July-Dec (click here for Jan-Jun 2016)

Dec 21, 2016

Here are a few photos of December fun, as 2016 comes to a close.

Nov 18, 2016

Last weekend, Vivian and I were in Xi’an for some important meetings. From 2002-2005, I taught at NPU, China’s leading aerospace engineering university, and was never treated any better by the staff and administration of any university. We also love learning about China’s history, so Xi’an is an awesome place–it was China’s capital for much of the country’s 5000-year history. The famous terra-cotta warriors are there, unearthed in the 1960s after almost two millennia in underground silence. I’ve been out to see them four times, and it is truly an awe-inspiring sight–well worthy of its reputation as a top tourist attraction. I think we could have happily lived and worked in Xi’an “forever” had it not been for the terrible pollution. All three of us (our son was young at the time) coughed all winter, and when I ended up in the hospital with pneumonia the doctors advised me to find a different place to live (saying I was allergic to something in the city’s thick air). We moved to Kunming, which is another wonderful city, but that’s another story! I’ll tell the rest of the weekend’s story in pictures. (To see some older photos, click here.)

Oct 30, 2016

This week, we have been enjoying guest speaker Ron Ching, invited by the company I work for to bless Hong Kong with his humor and experience.

For our staff, Ron talked about “Minding your Quotients.” A “Quotient” is a measure; and Ron said it is very subjective, depending on who is measuring what. Here we were looking at “measuring” our company and ourselves (as staff, in relation to JHF). Here’s a list of some of them:

IQ: Intelligence Quotient

EQ: Emotional Q

DQ: Dream Q (dreams, goals)

PQ: Passion Q (what excites us)

CQ: Compassion

COQ: Courage Q (in the face of opposition)

LQ: Love Quotient

FQ: Failure Q (what did we learn in failure that can help us succeed)

CRQ: Creativity Q (God is creative, and we are made in His image)

TQ: Team Q (an athletic team pulls together; they feel like they are in it together)

RQ: Recognition (recognition/praise is important to all; one of a baby’s first skills)

HQ: Health (are we, is the company, healthy?)

PQ: Personal Q (how do you “measure up” as single, married, adult child, parent…)

SQ: Success (individually and as an organization)

I have some notes from our sessions, so if you want to know more about these, let me know.

Oct 20, 2016

Super Typhoon Haima passed through Hong Kong yesterday, closing our office. That has given me a little time to post photos from our work-related trip to Xinjiang last weekend.

Next week, our company will have a guest speaker here in HK. Ron Ching will help us with staff training, and will also speak on several occasions (a school, small groups, a community night, etc.). We are looking forward to a busy week, being taught by Ron and proving opportunities for him to be a blessing to many people in Hong Kong.

Last week, I found some “basic writing” resources that begged to be put into my other website: EFLsuccess.com. You can click to read CS Lewis’ basic writing advice, and a new section (at the bottom of the page) on how to name computer filenames.

Sep 22, 2016

Today, we fly back to HK. We’ve had a wonderful three weeks. People have been extremely helpful, and it has been wonderful to connect a face and personality to the partners we previously knew so little about. The month ahead is packed, so I’m afraid I may never find time to post more photos online. But we’d be happy to give you details over a cup of tea sometime! I’ve got a flight to catch!

“The Warrior” was the first ship built with an iron hull. We had a wonderful day visiting the historic Portsmouth Dockyards.

The real purpose of this trip was to join important meetings, like this one in the UK. But we certainly also enjoyed the things we did between meetings!

If you want to see more pictures, Vivian has posted a few things here:

http://chinadollphotos.weebly.com/   and here:

http://chinadollphotos.weebly.com/2016-england–europe.html

Sep 7, 2016

In between meetings, we are getting to see some of the UK. I’ve long been blessed by the writings of CS Lewis, including the beloved children’s stories called “The Chronicles of Narnia” (from which several films have been made, including “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”) So we were very happy to get to visit Oxford with our JHF hosts.

You can see old photos of us with our “Reading” friends Don and Bridget on my old website: www.krigline.com/xm_reunion.htm.

We are currently representing JHF at a conference for college students, trying to recruit some of them to join us in China once they graduate! We have had many interesting conversations, which we trust will continue for two more days before heading back to Oxford for more official JHF meetings.

Aug 29, 2016

Safely arrived in the UK. Watch for more later.

Aug 27, 2016

A few days ago, we went to see the “new” version of the film “Ben Hur.” Actually, this is the third major film about what was reportedly the most-read novel of the 1800s. The first version was a silent film in the early 1900s, which flowed from the popular stage version of the story. The 1959 film was a block-buster, winning 11 Oscars; as a percentage of the total available in a year, no film as ever won more.

If you aren’t familiar with the 1959 version, the new film could stand on it’s own because of the gripping story. Go see it! But if you are as old as I am, you’ll probably like the old movie better. (You can see a study guide for the old film on my other website: eflsuccess.com/ben-hur/.) Some of my favorite characters were missing, and I think the new producer sacrificed a lot to make the film a reasonable length (the 1959 version was 3.5 hours long, and I wondered what they would cut!).

Nonetheless, it was a nice “date,” and we were happy to support the retelling of this remarkable story. If it gets people to read the book and consider the important themes of power, purpose, forgiveness and faithfulness, then it was worth making!

For the next three weeks, Vivian and I will be in the UK and Europe on JHF business. We are looking forward to spending time with our partners, and trying to recruit professionals to join us, serving the people of China.

July 24, 2016

Arrived in Dali on Friday, for a week helping a friend with summer English programs. Today’s high was 65 F (18 C), which feels awesome after weeks of Hong Kong’s heat (approaching 100/38 in the heat index).

I’m staying at a hotel near the university and Brian’s home. Here’s a view from the balcony.

I’ve decided to put most of my Dali photos on a separate “photo album” page. But below I’ve added some of the other interesting parts of this trip. Here’s a few photos, but look for more to come.

Next, Brian and I were off to Qu Xiong, to see another one of his former students. This young lady and her husband were the perfect hosts, showing us the sights, and introducing us to one of Yunnan’s famous minority festivals. While we were there, we also got to spend time with another of Brian’s former students (who I also met in Xiamen), along with her friends–all of whom are new teachers! It was great to be with them, encouraging them as they begin their important career.

The last photo shows me introducing them to my other website: EFLsuccess.com.

Vivian flew to Kunming to join me during the second weekend. We got back to Hong Kong just before they closed the airport due to Typhoon Nida.

July 11, 2016

Hong Kong’s heat limits visits from friends and keeps people indoors in mid-summer, but it didn’t keep these old friends from paying a visit from New Zealand. Michael first met Peter in 1984, and when we joined JHF in 2000 he was serving in the leadership position I now hold. I still occasionally ask for work-related advice by email, and we are always grateful for the encouragement we receive from Peter and Elizabeth. The other photos relate to our church in Hong Kong, where I sometimes lead in the singing or serve in other ways. Next week, we will seek to escape the heat for a few days in Dali and Kunming–you can watch for photos upon our return.

(click here for our Jan-Jun 2016 blog)

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