to 35. The house we like is a shell, with an occupancy permit – ideal for renovating according to one’s tastes. (Read slightly easier and cheaper – no walls to knock down during reno.) There is a plot of land attached to the house (about 1,000 sq ft) so it would come with a small yard. The whole village is surrounded by woods for the kids to explore (one of the things they love about Canada) and a deserted road. Yes, the village is isolated, but not that bad compared to other parts of Sai Kung or Clearwater Bay: off the beaten path you have to work it out. Most people who live in Sai Kung rave about it. Most people who live in Pokfulam rave about it. (At left: view from the third floor master bedroom.)
Back to the village: the deserted road is not a thoroughfare. Essentially it forms the street into the village, plus another half click, and then comes to an end. (It’s politically incorrect to say “dead end” but there is in fact a teeny cemetery about a fifteen-minute walk from the village.) A trail follows onwards from the errrr, end. Eventually the trail comes to an end because it turns back into a road accessing another major road… from the other side. I am thinking ahead at the possibility that someday these two roads might connect and that… would be huge.
So Tess and I are processing this situation, weighing the pros and cons to determine the way forward. The fact this would be a HUGE, long project is not lost on me. The kids love the idea of moving into this house but they despise the idea of switching schools and being separated from their friends. (BTW, one of the girls' good friends just moved to Sai Kung.) "But just think, playdates would be three days long: arrive on Friday night and depart Monday morning!" (Their friends' parents love that idea!) Truthfully, only Sebastian is old enough for this move to have a big impact. Although, my parents switched classes on me when I was in kindergarten and I harboured a grudge for a few decades. Silly really. For the triplets, new friends would emerge quickly and eventually for Sebastian. Jasper is bereft at the idea of anything changing in his life if it involves effort. Carys is digging in her heals a little. Sela has already packed her bags.
ABOUT AUTHOR
Charles
Originally from Canada and lived in Hong Kong for fifteen years. Married to the terribly talented & gorgeous Tess.
BC Forest Fires on their Facebook page wrote, “There have been several new fire starts due to lighting.” And earlier in the day, “We have received reports of smoke or a general haze across the entire province. This smoke is from the Colorado wildfires as well as fires in Siberia. We expect conditions to remain smokey across B.C. until Friday. Some days it will be more noticeable than others. Because of the hazy conditions, it will make new fire starts harder to spot, so we are asking for the public’s assistance. If they see smoke of flame please call.” Tess posted, “Something is happening around Princeton it seems.” They responded, “Hello Charles. There is a spot-sized fire approximately 7 km east of Princeton. An Initial Attack team and a helicopter responded and the fire is currently fully guarded.” That’s about 15 kms away from Tulameen. Yes, it’s true folks, about 99% of my Facebook activity is typically Tess. Of course you don’t know that and certainly BC Forest Fires have no idea. 
Castanet News is reporting a few small fires popping up here and there and that “Forestry crews are at the ready as potential builds for a severe thunderstorm throughout the Okanagan sometime late Monday afternoon or early evening.” The area 30 kms north and 30 kms east of Tulameen seems to be where the experts are more concerned due to less recent rainfall in that area. Tess and Charmaine have a contingency plan (Tess wrote “… to be continued…” clearly recalling the 2009 ordeal) but that’s not stopping the kids from having loads of fun. A few more pictures here courtesy of Charmaine. Looks as if Jasper banged his head and might be suffering from some hay fever. Meanwhile, there are no forest fires in Hong Kong, nor rain, just clear skies and beautiful summer scenes.
