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.