Suen Douh Camp Hong Kong

I mentioned on my previous blog that one of the things that inspired me the most to go back to Hong Kong was to visit a place called Suen Douh Camp. It was an estate that was purchased for $1 that was donated by a 14-year-old girl. The property is located in Fan Ling, New Territories, east of Hong Kong. I heard about this incredible story from several Christian messages on YouTube particularly by Michael Ramsden (the International Director of RZIM and one of the founders of the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics (OCCA), England.

There are various articles in print and online about this story, for this blog I would like to share with you the article ‘When God Made You: One of Our Inspirational Devotions’ by Paul and Peggy Schlieker on this link www.bible-study-lesson-plans.com/when-god-made-you.html:

This is a story of a man named John Bechtel, who grew up as the son of a missionary family in China. In 1966, John and his wife, Donna, were sent to Hong Kong as missionaries to work with young people. Years later, the Lord laid it on John’s heart to start an orphanage. He realised that he and the governor had been in the same class when they were still at school. So he went to visit him; and after sharing old school stories during their meeting, John told the governor what he wanted to do and asked for land to build an orphanage. The answer was no. Not only that, everywhere he went and with everyone he talked to, the answer was always the same.

One day, while he was walking through a particular part of Hong Kong, he discovered an ideal property with a For Sale sign outside. He then contacted everyone he knew in the city, but he couldn’t raise the money to buy the property. No one was interested. An American friend came to visit him. He had heard about his dream and invited him to the United States to do a preaching tour where he could tell the story and try to raise the funds needed.

So John went; and when he returned to Hong Kong a month later, he received a letter from his American friend along with another envelope enclosed. His friend’s letter said, ‘Dear John, we’re not able to raise any money. Out of all the churches you preached in and from everyone you met, we have received only one gift. That gift was in the other envelope.’ When he opened the second envelope, he found the dollar and a note from a girl, saying, ‘Dear Pastor Bechtel, here is my ice cream money for two weeks. Please use this $1 to buy the camp.’

John was so heartbroken; but as he prayed about it, he decided to go and talk to the caretaker of the empty building. He said, ‘Ï would like you to pass this offer to the owners of this building for me to purchase it.’

He handed the caretaker the note from the girl with the $1 bill in it. The caretaker laughed and tossed it aside.

John speaks fluent Mandarin and Cantonese. He insisted that this legitimate offer should be passed to the owners; otherwise, he would take him to court. The caretaker then picked up the letter and promised to pass it on to the owners of the property. One week later, John was contacted by the owners. They told him, ‘We have read that little girl’s letter, and we are so touched we will agree to sell this building to you for $1.’

Since its inception in 1971, the camp has been a shelter to hundreds of orphaned children; and thousands of people have accepted Jesus Christ through this camp.

This story had moved me tremendously in how a dollar became instrumental for the realisation of an enormous project such as this. You can perhaps be a John Bechtel who pursued and exerted his efforts to find all possible ways to achieve his dream, or you can be that girl who gave what she had.

Oftentimes we underestimate ourselves, contented to suffer in silence and even flaunt our inadequacy. Other times, we may act like a damsel in distress, thinking we have nothing to offer or we’re not good enough for something. We’re someone waiting for the knight on his horse to charge onto the scene to provide the answer. If we believe we are created in the image of God (imago dei) (Gen. 1: 27), then we should rejoice. As Pastor Ed Lapiz says, it’s worthless to romanticise being lowly.

‘You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars, you have a right to be here’, so does say ‘Desiderata’.

All throughout history, God uses ordinary people who are willing to listen and do as commanded. He is pleased with those who gave their all, no matter how small it may seem. Therefore, come as you are as God works through our weaknesses. Be a man of faith and action and trust him. Use the little that you’ve got, place it in his hands, and watch it multiply. Blessing follows obedience and that is obedience to whatever is laid on into your heart.

As it turned out, I was not the only one on this particular visit to be inspired by this story. During the following day, on an organised trip to Macau, I told the same story and my own impressions and subsequent thoughts to my fellow travelers in the boat taking us to our destination. I only remember some of the nationalities present, some of whom were from India, America, and Australia.

For some reasons, the couple from Australia got so excited and asked me a lot of questions about the Suen Douh Camp and said they too would like to visit the camp and see what they could probably offer. I just hope they managed to find the camp from the directions I gave them as it’s located in a remote place far from Hong Kong main district. From my hostel in Causeway Bay, it took me more than an hour in three different train rides as well as a taxi ride to reach the camp. However, I did have the forethought to Google the address and printed the map with Cantonese text on it to show to the taxi driver as most of the drivers hardly speak English.

Please click here to learn more about Suen Douh Camp.