Next Day

And sometimes, just sometimes, teaching feels like trying to wake the dead.

Sometimes, just sometimes

Sometimes, just sometimes, when the conditions are right, when the weather is just so and my mood matches, teaching feels like victory.  Today's lesson was hard for first-semester Spanish students, but we battled through.  We pushed through the enemy lines of Ignorance and marched towards our prize of Knowledge and Understanding.  Puzzled looks were signals for backup, feverish concentration was the adrenaline of war, sleepy eyes were the need for a mission.  Even though those sinister nominative clauses and changing adjectives did their best to best us, we were well on our way to overcoming.  Technology and graphic organizers were blades and shields.  Jokes were cannons and laughter was medicine on wounds.  We were a team, like a class should be.  We haven't reached the peak of perfection with our adjectives yet, but we're camped on the mountainside with the advantage in our position against enemy forces.  And because of that, the lieutenant gave the troops no homework tonight. :)  


Well okay, I'll put my metaphors away.  It really wasn't that dramatic or glorious.  But anyway!  God is good and his mercies are new every morning.  I'm learning the balance of being on the mission field and what it really means to be still, let go, and let God be God.  To pray ardently and to worry are two different things entirely, in fact maybe opposites.  I'm learning to pray instead of worrying, rather than in addition to it.  It's a much more pleasant alternative. :)


We are so blessed, in every way!  I thank God for you missionaries back home and for your encouragement to help me realize these things.  I got to share this verse with my class today:  "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:28.  If you can, picture me grabbing a students' backpack, slinging it over my shoulder, pretending it was a thousand pounds, and trudging around the classroom.  What a relief to set that at the feet of Jesus, instead of carrying it all around school and home all day.  God takes my burdens!  Thank you, God!


Anna


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Mission: Possible

Perhaps I'm new at this whole "missionary" thing, but it's quite an interesting mentality to have.  As I wrote about before, life goes on-- I do laundry, I do my dishes, I eat, I rest, I have leisure time.  Amidst the ministry is the daily routine of personal upkeep.  These are the same elements of my life back in America, but with a different perspective.  It's hard to realize that most of the people I encounter on a day to day basis (other than the team) do not know Jesus and will not go to heaven in their present condition.  How does anyone handle the weight of that?  Part of me wants to realize the reality of it, to really realize what "forever in hell" really means, in order to respond with a heightened sense of passion and purpose.  But part of me thinks it's the grace of God that we don't realize the full weight of eternity; perhaps it would be too much to handle.  I think the reason why so many missionaries give up is because every day is a spiritual and psychological battle.  One can easily become overrun with this thought until they burn themselves out, or one could completely shut it out and not realize the importance of our job in this world as Christians, taking a "leisure approach" to life in the mission field.  But while the reality of hell is a sobering thought, God is and will be glorified-- and we can confidently hope in that.  God is in control, and more than that He is good.  Maybe God gives us blinders, like blinded horses going through a crowded street  or a burning building so as not to get spooked, so that we do not see how we are impacting eternity.

All we can do is trust that we are.  Or rather, that He is through us.

And in the meantime,

There is laundry to do.  And the garbage to take out.  And sleep to be slept.  And when the time comes, witnessing opportunities to be taken with confidence and love.  And lastly, our prayers and worries are given to God, the only one who can change hearts.


And that's all we can do.

Time

As you can see, time flies here.  The days all melt into one, and though there's less that I need to do, there always seems to be more that I should do (if that makes sense).  

I've been teaching since last Wednesday and I've had some success and also some learning experiences.  Spanish has been very fun to teach because I teach the same lesson multiple times in a week and am able to perfect to it and enjoy it more and more.

I'm starting to tutor tomorrow.... please pray for this.  Both daughter and mother have been through a lot. They are Christians, but struggle greatly in their faith and in their emotional lives.  

Sorry this is so short.... but there is an administrator visiting from Concordia Shanghai here and cooking us dinner!  Apple pie!

I promise to write more soon.  Love to you all,

Anna

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Teaching

Tomorrow is my first day teaching a full 50-student class, and I'm teaching twice.  Lately I've been hit with exhaustion, I am just tired and have no motivation to exercise or write lesson plans.  Maybe I'm getting used to the schedule, or the weather, or the pace of life here, or the food, I don't know. But it bothers me, and I hope this lethargy is not here to stay.  Also, it's been a month since I taught at my last placement, and even longer than that since I've been really nervous about teaching.  So, the usual first-time butterflies are hitting me again and there's nothing to do but pray and put on a smile (or, in case of classroom management, a perfectly straight face).


The best part of my day yesterday was Skyping with my parents.  I am just so thankful for my family back home, which includes my church family.  The amount of support and encouragement in our family of faith is a testament to God's love.  So, thank you to all of you who have supported and prayed for my family just recently as well as over the years-- it means so much.


I recently had a good talk with the pastor and his wife.  I mentioned how Christianity is viewed differently here and in the states.  Ruth, the pastor's wife, commented that we have different battlefronts, but the same battles.  Slavery here look like wooden idols and dragon-ornamented temples and incense-perfumed meditation; America has its own brand of slavery that its being sold every day.  Yet people have the same needs, and they all need to be loved and forgiven.  I pray that God keeps you strong, each of you in your own mission field.


The rainy season is picking up.  On Monday I got caught in the rain on my way home from a bike ride, and my friend and I returned soaked.  Of course, I loved it.  It's raining again today, and Mom, I'm so glad I brought Chopin with me-- it was a perfect day to play his Raindrop Prelude. :)


Crazy food of the week-- yellow watermelon!  It's as yellow as squash and has almost an identical taste to red or pink watermelon.  I don't think I've ever seen yellow watermelon in the states; have you??


That's it for now... please pray for strength for me to get over this sleepiness.  More importantly, please pray for more missionaries to come here next year.  Ideally they would have 16 -18 missionaries at this school teaching Bible and English classes.  Currently there are 13 missionaries, and 3 of them are not coming back next year, while several others are still deciding.  Having less missionaries would mean cutting programs, decreasing the teacher-student ratio, and having less Christian witnesses among the national teachers who practice Buddhism, Taoism, or just "respecting all religions".


In my own personal prayers about where I will be in the fall, all that's clear is that I am called to be in Him; that is the "location" where God wants all of us for the entirety of our lives, the best place for us to be.  For more specifics, I wait and pray.


Anna


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"Fear not, for I am your shield, 
your very great reward."


Exodus 15:1b

Stories

Today at church a family was baptized and a woman shared her testimony.  I've realized that the purpose of this blog is not to write my own story, but the stories of the people I meet-- the story of Taiwanese Christians.  It's amazing how much persecution they go through in a free country just to call themselves Christians.  I am honored to be among such people.  It reminds me of Hebrews 11:32-40, part of the "by faith" chapter; after it talks about the patriarchs, it describes a countless number of believers that overcame the world despite persecution:



^"32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were put to death by stoning;^[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
 ³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."


A note from my Concordia Study Bible says, "not all the heroes of faith experienced immediate triumph over their circumstances, but all were blessed by God.... the fulfillment for them, as for us, is in Christ who is 'the resurrection and the life'."

I am waiting to ask for permission to share more specific stories.  Until then, for those of you that have not yet seen this video, it's a little taste of the school and the team.  It's funny to remember watching this video before I came to Taiwan; I didn't have a clue of what it would be like here.  Seeing this now makes me smile because I know the team members and places; even the bell that starts the video, I wake up to it every day!  Hope you enjoy.  :)

Blessed Sunday!


In Christ,


Anna


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Writing Again

Well, after riotous complaints regarding my lack of writing, I’m clicking away again!  In reality, writing is easier to edit and expound upon later. 

I’m not sure how much I should write about school.  I already see the difficulties in teaching in a different country; some of the challenge is based on culture, but much of it originates in differing teaching philosophies (which are also affected by culture, I realize).   For example, Taiwanese parents want their students to be successful.  They’ve defined “successful” as getting a high score on their university entrance test.  In order to do that, the school system was set up to have longer school days, cram school at night, Saturday school, sometimes Sunday school, and summer school.  Students are under so much pressure that they choose to sleep during class or socialize if there is any sort of pause or monotony in the lesson.  Many teachers allow this, knowing the students are under pressure.  It might be easy for teachers to get the mentality that “one lesson doesn’t matter”, “they need the sleep more”, “they will just get this again in cram school”.  So, I am struggling with an overall cultural philosophy that sets extremely high standards, which, when translated into expectations for individual lessons on a day-to-day basis, is fairly low.  It seems like a game of telephone that starts clear and ambitious with administration and is mistranslated down to each classroom until it’s unrecognizable. 

Don’t get me wrong; I’ve seen some great lessons and great teachers.  But I am wondering how I myself will fit into this system, as I always want to maximize the time that I have in class, sometimes to a fault.  I need to have a plan as to how I will react to each situation, but I know it will change and evolve as I gain experience actually doing it.

Another teacher here, James, gave me the opportunity to come into his 12^th grade class and be interviewed and make dialogue with the students.  I learned that they are extremely anxious about taking the big university placement test in May (Mom and Dad, I kind of wanted to tell them “don’t study! Be a golf caddy instead!” I didn’t.)  No one talked, and I literally had to pry questions and answers out of their mouth.  (For example, I pointed at a student and said, “ask me where I’m from”.  I wasn’t going to give them the easy way out and just talk the whole time).  After a time, they opened up a little bit.  I told them my personal narrative of wanting to quit AP Spanish my senior year of high school, but because I was willing to make mistakes (which is difficult for anyone, but especially in this culture) and be active and involved in class and because I didn’t quit, I learned so much.  I didn’t pass my AP test, but it opened so many other doors for me, and in the end changed my life.  I also told them to study as hard as they can, but in the end, a test does not make or break them.  They can still be successful with a bad test score.  The relief in the room was palpable. I saw it in their eyes.  It was the most reaction I got the whole 45 minutes with them.  Then one student asked me, “how do you relax when you are stressed?”  I thought for a moment, and then answered with Psalm 42:8, “Be still and know that I am God.”  It’s awkward to pull so hard to get so little dialogue and honesty out of students, but in the end I think that’s what I have to do.  I’m sitting here now and thinking of what I should have said differently, but I need to just “be still” and let God take it from here. 

It was so clear yesterday that we could see the mountains surrounding the city which are usually hidden in a hazy smog.  I was told that it's normal to not see the mountains for months at a time, and usually only after typhoon rains.  Another occurrence-- my friends have been teasing me that there are earthquakes when there really aren't any, and of course I'm so gullible that I believe them.  During supper on Friday we experienced a REAL earthquake that shook our table for a few seconds.  At first I thought they were pulling a prank per usual, but I laughed when I realized I had just experienced my first real earthquake.

Today is a full day!  I went for a bike ride this morning in Forest Park, then biked to the next city.  It is extremely hot today and the sun is so intense!  Later tonight, we’re going to here the Taipei Symphony Orchestra because our friend Janice gave us free tickets. 

Gotta run, love you all!

Anna

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Can you hear the birds in the background? :)

I've decided my future vlogs will not be this monotonous (for the record)...

This Video Makes me Look Like a Fruitcake... how accurate!

I guess they call this "Vlogging".

Plus, some pictures for your viewing delight!  My friends Tina and Antonio took me to a "haunted" abandoned old mansion that is famous in Taiwan.  Well, we didn't see any "ghosts", but we did have fun.

Traditional Chinese clothing.  The long braid is actually for men....

But I rocked it anyway.

The video says the rest!

Anna


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Fu Huo Jie: Resurrection Day

Missed friends and family today, but I enjoyed my afternoon in the quietness of Forest Park.  Mom, I should probably already know this, but what kind of flower is this?  There were thousands of these purple flowers carpeting the park and draping from tree to tree.

Beautiful bamboo

What I think are banyan trees

What else can I write about on a day like today?  No fleeting words of mine can compare with this expression of hope and faith:

“Oh, that my words were recorded,
   that they were written on a scroll,
that they were inscribed with an iron tool on^[b] lead,
   or engraved in rock forever!
I know that my redeemer^[c] lives,
   and that in the end he will stand on the earth.^[d]
And after my skin has been destroyed,
   yet^[e] in^[f] my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him
   with my own eyes—I, and not another.
   How my heart yearns within me!"

Job 19: 23-27

Happy Easter, friends and family!

Anna 

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It is a Good, Good Day

I haven't missed American food until today when I explained to my Taiwanese friend what sauerkraut is and immediately began to salivate.  Even things that look normal here such as ice cream cake have little surprises in them, usually kidney beans.  I am learning quickly what I like and what I don't like, and learning to order in Chinese accordingly.  I had my first Chinese lesson today and can now put together basic sentences.  Although some aspects of the Chinese language are more complicated than in other languages (such as the four pitches or tones), other things are super easy, like conjugating verbs-- you don't even have to do it!

School today was mostly uneventful, except for the 30-hour famine, a group fast that the students were encouraged to participate in.  It's funny how significant going without food for a day can seem, but so insignificant when compared to Jesus' forty days of fasting.  It reminds me that God doesn't save those who are strong, but those who realize they are so very weak.  I wonder what impact a fast like this would have if all students in America fasted to focus on prayer-- can you imagine?

This Easter away from home isn't my first in a different continent; I've also experienced Easter in Romania five years ago.  Hearing the Easter message being communicated in a foreign tongue brings to reality the universal joy that we share.  Our church, Salvation Lutheran Church, had about 40 people there for the Good Friday service tonight, including the missionaries and pastor-- a good-sized gathering for this church.  And it's not every day a group that size can sing so loudly!  Like every Good Friday, God brought to my knees in humble thanks.  We are so loved.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8

God is blessing me with getting to know some Taiwanese friends better.  It's nice to be able to go out with them and make connections deeper than our differences.  They have a lot of patience with me, as I ask for the Chinese names for a million different things.  And the best part-- we laugh a lot!

Falling asleep.... goodnight!  I mean, good morning!  Enjoy Friday!  It is a good day-- trust me, I've already been there. ;)

Anna

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Visitors

This might be my shortest update ever, but I need not say more:


We have fleas!!

Sun Link Sea and Other Adventures

I realize now that I have to update regularly, otherwise so much happens that writing about everything seems overwhelming!   Well, here I go to try to fill you in on this week:


New Vistas:
Wednesday was our day off for Tomb Sweeping Day, so the team went to Sun Link Sea, a beautiful place to hike in the mountains and see breathtaking waterfalls.  Delicate bamboo forests, towering cypress trees, cliff-climbing orchids and giant pink peonies were the flora that captured my admiration.  I think our first hike to Dulishan was good practice, because I wasn't sore at all!  I made some new Taiwanese friends who came with us on the trip.  The exhausting but lovely day trip ended with very traditional Chinese food including bamboo soup, deer meat, and deep-fried tea leaves!  Good views, good conversation, and good food makes for a great day.  Some pictures that I found online of Sun Link Sea:

New Experiences:
I got to experience the Chiayi Christian hospital on Tuesday.  My friends told me that I should have my swollen foot looked at, and because we have a friend with connections at the hospital, we just went there right away.  Formalities and regulations aren't as tight here, as I found out, and we were able to skip lines of people so that I could walk right into the "Infectious Diseases Unit" to be told that they're just infected mosquito bites (which is better than fleas like we thought it might have been).  The doctor gave me medicine to take for the swelling and infection.  It's getting better, but perhaps mosquitos are a lot nastier here or maybe I'm allergic to something, because everything just itches like crazy and I get rashes often.  Ahhh, such is the price of traveling!  I am just grateful that I haven't been sick yet.

New Lessons:
Unnatural Selection: that's what they call the population problem in Taiwan.  Couples want to have small families with few children to stay wealthy, and they often abort female babies to try for male ones.  I also learned that there are good and bad years to be born.  This is the year of the dragon; a very lucky year to be born, and I suspect there will be a lot of babies born in 2012.  The year of the tiger, on the other hand, is considered very unlucky, and hundreds of thousands of babies are aborted in these years, because families don't want unlucky babies.  One of our friends here (a Christian) was born in the year of the tiger.  Because of this, she is not allowed to attend any weddings or funerals in the family, and if anything bad happens in the family, it is blamed on her bad fortune.  No wonder she threw off those superstitions and became a Christian!  I was really shocked to hear how far these superstitions affect people's lives and cause people to be treated appallingly.

I was also moved by some of the stories I've heard of what some converts go through.  There are all different kinds of persecution and sacrifices that people experience to call themselves Christian, even though Taiwan boasts "freedom of religion".  One friend of ours is Christian, but her husband threatens to leave her if she embarrasses him by getting baptized.  Another girl my age was disowned by her parents for a while after being baptized, but later her parents warmed up to the change.  Also, women are more likely to convert than men, so women realize that by being baptized they run a high chance of being single for the rest of their lives.

New prayer request!  I got to talk with a coworker in my office who is my age.... she was very open to answering my questions about her traditional religion, and we talked about the reason why Easter is so special to us Christians.  It was a very encouraging conversation, and I would love if she came to church with us sometime.  Please pray for Tina!

 I just want to build relationships right now, and take whatever opportunities come.

Praying for you all!  Thanks so much for following my adventures here in Taiwan, and it's so great to know that my trip is being lifted up in prayer by brothers and sisters back in the states.


Anna

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A Day in the Office

Even while my camera is out of commission until I get a working charger, I can still take pictures in the office with my Mac. :)

This is fan teow = "rice strips".  They look like little jelly worms in soup.  It's actually a cold, sweet dessert soup with rice noodles.  Tastes like diluted maple syrup, but pretty good.

This is Janice!  My desk neighbor and self-proclaimed "Taiwanese mom".  I think we'll be going for many walks during our free time.  She follows the traditional Chinese religion, which is a mix of Buddhist philosophy and Taoist theology.  She will go to worship her ancestors tomorrow for the national holiday Tomb Sweeping Day.  I've invited her to Friday night Bible study at the church... maybe she'll come!

I forgot to mention that Saturday (my 4th day here) I had my first solo outing.  My mission: order breakfast.  After a lot pointing and awkward laughing, mixed in with the few phrases I know in Chinese, it was a success.  I pointed to a random thing on the menu and got------ chicken!  No sea food!  This is proof that God is good.  :)

Yesterday was my first shopping excursion and I rode my bike to the convenience store, a fruit stand, and bakery.  Chiayi is a big booming city, but only a few blocks away from our school I found quiet rice paddies and chicken farms.  There are temples everywhere, ranging in size anywhere from little shacks to the Seven Levels of Hell Temple, which is six or seven stories high.  Back in the states I couldn't help but admire the beauty and peace of Asian art, but now I see it from a different perspective.  These ornate temples are ominous and dark.  Perhaps East Asians strive for such a peace and "good energy" in their aesthetics because they have none in their religion.  How do you know if you've been good enough?  What if you were bad in a past life?  How do you please Matsa and the other gods?  Are your ancestors pleased with you?  How do you know?  Although we Christians also appreciate good art, we don't have to rely on synthesizing a sense of peace in our environment; we have the Spirit of peace inside of us.  The price for our sins has been paid for, it is finished.  Nothing can separate us from the love of God.  What peace could we possibly lack?

Tomorrow is Tomb Sweeping Day and it's a holiday for that very purpose.  Kind of strange that we get this day off from school, but not Good Friday.

My least favorite thing about Taiwan: mosquitos!!  My foot is swollen from bites and barely fits into my shoe and my legs are covered with them too.  But I can't complain.  Warm showers and edible food have already exceeded my expectations of the living conditions here.  My lovely room with a great bed:

My pictures have been put on hold because my camera charger isn't working and these are all I have.  I will upload photos as soon as possible.

Anna

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Weekend update

My calves are tight from yesterday's excursion:  climbing Duli Shan, "Independence Mountain".  The air is always hazy in and around Chiayi city, so the mountain was only a massive outline in the sky until we reached its base.  I'd like to think that it was the altitude that made me stop and gasp for oxygen at each new set of stairs that climbed to the top... I'm sure I would have been the first one to the top if I hadn't taken pictures all the time! ;)  Okay, in all honesty now... I thought I was going to die.  What a way to be broken in!  I would have given up if it wasn't for the team.  They didn't have to say anything; they were just there, always putting one foot in front of the other, and I wanted to be there with them at the top.  From my perspective, it was a neat picture of our Christian walk and why missionaries need work together in a team.  Being able to stand on the peak was a huge sense of accomplishment, not to mention the great view.  If this is what we do during our time off, I think I will be in the best shape of my life!

Flora:  impatiens, hibiscus, and cherry blossoms everywhere!  Cultivated tea plants and beetle nut trees that look like tall thin palm trees.  In the first half of the 20th century, the Japanese had control of the island and stripped the mountains of its natural trees.  The bare mountains were later planted with beetle nut, which produces a substance used like chewing tobacco.  These trees have really shallow root systems and cause many avalanches on the mountains of Taiwan; last year, a city was completely wiped off of the map because of these trees!  Fauna:  SPIDERS!  Huge ones, at least the same length as the span of my stretched fingers.  I'm not used to being able to spot spiders from 50 feet away.  Snakes, rodents, geckos, and other bugs I'm okay with... but spiders!  I think I'll be okay-- as long as they stay out of my bed.

Click >>here<< to read more about Duli Shan.


After our hike yesterday, a lady from the church named Joann took us to see some local Taiwanese artists, both traditional pottery and contemporary abstract art of various media.  It was intriguing to see the culture represented in art.  Taiwan is a blending of cultures, more Chinese by location, while also influenced by the previous Japanese occupation, and a touch of early Dutch exploration.  The Japanese influence accounts for more of the simplistic, minimalist, earthy art, whereas Chinese art tends to be more ornate.  They certainly understand how to create a sense of peace in their art.

Last night we went to karaoke for our friend Amanda's birthday, but I was so exhausted!  I don't think jet lag has been an issue; I've had NO trouble sleeping at night.  In fact, I feel like that's all I want to do right now!

On the way to church this morning we passed a parade celebrating a god's birthday, and we saw people on the street burn fake money and set out fruit as an offering.  When we arrived at church, it was refreshing to see the palms, the smiling pastor dressed in normal Lutheran pastor garb, and to hear the choppy sing-song language following the melody of familiar hymns where English always used to be.  I thought of Christians singing hymns in the same language in a country not too far from here-- but in basements, hiding from national police.  One of the members translated the sermon for us through a headset system, but I didn't need translation for the liturgy or the words of institution; I knew exactly what the pastor was saying when he told me I was forgiven, that this is Jesus' body and blood.

I always thought I wanted to travel to discover more independence, but instead God is teaching me deeper levels of dependence. Like 1 Corinthians 13 says, my gifts and talents mean nothing if I do not have love, and God is the only one who can enable me to love like that.  In previous mission experiences, I always leaned on sharing my gifts of music and languages.  But I did not come to play songs, and I didn't come to learn Chinese.  There are others on the team who play music for church, and everyone's Chinese is BY FAR better than mine!  And I'm okay with that.  It's kind of a strange blessing, not to be needed for your gifts and talents, but to just be a blessing with your heart.  God may be stretching me and showing me other avenues in which to love people, because that's what it really comes down to.

Pray for:
     - humility.  I really need it right now.
     - my Taiwanese colleague, Janice, who is not a Christian.

I hope and pray all is well back home!

Anna
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