Greetings from a very hot, humid Hong Kong! Today the temp has hit 34 degrees with 85% humidity. However, we have had the most beautiful blue skies and starry nights for the past few weeks which has made the heat more bearable!

We wanted to write and give a quick update before the baby arrives which, at this point, could be any day.

Anniversary

Another year has rolled around, this month we celebrated our 3^rd wedding anniversary. We did so with a trip to Disney Land and then a night at the local hotel. The hotel upgraded us to a deluxe room and we took great joy in having a bed which was both long and wide enough for the two of us (in our current bed 2 1/2 is definitely a crowd!).

Work

We have both been busy in our various roles here in Hong Kong. Christy has spent the past few months training and handing over her jobs in the accounts department and the café. Thankfully there are some wonderful people that have been able to take on her work and release her from the positions. We are still looking for a full time café manager to come in and take over the role but in the meantime she has trained 3 interns from local universities to run the day to day work.

There are times when you can't but sense the irony. Tom was working around the site the other day away from his air-conditioned office when he found a thermometer in the building he was working. You may notice the "Ice Warning" label and the temperature. Luckily the ice danger passes quickly in the Hong Kong summer! It does provide a good workout, Tom has sweated off 18kgs since arriving in January.

Tom’s work could keep him busy 24/7 if he let it. He spends a lot of time keeping the basic systems running and trying to improve the efficiency and reliability of other IT systems. In addition to his IT work he is currently working on the new experiential learning activities called the Blind X-Perience. The Blind X-Perience is set in Africa where participants are informed that they have contracted river blindness. The rest of the experience is in total blackness. To compensate for the lack of a visual component a significant sound system is being installed (filling 2 seven foot server racks!) along with various fragrances (smell of goat anyone?). It is an exciting, yet challenging project. The intent of the project is to highlight some of the challenges faced by those who are blind, especially in developing nations.

Baby

The official Baby due date is next Sunday 3rd of August but we are aware that it could arrive at any time. The 9 months have gone very quickly and smoothly. We give thanks that Christy was not sick during our move and travels when we left Oz and has been able to work in 3 different roles since our arrival in Hong Kong. The doctor’s appointments have gone well and the baby has been growing and everything appears to be healthy and in order.

Many people still cannot believe that Christy is 9 months pregnant and the usual reaction is a look of disbelief and a bit of a long stare at her stomach. We guarantee everyone that the baby is definitely ready to come and she is looking forward to completing the 9 months of pregnancy.

Thanks for your thoughts as we head to the hospital as Tom has “applied” (yes a downloaded, mailed in application is required) to be there at the birth and as long as everything is completely normal, they will be letting him in. Please continue to think of us as the system is different, the hospital is very busy (6 women to a room with the babies placed at the foot of the bed) and we are the only foreigners at the hospital as far as we can see.

We will try to notify everyone as soon as we can of the baby news but suggest you check our blog from time to time for updates and photos in the weeks to come.

Baby Support

Many thanks to those who have offered and given support to cover baby needs, it is greatly appreciated. If you wish to help with baby expenses it needs to be put into our personal accounts rather than through Crossroads (please see here for more information). Money given to Crossroads on our behalf, either through GDG in Australia or Helping Hands in the US is solely for our monthly support and, once donated we are unable to access this money.

Should you wish to have a list of specific baby needs, we can supply you with some suggestions/things we are still looking to get. Please contact us.