Dear friends and family,
I regret that so much time has passed since I last wrote. It´s been a whirlwind of activity here.
Last weekend our house was saturated with the smell of turkey and apple pie as we celebrated our Thanksgiving meal. We invited our entire church, some friends, students, and teachers from the school. Even though there were only 40 people (I guess in years past they´ve had close to 200!), our house was packed with food and people. We had done a lot of work in preparation, with the cooking and cleaning, but it was worth it to see connections made between churched and unchurched people, to see friends enjoying stuffing and mashed potatoes, and to muster a little of the home-for-the-holidays feeling.
I´ve found myself overbooked with tutoring on top of teaching and ministry, and next semester I need to cut down. It´s always been easy for me to be overly busy, and even now in Taiwan I´m learning to balance time. The pace of life is different here; it's slower, and yet not lazier. You are expected to do less things at one time but also expected to do it more consistently, without breaks or change. Not exactly the way I like to do things, but I have to adjust. We worked on Thanksgiving and we'll work on Christmas Eve day and Christmas day. (I suppose now I know how pastors feel.) We have one day off at the end of the year, and then go straight on until February. We rarely have to rush from one place to another, but we're always doing something. I'm trying to keep my Sundays as free as possible to rest and be rejuvenated in God's word, but even on Saturdays and Sundays we often have team responsibilities.
Thankful.... it hardly felt like Thanksgiving the holiday that I know and love so well. On Thanksgiving Day, we had school and did nothing special and ate curry instead of turkey for lunch. But the ideas of joy and appreciation go beyond turkey and getting a day off of work. We can be thankful in any situation. We can be joyful anywhere we are and regardless of what we eat and even regardless who we are with. Tonight, I am so thankful that God only gives us what we can handle. When you work in ministry, as with many other jobs, your work isn't quantifiable or measurable, and it's easy to get overworked. Tonight, after school, I sat down at my desk to plan a tutoring lesson. But I was so brain dead that nothing came. I was fresh out of energy and ideas, literally nothing came to me. After a full day of teaching children and thinking how to explain things in English, I was tired. So I prayed and told God that, and I asked Him to either give me an idea or a way out. He gave me peace. So I mustered what crumbs of a lesson I had and went to their house. When I walked in, they were decorating the Christmas tree and asked me to help. No lesson tonight, they said, just tell us about Christmas. (Yes! Just what I needed!) So God knew I needed a break and a little taste of Christmas. I asked the mom tonight if I can teach the girls Bible stories, and she said yes. I wasn't sure if she would because they follow the traditional religion of Taiwan, but I am so excited for an opportunity to share Jesus with them, because it was the reason I took the job. Next week those girls are going to hear about Jesus' birth, maybe for the first time. I am thankful, so very thankful, that God is gentle with us, and never lets us drown when we call out to Him for help. It reminds me of these verses from Philippians 4:
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
No matter where we are for the holidays, or what we eat, or how empty or full our table and chairs may be, we are so blessed. May you ever be aware of the many good things God generously showers on you, and in turn thank him for all of them.
In Christ,
Anna
