Seeing Taiwan

I have been here for almost four months now but I have had few opportunities to be a tourist, too see any of this new place that I live. This situation was rectified on Saturday with an amazing day of new experiences. First, one of the assistant teachers invited us to her home for a BBQ. We were able to see how a clay kiln is built in the ground and fires made to cook food after rice has been harvested. We spent time learning about our co-workers and meeting their families. We were not able to stay for the meal, but we were able to help build the kiln and hang out with the families. The kids made straw men (winter in Taiwan does not involve snow) and we watched the fires start. It was a great experience but we had to quickly move on.

One of our friends from church, Q, took us to many of the fun tourist places in the area. We went to the Tropic of Cancer, the Aerospace Center, two sugarcane plants, an old rail station, and a natural gas deposit that looks like a waterfall of fire. We spent a great day together seeing all these places.

After the business of all of our work here we forget to take time out to relax and enjoy the world God made. As I sit here typing this, the memories of this weekend fresh in my mind, I thank God for the wonderful island we live on and the people who bless us in this place.

Bazaar Thanksgiving

Today was an amazing day and I wanted to write about it while it is fresh in my mind.

My day started with a trip to Chiayi Girls School. One of my young friends invited me to the school for a Charity Bazaar. Not knowing what to expect, I invited some friends to go and we headed into town. Angel met us at the gate and showed us around. Everywhere we went high school students were selling everything you can imagine from stuffed animals to books to bracelets to tea cups. The classes compete to sell the most. Angel was on cloud nine showing off her foreigner friends. She was so happy to be the center of attention and we were happy to oblige. We, the foreign missionaries, cannot go anywhere without being stopped and talked to be strangers and having our picture taken. This experience was no different but this time, Angel got to share in the attention. Having once been a high school student, I know what a self-esteem boost this can be. Hopefully, my friendship with her can continue to bloosom and she will continue to learn about God and His love for her.

This evening, the Practice Hotel (where I live) hosted an amazing Thanksgiving Feast. All of our Taiwanese friends were invited and DeeDee cooked up a storm. We had every kind of American food we could ever want from turkey and mashed potatoes to stuffing and green beans. It was amazing. We sat and talked with our friends and were able to share with them about our families, traditions, and faith. I had such a great time building new relationships and strengthening old ones. I pray every thanksgiving reminds me of all I am thankful for as this one has.

Thank you God for friends, good food, conversation, and most of all, the reason we gather, for the gift of Jesus and for the amazing love that He gives us.

Modern Dance

Taiwan offers us many opportunities to experience new things. I arrived home after a cathartic trip to Starbucks to an invitation to join some of Team Taiwan for a trip to the Min Hsiung Cultural Center. I was told we would be going to a "traditional Chinese dance show." Excited at the possibility of seeing something of the culture, I agreed with enthusiasm.

Upon arriving at the cultural center, however, I found out that we would be seeing Taiwan's renowned modern dance troupe and they would be preforming not traditional dances but a "frictionless modern dance movement." Ok, I thought, why not? At least it will be something new.

Boy was it! The four male dancers were shall I say scantily clad and covered in baby oil. They preformed primarily writhing around on the ground and wiggling. I am still unaware if there was a plot or story line but it was iinteresting to say the least.

All was not lost! After the performance, the audience was invited onto the stage where there was a plastic mat covered in baby oil. We got to play on it. As always in Taiwan, we were given a special invitation to join the nationals. So, five of us went up on stage and danced in the baby oil. It was a blast.

This was truly a once in a lifetime experience and though it may not have been the greatest performance I have ever seen, it was definitely a great memory to share with my team.

This is Taiwan

In the movie, Blood Diamond, Leo frequently says "TIA- This is Africa." Among the missionaries of Taiwan, we frequently say "TIT- This is Taiwan." Here are the hilarious (though maybe only to the people here) examples from today. This post in dedicated to Anna Meyer.

"Why do those children have guns?"- Some of the high school kids take part in a military type class. They practice with real guns. When I say guns I mean large machine gun looking metal things. This is not color guard my American friends.

"Are they going to keep those spikes up there?" - We are putting in a fire escape thing at CELA. When I say fire escape I don't mean ladders or stairs. Its a rope or it will be. They started building the landing structure today. At the top are these very sharp metal spikes. I don't know why.

A few additions:

"They don't speak Chinese in America?!" and "There are 7/11 in America?!"- We are starting Pen Pals this week and I asked the students to write about differences between Taiwan and America. These were a few of the shocking things my students discovered.

This is Taiwan. Nothing is what you expect and everything is a memory.

Prayer Request

Please pray for my family. As many of you know my mom has Stage 4 Breast Cancer which has been dormant for a number of years now. We found out last week that it is back and spreading. The tumor markers are showing growth in her stomach again. Her abdomen is again filling with fluid and she is in a lot of pain. This week, she will begin a rigorous 8 week course of Chemotherapy. She will be taking that time off of school so she can focus on getting better.

The doctors are not telling us to be positive. Chemo did not work for her last time, it was a complete miracle that she recovered at all. I believe strongly in the power of prayer and I know that God has plans for my mom, she is an amazing servant.

Please pray for her as she undergoes treatment. Please pray for my brother and sister who are living in Austin, for my dad who will be alone in caring for my mom in St. Louis, and for me as I try to deal with all of this so very far from home.

Jesus Loves the Little Ones...

This is Meredith. She is our boss, Callie's daughter. This weekend, the CELA staff took a trip to Kending, a beach resort area on the southern tip of the island. It was an amazing trip. We went to the beach, tried surfing, toured some local history, and went shopping at an amazing night market. It takes about three-ish hou had the joy of sitting next to Meredith for a lot of the journey. Meredith knows very little English but she learns very quickly. She is in my K2 class so she knows some Bible songs and some English sentences. While we were together, I was reminded so much of what Jesus means "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Meredith is the biggest little gospel light I have ever seen. She sings about Jesus all the time. Her favorite song is "Jesus Loves the Little Ones." She would constantly lean over to me and say "Little Ones, Beka" and we would sing. I want to be more like her, easily accepting, loving, and singing about Jesus!

In Kending, I was also reminded of how much God loves us. The picture to the right is a view from our spot on the beach. If God were just some bored figurehead up in heaven, looking for something to do, he could have made the world grey and bland. He could have made it flat and dry. Instead, God wanted to show us his power and love. He made white sandy beaches and green mountians and blue, blue oceans. He have us friends to enjoy these with and time to cherish his creation! God is so amazing!

Missionaries Around the World

I wanted to point out the new side bar on my page. It can get pretty boring for all of you to read about me all the time, really my stories aren't that interesting. So I added links to some of my missionary friends serving here in Taiwan and around the world. I hope you enjoy!

Sometimes I forget...

DISCLAIMER: There are many differences between America and Taiwan. I know this is obvious even to those of you who have never been here but I wanted to get that statement out of the way right away because the rest of this post will be about how American and Taiwan are the same and I didn't want you to think I was completely disillusioned to the differences. Believe me, I know.

Sometimes I forget that I am living and working in a foreign country. When I am with my students or in the office, I can forget that I knew something different once. This is called acclimation, I think. Here are some examples...

1. In America, when a child does something to offend another child and they know they are about to get tattled on, they run up behind the tattler and say "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I said I was sorry!." In Taiwan when a child does something to offend another child and they know they are about to get tattles on, they run up behind the tattler and bow to them saying "Debuchi, Debuchi!" (which means I'm Sorry!")
2. When I am on the street on a scooter or in a grocery shopping, people will often see me and those I am with and say "Megouren." This means American. That's right, they know just by looking at us. Well, the last time this happened a small child walking next to me said "Megouren" and I looked around to see who she was talking about.
3. When I had the coin contest at POPCS, the students who helped me count the money became very excited when they found foreign money. They thought it was so cool and were very excited when I let them keep it. Last Saturday at Youth Group, one of the other missionaries here, Kevin, throw coins on the ground for an object lesson. They were 1NT coins which look exactly like American pennies. Kevin had a big bag of them for the lesson. When the kids picked up the coins, one of the boys came over to me and showed me a shiny penny. He wanted to know what it was. I told him it was "megou yen," American money. He was so excited. He became even more excited when Kevin told him it took 3 of the American pennies to make 1NT coin. (No one had the heart to tell him this was not a positive exchange rate) The boy was enamoured by the coin and took it home to show his friends and family.

These are just a few of many stories I wish I could tell you about tmy experiences in Taiwan. I feel so blessed to be here and watch as the people we work with learn and Christ and His love for them. Sometimes, the light in their eyes is amazing to see, when they understand for the first time.

Sometimes I forget that I am in a foreign country. Then, I drive down the street and I see people outside their shops burning spirit money to give to their ansestors or see an ornately decorated buddhist temple or walk past the giant golden buddha down the street from our school. Then I remember that those this places feels like home, I live in a land polluted with evil. I learned just this week that Chaiyi County (where CELA operates) is only .4% Christian. Then I remember that "I am but a stranger here."

All hope is not lost. Today, we were told by a fellow believer from our church that her 82 year old grandmother had asked to be baptized and a student at Friday Night Bible Study asked for a Chinese Bible to study on her own.

Please pray for the people of Taiwan. Help them to learn through our witness. Praise God for the chances we have to share the gospel. Pray that they are led away from the evil and lies of their folk religion and turn to Christ as the only true God.

Moon Festival

This weekend is Moon Festival, a holiday in Taiwan that is celebrated with barbecues, moon watching, and moon cakes. I still do not understand the origin of this particular festival but it was great to learn about it with my new Taiwanese friends.
After classes were over on Friday night, the national teachers pulled out the little barbecue pits and tried to start fires. Now I should mention that this was a bit of a challenge because we are in the midst of a typhoon; bringing strong winds, rain, and darkness. The picture here is of two of the teachers working over a fire.
When they got the fire started, they began grilling everything imaginable. We had pork, chicken, sausage, shrimp, clams, bamboo...It was all amazing. The most interesting thing I ate was a delicacy called "chicken butt." I think that explains itself. We ate, and ate, and ate. We also had the opportunity to spend time with our national co-workers and their families. It was nice to have the chance to socialize outside the office. We have some amazing people at CELA who are an amazing blessing to us. However, most of them do not know the love of Christ. Please pray for them, and for us that we may be a light to them. It was an awesome experience. I hope to be able to share many more days like that one, in complete bliss, sharing the gospel and spending time with new friends!

My First Classrooms

This is a picture of my very first classroom. It is an E3 (Third Grade) class comprised of 20 eager learners. It was a tearful experience when it was shown to me. It is what I have been working for for so long! I feel so blessed to be in this place working at
CELA so the gospel of Christ can be heard by the children of Taiwan.
It was a new and different experience preparing the classroom for my first day of school. There are no teacher stores or die cut machines so bulletin boards had to be made by hand. I didn't know anything about my students except their names. I organized and decorated as best I could. I even had fun doing it.
Then the students came in for the first time. It was a grand mixture of nerves and energy. My students are great! I am getting to know their individual personalities and quirks.

We will be working and learning together this year. My job is to help them hone their English skills. My real goal for the year will be to show the love of Christ to those in my care so they are open to the Gospel. I will be daily planting and nurturing the seeds of faith. Please pray for these students!

The picture to the right is my kindergarten classroom. In addition to my E3 class, I also teach four K2 (four year old) classes. They are going to be a challenge to say the least. The children are adorable and fairly well-behaved. They are a joy to be around and they make me smile all the time.
However, they do not speak English. Any English. They know the vocabulary we teach them: table, chair, teacher, boy, girl, mom, dad, etc. My job is to teach them basic vocabulary and teach them how to answer questions. My goal with these children (all 80 of them) is to introduce them to the gospel in a way that they can understand. For many of these students, it will be the first time they will have ever heard of Jesus. Please pray that my ministry to them may be meaningful and that I find the right words to show them the Gospel.

Job Descriptions

Have you ever heard anyone say, "this is not in my job description."? When you are a missionary, you don't really have a job description. You do what you are asked to do because you know somehow, it will work toward the goal: bringing people to Christ. In Taiwan, we work as teachers in a cram school. We get to spend a few hours every day with amazing children who I get to tell about Jesus.
As we prepare for the school year to begin, we are readying the school. In the last two days, for the missionaries, this meant we are putting the school library together. Before this year, we had a teeny-tiny library. During the summer, two other branches of CELA closed and we inherited their libraries. This was what we call a mixed blessing. We tripled the size of our library. Praise God!!! The more resources we have, the better we can teach. However, the books were not organized at all and each book was in a plastic bag.
So we fixed it. We took the books out of the bags, organized them into categories and shelved them. It was tedious, time consuming work. By the end we were dirty and tired. We all felt like saying, "this was not in the job description." But we had a good time together and now we have a brand new library!
This whole experience made me think of Jesus (of course!). He had people who asked him to do things that weren't in his job description. He came to seek and save the lost, to die for us, to bring us to God. He did not have to heal the sick, comfort the weak, teach the disciples. He spent every minute of his days helping people in ways we cannot even attempt. He didn't throw up his hands and say "that's not my job."
By improving our library, more students will be able to use it as a resource. As more students become learned in English, they are more able to learn from us of the gospel story and Christ's love for them.
Even things that aren't our job can help the kingdom. I will have to keep remembering this as more and more "odd jobs" are thrown my way.

Week One

Here is the list of new and exciting experiences:

1. The food is pretty much amazing. Everything I have eaten, I have loved! Chicken rice, beef noodles, lemon dwa dwa, shrimp fried rice, fried sweet potatoes... everything has been a feast for the palate.
2. The religion. We have seen so many temples and buddhas. They are ornate, colorful, beautiful. It is very sad to see people with so much passion and excitement for something that is so meaningless and empty. My heart hurts for these people. We have met very few Christians, even among those we work with. Please pray for us as we minister here that our witness may open doors and hearts for the gospel.
3. The sights, The sounds. This island is beautiful! I love the flowers and the trees. The streets are all bright with signs and advertisements (none of which I can read but are still interesting).
We have gone all around Chaiyi and Min Shiung on scooters and have seen many great places. The swimming pools/spas are an amazing sight. The night market is something everyone should experience in their lives. The only thing I can equate it to is the French Quarter in New Orleans times 10,000.

I am falling in love with this place!

Please pray for the people here, for our ministry, and for our immersion.

Waiting

So, here I sit in the office at work while the kids are napping and I realize how difficult it is to wait. I cannot wait to go overseas and begin my "experience of a lifetime." Please continue to keep me in your prayers as I prepare to leave. August 12th is getting closer and closer...only 32 more days!

A few links I wanted you to know about:

LCMS World Missions Blog: http://blog.lcmsworldmission.org/
My prayer card and GIVE NOW page: http://www.lcms.org/NavID=13333

May God dwell in you richly as you live each day for Him!

Missionary Orientation

So, here I am in St. Paul, MN with a group of first year missionaries getting ready to enter the mission field. Over two weeks we are trained on everything from how to handl overseas taxes to teaching English when you don't know the native language. It has been an amazing experience and my head is fairly exploding from all of the new and exciting information.
I have also made some amazing friends. We have learned outreach by hitting the streets and talking to people. Some of us have even spread the Word through Kareoke. God has blessed us with opportunities to experience a variety of cultures right here in our own corner of the world.
I will soon be heading off on this new adventure to Taiwan. We recieved our flight itineraries. Team Taiwan will be leaving August 12th. Please pray for us as we continue our preparations and spend time with all whom we love.
May God bless your comings and goings.