On Sept 11 2001, night time, I was at work. I was always at work.

My best friend phoned me and told me about the shocking news of the terrorist attack in New York City.

Since I was working in the advertising industry and my biggest client at that time was an airline, my immediate response was to plan how to pull advertisements from Hong Kong and international market. In my mind, the terrorist attack was no more than airplanes crashing into the World Trade Centre, which required me to pull all advertisements under our gentlemen’s agreement with my client.

I did not care about the attack or the many lives being killed.

I was only focusing on my work, my client and myself.

My friend called me cold blooded.

Only when I finished work and read the news again, I was shocked by the attack, and my insensitivity to the world.

I did not know how I became such a cold blooded animal.

In the following week, I went through my darkest hours of my life and felt shameful.

I regret big time and decided to reconnect with the world, and with God.

In the same month, I confessed and shared my deepest and darkest side with my parish priest Fr Yim and enrolled myself to his catechism class, after all these years of loose attachment with God.

My strong desire for God has driven me to seek Him everywhere – in my parish, in His words, in studying theology, in voluntary work and in serving the poor, which eventually led me to a completely different path.

At the age of 40 in 2008, I left the advertising industry and joined the faith-based NGO – World Vision, and became an overseas lay missionary at the age of 43.  

I began my lay missionary journey in Kolkata India, followed by Gode in Ethiopia, and now in South Sudan. I was once lost, but now I am found.

(Last modified: 08-10-2020)