May 1985.....the Hong Kong Peak is issued by missionaries of the ABFMS. Because this year has been marked IYY, International Year of Youth, several articles in this issue tell about young people God has called to serve Him. The Hong Kong Baptist Mission gives great respect to a growing number of youth assuming increasingly active positions of leadership in our Swatow Baptist Churches. At a recent meeting concerning the churches' responsibility to reach out for Christ, 26 leaders gathered representing six churches and chapels, 9 were under 35 years old. Two years ago such a ratio of youth would not have been possible. At the same time we recognize with gratitude younger missionaries coming to Hong Kong, vibrant and alert to needs and opportunities of service. Becky Trask and the Stephen Beasley-Murrays already make their marks while still in language study. Their youthful pens have sketched their respective contributions to Christ's work in Hong Kong in these pages.
 Your Hong Kong Missionaries met in Conference in January 1985 at which time we paused for a picture. We number 11 career missionaries, one volunteer and five children. Y.E.T. "And How Shall they Hear Without A Preacher?" There is always joy in seeing a person come to know Christ as Savior. And this has been a recurring joy in the lives of many young evangelists the past two years in Hong Kong. The Youth Evangelism Teams' (Y.E.T.) accomplishments owe much to the three part-time staff evangelists who are devoted to reaching out to people in several housing estate areas of Hong Kong. Each of them uniquely responded to God's call to go out to preach the Good News trusting their future into God's hands. Lam Yan Wai, a mother of five children; Chan Kwan Chee, from a strong Christian family from Swatow, China; and Ch,eng Yu Yam, who gave up a stable paying factory job. All work in the Shun Ley temporary housing estate leading a weekly worship service, teaching literacy classes, witnessing, and discipline new believers. They continually praise God for the response of mostly elderly people who, on hearing of Christ's love, accept Him gladly as Savior. These three women first began working with former Hong Kong missionary, June Sutton, two years ago witnessing to people who were willing to hear the gospel. They prayed to be led to at least one person who had a heart ready to hear of Jesus and receive Him. They continue to see remarkable ways of how the Holy Spirit meets the needs of hurting and lonely people, the troubled and sick, and many who are looking for security and hope. God continually meets those needs as these women follow-up in discipline. But an integral part of their work revolves around the Y.E.T. ministry as they give leadership to youth gospel teams during the summer training program (held this year June 3rd-July 26th), and with monthly youth gospel teams year round. The ministry has grown with people of all ages believing in Christ as Savior. Last year 258 persons made decisions adding to the 200+ who previously had believed, and 14 have been baptized. Follow-up discipleship continues. There is a real need for the churches to join in the effort of follow-up. The pressure is great, but the joy is constant! Please pray for these women that Christ will strengthen them for His purposes. There is always someone ready to hear the gospel, but not enough workers to go out and preach to the five million still waiting to hear the. good news. We thank God for these three women who give so much of themselves. Please pray that more Christians will revitalize their faith and respond to the call to preach Jesus Christ. Pray that the churches will send out more workers to preach, because many are ready to hear, and to believe! A VOLUNTEER SPEAKS My name is Amelia Chua. I am currently a second year student in the Master of Divinity program of the American Baptist Seminary of the West in Berkeley, California. I am happy to be utilizing my Master in Public Health Administration with the Kwun Tong Community Health Project of the United Christian Medical Service in designing, administering and evaluating a diabetes educational project. This project, which is a case-control study with the diabetes clinic of Queen Mary Hospital, University of Hong Kong, seeks not only to educate the diabetics in the self-care and control of their chronic disease, but also seeks to discover the most effective process with which to achieve this objective. With an estimated I in 200 people being diabetic, the development of this project has the potential of influencing 25,000 lives in Hong Kong. Most people do not realize the seriousness of a chronic disease like diabetes mellitus because it does not have the imperative nature of acute infectious diseases, yet diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in industrialized societies like the U.S.A. and is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke. I believe that Jesus Christ modeled the wholistic approach in dealing with people. The care and concern that I show must be appropriate to the needs of the poor and illiterate. We as professionals, need to identify with those we serve, in order that our programs are accessible to them not only in terms of time, place and cost but also in terms of their lifestyles, their learning patterns and jargon and their sense of achievement and affirmation. We are the interpreters of the overarching love of an universal God as it touches the daily activities of individuals. This is my ministry as I serve as a volunteer through the American Baptist Mission. UNIVERSITIES IN CHINA SEND TEACHERS TO THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG FOR MANAGEMENT EDUCATION
John Espy One of the critical factors in China's modernisation program is an acute shortage of university teachers who are qualified to teach subjects such as management, accounting, finance, marketing, computer applications, organisational behaviour, production, operations research, etc. to graduate students and to the managers and executives of business enterprises and government organisations. China's leaders are acutely aware of this shortage and are seeking various ways to select suitable poeple and prepare them for teaching in these areas. Some university teachers are being sent overseas for study in well-known universities; overseas experts are also being invited to universities in China for teaching and consultation. Several universities in China have developed close relations with The Chinese University of Hong Kong and have sent some of their teachers to the University for periods of specialised study. In 1980 the Northeast University of Technology (NEUT) in Shenyang (a large industrial city in northeast China) decided to establish a Department of Management Engineering, and they requested assistance from the MBA Division of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 1981 and 1982, I went with several colleagues from the MBA Division to visit NEUT and to give lectures and to advise on matters of administration, curriculum, teaching methods, relations with industrial enterprises, etc. As a result of these visits, the MBA Division agreed to accept several teachers from NEUT as auditors. The first two teachers came during the 1981-82 academic year. In spite of language problems, they did well; they are now holding key Positions in NEUT's Department of Management Engineering. Two other teachers, Mr. Wang Ping and Mr. Sun Minghe came during the 1983-84 academic year. Mr. Wang has recently returned and Mr. Sun has remained in order to complete a joint research project with other teachers in the MBA Division. All four of the NEUT teachers have been highly motivated, industrious and perceptive; they have learned a great deal about the operation of a graduate school of business as well as the contents of their courses. They have contributed much to the MBA Division's Hong Kong students' understanding of China's management problems and of recent developments in China. My experiences with NEUT teachers could be summarized as follows: "Events in China are creating many exciting opportunities for our MBA Division, and we want to do as much as we can with our limited resources. Having qualified teachers from NEUT with us makes it possible for us to provide them with in-depth training in management subjects and to develop meaningful relationships with our counterparts at a major university in China. We get to know the teachers as individuals and to share their interests and concerns." SOME HONG KONG PERSPECTIVES ON RELIGION
Stephen Beasley-Murray "Do you believe in God?" "Oh no," said my friend, "God doesn't interest me. I never think about God." My friend's comment was said sweetly, sincerely and without hesitation. The rest of the people around me by the window at the Kwun Tong Community church nodded their heads in agreement. They were all workers from local factories waiting for the Thursday English class to begin. At that moment they were also helping me to learn Richard the Lionheart's prayer in Chinese. "Day by day, three things I pray, to love you more dearly, to see you more clearly, to follow you more nearly, day by day." I asked this group on a later date to help me write this article. I asked them how they would define religion. My friend mentioned above defined religion as a way of learning to be good. Another thought that religion was anything one believed in. A projection of human experience, wrote another. Others defined religion as spiritual dependence, ways of feeling at ease, of protecting the family and doing good to bring about good consequences, There were two Christians present. Lai Gwang, a self-effacing and unbelievably generous person and also long time lay activist in the urban industrial mission, defined religion as "listening, thinking, seeing and feeling God." The other Christian was rather intellectual. He felt that religion was "the act of discovering the spirit through a process of subjective and objective analysis of experience." The group shared their definitions. It sparked a lively conversation. The students in my religion class at Hong Kong Baptist College were asked to similarly write out their definitions of religion. The following quotes give an idea of their views and of importance to me as a teacher, they give me an idea of what suppositions the students bring to class. Psychological type "Religion satisfies psychological needs such as happiness and salvation. It gives people hope, courage and strength." "Religion is a matter of psychological creation by early men due to fear and love of nature. Rituals and philosophy later developed to create differing religions." Philosophical type "Religion is the ultimate truth, as well as a kind of philosophy. It provides the ultimate values of one's existence." ". . . answers ultimate questions such as where man comes from and going to after death...... God is usually part of the answer. Sociological type "Religion provides the cultural history of people . . ." ". . . a kind of belief that keeps people together or the society in order." Practical type "Religion is just a kind of belief in which you think your prayers are being heard and that you are well protected and understood by someone . . . God". "it is a way to prepare oneself for paradise." ". . . a way to communicate with the supernatural, to ask for blessings, protection and explanation of mysteries . . . . like the arts, it appeals to spiritual desires and is a way to a better life." The most sophisticated definition was "Religion may be the answer of some not-yet-defined phenomenon. It may be the ultimate truth that everyone avidly seeks, a perfect completeness of an incomplete world - a reflection of absolute yearning." The most obviously Christian definition was "Religion is not so much a doctrine as a way of life. For me, it is a belief that there is salvation and love beyond this world, the ultimate truth for existence. Religion is not a dead fact but a living existence." The majority of these students, as in Hong Kong as a whole, have little background in Christian knowledge. It wouldn't even occur to them to believe in God. They are not rebelling but are simply normal Chinese people. Teaching religious courses at Baptist College provides a special challenge. Students have little motivation to learn. Often they resent the compulsory nature of the courses. The faculty also are now faced with the dilemma of having to raise the curriculum to university standards due to new accreditation needs. Actually I feel a special sense of joy and fulfilment teaching and sharing faith with students and friends for whom God is outside their horizon. Since my own conversion from atheism as a student I have had a special sense of vocation to mission with non-theists. I am very grateful to ABC for providing me this context for me to fulfil this aspect of my vocation. Sin in the Pulpit
Keith Tennis Mr. Sin Kam-kong, who is presently serving as pastoral leader of the Tsuen Wan Chapel of the Kowloon City Stwatow Baptist Church, is a good example of the importance of young people sharing their faith by personally inviting their friends to attend the church youth group with them. Mr. Sin was born into a non-Christian family. Besides his parents, his family consists of one brother and one sister. They share a small apartment in a public housing unit in the Tsz Wan Shan area of Kowloon. He attended the Hong Kong schools. When he was in the secondary school, some of his freinds invited him to attend their church youth group with them. Through their friendship and the activities of that youth group he came to experience the love of Christ. He accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior and was baptized, becoming a member of the church. He wasn't content just to attend the meetings and be a member but was actively involved in serving and witnessing to others about his faith. In time, his pastor suggested that Kam-kong attend a seminary. After thoughtful prayer and consideration, he felt that God was calling him to serve, and so he enrolled in the Christian Mission Bible School here in Hong Kong. His aim Was to get training and then go to Japan to serve as a missionary. However, after his graduation from Bible School, he was called to serve as pastoral leader of the Tsuen Wan Chapel. He has committed himself to serve their for at least three years, not only to assist with leading the work and outreach there, but also to gain valuable experience which will enable him to better serve on the mission field in Japan. Mr. Sin has now served at the Chapel for one year, and is finding it a very meaningful ministry. The Chapel shares facilities with a Kindergarten and a Community-Centre, and so he is finding that it is a mission field in itself as he reaches out to the students and parents who are involved in those programs. He has a regular program of visiting in the homes of the parents of the kindergarten pupils, and has succeeded in getting several of the children to attend the Sunday School of the Chapel. Kam-kong particularly enjoys leading Bible study groups and preaching at the Chapel. The attendance at services has grown, with the average attendance now about ninety. The people of the chapel are actively looking for facilities which they can purchase in order to further develop their program and outreach in the Tsuen Wan area. We should be in prayer for this young man and the people with whom he works, that they may know the leading of God as they strive to be faithful in their service in His name. SEMINARY STUDENT PROFILE An encouraging number of young people have chosen to enroll in one of Hong Kong's seminaries. Our Swatow churches have more than 8 seminary students. at present. To give a general profile of such students is not possible. Their backgrounds are so varied. Some go directly into seminary after finishing high school. Some work a few years before enrolling, while others come with University degrees. One finishes her seminary training in the American Baptist Seminary of the West this June and plans to minister to thegrowing number of Chinese in the U.S. Two of our Swatow Baptist pastors are upgrading their education - one part time and one full time. With a maximum of only 17% Christian (including R.C.) in Hong Kong, plenty of people still need to be reached for Christ. Nelson Kung, the son of a laborer, could be a representative of the students choosing the Christian ministry as a second career. After becoming the first Christian in his family through our Chuk Yuen Christian Center program, he joined the Kowloon City Swatow Baptist Church. He showed real progress in his Christian life as a high school student, and scholarship funds made it possible for him to earn his B.A. degree from Sioux Falls College in South Dakota. Well equipt and confident, he returned to Hong Kong and quickly climbed the economic ladder as a commercial trainer. But in 1983 he reaffirmed God's call on his life to use his talents in a church related ministry, so he quit his job and enrolled in Hong Kong Baptist Seminary. Where he will serve after his 1986 graduation remains in God's hands. We should thank God for continuing to call our Hong Kong young people into Christian ministry. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will direct each one into an effective ministry for Christ. A NEW WOMEN'S GROUP FORMED
Estelle Schock On March 27 a new young women's group called Dorcas was formed in the Victory Avenue Swatow Baptist Chapel. About 30 women plus a few children and some mothers and grandmothers from the older women's group had a fine evening of worship and fellowship. Words of encouragement were given by the elders, the association president and other sister church officers. Greetings of several flower baskets added not only beauty and color to the room, but also brought bonds of friendship. It is significant to notice that most of these young women are the product of the chapel's Sunday School, youth groups or choir. Now this new fellowship will be a continuation of their leadership training, a source of future Sunday School candidates for their children, and the nucleus center for the development of Christian home and family life. SHUN TIN CENTRE WORK RECOGNIZED The Shun Tin Christian Children and Youth Centre, which is jointly sponsored by the Kowloon City Swatow Baptist Church and the American Baptist Mission, has been recognized by the Hong Kong Government as having a high quality of work and service to the community. All evaluations of the work have been positive. The Social Welfare Department of the Hong Kong Government has notified the Board of the Centre that they will give a subvention grant to assist with the operation expenses of the Centre. For the fiscal year 1985-86, this will amount to HK$625,000.00 (US$80,400.00), which can be used to pay the staff salaries and administrative expenses. The fourteen members of the staff of the Centre are all Christians, and they see their work as a ministry of Service as well as an opportunity for evangelistic outreach. A Bible study class is a part of the program of the Centre, and though the Centre has been in operation for only a few months at its new location, already they have an average attendance of sixty people at their Sunday morning worship service. WU OI GETS WELCOME ASSISTANCE Somewhat behind schedule but forging ahead, the new dormatories in Long Ke village are being readied for dedication on 17 June this year. Three working groups carry out various phases of the construction, working five hours per day. This allows ample time for Bible classes and therapeudic discussion sessions. Although our resident men (50 now in the village) do all the work, growing interest in this Christian drug rehabilitation program provides invaluable help. Four groups of 20 Hong Kong police Inspectors have each spent a full week helping in our building project. Levi Straus management and factory workers donned their jeans and spent a day wroking with us, Object of their day in Long Ke was actually to present a check for US$7,500 which will cover much of the cost of our fourth dorm. The Royal Air Force helicoptered in a one ton generator on loan to us by the government. The Tacoma, Washington, First Baptist Church donated a new Mazda van and a Xerox machine to Wu Oi. BURMA AGAIN! On his annual pilgrimmage to Burma, Harold Schock was privileged to share in the silver anniversary of a church he helped to start when the Schocks were missionaries there. The seminary student who was selected to help guide a small group of Christians in North Okkalapa in 1960 continues to be pastor of this church now numbering almost 200 Christians. On this same trip Harold witnessed the graduation of 20 students from the Burma Institute of Theology, and the presentation to the Burma Baptist Convention of 300 Burniese New Testaments from an Australian group. Very challenging also was the dedication of a missionary couple from the Rangoon area going to the far NW part of Burma to minister to the Nagas who now number 18,000 Christians. BAPTIST COLLEGE HONORS SCHOLARSHIP DONORS A tea reception held in the Lui Ming Choi library of the Hong Kong Baptist College recently honored the donors to the scholarship fund of the college. The Rev. Keith Tennis, as Mission Correspondent/Treasurer, attended on behalf of the American Baptist Mission. The American Baptist Mission Scholarship at the college is funded through special and specific gifts received from individuals and churches in the United States. During the present academic year, six students at Baptist College are receiving grants from the American Baptist Mission scholarship. The tea reception at the college was used as an occasion for the college officials to express their appreciation to the donors for their support of the scholarship fund. They also took the opportunity to reveal sketches and plans for the proposed multi-million dollar redevelopment of the college campus and facilities which will soon get underway. NORENS DESIGNATED MISSIONARIES TO SOUTHEAST ASIA The Rev. and Mrs. Loren Noren have been designated as missionaries to the Chinese people in South East Asia. Their new responsibilities became effective as of January 1st 1985, and will entail more travel as they visit and participate in mission work in Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore as well as in Hong Kong. They will continue to be based in Hong Kong, though with the new responsibilities, Loren has relinquished his duties as Hong Kong Mission correspondent/treasurer. These have been assumed by Keith Tennis. KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS HELD RETREAT On April 3rd, the teachers of the Moon Lok Kindergarten held an all-day retreat at a camp-site near Fanling, in the new territories of Hong Kong. The Rev. Keith Tennis, who serves as supervisor of the kindergarten, and Mr. Sin Kam-kong, who serves as pastor of the Chapel located in the same building used by the kindergarten, also attended and participated in the retreat. The morning session, led by the principal of the school, Ms. Yung Sut-ming, dealt with the concern of the teachers to know ways in which they can enable the students to more creatively express themselves. Given the limitations of space in the classroom and the size of the class (35 students), each teacher finds it difficult to be creative in her teaching. The afternoon session, led by the Rev. David Ngai, was concerned with the "holistic approach" to teaching and ministry. The teachers in the kindergarten not only hope to impart knowledge, but also seek to be concerned about the personal and family situation of the students. The Moon Lok Kindergarten, which is operated under the auspices of the American Baptist Mission, has 372 students. CHRISTIAN INDUSTRIAL COMMITTEE ANNUAL MEETING The Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee held their annual meeting on March 31st, 1985. The reports related explained how this group has for the past ten years emphasized labor education, dispute counselling, labor law lobbying and labor evangelism, During this past year they provided speakers and teaching material for 200 courses conducted in churches and youth centres. They handled over 7,000 complaints, 6,100 of which were related to dismissal and redundancy. The Christian Industrial Committee handled forty cases each month relating to the rights of industrial accident victims. They seek to be a voice for the voiceless and the powerless. Mr. Lau Chin-shek, chairman of the Committee, said "The gospel is not only calling us to worship. It also requires a commitment to justice and leads us to solidarity with our fellow-man. The two community churches in Kwun Tong and West Kowloon are based on a group of people who worship together, join in the struggle for justice and are concerned for each other." Dr. Stephen Beasley-Murray, an American Baptist missionary, is a member of the Christian Industrial Committee. UNITED CHRISTIAN HOSPITAL DIRECTOR HONORED Dr. E. H. Paterson, Medical Director of the United Christian Medical Service, of which United Christian Hospital is a part, was recently honored with a Doctorate in Social Science awarded by the University of Hong Kong. In expressing his appreciation for the degree, Dr. Paterson remarked that it was an honor given not for him alone but for all who have served to support the vision and work of the United Christian Hospital. They have emphasized the program of having "a hospital without walls." This has never been attempted before in Hong Kong. The staff and volunteers of the Hospital have found ways to creatively get out among the people and give health education. The emphasis has been on prevention of disease and illness through a better understanding of health. Dr. Loren Noren serves as treasurer of the Board of the United Christian Medial Service, and Keith Tennis is on its chaplaincy committee. IP KWOK LEUNG
Interviewed by Harold Schock For 14 years my passion was heroin. My parents had developed a good business in the textile industry and provided a good home for their three daughters and me, the only son. But out of curosity and a wrong group of friends I began to play with drugs, assuring myself that I would never become an addict. But soon I began stealing articles from my home which I could sell to help feed my growing appetite for heroin. Other thefts had me in and out of prison. Private doctors tried to help me; trips to other South East Asia Countries kept me off drugs temporarily. But I would always return to drugs. Finally after six years, my family kicked me out. My longest drug free period was while in prison. One day while in prison, I attended a meeting where I heard about a man called Jesus, the Son of God. He loved me, could forgive me and help me. This I needed. When I learned more, I decided to become a Christian even while still in prison. Though surrounded by high walls and barbed wire, I knew for the first time a joyous freedom. When released from prison this time, I went directly to the Wu Oi Christian Center where I learned more about Jesus from Bible studies and from the testimonies of the former drug addicts living there. I became an avid volunteer in learning and serving through Wu Oi. After being drug free for 15 months, I contacted my father for a reunion. "Father, this is Kwok Leung. I'm off drugs for ever now." "That's what you said last time. Good bye." Depressed, I talked to some staff at Wu Oi. They encouraged me to be patient and continue to trust God and to try again in about three months. So, three months later when I called my father again, he reluctantly agreed to bring the family to a certain restaurant to meet me on a Sunday afternoon. It was so good to see my family again after seven years. I told them how I had found a new power to help keep me off drugs, the power of Jesus Christ. They accepted my witness and we agreed to meet again next month. So we have continued and I thank God our family fellowship has been restored. In the meantime, the church I chose to attend warmly welcomed me. After some time I became especially friendly with a young lady in the church who has become my wife. My whole family proudly attended the Christian wedding. We now have two children. The church has elected me as one of its deacons. Although I had a good job with Far East Broadcasting Company, I wanted work with Wu Oi so I could tell other drug addicts about the new life available to them through faith in Jesus Christ. In January this year I was accepted as a Wu Oi staff. One of my responsiblities is to take a gospel team to prison twice a month to tell the men there about Jesus Christ. That's where I found Christ, so I want to make it possible for others in prison to know about Christ too. Missionaries....
Dr. Stephen and Angela Beasley-Murray
Dr. John and Ruth Espy
Dr. Loren and Ruth Noren
Drs. Harold and Estelle Schock
Rev. Keith and Linda Tennis
Rev. Becky Trask | 
