October 11th, 2006
Today is the first day of school after our five-day weekend with the Moon Festival. Hmmm... I'd like to go into detail of how great it was to be back in school, but today is a Wednesday, and like every Wednesday, I now have a headache....
My Wednesday morning school is the smallest school I work at. It's kinda fun to go into a class of only 8 students and teach English conversation. "English Conversation" is a great excuse to play games and do other "activities". The teacher I work with at that school usually gives me freedom to teach what I want, but also tends to dump the "darbie song" on me every once in a while. After teaching grades 3-6, I ate lunch with the first graders. That was kind of funny. They haven't started English classes yet, but they sure know their "hellos".
In the afternoon I had a full schedule of trying to keep fifth graders in class for 3 1/2 hours. I try to balance it so that we don't do too much class time, and we don't do too much activity time. However, by the final period, I was loosing my voice, and had a terrible headache. The students were also really tired.... that was kind of funny. I just laughed at the "hyper boys" that were falling asleep in their desks....haha....
Wednesday is NOT my favorite day, but I know that this is my "new challenge" from the Lord this year. I'm so glad that God gives us "new challenges" and opportunities for us to grow. I can't wait to see what God will do in this "good work" that He "began in me".
"Being confident of this, that He Who began a good work in you, will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6
Lucas
Kinmen Team
October 2006 Archives
`Moon Festival
Friday was Moon Festival and Tuesday is Double 10 day so we had a five day weekend. At first I thought this would be a good time to rest up and recover a little from the initial plunge into this semester. Not to be; we have been going non-stop and having a lot of fun too.
Here in Taiwan, Moon Festival is a big deal and the legend behind it is rather interesting. Once there was a great Emperor who wanted to live for ever. Somehow he acquired a magic elixir that was supposed to accomplish his wish. However, before he could drink it, his wife, thinking that he had become too proud, stole the elixir. So now she is living forever on the moon with a little rabbit. There is a story about the rabbit, too, but the details are a little vague.
Moon festival is on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month when the moon is the biggest and brightest. It is celebrated with barbecues, fireworks, eating pamelos, and looking at the moon. On Friday, we went out with some friends and in the evening had a barbecue at their family’s house. It was the best barbecue I’ve had here. Afterwards, we set off fireworks and played monkey in the middle. Then on Saturday we had a barbecue at our house and had several friends over. Teaching them to play Dutch Blitz was a lot of fun. Sunday morning we were able to help with the music in the worship service. I pray that we were a blessing.
Although these last few days have been busy, spending time with our friends has been wonderful. The Lord continually blesses us with strength, joy, and an ever expanding ministry. Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement.
God bless,
Kristen
From Nantou
Wow! Looking back over the past few weeks as I’ve been teaching here in
Taiwan, it’s been amazing to see how God has been working in my life. Many
little (and seemingly random and unrelated) experiences/opportunities in my
past have really been preparation for life here. God is so faithful! Whether
it is giving me the energy I need to teach all my classes, or inspiration
with lesson planning (the bane of my existence), I am realizing more and
more that He is right beside me and I truly don’t have to do this on my own.
Mixed in with the challenges that come with the job description of “Foreign
English Teacher” are all of the amazing blessings that the Lord provides. I
have been very blessed by my students. We have lots of fun together in and
out of class. Discussions/debates/arguments about baseball (Mariners vs.
Yankees), whether I dye my hair to make it blonde, whether or not I am just
pretending to not know Chinese, and just life in general make each day
interesting. I have been given the opportunity of a life-time: the chance to
invest in the lives of hundreds of kids each week. These are kids that may
not have any other chance to learn about the love that God has for each one
of them. I truly hope that I can give them a small glimpse of what that
unconditional love looks like.
We have also had so opportunities to share with some of our students,
parents and families. These people seem to be much more open to talking
about deeper matters of life than most people back home in the States. The
questions that they ask really force me to rely more and more on God for the
answers, because often-times I simply don’t know what to say. Talk about
convicting! I am constantly remembering the words of 1 Peter 3:19- “…be
ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the
hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” It is my prayer for this year
that I will make the most of every opportunity that is given me and truly
show God’s amazing love to those around me.
"I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. The pains of death surrounded me, and the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord: "O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!" Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yes, our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I believed, therefore I spoke, "I am greatly afflicted!"....... What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all His people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. O Lord, truly I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the [daughter] of Your maidservant; You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all His people, in the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!" Psalm 116
Truly, this psalm could have been written for me, because every single word expresses exactly what I need to express. I am so overwhelmed by God's incredible grace and goodness that I just had to share it with you. This last week found me in the midst of a very difficult struggle. It was one of the most difficult, frightening trials I have ever had to face before and I was at the end of my rope physically and emotionally. Finally, when I had absolutely nothing left to give and felt like there was no hope at all, I cried out aloud to God, "O God! I can't do this on my own anymore! Please come and rescue me! Save me....!" It was that moment when I just threw myself on Him in desperation that He chose to "... set me in a broad place." (Ps. 118:5) That moment of God's rescue sits firmly planted in my mind as a lavish display of His grace. I was willfully treading where His Spirit had warned me not to tread. I deserved the mess I was in, and He was certainly under no obligation to get me out of it. Yet He chose to save me anyway. That is so incredibly amazing to me! I never viewed God's grace like this before. Bekah posted something on her blog today that describes it so perfectly that I just had to steal it and put it on here:
"Grace is not God's reward for the faithful....it is His gift to the empty, the feeble, and the failing." - Roy Hession - The Calvary Road
Amen to that. A truly exciting thing that has come out of this situation is that I now have a story that I'm excited to tell people about. God has opened the door for me to share my personal story of God's salvation and grace with several people, including one of my teachers at one of my schools. Please pray that God would continue to open doors and speak to people's hearts through my story. Also, keep praying for the health and safety of my team. I have been blessed with the most awesome team on earth (or at least, on Kinmen maybe). They're all people I can be myself with, and who make me laugh; as well as being wise, godly older people who inspire and build me up spiritually. I am so grateful.
Perhaps I should close with a "Thanks God...!" as our pastor's wife so oft' and aptly puts it...
May you be gripped and astonished by His grace,
Rachel Grindall
Welcome to Nantou, the center of Taiwan where anything and everything happens. Well, might happen. This semester has started out relatively well, all of us are completing the process of acclimating to our schools, teachers we work with, and students. We have a new program we are working with this year, teaching an "after school English class" in some of our schools. So far, I think it will both stretch and encourage us. When we first started, it was a little unclear what the purpose of the program was, and what was expected of us, but after a little time spent working things out I think it will work very well. My after school classes have been fun so far, but I get a lot of help from the teachers at the school I work at. A very big blessing, believe me.
Although our teaching schedule is quite busy this semester, we have had many opportunities to go out, and see friends and do activities together. As some of us are starting on our third year teaching in Nantou, it is hard to go anywhere in the area without seeing someone we know, or at least someone who knows us. This year I have been thinking a lot about what the impact is that we have here. Sometimes it seems frustrating when we don't see the results of our labor right away, or the opportunities to share about the Lord seem few and far between. I know the Lord sees the bigger picture, and the affect we have on those around us when we can't see it. He has us here for a reason, and He knows what He is doing. I guess it is easy to forget that planting is just as important as watering and harvesting. Don't get me wrong, though, it is just my desire that I do all that is expected and required of me.
For my first update of this semester, I would just like to say it is so good to be back. The time I spent in America this summer with my family and friends was so encouraging and refreshing, and now I feel ready for another wonderful year. It is really hard to explain everything that goes on here, and what makes it so special. So let's just say that this is where God has us to be right now, and so it couldn't be better anywhere else. Pray with us for all of our students, the teachers we work with, and all of our other friends, that they would see their need for Jesus Christ in their lives, and that they would accept His salvation, and live for Him. Also pray for our health, and strength, spiritually as well as physically.
I am really looking forward to the rest of this year, and all of the new challenges and blessings the Lord will place in our lives. My team is always a great encouragement to me, and I thank the Lord for their desire to serve Him in whatever way He calls us to. And for all of you who pray for us, and let us know that people on the other side of the world are involved in supporting us, thank you so much. You are a blessing to us in many ways.
In Christ,
from Nantou,
Joel
