Lyrics

I was just playing my guitar. Anna Horkey taught me the B chord and the wonder of the key of E. This has opened up a new world of song-playing. I can now play Relient K's song, "For the Moments I Feel Faint." This is quite possibly one of the greatest songs ever written. I think I've put these lyrics up here before, but here they come again:

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.

Indonesia

Hi, all. I just wanted to post a reminder to keep the people of Indonesia in your thoughts and prayers. There was an earthquake there that killed around 4500 people. An article can be found online at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5023874.stm I don't know what exactly we can do to help right now, except that Jesus tells us, "Ask, and you will receive." (Matthew 7:7ff) So let's ask God to comfort the survivors and to provide people to help and support those in need... in Indonesia... and throughout the world.

Thanks.

Sister Times

My sister got to visit for two weeks, and it was so cool. I didn't take off work very much ( a couple afternoons) but we really squeezed in a lot of activity and she was a HUGE help in the office and in the classroom, even teaching some when I had to give the midsemester oral tests. Thank you, Rachel!

But she got to see my everyday life and jumped on the back of my scooter and went everywhere with me. So maybe some of the people here are disappointed I didn't show her around the island more, but I think Rachel and I both agree that we did all we could and the time was well spent. And thanks to the help of many, Rachel did get to see some sites around here!

Here's a little picture book of her visit! :) Praise the Lord for family!

At the CELA dean's engagement ceremony.


A friend took us to see some sites around JiJi like this traditional-styled school.


RISK.


Rachel meeting the newest member of the Taiwan family.


Another friend took us hiking up "Doolishan" (that's how I say it) last weekend. It was a beautiful day and a pretty awesome hike!

Congratulations!

Happy Graduation Day, Timothy! I love you! I so wish I could be there to celebrate the day with you and the family! But know you're in my thoughts and prayers! May Christ Jesus continue to be with you each and every moment of this new journey!

This photo is entitled, "Bring Me Java, Bring Me Joy" and it's dedicated to my little brother who has given me much joy (from the moment the babysitter told Rachel and I, "You have a little brother!") God has blessed and continues to bless me through you! I love you and miss you!

A Museum Park

This is classic.

Last night at Bible study, I was invited to go with two students and their mom to a "museum park." I didn't quite know what this was, but it sounded nice.

On the way to the "museum park" this morning, I found out that the mom would wait outside the park and visit with a friend while the girls and I and two guys (the sons of the friend) went into the park. The mom explained that she didn't really enjoy the rides.

Wait. Rides?

There had been a slight mixup. She said, "I think I said that wrong." She had meant to say "amusement park." :) It was VERY funny and we laughed about it quite a bit. The mom was concerned if I was okay with an amusement park, and I assured her that I was as I switched my mental preparations from strolling around a park, looking at art, to riding roller coasters and standing in lines for swirly rides.

The day was a ton of fun! I hadn't been on amusement park rides for quite a while, and it was really great to be back on those things! The students I was with were great company and willing to try all the rides! My favorite rides were: 1) one where you lay on your stomach and spin in a a circle in the air like superman, 2) one that shot you straight up into the air and then bounced you up and down some, 3) the giant ferris wheel. They also had a "G5" drop coaster-type thing there... I went on it and was brought back to high school physics and our gravity-force-testing-sticks that we got to experiment with at Great America. Good times.

It also was a great day because it gave me a chance to listen/share more with these people who are asking questions about faith... as God is moving their hearts with His grace... grace, God's undeserved love and righteousness for sinners... the gift won for us and offered freely because of Jesus Christ's sacrifice and victory.

Good stuff, that.

A view from the top of the ferris wheel, overlooking a roller coaster and the Taiwan landscape. Gotta love the mountains.


They had these various creatures you could crawl into and then drive around the park... However, I'm pretty sure they were not made for people my size.


The flying ride...

"Ba ba is gone!"

Hi, friends. This is the story of a hamster... family.

A while back this semester, someone gave the school two little hamsters. They live(d) in a little purple cage. One is(was) a boy one is a girl. They have Chinese names that I don't know. I thought I liked hamsters. Then I met these two hamsters. Maybe it's not their fault. Maybe it's just what comes of being left out in the reach of small children too often and being poked at with pencils and chopsticks. But these hamsters are what they are, and that is VICIOUS. I really don't like them at all. I tried to hold one a couple times and they just go berserk and bite, bite, scratch, and bite if you try to put your hand in and pick one up. Nasty little creatures.

Well, to our great surprise one day, the news was announced that there were some new hamsters occcupying the cage. Yes. They had babies. I never had noticed that the mother was even expecting, but suddenly, there were seven little squirmy, eye-less, pink, and hairless little babies. Hmm.

Well, after a bit of research, it was decided that the father should be removed from the cage. But where to put him? I wasn't around for this initial decision-making. I discovered the solution for myself when I walked past the hamster-housing classroom at one point and noticed a small, wood-shavings covered tupperware container with the lid popped open... and no hamster. Wait. There he was... running around the counter top. I didn't know if this is what was supposed to be happening.

I went and got Tina who does a lot of our organizing and paper work and helps out with everything in general. They are kind of her hamsters I think. She knows a bit of English, but not a ton. She seemed alarmed to see the father ("father" in Chinese is "ba ba") running freely, so I immediately went in search of a new plan. I soon found a rather large and tall plastic bowl in storage in the office. I offered it and it seemed everyone agreed that would be a good solution. A little home of wood shavings, and lids with food and water were set up for the father and he was put into his new home (not by hand of course since he's vicious.... I think a cup and some cardboard were used).

So then there was a Tuesday morning that rolled around. We have a meeting in the classroom where the hamster cage usually lives. On my way out of this meeting, I glanced into the large bowl to take a gander at the daddy hamster. Well, there was no hamster. Hmm.

I walked into the office and asked another teacher. They suggested that perhaps Tina had reunited the family in the purple cage. I went and found Tina. "Tina, did you put the dad hamster back in with the mom and babies?" "No," she replied with a quizical look. "Where is the dad?" I asked. Tina indicated in the direction of the bowl. "No, I just looked. He's not in there!" I didn't know what reaction to expect... if she would be upset or sad... I didn't know. She suddenly looked concerned, but then smiled, and exclaimed, "Ba ba is gone!"

It was HILARIOUS.

We have no idea where this ba ba ran off to.... there has been no sighting of him since. Perhaps he is happily befriending the rats of the land while his offspring begin to sprout hair and get eyes.

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to Mom and Dad! :-D

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for being wonderful role models and keeping me (and my brother and sister) in your prayers and helping us grow so we can "spread our own wings" and experience whatever adventures, challenges, and blessings the Lord brings us through!

Thank you for the example you have set! I love you both very much and hope you have a blessed day celebrating the gift of marriage!

Granted, no one is perfect, but I truly am thankful for my parents and their example and their committment and love... a love and committment that are clearly fuled by our Lord Jesus Christ who has first loved us.

Blessings on your day, all.

I have a good story about a hamster that I hope to get up here soon...

ANTS

Let me preface this entry by saying that I really like Honey Nut Cheerios.

Last week, the CELA staff took a day trip and visited a school in another city and a HUGE warehouse-sale type store. Said store also has many things that you can't find elsewhere on the island... such as Honey Nut Cheerios.

Now I really really like cereal. I ate it all the time when I was in the States. But here, it's not as easy to find. But at this huge store, they had many kinds, and I treated myself to a HUGE box of Honey Nut Cheerios.

When I had my first bowl, it was one of the best tastes I've ever tasted. Seriously, it had never tasted so good.

Well, that was over a week ago. The other morning, I went to the cupboard in the kitchen where I had my cereal stored, in a bag, folded and clipped up... tightly... but apparently not tightly enough. As I poured, I saw that some ants had somehow discovered my cereal AND an entrance to the bag... they were crawling in my Cheerios.

I would like to say that I threw the cereal out right then and there, and so did not eat any ants that morning, but those would probably be lies.

I just can't waste Honey Nut Cheerios in Taiwan.

I thought about just ending this blog entry here, but I'll add a bit more, hopefully to ease your mind... :)

I couldn't throw out this precious bag of cereal. I sat there and thought about it, kinda shrugged, and thought, "Just a little extra protein, right?"

One redeeming factor to the grossness of it all is that I poured all the cereal from the bag into an airtight tupperware type container before I scooped any into my bowl. I didn't see many ants in the cereal after dumping them out... and I figured that any that got poured in with the cereal would meet their doom and cause me no harm.

Wu-da Mai-Mai Tzai Juhlee

Yes! It is true! In my broken Anna-yin Chinese, I titled this, "My Little Sister is Here!"

Praise the Lord for family near and far.... and for those far whom He sometimes brings near. :)



This is a picture from Friday night Bible study. :)

Oh...

Today, as we were putting on our shoes and lining up to go outside on a "shadow hunt", one of my kindergarteners threw up all over the head and back of another kindergartener. I had never seen anything like it. Actually, I didn't see it happen, only the aftermath. The poor kid who was the recepient of the, uh, yeah.... well, he is the most even-tempered child I think I have ever met. He just kinda looked at me in bewilderment... and gagging. And then the other poor little guy who had lost his lunch looked like he was going to pass out. The other kids just tried to stay out of the way. I had no idea what to do. I think I just watched them all with my mouth hanging open. Now, the thing is, when I teach kindergarten, I'm a visitor, so I never know quite how much ownership of the classroom I can take. The homeroom teacher usually sticks around and does work at her desk, and presently, there are also four college students in each kindergarten classroom doing practicum work... so I guess I just figured the most useful I could be was in continuing the plans to head outside... and leave the five others to deal with the situation through whatever procedures are common. In a school of somewhere around 300 kindergarteners, there have got to be procedures for this sort of thing. I doubt it hardly makes the homeroom teachers bat an eye.

When we returned after a semi-successful shadow hunt on this hazy day, the one boy looked as if he had somehow taken a bath and was sitting in fresh clothes. The other still looked rather miserable, but they were both under the supervision of their homeroom teacher and a college student, sitting in their spots waiting for us.

Our parent-teacher conference was tonight. It was scheduled for an hour, but went two. However, I didn't mind because it was helpful and I enjoy communicating with the parents. I had another teacher help translate, and all the parents who came were encouraging and had good questions or suggestions.

This morning, before going into the office, I finished the book I had been reading, "The Princess and the Goblin" by George MacDonald. I loved it. It was a lovely book. I love the writing style and the imagination. I love the simplicity and the old fashioned language. I love the storytelling and the characters. Getting back tonight, I thought to myself, "Oh, I will go and visit Curdie and Irene and all the characters in the book...." but then I sadly realized I had finished it and my time with them was done. There was one series of books that I actually shed tears over once when I realized the characters were not real people. See, many times, if I read of someone historical that I really wish I could have met and talked with, I look forward to meeting them in heaven with our Lord Jesus. However, with literary characters, well, they just aren't real, so I can't ever meet them. :) Pretty obvious, but there was one ridiculous moment when the realization of the un-existence of Jan Karon's Father Tim, Cynthia Coppersmith, and Dooley Barlow made me cry... just a little though. (This also happened somewhat when I finished the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.) I suppose that puts me right up there with the people who go to Prince Edward Island looking for Anne Shirley's house or something, wishing I could somehow know and hang out with these characters that lived only ever in the minds of authors and on the pages of their novels.

The thing is though, all the things I admire about these characters really reflects characteristics of people of God that ARE real... real people fighting the good fight against lies and dispair, real people walking the road of real faith, a road of grace and hope in where it leads, real characteristics of real people formed by the real hands of a real God.

I like that.

"If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."
—1 Corinthians 15:17–20

God's grace and peace to you, in our RISEN Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Happy May Day!

Hi, all!

For some reason, May Day (the first day of the month of May) has always been fun for me. I remember when I was a kid, Mom would help me make little May baskets with candy and we'd drive to my friends' houses around town and leave the baskets on the doorsteps, ring the bell, and run away.

I don't do that anymore. Well, I should say that I didn't do it this year. But I was as excited as ever for the month of May to be here!

Maybe I've always like May because my parents got married in May. Maybe May is just a cool name for a month. Maybe May always meant flowers poking their lovely noses through the fresh-scented Iowa dirt every spring of my childhood. Maybe May meant musical every year in high school. Maybe May meant the smell of spring was finally suspended in the air.

I don't know why I so love May. But for what I know, I'm glad God made this time of year and I'm glad it's here.

"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." - Psalm 27:13-14