Re-lightable candles.....hardly seems fair!

I was amazed at Dad's perseverance in blowing out the candles that kept relighting themselves! He was in great form that day and we all had a wonderful time together. 

Living Bread Church

It is a privilege to lead Precept classes in the context of the Living Bread Church Equipping Center. We not only have the opportunity to serve the brothers and sisters from this church who are hungry for more of God's Word, but we also are served by the pastors and other staff there. This time, Pastor Swun (on the right in the photo) has brought many from his visually impaired small group to participate in the course. Pastor Swun doesn't come alone! He is accompanied by his beautiful seeing eye dog! In each class there are helpers who make sure the room is ready to go and put back in order when we leave, not to mention pampering the teacher by meeting my every need!

A Spirit of Unity

The youth group in our church demonstrated a deep level of support for "Auntie Eve" on Sunday. It was the first time Eve's hair had fallen out to the extent that she wanted to cover it with a scarf for church. The youth group decided to wear scarves too, in order to encourage her and let her know that they were going through this time with her. I think that more people than just Eve were encouraged by their actions. We were all challenged and uplifted. I have to say that Eve's cheery and positive spirit as she is walking through this experience with cancer are also a tremendous testimony and example to us all. God is Great and God is Good!

Back in Taiwan....Safe and Sound!

I can't believe I didn't take my camera to Thailand! What was I thinking? But, on the other hand, I only left the complex where the hotel was located, one time during the week....so there wasn't much to photograph. First of all, the flight to and from there was great....direct, non-stop connections on China Air. The hotel met my flight and took me to the airport for my departure, so going and coming were totally painless. As I was inquiring at the hotel desk, my roommate for the week, Margaret from Kazakhstan, walked up and introduced herself. She is a widow (two grown daughters) heading up a language school that is part of a business enterprise in her part of the world. I thoroughly enjoyed the week together with her. She was lots of fun to talk to (I talked her ear off, I think) and felt like a kindred spirit in many ways.

The workshop was fantastic. The people who put these workshops together have such a wealth of experience among them....and they do such a good job of communicating their material. Lonna is the director of Wheaton Grad School's Institute of Cross Cultural Training (a pre-field program for missionary candidates). Her specialty is TESL and she has many years of experience helping language coaches. The volumes of information and experience she has to share, and the clear way she shares it, is amazing. David is the Assistant Director for the same program, and the rest of the time, he is the Provost of the Russian-American University in Moscow. (I hope I got the name right) I think the highlight of the workshop for me was David's devotional each morning. It seemed that every single day, he spoke directly to something I had just been meditating on or had felt God speaking to me about. I love his gentle and honest manner of sharing. I really appreciated all that he brought to us. And Carol was just so much fun. She is an amazingly gifted and broadly experienced person and the things she shared were so practical! And one of her special gifts was that she always made us laugh with great examples and personal experiences.

I feel blessed to have been able to attend the workshop. What else did I experience of Thailand? Well, it felt like Asia....quite a bit like Taiwan, except in Chiang Mai they didn't seem to have many tall buildings. The food was good, but there were lots of things that were too spicy for my palate. I wish I had had someone to really introduce me to different foods. Most of the time, I was on my own, so I didn't try too many different kinds of things--I discovered I am not as adventurous as I had thought. The papaya salad was a favorite, though. I had that about 4 times, I think. Too bad I didn't have an extra day, I could have taken a tour with Margaret and really seen something besides the shopping mall and the night market. Well, maybe if I go next year I can plan to spend some extra time. It was a great and restful week and I am thankful to have had the opportunity. It was a gift!

Off on an Adventure!

I am leaving tomorrow for a week in Chiang Mai, Thailand. This is my first time to visit Thailand and I am really looking forward to it. My main purpose is to attend a Language Coach Workshop ( I will talk about that more in another post) but we will have evenings free and I am arriving a day early, so I should be able to see a few things! Looks like Chiang Mai is in the mountains in the north of Thailand. I noticed on weather.com that it is 95 degrees every day....Yikes! Quite a contrast with our high 60s weather in Taiwan.

The Red-Faced General

The red face represents loyalty (so I am told) and this particular general was especially known and venerated for his loyalty. So much so, that now, below this huge statue of him, is a temple were people come and offer sacrifices to him and many other gods. This place was among several "scenic spots" that Eve and I took Maggie and Mike (friends of my cousin Duane, who are living and working in Taiwan for a few years) to visit yesterday. We are at the end of our New Year holiday. Still having fun!

New Year's Fun!

The traditional red envelopes may be handed out merely in response to a New Year's greeting, but in our family, there is more cash to be earned by responding to either daddy or uncle's questions or other competitions to act and sound like an animal, sing a song, dance, etc. We had an awful lot of fun that night! 

Family Fun

A kind of concentration game kept everyone laughing as we tried hard to remember whether or not to call out our number or clap our hands. Lots of laughter is good for the digestive system! 

Chinese New Year's Eve Family Dinner

New Year's Eve is always a special time with Dai's family. Her mom, two brothers and their families and Dai and I enjoy eating together and just being together. We always pray that we will be reflections of the love of Jesus to the family. 

This week's key word is "hospital".

I don't have any photos of the last week's escapades, but I will do my best to paint a word picture for you. It all started last Wednesday when my young (25) American neighbor called me saying "I don't know what to do! I have pain in my abdomen and pain in my back. Do you think I should see a Dr.?" After questions about the intensity of the pain, etc. I told her I would take her to the Dr. that afternoon. The result of our visit to the Dr. was that she was admitted. I was impressed with the way the hospital staff worked with her and over the course of time diagnosed three separate conditions that all required attention. She is now at home on bedrest for another week due to a ruptured disk in her back, but she is doing well under the circumstances. This whole experience made me realize how thankful I ought to be, that in the 26 years I have lived in Taiwan, I have never required hospitalization.....so going through the admittance process was a new experience for me.

Today I went to see the doctor for myself. I have had a little bump on my neck for several months and it just recently became inflamed and painful to touch. It turns out that it is just an infected sebaceous cyst and really is nothing to worry about. What was so neat, though, was how God used that visit to the doctor to renew a contact with a neighbor we rarely see. She was seeing the same doctor I saw, and was very worried about impending surgery. We assured her that we would go through it with her. We are praying that God will continue to open doors for us to share His love with her. Pray for Ms. Tsai when God brings her to your mind.

Sunday night, Rev. and Mrs. Cheng, missionaries to China, stayed at my home. They were preparing for complete physicals the next day.....I delivered them to the hospital at 7:30 Monday morning and picked them up at 4:00 p.m.

Then, yesterday, a co-worker was admitted to a hospital in Taipei for preliminary testing before undergoing a lumpectomy today for breast cancer. She was blessed with a smooth procedure and seems to be doing very well (just visited her tonight).

So, you can see, I have spent more time in hospitals in the last week, than any other place. Dai and I were wondering if God might be leading us to focus a little more on hospital as a place of ministry. We are certainly open to His leading.

Christmas Program Highlight

 

What fun to be off work!

 

Hey, Wait For Me!

 

At Sheng Sying Train Station

Joy and Diane are such a blessing! They really are the ones that keep Precept going. Joy is in charge of promotion and spends hours on the phone calling pastors, setting up appointments for me to visit, arranging training sessions, etc. Diane handles our bookkeeping and government formalities, as well as developing in the teaching and training area. Both of these gals are devoted to serving the Lord with all of their hearts and it is a privilege to work with them.

"Home for Christmas"

I have lived in Taiwan for 26 years and grown to love most everything about life here. But it is amazing how some old tradtions hold deep nostalgic feelings. I decided to to make a trip back to my roots and join my sister in participating in all of the things that made Christmas a special time.....like baking cookies, shoveling snow, the lights, the music.....

Bussie's bathtime

This bird is my sister and brother-in-law's baby. She really enjoys her bath.

Christmas cookie time!

My favorite memories from childhood Christmases have to do with baking Christmas cookies. It was so much fun to join Sue in making cookies for her family this year. 

A Christmas wonderland

 

The Christmas lights in Frankenmuth were beautiful

 

I asked God for snow while I was in Michigan