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.