Back from Beijing

From Beijing '08

I'm now in Hong Kong, and Joyce and Ava are safely back in New York. We had an AMAZING time. Here's my China album: Beijing '08

We Are Ready

This was the theme song for the countdown to the Olympics, and the same composer is working on the soundtrack for our upcoming docudrama about Eric Liddell.

More photos online

From Hong Kong '08

We've posted more photos from Hong Kong and Macao: Hong Kong '08

In the countryside

Tonight we're a little over an hour away from the thick crowds of downtown Hong Kong. Tomorrow we prep for what's to come.

Touring Macao

Macao was settled by Portuguese, so in addition to Portugese on most signs there is also a very European feel to much of the architecture. I'll post more photos when I can get online with my laptop. This was posted from my Treo.

MasterWorks Macao

Last night, after our presentation, we visited Charmaine Hunter at The Venetian. It's the largest resort of its kind in the world. It's on an island south of Macao, and it has Venice in miniature in its mall area.

Charmaine said how much she missed MWF ( http://MasterWorksFestival.org ) this year and how it grounds her.

Charmaine, in recounting MWF '08, I forgot to tell you that Steve Rooks choreographed a Tango as a part of the theatre department's production of Tartuffe. It was hilarious (as was the plan)!

Soon after arriving here Charmaine was promoted to a position in which she hires and trains performers for all the Sands properties in Macao (which are quite numerous). We're Hoping for continued stamina for her!

More Filipinos

The event went well last night, and our outreach to Filipinos in this region continued, as many in the hosting group were from the north of the Philippines.

Heading for Macao

We're now way out in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor and we have strong cell signal, so I'll report that we're well on our way to Macao now.

Tonight we're going to present our documentary, Olympic Hero in China: The Story of Eric Liddell, and afterward I'll speak.

The Lamma Island limo

Busiest/densest

We heard that Hong Kong has the busiest harbor and densest population on earth. We thought Singapore held the first record and Manhattan (though not NYC) the second, so don't quote us.

We're not overly concerned as we take a ferry to a nearby beach.

The CA of YMCA

Chuck Allison, director of several YMCAs here in Hong Kong, introduced himself to the kids of the sports camp as the CA of the YMCA!

Opening Day

From Hong Kong '08

On opening day of the Olympics I performed Beyond the Chariots for a sports camp for the YMCA.

A profound evening

From Hong Kong '08

On the second night of the Olympics I performed Beyond the Chariots here in Hong Kong. Afterward H. K. Cheng (far right) told what Eric Liddell was like as one of his instructors at the Tientsin Anglo-Chinese College and Rev. Jim Hudson Taylor, great grandson of Hudson Taylor (next to his wife, Leone) told how Eric Liddell helped him and other kids in the Japanese internment camp in Weihsien, China.

Standing in the center are Chuck Allison, director of several YMCAs here in Hong Kong, and our friend Steve Wible, who's been a great connector for us here.

From Hong Kong '08

I've posted more photos to our album, including shots from our time on the streets of Hong Kong with our Filipino friends: click here.

Dim Sum at The Peninsula

a door closed, a Way opened

When I was here in Hong Kong in 2002 we noticed large groups of Filipinos sitting on the ground in public squares. We found out that they are live-in help, so they have no place else to go on a Sunday, their one day off. Our hearts were moved to reach them some how.

Yesterday I found out that my speaking engagements in the two morning services were cancelled. We were disappointed, but over breakfast with the director of the Hong Kong YMCAs, he told us...we should perform for the Filipinos on the public squares!

So we went to the Filipino fellowship and told them what the director had said and asked if they had any ideas. Turns out the teacher of the fellowship had been Hoping for a surprise. So I performed "The People J Knew". There was a woman there for the first time, and she decided she wanted to Know J! Yay! Then we had lunch with the fellowship. Fortified with Filipino fare, we went to the streets, where I performed "The People J Knew" in four different locations.

We had such a wonderful time!

Filipino friends, we'll post more photos later, but for now I hope you'll sign up for our updates: http://RichDrama.com/Updates

On 24 August I'll be back to perform my play ( http://RichDrama.com/Beyondthe Chariots ) and then teach you some dramas we can do on the streets! See you then!

Filled with Hope,
Rich and Joyce

The Games are Open

I'm looking out my window at Hong Kong's nightly light show and at the opening ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics. Joyce, who's getting ready to fly here, said they're not showing it live. So, if you read this before it begins in your time zone, you really must see it! It's breathtaking. Literally thousands of performers in synchronicity telling the history of China. It includes the largest fireworks show in history. The colors, the lights, the spectacle (13 months of rehearsals, 50,000 costumes) is going to be in the world's memory until heaven and earth pass away.

As you watch, may it prompt your heart to Hope for all the Father's best for these amazing people.

An Olympic day!

This afternoon I performed Beyond the Chariots after the closing ceremonies of a YMCA sports camp. Then I joined Amor (far right) and his associates to record voices for a curriculum project. I did a number of kid voices that were, ironically, about the same age as the students for whom I'd performed. So I had 170 examples in my mind's eye.

Amor directed the documentary about Eric Liddell, and he will direct me as Eric when we film the dramatizations in the fall: http://RichDrama.com/Olympics

Now, after some dim sum, I'm going to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics...on TV.

They drink pear in Hong Kong

Survived the typhoon

Yes, I'm safe, and the typhoon cancelled my first engagement, which actually helped me adjust to this time zone in a bit more leisurely fashion. I was doing fine all day, and then at 8pm it hit me and lo, I was dead to the world. That's about the time I would have been engaged in conversation after my presentation. Whew!

Filled with Hope,

Rich

On Aug 6, 2008, at 7:46 PM, Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Olympic Hero in China: The Eric Liddell Story":

Rich, I just saw on the news about the tropical storm hitting Hong Kong. Are you safe?

-Brandon

Posted by Anonymous to The Swingles' Dramatic Developments at 7:46 PM