November 2004 Archives

Where can I begin in listing the many things I’m grateful for? This week has truly been one of excitement and just a great time together as a whole team. We’ve had the chance to meet each other, build new friendships and deepen others as well.

Thanksgiving Day for all of us here in Jiji started off with a bang. We headed to McDonalds to get our thanksgiving breakfast. Then we met with the rest of the team in Nantou and started right into our speech competition. After that was finished most of us guys headed to the field to throw the pig skin around. Now I’m not one for football but I have to say it’s a blast. We all came back a little sore and tired but hey it was worth after all scars heal, glory fades, and all that's left are all the memories made. Pain hurts, but only for a minute, life is short so go ahead and live it.

We then got into the turkey. It felt so amazing to sit down with all our friends and share thanksgiving together. The food was perfect, the mounds of pies yes even pumpkin pie was present. I wish some of you could understand how much of a treat it is to even have potatoes let alone salad turkey pie, and stuffing. It took a lot of people and a lot of time to find all the things needed. After all that we moved back upstairs for some skits and songs which provided our drama or I should say entertainment for the evening.

The day was totally awesome and God has just been so good. As I look over this year in his amazing grace bringing me and to Taiwan the way he’s been changing my heart. Bring and giving me a greater love for family and friends.

Well that’s all from us here in Taiwan,

Thank you for all your prayers and letters of encouragement. We are grateful for the time you invest into our lives.

Joshua Smith
Jiji, Taiwan

Well, so far this week hasn’t been all that bad. Nope, not bad at all.

As I’m sure you’ve read the past couple days we’ve been on a vacation this week. We get Sunday to Sunday off for a chance to rest, meet some of the team members out of the other towns, and just have fun.

So, today…what did we do today? Before I get to today I’ll start with last night. Last night Ginger and Mai came over to our house for the night to stay with the girls and catch up on old times. We all stayed up wwwaaaayyyy to late talking and laughing. But you know what? It was fun and pure greatness. Wouldn’t have missed it for the world. There’s just something about sitting with good friends and having a nice talk without a care in the world that will really relax a person. I enjoy hearing the other opinions that people have about subjects and it’s always amazed me how people who seem to get along so well can have very different opinions about a subject. It’s a thrill for me to go back and forth with people about stupid things and also about cool things. So that was last night. Much fun was had by all.

This morning Ginger and I headed out for Shui Li. You might remember Shui Li from a few months ago. That’s where the “Castle” school is. I teach there on Thursday and had mentioned that if anyone wanted to go see the kids from the camps I would take them over there and show them around. Ginger had done the camps with me and so she wanted to go say “hi”. So off we went. As we walked up the stairs Ginger seemed to get more excited as she saw the coolest school in Nantou again. We had arrived there just in time for a 20 min break so we walked around the halls for a bit, while I said “hi” to all my little students and while ginger tried to find some kids who remembered her. We managed to find about 20 kids who remembered her before the bell rang. Soon all the students went scurrying off to their classrooms and Ginger and I left in search of the bus. We had some serious fun to get to in Nantou.

After a quick lunch of McDonald’s on the way we stepped off the bus next to a large open field. Off in the distance we could see about 15 or so crazy white people chasing each other around the field yelling things like “ULTIMATE!!!!” or “LEFT!! LEFT!!! NO…RIGHT!!!”.

Yes…we had found the ultimate field…let the games begin people.

We split the teams up and began to play some really good ultimate Frisbee. For those of you who don’t know it’s like foot ball, soccer, and Frisbee all mixed into one game. It’s a ton of fun and pretty much anyone can play if they can catch or throw a Frisbee. And trust me…with this group you don’t have to be all that good at all. We played for maybe an hour or so before we took a break. After running for drinks we started up again. This is where my day got interesting.

I’ll stop here to say this…If I have any more vacations I’m going to end up killing myself or becoming a cripple I think.

We had just played about 9 points when Chase and I bagan to run after a really long throw. We are pretty much the same speed and ended up getting to the Frisbee at the same time. I thought to myself “self, if you jump and grab the Frisbee you can get it before Chase does”. So I jumped. There was one problem though. My knee said something like “YOU MORON YOU CAN’T DO THAT!!! AAAARRRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!” As my knee then hyper-extended causing a nice bit of pain to run through my leg I collapsed to the ground gritting my teeth. It wasn’t that it hurt all that bad it just scared me to death. You see, about 8 years ago I did something similar to it and ended up doing some bad damage to my knee that still bothers me to this day. I was thinking to myself “great, I’m gonna end up in a wheel chair now.”

Well, to make a long story short it still hurts but I didn’t damage anything. After some ice and cleaning up all the cuts and bruises it’s doing much better and I was even able to go bowling on it tonight.

Ahhh…Bowling…yes…that was….um…funny…yeah…uh…

Me bowling is like watching a water buffalo try to dance ballet with a pregnant elephant. Though I think my bowling looks much worse. I bowled 2 games and got a MMMFFFPPHH both time… oh what? You didn’t hear me? Sorry. I said, “I scored a MMMFFFPPHH.” There did you get it that time?

Anyway, this is just a fast run-through of what we did today. Take care and have a nice one yourself. Wednesday was good and I think you’ll enjoy it.

So until next time,
Daniel
Ji Ji

This week has been a lot of fun already, and it looks like it will continue to bring many good memories. All four teams from around Taiwan are here in Nantou for this week. Sunday we had a church service and fellowship time, as well as shopping for groceries in the afternoon.
Monday we filled with a guy’s football game, a trip to town, a surprise birthday party for Ginger, and various other activities. It has been great to have everyone together, and to get to know people that I hadn’t really met yet. Activities like football and surprise birthdays parties help to draw people together. Monday was a good day.
Tuesday we traveled to Jiji and spent the day there. Between kite making, a scavenger hunt, a very special game I will call “Anthony creation”, and lunch and dinner, and the night market, we had a busy day.
Anthony Bender shared with the team for our devotion Tuesday night. He talked about God’s purpose in things, and how we may not be able to see or understand it now, but it is there. God used it to work in my heart, and I know He touched others as well.
Wednesday, we have an open day, although we have a couple of optional activities that will be going on throughout the day. I look to see God’s hand moving the rest of the week, as I have seen it moving up till now.
Please keep us in your prayers, as we finish out this vacation week, and as we travel back to our respective locations and prepare for teaching again next week.

From Ying Pan this is Chase Hiebsch

“Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Rom. 5:20

Can you imagine an explosion of God’s grace? We all have experience the first part of this verse, “were sin abounded.” Sadly we have all seen sin exploded in over lives with such vile intensity. We cringe at the filthy snow balls of sin which seems constantly to roll over us and those we love.

Can you imagine an explosion of God’s grace? The verse states “where sin abounded grace did much more abound.” If you think the power of sin is dominate in your life just imagine the power of grace. If you think sin has exploded in your life, imagine an explosion of grace!

The whole Taiwan TESOL team is vacationing in Nantou this week. It will be a wonderful week of team building, rest, focusing and processing of the events of the last semester. This is the first time we have all been together as a team. We have been working on clarifying the reasons why we are here realizing what we are doing here in Taiwan.

We are hoping for an explosion of God’s grace. That in the same way sin has abounded here in Taiwan for centuries, God’s grace would exploded and sweep Taiwan like the earth quakes and Typhoons which have brought devastation in the past. We’re learning that the explosion we are praying for will only come through suffering, so pray that we would endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ!

Blessings,
Ben Jacob

Wow! Time is flying by so fast! I can't believe that this year is almost over!

This past weekend we had the Teacher's conference for the Nantou County English teachers. What more can I say then that God is ever faithful!! The conference went very smoothly...well I thought it did! Christina was a little on the nervous side at the beginning, but I think the peace of God calmed her nervous spirit!

I was in charge of doing the Easter session along with Sarah Deluca for it. This session was supposed to cover different aspects of Easter as well as some suggestions on how to teach it. Chase told the Easter Story and through that we were able to share a little bit about our faith in Christ. As he talked I looked around the room and noticed how the teachers were listening attentively to what he was sharing, so perhaps God has used that time in history to plant seeds in their hearts! AMEN to that! I also played an egg tossing game with the teachers. They seemed to enjoy that part of the class. I think we all did! I hard boiled 50 eggs the night before the conference! I'll just say it's a good thing I boiled so many! * giggle*

We were also able to share the Christmas Story with teachers through our “Impromptu" Christmas play that took place at our Christmas party session. Okay...... so the play was a little unusual, but good!

This week we'll be spending time with all the teachers here in Ying Pan! So far it's been fun and encouraging to hear how God is moving all in different parts of Taiwan! The Lord has been so good to us! I know it has blessed my heart to hear the many testimonies from the other teachers. I'm looking forward to the rest of the week!

Over the weekend we were all given the deadline for when King Car needs to know if some of the teachers will be returning for another year to serve. That date is set for February 25th, 2005, so please keep us in your prayers as we follow and receive God's direction for our lives! Thank you so much for all your prayer support and encouraging emails they truly bless, strengthen us and encourage us!

Love from Ying Pan,
Mai

It has been an incredible weekend. We had a teachers conference this past weekend It lasted from Friday morning to Saturday afternoon. The teachers seemed to enjoy it. They said that they learned a lot from the sessions. The conference was a great success.

All twenty-three af the American teachers in Taiwan were there it was first time for many of us to meet each other. It was a busy weekend and I did not have a ton of time to talk to all of them, but I was able to talk to some of them for a short amount of time. It was encouraging to be with some fellow Christians who I could talk to about the joys and trials that accompany the Christian walk.

I was blessed to be able to hear them share their hearts and to be able to share my heart. It was good to know that we could both relate to each other. I heard about ways that the Lord was growing people in their walks with Him. and how He had shown Himself Faithful to them. I think that this weekend was a great success not only because the conference went well but because I was able to spent the weekend with Christians who loved the Lord. God is good to put these people in my life to grow me and to teach me more about Him.

Please pray about this next week, we all will have the week off. Pray that we will all be encouraged to love the Lord. Pray that we will seize upon this opportunity to be together as a group of people who love the Lord and who strive to serve Him.

Lydia Deluca

Well, I'm afraid all the updates are gonna sound an awful lot alike in the next few days since our whole team is spending the week in the same location! Hopefully we can try to make them interesting for our readers anyway.

The Kinmen team left the island on Thursday after school and headed for Nantou. It was harder than I thought it would be to leave the island for the first time! All our kids were sad to see us go and it was difficult to drive away and leave them. But I waved goodbye to George, Jilly, Susan, and Angel and told myself, "I will be returning in just a few days. I can make it!"

Our first stop when we arrived in Nantou was McDonald's. I'm sure you can all see from our updates that a trip to McDonald's is a cause for great rejoicing! I love Chinese food, but every now and then it is nice to have a taste of American food again! The Kinmen team, however, had an even greater motivation as we do not have McDonald's on the island. The only American food available is California Pizza which is really good, but you can only eat so much pizza!!!!

For the first time our entire team of 22 American teachers are together in one location. It has been fun to meet those I didn't know and reunite with those I worked with all summer in English Camps. God has given us an incredible team and each one has such a heart for Him and for the country of Taiwan. During our time of worship together we shared testimonies of things the Lord has been teaching us in our time here. It was incredible to see what He has been doing in our team as we have faced situations beyond our control and looked to Him for help and strength.

We are enjoying the chance to kick back and do nothing...something we rarely get to do in our teaching locations! As we approach Thanksgiving, we are so grateful for God's blessing on our lives and ministry here. You are such a big part of that ministry as you pray faithfully for us and our students, teachers, and friends. We cannot let this season go by without expressing our thanks for our family and friends who encourage us and help us to keep pressing on for Christ! Please keep it up! Drop us a line when you get a chance. It is always SUCH a blessing to hear from home!

Rebekah Gilley
Kinmen Team
~Representing the entire Taiwan Team in Nantou

As I sit here and wait for profound, informative, and encouraging thoughts to fight their way out through my fingers, I will tell you a bit about what has been happening in my life. It could be a while... First of all, teaching is going very well. Although I still feel very inexperienced, I am gaining a lot of insight on how to be a better teacher. The instructors that I work with are very good, as many of them have been teaching for a long time. I am learning so much from them as I teach along side of them, or watch how they handle the classroom, that I can’t help but improve my teaching style. With some of my classes, I am having a hard time keeping the students interest. Most of the students I work with are very sweet, and they listen to me and their other teachers. Sometimes I come across students, or classes, that are disruptive. I think some of the time they are just bored, and there are a few that just don't care. Over all, everything is going wonderful. I love all of my students (the Lord is helping me learn to love all of them as He does), my team is so great it is almost unfair, and the weather is sort of cooling down. I guess the winter here in Taiwan is not quite like I am used to.

This weekend, all twenty-two of the American teachers will be helping Christina, Chase, Mai, Isaac, and I do a teachers conference for the English teachers in Nantou County. It will be a lot of fun, and we also want it to be a time where we can share what we know about teaching and get lots of ideas from other teachers. The main goal is to have fun, of course! I will be teaching a class on Outdoor English. Please pray that I would at least look like I know what I am doing. :) We all would like your prayers for this conference that it would go well, and that it would meet the expectations of all who are involved.

After the teacher conference all of us will be spending the week here at Ying Pan for a vacation! It is going to be a blast, I'm sure. You should see all the fun stuff we have planned to do. We even have a Chinese competition sponsored by King Car, so you can also pray that I learn Chinese by next week Thursday :)

If you could be praying for the teachers conference this weekend, we would be very grateful. We know that it is only through the grace of Jesus Christ that we can do anything, and we want to bring glory to His name. Also pray for our vacation week that we would have a blessed time of fellowship and fun together. Remember those we work with, and our students. Please pray that we continue to shine the light of Christ into their lives.

Thank you so much for your encouragement and support of God’s work in Taiwan.God bless you as you seek His will for your life,
Joel

Ying Pan Elementary school, Nantou County, Taiwan.

Any given Tuesday

This is a unique update from the Hualien team designed to give you a glimpse into our daily life. This is a sampling of a random evening conversation on any given Tuesday night.

Setting: 10x10 room with lime curtains and salmon cabinets. The table is pulled out from the wall with a hot plate on it. The sink is out on the porch and along one wall is an electric fry pan, microwave, toaster oven etc. sitting on a makeshift counter. There are four people busily cooking inside. Katrina comes into the room just as the garbage truck passes by playing Fur Elise.

Gracia: (looking up from frying the chicken) says, “Hey, welcome home! So, how was your day today?”
Katrina: (setting her small back pack down in the bathroom): Well, this was the school that prepares all, so it was a pretty good day.
Ben: Good.
Gracia (to Jo): So, do you want these spaghetti noodles broken or unbroken.
Jo: Oh, I don’t care.
Gracia picks up the spaghetti noodles and prepares to break them…to a chorus of “Don’t do that!”
Jo: Do you always do that?
Ben: Actually I always break them at home.
Katrina: so do I
Jo: So do I
Gracia: So do I.
Christina: So do I. I think the only time you don’t is when you are eating Italian style with a fork and spoon.
Ben: Ok, so it is unanimous…we break the noodles.
Gracia breaks the noodles and stirs them in the water.
Gracia: Dinner will be ready as soon as the noodles are done.
Christina: Good I’m starved; they served tofu for lunch at my school today.
Jo: Yeah, I’m not sure what they served at mine…but it was pretty spicy.
Katrina: Actually I’m not that hungry, at my school they served some really good chicken over rice. I’m not sure exactly what it was, but it tasted wonderful. Then they kept giving me fruit…more than I could eat. The teachers kept offering me different Chinese snacks for me to try all morning and afternoon. Three of the teachers found out they’re my mother’s age and are fighting over who gets to be my Taiwanese mother.
Ben: Sweet.
Gracia (to Jo): What are you doing?
Jo (with a puzzled look): Throwing spaghetti against the wall.
Gracia: Why?
Jo: If it sticks there, it’s done.
Gracia: Since when?
Ben: Yeah, ….Right.
Jo: I guess we’ve always done it that way, never thought about when. How do you know when it’s done?
Gracia: Eat a piece.
Christina: So is it done then? Do you want me to set the table now?
Ben: You do that.
Now is the time for the daily news report because on any given Tuesday with Ben, we could get the latest IBLP news, Taiwan news, King Car news, US news and world report, or the ESPN.com report… Whatever Ben happens to just be interested in. Of course, it always starts just before dinner is done and as the table is being set for supper. Completely unencumbered by the facts Ben continues to expound theories while pacing around the room. Finally everything is set and everyone sits down.
Ben pauses in his conversation: Are you all waiting for something?
Everyone nods, “Uh huh”
Ben: Oh, lets pray.
Everyone sings: “Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost.”

The End,

"Look unto me and be ye saved,
all ye ends of the earth: for I am God and there is no other." (Isaiah 45:22)

There are so many people!
It is so odd to say this, when I am living on a tiny island called "Kinmen" (of which most people have never heard of) but.... this semester I am teaching classes on the other side of the island. It's so strange to see new places, people and schools. I thought I knew Kinmen, but there is so much more! There are so many children here, and each one has that same need for God's love. I am so glad I am not the only one with this message!

The other night, I took a walk out to the beach, and in the distance I could see Xiamen, in China. It's so humbling to think of all of the people in that land.....far beyond the number of people in Kinmen! I think of Jesus' compassion and special love for every individual... It's amazing to think of the depth of God's love.

I've been thinking of this song on the way to school this week:

If we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made;
If every pen on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry!
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
To stretch from sky to sky!

Lucas Stewart, Kinmen

Life in it's simplicity...

I am totally tired, no doubt about it, ready for bed. "Have a Pringle", Mai says. Saturday's are cool, except for the fact that I have the hiccups right now. This morning, I slept in a little later than normal...then Joel and I headed to Jung Shin Village to play volleyball with anyone we could find. Well, lo and behold, the "International Kite Festival" happened to be going on today. So we played one on one for a while, and then went walking around the festival "grounds". I got bored, and decided to go to the library across the road while Joel stayed to watch kites or whatever. I was almost finished with the book I was reading, when all of a sudden, a couple of my students come up. Man, it is awesome to see my students out of school, they are so cool and they always want to follow me wherever I go. I am reminded that they are looking up to me, I am an example. The fact is that I am the only Christian influence they may ever have. But it is for them that I am here. And for Christ's sake, I will gladly take on the task set before me.

Well, later this evening we went back to the volleyball court, and found some older students to play with. That was fun, and then heading home I met some of my other students hanging out the window of their car. They called, "Isaac! Isaac! Isaac! Isaac! Isaac...!" on and on as we rode down the road. I just pray for them, that God would show Himself to them in their lives, in all that they do.

Well, it is late...time for bed.

Later, Isaac Mazur
Ying Pan

The Team here in Hualien is finishing up our last week studying the book of Colossians. It has been an excellent study perfectly applying to the intense lives we live here. “Missions work” is full of conflict. In recent years much as been written about how to avoid conflict while serving the Lord. Through these past several months of study, however I have been learning that success is not the absence of conflict, rather it is the overcoming of it. The best musical pieces are full of conflict and resolution, the brightest sunrises coming after the darkest nights.

Over and over again in the Book of Colossians the Apostle Paul drives home the key success in life. Christ! There is no substitute, there is no other answer there is nothing else. “Christ is in all and in Him all things are held together.” From this study I have recently crafted a prayer:

“Father, help me live each day in light of my commitment to wholly follow you. How my flesh longs to find satisfaction in something other than thee. Purify my imaginations, cleans the libraries of my mind of any thought that does not begin with the Holiness of God. Oh, for my mind to wrestle with the Glory of the Almighty. For the eyes of my heart to be forever captivated by your glory. I know such a glory would blind me. But to be blinded by such a holy light. Father, blind me with this light. So that the last thing I see is the light of your Holy glory.”

Ben Jacob

Not very often do I decide that I need ice cream at 10:30 at night, but last night was one of those nights. We had made a cobbler and it just would not be complete without ice cream. So, four of us decided to take a walk to one of the stores down the street to get some Taiwan ice cream. On the way, one of our neighbors stopped us and invited us in to eat noodles. We went in and had noodles and tried a bunch of other foods. It was all really good, especially the mystery foods.

After a second dinner, we went upstairs with their daughter and played games. It was a very enjoyable hour at their house. One of the funny things is that the husband does not speak any English and we speak very little Chinese, but that does not stop him from talking to us. Last night, he was trying to tell us how to hold our chopsticks, last time I was there, he tried to teach me how to eat water chestnuts. (That was funny!) I really like getting together with Chinese friends, and it is really special when it is a spurt of the moment thing.

One thing that a friend challenged me to do at the end of last semester, was to make time to reach out to those around me. Last semester, I did not really try to reach out, but this semester I am trying to make time to get to know new people and to build deeper relationships with those that I already know. I cannot imagine being here without the blessing and fellowship of my team and other Christians. But, the time I spend with the non- Christians is so wonderful. It makes one feel fulfilled, knowing that what you are doing is not in vain. In my opinion, to come to Taiwan for the purpose of only teaching English, is not much of a purpose, but when you have people to pour your life into it makes it WORTH EVERYTHING.

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers! It is wonderful to see all the things that God is doing over here!

God Bless,
Holly Polson
JiJi Team

God has answered many requests over these last few months, but in this update I would like to just share this one.

From the very beginning I had been consistently attending a weekly prayer group at the college (the only one on the island). Usually there are about 6 or 7 of us including a retired missionary couple and the president of the University. One of the big prayer requests was for the president’s wife. She had been deathly ill for quite some time, and was even in a coma. The prayer group has faithfully lifted her up every week in prayer (I believe), and the Kinmen group prayed for her too. Many times I wondered if our prayers were really going to heal her, and I was afraid that many of the Kinmenese Christians would not take it well if she died. Regardless to say, I lacked faith.

Just one hour ago, I was at prayer group and Tina (the president’s wife) was there. Sure she’s not 100%, but God worked a miracle to bring her out of that coma and to actually give her enough strength and stamina to come tonight.

After tonight, the election, and throughout the 7 to 8 months that I have lived here, God has proved over and over again that he is faithful, and that I need to always go to him in “prayer and supplication with thanksgiving” -Phil. 4:6.

Drew Stewart
(Mt.11:28-30; Phil.1:21)

I just glanced over my last update for this site, and it started out "Have you ever sat down in front of your laptop and suddenly felt very, very tired?" As I sit here looking at that, I quote from a movie pops into my head- "No matter how bad things are, they can always get worse!" Maybe we could change that to "No matter how bad things are, God's grace can always get bigger!" Such is the story of my life. I think I'm as tired as I can possibly get, and then I get even more tired! And God's grace is still there, and I keep telling myself to get to bed earlier... and so it goes. You can sleep when you're dead, right? The Lord seems to always give me just the encouragement I need to keep going right when I need it. Last week was no exception. I'm not feeling especially creative right now (brain cells are all on screensaver mode) so maybe I'll just give you my perspective on last Friday. Maybe it will make you laugh. I hope so. This was written on Friday.

I am not normally a klutz. Today was not a normal day.

This morning my whole team had our first class at 7:50 here at Ying Pan. We were doing a large assembly for the whole school, during which we told a story about a good dog and (can you guess?) a bad dog. Good Dog was played by Joel (hey what can I say- he's a good actor) and Bad Dog was portrayed by none other than Isaac. I had the honor of being both the cat and the dog catcher, which is kinda ironic, since I get chased by Bad Dog as the cat, and then as the dog catcher I get to chase Bad Dog. Anyway, things were going quite well. Ike and I did our normal "slow motion while the narrator talks and then take off chasing each other" routine and I was hot on his heels when suddenly I found myself studying the parking lot pavement really close. The first thing I noticed after the pavement was that I no longer had shoes on my feet. Upon further observation, I noticed that there were three shoes sitting near me. Naturally, the only conclusion I could come to at the time was "huh." I gracefully got to my feet, snarled at the Bad Dog (who looked rather startled that the dog catcher was getting a noseful of the parking lot) and took off after him again. Upon further contemplation and study of the three mysterious shoes, my sidekicks and I came to the conclusion that Bad Dog's shoe must have disengaged itself from his foot while he was being chased. The Dog Catcher, being so close behind him, did not see previously mentioned disengaged shoe and the three shoes quickly became tangled up, sending their owner down for a good look at the cobblestones. Conclusion? Dogs shouldn't wear shoes.

Soon after our morning class, the five of us were picked up for our first Friday classes of the year. We'll be going to different school each week and doing a program on Obedience- which means Good Dog/Bad Dog will make an appearance up to 6 times every week. *sigh* Halfway through the morning, I decided to take a trip down to the restroom. Now, after being in Taiwan for over a year, you'd think I'd be used to the co-ed bathrooms, but *ahem* I'm not. My usual tactic is to fling open the stall, set my sights on the door, and get there as fast as humanly possible. This works very well, except in situations when there is a large step down from the stall. Ahem. For the second time today, I found myself getting a front row seat in paving techniques 101. The two boys staring at me looked rather shocked. What was their problem? I mean, haven't they ever seen a 20-year-old American come flying out of their school’s bathroom stall and land on her nose in front of them before? Sheesh.

Klutziness aside, today was a good day. Having large groups of 1st and 2nd grade girls hanging on your hands, arms, and any other part of you they can reach through all their classmates does something to ones heart. Man I love this place. This afternoon I was feeling rather overwhelmed with all this teacher conference stuff I'm working on so I went for a bike ride to pick up some coffee. Upon arriving at the drink stand, who should I see there but one of my students and her mother! There's nothing more encouraging and touching than seeing a little kid's face totally light up when they see you. Her mom even bought me my coffee. Then on the way home I ran into three of my 6th grade boys. Having "cool" 6th grade guys flash you huge smiles and yell out "HOW ARE YOU TEACHER?" does something to one's heart too. God knew I needed it.

So that's my life lately- CRAZY but full of God's grace. Sorry you got stuck with an already- written update, but my brain is seriously not functioning tonight. Please pray for the teacher's conference coming up on the 19th and 20th- I need all the prayer you can spare!

Kai Shi (Christina Moody)
Ying Pan, Nantou

Well, I’ve been teaching school for two months now. In a lot of ways that’s really hard to believe. I can be fairly certain of my daily routine. I’ve been able to work through most of the communication problems between me and my teachers. I’m gradually learning to know my 300+ students and they’re learning what to expect from me and what I expect from them. Of course there are always the days when I arrive and only half the sixth grade class is there because of a basketball tournament or I only have four kids in the fifth grade class because the rest went to Taipei for a two day adventure, or something came up and instead of teaching what I planned on teaching I need to teach something else. I always tell myself, “This is a great time to learn flexibility!”

Weekends tend to be a little more unpredictable though. We’ve had some interesting adventures. From spending three days hiking in Taroko National Park, to going to a big family BBQ of one of our dorm mates, to spending a day touring various aboriginal sites here in Hualien (we ate jumping shrimp that day). Even something as simple as shopping can turn into a big adventure if you’re trying to buy something that isn’t so common.

This weekend we packed a picnic lunch and went to Taroko for the day. We hiked along one of the rivers and enjoyed spending time seeing God’s creation. Sometimes it’s still hard for me to believe that I’m actually seeing some of these sights with my own eyes and that they’re not just pictures from a book or a postcard received from a friend. The beauty of the mountains can be breathtaking!

Saturday morning found us back in Taroko but for a different reason. They were holding the annual marathon as well as a mini marathon and a five km race. Several teachers from Josh and Ben’s schools signed up for the five km race and they decided to as well. Gracia and Christina both had students who were performing in their traditional dress and dances. So it was a good morning spent with some of our teachers and students. The afternoon was spent relaxing and preparing for this next week of teaching. In the evening we went to the big family BBQ of our dorm mate. They served us some really good food. In fact one of the uncles who did most of the cooking owns a restaurant in Taipei and said he’d give us a 20% discount if we ever came. We might have to take him up on his offer some time!

Today we had our own team church time and then went to the English Bible Class that we teach every Sunday afternoon. We reviewed the past six lessons and had a Jeopardy style game for them to play. We all had a lot of fun with that. We then went to Hualien and had dinner as well as picking up some food for our breakfast tomorrow. So the weekend was good and I think that after a good nights rest I’ll be ready for another week of teaching.

Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Katrina Nisly

Singchen, Hualien County

You know your not in America when...

China can be seen with the naked eye
Juinor High school uniforms bear a striking resemblance to blue pajamas
The words "I'm full" mean absolutly nothing
Musical entertainment comes from the garbage truck
There's a room labeled "The rabbit room" at your school
20 year old's wear fuzzy bear shirts.
Old men drink out of juice boxes
You look at the food and it looks back at you
The elementery school's "Alpha male" wears high checkered shorts
Pizzas are delivered by moped
There's only one pizza store in town
Mopeds are more common than cars
Shoes are purple with pink polka dots
Evening gowns are worn while riding mopheds
Raw meat is hanging out for sale in the market
...right next to the bowls of freshly caught fish
Rapid waving of arms is a form of excercise
All but one of the Americans in your town voted for Bush :)
"How are you" can be interpreted as " Look! I know english"
You're surrounded by water
Ordering food takes all the brain cells in your head
Music is practiced day and night in back of your house
You get the urge to pull every sheet of kleenex out of the kleenex box
Everyday is an adventure
Your hard day can quickly be remedied by a smile from a 6th grader
Loneliness turns out to be a friend, drawing you closer to God than you ever thought possible
Prayer becomes the most vital weapon you have
A group of non-Christians come to Bible study, sing 'God is good' and memorize scripture
You realize missionaries are just weak average people...'cause uh..:D
You're more grateful for America, friends, and family than ever before
Sometimes you stop and think "Whoa, am I really here???"!
The importance of the body of Christ is driven home!
The majority of your friends have black hair :)

You know your not in America when...

At any given moment you find yourself surrounded by kids and all five senses are employed in an attempt at survival as they hang on you, play with you, poke you, climb you, shout at you (in Chinese, Taiwanese and English) and you find yourself loving every minute of it!!

Thought of the day: "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 2 Cor. 2:9

Question of the day: What does "wo bu je dao" mean?

Kinmen team

I love Taiwan! Where else would I teach grown men how to say the words “Jaguar” and “Lexus”! I ask you! ME of all people…..the most unintelligent person when it comes to motorized vehicles.

Last night we had a team meeting that was more of a “humbling before the Throne of grace” event. Our lives here in Nantou have become rapidly busy. All of us are preparing for the Teacher’s Conference that will be held November 19th -20th. The following week we’ll be spending a week long vacation with all 22 English teachers here in Nantou. I know we are all looking forward to seeing each other again, and seeing some people for the first time. Time has flown by so fast.

Today we started on our traveling and teaching list for Fridays. Monday through Thursday we all teach at the same schools we began at. On Fridays we are scheduled to travel to different elementary schools in Nantou County. Today was the first Friday that we traveled to another school. The last couple of weeks we’ve been teaching here at Ying Pan.

The school we attended today was very warm and welcoming. It was a smaller school with less then 200 students. They children were very excited to see us, maybe a little too excited at times. Ah well, what can you do? Children have this special way of touching your heart and making you smile. That’s not always a good thing when you’re trying to be serious.

I wish you could have seen what I saw today. Just imagine half a dozen or so little girls gently trying to hold and hug Christina at the same time, with no intentions of letting go, holding her as if she was the most precious thing in the world.

Try to envision Chase crouched down as low as he can possibly get, in attempt to be shorter then a student, only to find that it’s turned into a hilarious competition of … shall we say “who’s lower to the ground”. It was quite interesting with the giggly fans that surrounded them.

Imagine Joel laughing freely with some of the students, as they mimic the hand commands that he just taught them, or Isaac entertaining giddy students through a window with his hellos and simple Chinese. Don’t forget to add to that mental picture his little eyebrow tricks.
As I was checking all of these scenarios into my memory bank I came across two thoughts that I pondered for the rest of the day. One was something Chase shared with me the other day. He had received a letter from his grandmother with the encouraging words to remember to not just look at the things around him, but to really LOOK. It’s so easy to forget to really LOOK at the things around us. They only happen once.

The other was the fact that when you’re in God’s will and being obedient to whatever He has called you too; unexplainable joy surrounds your life that only comes from His hand. Yes, things maybe stressful and tense sometimes, but the joy He gives is unforgettable and unchanging.

Pondering things in my heart,

Mai Lewis ~ Ying Pan, Nantou

What can I say other then this last week has been amazing! I spent last weekend in Nantou with the guys from Jiji and Ying Pan. I wish I could say we did something productive… and really it was in some small way but it was great to just get the chance to get together as guys and have fun. I was really sad when the weekend was over as I had an 8 hour journey back to Hualien but all boys fun with there toys must come to an end at some time.

One of the blessings this last weekend was being able to go to an English speaking church. It was an encouraging time of worship and praise to the Lord. After that we went to the mall for lunch and then parted our separate ways.

The rest of this week has been very tiring. A lot of us here in Hualien have been under the weather. In fact in two days from now Ben and I are supposed to run the Taroko Marathon… its only 5km but I’m out of shape and between the two of us not feeling well we haven’t gotten a chance to get out and fine tune these bodies of ours for the race.

A real blessing was found this morning… waking up to find that John Kerry admitted defeat to George W. Bush. I had spent most of the day yesterday after school to watch all the results coming in, seeing how close the race was I continued to pray. One thing that some of us committed to on Tuesday was fasting and praying for our President. I believe God answered our prayers and evidently we now have George W. Bush for another four years as our President.

As I traveled back from my school this evening in Si Paw (found in the middle of the Taroko Mountains)… I realized that after all the close encounters on a windy road its enough to make anyone pray. I’ve been blessed at my schools but I’m finding that I’m getting comfortable and relying on my strength. That has brought me to where I am tonight.

I was talking with one team member today about God working in our lives and asking the question is there still something that needs to be given surrendered to Him. Thinking everything is ok in my own life I find myself writing this update and realizing… I have something that’s been staring me dead in the face for the last 7 months. Is this something to let go of the answer of course is yes.

The verse the Lord gave me and a close friend from back home is for my time here in Taiwan and is new ventures in life is: “But Jesus said to him, No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." ~ Luke 9:62.

I am faced with the fact that I have looked back here in my first four months… I’ve looked back and instead of having my hands to the plow in my heart its back in the past. Taiwan is an amazing place and with that is also a challenge because all eyes are on us. Realizing that so many look to us, many are waiting to see how we will react brings me to the sobering thought I have things to change in my life.

With that said God once again has called me to a point of re focus. Once again turning from the world so to speak and putting my hand on the plow in this hidden area of my heart.

The amazing thing is that God is not finished with any of us here. God is one who is still in control. With that I find myself at his feet saying here Lord you take it… it’s yours every bit. You want my life… you don’t want me to look back well Lord here I am.

Please pray for each of us here. It’s not uncommon for many of us to be facing these things in our lives. I know it’s all of our desires to be fit for the master’s use. Pray that God would enables each of us to continue putting our hands to the plow and whatever selfishness maybe inside will be left behind to look ahead for the mark the high calling of Jesus Christ.

Reporting from Hualien

Joshua Smith

A quick note from Spurgeon that was a blessings to me today:

"For my strength is made perfect in weakness."
- 2 Corinthians 12:9

A primary qualification for serving God with any amount of success, and for doing God's work well and triumphantly, is a sense of our own weakness. When God's warrior marches forth to battle, strong in his own might, when he boasts, "I know that I shall conquer, my own right arm and my conquering sword shall get unto me the victory," defeat is not far distant. God will not go forth with that man who marches in his own strength. He who reckoneth on victory thus has reckoned wrongly, for "it is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."

They who go forth to fight, boasting of their prowess, shall return with their gay banners trailed in the dust, and their armour stained with disgrace. Those who serve God must serve him in his own way, and in his strength, or he will never accept their service. That which man doth, unaided by divine strength, God can never own. The mere fruits of the earth he casteth away; he will only reap that corn, the seed of which was sown from heaven, watered by grace, and ripened by the sun of divine love.

God will empty out all that thou hast before he will put his own into thee; he will first clean out thy granaries before he will fill them with the finest of the wheat. The river of God is full of water; but not one drop of it flows from earthly springs. God will have no strength used in his battles but the strength which he himself imparts.

Are you mourning over your own weakness? Take courage, for there must be a consciousness of weakness before the Lord will give thee victory.

Your emptiness is but the preparation for your being filled, and your casting down is but the making ready for your lifting up.

"When I am weak then am I strong,
Grace is my shield and Christ my song."

Well, today was spend at school running from class to the computer and to class and to the computer again. I was checking the internet for the election results as often as I could. It was really neat to see how most everything I was hoping for worked out. Yeah it’s a pain that we could have to wait up to 10 days to figure out who the president is but at least I’m sure the man I want is going to win.

To those of you who joined in on our prayer and fasting day I want to say a big “thanks”! Prayer is our most powerful weapon in times like this. We can poll, campaign, and do all kinds of things. But it’s only in faithful men and women who are praying and doing their Christian duty of voting for godly men that we can hope to turn this country around. So even in here Taiwan people are praying.

Today was good, I had a good day and got to play with my favorite class of 1st graders. They were all hugging on me and having fun like always. It’s fun :- )

Um, I really don’t have a clue what I’m writing today :- ) I’m just kind of rambling on and on…I tend to do that sometimes. Most of the time it’s when I’m in a brain-dead mode like now. This week has been like that. I’ve been kind of feeling a little wiped because of a crazy week but it hasn’t been to bad, it’s just been busy. I like busy though instead of boring and dull so I guess it’s all good.

Anyway this is my lame attempt at an update, I hope it wasn’t to boring for you.

Daniel
Ji Ji

"Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He will stand before kings, he will not stand before mean (average) men." Prov. 22:29.

I was reminded of this last night as I sat behind the President of the local college's seat at a college event. I was wearing a VIP pass someone had given me. I'd gone to the event to cheer on some friends of mine who attend the college (some TA's from the summer), and then somehow ended up on the VIP platform talking with a couple of the college teachers, who also happen to be personal friends of mine.

I wonder sometimes why God puts us in the places that He does. Honestly, it's a struggle for me- I'm sometimes even annoyed- when it seems like I'm always finding myself in the limelight. Why can't I just be normal?! Oh, wait- I am.

That might sound funny to you- trying to be content living at what seems like the "top." But God is really hitting me about being content with where He has me. Whether you're at the "top," or the bottom, God has that purpose for you being there.

God is reminding me that light is obvious. You can't help but see it. He said, "Let your light SHINE!" (Mat.5:16). "Don't be afraid to let people see it! It's for My glory. That's why you're living, right, Ginger? "

So, God- set me on a hill if you want, and SHINE I will!

"For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power, and of love, and of discipline." 11 Tim.1:7 NAS

Thanks for your prayers.

From the island,

Ginger

"Not merely in the words you say,
Not merely in your deeds confessed,
But in the most unconcious way
Is Christ expressed.

And from your eyes He beckons me,
And from your heart His love is shed
'Til I lose sight of you...
And see Christ the Lord instead."

A little girl touches the cross I wear around my neck, looks into my eyes and asks me in Chinese, "Are you a Christian?" I tell her I am and that Jesus loves her. There is so much more that I want to say, but I cannot say it in her language and she doesn't understand mine.

A teacher friend tells us she was a Christian when she was a child because she thinks she needs a religion. However when she started college she began to feel that Buddhism made more sense. She now believes in reincarnation, and that she was a Westerner (American) in another life. Yet she says there are still questions that Buddhism does not answer and she is still searching.

A Junior High student from our rather difficult Monday evening class for potential drop-outs challenges me as I struggle to teach him a list of vocabulary words. His English is poor, and his attention span like that of a little child. He laughs, pretends to fall asleep, jumps up to run around, and shouts bad words and rude phrases in Chinese by turns. But looking into his eyes I see a hunger, an emptiness, a longing for something...affection? Love? Fulfillment? I KNOW I have the Answer, but the language barrier and behavioral issues are a major hindrance from verbally sharing with this desperate boy.

Another junior high friend who has been attending our English Bible study fails to appear one Sunday. His buddy, who also attends, tells us it is because his parents no longer allow him to come to church. Our team is heartbroken, but prays earnestly that the Lord will keep alive in his mind the Bible verses he has heard and memorized in the few weeks he attended.

Day after day we are faced with situations and circumstances that hinder us from sharing Christ in an outspoken way with those around us. Whether it is the language barrier, religion, or other things, we are often frustrated in our attempts to verbally share the Gospel. After all, that is the real reason we are here...right?? As I begin to be discouraged and feel that all is in vain, the Holy Spirit reminds me that a cup of cold water given in His name will be counted as a service to Him, and can be used by Him to draw others to His kingdom. A game of UNO, a walk around the track in company with my friends, a meal eaten together, a caring smile, a patient ,gentle attitude,, a word of praise...all of these things, when done in His name, are expressions of His love. It brings encouragement to my heart to know that all He desires is that we genuinely love Him, and then love others with His love. I pray that as we live and work here in Kinmen His love will flow through us so that our friends and aquaintances here may see Him shining in us. We don't always have the words to say, but Jesus can take our actions and attitudes and manifest Himself and His endless love through us. Pray for us as we seek to be His hands, His feet, His heart full of love to those we meet everyday.

"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me."
Matthew 25:40

Rebekah Gilley
Kinmen Island

Fast and Pray people
Let's act like we want it!!

There are 6 or 7 of us who have made the commitment to fast and pray on Tuesday's Election day. I'm asking if anyone wants to join us? It's only a day and is a day more important that the future of America? I don't think so.

Will you join us? Say it, commit to it, and we'll pray for each other too, as well as America. I look forward to going back to this and seeing how God has used our faithfulness to show his wonders!!!!

Will you join us?

Daniel Neu,
Jiji

We are going to leave this open for Prayer Request and Praises... please feel free to comment and leave any prayer requests that you may have so that we might be able to pray together.