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No-Barrier Worship, No Blocking Love Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 63 www.hohcs.org.hk Vision Prayer : God, together we serve and grow, witness the Gospel and experience Your love. May You be satisfied. Amen. Mission : Through a ministry of holistic care, we strive to share the Gospel and develop a Christian community. In the love of Christ, we deliver our service in a caring, professional and progressive spirit so that the lives of those serving and being served are mutually enriched. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.

Touching Moments

63 DECEMBER 2007 From the Editor If you step outside in December you know that Christmas is coming, from the Christmas decorations in shopping malls to the Christmas lighting on high rise buildings. Christmas tells of the birth of Jesus Christ who brings love and new life to everyone. As a Christian organisation, the Haven of Hope would like to spread the good news of Jesus and develop a Christian community through our services. In the love of Christ, we deliver our services to those people in need so that their lives, whether they are serving or being served, are mutually enriched. In this issue, we share with you the ways in which we realise our mission in our service delivery and how Jesus Christ changes the lives of people and brings blessings to them. May we all find and witness the love of the Lord during this joyful festive season. We would also like to wish you and your family a wonderful and joyful Christmas. 08 11 14 16 20 09 12 15 17 21 Interview No-Barrier Worship No Blocking Love Professional Page The Honey of Life Serve and Care Connecting to God through Prayer Healthy City Ten Years and Beyond - Haven of Hope's Experience in Building First Healthy City in Hong Kong Health Q & A The Impact of Acne

The founder of "No-Barrier Worship", Ms Wance Kwan, (right) made a site visit to Haven of Hope Sunnyside School. 8

A father sincerely prays with his beloved son with love and care. "With Christ in my heart, I have peace and joy in all circumstances." No-Barrier Worship, No Blocking Love After graduating from the Polytechnic University, Ms Wance Kwan began to offer occupational therapy to disabled children. She then furthered her studies and obtained a Master s Degree from New York University, specialising in occupational therapy of children with retarded development. From 1993 to 1999, she worked in Afghanistan as a teaching professor in the Occupational Therapy School at Kabul. From 2002 to 2004, she studied for a Master s Degree in Christian Studies at the China Graduate School of Theology. After graduation, she began to study the Christian beliefs of disabled children and their families What is "No-Barrier Worship"? Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 Parents of children with physical disabilities or mental limitations find it very difficult to bring the children to church to worship or to attend Sunday school. This prompted me, and a group of active brothers and sisters of the Western District Evangelical Church, to start the "No-Barrier Worship". We believe God's great power can overcome all disabilities and His love surpasses human limitations. Disabled children can also come to Lord Jesus to experience His love, peace and joy. No-Barrier Worship incorporated different kinds of sensory experience, body movement and music. We tried to worship and experience God's love together with the children. Haven of Hope Sunnyside School hosted the "No-Barrier Worship" programme from October 2006 to July 2007. The focus group were students under the age of 16. 9

Western District Evangelical church members and Sunnyside School students took a group photo after "No-Barrier Worship" on 12 July 2007. How did you team up with Sunnyside School? With trembling hearts, a team of volunteers started their plan and prayed. An incidental sharing enabled our collaboration with Sunnyside School. The first worship was held in mid October 2006 with a few Christian parents of Sunnyside School. What impact did the project have on volunteers? Members of the No-Barrier Worship Team shared their experiences after the project ended and they have testified to God s greatness. They also broke through their own limitations. Some had changed from resistant attitudes to acceptance, and even missed working with these children. Also, the sincere reaction of the children was encouraging. The most obvious change was that the members better understand what it is like to be like these children. God made use of a group of the seemingly weak to help us understand our own inadequacies. We tried to pass on the message of God's love to the children through body contact by rubbing lotion on to their little hands to let them experience our sincere care and unconditional love. The children demonstrated their acceptance of our love by opening their hands and allowing the strange brothers and sisters to massage them. Similarly, from the simple example of children with pure hearts, we, as adults, can testify to Christ's unselfish love which is fair and without barrier. In what way did you share the experience with parents? On 24 May, Sunnyside School invited the "No- Barrier Worship Team of Western District Evangelical Church members" to hold a live concert, hoping that through testimonies and sharing parents could see God's love and His unconditional grace. We also showed that we can all promote "No-Barrier Worship" and that every child has the ability to respond to spiritual things. The concert comprised of relaxing, friendly and integrated musical activities for students and their families. It was a pleasant day for all. What is your goal for the "No-Barrier Worship DVD Project"? After the completion of twelve successful worship activities we decided to develop the "No-Barrier Worship" DVD, which will be distributed to churches to promote awareness. We hope that the DVD will be like a seed, and we pray that God will lead churches to care about this group and hold their own "No-Barrier Worship" initiatives. Hopefully it will inspire more churches and the community to care about this group of handicapped, mentally and physically disabled children. Just like the mission of the Haven of Hope "With Love, We Serve and Care", we endeavour to deliver our service in the love of Christ. "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." Matthew 18:5 10

The Haven of Hope Hospital, Polly and Rita, her colleague, co-lead "A date with the rainbow." 11

The Honey of Life She views every individual as unique and she treasures every moment spent with them, especially when they raise existential or spiritual questions; communication between souls is valuable and beyond words. 12 Polly Ko works diligently, just like a bee, bustling in the hospital ward, yet she always has time to listen and respond with patience and understanding. Polly wears two hats, one is the Ward In-Charge and the other is the Chairlady of Haven of Hope Evangelistic Fellowship. Despite her heavy workload, she always remains friendly, sweet-natured, neutral and calm. For about 15 years, Polly has dedicated herself to caring for the terminally ill. What drives this "sweet bee" to make "honey" so diligently and with such passion? Polly recalled that as a newly appointed nurse, she discovered she had a natural inclination to care for chronically ill and terminally ill patients; she even spent her leisure hours and holidays to accompany and care for these patients and their relatives. Since 1992, Polly has worked as a home-care nurse for the hospice (now renamed as Palliative Care) care service. She is also involved in the development and running of the day care services, "Innervoice" (a psychosocial support group for day-patients) and "A date with the rainbow" (bereaved self-help group). Recently, she was rotated to work in the ward as the In-Charge.

Spiritual Care In spite of her various positions, she loves and cherishes the relationship with clients. She is committed to caring for the "broken hearted" and shares with them her faith. She views every individual as unique and she treasures every moment spent with them, especially when they raise existential or spiritual questions; communication between souls is valuable and beyond words. to earth', and grateful for Sister Annie's (founder of the hospital) loving footsteps. "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" (Matthew 25:40) Over the years, Polly has witnessed many bereaved families experiencing difficult times, offering support and gradually extending a helping hand to the newly bereaved. Valuable friendships and fellowships often result. Some of the children who were brought up in these families are now grown and have become professionals. The perseverance and the vitality that springs from difficulties and distress amazes. Polly also treasures the time spent with the "Innervoice" group. She was inspired by the terminally ill who still actively participated in group activities, expressing their love and concern towards each other, demonstrating the potential and virtues of life. Nursing Evangelist It may be appropriate to describe Polly as a nursing evangelist. Since she became a nurse she has alsospread the gospel in her workplace. When she assumed the Chairlady post of the Haven of Hope Evangelistic Fellowship in, she encouraged and set up various staff fellowship groups, including Praise group, Bible study groups, Prayer groups and Evening fellowship gathering. She also placed emphasis on patient evangelistic ministry. She is touched by the activity "Bedside hymn singing and good news sharing" staff spend their leisure hours singing and chatting with bed-bound patients. Some patients were moved to tears because of God's love. These were all encouraging and enriching moments for Polly. Polly began to work as a home-care nurse for the hospice care service serving residents of Tiu Keng Leng. With a heart of gratitude Polly is thankful for life's honey such as being a Christian nurse. She is grateful for the different job positions and learning opportunities offered by her boss. She is thankful for having colleagues with a shared vision, thankful for the deepening of relationships with patients, grateful for being 'down Polly (1 st from 2 nd row left) and her colleagues celebrate the Palliative Care Service 20 th Anniversary. 13

From my understanding, the subject represents another meaning, that we should please God From the smiling face of Ms Cheuk, her joy and peace come from God. 14

Connecting to God through Prayer Ms Cheuk, aged 79, has believed in Christ for 15 years. She lives in Tseung Kwan O, near the District Elderly Community Service Centre Sheung Tak Centre, which provides multidisciplinary and comprehensive social services. Her belief has greatly motivated her participation in the centre. For nine years she participated in various activities and as a result developed many friendships. The most impressive activity she has engaged in is as a volunteer hotline counsellor. Whenever she went to the centre she interacted or followed up with other elderly via the telephone. When performing her duty, she shared with them their happiness and saddness. With her support and encouragement, they were spiritually soothed. She said, "The most enjoyable thing is to help other elderly. Understanding that they had come across lots of hardships taught me to be more content and satisfied and to be thankful to the Lord in every way. The experience gave me a broader outlook." In recent years, Ms Cheuk has suffered from arthritic deterioration in her legs and cannot walk or stand for long periods and therefore had to give up her participation in most centre activities. About six months ago, Sheung Tak Centre launched a new monthly activity "Connecting to God through prayer". The programme included singing hymns, prayer and sharing. She said, "From my understanding, the subject represents another meaning that we should please God. Our prayers to God aim at living a holy Christian life in order to please Him." Through the practice of prayer, she has experienced abundant grace from God. On one occasion, she felt great pain in her abdomen and sought medical treatment at the Admissions and Emergency Department of Tseung Kwan O Hospital. She was admitted to the hospital for three days. She had diarrhoea and was vomiting constantly. Normally a sudden illness would cause great anxiety, however Ms Cheuk felt peace and calm. Perhaps this is because she maintained a habit of frequent prayer and attendance of "Connecting to God through prayer" programme in the past. In an emergency situation God granted her the serenity to accept the things she cannot change, as she had handed everything over to Him. Three Haven of Hope District Elderly Community Centres provide the "Connecting to God through prayer" programme, which is meeting physical and spiritual needs. Despite her frail health, it is easy to see from her smiling face the serenity provided by our Lord! District Elderly Community Service Centre provides multi-disciplinary and comprehensive social services for the elderly. 15

16 We actively build partner relationships with different stakeholders. Examples include Healthy Schools, Health Restaurants and Healthy Estate.

Ten Years and Beyond Haven of Hope's Experience in Building First Healthy City in Hong Kong Haven of Hope Christian Service has been serving Tseung Kwan O (previously called Junk Bay) since the 1950's. For more than fifty years, the Haven of Hope has been growing in pace with the rapidly developing Tseung Kwan O (TKO) new town. In 1997, the Haven of Hope decided to make "TKO Healthy City" our service development direction as we stepped into the 21st century. Initiated by a non-government organisation with strong service foundation in the local community, like the Haven of Hope, "TKO Healthy City" adopts a bottom-up approach, in stark contrast to most other "Healthy Cities" around the world that are implemented by municipalities or government bodies. A ten year review of this reveals the Haven of Hope has fully capitalised on such strategic advantages to bring about "Together We Fight Against SAR" campaign in collaboration with government departments, non-government organizations and commercial corporations, it helped prevent the spread of SARS in the community. 17

Inauguration Ceremony of the China Hong Kong Chapter, Alliance for Healthy Cities, Western Pacific Region cum "Healthy Cities" Forum, was held on 14 September 2007. 18 sustainable intersectoral action conducive to the vibrant development of "TKO Healthy City". Knowing, Partnership, Ownership To really make an impact on the health of the local population we need to engage with the various stakeholders of the community. Engagement starts from knowing. To facilitate understanding of the "Healthy Cities" concept we organised seminars, workshops, and publicity events. We have developed our own website and publish newsletters regularly. As people know more about Healthy Cities, we actively build partnership relationships with different stakeholders, such as government departments, commercial corporations, local settings, NGOs, community bodies and individuals. With our interdisciplinary team of dietitians, nurses and social workers, we are able to organise diverse programmes and activities tailored to the needs of the individual settings. Examples include Healthy Schools, Healthy Restaurants and Healthy Estates. In 1999, the "TKO Healthy City" Steering Committee, was established and is comprised of district council members, government officials and representatives of community bodies. This represented a milestone, "TKO Healthy City" no longer belonged to a single organisation but was owned by the entire community. The steering committee was formally incorporated under the Sai Kung District Council in 2002, conducive to sustainable development of a Healthy City. All along, the Haven of Hope remained a major supporter of the Healthy City movement by providing resources in terms of staff and administrative overheads. To sustain intersectoral action with more and more partners, we made a conscious decision not to highlight the Haven of Hope but put all these under the name of the Sai Kung District Council and let the District Council and our partners take the credit. Take the Opportunity to Champion Success Many would agree that the SARS outbreak in 2003, though an unprecedented crisis to Hong Kong, was also an opportunity to bring together various stakeholders beyond the health sector to work together for public health. At that time, the Haven of Hope coordinated the "Together We Fight Against SARS" campaign in collaboration with more than ten governmen t departments, non-governmen t organisations and commercial corporations. This campaign lasted for less than three months and we

managed to achieve the goals of keeping the number of local SARS cases below the territory-wide average, and avoiding the outbreak of SARS within a single building block in TKO. Achieving success within a relatively short time demonstrated to all stakeholders involved that intersectoral action does work. "Healthy Cities" Beyond Tseung Kwan O Since the launch of the first Healthy City of Hong Kong in Tseung Kwan O, more and more districts have joined the movement. At present, more than two-thirds of the eighteen administrative districts in Hong Kong are implementing "Healthy Cities" projects tailored to their own characteristics, though at various stages of development. With solid support from the government, we envision the Healthy Cities movement will bloom throughout Hong Kong. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as well as the 10th anniversary of the launching of the first Healthy City in Hong Kong, the Haven of Hope actively participated in the organisation of the Inauguration Ceremony of the China Hong Kong Chapter, Alliance for Healthy Cities, Western Pacific Region cum "Healthy Cities" Forum, on 14 September 2007 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Mr. Henry Tang, the Chief Secretary for Administration, proudly opened this mass event. More than 500 experts, academics and practitioners from Mainland China, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Macao and Hong Kong shared their strategies and experiences of implementing "Healthy Cities" projects. There was active discussion and sharing among delegates at the parallel sessions where topics included "Healthy Cities in Chinese Communities", "Healthy Settings" and "Social Capital/Mental Health". After the Inauguration Ceremony of the China Hong Kong Chapter officiated by Mr Tsang Tak-shing, the Secretary for Home Affairs, the event was concluded with the live performance of the "Hong Kong - Healthy City" theme song by the Hong Kong Sai Kung Chorus. As the pioneer of the first Healthy City in Hong Kong, the Haven of Hope will continue our endeavour to further the development of Healthy Cities in Hong Kong such that Hong Kong people will enjoy a healthier life. Free copies of "Healthy City-10 Years and Beyond" DVD and Information Kit If you would like to redeem the free gift, please draft your views or feelings about "Sai Kung Healthy and Safe City", together with your name and address and send to us by fax, post or email. We shall send the DVD and information kit to you by post. Only while stock lasts. "Sai Kung Healthy and Safe City" Project Office Address: Units 330-335, Hong Lam House, Tsui Lam Estate, Tseung Kwan O, Kowloon, Hong Kong Telephone: (852) 2623 5517 Fax: (852) 2706 5072 Email: info@saikunghsc.org.hk Website: www. saikunghsc.org.hk Bequest 19

The Impact of Acne Case: Yee was a 16 year-old girl who started to have acne problems after the onset of puberty. The acne problem flared around the time of her period. Yee also had to repeat her form 3 study and she found this stressful, which increased the acne problem. She tried many methods to tackle the acne, including squeezing and trying various creams, but still ended up with a lot of scarring and red marks on her face. Most of us will have the problem of acne when we start our adolescence. Acne will not just bring physical symptoms, but it will also cause social embarrassment and stress. One important message is, from the bad experience of many acne sufferers, that if acne is not adequately brought under control it will cause significant facial scarring. Acne scarring is one of the most difficult areas to treat even with the availability of modern technology. There are certainly effective ways to tackle this problem. Gentle cleansing, adequate moisturising, and effective topical treatment are long-term standard treatment as well as for maintenance. The usual prescribed topical treatments include topical antibiotics, cleansers and topical retinoids. Acne is a chronic disease and medication should last for 8-12 weeks. Treatment options will be various systemic antibiotics and systemic retinoid. Females may try the oral contraceptive as a substitute. The problem of systemic treatment is multiple and significant, therefore extra precaution should be exercised. For example, the use of antibiotics is associated with the emergence of antibiotic resistance. The other treatment options will be chemical peeling and laser treatments. Both can give quick and fast results and therefore can be an option for those who need to reduce the appearance of acne scarring. This new combo mode of treatment incorporating microdermabrasion and medicine infusion is also very effective. A lot of people will enquire about the possible effects from diet. The average diet will not contribute significantly to the development of acne. Nevertheless, it is always beneficial to maintain a healthy lifestyle, avoid cigarettes and alcohol, have regular sleeping hours and do exercise. Question 1: There are many blackheads on my face, is it necessary to tackle all blackheads to avoid acne? Answer : The blackheads are also called open comedones and are not causing acne progression. It is the whiteheads that are occluded and can progress to full-blown disease. Question 2: Why do females have more problems with acne? Answer : 1. The occlusive effect of the cosmetics will worsen the acne by occluding the ducts in the pilosebacceous unit. 2. The periodic flare of the pimples around the perimenstrual period is due to the swing in the hormonal profile. Question 3: What are redheads? Answer: : Redheads are inflamed pimples and can cause pain, itchiness and progress to a large cyst. Therefore, medical treatment should be done separately from acne. Haven of Hope Bradbury King Lam Clinic Dr HAU Ka Lam, specialist in dermatology 21

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