February 1966.....the Hong Kong Peak is issued by missionaries of the ABFMS. Christmas in Hong Kong June Sutton gives us a report of her first Christmas in Hong Kong: Christmas trees, golden bells, big red bows, holly leaves, poinsettias, large figures of Santa Claus in shops, on buildings, and along the colony's main streets, told everyone that Christmas was here. Even the communist stores' decorated windows held signs wishing all passersby "the Season's Greetings." In all these colorful displays the central figure of Christmas, the Christ Child, had been left out. It seemed that there was "no room for him." The churches have the task of "putting Christ back into Christmas." This they do by presenting the story of Christ's coming in talks, in plays, and in carol singing. Some of the churches had church-family dinners to which church members and their families came. Before eating the ten or more courses of Chinese food, the pastors explained the real meaning of Christmas. That Christ's coming was for every person was clearly told in the sermons preached at the special Christmas Day services. Children had parts in those services also, dramatizing the story of the shepherds and the wise men who came to worship the Christ Child. They showed also how children today may bring love and worship to him. Some of the roof-top schools presented the good news through concerts and programs. June adds, "Perhaps the most moving experience for me during my first Christmas in Hong Kong was singing the carols with the young people in their own language. Several young people's choirs sang carols on Christmas Eve. It was a particular joy to join my voice with theirs as we sang the Christmas story." Within the mission family, at the weekly prayer meetings, the leaders of the devotional periods drew our thoughts to the coming of the Son of God. We would sing: As with gladness men of old
Did the guiding star behold; So, most gracious God, may we
Evermore be led to Thee. New Opportunities at Chu Lap Kok Island The island called Chu Lap Kok was barren until several families of refugees from the Swatow area were moved there. They settled into small cottages, several of them donated by -Australian Baptists, and gathered for worship and community meetings in a small common hall. Those who saw the island in the beginning days would hardly recognize it now. It has become a garden spot, with small plots producing excellent vegetables, and with pigs which are sold in the city markets. In addition, under supervision of the forestry department of Government, some fifty thousand trees have been planted on the upper slopes of the hills. A new development which is still in the planning stage, is exciting and challenging. Seven large quonset huts, until recently used as headquarters for the Kowloon Traffic Police Department, have been purchased. They will be dismantled and re-erected on the island. The idea is to use part of the southern half of the island for a Christian camp, with accommodations for groups of sixty to seventy people at a time. One of the greatest needs of Hong Kong is for a place where children of under-privileged families may get away for a week or two from the world of concrete and steel of their resettlement estate homes. The Education Department of Government has expressed positive interest in the plan we have proposed. Entire classes of primary school children will be sent to the camp. The teachers will go with the children, and the time they spend in the camp will be credited as part of their education program. During the summer months and at other times of the year, the facilities will be used for youth conferences, and retreats for pastors and church leaders. Hong Kong’s Resettlement Estates When Hong Kong discovered that there were thousands of people who were inadequately housed, it considered two possible plans. The people could continue to live year after year in tiny huts on the hillsides, or onreclaimed land near the ocean, unprotected from severe weather, subject to epidemics and disastrous fires. Instead, Government devised a plan to provide suitable ,dwellings. The development of the enormous resettlement estates" has impressed visitors from all over the world.  The original resettlement "blocks" to be built are seven-story buildings in the form of an "H". Between two and four thousand persons live in each building. Communal washing and latrine facilities are in the cross-bar on each- floor. The rooms are all the same size: 120 square feet for four or five adults. The newer buildings which are sixteen stories high, provide some variety in size of room, and more privacy. Space is allocated according to the number of people living together. When a new "block" is completed, people are moved from their tiny huts to occupy it. Rooftops of these resettlement blocks are occupied by schools or children's clubs run by voluntary organizations under the guidance of the Education Department, or of the Social Welfare Department of Government. Such programs relieve working parents of care for small children during file day, and keep the youngsters actively involved in wholesome activities. The ground floor space is rented out for shops of all kinds. Almost everything can be bought from them or from the nearby market: rice, vegetables, meat and fish, clothing, furniture, medicine, toys. The problems facing residents in such areas are vast. just a visit to a resettlement estate will verify this. The constant noise which becomes a loud murmur, and the lack of privacy, can not help but develop troubled minds. When teenagers must study up on a three-tiered bunk bed to get close to the light bulb, and small children play on the crowded cement floor, when both parents come and go from working in the factories, a wholesome family life is hard to achieve. If you take a drive which winds its way up Kowloon Peak, you can look down on a miniature Hong Kong. The huge estates, which sometimes house up to eighty thousand people, become neatly stacked blocks, with thousands and thousands of tiny windows, Each window means one household. Here in 1966 we look over a vast city and remember the time Jesus sat on a hillside looking down at Jerusalem. We too can feel the pang of people's needs, and pray that somehow we may help. The Knights Arrive The Rev. and Mrs. Frank H. Kinght and their two children, Krista and Marla, arrived in Hong Kong on December 6. They give us the following account of some of their impressions "The city was aglitter with Christmas lights and decorations. This could be any city in the U.S.A. Why had we come half way around the world to serve as Christ's messengers? Under the facade of the decorations, was the spirit of the Babe in the manger to be found? "Away from the tourist traps we found the spirit of Jesus in the selfless help and prayers of the mission families, and our new friends. The generosity Of people who did not know us but still sent us gifts and best wishes was heart-warming. We went with others to Chu Lap Kok and shared a communion service with the families living on that island. Jesus was there, we felt. As we have gone about among the church people, and as Frank has had opportunities to preach, we have felt the warmth of Christian love. "The decorations which were up when we arrived have been taken down. But the spirit underneath that facade is still here. It is for this that we have come." Chung Chi Theological Seminary On the campus of Chung Chi College a site is reserved for the construction of a plant for the Chung Chi Theological Seminary. This school which is still small, is training ministers for Hong Kong and other parts of South East Asia. The present fourteen students are enrolled in the first three years of a five-year course. Three of the fourteen students are Swatow Baptists from Hong Kong. Classes are held in part of the college chapel building, and the students live half a mile away in village-type premise. Better accommodations are badly needed. Plans are ready for an all-purpose building to include classroom and office space, a small chapel, and dormitory facilities for up to forty students. There will be staff apartments also. Affiliated as it is with Chung Chi College, the seminary will enjoy the advantages of the university contacts, activities, and facilities, including the library. A Mountain is Moved Hong Kong has many people crowded into a very small area. Because of this it is necessary to undertake large projects in order to make the maximum use of land and resources, and to provide facilities needed for urban living. These projects include water storage reservoirs, tunnels through mountains, harbor facilities, hospitals, resettlement and low-cost housing estates, hotels, factories, and schools. For example, a U.S. $50,000,000 cross-harbor tunnel connecting Hong Kong Is-land with the Kowloon peninsula has recently been approved, and construction is expected to begin within a few months. One of the most spectacular of the current projects is the removal of a mountain and several hills surrounding Chung Chi College. The soil is being used for an earth dam forming part of. the Plover Cove water storage and supply scheme. About sixty trucks are rolling night and day, taking the earth to conveyor belts to fill barges;. It is an amazing and awe-inspiring sight. This work will be completed during 1967 and the site will then be turned over to The Chinese University of Hong Kong for its new campus. Chung Chi College is a part of this new university, and is developing its campus to conform with an overall plan. Buildings recently completed at Chung Chi include a men's dormitory, a staff residence, a classroom building, a stadium, and the president's home. Several other buildings are under construction or on the drawing board. These are indeed exciting days for all concerned with the growth and development of Chung Chi College as a Christian institution of higher education in Hong Kong, and especially for John and Ruth Espy who are in the midst of it all. Harry Wu In 1963 Harry Wu came to Hong Kong from Burma and entered the Chung Chi Theological Seminary. He had had some seminary training in Burma, and had served on the staff of Emmanuel Church in Rangoon. In July 1965, although he had not completed the course at Chung Chi, it seemed best that he break his study for a time. Thus, he started to work with the Audio Visual Evangelism Committee as a member of the staff, giving special attention to the Burma radio program. Late in November Harry entered hospital for surgery. After two operations we are glad to report that he is making excellent progress. Although the convalescence will take time, he is expected to return to his work with the Audio Visual Committee before many weeks pass. Missionaries....
Mr. and Mrs. John Espy
Rev. and Mrs. Frank Knight
Rev. and Mrs. Alvin D. Koons
Rev. and Mrs. Loren E. Noren
Miss Mildred Proctor
Rev. and Mrs. Hugh W. Smith
Miss June M. Sutton | 
