Of course, million have left America and gone to live overseas: the
military, business people, the diplomatic corps, missionaries... Yet for each
person or family doing this it is a unique experience. Since most missionaries
from the Lutheran Church sent abroad were fresh out of the seminary we had a
very meager weight allowance for shipment of personal goods: 600 pounds if I
remember correctly. So we had to get rid of lots of stuff including, of course,
our car, almost all furniture, boxes of memories, etc. But it was important to
us that 4-year-old David’s toys make the trip.
The Mission Board travel department was very slow and inefficient in
arranging for our travel and the folks in Hong Kong were ever more anxious for
our arrival; After all, I was an educator and school terms were opening and
teacher-training classed needed to be taught.
So we got it done. Sold or gave away lots of stuff. Made a visit to our
folks in Texas knowing that we would not see any of them for at least 5 years and
aware that some would not be seen again on this earth. But it got done. We were
to go by plane rather than ship. The farewell parties were held, the
commissioning service was well done, the good-by hugs were exchanged and we
were on the Pan Am prop plane with first stop, Hawaii and change of plane. Then
it got interesting. A plane engine failed. Emergency landing at Wake Island turned
out to be a long stopover. The airline was helpful even putting us on a bus and
giving is a tour of the island while the repairs were made. Then off to the
next stop: Tokyo. Again: engine failure. One engine was completely stopped. We
made it to Tokyo, slept a few hours in a hotel and then towere quickly loaded
on a flight to Hong Kong.
Landing at Hong Kong in those days (as many pilots still attest to this
day) was always a challenge. Had to avoid getting into the prohibited air space
of China, stay above the high rises along the landing path and come to a quick
stop before the end of the taxiway which ended right at the Hong Kong ocean front.
Another interesting aspect of the landing: the single taxiway actually crossed
a public highway. When a plane came in for landing a gate game across the car
highway and the planes zoomed down the runway right in front of the line of
stopped cars.
When we landed we had quite a reception. We got off the plane and walked
across the tarmac to the reception area. We still have the picture of little
David all excitedly carrying his suitcase, me in coat and tie and Jane all
decked our in formal dress, hose and hat. A reception committee of both
missionaries and Chinese brothers and sisters were there plus a special greeter
as well. By great co-incidence for the first time in its history the President
(Chief Bishop) of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod was making his first trip
abroad. It was The Rev. Dr. John W. Behnken standing in line to greet us.
We went from that flight of many, many hours directly to a dinner for
President Behnken and a welcome for us. This was an entirely new dining
experience for us all .Traditional Chinese food and service with no knives or
forks, only chop sticks. It was great. And the after-meal activity was very
disturbing. As we exited the not so formal restaurant on Nathan Road we were
inundated with people: emaciated old people, young mothers with babies,
crippled persons, all begging for food, money, anything. We had to push through
them to get to our parked car jamming our way not only through the crowd of
people on the sidewalk but also the never-before seen rickshaws, push carts,
bicycles, taxis and busses,
Two of the women missionaries took
us to their home where we stayed until we found our own apartment. Their
apartment was on Tung Choi Street which was just 20 feet south of Boundary
Street in Kowloon. Boundary Street marked the official boundary between Kowloon
and the New Territories. It marked which land was to automatically revert to
China in 1997. We were the only non-Chinese residents in the area.
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There was no time to waste. Within seven days of our arrival we were
enrolled in Cantonese language classes at Hong Kong University and had a
private language teacher assigned to us, I was teaching a course (through an
interpreter) on Christian Education. Jane played the organ for a worship
service which was all in Chinese and she had to rely on head shakes to know
when to play the hymns or the liturgy. David had to follow the rule: Never
leave the apartment and stay off the furniture inside! We were in a new land!
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