V2Catholic.com A
voice for the poor Edited
by HK prison chaplain
Fr John Wotherspoon O.M.I . 胡頌恆神父
jdwomi@gmail.com
Links,
Search & Archives Imitating
Pope Francis
This
website's anti-drug campaign saves people from going to prison in HK
See & share inmates' letters!
How
campaign began
HK
Indon
Kenya
Malaysia
Nigeria 
Ph 
SA 
S.Amer
Thai 
Tz 
Ug 
EU
HK:how
long prison for trafficking?
.AsylumSeekerHK
Name
& shame
JesusTower
GoodNewsForPoor
Dr
Jesus
China8
SimpleBible
MatteoRicci
Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania: 5 hours behind HK
Tues Jan 14
An amazing day yesterday here in Addis Ababa. I left my hotel at
9.30am, got back at 7pm.
The whole day was spent on meetings with authorities and media. Will please God
produce much fruit. "Authorities" were a National Director and his
assistants; "media" was the country's Number One investigative
journalist
Photos
of flowers growing again in bushfire areas
---------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Genesis
38: Jacob's son Judah had
three sons - Er, Onan and Shelah.
Er married Tamar,
but not long after the wedding, Er died.
So, according to custom, Judah asked Onan to marry Tamar
and have a child for his brother. But Onan spilt his seed each time he slept with Tamar,
so Tamar did not conceive.
Judah then said to Tamar "Wait till Shelah grows up,
and you can marry him."
But when Shelah was older,
he still hadn't been given to Tamar.
So Tamar tricked her father-in-law Judah.
She dressed as a prostitute
and conceived a baby by Judah.
Judah did not know that the woman was Tamar;
her face was covered.
Three months later Judah was told that his daughter-in-law
was pregnant after acting as a prostitute.
Judah followed the harsh local custom and said
"Take her outside and burn her."
But Tamar produced Judah's seal, stick and cord
which he had given to her as a pledge when he had sex with her.
So Judah admitted his guilt and freed Tamar
who gave birth to twin boys.
Dear God, please
help married people to be happy
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
98: Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked
wonders.
His right hand has brought salvation. The Lord has made known his salvation.
He has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love for the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the
salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord all the earth, ring out your joy. Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp,
with the sound of music. Let the sea, the world and all peoples
acclaim the King, the Lord. Let the rivers clap their hands
and the hills ring out their joy at the presence of the Lord, for he comes to rule the earth.
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with fairness.
Lord,
may all peoples in all countries know your love and goodness
Listen
1
Timothy 4.8-10:
It's good to keep fit physically, and even
more important to keep fit spiritually. We have put our trust in the living God. He is
the savior of the whole human race, especially of believers
Jesus, may I keep fit, physically and
spiritually
Matthew
22.34-40: In Jerusalem a religious leader
asked Jesus
"Which is the most important commandment?" Jesus replied
"You must love the Lord your God with all your heart.
And you must care as much about others as you care about yourself. These are the two most important
commandments.
All other commandments depend on these two."
Jesus, please help me love you with all my heart
and care for others as much as I care about myself
Listen
Reflection
on the above readings: Here is Addis Ababa, as in
other parts of the world - including HK - I feel most uneasy about good people
praying in a church while on the nearby streets there are homeless and hungry
people. It's particularly severe here ... every church has a colony of homeless
and hungry people at the main entrance. Only
if we are making a fair effort to help the poor ....at our door .... can we adore!
--------------------
A couple of mornings ago I was awakened around 3am by a
strange sound in the hotel car park below my window (even before the Muslim
morning call around 4.30am) ... a sound I recognized but which took me a while
to identify ... a sound I had rarely heard in recent years ....but which used to
be common last century .... the sound of a car engine starting up after maybe 30
seconds of the driver turning the key! I estimate that 10% or more of
vehicles here in Addis Ababa were born last century!
-------------------------------
Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day:
Sun: Africa
Mon: Europe,
Russia
Tues: South
Asia
Wed: East
Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia,
Pacific
Frid: South
America
Sat: Cent, N America
Jesus,
today, Tuesday,
please bless the people of
South
Asia
And praying for
prisoners in one
part of China each day of the month:
On this 14th
of
the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Jilin
And praying for one of
the world's poorest countries
each day of the month:
On this 10th of the month, Jesus
please bless the people of ETHIOPIA
!
And praying for one
Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Tuesday,
please pacify Boko
Haram
----------------------------
----------------------------
Mon Jan 13
Hello again from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. Yesterday after I
finished a long and complicated computer job (a report for authorities and media
here) I went with a kind taxi driver to look for two locations. We found the
first but not the second. Many taxi drivers and other locals and even Google
could not find the second one ... a job for someone else. Thanks to Google I
learnt yesterday that there's a main road in Addis named after each of the 54
nations in Africa. A lovely gesture by Addis. Yesterday I felt like I'd been on a safari around a large
part of Africa!
Guinea-Bissau
a transit point for drug trafficking
As
a media student I notice how 100% of the blame is being put on Iran for the
shooting down of the Ukranian plane. But would the plane have been shot down if
President Trump had not ordered the assassination of the Iranian military leader
causing Iranian missiles to be fired at US bases ....thereby anxiously expecting US
retaliation ... at the time the plane was overhead?
27
year old Ethiopian woman facing death penalty in China for drug trafficking
God bless you Serena! Serena
donates NZ winner's cheque to Aust. fire victims
------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Genesis
37: Jacob loved Joseph more
than his other sons
because Joseph was the son of his old age.
Jacob had a special coat of many colors made for Joseph.
Joseph's older brothers were jealous of Joseph and hated him.
Joseph had a dream: he became a famous person.
This made his brothers hate him all the more.
One day, when the brothers were looking after their sheep
in a distant place,
Jacob sent Joseph to see how they were.
When the brothers saw Joseph coming
some of them wanted to kill him.
Eventually they sold Joseph to some slave traders
for 20 silver pieces.
The slave traders took Joseph to Egypt and re-sold him there.
The brothers told Jacob that a wild animal had killed Joseph.
Jacob was heart broken and mourned Joseph all the time.
Dear God, please
help me not to be jealous of other people
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
96: The Lord is king, let earth rejoice,
the many coastlands be glad.
Cloud and darkness are his robes.
His throne is justice and goodness. The skies proclaim his goodness.
All peoples see his glory. Let those who serve idols be ashamed.
Let all creation worship the Creator. Light shines forth for good people
and joy for the upright of heart. Rejoice in the Lord, all good people.
Give glory to his holy name.
Lord, you indeed are God of the
universe
Listen
1 Timothy
4.1-7: Don't be surprised if some people come up with
strange ideas about how to live life. Satan and his friends are always
trying to sow lies and deception in the Lord's field of truth. Have nothing to do with strange ideas like
"marriage is forbidden" or "you are not allowed to eat
certain foods". Everything God made is good, and no food is to
be rejected, provided grace is said for it. The word of God and prayer
make food holy
Jesus, please help me remember to say a little
prayer before I eat
Listen
Matthew
21.12-16: When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, he went to
the Temple.
In the Temple there were money changers, and people selling pigeons. Jesus tipped over their tables
and drove them out of the Temple.
He said to them "My house is a house of prayer,
but you have turned it into a place for robbery". Blind and lame people came to
Jesus in the Temple.
He healed them all. Then he went out of the city to
the village of Bethany
and spent the night there.
Jesus, please protect all
places of prayer from corruption
Listen
Reflection
on the above readings: A prayer before meals,
addressed to Jesus:
Unseen
Guest at every meal,
you who multiplied loaves and fish,
may our hearts your presence feel
as we pray you bless each dish
-------------------------
On
yesterday's trip across a large part of Addis Ababa, I saw many signs for the Awash
Bank. Money laundering?
--------------------
Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day:
Sun:
Africa
Mon: Europe,
Russia
Tues: South
Asia
Wed: East
Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia,
Pacific
Frid: South America
Sat: Cent, N. America
Jesus,
today, Monday,
please bless the people of Europe
& Russia
And
praying for prisoners in one
part of China each day of the month:
On
this 13th of
the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Jiangxi
And
praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 13th
of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Mali
And praying for one Islam-related intention
each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Monday,
please pacify I.S.
-----------------------
----------------------
This
website's anti-drug campaign saves people from going to prison in HK
See & share inmates'
letters! How campaign began
HK
Indon
Kenya
Malaysia Nigeria
Ph
SA S.Amer
Thai
Tz
Ug
EU
HK:how
long prison for trafficking?
AsylumSeekerHK
Name
& shame
JesusTower
GoodNewsForPoor
Dr
Jesus RicciCenter
China8
I am in Africa ... where
sometimes the internet is not working. If v2catholic.com website is not updated
each day as usual,
please check FB: v2catholic.com for an explanation. Ethiopia, Kenya &
Tanzania are 5 hours behind HK
Sun Jan 12
Hello once again from Addis Ababa ("New Flower") which
used to be called Abyssinia ... and which was founded in 1886 by an Empress
while her husband the Emperor was away on a military campaign.
Yesterday I visited a Nigerian cafe and had a most interesting conversation with a very friendly (good) Nigerian man. I also spent much time at the computer compiling a summary of much information about the 20 drug mules I know of who got their drugs here in Addis. Here as in Thailand and Malaysia, there has been a crackdown on Nigerian Drug Lords.
Pope's
address to Ethiopians in Rome! (but the quote about "Rome being
home" might not have been such a great choice since c. 40% of Ethiopians
are Orthodox! Muslims are c. 30%, Protestants c. 20%, Catholics c.1%)
The
poor in rich HK struggle to survive
Bushfires
------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
c.f. readings for The Baptism of Jesus
Isaiah
41-42: The Lord says to his people
Israel: "I have chosen you. I have not rejected you. Do not be afraid, for
I am with you. Stop being anxious and worried. I am your God. I give you
strength and help. Here is my servant whom I uphold, my
chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have endowed him with my spirit
that he may bring true justice to the nations. He does not cry out or shout
aloud. He does not extinguish the wavering flame. I have called him to serve the
cause of right, to open the eyes of the blind, to free captives from
prison".
Lord, please help me understand how "my servant" is Jesus
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
104: Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord God, how great you are. You make the clouds your chariot. You walk on the
wings of the wind. You make springs gush forth in the valleys. They give drink
to all the animals of the field. You make grass grow for the cattle and plants
to provide food for people. You give us wine to cheer our hearts and oil to
make our faces shine. You made the moon to mark the months. The sun knows the
time for its setting. How many are your works, O Lord. In wisdom you have made
them all. The earth is full of your riches and the sea is swarming with life.
All things, great and small, look to you for food. You open your hand, they have
their fill. You
send forth your spirit, and life is created. You renew the face of the
earth. I will sing to the Lord all my life. May my thoughts be pleasing to him.
Bless the Lord, my soul!
01 02
Matthew 3.1-17: About 30 years after Jesus was born, a man began preaching repentance, and baptizing people in the river Jordan. This man was John the Baptist. His message was "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand". John fulfilled the prophecy: "A voice cries in the wilderness: prepare a way for the Lord". John said "I baptize you with water, but one is coming who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit". Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. After Jesus was baptized, the heavens opened, and Jesus saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said
"This is my Son, the Beloved. My favor rests on him".
Jesus, please help me to prepare your way, like John the Baptist
Reflection on the above readings: On this day in previous years, Pope Francis has reminded us to remember and celebrate our day of baptism, just as we remember and celebrate our day of birth (... my baptism: November 3)
Video
commentary on today's readings - in Italian, Chinese, English, and
Spanish
Daniel Daring: Christian, be aware of your nobility (with Chinese text below English text)
-------------------------------
Hour
of Love HK radio program 8.30
pm HK time tonight
- with items about HK prison inmates
-------------------------------
Traffic
here in Addis Ababa reminds me of Dodgem
Cars
------------------------------
Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day:
Sun: Africa
Mon: Europe,
Russia
Tues: South
Asia
Wed: East
Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia,
Pacific
Fri: South America
Sat: Cent., N America
Jesus,
today, Sunday,
please bless the people of
Africa
And praying for
prisoners in one
part of China each day of the month:
On this 12th
of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Jiangsu
And praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 12th of the month, Jesus
please bless the people of Guinea Bissau
And praying for one Islam-related
intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Sunday,
please bless all Muslims in my country
-----------------------
----------------------
Sat Jan 11
Hello again from Addis Ababa where yesterday I went "fishing" with a journalist ... a trip which involved much travelling by taxi .... in traffic that reminds me of Guangzhou in the late 1980's.
"Addis Ababa is the third-highest capital city in the world, at an altitude of 7,700ft (2,355m). Some travelers may experience shortness of breath within the first few days of arriving" - from Here. (But this article says Addis is No. 5)
8
kg of cocaine from Sao Paulo, Brazil seized at Addis airport last September
Bushfires and climate change: News
Corp's denial (this is the reason I cancelled my subscription to The
Australian last year)
This is almost too good to be true - a
new type of food for the future: Saving
our bacon (George Monbiot)
---------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Genesis
35-36: God said to Jacob
"Go to Bethel and live there."
So Jacob moved to the area of Bethel.
Not long after this,
Rachel conceived another baby.
But Rachel died in childbirth.
Jacob named the baby boy Benjamin.
In all, Jacob had 12 sons:
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun
- their mother being Leah;
Joseph and Benjamin
- their mother being Rachel;
Dan and Naphtali
- their mother being Bilhah;
Gad and Asher
- their mother being Zilpah.
Jacob and his family
stayed in the land of Canaan,
the land of his father Isaac.
Esau and his family moved to the land of Edom.
Dear God, please
bless and protect my brothers and sisters
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
96: O sing a new song to the Lord.
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his name. Proclaim his help day by day.
Tell among the nations his glory,
and his wonders among all the peoples. It was the Lord who made the heavens.
Give the Lord, you families of peoples,
give the Lord glory and honor. Bring an offering and enter his temple.
Worship the Lord in his sacred place. Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.
Let the sea and all within it thunder praise. Let the land and all it bears rejoice,
all the trees of the forest shout for joy.
Everyone and everything,
give the Lord glory and honor.
Lord, you are our Creator. We
love and praise you
Listen
1
Timothy 3.1-15:
To want to be a presiding elder is to want to
do a noble work.
That is why the president must be above reproach: He must not have been married more than once.
He must be temperate, discreet, courteous, hospitable, a good teacher, not
a heavy drinker, not hot-tempered, but kind and peaceable. He must not be a lover of money. He must be a
man who manages his family well and brings up his children well. How could anyone who can't manage his
own family
be given responsibility to manage God's family? He should not be a new convert in case he
becomes full of pride. The Church of the
living God is God's family.
The Church is the guardian of the truth
Jesus, please give the Church good leaders
Listen
Matthew
21.1-11: Jesus sat on a donkey colt for the trip down
the hill
from the Mount of Olives to the city of Jerusalem. This was as a prophet had
predicted:
"Look, your king is coming, humbly riding a peaceful donkey".
Big crowds accompanied Jesus down
the hill.
People spread their clothes on the road as a sign of honor. People cut branches from the
trees and waved them singing
"Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of
the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!" People in the city asked
"Who is he?"
The crowd answered "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in
Galilee".
Jesus, may you be warmly welcomed by every place and every person in the world
Listen
Reflection on the above readings: Soon in the Amazon area of Brazil there will be married "presiding elders"
---------------------------
On my first night in the hotel here in Addis Ababa,
I struggled to see the keyboard of my faithful Toshiba notebook ... since only a
faint night light was available. On the second night I discovered that by
turning off the light, then turning it on again ... produced normal bright
light!
------------------------------
Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day:
Sun:
Africa
Mon: Europe,
Russia
Tues: South
Asia
Wed: East Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia, Pacific
Frid: South
America
Sat: Cent. & N
America
Jesus,
today, Saturday,
please bless the people of Central
& North America
And
praying for prisoners in one
part of China each day of the month:
On this 11th
of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Hunan
And praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the
month:
On this 11th
of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Eritrea
And
praying for one Islam-related intention
each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Saturday,
please pacify the
Taliban
------------------------
------------------------
Fri Jan 10
Hello
again from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia where I spent most of yesterday at the
computer or on W/App, mainly for jobs concerning my current trip. Weather here
is beautiful: cool at night and warm during the day. But my body clock is still
following HK time (5 hours ahead of Addis) so I am finding it hard to stay awake
after 8pm Addis time ... and hard to stay in bed after 4am Addis time
This is one way cocaine comes from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Addis
Ababa: Two Nigerians die on flight from Brazil to Addis
HK01
report about Fr Franco Mella's 21 year right of abode campaign (
click "translate" for English)
-------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from Simple
Bible
Genesis 33-34: When Esau and Jacob
met, Esau was friendly and kind to Jacob.
Esau accepted all the gifts of animals that Jacob gave him.
But Jacob continued to be wary of Esau.
Jacob moved to Shechem.
One of the men of Shechem raped
and then wanted to marry Jacob's daughter, Dinah.
Jacob and his sons craftily said they would agree to the marriage
if all of the men of Shechem were circumcised.
The men agreed. But on the third day
while the Shechem men were still in a lot of pain
Jacob's sons Simeon and Levi took matters into their own hands.
They killed all the Shechem men,
because their sister Dinah had been
raped. Jacob did not approve of the killings.
Dear God, please
help women who have been raped
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
95: Come ring out our joy to the Lord.
Hail the rock who saves us. Let us come before him giving thanks.
With songs let us praise the Lord.
A mighty God is the Lord,
a great king above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth.
The heights of the mountains are his. To him belongs the sea, for he made it,
and the dry land shaped by his hands. Come in, let us bow and bend low.
Let us kneel before the God who made us.
For he is our God and we are the people who belong to his pasture.
Lord, you are our Creator. Our
life comes from you. We praise and love you, Lord
Listen
1
Timothy 1.18 - 2.8:
Timothy, my son, as I
give you advice for practical issues, remember how the church elders
prayed over you that you would be a good leader. My
first bit of advice
is that there should be prayers offered for everyone, especially for kings
and others in authority, so that we can live our life of faith in peace
and quiet. God wants everyone to
be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth. There is only one God,
and there is only one mediator between God and humanity, himself a man,
Christ Jesus, who sacrificed himself as a ransom for everyone. In every place, I want
believers to lift up their hands in reverent prayer.
God our Father, through
Jesus your Son, I ask a blessing on the leaders of our world, especially
the leaders of my own country
Listen
Matthew
20. 29-34: As Jesus was leaving Jericho on his way
to Jerusalem,
many people followed him along the road. Sitting by the road were
two men who had become blind.
When they heard that Jesus was going past,
they called out "Son of David, have pity on
us." Some people tried to stop them
from calling out,
but they shouted even more loudly "Son of David, have pity on us."
Jesus stopped and said to them
"What do you want me to do for you?" They
replied "Lord, let us see again". Jesus felt sorry for them.
He touched their eyes and straight away their sight returned.
Jesus, please heal my blind friend ....(name)....
Listen
Reflection on the above Bible readings: Let's put words of 1 Timothy into practice: pray each day for our government leaders ... that's one thing they can't stop us doing!
-------------------------
My computer mouse has become super-charged .... can't
control it ... if I copy something then paste, I get two copies of the paste.
Many other side effects. So, now using finger mouse ....
-------------------------
Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day:
Sun: Africa
Mon: Europe,
Russia
Tues: South
Asia
Wed: East
Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia, Pacific
Frid: S.
America
Sat: Cent, N. America
Jesus,
today, Friday,
please bless the people of South
America
And praying for
prisoners in one
part of China each day of the month:
On this 10th
of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Hubei
And praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the
month:
On this 10th of the month, Jesus please bless the
people of Guinea
And praying for one Islam-related
intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Friday,
please bless all Muslims
----------------------------
----------------------------
Thu Jan 9
Hello
again from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. After you click the map to enlarge it, can
you find Addis? Today I had a media meeting with the aim of exposing the
Nigerian Drug Gang here who are recruiting drug mules from Tanzania and Kenya to
take drugs from Addis to HK. Four
- FOUR! - such mules have been arrested at HK airport in the past week!
Chris
McDonnell
When
the mist clears: 20 - 20 Vision
As we begin a New Year so may we see the removal of the many walls, both real
and figurative, that still divide us.
-------------------------
The Book Blog: 4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from Simple
Bible
Genesis 32:
As Jacob returned to
his own land of Canaan,
he feared that his brother Esau would try to kill him.
So Jacob, always clever and wily, sent messengers ahead of him to make friends with Esau.
The messengers reported that Esau was on his way to meet Jacob
and had 400 men with him.
This news increased Jacob's fears
so he divided his family and flocks into two groups,
thinking that if Esau attacked one group
then the other group could escape.
Jacob also prayed hard to God for protection.
Jacob sent gifts of animals to Esau,
hoping that Esau would be friendly to him.
On the night before Jacob and Esau met,
God appeared to Jacob
and gave him a new name: Israel.
Dear God, please
help me to be kind and clever
Recording
Psalm 94: O Lord, Judge of the earth,
how long will the wicked crush the poor? The wicked say "God does not hear".
But can he who made the ear, not hear? Blessed are those whom the Lord teaches.
The Lord gives them peace in troubled times. When cares increase in my heart,
God's consolation calms my soul.
Lord, when cares and troubles
increase, please help us to trust in you.
Recording
1 Timothy 1.12-17:
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who called me
into his service,
even though I was an offender. Mercy was shown me, because I was acting in
ignorance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save
offenders.
I myself am the greatest offender. Christ Jesus' patience and mercy to me is
available to all offenders.
I am a demonstration model of Christ's mercy
To the eternal King, the only God, be honor
and glory for ever and ever. Amen
Listen
Matthew
20.20-28: The brothers James and John were two of Jesus'
disciples.
One day their mother said to Jesus
"When you become king, allow my sons to sit at your right and
left". Jesus said to James
and John
"Only my Father in heaven can allocate seats on my right and
left". The 10 other disciples were angry
at James and John for seeking honor. So Jesus said to them all
"In most places, people in power like to dominate and control others.
But this is not to be your way of exercising authority. You must exercise authority by
serving others, not dominating them, just as I came not to be served, but to serve,
and to give my life as a ransom for the world".
Jesus, please help me want to help and serve
other people,
not dominate and control them
Listen
Reflection on the above Bible readings: Every church should be a service station
---------------
Last night when I went to the dining room of the hotel where I am staying, I had
an enjoyable chat in Mandarin with some friendly people from Beijing. But then
when I changed back to English to order something, my brain got confused and I
ordered "tomato sauce" instead of "tomato soup"!
--------------------
Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day:
Sun:
Mon:
Tues:
Wed:
Thurs: S.E. Asia, Pacific
Frid:
Sat:
Cent,
Jesus,
today, Thursday,
please bless
the people of
And praying for prisoners in one
part of China each day of the month:
On this 9th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of
And praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 9th
of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Niger
And praying for one Islam-related
intention each day of the
week:
Jesus, today, Thursday, please pacify Al-Qaeda
----------------------------
Usually I remove each day's menu after one week. It can still be accessed on "Archives" (top of this page). But because the menu of Oct 8 has special relevance to HK at the moment, I will not delete the following part of Oct 8 menu for the time being
-------------------------------
Tues Oct 8
The collapse of HK is continuing at exponential speed: Vandals
bring HK to standstill.
Yesterday before midday as I crossed the intersection of Nathan Road and Jordan
Road to join two very special friends for a Yum Cha, I noticed the traffic and
pedestrian lights were not working ... with pedestrians running the gauntlet
between buses, trucks and cars to cross the road .... and vehicles blasting
horns trying to force their way through the intersection .... with not a few
near-misses. I actually made a video of a police car going through the
intersection, but not stopping to help the situation.
More than an hour later when I returned to the same place, after the Yum Cha,
the situation was just as chaotic. So, I went home, got my trusty bush hat, and
went back to the intersection as a volunteer traffic guide .... for which, as
the afternoon went on, many dozens of bus drivers and other drivers waved a
thank you sign to me as they went past. Many pedestrians gave me bottles of
water ... from a few of which I took a few mouthfuls before putting the bottles
at an crossing island.
After about 30 minutes a police car stopped and several policeman told me to stop. I said I'd be happy to stop if they would do the job. They asked me to get in their car. I declined and walked to a footpath. Then I went home for a drink and toilet break. Then went back. Police still not helping. So I went back to work. Having a bus licence (in Australia and formerly in HK) I understand traffic and felt in no danger. Just got tired after another 90 minute stint. With a cramp in my left foot. So I went again to the footpath. Providential timing. Within a minute another police car came and two polite officers and I had the same conversation as above. They told me to go. I said I would go if they would do their job. My left foot and tiredness decided on a trip home, where I had a shower (very hot weather) and rest.
About 6.30pm I went back to the intersection ....as part of a prayer walk ...and was pleased to see 4 (!) traffic policeman on the job. But when I returned around 7pm they were just leaving ....walking away from a dangerous situation. So I ask myself, as on last night's menu: why are police not on the job? Why are they letting vandals have hours of freedom to wreck MTR stations and smash shops? Some people say the authorities want to see HK in chaos so that the PLA can come in and restore order and rule will be from Beijing. To this end, some people even say that some of the destruction is being done by undercover policemen .... maybe from the Mainland since some don't speak HK Cantonese.
Some people say that while the vast majority of protesters are peaceful, there's a small minority of radical vandals whose aim is anarchy. No mainstream media will talk much about this, but in private many people feel that former legislator "Long Hair" Leung Kwok Hung is one of the masterminds of the destruction that "spontaneously" breaks out at the same time at so many locations. Wikipedia's main article (with it's many links) shows he was/is a Trotskyist, anarchist and revolutionary Marxist.
So, the vandalising is maybe coming from more than one source, but it is turning one of the safest and most beautiful cities in the world into a place of destruction and despondency. I felt absolutely gutted last night as I walked down Nathan Road from Jordan Road to Waterloo Road, seeing the trail of destruction ...especially my beloved Kowloon Central Post Office whose doors and windows have been smashed and the front of the building covered in "campaign signs". And I noticed many groups of mainly young people in black carrying umbrellas (on a fine night) heading towards Mong Kok ....trouble brewing there.
Violence just makes things worse. And this is a lesson that the HK government is just not getting. It caused the original peaceful protests (by its crazy extradition amendment) and then by ignoring the peaceful protesters, the govt bred violence, bred radical vandals ..some of whom didn't need much breeding .... they were waiting for a chance to destroy HK. The govt has handed HK to them on a petrol bomb.
Is this all a bad dream? If only. But today is another day .... and how will people get to work and school with the MTR badly damaged and under threat after four nights of destruction (Frid, Sat, Sun, public holiday yesterday for Chung Yeung Festival)? God, please help HK get out of this mess! Please thwart the plans of the wicked!
================
My Africa trips:
2015: Tanzania, Malawi
2016:
Kenya, Uganda
2017:
Southern Africa, Dubai (
The
Last Run)
2018:
My trip to Latin America
2018: My trip to Thailand and Cambodia
March 18, 2018: South China Morning Post report on my work
Dec 2018 - Jan 2019 trip to Malaysia
June 2019: my anti-drug campaign featured in The Malaysia Drug Trade
Oct 23, 2019: FM988 Breakfast program in Kuala Lumpur at which I was a guest
--------------------
Australian Chinese for
Families Association
Gay marriage: an elephant in the room (by John W)
Video:
What "gay
marriage" did to Massachusetts
同志婚姻自2004年立法後，美國麻省的改變
（ 廣東話附字幕版
Frightening
YouTube reports:
LGBT radical impact
on educational institutions (No.
5); LGBT
infiltrating churches
(No. 6); US corporations massively
supporting LGBT agenda (No. 7). What
has happened in the US is now starting to happen in other places. Some
day our children will ask "why didn't you do more to stop this evil?"
--------------------------------------------
Pope's surprise visit to drug treatment centre
Pope is practising what he preaches: "get out and mix with the poor"
HK
readers might like to join me in praying each day for one group of HK
prison inmates: Sun:
Lo Wu; Mon: C.I.C., Siu Lam, Tai Lam; Tue: Stanley
Wed: Hei Ling Chau Thu: Lantau
Fri: Lai Chi Kok
Sat: Hospitals, Pik Uk & other centres
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This website was launched in construction
mode in Hong Kong on November 20, 2011 - the Feast of Christ
the King.
The official launching
was
held on the Gold Coast, Australia, on January 20,
2012.
Map and Flag Counter began Feb 11, 2012. Previous visits 4,932.
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Thank you for checking this website each day. God bless all readers and bloggers!
Fr John Wotherspoon O.M.I. 胡
頌 恆 神 父
jdwomi@gmail.com
HK
mobile +852- 67095674
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ .