It’s hard to believe that it has been over 2 months since we replaced the icy roads and snowy skies of Sweden with the balmier climes of Hong Kong, and we are loving our new city!
We were so grateful to receive our shipment around 3 weeks ago now, and it really made our apartment feel more like home, and we are back to it creating music in our home studio set-up!
People often ask us if we feel settled now, and in response I say “more and more each week”. You can easily forget that it’s a big thing to move countries, and this time for us continents(!), and to begin to navigate a new culture. Interestingly, I feel that there is less of a language barrier here than in Sweden, because English is so prevalent in the business culture that exists here. And I love that Hong Kong is also a real mesh of East meets West! I need to get working on my Cantonese though… hhmmm…
Hong Kong is a city like no other and we find ourselves enjoying the buzz of city-life we realised we had been missing since leaving London 5 years ago.
And then there’s the nature: The juxtaposition of the city and nature is like nothing I have ever experienced in the UK or Sweden, or for any length of time while travelling. Here in HK, you really can take a short taxi ride out of the bustling city and be surrounded by nature within minutes, with no trace of the skyscrapers that Hong Kong is renowned for…
We’re getting out and about exploring the city and its surrounding islands and here are a few pictures from our recent trip to Lamma Island, which is just a short ferry ride away…
I also love our local market on Graham Street where I head to stock up on fresh produce…
Now we are settled my hope is to blog more about our Asian adventures, so until next time…
As you may have seen a few weeks back, I have already alluded to the fact that Ben and I are going to be moving away from Sweden in January… and yes, in just a few short weeks we will be!
This year has been a huge journey for us in our faith: we’ve been exploring various directions and one thing has become abundantly clear – working and serving in church ministry is where we feel called to next. It is something we have both missed deeply since we left our roles at Immanuel Church and we are really excited to be taking up the position(s) of the new worship / technical directors at Community Church Hong Kong!
Hong Kong is a place that has been on our hearts since we first visited there in 2009 (as seen in the photo below) and over the past few months, we’ve had the privilege of exploring this possibility in more depth. Two visits in recent months later and a series of somewhat remarkable events have led us here… where we have been busily getting things sorted in Sweden, alongside a much needed Christmas break in the US!
Hong Kong visit 2009!
One thing that we love is getting to work together and, as we have done in the past, Ben and I are going to be sharing the role in the church – with me working as worship director (70%) and Ben as technical director (30%). The rest of the time we will be working on our own music, which has seen incredible growth over the past 12 months and we are excited to continue to develop over the coming months and years.
We truly appreciate all your prayers and encouragements as we prepare for this next adventure! Hope to see you in HK!
For us it is the start of a new chapter. One that requires faith from us on a deeper level than perhaps ever before.
If you read my previous blog post you’ll know that for the last few months we have been pushing on various doors, trying to discern where God is calling us to be. For a while we thought that maybe we were being led back into music ministry in a church setting?
And I don’t write that possibility off. At some point, I think we may well be called to serve in a church again. In fact, I now know that we will always work in music ministry… sometimes that will be in a church setting… perhaps sometimes in several churches… and always with our own music. Our own music ministry.
Yesterday was my last day of teaching…
And as of today, we are now fully reliant on income from our our own music and freelance work.
This still sounds a little scary to me but here is what I know…
Our music as Salt Of The Sound and Narrow Skies continues to grow.
God continues to open doors with our music in small ways.
Ben has worked on this full-time for the past year and we have seen considerable growth, and if I can give everything I have too, we hope and trust that our efforts will be multiplied.
I like plans. I like comfort and security. But I am having to let go and trust. So it goes without saying that this is not a decision we have taken lightly. It has required a huge leap of faith – one which we will need to cling to ongoing.
But through taking this leap and trusting fully I have found a peace.
We may not have it all completely worked out but I know it’s going to be good.
We’ve recently launched a Kickstarter – we’d love for you to partner with us if you feel able and help spread the message carried in our music further than we can alone!
We’re so thankful for all of you who support our music ministry at Salt Of The Sound (and more recently as Narrow Skies) – we never thought our music would grow to the extent it has over the last 4 and a half years and God continues to stir in our hearts. We are so thankful for when you can like, share and tell others about our music, and especially to those of you who support us financially through subscribing on Bandcamp, buying our music on iTunes, streaming on Spotify, etc.
This journey hasn’t been easy (but when is anything ever) and we have made many significant life changes and sacrifices to follow this path we feel called to.
Currently, we are trying to discern where God wants us next and would appreciate your prayers as to whether He is guiding us back into church music ministry alongside our music, or whether He wants us to make a change and fully focus on our music.
We have lots of questions and not so many answers and would appreciate your prayers for guidance, peace, wisdom and spiritual discernment.
Yes, 2017 has been a year of big birthdays for us with my Dad turning 60 and Ben turning 30 earlier this year and now, here I was this weekend, celebrating the big 3-0.
Ben and I decided that we would celebrate our birthdays here in Sweden this year, doing things that we otherwise wouldn’t do. For his birthday back in July, we spent a night in a Silver Mine – in the world’s deepest suite in fact. And until a few weeks ago we were unsure of what we would do to mark the occasion of my 3oth when, on a recent trip to the open-air museum Skansen, when my brother and sister-in-law visited, we learned that they offered glass-blowing workshops.
I have a big crafty creative side and glass blowing is something I have wanted to do for a long time – so I booked the day off work, and was excited to try this new technique…
We planned to make an ornament and a glass each. First of all, we made the ornaments…
Then came the glass making time…
Needless to say, I now have an even bigger respect for skilled glassblowers – the blowing part was was a lot harder than it looked… the pros made it look effortless (we did not!)…
…but we were pleased with our makes…
and I continue to be in awe at the beauty that glass can create in the right hands…
The weekend was full of celebration including a wonderful afternoon tea with my in-laws at Ulriksdal Garden Centre (we were enjoying it so much that we forgot to take pictures). And I am so thankful for the well wishes that arrived from around the world in the form of greetings, cards and presents. I may live far away from many of you, but you are dear in my heart.
Oh… and of course we celebrated with a winter-inspired release from Narrow Skies…
Written by Anita on 20th November 2017 in Life, Sweden.
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