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Smugglers in Hong Kong
CHAPTER 4 - THE BIG OPPORTUNITY
(posted March 13th, 2000)
What an afternoon they had! Jack and Jenny marveled at the white sand of
the
beach and the cool, clear emerald blue water of the bay. They had once
gone swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, but to be at Repulse Bay which is
part of the China Sea and the Pacific Ocean was really something. When
they return from this vacation there would be lots to tell their friends.
As they were exploring the upper beach area, Tim suddenly turned to Jack
and said softly so the girls wouldn’t hear him, “Jack, ever since you
wrote and asked about pirates here in Hong Kong, I have been thinking
about them. There used to be lots of them in this area. They sailed up
and down the coast raiding ships from different countries. My Dad said
they surprised the ships at day break or at dusk, and many sailors were
killed by those ruthless men. Many ships were burned and sank in the
waters along the China coast. It’s true that Hong Kong was a haven for
pirates at one time.”
Jack’s hair stood right on end as Tim spoke. “Wow, and I thought maybe
you would think I was crazy asking about pirates! Do you think there are
any around here now?”
“My Dad says there are no pirates around here any more,” replied Tim,
“but there are a lot of smugglers in Hong Kong. They smuggle drugs into
Hong Kong from all over Asia and then move them out to other parts of the
world from here. A few days ago the paper reported that the harbor
police boarded a large junk in the outer waters and discovered it was
loaded with the largest shipment of drugs ever found in Hong Kong. So
maybe your question about pirates is not so strange after all.”
The girls noticed the boys talking in soft voices and came over to ask
what was so secret. Both boys tried to look innocent and unconcerned.
Jenny knew her brother like a book and said, “I bet you guys were talking
about pirates.”
Turning to Ruth she said, “That’s all Jack has thought of since he heard
we were coming to Hong Kong.”
The boys shrugged as Jenny continued, “I just bet you two were talking
about pirates, now weren't you?”
Jack grudgingly admitted they were guilty. “Well, to tell you the
truth, we were,” he said with a grin. “Tim says there aren’t pirates
here any more, but there are smugglers. Even though our chances of ever
meeting any smugglers is just about nil, it sure would be exciting if we
did!”
“Well”, said Jenny to the others, “if there is any chance that we would
meet smugglers, it will happen when Jack’s around. He always seems to
get into the middle of things. Our Mom is always praying that God will
watch over him and keep him out of trouble.”
“You mean you pray about such things? Where do you do that? At the
temple?” asked Ruth inquisitively.
“We don’t have temples like you do in Hong Kong,” answered Jenny, “but
we do have churches where people pray. But you know what? You can pray
anywhere and anytime to Jesus, and He hears our prayers.
“You mean you don’t have to go to the temple...oh, I mean a church, to
pray? How do you do that?” asked Tim. “We have to go to the temple and
light some incense and clap our hands to get the attention of the gods;
sometimes I wonder if they hear us. You haven’t been to a Buddhist
temple, have you?”
“No, we haven’t” replied Jack and Jenny together. “But we have seen
some
pictures Mr. Whitehead sent to us” added Jack. “It looks very different
from our church. But there is a greater difference than just the images
of Buddha. When we pray, we know God hears us, and He does answer
prayer.”
“Well, how do you pray without incense and gongs?” asked Tim again.
Jack drew a deep breath and shot a silent prayer to Jesus to help him
with this question. Then he responded, “When we pray, we just tell Jesus
what we are thinking and needing, and we trust Him to answer our prayer
and help us. And we can pray anywhere because Jesus is everywhere and has
all kinds of power to do anything.”
Now Tim’s eyes got wider and wider with surprise as he asked, “You mean
anyone can pray to Jesus about anything, and He gives real answers? That
sure is different than when we burn the incense sticks. My Mom says we
hope Buddha hears our prayers, but none of us are sure he does. It would
be nice to know for sure my prayers were heard!”
Ruth’s eyes were sparkling with excitement as she said, “You must be
kidding. You mean Jesus knows all about you even when you are in Hong
Kong and he will hear your prayers from here?”
“Yes,” agreed Jenny, “He can hear anyone’s prayers from any
place in
the world. That’s because He’s everywhere at the same time.”
Seeing the interest that Tim and Ruth had in prayer, Jack continued,
“There is one thing that is very important to remember. Jesus answers
the prayers of the people who believe in Him as their Savior. When people
believe in Him, they become His children and He takes care of them better
than our parents take care of us.”
Ruth looked bewildered and a little disappointed as she searched Jack
and Jenny’s faces for an answer. “Well then, that means I could not pray
to Him because I am not one of His children. It makes me feel sad that
you Americans have this special God who loves you and helps you, but we
Chinese are left out. I would give anything to have a God who hears my
prayers. You two must be very happy that you have such a very special
God.”
“Oh, Ruth”, Jenny replied with anxiety in her eyes and voice. “He is
very special and He is the best friend I have. When I need His help, I
just ask Him to help me, and He is always there no matter where I am.
But you know what? He loves you, too, and He wants you to be His child.
He wants all of the Chinese people everywhere to be His followers. He is
not just the God of Americans. He wants to be your God, too. When you
receive Jesus into your heart, you will become His child, too. Then you
will be able to pray to Him and get real answers, too.”
Tim shocked Jack and Jenny by turning to Ruth and saying, “I wonder if
Mom and Dad ever heard anything like this, Ruth? I bet they would like to
know for sure that their prayers are being answered. Mom always seems so
sad even after she prays at the temple. I wonder what they would think
about this Jesus?” Turning to Jack, he continued, “Would you tell our
parents about your Jesus?”
“If they would like to hear about Jesus, I’m sure our parents would be
happy to explain more about Him. I’ll ask my Dad to do that, okay?”
“Thank you,” replied Tim. “I can hardly wait to tell them about your
Jesus. And I hope you will tell us all you can about Him while you are
here.”
“We sure will” responded the twins with excitement. “We sure will!”
Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Carlton came strolling along the beach and called to
the children, “Children, it’s time to return home. We better pack up our
things now. We can come back another day.”
Jack and Jenny were bubbling with excitement and wanted to tell their
mother about the conversation on prayer, but they waited patiently until
they were back home. Then they both tried to tell her excitedly about
their good news.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute. One at a time,” she said above the noisy
voices of her twins. “Now what’s this all about?”
They each took turns and told the whole story.
“Mom, do you think you and Dad will be able to talk to Tim’s parents
about Jesus?” asked Jack.
“We would love to do that, Jack,” she replied, “when the opportunity
arises. It really is exciting to hear that our prayers are beginning to
be answered already. I am sure your Dad will be very happy to hear this
news. One thing we must do. We must just keep on praying for the Lord to
give each of us the opportunity to share our faith. Then we will have to
trust the Holy Spirit to speak to the hearts of the Chen family so that
they will understand and receive Jesus into their lives.”
“I know the Lord will answer our prayers,” said Jenny with confidence.
“And I know this is going to be the best vacation we’ve ever had.”