I've posted two brief news reports that I spotted this past week. Both concern the changes occurring in Macau. One report tells us that the population is exploding. For 2006, Macau's population is growing at a rate of almost 6%. This is very rapid growth and clearly is not from births alone. Immigration continues to grow and dominate the dialogue of many people.

The city is coming under increasing pressure from the growing population. Catching a taxi is almost impossible unless you are at a hotel/casino. The buses are increasingly crowded and unpleasant to ride during peak hours. (The other day I had to wait for over 30 minutes as 8 large buses passed my stop without stopping to take on passengers due to being full.)

On top of this population explosion, the economy continues to expand as millions of dollars are dumped into the city due to hotel/casino investment. A friend of mine recently began working as a dealer at the newest casino to open. With a high school degree he is making more than U.S.$1,200.00 per month. These are highly coveted jobs for young people. As such, the whole economy is being stressed. Higher wages lead to higher prices. High wages paid by the casinos mean that small businesses have a difficult time hiring staff. No one knows what to do and the main impression is that the city has a "tiger by the tail" and doesn't know what to do next.

Wow, I just noticed how long it had been since I last wrote anything here. This fall, my time and attention have definitely been elsewhere. Work and life have been rather time consuming. Last night I gave a teaching for a small gathering of folks. The occasion was the weekly continuous worship meeting. The meeting is held every Monday night. It is held at a different location around Macau, moving every two months or so. This meeting has been going on non-stop for several years now. I shared about people who had invested in my life and how all followers of Jesus need to invest in the lives of others. The one thing that tends to hold us back from this is our use of time. Well, it's really our value of time. Time is the one asset that is of highest value because it is fixed commodity. Each of us only has so much time. There's really no way to "save" time the way we can save money for a rainy day. The best we can do is make the most of the time we have. I encouraged the people last night to find someone to invest their time in, someone outside of their family, someone new. It's not easy as routine and busy schedules often stand in the way. But it is possible. I know, because many wonderful people have invested in my life through the years. For that I am very grateful.