一些歌詞 (that should mean "some lyrics")

I throw up my hands
"Oh, the impossibilities"
Frustrated and tired
Where do I go from here?
Now I'm searching for the confidence I've lost so willingly
Overcoming these obstacles is overcoming my fear.

Never underestimate my Jesus.
you're telling me that there's no hope,
I'm telling you you're wrong.

Never underestimate my Jesus
When the world around you crumbles,
He will be strong,
He will be strong.

-Relient K


Turing molehills into mountains,
Making big deals out of small ones,
bearing gifts as if they're burdens,
This is how it's been.
Fear of coming out of my shell,
Too many things I can't do too well,
Afraid I'll try real hard and I'll fail,
This is how it's been.

Until the day You pounded on my heart's door,
And You shouted joyfully,
"You're not a slave anymore!"

You're free to dance,
Forget about your two left feet,
And you're free to sing,
Even joyful noise is music to me,
And you're free to love,
Cause I've given you My Love,
and it's made you free,
I have set you free.

- Ginny Owens


My name is Foreigner
From a far away land
My feet are covered in earth
They've been here and back again
And I have seen
Great things from a distance
They beckon me
I follow them

And I move forward
I move forward
I move forward to home, to home

-Bethany Dillon

Kickin' Up My Heels

Hello! I just got back from the fruit market. When each of you comes to visit Taiwan, I will definitely have to take you to the fruit market as it is one of the most fascinating places (in a simple way) I've yet discovered around here. Maybe it's all the different fresh fruits, vegetables and meats... or maybe it's the farmers with their pointy straw hats or all their crinkly-eyed smiling faces when you greet them in Mandarin or when they make some joke about you you don't understand... or maybe it's just an excuse to go have an adventure on a bicycle.

On the way back today, I decided to show Michelle the "back way" home that someone had shown me a few weeks ago. Well, maybe I didn't quite remember it exactly right. And maybe it started RAINING. But thankfully, there's a tall pointy building near our school that Molly told me would always be a good landmark as one can see it from a ways away when out (lost) in the country. So really, we were fine, but we took some new paths (calling them roads would be questionable), breathed some fresh air, got a little rained on, and enjoyed the out-of-the-city view of the mountains.

Here we are displaying our newly-purchased goods.


Yes, come visit and we'll go to the fruit market.

I have to comment on the fact, however, that this day did not begin rainy. No, indeed, the actual sunshine (not just the common gray brightness) but pure, bright sunlight awoke me this morning (before my alarm) as it kinda two-stepped on my face. A great way to wake up. The thunderstorm that went through yesterday had passed through by eveningtime revealing the mountains on one side and on the other, a beautiful sunset.

But what's been going on this past week? Plenty! :) We're kept busy here with different plans not to mention the whole teaching thing, but I would have it no other way. Time is flying and I really am enjoying it.

Last Monday was an exciting day. It was my Dad's birthday (Happy Birthday again, Dad :-D) and it was my birthday too! It was a fantastic day as many people made it special. Somehow, my mom has impeccable timing and managed it so that a package from her (containing my dressy heels from home! yay! I left them thinking they'd be impractical, but had missed them as heels are definitely "in" in Taiwan) and the birthday cards from my family came actually ON my birthday. Those in the office were very kind and surprised me with flowers and a singing greeting card!

Here's a picture of Callie, Judy, Peggy, and I with the flowers in the office. :)


And here I am listening to the musical birthday greeting!


That evening, the team ate all together (the delicious leftovers from Sunday's banquet!) at the Practice (and yes, there was a little dancing) and then came the biggest surprise of the day! First, they had gotten me a cake. (Taiwanese people don't seem to bake a whole lot, but when they do, it's fantastic... their bakeries are really something else.) And with the cake, there was an envelope! And inside the envelope was....... *drumroll*....... a ticket to see RIVERDANCE when it is Taiwan in DECEMBER!!!!!! To say that I'm excited would be an understatement! Ha ha... to say that I'm RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED would be closer to an accurate description! :) It was especially funny because just earlier that very day, I had been online, attempting to weave my way through the Chinese to figure out how I might go about ordering Riverdance tickets if at some point someone would show interest in going with me. Up until this point, people would just kinda shrug their shoulders whenever I mentioned RIVERDANCE. Now I know why. :) There will be 8 of us going all together. I have wanted to see this for quite a while now... who knew that I'd have to go to Taiwan before this dream came true!

Here's a picture of me with the cake and THE TICKET!

...and if you are very observant, yes, that cake does say 34. :) As Michelle explained, that's just part of the fun of trying to get numbers correct when neither person really speaks the other's language. Though it made me think for a moment about where I'll be and what I'll be doing when my cake really does mean to say 34. Like in "Little Women"..."Where do you suppose we'll all be ten years from now? What are your dreams? Let's meet again in ten years and see how many of our dreams have come true!" Praise God that whatever dreams may or may not come true and whatever challenges come our way, He will remain the same loving God who has promised to be with us through it all.

This week as far as classes went was really good. I finished up a unit in both kindergarten and 3rd grade, so tomorrow we'll be blazing new trails! Probably a highlight from the week was that my third graders wrote letters back to their pen pals in Texas, so those were in the mail on Wednesday! Yipee! Oh, and in kindergarten, as we finished up talking about families, we made some pretty nifty pencil holders out of cans and pictures they brought in. Here's mine I made as an example. It sits proudly on my desk.


Yesterday, Elaine, Mark, Molly, and I went out to eat at Molly's *favorite* pi gu restaurant...


...then we went to a really REALLY cute coffee shop that Elaine frequents. We got some specialty teas and the owner treated us to banana cheesecake on the house. We were sitting outside when the previously mentioned thunderstorm rolled in, and we went inside to look at each other's pictures. It was just the four of us sharing various pictures and stories with each other, but we ended up staying there until dinner time! It was a perfectly wonderful. And I picked up some more Chinese thanks to Elaine's patient instrction! Michael and Mark still have me beat, though. Keep on, fellow warriors! Here is Elaine with their hand-crafted wood menus at the coffee shop.


Here's the inside of the coffee shop with the owner's friendly dog.


On Friday for Bible time, we talked about Noah and the Flood. And appropriately today, with the rain, I saw a rainbow! I'll have to ask my students tomorrow if they saw it too. :) Tell ya what. A snake with the Fall and a rainbow with the Flood.... with all these complimentary object lessons, I better be careful about what other stories I decide to teach.

Blessings to you in Christ!

EVERYBODY DANCE NOW!

"Everybody dance now!"

That's probably the greatest opening to any dance song ever.

Please go listen to it right now if you have it on your computer or a CD or a tape or an ipod.... just the opening part.

It makes me want to do big-dramatic-punching-arm-dance-moves.

It makes laugh out loud every time I hear it.

And I just heard it.

Show Me the Way

So like I mentioned, this summer I read the book, Blue Like Jazz. The very first part, the author writes about jazz music and how he never liked it until he saw this one guy playing saxophone with eyes close, really into the music. The author said he watched this saxophonist for 15 minutes and after that he liked jazz music. He said sometimes to love something, someone has to show you the way.

That's how it is with me and that seaweed snack they have here. I did not care for it. But then a couple people on the team decided they liked it... and would go out of their way to buy it. Now I've learned to like it. Thanks for showing me the way, Anna H. and Anne. I hear it's healthy.



Friday was definitely the most wonderful day I've yet had here. :) It was amazing. God gave me a glimpse into what He's doing... a reassurance that HE is in the driver's seat and that His Spirit is working mightily in hearts. WOW! I can't wait to tell you. I hope to share the story of Friday with you in the September newsletter. (Time right now is too limited to do it justice.)

This weekend was pretty jam packed. Saturday, I taught the English lesson at Saturday School at Salvation. The Bible lesson of the day was that of the Gibeonite Deception. Don't remember that one? Me neither. I opted for doing something unrelated to the Bible lesson of the day. (But if you're curious, check out Joshua 9:1-27.) The letter of the day was "x" so I went on a treasure hunt with a map where "x marks the spot" and then a cross was the treasure we found in the treasure box. Very fun, but I don't know how much the kids stayed with me (English is very minimal level at Sat. School.) Even though one student was pretending to shoot me with his finger as a gun, another student made a connection that the cross I pulled out was like the one in the front of the sanctuary. Yay for making connections!!

Sat. was also another Moon Festival BBQ at Sunrose's complete with an "adventure" through the small country town where she lives. I had thought we were leaving, heading back to the P.H. But I was mistaken. The flashlights that had suddenly been produced were for an "adventure." Turns out we took a walk to the edge of town to get a good look at the moon. I almost got run off a bridge by a crazy driver, but two new friends who told me I looked like I was 17 years old (that would be 16 years as we count age) saved me. Whew.

Today was church at Salvation with a very fine sermon from Pastor. He talked about Moon Festival and how we can use it as a chance to share the Gospel, admire God's creation, and think of our most beautiful home God has prepared for us in heaven as people travel to their hometowns here for the festival. It was pretty cool. Pastor is an amazing man of God with a heart for outreach. Please pray that the Lord would continue to give him great protection, strength, encouragement, and wisdom as he tends to this fold of the flock here in ChiaYi.

It was a race home after church to get started on all the baking. Yes, Mom, guess who successfully baked three apple pies today! Those pie-making lessons from you and Aunt Jeannette sure paid off! :) Thanks so much for the recipes! And thanks to Molly and Anna H. who were the most brilliant apple peelers I've ever met!
One pie at a time in our little ovens here.

A finished product. :)


We were having a big LCMS-missionaries-in-Taiwan service tonight followed by a big BBQ/potluck and everyone here was busy preparing their own specialty dish. It was great meeting some other missionaries from Taiwan and also a family from Hong Kong. That was Pastor Hanson (namesake of the Hanson Manor) and his family. He gave the sermon tonight... a very fine sermon on God's grace... using the story of the master who hires workers for the field all throughout the day and pays them all the same. It made me think of Prof. Mould's example of an overflowing glass.... more or less doesn't matter where your glass is overflowing. :)

The boys at the BBQ, "fanning the flames" with a... yup. That's a hair dryer. :)


And here I am this evening, looking forward to classes tomorrow, even though I still have to plan them. :) God's joy to you in Christ Jesus! HE IS hearing and answering prayers.

Oh, and here is a picture of Monica, my co teacher for E-3. She is an awesome encouragement and sister in Christ. Please pray for Monica, that God would continue to teach her and show her (and her family!) His life-changing love.

Cauliflower

It was announced at church last Sunday morning that SunRose's family was inviting people to join them in planting cauliflower on their farm that afternoon.

I didn't really know what to expect, but a few of us decided to go.

It was amazing.

It was fresh air, it was hands in dirt.

Here're a few pics:

A water buffalo we saw along the way there. :)


The field.




Cindy (Pastor and Sarah's neice), and me.


Pastor's wife, Sarah. :) She is one of the most energetic people I know. (And pastor is walking past too.)


Sunrose at her house after planting... cutting up a fruit that begins with a p... can't remember the name right now


AND...

This is an unrelated picture from a trip to Carrefour the other night with Michelle and James. Baskets loaded, we're ready to roll.

Just a Day, Just an Ordinary Day :)

What is an ordinary day, really? I mean, really.

This morning a roach practically left tread marks on one of my kindergarteners on its way to the disillusionment of safe haven underneath my Taiwanese-kindergartener-sized chair. Sadly, I was just as wussy as the students, and could only jump up and plead, "Where are the tissues? Where are the tissues?!" The homeroom teacher was the hero of the day, gaining victory over the poor creature with a broom. It turned into a teachable moment though. Me pointing, "Roach." They repeating, "Roach." Me again, "THAT is a ROACH." They again, "THAT is a ROACH."

Shortly after lunch, as the E-1 and E-2 students were laying down for their naps, Callie came into the office and said in only a semi-paniced voice, "Could someone help me? I have a little snake in my room."

For anyone who was in China for the "rat story" or who has heard tell of it, this was... along those lines. First of all, most of the teachers were in the office at the moment, but we all, every single one of us nationals and foreigners alike, just kind of blinked back at her. Michael and James soon offered their assitance, however, and some tongs (like the ones used to serve lunch) and a long window washing pole were their tools (weapons?) of choice.

I had to take a couple things to drop in recycling and figured that I'd like to get a glimpse of this Taiwanese snake on the way past the door. I didn't see the situation being one of any interest or appeal past that.

This was a wrong assumption on a few accounts. 1) The snake was not what I would call small. 2) I realized the snake was in MY classroom (E-1 uses it during early afternoon classes and I have it during late afternoon classes). 3) The snake was spotted by a child while all the the students were on the floor with their pillows and blankets napping! 4) The snake was evasive to the point of creating quite the commotion, quite the show, and quite the lengthy time of things... AND 5) The snake was a cobra.

At the point where I walk into the classroom, there are 1st graders running around trying to get a good look at what Michael and James are doing with their intereting tools. (And I decided it would be an appropriate time to bust my camera out of my desk drawer.) They had some sort of system where the snake was under a rolling bookshelf and Michael was trying to push it with the window washer towards James with the tongs. Well, at this point, I don't think anyone had yet had a good look at the creature. Somehow also there was tape involved. That is how the snake was eventually stopped really... it got stuck up along this brown packing tape.....And to make a long story short, seeing as though I don't know all the facts, I'm going to let these pictures tell the rest of the story with simple comments from me. Photo journaling at its finest, folks. :)


What was going on on both sides of this bookshelf...

Intense viewing action.

To give you some orientation as to where in the classroom this was happening.

I attempted to distract the students on the other side of the room with my camera. They were excited about that for exactly 5.6 seconds before heading back to the more thrilling option in the room.



The snake is.... stuck on some tape?

Yup. It got stuck up along some tape that was, I guess, along the bottom of the bookshelf? I should ask if it was put there in the hopes of snake catching or if it just happened to be there?

The captive.

An celebratory imitation of the classroom invader, post capture.


Ironically, tomorrow during Bible time we are talking about Adam, Eve, and the Fall of Mankind... but this serpent's attempted object lesson was entirely unecessary.

I really dislike snakes.

As the day went on, there was more excitement as I received a package of PEN PAL LETTERS from a teacher friend from college and her 3rd grade class in Texas!! I was THRILLED! And I could only hope that my students would be as excited as I was. The problem is that a good majority of my students are not *quite* at the level of reading and writing letters in English. They are there if they have scaffolding, but not independently, so I tried to decide if I should scrap today's lessons and just talk about letter writing... or if I should wait to share the news with them.

I ended up passing the letters out at the end of class today... only for them to learn their pen pal's name and take a glance at the letter. The students were STOKED. But it was hard because I made them pass the letters back after a few minutes and told them we'd read them more later and write back next week.

*happy sigh*

I love letter writing and pen pals! As CELA teachers this year, we were told to focus on writing... and I think we might end up having two other classes in the States writing back and forth too... so this will be grand. As long as the students continue to show forth the enthusiasm for writing and communicating that they did today. If I could instill in my students two things, the first would be a love and passion for our Lord Jesus Christ (and thus also for all people) and secondly a passion for language... especially writing.

Right after school today, a Moon Festival BBQ commenced. The food was really good! People did a great job of grilling! And I had some good converation. I learned the history of "moon cakes" for the Moon Festival, met Callie's parents and children, and had a great talk with Monica about faith... things like doubting, what is different between Mormons and Christians, if there are many Christians in America, etc... A couple points as reminders and things to keep in your prayers: Callie, my K-3 co-teacher, is very interested in hearing about Jesus and the Bible. She was invited to join our Bible study on Tuesday nights and with Michelle's offer to watch her children, she might accept the invitation!! That is very exciting. Please pray that the Lord would continue to work in her heart and would also work in the hearts of her husband, parents, children, and inlaws. Wow. Monica knows Jesus, but is struggling with how to balance Christianity with the beliefs and traditional expectations of her family. Monica is a great friend and encouragement here, so prayers of thanksgiving for her and for the Lord's work in her life along with petitions that the Lord may give her strength and wisdom would be great.

Anyhow, here are a few pictures from tonight:
When learning the Mandarin numbers, YoYo is the teacher, and Michelle is the student. :)

Callie with her mother, daughter, son, and me.

Portions of the evening's menu.

This was an early celebration as the actual Moon Festival is on Sunday.
And no, those aren't marshmallows... they are "from the sea" balls.



Okay. Hope you enjoyed these pictures. I ask that you do continue to pray for me, the team, and the people here. It's an amazing support.

God's blessings and peace to you in Christ.

Classroom and Other "News" Bulletin 9-13

Classes are rolling for the second full week. The kindergarteners are working their hardest on the letters f,d, and g. They are practicing sentence structures like "Where is mom?" "She is in the living room." "She is next to brother." I found out on Monday that they are talented artists as we wrote the words, "five fish" and illustrated. They are also learning how to write their English names. They are officially energetic, adorable, and I look forward to my classes with them.

My E-3ers are a hand full. I found out that my student who had been struggling the most had a good reason for it. She had only begun studying English two weeks before classes began. After discovering this *semi-important* piece of information (all the other students in the class had been studying the language for probably 3 years minimum) I also met the student's father and found out he could speak English. This was a huge blessing as we discussed the best plan of action to encourage Christy in class, to prevent frustration, and to "catch her up" with the class as much as possible. I decided to send the next week's work home with Christy with a detailed letter about what we would be doing and with a few suggestions on other things she could practice at home. Thankfully, her father could read that, go over it with Christy, and prepare her for at least the topics, words, and structures we would be working with in class this week. Christy's change in class on Monday was INCREDIBLE. They must have worked hard core over the weekend, because she was saying "Hello, how are you?" "Thank you." "Have a good night." with better pronunciation that most of my other students. Granted, it was the bare basics, but this from a girl who had previously only shrugged at any attempts at communication. And the best part was SHE was thrilled and I was thrilled for her!

On the other end of the scale, the mother of the most advanced student in my class came to talk with me on Monday. "Victor says he wants to go back to his old school." Not very encouraging first words to hear in a talk with a student's mother. Thankfully, the mother was very kind, and her English was excellent. And as it turns out, the problem was a solvable one... or what I hope will prove to have been a very solvable one. :) I had observed that Victor was ahead of the rest of the class... in speaking, listening, and reading, but maybe not writing. I had not yet decided if I should recommend he be moved to a higher class or if I should simply give him more challenging work within the E-3 classroom. Well, talking with his mother, I learned that he was really a 4th grader (!), and should have been in E-4 anyway. However, on his entrance exam, he had scored low on one section, and coming from a different leveling system at his old school, he was put into E-3. His mother also said that he was not used to hanging out with younger kids and hadn't made any friends in E-3... I felt bad I hadn't done more to encourage friendships among the students. But upon hearing her concerns and explanations, I told the mother I would talk with the dean the next morning and see if we could get him moved up. He went to E-4 today. I suspect that a few of the girls in my class were a bit disappointed.

So that is a glimpse into the teaching aspect of the work here. :)

Please, if you would, keep the teaching part in your prayers as well as the other outreach opportunities to the people here. I've heard people talk about the challenges of first year teaching, but experiencing something for oneself is always eye opening no matter what you hear. Please pray that I and the others may have great confidence in our roles here... that we may be assured God has called us here and has equiped us and will strengthen us to be effective instruments for Him. Please pray that we may love our students as Christ loves them... and in that way be encouraged and eager to touch their lives each day.

Thanks. :)

As far as other fun facts, a while back I finished the book, Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller, which a friend had lent me, and found it very interesting. The chapters in the first half of the book somehow disturbed me... I never could put my finger on why. But then the chapters in the second half, on faith, lonliness, and community and such, I found insightful. Have any of you read it? It's kinda one of those where you just say, "Huh," but had some good points to think about. I was glad I read it.

Now I'm reading a book called Uncommon Graces by John Vawter with a couple other people here and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I use "reading" in a very loose sense of the term as it would appear I've only gotten through a couple chapters since arriving on the island.

On the to-read list is some C.S. Lewis and James Herriot and maybe another visit to Father Tim and Cynthia Coppersmith of the Mitford series by Jan Karon... these will all be comforting tastes of home.

In music news, I just found out that Nickel Creek came out with a new album about a week ago. Has anyone heard it yet?

Christ's grace and peace to you this day. :)

Lessons Learned

1. Sometimes, there are shortages of things like chopsticks. Other times, there are shortages of things like rice. But it all works out.

2. Sometimes, as an American in Taiwan, the only stores that have dresses that fit you are maternity stores.



If desiring further information or details, please see the stories below.

1. One day this week, the cafeteria delivered the teachers' lunches. But we had no chopsticks. Easy fix, go to the cafeteria and get some. I tried this. A man yelled at me in Chinese. He got the point across that there were not enough chopsticks even for the students so I had sure better not try taking any for the teachers. That is what I gathered from his motions, and that was fine. But being yelled at in Chinese is no fun.

Saturyday Michelle and I went searching for a sushi restaurant we had heard about. Michelle had a hand drawn map from another teacher in the office which was helpful, but it was really Michelle's amazing navigational skills which brought us to our destination. Upon entereing the restaurant, we expected to be addressed in Chinese. Except no one addressed us in Chinese or otherwise... nor did anyone really acknowledge our prescense. Hmm. It was very small and very busy. We finally observed that everyone new coming in would grab a blank sheet of paper and jot down their order. Great. I had been prepared to convey our order verbally and with motions, but writing characters... this was a whole new kettle of fish. We were hungry. We had worked hard to be there. I grabbed a piece of paper and got to work meticulously copying each small line and stroke of what I guessed to be the item we wanted. (The menu, like many places here, was displayed on the wall for easy ordering.) I think the people were pretty amused (or amazed?) to see me writing Chinese. The attempt was, as far as I could tell, quite successful. Though there seemed to be a problem. One nice young man working there attempted to explain to us..."Not enough rice." (Rice is a definite ingredient in everything here, including the sushi we ordered.) Interesting problem. And this was at around 1pm when they still were supposed to be open 5 more hours. We really did not understand, but we smiled and nodded. With the help of another customer, we communicated that that was okay, we would take... something different? We got close to what we ordered, but I guess there was not enough rice to give us exactly what we ordered. It worked.

2. Saturday night, after some karoke, we went to a night market to walk around and to see what there was to see. Anne and I stopped in a couple clothing shops. Some nice things... but really, nothing that would fit us well. Then we came across a third shop with some cute dresses and things that seemed like they would fit us! "Those clothes look billowy enough," observed Anne. We noted that there seemed to be quite a bit of elastic... and older lady store perhaps? No, the pictures were of young ladies... and the styles were cute and youngish. We started holding the clothes up, considering what we would try on. Then a store worker came up and taped me on the arm. She kind of shook her head and explained, "Baby," as she illustrated with a round motion at her stomach. Ah. We got the point, and we got out of the store. I guess it's a good thing she thought to tell us and not to simply assume we were expecting.

What's Been Goin' Down

Warning: This entry may be considered entirely too long... but I still don't feel like I've done a decent job of reporting or reflecting. :) Take it for what it's worth.


Following a period of intensive "blogercizing," many things happened that were not recorded... probaby because these things were happening, and that, for the most part, is a good thing!

Here's the latest:

Perhaps due to the typhoon (?) we had a period of a few days with no internet. An eye opening experience, it was a good thing.

Last Friday morning, I woke up with a pain in my toe and the realization that I had the first ingrown toe nail of my life. You really don't need to know that except for the fact that it is the beginning of this crazy story. I didn't pay it much heed until at about 6:30 that evening, as I was saying goodbye to my last students and then trying to make transportation plans to Bible study.

One interesting fact to insert here would be that I teach barefooted. Shoes are left at the doors of all the rooms here, and when it's sandal season and you have not invested in slippers, that means bare feet... but most people are barefoot, so it's no big deal.

Except that as I happened to glance downward at my right foot, I noticed funny red marks proceeding from my big toe, across the top of my foot, toward my ankle. I had some of the other teachers look at it. They made faces.

Also, all day I had felt achy... like you feel after you've vigorously used muscles you've forgotten you had all over your body or when you have a fever... but I figured I was just fighting a bit of whatever was going around in my Ladybugs class that week.

I rode with Monica (my E-3 co teacher) on her scooter to Bible Study at Salvation. Friday Night Bible Study is a great time of fellowship, relaxing, refocusing, and encouragement in the faith. It's a great place to build friendships. And it's a great place to work on your English. :) It's probably one of the biggest outreach ministries to the people here. Many of the national teachers at the school, including the dean, are not Christian. They respect Christiany and like to hear the stories, but do not recognize Jesus as their personal Savior... something to keep in your prayers. But it's already been great to see some invitations of team members reach some of the people here. People are interested. It's just not something real to many. Many of us have had this on our minds lately. The Holy Spirit is the one that has to talk to the heart... but it seems there should be some way to get across the reality and the ultimate importance of Jesus Christ.

Well, after fellowship time, I was feeling physically not so hot. The pastor's wife, Sarah, decided to doctor me up while people were still standing around and talking. She rubbed ointment on my foot, she took my temperature twice - once in each arm pit, she felt my forehead a few times, and proclaimed, with the help of some translators, that it was a snake or a spider bite and that I needed to go to the hospital. Well, I didn't know what exactly was wrong, but I wasn't in much of a condition to argue.

I rode in Sunrose's car to the E.R. where Matt met me to translate for me and watch out for me. It's absolutely ridiculous how many times I've been to hospitals and doctors these past few months. And never for anything "normal." In fact, just this morning, we did an activity with the CELA staff where we had to write "interesting facts" about each other. At least four people (we didn't get through everyone) wrote something about one of my trips to the hospital or just to the fact that I was injury or accident prone. Ironically enough, as I write this a week later, I've got a new story to add. I had my first (and here's hoping ONLY) bike accident tonight on the way home from this week's Bible study. Ripped a nice size hole in my pants, scraped up my knee pretty well, and the basket on my bike is a little out of wack now, but thankfully, no one else and nothing more was hurt!

But yes, I have now experienced a Taiwanese E.R. It was actually kind of funny. People stared quite a bit. One lady especially. "Yes, we get sick too." They do a whole slew of tests for whatever you come in for it seems. I even had an xray taken of my lungs. They finally gave me an IV and I was rolled over to lay beside a nice older Taiwanese lady who tried talking with me a few times, but I'm afraid I couldn't understand a single word she said. I also was hooked up with some potent antibiotics and some pain pills. The doctor that helped me had practiced in the States and knew English pretty well. He told me that I should be admitted to the hospital for the night (at this point it was midnight) and that they would remove the nail tomorrow. Hmm. As the doctor turned away, I said to Matt, "The whole nail?!" "We'll negotiate tomorrow," he replied.

Well, Taiwan has some pretty nice services for its people. The trash pick up is handy dandy. The trash trucks play music like ice cream trucks in the states. That's so you can hear it coming and run your trash out and throw it into the back. Makes sense. Also, their health care is very efficient and cheap! The problem was that I do not yet have my Alien Residency Card, and so could not be covered. Thankfully, it's still what we would call cheap, but we decided that an overnight stay was unnecessary. I am so thankful for Matt. He talked with the people in Mandarin and was so helpful and finally had a specific name of a surgeon I could see the next morning - a plastic surgeon.

In Taiwan, instead of making an appointment, you "take a number" by arriving at the hospital or calling. The next morning, Matt called and told me that with the help of his apartment's security guy, he had called and gotten a time for me around 10am. It really worked out well. Got a scooter ride there, walked into the office, they guy plopped my foot up on a stool, a nurse dabbed at my toe with something, the guy (who at this point I finally decided must be the "plastic surgeon" even though we were in an office-ish setting) then took some little scissors and clipped off a small side portion of my nail. Ta da! And I was on my way with an antibiotic creme prescirption and nifty bandages.

So there you go. On Sunday, the Salvation congregation prayed for me and my "spider bite."

As far as other stories, we enjoyed a FANTASTIC full Italian dinner at Matt and DeeDee's last Saturday night. A wonderful time to sit back, RELAX, and enjoy some of the finest food ever tasted. Thank you, Matt and DeeDee!

Teaching has been happening. Learning has been happening - for students and teachers alike.

We are all now officially "experienced" teachers with our first full week behind us. It was a good week. I think my kids are a little crazy, but as Anne says, "You just have to convince them that you're as crazy as they are!"

There have been good times in the classroom, challenging times in the classroom, and chalk dust has been flying. Throughout the week, I have gone from "Hmm... what other professions can I pursue rather than teaching?" to "This is seriously and ridiculously the best and most blessed career in the whole world!"

Some of the CMS teachers surveyed their class to see where they stood concerning "religion." It's really strange being somewhere like this... they know the facts, they've been taught the facts for years... but there's not the personal connection. There's strong tradition. There's an openness. But there's a void.

We have fun in our office. The teachers there are wonderful. And among the laughs and the ever-new lunch time experiences (there's a bit more to that comment if anyone would like to inquire further), there is time for some really neat conversation.

I was talking with Caddie, my K-3 co-teacher, about the Chinese New Year and if she had any plans for traveling or just relaxing. She said neither. It's a busy time for her as she has to attend events and prepare food and such for different gods and ancestors. She herself did not seem to care much for these ideas, but said her husband's family help to these beliefs and traditions strongly. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would work in Caddie's heart and her family as well.

It really is strange for me to be around so many people who don't know the Lord. I'm sorry to say I've been quite sheltered in that way. And sometimes I don't know quite what to make of it, how to take it all in, and how to approach it. But wow. As I don't rightly know how to express the weirdness and hardness of being here... I also don't know how to express the joy of being here.

Today in E-3 class (Friday, last period is Bible time) we talked about how God is our Creator. This was inspired by a student asking me Monday, "Who is God?" So we're going to start at the very beginning, even though most of the students, as mentioned before, do know these stories quite well.... but you can never hear them enough... and may the Holy Spirit work through His Word as He has promised.... "my word will not return to me empty..." ANYWAYS, we tried "creating" with play dough. This helped us learn what the words "create" and "Creator" meant.

At one point, I pointed out that we had play dough to begin our "creations" with... God had NOTHING.... God just said it, and bam! it was THERE. Some students looked thoroughly impressed. Others appeared quite skeptical. "Wait... this lady actually believes these stories as truth?...." Again. Please lift up these people and my own courage in prayers.

Here are a couple pics from that lesson and from other moments throughout the past week: :)














P.S. Michael wins the "most fun person to bike with" award of the week because he knows the best biking songs to sing. Also, as seen in the picture above, he is a harmonica SUPERSTAR, not to mention a language warrior.

P.P.S. Big thanks for the prayers. (The most recent requests are sprinkled throughout the entry.)

P.P.P.S. May our Lord Jesus Christ grant you great joy and eyes to see how He is working in and through you.

Some days, ya gotta DANCE

This is probably ridiculous that I'm posting again today. I need to go to sleep. BUT I was trying to finish up my lesson planning and noticed it was difficult because every time I got up to get something, I had to dance over to it and dance back. (sorry if you could hear it down there, Sam!) That's what happens when good music is playing I guess. This time specifically, the songs that inspired me happened to be "Audience of One" by Big Daddy Weave and then "Exodus (Faithful)" by Bethany Dillon.

But I just wanted to comment on dancing. I don't care what anyone might say about being able to or not being able to dance. It's like singing. You CAN! It's a matter of the heart. Make a joyful noise and bust a joyful move - in whatever way you are physically able!

I love dancing. A lot of my life actually has included dancing to one extent or another. From the swing-set dancing when I was 7, to ballet lessons, to those hip hop workout videos, to wedding receptions, to college memories, dancing has been a way to express joy, to be silly, and to praise the Lord with how He created us to be able to move!

An author I read once described dancing (specifically David's dancing before the Ark of the Covenant, but I think any dancing inspired by God's gifts and goodness...) as "a kinetic outburst of sheer joy." I like that.

Then there's that one song called, "You Are So Good to Me," about God's goodness and all He has done. The bridge of the song has these lyrics, "You are my strong melody, You are my dancing rhythm."

Hmm. :)

May God fill your heart with the strong melody of His love this day and may He give your feet a rhythm of joy. Hope you have the opportunity soon to close the blinds (OR leave them open) and to dance your heart out.

Peace.

Opening the Doors to Learning

It's official. The school year has begun!

I had my two classes of kindergarteners, who were surprisingly... well behaved. I have 25 and 28 students in those two classes and what I had pictured in my mind was me spending the whole first day turning chaos into order. It was nothing like that. In fact, it was almost to a point of being so much in the other direction that it was a bad thing. I think my first class, the "ladybug" class, had just woken up from their naps... or something. They sat with mouths hanging open and eyes blinking and didn't do or say much of anything for the first twenty minutes while we played a "name game," "read" a picture book, and "sang" a couple songs. To my great relief, they did get going a bit more after all that... I think most teachers can handle rowdy students, but the real challenge is when they are simply unresponsive. Oh boy. But like I said, it improved. The second class, my "cricket" class, was pretty excited right off the bat and I really enjoyed meeting all of them.
A few of my K students:

Then it was time for my E-3ers. These are 15 students, who, like all classes in existance, run the gamut of academic ability and personality. As I was figuring this out and thinking how I would possibly be able to meet them each at their level, being only one teacher (I'm finding this to be an age old question of all teachers and hope to learn from those who have become skilled at stepping up to this challenge! Any pointers from my fellow educators are always appreciated!) a typhoon came upon CELA and we dismissed students a period early at 5:30 rather than 6:20.

Now, I don't know that it's even worth talking about this typhoon when there's so much other destruction going on in the world that demands our attention and prayers. However, this typhoon, strong winds and rain, was significant enough that all the schools in the city were called off for the day. Thankfully, I have not heard of anyone being hurt, but there were a number of trees down with banches and other debris all around campus. Mike, who has been serving in Taiwan for three years, said this is the worst he has seen in his time here. But like I said, we're all safe and sound and have been enjoying a restful indoors-day.
A picture of me talking on Skype on my day off! Instead of doing the snow day dance that a teacher-friend of mine does, I do the typhoon day dance!
Also, a picture of some of the aftermath, looking from the P.H. entryway:

Big thanks to Molly who made us a breakfast of pancakes and bacon yesterday morning and then also to her and Sam for a delicious lasagna dinner! It was incredibly appreciated!

Last night, I came across an account from Ezekiel that I thought would be worth mentioning. It's about the valley of dry bones. Ezekiel 37:1-14. If you get a chance, take a look at it. Now, I realize that the Lord was talking about what He was going to do for the house of Israel... but that includes us, or at least a lesson for us. And I was encouraged by the image here. I have been going through a "dry spell" this past year or so. Those close to me know that all too well, I'm afraid. I've not been able to define it very well except to say that I've been challenged... and empty... and well, dried up. When I was younger, some of my biggest struggles were doubts of faith, who God is, if He really saved me. Now it's more doubts about who I am, ineptness, lack of worth, lack of joy. New weapons and lies against me, I suppose. When the old ones don't work anymore, the enemy pulls out new tricks... You know what, though? (This just hit me like a new idea!) God has equipped us to stand against all the enemy's schemes... the armor of God. Ephesians 5 talks about putting on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and as footwear, the readiness from the gospel of peace. Also, the shield of faith, the helmet of slavation, "and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Wow.

Why do I have such a time remembering this?

God HAS provided a solution to every issue we face, every seemingly-endless doubt we harbor in our hearts, every lie being wispered in our ear. That soultion is Him... Jesus Christ crucified and risen, and the righteousness, the life, the gifts, and the good news we have to share because of it! That's a fact. But I suppose this side of heaven we are warned that there will be trouble (John 16:33).

...So I'm going to go back to the problem of dryness here and look at it a little more. At one point, God asks Ezekiel, "Can these bones live?" (v. 3) And I found myself anxious at the answer... can dry bones live? Can the Lord fill me again with life when I've felt so dry for so long?"

Ezekiel answers, "You alone know." I think this is a statement of faith as in recognizing God as not only the only one who knows, but also as the only one who can do anything about it... maybe like, "God only you know because only you are the one who has the power to give life!" And then, you know what! God tells Exekiel to prophesy His word, the word of the Lord! And the bones are given life and breath!

Here is what one writer had to say about it: "God produces unexpected yields of harvest in the least likely spots. God showed Ezekiel a valley filled with dry, crumbling bones. The life had gone out of them long before. God asked Ezekiel, 'Can tehse bones live?"... Ezekiel confessed, "Lord, You know." Indeed He did. By the mighty power of God's Word and Spirit, the valley of dry bones became a living host, a mighty army. The dry bones lived! By this sign, God demonstrates that, in bringing us to faith, He raises us from death to life. We are dead in our trespasses and sins, but by His grace we are made alive by His Word and Spirit. By His Son's death on the cross, our sins are forgiven. Through His glorious resurrection, we are given life eternally."

So yes, through Christ we are given life after being dead in our sins! And also, I think this reminds us that when we are dry, He is the one to renew.

I think the Lord has already led me through a lot of this "dry spell," but I must say that I look forward to looking back someday soon and seeing more clearly how I learned and how I grew because of it... and not feeling dry anymore. But regardless of any feelings, the fact remains that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. And He is yours too! May that wonderful fact give us all a renewed joy and strength. :)

In other news, as I have been typing, "los banos" (as the small flying bathroom-infesting insects were named) have infiltrated my room and are flying between my face and the computer screen. On a scale of 1 to 10 for annoyingness, this probably rates at around an 8.9.

Noteworthy other-than-Team-Taiwan blogs as of late (well, they are all noteworthy, but I really appreciated these): Ryan talking about his first impressions of Thailand and Cassie talking about homesickness. Check them out if you get the chance.