Chasing the Dragon: One Woman's Struggle Against the Darkness of Hong Kong's Drug Dens

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All of them lived in fear of the infamous Triad gangs – even though most of the gang members were just teenagers.

I took away a star because each story was separate from the next, without much of a thread through them. Since each chapter started in media res, sometimes it was disorienting or hard to understand her point. I wish that she included more of her internal struggles and failures, because it felt like she only included success stories and everything worked out perfectly for her (she kind of painted herself as a savior). I also wish she included more at the end about where she is now. No review can encapsulate the inspiration, lessons, and exhortation presented in this testimony of Pullinger's work. Here are a few things that hit me: Immediately, things began to change in her ministry. Although she used the same words and same methods in sharing the Gospel, now she began to see powerful results. As she walked about the Walled City praying in the Spirit quietly under her breath, h earts were miraculously opened and lives changed! Drug addicts and gang members began to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. When she arrived she followed her heart to find the direction for her ministry. Compassion led her into the Walled City, a putrifying maze of opium dens, pornographic movie theaters, brothels and squaller. There she found the offscourings of humanity—people given over to worst depravities, abusing and abused, apparently lost forever.Many addicts who prayed for Jesus’ help found themselves freed of their addiction without going through any kind of withdrawal. It was some time before I realized what had changed. This time, I was talking about Jesus to people who wanted to hear. I had let God have a hand in my prayers, and it produced a direct result. Instead of deciding what I wanted to do for God and asking His blessing, I was asking Him to do His will through me as I prayed in the language He gave me. On loving selflessly: "It was as if God had given me a special love for him and that I was meant to show it, although it was not necessarily an emotion that should or could be returned. This love was for his good; it was quite different from any love for other people that I had before, in which I had always wanted something in return. I had never before loved somebody entirely for his benefit without caring what he felt for me." It wasn’t all roses and kudos; she faced violent opposition from the gangs and apathy from officials and the community but she persevered. Over the decades, she developed St Stephen’s Ministry, which is now an international ministry to drug addicts. Pullinger Recommends The people in Hong Kong had a certain idea of what Christians are liked, and were ashamed to show their sins

A very influential gang member was impressed by her resilience and that she hadn't left the Walled City, so he concluded that she must be serious about Christianity What hideous things come out of a culture in which demons are worshiped: children brought into the world by parents' greed so that they will serve them; children bought and sold or produced simply so the adult will have someone who will worship their memory when they're dead. Women treated as property. Dogs beaten in restaurants while they're still alive so their meat will be tender after they're killed and served to eat.I said to the Lord, it would be worth my whole life if you would use me to save just one of them. I want to be in your purpose.” Pullinger found work teaching in a primary school in what was known as “The Walled City”– a place that was notorious as the most impoverished place in the world. The Chinese called it, “Hak Nam”–“darkness.” Many of the Walled City’s inhabitants could only scratch out a living by slaving in sweatshops under appalling conditions. Others became prostitutes or sold drugs. Upon word that his father was dying, Bibi went to see him in the hospital. When he arrived, his father, who had come off opium himself and become a believer, said simply, "Now that Jesus has made my sons good, I'm ready to go to heaven." He kissed both his sons a tender farewell, but instead of dying, he was healed as his sons prayed for him. A week later, he was discharged. Full Book Name: Chasing the Dragon: One Woman’s Struggle Against the Darkness of Hong Kong’s Drug Den She speaks very frankly of how, once she become famous in church circles, how disappointed Western “voyeurs” she calls the, who come for short term missions are in how hard the work is. They leave disillusioned because they do not understand the serving, feet washing part of Christian ministry.

But the way she brings this gift across even has me questioning my own prejudices (which is always a good thing). The presence of God and the power of Jesus are undeniable in her accounts. The sort of life that seems to me the natural path for a Christian is showing up in what she's doing. Maybe I'm the one who's missing something. The fact that British police (in earlier decades, anyway) recognized the dangers of witchcraft as a punishable offense by the law and indicted criminals accordingly I am not pentecostal. I grew up suspicious of anyone who raised their hands in church. Speaking in tongues, signs and wonders, healings and resurrections were all a bit far for my home church. Even today, I'm still a bit iffy about things like prophetic words and power evangelism. If God want to act in that way, great! But it will take a little work on God's end to overcome my scepticism.

I could have easily done the same but that would have been embellishing the truth. It made me introspect a lot and I ask myself some very tough questions. I’ve learned not to start memoirs, especially memoirs about women who do amazing things in Christ’s kingdom, unless I am in the right frame of mind. Not too depressed, but not too optimistic; an equilibrium of positivity and realism. I feel like this about 3.5 weeks a year on average, so as you may have guessed I don’t read more than one memoir a year. Once Ah Kei became a Christian, he began to tell the good news to his family, who one by one accepted it. Ah Bing's father was so pleased to see the change in his son-in-law that he too became a Christian and was baptized with the Spirit. He threw a lavish dinner to celebrate...Afterward, the father rose to his feet and announced, "Once I was young and now I am old, but never before have I seen a bad man become good. Pullinger writes with humor and flair; she feels within her right to invoke mild sarcasm at times toward the church where it failed to share her burden. While I couldn't give less than five starts for the dramatic impact of this book, there were a few ways in which I'd have liked to see the story improved.