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.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
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!
Monday, September 29, 2008
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!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, September 12, 2008
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!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
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.
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.
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