Christy's Lovely Life

Bow the Knee

2008-08-29T09:51:00.002+08:00

"What a privilege to come into God's presence,
Just to linger with the one who set me free.
As I lift my eyes and see His awesome glory,
I remember who He is and bow the knee.

Bow the knee, bow the knee,
He is king of all the ages, bow the knee!
God alone on His throne,
See Him high and lifted up and bow the knee!
Kneel before Him, all adore Him.
As you live to love Him more, bow the knee.

In His hand He holds the power of creation.
With His voice He spoke and all things came to be.
Yet He hears each simple prayer I bring before Him
When I humbly seek His face and bow the knee.

Bow the knee, bow the knee,
He is king of all the ages, bow the knee!
God alone on His throne,
See Him high and lifted up and bow the knee!
Kneel before Him, all adore Him.
As you live to love Him more, bow the knee."

~SoundForth

Choices

2008-08-27T10:56:00.001+08:00

Every day we are faced with choices. Most are seemingly small choices: what will I wear? What should I say? How shall I plan this or that part of my day?

We are also faced with what seem to be bigger choices: What would God want me to spend my energies on? How would He have me respond when I see injustice, sin, poverty, or other needs in this world? What do I do with the desires He has placed in my heart? How do I know if those desires are from Him or are just selfish desires? What is His specific plan for my life?

Many people offer their advice and good ideas. There are hundreds of books – good ones – that people have written that share the wisdom they have received from God and telling their stories of following God’s leading in their lives. These are encouraging, but leave me wondering today… What is God’s specific direction for my life?

To find that specific direction I must go to the heart of Him that created me and has made my heart clean through His Son, Jesus. As I spend time in worship and communion with Him, I learn more of His nature and character and can grow in the trust that He knows what is best and will reveal His direction in His perfect time and way. Through His Spirit He will give His direction in all the choices – both small and big – that I will and do face.

I want to lay aside anything that is not His direction for my life. I don’t want anything, as good or wonderful as it may seem, to distract me from the path He is calling me to follow. I want God’s best and I want to live a life that is fully alive and complete in Him!

So today, as we face those inevitable choices, let’s purpose to spend time in worship and fellowship with the One who created us and who loves us with an everlasting love.

“How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand…” Psalm 139:17-18a

Father, fill us with Your Spirit and give us grace to follow Your leading with trusting and joyful hearts. Amen.

Love,

Christy

Delighting in the Lord

2008-08-04T04:50:00.002+08:00

"To delight in You, Lord, that's what I want to do;
To reserve my highest praise just for You.
Cause the things of this world to fade and pass away;
Fill my life with love for You, each and ev'ry day.

My heart belongs to You, Lord - You satisfy my soul.
Delighting in Your will for me fills and makes me whole.
Feasting in Your presence, in Your holiness,
Your glory, all-consuming, I now confess.
You are Lord of all the earth, all things are in your care;
I humbly walk before You, You're everywhere.

My heart belongs to You, Lord - You satisfy my soul.
Delighting in Your will for me fills and makes me whole.
To delight in You, Lord, that's what I want to do;
To reserve my highest praise just for You.
Cause the things of this world to fade and pass away;
Fill my life with love for You, each and ev'ry day.

Fill my life with love for You, each and ev'ry day."
-Wakefield daughters

Where is your heart today? May it be delighting in the Lord, trusting in His perfect will!

Love,
Christy

An Update!

2008-07-08T11:43:00.002+08:00

"We please God most, not by frantically trying to make ourselves good, but by throwing ourselves into His arms with all our imperfections and believing that He understands everything - and loves us still." A.W. Tozer

God is so good!! I'm so glad to be His!

And now for a long-overdue update:

Right now I'm back in Edmonton for the summer, working at Computronix, and living at my friends, the Tuplin's. It's been a fun summer so far; here are some highlights (in chronological order):

- Joshua's wedding (there are pictures at www.xanga.com/hqshutterbug & at http://picasaweb.google.com/thegreatcanadianadventure/JoshNErinWedding)!

- Banff/Canmore trip with our fantastic friends from Colorado!! Yay, what fun memories of hiking in the rain, caravaning with all our large vans, eating, taking pictures, playing telephone charades, and enjoying the fellowship of believers through it all.

- Visiting my Oma & Opa in Vancouver

- Relaxing at my Grandma & Grandpa's in Saskatchewan - where I managed to sleep about 10 hours every night. "Lo, he giveth his beloved sleep", right?

- Driving up to Edmonton with my Dad - I'm so grateful for his love and leading in my life.

- Starting back at work at Computronix! After a two-year break, it's been good to get back into working again. This summer I have been part-time on reception - so if you call Computronix you have a pretty good chance of hearing my voice answer - and the rest of the time on various tasks that Heather Tuplin (my supervisor) gives me. Currently those "various tasks" include researching & figuring out the trademark process, updating the Tech Support manual, and processing registrations for an upcoming client conference. Last week, while working on updating the Tech Support manual, I learned how to put together an internet cable AND IT WORKED!! I felt rather accomplished.... :D

- Living at the Tuplin's home. It has been a unique blessing to be living in the home of some dear friends in Edmonton. The Tuplins have two daughters at home and one of them is about to be married this Saturday! As you can imagine, there has been a lot going on, and I've been encouraged by the Tuplins' Godly responses to all the unexpected "little" things that come up. They manage to keep a home that is solidly centered on God and hearts that are open to Him and tender with each other. I'm so grateful for the friendship of the Tuplin sisters (and mother, and father)!! Heather and I have enjoyed (when there is time in the midst of the busyness) going for walks and exercising in the evening. They also have a gorgeous backyard of flowers and garden. I'll have to post some pictures on here sometime.

- Attending the Tuplin's church - Meadowlands Baptist - has also been a special gift for this summer. I appreciate the teaching that is solidly rooted on God's Word and have enjoyed playing along with the orchestra on Sunday mornings.

Tonight I just came back from a fun evening with some of the young people at the church. We had a barbecue and then played ultimate frisbee for an hour or so. Yes, I actually played (I actually had the frisbee in my hands maybe five times)!! :D It's been neat to meet others who have a desire to serve the Lord with their whole hearts.

I'm here in Edmonton for another six weeks or so and then it's back down to Denver to be with my family!! I look forward to life with the family and seeing all of the dear Coloradoan friends again.

God be with you all!
Love,
Christy

How Good is the God we Adore!!

2008-07-05T14:21:00.000+08:00

How good is the God we adore,
Our faithful unchangeable Friend!
His love is as great as His power,
And knows neither measure nor end!

’Tis Jesus the First and the Last,
Whose Spirit shall Guide us safe home,
We’ll praise Him for all that is past,
And trust Him for all that’s to come.
-Joseph Hart

Quote for Today

2008-05-07T04:52:00.002+08:00

"If I felt my heart as hard as a stone; if I did not love God, or man, or woman, or little child, I would yet say to God in my heart, 'O God, see how I trust Thee, because Thou art perfect, and not changeable like me. I do not love Thee. I love nobody. I am not even sorry for it. Thou seest how much I need Thee to come close to me, to put Thy arm round me, to say to me, MY CHILD: for the worse my state, the greater my need of my Father who loves me. Come to me, and my day will dawn; my love will come back, and, oh! how I shall love Thee, my God! and know that my love is Thy love, my blessedness Thy being." ~George MacDonald

O Love Divine!!

2008-02-08T00:36:00.000+08:00

Suppose there was a king who loved a humble maiden. The king was like no other king. No one dared breathe a word against him, for he had the strength to crush all opponents. And yet this mighty king was melted by love for a humble maiden. How could he declare his love for her? In an odd sort of way, his kingliness tied his hands. If he brought her to the palace and crowned her head with jewels and clothed her body in royal robes, she would surely not resist—no one dared resist him. But would she love him?
She would say she loved him, of course, but would she truly? Or would she live with him in fear, nursing a private grief for the life she had left behind? Would she be happy at his side? How could he know? If he rode to her forest cottage in his royal carriage, with an armed escort waving bright banners, that too would overwhelm her. He did not want a cringing subject. He wanted a lover, an equal. He wanted her to forget that he was a king and she a humble maiden and to let shared love cross the gulf between them. For it is only in love that the unequal can be made equal.

The king clothes himself as a beggar and renounces his throne in order to win her hand. The Incarnation, the life and the death of Jesus, answers once and for all the question, “What is God’s heart toward me?” This is why Paul says in Romans 5, “Look here, at the Cross. Here is the demonstration of God’s heart. At the point of our deepest betrayal, when we had run our farthest from him and gotten so lost in the woods we could never find our way home, God came and died to rescue us.”

(The Sacred Romance , 80–81)

Quote for Today

2007-12-03T05:59:00.000+08:00

Here's a good quote that I read today:
"When a person, yielding to God and believing the truth of God, is filled with the Spirit of God, even his faintest whisper will be worship." A. W. Tozer

Sometimes all I can do is whisper. Praise to our Father that He knows, hears and understands our hearts!

Rejoicing in Him today,
Christy

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2007-11-23T06:01:00.000+08:00

Hello everyone!
Well, looking back at my last post where I was considering getting back to blogging, and looking at the date it is now, I obviously have not been doing well at keeping up on this blog. Oh well. =)

The last couple of months have been full of school, homework, friends new and old and lessons that my Heavenly Father is teaching me.

Joys from the last couple of months include:
- A new sister being added to the family (my brother Joshua's fiancee)! YAY!!!! Happy, happy, happy; God is SO good!
- Getting to know the sisters of the "sister"...
- Catching up with friends and enjoying fellowship together in the Lord.
- I'm really enjoying school!! My teachers at Red Rocks are great and I like my classmates. Yes, the homework keeps piling on, but it's really fun to learn new things and see ways that I can apply it to preparing for the next adventure God might send me on!
- Hearing from friends in Taiwan... I miss you all!!

And now here it is nearing the end of November! How time flies! There has been some real adjusting to do as I am living back at home, but what a wonderful, marvelous place to be! How grateful I am for a family that loves the Lord, works together, laughs together, has fun together, prays together, sings together, and seeks to raise each other up to what God has for them to be!

So with that, I'll close my short Thanksgiving post. (We'll see when I actually post next!!)

Have a good day, dear ones!
Love,
Christy

Yum! Grandma's Saskatoon Pie

2007-09-20T03:41:00.001+08:00

Hi

2007-09-20T03:34:00.001+08:00

Well, I haven't posted for 2 months, as anyone who checks this semi-regularly well knows.
I was just reminded of this fact and am hence updating. =)
I'll start back to blogging by putting up this:

Hope it made you smile!
Christy

Back "home"...

2007-07-19T03:41:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone! I'm back in Canada!!
I'll post pictures on here at some point, but for now I want y'all to know that although I miss Taiwan, it's great to be back and wonderful to be with my family again!
Love,
Christy

Could I be happier?

2007-07-11T16:05:00.000+08:00

Being right in the middle of God's will is the happiest place to be!
Love you all!
Christy

Hiking in Hsinchu County

2007-07-08T23:34:00.000+08:00

Beautiful!! Oh, how I love God's handiwork!

Small mountain camp pictures

2007-07-08T23:30:00.000+08:00

Me & Owen. I love this boy...

My team...

Jean, our leader...

The teaching team with some students...

Rejoicing in Him!

2007-07-08T23:05:00.001+08:00

Dear all...
Deepest apologies for the length of time (again!) between posts. In the past few weeks I have said good-bye to my precious students, teachers, friends at church in Chiayi, friends in Chiayi, packed, cleaned, completed one summer camp and am near the beginning of a second summer English camp in Hsinchu.

These past few weeks have been really special. My students and co-teachers overwhelmed me with gifts and notes and I had many good evenings together with friends that I had made in Chiayi. I hope to see them again someday!!

Last week we traveled up to a small school somewhere in the mountains of northern Taiwan to teach an English camp to a group of aboriginal Taiwanese children. This was definitely a highlight of my time in Taiwan, as I witnessed the need, the love, and the specialness of these children. Although challenging to teach (at times) they really found a special place in my heart. So hard to leave....

Now I am in the city of Hsinchu, teaching with nearly all the rest of the Taiwan English teachers (with King Car/IBLP). This is a large camp with pretty high-level English speaking children and so far it is going really well. I'm really enjoying the fellowship with other teachers and hearing them share of God's faithfulness to them over the past year. He is SO good!! My heart just rejoices in His love towards me!!

It is just a few days until I head back to Canada! I'm so excited to come home and be with my family again and embark on the new adventure God has for me, but sad to say good-bye (for now) to Taiwan. There's a part of me that will always be here. Praise the Lord for His grace that sees us through!!

Love,
Christy

Dinner with Cerita & family

2007-06-22T22:07:00.000+08:00

Cerita is the director of English Education at Siang-He elementary school. She and her husband and I (and Myra) went out for dinner to a special seafood restaurant recently. I really appreciate Cerita - she's done a lot to help the English program be successful and has been a good friend as well.

(The food was really good, too, as far as seafood goes. They served many other special things, including fried bees! I would have tried a fried bee just so I could say that I ate it, but they were out. How sad.... =D )

Rose Garden Cafe

2007-06-21T10:37:00.000+08:00

Last weekend I met up with a friend in Chiayi City and she took me to a lovely little tea place called the Rose Garden Cafe. I didn't know any place like this existed in our little part of Taiwan and it felt just like home. I especially enjoyed some good Earl Grey - something I haven't had for over a year! Now it won't be too long until I can enjoy it again. 22 days, folks, until I fly home! =)

Dragon Boat Festival

2007-06-19T13:56:00.000+08:00

Today is a holiday - the Dragon Boat Festival! A couple of the teachers from school drove us out to the harbor to watch the goings-on. There were races (about 30 teams), plenty of food and a general atmosphere of fun! I've been told a couple of versions of the legend behind the Dragon Boat Festival. They all seem to surround a patriotic poet who, ages ago, did a lot of good for the Emperor. Some people didn't like him, and lied about him to the Emperor. The Emperor was so upset that he had the poet thrown into the river. Many people mourned for this poet and went out in boats to search for his body. Now, this day celebrated every June with boat races and a day off work & school. Yay!!

Dragon Boats

2007-06-19T13:39:00.000+08:00

Peter

2007-06-16T18:29:00.000+08:00

This is Peter. In Taiwan classrooms, children with special needs are not separated. Peter is a special child in one of my 1st grade classes. He is SO sweet! I LOVE this little boy. He tries so hard to form the letters in his book - when he understands that's what he is to do. He loves to be called upon for anything. The other children are really kind to him, and many of them come alongside to help him. I love the upper right picture of this grid - Apple is showing Peter how to make the traditional Taiwan pose with his fingers (two fingers means "happy" in Taiwan). By the lower right picture I think he's sort of got it!!

Koko

2007-06-16T18:09:00.000+08:00

Please, please, please, can I take you home?

More Teaching in 2nd Grade...

2007-06-16T17:58:00.000+08:00

Checking workbook work... hmm... behind my right hand I see a boy with a ruler. This reminds me... the kids here love to chop their erasers up with their rulers. They create a bunch of tiny eraser pieces and then start making little piles of eraser dust. Every class of first and second graders does this and I constantly have to confiscate rulers/erasers during my teaching. It's a funny memory, though.

"Teacher, Teacher, me! Pick me!!"

Another class of fun 2nd graders. Out comes the camera and out come the silly faces (from those in the front row, anyway).

English Teaching in 2nd Grade

2007-06-16T17:49:00.000+08:00

"What is it?" ("zhe ge shi shen ma?")

Oh, English teaching is SOO exciting!! "Bat - yay!! Everyone say BAT! B-B /b/b/b/ bat, bat, bat!!" "Good job!" "Hear the /t/ sound? T-T /t/t/t/!!!" (I get a little bouncy sometimes...)

"Sit" ("zuo xia"). "Uh huh. Okay, everyone... stand up! Good! (Jason, stand up! No, not on your chair. Bill, get off your desk!) Okay, everyone... sit down! Good. S-I-T. S-S /s/s/s/!! Who can say 'sit'? Very good!!"

This is one of my absolute favorite classes of 2nd Graders.

A Taiwan Graduation

2007-06-16T17:37:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday I was invited to attend the graduation of one of my student's mothers from medical school. She is to the right of me in the picture above together with her son (my student) Sam. I don't know her whole story, but she is a single mom (very rare here in Taiwan) and has worked very hard at her job, and then at school on weekends for years. Her children came with her to many classes. She's worked so hard to provide for her children and is very committed to spending time with them and I appreciate that a lot. She had no family to come to the graduation and so asked if I could be there as a "sister". They've come to church a couple of times. I love her two children and pray that they'd all come to the Lord someday.

Dinner with School Nurse

2007-06-16T17:29:00.000+08:00

Last Tuesday the school nurse (with whom I've become great friends) and I went out for dinner. This was one of the nicest restaurants I have ever been to and we really enjoyed sharing together over it. Here we are. Happy times. :)

Indian Food!

2007-05-27T15:09:00.000+08:00

Yesterday Myra and I went for a mini-vacation to Tainan. Myra had heard that there was a really good Indian restaurant there so we hopped on the train and headed down there in search of the food. On the train we met a new friend, Ja, a teacher near where we live. She and another of her friends joined us in our search for Indian food. It was so definitely worth it!! Yummm... the garlic naan bread, the curry chicken, the anise-seed dessert, the fruit lassi!! We ate a lot and then we ordered more food to take home. Here we are...

With Sandy... and Hot Pot

2007-05-27T14:59:00.000+08:00

Last Thursday I got a pleasant surprise - a good Taiwanese friend Sandy, and her friend Laura, came to visit! We had a wonderful time talking and laughing together. First we biked around for a while and discovered a new park. It was HOT (the "feels like" temperature has been 113 F the last few days) and this park had a fountain. We enjoyed running through it to cool off. We also took some pictures (above & below). Note my new shoes - aren't they cute? (Canvas shoes of all colors and prints are very popular here in Taiwan.)

After working up an appetite biking, we went out for "hot pot". Have a explained hot pot here? I don't think so. Hot pot consists of a broth (many choices of flavor) and a bunch of random things that you cook in the broth over a little fire. The random things are usually all the same no matter where you go - fish balls, taro, corn, cabbage, rice noodles, beef (or pork or chicken), an egg, and a lot of thing that I can't identify but taste good. I had a Thai Coconut broth and it was fabulous. I'll have to get that once more before I leave. Here we are...

At school....

2007-05-27T14:45:00.000+08:00

These are some of my Grade 1 students. They were a little goofy. We have a lot of fun, usually. They are so happy! Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven...

Why I Love Taiwan...

2007-05-19T11:12:00.000+08:00

Dim Sum

2007-05-19T10:55:00.000+08:00

The last morning I was in Hong Kong we went out for Dim Sum. I never had Dim Sum before (yes, I know Jenni, gasp!!) and it was a fun new experience. Traditionally, you are seated and then waiters go around pushing little carts with small dishes of various and sundry "things" and calling out what they are offering. You can choose what you want to eat and they just mark it on a paper at your table. Our Dim Sum was not quite that traditional and we ordered ahead. Still it was neat. Some foods I had already tried in Taiwan, but some foods were totally new, like the little steamed shrimp dumplings and egg-roll-type things wrapped in a sheet of tofu and fried. Yummy. Anyway, here I am with the Hung sisters at the restaurant just a few minutes before heading out to the airport for my flight back to Taiwan.

Avenue of the Stars

2007-05-19T10:46:00.000+08:00

Random picture collage from Avenue of the Stars in Hong Kong. Fun times. =D

With the Hung Family in Hong Kong

2007-05-19T10:35:00.000+08:00

I recently had one last trip out to Hong Kong (just arrived back in Taiwan on Tuesday) where I had a wonderful time with my gracious hosts, the Hung family pictured above. I really appreciated spending time with them and their friends seeing more of the sites around Hong Kong and just enjoying their company. What a blessing to make new friends!! Here are a few pictures taken together...

Critters at Jhongpu

2007-04-29T21:21:00.000+08:00

Yes, this butterfly was alive! I flittered off right after I manged to capture this picture.

A caterpillar...

Okay, so this was bigger than the spider I posted about a couple months ago! It was really huge, but the picture doesn't really do it justice... you can sort of see its web, though.

These garbage cans are not exactly "critters", but I though that they were cute.

Jhongpu

2007-04-29T21:14:00.000+08:00

On Saturday I went to a really neat outdoor area with the family of the three daughters pictured above. We had a fun day doing various things....

...feeding rabbits,

...eating majan (rice and etc. wrapped in bamboo leaves and cooked),

...and playing violin!

On the Farm...

2007-04-22T21:26:00.000+08:00

Today I went to the family farm of my friends who I went mountain climbing with yesterday. Elizabeth & Sarah Dodd (missionary children) joined us. We had fun!! Here are the kids in the back of a pickup (not illegal here).

Chickens look the same, I think...

...but cooking them is a little different! I was amused to see the head & the feet get gobbled up first. I enjoyed some good white meat, tenderly smoked in the smoker below.

Then we enjoyed "special Taiwan potato". It isn't taro, but the color is bright purple like taro. They cooked these in the smoker as well, and the we just peeled and ate them like a snack. They taste a little bit like sweet potato.

Dulishan

2007-04-21T23:00:00.000+08:00

"Dragon Whiskers"

2007-04-21T22:54:00.000+08:00

The making of one of my favorite dishes: "Dragon Whiskers" (a.k.a. pumpkin leaves & tendrils, but don't you love the translation of the Chinese name?).

1. Wash the leaves & tendrils. Change the water three times.

2. Sautee A LOT of chopped ginger in a little oil. Add pork if desired.

3. Add greens. Add salt. Add water periodically for steam. They are ready in about 2 minutes.

4. Put on plate and serve! YUMMY!

Shiao Pengyo...

2007-04-21T22:33:00.000+08:00

Today I went to Dulishan (a mountain) with the a family I have gotten to know both through school and church. Another family joined them and we had a lovely and lively time together!

Here I am with Betty the clown. At the time of this picture taking I felt like I was literally dripping - it was SO hot and humid today and I had just gone up what seemed like a gazillion stairs. This is about 1/3 of the way up and already the view was making it worth it. =)

This is Betty's little sister, Lillian. She is the sweetest little lady! About 1/2 way up the mountain there was a little ice-cream stand set up. We all really enjoyed it (especially me, who hadn't had mint chocolate chip for almost a year). Note the bang trim Lillian gave herself... it's growing out now. Little girls aren't that much different here in Taiwan from some other little girls I know...

The other family who joined us has 7-year-old triplet boys and boy (oh boy, oh boy) do they ever have a lot of energy. Here I am "resting" with the three boys, Betty and the triplet's mother. I hardly saw them because they were so far ahead of everyone most of the time.

Oh, and if you were wondering, "Shiao Pengyo" means small friend(s).
"Ta men shi wo de shiao pengyo." (They are my small friends.)

Ni yao shi wo de pengyo ma? (Do you want to be my friend?)
Yo, shie shie ni. (Yes, thank you)
Hao! (Good!)
Ni shihwan zuo shi shen ma? (What do you like to do?)
Wo shihwan chu papashan. (I like to go climb mountains.) Ni de? (And you?)
Wo shihwan shi wan! (I like to wash dishes!)
Jen de ma? (Really?)
Jen de. (Really.)

Okay, I'll stop now. =) I REALLY enjoy Chinese study and now know all the letters of the Chinese phonetic alphabet. Whoo hoo! Now for memorizing characters....

School lunches

2007-04-21T22:04:00.000+08:00

I have meant to take a picture of this for a while...
School lunches are generally very good, always with rice and a variety of other dishes. Each classroom has a cart containing their lunch wheeled into their room and the students serve their classmates. These are a few of my first-grade students all decked out and ready to help! Cindy and Amy are in the top picture and my super-funny character Ruby is below. Note the little mangoes next to her... they're really yummy!

Trip to Taichung

2007-04-06T22:21:00.000+08:00

Today I travelled up to Nantou County with some of my students' families. The day started off at 7:15 as we loaded a tour bus rented for the occasion. There was some discussion as to which student I would sit next to on the trip, but things peacefully settled with a 2nd-Grader, Mei, next to me, and a 4th-Grader, Julia, right behind me. They made sure that I didn't go hungry for the 2 hour bus ride to near Taichung. =)

Our first stop was a Taiwanese Cultural and Historical Museum. Here I am in front of it (of course, I couldn't take pictures inside and it was VERY interesting). Probably the most interesting for me was seeing a pair of tiny shoes - not longer than 3 inches - that used to be worn by women when foot-binding was still practiced. Gladly, it is not longer a custom, but there are still some old women who remember those days.

Our next stop was a circus!! I haven't been to a circus before and rather enjoyed this performance of amazing acrobatics. I wasn't sure if I could take pictures or not, but because no one else was I decided to turn off my flash in case I wasn't supposed to. Because I didn't have my flash on my pictures didn't turn out. Oh well. It was pretty cool. Below is one of my favorite fourth-graders, Julia.

After a good lunch of various things (I'm not sure what all of them were) we traveled to a "famous" bike trail. The picture below is of one of the families (the girl in the back is another fun fourth-grader of mine). As you can see, it was raining so we were all decked out in yellow ponchos! We rented bikes and had a lovely time biking the trails, in spite of the rain.

As we biked, I spied a mulberry bush. I hadn't seen one before and thought I'd take a picture in case you hadn't either. Mulberries are in season right now are are quite delicious!

After biking, we loaded back into the bus and headed home. My host family invited me to their home for a yummy dinner of dumplings and egg-drop soup. They shared that they were Believers of a year, and so we had a good time sharing together what God has done. What a perfect way to end Good Friday! God truly has done much for me and you and I am forever grateful!

Love,
Christy

Highlights from Tainan

2007-04-05T19:19:00.000+08:00

Here are Genessa and I at the Ray of Hope banquet.

The most exciting part of the weekend happened on Saturday when I had the neat opportunity of see the Lord draw the hearts of two young ladies to Himself! We went to an "English conversation" class where the Easter story was presented and then we broke into small groups for discussion. The two Taiwanese gals in the picture below had many questions and we talked for nearly two hours. I was blessed that both of them indicated their desire to become Christians when given the opportunity. God's ways are wonderful!!

The children below also prayed to receive Christ as their Saviour.

Also on Saturday we went shopping around Tainan. We found a little Chinese Efu (clothing) shop down a little alley-way and after admiring (and purchasing) some clothing, we were delighted to discover that the owner and his sister were Christians. Here I am, below, in one of the tops I bought.

New food!

2007-04-05T19:10:00.000+08:00

Last weekend I went to Tainan to visit the Ardron's and their granddaughter Genessa. We had a wonderful time together! I am so grateful for their hospitality. On Friday night was a fundraising banquet for Ray of Hope, the ministry that the Ardron's helped start many years ago. This was quite a banquet, with many, many courses of new and delicious food. I took a picture of the carrot-bird and fruit (see below) because they were especially creative. The new food that I ate included ostrich and bananas deep-fried with shrimp. The best part of the meal was a coconut soup with tapioca balls served for dessert. The best part of the evening was hearing about lives changed as God has worked through this ministry. He is good! =)

Little luxuries in Taipei...

2007-03-29T22:51:00.000+08:00

I've missed bathtubs. Myra and I were delighted to find that our hotel room had a bathtub, complete with jets! Ahhh.....

Raspberry smoothie with banana ice-cream. Yum!

National Palace Museum. I wasn't able to take pictures of the inside, but this is part of the outside. It was rather fascinating and I particularly appreciated seeing the "treasures of ancient China"; things that date to 4,000 BC! I really enjoyed seeing all the pottery and the development of various forms.

On our way to Taipei...

2007-03-29T22:43:00.000+08:00

Random picture of rice fields through the train window...

Myra'n me, listening to our music. I think it was Bach cello suites...

Waiting for the train...

2007-03-29T22:38:00.000+08:00

Here's Myra at the Chiayi train station.

Nope, not our train...

Ah, spring is here! I love the trees in bloom. They've done an especially nice job with the foliage around the train station.

Here comes our train! Off to Taipei we go! :)

Waiting for the bus...

2007-03-29T22:33:00.000+08:00

Last weekend Myra and I went to Taipei. Here I am waiting for the bus...
We had a lovely relaxing weekend eating western food and visiting the National Palace Museum. More pictures coming!!

Hong Kong waterfront

2007-03-17T22:20:00.000+08:00

(Me by the third-tallest building in the world.)

More pictures from Lantern Festival

2007-03-17T22:16:00.000+08:00

Some interesting lanterns...

2007-03-17T21:32:00.000+08:00

I love cellists, too!

2007-03-05T22:13:00.000+08:00

We are in the middle of a rather huge Taiwan Lantern Festival held this year just a few blocks away from my house. I've taken some pictures, which I'll hopefully post here over the next few days; here's one interesting "lantern" that made me think of all the wonderful cellists in my life!

And more students I love...

2007-03-05T22:07:00.000+08:00

A few months ago, I asked for lots of prayer for Eric, shown here on the right together with his buddy, Junior. Thanks for all your prayers! I've seen some good improvement in this little guy. =)

More students I love...

2007-03-05T22:03:00.000+08:00

In front: Jane, Angel, Mary
In back: Joanne, Melody, ???, Amy

Students I love...

2007-03-05T22:00:00.000+08:00

Some of my more energetic first-graders. These little boys have been some of my biggest challenges but have also managed to worm a special place into my heart. R-L, Jason, Andy, Sam and John in the back.

Large Spider

2007-03-03T11:05:00.000+08:00

This span of this spider was larger than my hand! I'm glad it was outside! =)

More pictures from Hualien

2007-02-24T13:33:00.000+08:00

Wildflowers in Hualien.

Tropic of Cancer monument in Hualien. Interestingly, we also have a Tropic of Cancer monument in Chiayi.

Candied strawberries.... yumm....

Hot Springs in Hualien

2007-02-24T13:27:00.000+08:00

One evening in Hualien, a group of us (TAs and me) went to the hot springs. As it was raining, and I was the only one brave enough to venture outside (the rest stayed in the indoor hot springs), I had the outdoor part to myself. I quite enjoyed it, trying out the temperatures in the various pools and making use of the waterslide.

Chinese Chess

2007-02-24T12:39:00.000+08:00

A very simplified version of Chinese Chess. It was fun!! The version above is played somewhat like Stratego. Real Chinese Chess is somewhat complicated, with a river and castle and different rules than our Western Chess. Hopefully I'll have room to bring a set back for my brothers. They'd like it. :)

Yours truly!

2007-02-24T12:28:00.000+08:00

on a farm...

2007-02-24T12:15:00.000+08:00

Pineapple field

Rice paddy

Sugar Cane

2007-02-24T12:11:00.000+08:00

Bill & Kellen

2007-02-24T12:08:00.000+08:00

I can still play viola!

2007-02-24T12:01:00.000+08:00

Hualien Camp 2

2007-02-24T11:51:00.000+08:00

I was a "king" in a skit. The pose is what the Taiwanese typically do to mean "handsome". Very handsome, aren't I?

Outdoor games...

Betsy, my TA

Hualien Camp 1

2007-02-24T11:45:00.000+08:00

My class of mostly 3rd graders. Special children! I love them!

Writing thank-you notes for Thanksgiving.

Learning about Indians, part of Thanksgiving. :)

Nantou camps

2007-02-24T11:30:00.000+08:00

Hello all,
I know, long time no write. Here goes. The winter camps in Nantou went wonderfully well! I am so grateful to the Lord for opportunities to share about Him with the students and our TAs. The time in Nantou, although busy, was like vacation because we were "camping" in the mountains and working together with another team. I'll have wonderful memories of snuggling down in my sleeping bag to ward off the cold with Lauren C on one side and Beka on the other, laughing together until our stomachs hurt. I enjoyed times spent in the outdoors, especially when I had a short break and could walk down to a nearby river and just bask in God's handiwork.

The children were pretty special, too. I taught the beginner level, together with Jane, and overall they were delightful to teach. Keeping them all behaving during activity and cleaning times was another thing, but we survived!

Although I brought my camera, I didn't take pictures of that camp. Hopefully I'll be able to borrow some from another teacher and put some up here.

From Nantou we went to Hualien... and I do have pictures, so I'll put them up on the next post...

Love,
Christy

2007-01-24T22:33:00.000+08:00

Lauren, Christy, Rachel, Jane

Lauren, Nichole, Rachel, Jane - we went to "The Spaghetti House" for dinner one night. We had to wait for a long time to be seated so were trying to figure out what we would order from the menu. It was all in English - so many choices!

Some Hong Kong pictures

2007-01-24T22:30:00.000+08:00

So sorry I haven't updated in a while - life has been rather busy! I had a great trip to Hong Kong! I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with friends from around Taiwan while visiting this very international city.

Meiling

2007-01-07T21:13:00.000+08:00

Happy Sunday, everyone!

I am glad to report that I am feeling much better from my cold! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Today was a "family" day, and I enjoyed a trip around Chiayi County with a student's family. We started off the day by heading up to Meiling, an area famed for its beautiful flowers. Here are some pictures:

We ate lunch in Meiling as well. Here is part of my lunch and guess what? You eat the whole thing, crunchy legs & eyes and all! They actually tasted really good and I managed to down five or six of the fresh river shrimp.

We then went to a "farm", where the children had fun feeding goats, cows and ostriches. There was some big open space as well where they could run around and play.

My little "hosts", Joy, a first-grader, and her 5-year-old brother, Eric.

A few more stops to eat various traditional food and we were home! 'Twas a fun day.

Hope you all are well!

Much love,

Christy

Ramblings...

2007-01-06T18:46:00.000+08:00

It's Saturday. Ahhh....

I have a cold, too, so it has been so lovely to have a day to rest.

Last night Myra and I went to the Tomato restaurant again. This time I had the green noodles with a beef sauce and it tasted like something from home. We shared an order of tofu with tomato and it was REALLY excellent! I will definitely order that again. It was simply chilled tofu with what tasted like homemade fresh salsa on top - tomato, onion, cilantro, etc. I wonder if I can buy a container of that fresh tomato sauce. I wonder how I would ask in Chinese... =)

So today I slept in until about 11:00 (gasp!), had my quiet time in bed, made some hot lemon drink and sipped that in bed and ate breakfast in bed, too. I finally dragged myself out of bed and over to my computer, where I was really happy to talk with Mom online. Then I thought about lesson planning as I read friends' blogs, read email and looked through pictures over the past 1/2 year. The thinking about lesson planning actually turned to productive work and I planned out about five lessons for next week. I still have to finish planning four more, but it's almost done!

I did manage to get outside and go for a walk today. I also managed to do a load of laundry. Hopefully I'll manage to get some viola practicing in as well before I make another cup of hot lemon drink and crawl back to bed. =)

This morning I read Titus 2. It's such an excellent chapter, and I was glad for the reminder in verses 9-10: "Exhort servants to be obedient to their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; not purloining, but showing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things." This word 'adorn' means "to put in proper order" or "to decorate". Very interesting. As I show love by being an obedient servant to those above me, God's teaching - His doctrine - is evident by its proper order in my life. Those are just some thoughts - anything comments, friends?

Well, I hope that you all are well! Hopefully with a good sleep, together with a good dose of vitamin C, echinacea, zinc, and oregano oil, I'll be back up and running tomorrow!!

Much love from,
Christy

Tomato restaurant

2007-01-02T20:07:00.000+08:00

In my attempts to blog more faithfully, I am hereby blogging. :-)

Hello everyone! I hope that you have all had a wonderful weekend! Today was back to work for me. I enjoy the children so much that it doesn't really feel like "work", though. Plus, it was a short day - I only taught for three hours in the morning and then spent my afternoon lesson planning, talking with the school director and responding to email. So good!

Tonight Myra and I went out to a new "tomato" restaurant. Apparently everything in this restaurant has tomato in it, but it was a little hard to tell because the menu was entirely in Chinese and none of the workers really spoke any English. Usually we do okay in restaurants because we know how to order chicken or beef, but we had no idea for this tomato restaurant. The people at table next to us had an assortment of things - tofu with tomato, tomato juice, something that looked like spaghetti, tomato sauce on rice, etc. We (ahem) ended up "ordering" by gesturing to what looked good on the table next to us. I'm not sure what the people thought (oops). The food was REALLY, really good!! I ended up with green pasta and chicken in a cheese & fresh tomato sauce with a side of fresh tomato soup. It was a large meal and only cost about $5 US for the two of us. So delicious - we've both decided to come back again and next time we'll know which line to point to on the menu!

My team and I were going to go out and play some volleyball this evening but sadly our ball is flat and doesn't want to stay inflated. We'll have to find another ball sometime. Some on my team are really good at volleyball and and we all want to work on our skill so that we can take on the other teams come winter English camp time. Fun times...

That's all for now! Thanks everyone for your prayers! It was a good day.

Love,
Christy

"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:31-32

My birthday evening

2007-01-01T22:09:00.000+08:00

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

My Birthday

2007-01-01T13:08:00.000+08:00

Last week the Bei-Huei school decided to celebrate my birthday early with the lovely and delicious cake pictured above. What a special treat!! The picture below is of me holding a piece - don't you wish you could try some? =)

Now let me see if I can explain how birthdays work here in Taiwan. When a child is born in Taiwan, they are 1 year old. After their first Chinese New Year, they are 2 years old. With each Chinese New Year after that, their age changes to be one year older. They still celebrate their birthdays, though; their age just doesn't change 'til the New Year. So... I was born on January 1 and would have been considered 1 year old. Chinese New Year was just after that, so then I would have been considered 2 years old. Jumping ahead 26 years makes me 27 years old now, and I will be considered 28 after this Chinese New Year! Hopefully I didn't confuse y'all too much - have fun figuring out your own age!

Pictured above are a few wonderful gifts from my family. Thank you so much!! My birthday was doubly special this year because I got to celebrate my dad's birthday (Dec. 31) and my birthday at the same time, thanks to the 15-hour time difference between Taiwan and Colorado!
And, Happy New Year to all of you, my dear friends! May the Lord bless you bountifully as you continue to put His Kingdom first!

Love,

Christy

Alice & Joanne

2007-01-01T00:10:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I had a lovely tea with Cerita, the director of the Siang-He school, and Myra. I have had a couple of new children join my Grade 1 class and learned a little bit more about them. One little girl, Alice, just moved here to Puzih because her parents divorced. She lived with her father for a while, but I guess he wasn't able to take good care of her. So, she is now living with her mother here, but things are still difficult because her mother is having trouble providing for her as well. Siang-He is helping this mother out by providing Alice with a very good lunch and free afternoon classes (which I teach). Alice has now been here for about one week and my heart just goes out to her. Please pray that somehow I can show Jesus' love to this little girl so desperately in need of it.

The other girl is Joanne. She has actually been in my class for a while now and I have found her to be just delightful to teach. Joanne is from Taichung, a large city about 1 1/2 hours from here. She lived with her parents in Taichung but they were too busy with work. So, Joanne would get dropped off at school and then have to get home all by herself. She would be all alone at home for hours at a time. Although addressed, the situation did not change so Joanne has been sent here to Puzih to live with her grandparents. The problem is, her grandparents are still too busy with work so Joanne still walks home from school (quite a little walk, I saw where she lives) all by herself and is at home all alone until her grandparents come back. Please pray for her safety.

Thank you!
Love,
Christy

Christmas in Chiayi

2006-12-31T23:30:00.000+08:00

I thought I'd better post about our Christmas quickly before we reach the New Year!

I really missed being home for Christmas, but with my team had a special day here in Taiwan. Christmas Eve I went to the Dodds and participated in a short Christmas play and played my viola for some carols. It turned out to be a really nice evening with a great turnout of people - there were about 50 people there! Once we arrived back home, we opened all our Christmas gifts. Here are some pictures from our Eve:

Ruthie & me in front of our Christmas tree.

Presents!

Ruthie, Jessica & me with our stockings.

Sarah...

A new hot chocolate mug! Yummy!

Lauren & Sarah

Christmas Day I had to teach. An-Dung, my Monday morning school, let me bring my viola to play some Christmas songs for the students and they let me tell the real Christmas story to my Grade 6 classes! I knew that the Lord was at work as I told the story and had the attention of the students, my Chinese co-teacher, and the school's security guard. I told about the events surrounding Christ's birth, and then went on to say that although he was wonderful, some people did not like him and killed him. But Jesus is stronger than death! And Jesus is alive today. He lives in heaven! At this point I had to finish, so we all sang "Happy Birthday" because Christmas is the celebration of Christ's birth. I hope that some seeds were planted there.

In the evening, we prepared a sort of Christmas dinner, like our Thanksgiving dinner only this time we had cranberry sauce.

Ruthie testing gravy...

Merry Christmas, everyone!!

(and now it is Happy New Year!!)

Love,

Christy

My room...

2006-12-23T12:46:00.000+08:00

My Chiayi team

2006-12-23T12:23:00.000+08:00

M&M Visit Day 9

2006-12-23T12:20:00.000+08:00

M&M Visit Day 8

2006-12-23T12:05:00.000+08:00

M&M Visit Days 6, 7

2006-12-23T11:52:00.000+08:00

M&M Visit Day 5

2006-12-23T11:40:00.000+08:00

M&M Visit Day 4

2006-12-22T22:59:00.000+08:00

M&M Visit Day 3

2006-12-22T22:40:00.000+08:00

M&M Visit Day 2

2006-12-22T22:19:00.000+08:00

M&M Visit Day 1

2006-12-22T21:54:00.000+08:00

Mom and Melody flew into the Kaohsiung Airport and our good friends the Ardrons (who happened to be only an hour away in Tainan) were so kind to pick them up. I managed to train down there to meet them and after a good rest in the Ardron's Taiwan home we went to see Ray of Hope, the Ardron's ministry in Taiwan. Ray of Hope mainly provides counseling to women/girls with unplanned pregnancies. They have saved the lives of many precious children!! I was touched to be able to see their ministry after hearing about it for so many years.

We then drove up to Chiayi, where Mom and Melody promptly had a nap and I went to teach my three afternoon classes.

Mom & Melody brought lots of wonderful gifts from those back at home (THANK YOU, everyone!). I opened a lovely gift from Joshua first. He really knows how to take care of this younger sister!!

My team and I made spaghetti for supper so Mom & Melody didn't have to try any strange food the first day. Oh, that reminds me though, we did have a traditional Taiwanese breakfast the first day of dan-bing and warm soy milk. Yummers!

Mom & Melody's visit part 1

2006-12-22T21:34:00.000+08:00

The most exciting part of December was a trip that Mom & Melody took out here to visit me! I am so glad that they came and very grateful to my siblings for their generous gift to allow them the trip. We had an incredibly wonderful time together - visiting families, various sights, shopping, playing games together and sharing our hearts. My mother is amazing! She is so insightful and offered a lot of timely advice to me on leading my team. Melody is growing up to be such a sweet and Godly young lady. Having them here really made me look forward to the day that I will be back with them all, but we are all peaceful with where God has us all right now.

So much happened while they were here that I think I will publish separate posts (as you hopefully will see above). =)

Here's a picture of the three of us:

Beginning of Dec. - Taipei

2006-12-22T21:19:00.000+08:00

Time flies so quickly and it's been nearly a month since I have updated this blog. Lots has happened in this past month and so... here goes!!

We started off December with a wonderful retreat in Taipei for all of the King Car (our Taiwanese sponsoring organization) teachers. It was incredibly encouraging to meet up with all the teachers and reconnect with those that I worked with during the summer English camps. We enjoyed times of worship and Bible study together as well as shopping and eating at Chili's (yes, there's one in Taipei - I also saw a Macaroni Grill there and wished I could have eaten there too because that's probably my favorite restaurant back home). I was especially grateful to meet the Chen family who head up the IBLP Taiwan office. Their oldest daughter, Karen, took me out to Starbucks where she shared some much-needed words of wisdom as we savoured mochas.

Here is a picture from the Taipei 101 building. Taipei 101 is the tallest building in the world and also has the fastest elevator in the world. I travelled up to the top with friends Rachel and Lauren C, along with a couple of Teacher Assistants (Bella & Grace) that we met at the summer camps. Fun, fun.

I didn't get much sleep that weekend, between going out with friends and then being in team leader meetings and meetings with King Car, but I was refreshed in spirit. The weekend really helped me to see that I and my Chiayi team are part of a much bigger group and that we all have a common purpose of bringing Christ's light to the lost of Taiwan. I am reminded that all of God's children around the world are part of His Kingdom and everyone has a vital part in God's plan.

Thanksgiving Dinner Pictures

2006-11-24T21:32:00.000+08:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!! Here are a few pictures from our dinner.

This picture was taken from outside our apartment looking in. Our window wasn't quite wide enough to get the H and G in line - oh well.

Ruthie was our fantastic chef of the evening. Here she is stirring the gravy. It was so good - I hadn't had mashed potatoes and gravy for at least 5 months!

Cooking dinner with only a toaster oven and a two-burner stove proved to be interesting. Here are some biscuits (made by Sarah) baking just after the chicken came out. We didn't have pie plates, so a deep-dish apple pie is waiting for it's turn in our rice-cooker pot. We couldn't find turkey anywhere, hence the chicken. We also couldn't find pumpkin anywhere, hence the apple pie. I actually like apple pie better, anyway.

Myra cutting up some delicious baked goods.

Sarah and Jessica putting on the finishing touches.

We ate far too much - we had mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, corn, deviled eggs, chicken, gravy, biscuits, pineapple, various breads, and apple pie with whipped cream (whipped by hand) for dessert. Yum!

This was a unique Thanksgiving that I think we will always remember. I truly have a lot to be thankful for, not the least of which are YOU, my dear friends!!

Love, Christy

On being lost...

2006-11-21T22:44:00.000+08:00

The other day, one of the Chinese teachers at our main school drove all of us to a large grocery store (Carrefour) in Chiayi City. This was really nice, because we could all stock up on groceries without having to lug them all back on the bus, which is sometimes a challenge when the bus is packed full of people. :)

Anyway, our driver, Andrew, was somewhat "directionally challenged" and managed to get turned around on our way back home. (He's new to this area.) We kept coming to dead ends and although at times we could see the highway we wanted to be on we had trouble actually getting on it. After stopping and asking for help twice we managed to get back on our way home. Poor guy - I think he was a bit embarrassed but it made for an interesting adventure. The most interesting part happened after Andrew dropped us off at home close to 10:00 p.m. He told us the next day that as he drove back to his home (one block away) he saw a little boy wandering around. Maybe about 4 years old, all Andrew could get from the boy was that he lived with his grandfather and that his grandfather was drunk. Andrew stayed with the little boy for a while and then finally took him to the police station where they could help take care of him for the night. It made us all think - if we hadn't gotten turned around on our way home Andrew might not have been there for the little lost boy. A couple of the teachers at the school, when hearing the story, said "That must have been God." Yes, I think it was God taking care of this little boy.

I hope I'll remember that next time I'm driving with someone who gets "turned around".

Love,
Christy

Cerita

2006-11-19T19:57:00.000+08:00

The beautiful Cerita - director of Siang-He Guo Siao. I work with her quite a bit.

Some pictures to go with post below...

2006-11-19T19:47:00.000+08:00

Some little darlin's from the mountain school.

Mrs. Ardron, Mr. Ardron, Rachelle & Josiah

What I have been up to...

2006-11-19T19:05:00.000+08:00

Where to begin?
Obviously, I haven't been posting here much recently. I guess I'll back up and brief y'all on what I have been up to in the past few weeks. =)

A couple of weekends ago I went to Tainan to visit the Ardrons and Rachelle. I was able to catch a ride with a teacher here who was also heading down there for the weekend, but I had to take the train back all by myself! It turned out to be rather easy - you just get on the train and then get off at your stop. It is really fast too - less than an hour from Chiayi to Tainan. Anyway, I had a wonderfully refreshing weekend there in the Ardron's home though I was a little tired from staying up and sharing with Rachelle till who knows how late?! Here's a picture of Rachelle & me.

A month or so ago, I agreed to teach at a Junior High camp on November 11, which happened to be last weekend. Although a lot of work, it turned out to be quite fun! I and two other English teachers put together a Thanksgiving theme for the morning and a Christmas theme for the afternoon. Hence, we were able to have a whole "giving" theme for all day. We were able to make clay bowls, fudge, teach Christmas songs, make thank-you cards, have a short Thanksgiving play, and teach some English in there as well. Junior High students are quite different to teach than elementary-age kids; they're much more reticent. One has to think of more ways to try to get them to actually speak. I brought my camera with me, but forgot to take pictures all day. :(

The day before the camp some of us went up to Alishan, a famous mountain for its tea. In the morning we taught one period in a mountain school. They gathered all the kids together and we did the "Musical Chairs" skit. I think they liked it. =) After a yummy lunch (including deep fried tea leaves), we went to see the manufacturing process of Alishan Oolong tea. I found it quite interesting. The time for harvesting winter tea is only about 2 weeks long and it takes 60 hours of processing time to prepare the tea for sale. The tea is hand-picked to very precise specifications and then put through a whole system of drying, compression, tossing, more drying, more compression for 60 hours non-stop. Although they have machines, much of the work still requires a lot of manual labour.

On the Sunday following, Myra & I went up to the mountains with a family who is really into hiking. The mountains here are beautiful! They remind me of home! At the bottom of the mountains the trees are palms and it's neat to see the change in foliage as one goes higher. We hiked at around 3000 meters (or 10,000 feet). Up there, the trees are very much like the ones at home. The highest mountain in Taiwan is around 14,000 feet - I wonder if I'll have a chance to try hiking it sometime! They actually do get snow on that mountain sometimes in winter. Anyway, it was so lovely to have a day outside in the quietness and beauty of God's creation.

In between the weekends, I have been busy teaching school. It's going well. I've also enjoyed attending a small church plant on Monday evenings and an "English" Bible Study on Wednesday evenings. It's good to meet some people from the community!

Looking ahead, in less than two weeks all of us Taiwan teachers here are planning on a trip up to Taipei for a bit of a retreat. It should be fun to see everyone here and share our experiences! I'm looking forward to possibly attending a Taipei Symphony concert - I'm just waiting to see if I can get tickets.

AND, my big, exciting, wonderful news is that in about 2 weeks my mom and Melody are coming to visit!!!!!! Whoooo hoooo! This will be SO special!!!

So, I think that's it for now! Various other things have happened in the last few weeks, but I'll maybe post them later.

Love you all! Thank you for keeping me in your prayers.

Love
Christy

Mountains in Taiwan

2006-11-18T00:16:00.000+08:00

Yes, I'm still alive!! I really will hopefully update this blog in the next day or two. In the meantime, here are a few pictures from a lovely couple of days in the mountains last weekend. Enjoy! Love, Christy

Zoo pictures

2006-10-29T22:05:00.000+08:00

Zoo Pictures

Tonight's Adventure...

2006-10-29T21:29:00.000+08:00

Tonight Lauren and I decided to take the bus into Chiayi City to attend an evening English service at the International Christian Church there. Little did we know the adventures that awaited us!! The bus ride in was uneventful and we managed to hail a taxi (actually, the taxi drivers are very keen on having our business and we have to work to avoid them) to take us to the church. We had the address (in Chinese) written down on a business card for the church and so we thought it should be pretty straightforward to get there. Well, lo and behold, the taxi driver got lost and had to ask someone where the church was. They directed him to a Catholic Church. Ooops, not where we wanted to go. Eventually we found the church and after paying the 200 NT for the ride, we got out. We figured that someone from the church could help us call a taxi to get back to the bus station. The service was supposed to start at 6:30 and as it was only about 6:05 we had plenty of time. We decided to walk around a little bit. Back at the church by 6:20, we noticed that everything was shut up and dark. Was anyone there? Apparently not. At about 6:25 a Taiwanese couple drove up; not regulars at the church but just wanting to pop in for an evening service. 6:35 rolls around; still dark in the church. In the meantime, we got to know this delightful couple who lived many years in New Jersey. They managed to get a hold of someone who informed them that the church leaders were all on a retreat so there was no service. Ah well! We were so glad to have met this couple who graciously drove us back to the bus station so we didn't have to find a taxi. At the bus station, we found out that we still had quite a bit of time till the bus back home left so we wandered around looking in shops. I was just mentioning how funny it would be if we came across our first taxi driver when he came by saying "Hello, hello!" like we were old friends. I was quite amused. We popped into a doughnut shop and bought a couple of DELICIOUS chocolate cream puffs. Some of the best stuff I've eaten in a long time. Back at the bus station, we saw our bus pull up and tried to get on, but the driver wouldn't let us on without a ticket. That was kind of strange, because we've never had to buy a ticket before. Oh well. We got off, looked at each other and thought "What to do?" At this point, a young Taiwanese lady came up to us and asked if we needed help. Her name was Salina and her English was really good. She directed us to the little place where we could buy the tickets we needed. We managed to bargain the price of our ticket down to close to where it should be (not quite sure why they were trying to get us to pay so much more... naive foreigners???) and then waited for another 20 minutes till the next bus came by. This time we were let on and we were able to take the very old and bumpy bus safely back home.

What's amazing is that in a place where very few people speak English enough to understand us and help us that there were people at every point where we needed help! First, the Taiwanese couple and then Salina. Lauren and I rejoiced in the Lord's provision for us in that way this evening, and although our evening didn't go as we had planned, we had a chance to meet some people and spend time sharing together.

God is good.

Love,
Christy

Here I am...

2006-10-25T21:40:00.000+08:00

Well, as you all can tell, I haven't been super-consistent with updating this recently! Much has been happening in my life, mostly on the heart level. The Lord has been faithful to show me some areas that need refining ("Princess lessons" for His daughter) and so in that way it's been a very good past few days. It's just hard - for the natural man - to be humbled and learn!! Pray that I would draw close to the Lord and truly become more like Jesus.

The teaching is going well. I've been busier than usual with my lesson planning, but gladly the students seem to be learning and I continue learning to be a good teacher. =)

Today was the first day that didn't feel really hot when I stepped outside. It was a balmy 69 degrees F this morning and it felt wonderful! It still got up to 87 during the day though and next week's forecast still calls for temperatures in the 90s.

Psalm 51:10-13 "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee."

Love,
Christy

An-Dung Guo Siao

2006-10-18T21:26:00.000+08:00

Hello friends!
Here we are in week 7 of this semester! The Lord is good. Last week was challenging and I felt like I had to step out in faith to approach this week. And with Christ walking beside me and in my heart, surely I can face whatever He might bring my way, because we are in it together! The last couple of days, although still with challenges, have been wonderful teaching days. I love the children!! Teaching is fun, especially at An-Dun Guo Siao (elementary school). Here are some pictures from this week:

Patrick, my "co-teacher", some 5th-graders and me.

Patrick with some 2nd & 3rd-graders.

Yes, these classes can get lively!! =)

Rachelle!!!!! and dragon fruit...

2006-10-11T21:38:00.000+08:00

This (above) is a dragon fruit. I really, really like it and just yesterday practiced my Chinese and bought some for the first time from a roadside fruit stand! Yum! I was also able to buy a pineapple all cut up (I love pineapple). And the best part is that the fruit stand is not even two blocks away. :)
And lookee here!!! My dear friend Rachelle (from Canada) came and visited me yesterday, along with her brother Josiah and grandparents!! What an incredible blessing and encouragement they were to me as we shared pretty much non-stop for 7 hours. I so appreciate receiving wise and Godly counsel from her grandparents as I have lots to learn in leading my team, and just hearing what God is doing in their lives. You have no idea how wonderful it is to actually see familiar faces of loved ones after being in an environment of new-new-new for the past 3 months!!

The Lord is good and faithful!! How grateful I am for all of you!

Love, Christy

My weekend...

2006-10-08T22:09:00.000+08:00

Siang-He Elementary School

2006-10-04T22:31:00.000+08:00

This is my afternoon school. I work here almost every day...