My birthday evening

I have really enjoyed attending a Monday evening Bible study at The Grace Place, a little church plant that I have blogged about before. Tonight it was not only my birthday, but also the birthday of the Taiwanese pastor, James. So we had a double celebration including homemade hot pot and chocolate cake. Yum! Delicious! I am so encouraged by this fun evening of sharing, eating, telling stories, and laughing! What a blessing to have found a church family here in Taiwan! Here are some pictures from the evening:
Below is Betty, a little first-grader who comes to the Bible Study with her mother (and today, her father came too!), Elizabeth and Sarah Dodd. These little girls remind me so much of Amy! They are so fun and are quick to give me a big hug whenever we meet.

This is Luke, James and his wife Joyce's 2-month old baby. I think he is just adorable!! I didn't get to hold him tonight, but that is typically a highlight of my week! He just got his hair cut. I guess there is a Taiwanese tradition of making a calligraphy brush out of the first cuttings of a baby's hair. The uncut hair makes for a very fine point on the brush. Interesting...

My team was recently given about 200 oranges (it's orange season here in Taiwan). What to do with them? Make orange juice! This weekend I bought a cute little orange juicer and we have had fun juicing our way through the box of oranges. The bottle of juice you see in the picture below took 30 oranges. They are small and quite sweet, making for good juice.Well, I think that's it for today! I'm much encouraged as I am reminded that God has a purpose for everything - for oranges and for me every day that I am here in Taiwan. God has a special purpose for everything in your life too! Let's hold fast and together keep our eyes on the goal!

Love,

Christy