(Display Name not set)November 2004 Archives

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

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

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

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

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

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