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.