Cocktail Reception On Board the U.S.S. Carl Vinson

Tammy and I had the most wonderful evening this week as we attended a cocktail reception on board the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Carl Vinson which is in Hong Kong for a few days.  If you are follower of Beyond the Pale than you may remember that this is the second visit by the Carl Vinson to the territory this year.  In that blog post I chronicled my friend Francis' invitation to the opening night reception and my subsequent (minor) jealousy surrounding that invitation.

I mean,  I want to hang out on an American aircraft carrier walking past rows of F-18 Hornets with a drink in one hand and my beautiful wife on the other... but how.

These receptions are public relations events and in this case it means hosting U.S. Consulate workers, American businessmen, Hong Kong local vendors, visiting military guests of the People's Republic of China etc.  I don't really qualify under any of those categories per se.  

The food was fantastic!

But...as God would have it, He saw fit to fulfill certain desires of the heart so to speak.  And just how did God fulfill this little heart desire of mine you ask?  Well, I got to know a friend here in Hong Kong who has a little say over who gets invited and lo and behold, I received an invitation a couple weeks ago.


So on Tuesday evening Tammy and I headed down to Fenwick pier on Hong Kong Island where the "water taxis" waited to cart us out to the carrier.  The U.S.S. Carl Vinson is really big and as we approached, the serial number "70" was lit up as a beacon cutting through the nighttime sky.

Guests rode the elevator up to the deck

The reception itself is held in the giant hanger bay and the U.S. Navy knows how to do food.  People think the huge American defense budget is all bullets and missiles but they forget the shrimp tables and roast beef carving stations.  But what I really had my heart set on was the chocolate chip cookies.  Yes, you heard me right...

...the chocolate chip cookies.  My friend Francis who attended the last reception said, "Seriously though, nobody has better chocolate chip cookies than the U.S. Navy."  And you know, he was right!  (I had 3)
Besides that high end shrimp and roast beef, it was also nice to have some good old American spicy jalapeno poppers.  Darn they were good and when Tammy wasn't looking I snuck another one!

Reception entrance

One of the highlights of the evening was everyone heading out onto one of the aircraft elevators for a trip up to the flight deck.  Yes, I got to fulfill my dream of having a glass of wine in one hand and my beautiful wife on my arm as we walked past rows of fighter planes.  My childhood always comes back in these moments as most American boys my age wanted to be a fighter pilot at some point as a kid.

Its also fun for us Americans living overseas to have a little "home" turf arrive for a few days.  Chatting with some of the officers is very lively and sometimes, although I usually love the diversity of Hong Kong,  its just fun to talk in "Americanese" about America with other Americans

The evening ended and we headed back out to the ferries that would shuttle us back to the dock but not before we picked up a U.S.S. Carl Vinson T-shirt for Gabriel and a ship photo for my office.

Your mission should you choose to accept it...

I have to end with a special thank you to our friend Christine and her daughter Claire who kindly watched Ethan George for the evening.  This was our first night "out" with a babysitter and knowing he was in such good care allowed us a relaxing evening.

Special thanks to the officers and crew of the U.S.S. Carl Vinson!  Thanks for the work you do and for such a wonderful evening!

USA Trip 2011: New Orleans Lousiana & Boulder Colorado

Just got back from a couple weeks in the United States.  When Tammy and I used to visit the States in the 1990's, we split the time between Detroit (my home town) and Louisiana (Tammy's home state).  Now though our years in Boulder Colorado has thrown another destination into the mix and with the time I had to be away from work limited, something (Detroit) had to get cut. 

Had a great time catching up with family and friends.  Some of the highlights included:

The National World War 2 Museum:  My dad and mom came down from Detroit to spend a week with us in New Orleans with Tammy's family.  My dad turned 70 during the visit so Gabriel came up with the idea of us "boys" taking "grandpa" to something we would all really like: The National World War 2 Museum which you think would be located in Washington DC but is actually to be found in New Orleans Louisiana.  It was the PERFECT birthday present for my dad; to walk with his son and grandson through an

amazing display and multimedia presentation of both the European and Pacific theaters of war.  On top of that there is an amazing 4D movie, Beyond all Boundaries, narrated by Tom Hanks that should be mandatory viewing for all Americans.  What is it about Tom Hanks and WW2 that makes me fight the impulse to stand up and salute?

White Water Rafting in Colorado:  My friend Tre had the good idea for his boys and Gabriel and I to go on a daylong white water rafting trip during our time in Boulder Colorado.  Actually, we drove about 2 hours west into the Rocky Mountains to the town of Buena Vista and from there hooked up with the Buffalo Joes rafting company for a trip down the Arkansas River through Brown Canyon.  We spent the day shooting rapids, diving off rock outcroppings, and enjoying some of the most beautiful scenery God felt fit to place on Earth.  For lunch our guides cooked us the most delicious steak, along with corn on the cob and salad right alongside the river.  Incredible!

A Colorado Rockies Game at Coors Field:  Just before I returned to Hong Kong I had, what is for me, the cherry on top of the dessert; a baseball game at Coors Field.  When we lived in Boulder, we spent many a summer night at Coors Field watching the Colorado Rockies.  I love baseball and would joke that in going to Coors Field I was visiting "my other church."  When Gabriel was a young child he would play on the children's jungle gym while I kept an eye on him, and the game, from the left field foul line.  My game last week was wonderful and the highlight was as I was holding little Ethan George in my arms wearing his little # 2 Tulowinski Colorado Rockies t-shirt, the cameraman caught his cuteness and broadcast us on the giant Jumbotron for 40,000 fans to see.  It was quite a night.

Some other highlights:

• Teaching Gabriel, along with his grandpa and Uncle Trent, how to shoot a gun for the first time
• Eating Chipotle Mexican Grill burritos
• Hanging out with my brother and his family who trekked 10 hours from Salt Lake City to spend a day with us.
• Cajun Fish Fry with Tammy's family in Louisiana
• Going with Tammy up to Flagstaff Mountain overlooking Boulder with breakfast burritos and coffee like we did when we lived there
• Spending quality time with our church friends in Boulder while drinking Friar Smith's Agent Orange I.P.A.

• Spending 3 hours on the tarmac as United maintenance crews tried to fix our plane before my flight to Hong Kong.  They were unable to and I spent the night, courtesy of United Airlines, in San Francisco

 Well, now I'm back in Hong Kong while Tammy and the boys still have ANOTHER WEEK in Colorado.  Yes, one of us has to get back to work...can you guess which one?

Ethan's Dedication & Kingdom Conference with Bill Johnson

Last Sunday was a busy day!  I had to speak at Island City Church in the morning and then race over for the beginning of the Kingdom Culture conference at Queen Elizabeth Stadium...all that while thinking about the 5000 word assignment I had due the day before for which I was granted a small extension. I played the "I had a new baby" card (which is very true) and was granted an additional 72 hours.

The Sunday preach went well (it's always a blessing for me to go back and speak at ICC) and for me the best part was to have everyone gather around as we dedicated little Ethan George to the Lord.  There is something powerful that happens when you pray prophetically over a child believing that God is going to impart anointing even on a newborn.  For me, to hold Ethan out and declare before the congregation that we will raise our child in the precepts of the Lord is like the vow made before witnesses at a wedding.  Gabriel, Tammy, and I did it as a family and it was a special moment.

We then raced over to the conference and were totally blessed. The conference was sponsored by a pan-church organization called City Renewal and was supported by a number of English and Chinese language churches. There are few things Tammy and I get excited about more than church unity and how it can affect a city.

It was great for Tammy and I as we got to connect with some old friends and acquaintances that we knew when we lived in Hong Kong in the 1990's.

And Bill Johnson's teaching?  Put it this way.  I'm not a big note taker during talks.  (Actually if truth be told, I rarely ever take notes)  I jotted down a page of notes from Johnson's talk and realized in many ways it reflected the vision we had for Hong Kong when we were here 10 years ago.  To identify with the city, to be part of it not outside of it.  To create a culture that honors people... and then watch what the Holy Spirit can do...

Of course one funny anecdote, the stadium officials wouldn't let Ethan in without a ticket.  Even though he was newborn, he needed to have a ticket (and the ticket was not particularly cheap)  Finally the event organizers were notified what was going on and arranged for Ethan to have a complimentary ticket to satisfy the stadium ticket takers.  I enclose a picture with Ethan proudly ready to present his ticket at the gate.

Hiking in Hong Kong!

Folk that don't live in Hong Kong often think of it as a hustle, bustle city crammed full of people, buildings, and cars...and...well it is... but its also so much more. Hong Kong is a pretty big place and what people often don't know is that its more than 50% country park. Get a short hop outside the city areas and you find beautiful ocean vistas, rugged mountain cliffs, and systematically marked trails to guide you through them.

This week is Chinese New Year so on Wednesday I had planned for Gabriel and I to go on a "short" hike.   At 8:30 AM Gabriel got up though and fired up the X-Box 360! Something rose up within me as I saw my son about to embark on yet another adventure into the virtual world rather than the real one.

"Get dressed and fill your water bottle...we're leaving in 10 minutes."

Of course I had to endure the initial despise that emanated from Gabriel for the next 60 minutes.

I decided on a nice stretch of a hike on South Lantau Island uphill to the top of the Island where the Ngong Ping Cable car village (and the Big Buddha) was. It was about a 2 - 2 1/2 hour jaunt and I figured we'd have lunch at the top and then either take the cable car or a bus back down.

We took the Park Island bus to Tsing Yi station then caught the MTR to Tung Chung on Lantau. After a little search we found the number 11 bus to Tai O but exited at the Shek Pik Reservoir. Just to the East of the reservoir was the trailhead but it had a large sign and a large brown gate that was chained closed:

"Danger: Due to landside damage this trail is permanently closed."

So I did what most hikers do when they see these things. I went around the gate and started walking.
"Papa, where are you going?"
"On the trail"
"But its says "Danger" Do you want us to get killed?"
"We're not going to get killed...lets go"

As we began to meander up the hill we began to look back and see the reservoir and the sea behind it descending into incredible views from our ever increasing height. Gabriel's attitude softened (as I knew it would) and before long we were having the father-son day I had envisioned. As we trudged along our little "fellowship" covered such conversational topics as God, girls, drugs, and world history.

Because it was a "closed" trail the normal encounters with other hikers didn't happen. The whole morning we passed no one having the trail and the mountainside all to ourselves and finally reaching the top Ngong Ping Village. This is a tourist area of Hong Kong where the largest Buddha in the world has been constructed along with all the restaurants and souvenir shops that inhabit these types of places. We had lunch at Ebeneezers which is an Indian curry fast food chain in Hong Kong. While we were eating I asked Gabriel if he wanted to take the cable car down (expensive) or the bus (cheap)?

"What if we hike the trail under the cable car down?"
" Huh!!" I thought. Was this my X-Box 360 loving son who I practically had to Shanghai to get him out hiking now suggesting we hoof it for another 3 hours back down to the MTR station.

"OK...lets do it"

We finished our curries and headed off for Lantau Hike Part 2. As the cable cars glided over our heads we eschewed such luxury for the thrill of the trail. We quickly discovered though, that although primarily a "decent" back down to the city, the trail went back up at each of the cable car towers so we had a extreme workout of non-stop accent and decent.

Occupants of the cable cars shouted out to us and gave us the thumbs up along the trail no doubt saying, "Look at what those crazy guys are doing!"

About two hours in we ran out of water which made things even more fun! Up....and down....up....and down! This was a lot more than I originally planned but it was now becoming a challenge for both Gabriel and I. At 4:00 PM we finally... successfully...reached the bottom...but then had another 10 minutes to walk before we reached civilization...and a 7-11 where we bought two large bottles of water and downed them while still in the store.

(Gabriel followed it up with a Slurpee)

Anyhow, wish I had a camera, but I pulled a few generic pics from the area off the internet of the area. It was a great day and one we'll do again soon!

Introducing Ethan George Hackman

Just wanted to pause to welcome my new son, Ethan George Hackman. into the world.  Ethan was born 2 days before Christmas on December 23rd at Queen Mary Hospital at 4:13 AM; which means he's been in the world for 26 hours. (OK, it took me a few days to finish this post)

Although I always wanted to have more children, it wasn't happening and you start reaching the age where you begin to accept the fact that you are blessed to have the son you have and to live with that reality.  Then, the summer before last we were back in the States visiting our home church in Boulder Colorado and during a time of prayer a prophetic friend in the church said she felt God wanted to give us another child.  We thought, "Cool".  I mean at the ages of 43 and 38 we weren't exactly Abraham and Sarah, but if it was going to happen, it probably needed to happen soon.

In May this year shortly before our move to Hong Kong, Tammy called me and asked if I could get off work early and meet her at Disneyland.  (We live fairly close to Hong Kong Disneyland and have season passes so the request was not THAT unusual)  We met at the souvenir shop on Main Street and she handed me a stuffed "Pluto" plushie  and said, "Congratulations".  I honestly had no idea what she meant until I saw her eyes water up and nod.  Yep, she found out that morning and wanted to tell me at Disneyland. (How cool is that?)

Fast forward to night before last.  We were watching the Disney movie Enchanted and as usual, I slipped out early to fall asleep.  I had just started to nod off when Tammy came in saying her water had broke.  We grabbed our things, called a cab, and arrived at  the hospital about midnight.  At 1:15 AM with Gabriel sleepily installed in the waiting room I entered the labor room with my doctor's garb on and my "Husband" badge displayed on my chest.

When I entered the room, Tammy was already in a lot of pain.  We had requested an epidural but they needed to get the blood type thing sorted yada yada yada...so she ended up doing the whole birth on gas and a shot (which didn't seem to help that much).  Put it this way, I knew childbirth was painful...but its hard to watch your wife in such agony, and be able to do so little except coach and encourage.

We had not decided on a name having bantered a few around for the last few months.  I was tending toward "Ethan" which is of Hebrew origin meaning "firmness".  Tammy and Gabriel were looking at the name "George" a lot wanting something more traditional and not the latest "fad" name.  Anyhow, at one point when when Tammy was in heavy pain and the mid-wife was encouraging her, she asked what the baby's name was.   I looked at Tammy a little and muttered to the nurse, "Um, we haven't really decided on a name."

At that moment Tammy nearly stood up in the saddle in mid contraction to declare, "HIS NAME IS ETHAN!"

I looked over at the nurse, "His name is Ethan..."

The baby came a few minutes later to immense joy.  Funny story though...after greeting little Ethan into the world, the nurses rushed him off to be tagged and examined.  About 10 minutes later the nurse returned with "Ethan".  He looked...different.  "Excuse me" I asked.  "This baby has a pink tag...is this our child."  The nurse looked at the tags and in horror realized her mistake as she scooted out the door.

I guess all us white people just look alike :)

Before I wrap up...I have to mention our Christmas Eve in the hospital.  Tammy SO didn't want to be in the hospital over Christmas...but things happen.  So Gabriel and I stopped at City Super (market) and got their take away prepared Christmas dinner which for some reason included lasagna and Teriyaki chicken wings along side the Virginia ham (Hong Kong diversity) and brought it up to Tammy's room along with a couple Christmas decorations.  We sat together as a family and watched "Its a Wonderful Life" on a laptop enjoying each other and our newest member.

It truly is a Wonderful Life!

Paintball Friday

Last Friday I and a number of teachers led the Christian youth group from our school, FUSION, to an after school session of "paintball". Paintball is that military style game where you have guns that fire paint bullets (actually a hardened talcum powder) and you essentially run around and shoot each other.

After a 45 minute bus ride we rocked up to the paintball camp which is in a rural area of Hong Kong. As we traveled I thought about how, after all my years in the territory, I am constantly amazed to find little hidden areas of Hong Kong I didn't know existed. At the top of a hill we entered the facility that, at first glace, looked like one of these camps in America where scary militia guys train to fight imaginary enemies. Makeshift firing ranges, guns on racks, military paraphernalia littered the area. These city kids weren't going to know what hit them...

We were given an intro safety meeting and then suited up with camouflage vest, riot helmet, and a very real looking M-16 rifle...the paintball version.

Our first scenario was in a maze of concrete walls and bunkers in the middle of a field. My first "kill" was a 14 year old girl. (Yeah, not exactly my proudest moment) She came out from behind a wall and I fired, hitting her in the leg. I had been told that although the "bullets" were not dangerous, they still hurt and I could tell from her reaction, getting shot was painful.

I turned a corner and confronted a friend of mine who is one of the principals at the school. We both fired...my gun jammed...his didn't. I felt this pain hit my leg and I knew I was "dead". I put my rifle over my head to declare my status and walked out of the scenario. Man, though, my leg hurt. As I write this two days later I have a fair sized bruise at the top of my leg.

That was the ONLY time in the evening I was "killed". We had subsequent scenarios in a "street" setting with cars and other hiding places to find cover in. The sun went down and a single flood light gave enough ambient light to continue.

At one point I was fighting Gabriel's team and I am ashamed to admit it, but I shot my own son. Later he said, "Papa, its like you just came out of the shadows..."




Oh yeah...suddenly all those years watching Arnold, Bruce, and Stallone 80's action movies was paying off.  Many a student (and a teacher or two) were added to my 'body count" that day!

We went on to a "capture the flag" tournament which was a lot of fun and then it was time to go home. But the kids were already talking about the next time they would get to come out and, if they were lucky, possibly shoot a teacher or two.

Hong Kong Anniversary!

This week was a special week for me.  On October 5th it was the 20th anniversary of the day I first arrived in Hong Kong.  Three days later on October 8th, I was introduced to my wife Tammy for the first time.

1990...It had been a crazy long flight but designed to be as cheap as possible. The travel agent had asked me where I needed a ticket to.  "China" I answered.
"Which city?"
"Hong Kong" I replied.
The travel agents tone changed slightly and she said a little gruffly, "Hong Kong is Not China" in a way that sounded more personal than informative, and giving a naive American his first lesson into the geo-politics of the area.  I didn't care, I just wanted a cheap ticket.  I got it but...

...arrived in Hong Kong on a Korean Airlines 747 after a grueling 30+ hour flight that had me going from Detroit to New York, to Anchorage Alaska, to Seoul Korea, and finally to Hong Kong.  I was picked up at the airport by "Toby" the guy that I was going to share a flat with.   He dumped me off in an empty reception area of the church I'd be working at until he had time to take me out to my new digs.

As I sat there, blurry eyed with fatigue and desperately needing a shower, a guy came up and asked me if I was busy.  I nodded that I wasn't.  "Great," he said, "because I need someone to clean the bathrooms."
I thought he was joking...

...he wasn't! 

Not only that, he informed me the church was out of cleaner and I needed to go buy some.  He took me to the window and pointed out at a mass of humanity that was Mong Kok and gave we directions to a little Mom & Pop shop where I could get the cleaner.  He gave me my first Hong Kong dollars, an empty cleaner bottle so I got the right stuff, and shoved me out the door.
Again, I thought he was joking...

...he wasn't!

I came back with the goods after my first (but certainly not my last) excursion into the alleyways of Mong Kok and was promptly put to work by the guy, who I discovered was one of my new bosses.  As I sat their scrubbing toilets I felt it was all some surreal dream and I would be waking up at any moment!  Being a young kid trying to make an impression I convinced myself that they were testing me...that they were trying to see if I was made of the right stuff.  No matter how tired I was or how much I smelled...I was going to show them Jesus in my heart...

Turns out I wasn't being tested...and the boss, well he turned out to, how do I say this polietely, he  just marched to the beat of a different drummer :)  But that was my Welcome to Hong Kong moment! Incidently, I was at a church service recently where a number of churches got together in celebration.  I spotted this guy up on the stage in the worship band.  It had been 18 years since I last saw him...

I didn't go up to say hi! :)



Young Couple



Two days later on Sunday morning I was at my first church service and Tammy (my wife to be) walked through the door.  My first thought was, "Well, this place is finally starting to pick up a little..." 

The next day on Monday I made my first trip into Mainland China bringing Bibles.  I was really excited and when I walked into the office to meet "Jeff" who would be leading me in on my first trip, Tammy was working and I was introduced to her for the first time.  BTW, I made it in with all my Bibles on that first trip and tried to visit the opening of the first  "McDonalds" in China which was on the same day but we couldn't even get close such was the crowd of Chinese eager to get their first Big Mac!

With Gray Hair

This week Tammy and I had an Italian dinner at "Cafe Roma" near our house to celebrate our "anniversary".  I asked Tammy if she thought on that day that twenty years later we would be married, living in Hong Kong, and that she would be 6 months pregnant with our baby?

She replied honestly, "Nope!"

Oh well, I still got the girl!