It doesn't look at all like Christmas.

Dear All,

A very Merry Christmas to you and a Happy New Year!

It's been an eventful holiday season once again in Taiwan.  What with caroling down the neon-lit streets and musty back alleys, the students' colorful tree decorating contest, the church's musical Christmas celebration as well as our own American Team Taiwan "family" gatherings filled with sarcasm and good ol' American humor, I haven't had time to catalogue it all until now.

Perhaps the best way to show you what we've been up to is to share these videos with you:

Halfway through December, I realized I didn't care at all about Christmas coming.  That's not normal; I am a girl who adores everything about Christmas.  I used to say that I live for Christmas.  But since I'm not with my family and friends, it seemed easier not to care.

I once had the privilege of hearing a Holocaust survivor speak.  During the question time afterward, I asked him if his faith helped him through that difficult time.  He responded, "Without our temple, our Sabbath, our menorahs, our dietary laws, we had no faith."  I was always baffled by that answer.  My minor discomforts cannot compare to the horrors of the Holocaust, but I do understand that man a little better now.

It's hard when the way you worship God is changed.  It's strange being in a foreign land with different customs, operating under a different calendar so that I lose delineation between seasons, that Christmastime and Eastertime become just time.  Smells of cinnamon and peppermint that instantaneously connect with the Nativity in my mind are replaced with fish, soy sauce, cabbage dumplings.  Carols that I could sing in my sleep suddenly have unintelligible lyrics that I can't pronounce fast enough to keep up with everyone else.  Whereas Christmas used to mean a week of uninterrupted family laughter and games, I can afford two minutes with each one I love through a computer screen on Christmas Day.  Everything I knew about Christmas has been torn away, except for one thing: the fact that over two thousand years ago, in a tiny town in Israel, a boy was born who was God in a human body.  He chose to leave his perfectly comfortable home in heaven and come to earth to feel pain, sickness, tiredness, hunger, cold, heat, sadness.  Whereas changing countries is a shock, I'm sure the difference between heaven and earth is infinitely greater!  Jesus didn't hold onto heaven, his power, his comfort.  (Philippians 2) He let it go and left His home for us.  And He endured it all for joy. (Hebrews 12:2) Our joy at being reunited with God, and God's joy in gaining sons and daughters.

As soon as I realized I was subconsciously disconnecting myself from the upcoming holiday, God gave me strength to change.  He gave me strength not just to fake happiness, but to really be so filled with joy that I sang those Christmas hymns at the top of my lungs.  I handed out cookies and cider with relish.  I shouted "Merry Christmas!" to strangers.  I requested every Christmas hymn in the hymnal for sing-a-longs.  I can honestly say that God filled me with joy this Christmas season, and we celebrated in new ways and old ways alike.  It's silly for me to be sad on Christmas, because there is absolutely nothing to be sad about!

For all of us who are away from home, or missing a loved one, or without a job, we can still have joy.  Our joy is not founded in the tinsel, cookies, music, pageants, gifts, trees, or even (as much as we cherish it above all else) family time.  Our joy is in the birth of our Savior.  We have that no matter where we go or what we do, who we're with and what we eat.  May you be filled with the joy of the Savior-- and also have your fill of family, carols, and cookies!  The enemy cannot take our joy away!

Merry Christmas.


In Christ,

Anna Gruen

Giving Thanks for Thanksgiving

Last week a Taiwanese lady from our church told us she wanted to initiate a traditional American Thanksgiving lunch after church the following Sunday.  It started with her asking us for advice on what dishes to make, then turned into going grocery shopping with her, and before I knew it, I was suddenly in charge of making everything!  Me-- who's never cooked a Thanksgiving meal in my life, who has trouble cooking for myself let alone for everyone in church.  Mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, stuffing, apple pie, the works!  I could have been upset, but I didn't have time-- it was already Saturday and I had too much cooking to do-- besides, I guess I never refused, so I couldn't anyone but myself.  I stayed up past 1:00am making those apple pies. Early Sunday morning came and I was bleary-eyed.  Our church sister came to the door and helped me load the dishes into her car, and we headed off for church.  

While en route she told me why she funds a large church dinner once a month; she can't sing or do anything else for the church, so this is the way she serves the congregation and shows her gratitude to God.  She also told me about her health conditions.  I never knew that she spent 5 hours in the hospital every other day getting her blood cleaned since her body cannot do it on her own.  She's been like that for 18 years.  She took my hand and placed it on her other arm, made me feel a lump of a machine vibrating under her skin.

"I'm telling you because you ask.  I don't always have to tell people how sick I am.  But when other people have health problems, I can stand in front of them and encourage them.  God has really carried me on his back these years."  She said, wiping a tear.  Suddenly I was very thankful to have this time with her.

We toiled a few hours before church started and right through the sermon.  "Shouldn't we go to church?"  I asked, exhausted.  "Feeding our spirits is more important than feeding our bodies."  

"Don't worry," she assured me. "On days I know I need to cook during church, I always watch sermons on TV beforehand.  I find time."  For having so many health problems, she sure had WAY more energy in the kitchen than I did!

The Thanksgiving lunch was a huge success!  We fed over 50 people.  The Taiwanese LOVED the mashed potatoes, and even ate the apple pie-- even though Taiwanese react to cinnamon the way Americans react to cherry cough drops (it's a medicine for them) and even though I burned the bottom of the pies due to using an unfamiliar oven and pans.  Some men volunteered to clean after the lunch-- which was a HUGE blessing -- and there was plenty of food leftover.

Thank God that I did not drop in a pathetic heap of back pain and lack of kitchen experience!

Thank God that people volunteered to help Saturday night and Sunday morning!

Thank God everyone was fed and all turned out well!

Thank God for his provision!

Thank God that He was glorified!

I am thankful.

And completely turned off of Thanksgiving food for another year.  >_<

Happy Thanksgiving!   I hope your Thanksgiving meal experience is just as joyous as mine (but maybe a little less stressful!)  It is truly a blessing to be able to celebrate God's bounty with family and friends.

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.

His love endures forever."     --Psalm 136:1

In Christ,

Anna Gruen 谷恩娜

November: Blessed to be a Blessing

Last weekend our team had our annual fall retreat-- a time to run away from school-related work and be reminded of why we're here.  We took a bus to the mountains where we met a church of aboriginal people called the Tsou tribe.

Photo above:  A Presbyterian mountain church of the Tsou tribe.  Below:  Pastor teaches us how to play the nose flute.  I could play "Amazing Grace", even though they said my nose was the wrong shape to play their flutes!

The congregation is quite small with many elderly members, including five widows who own small plots of coffee trees.  In order to help these women make a living, the church buys the beans from the widows at a generous price, pays to skin and roast the beans, and then sells the finished product.  Both the widows and the church benefit from this agreement.  As part of our retreat, we learned all about processing coffee beans, and even got to spend a couple hours helping ama (grandma) pick her beans.

 The rest of the time we spent hiking in the beautiful mountains, reading God's Word, worshiping, and learning more about each team member and how we work as a team.  Special guest Sean (missionary working in the Philippines and Taiwan) helped out with leading worship and cooked us some delicious meals.

Pastor Carl led us in devotions with our theme "Blessed to be a blessing", based on God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:2.

In our devotions we were reminded that part of being a missionary is going through the grieving process of what we left behind.  Just like Abraham, we are called to leave our country behind and follow God to the place where he sends us.  Undoubtedly Abraham had struggles along his way.  But when following God, even hardships overflow with blessings.

"What does this have to do with my life?"  You might be wondering.  "I'm not a missionary."

We are ALL called to leave things behind as we follow God.  Maybe that thing isn't our country, but maybe it's our tendency to worry, our quick-as-lightening anger, our greedy eyes that idolize someone else's house or car or body, our grumbling tongue, our comfortable spiritual apathy.  Basically, we're called to leave OURSELVES behind and follow God to a place of blessing.  There is always struggle.  But God promises that even through the difficulties of following Him, we will be blessed and will be a blessing to others.  This promise is true for all of us.

I pray that all of us remain willing to daily leave our worldly comforts behind for the best prize-- struggling along to follow God and being blessed in the process.  Let's not be found sleeping when the Master returns home.

In Christ,

Anna

Prayer requests:

1.  For Noel, a team member who is undergoing some serious health tests this week.

2.  For a Jehovah's Witness whom I have been talking with on a weekly basis.

3.  For students, teachers, and student teachers at Concordia Middle School and their salvation, that God would open their hearts to His Truth.

4.  For the Philippines, our neighbor in Southeast Asia, which remains devastated after the cataclysmic hurricane. 

October

October is filled with blessings, as all months are.

We have four American girls, one American grandpa, and a Taiwanese teacher in our house.  Every morning, we four American girls start our day with 6am exercise.  We hold each other accountable.  We knock on the doors of sleepy team mates.  We leave little "congratulations" notes to mark another success.  At 8:30am, we pray for each other before we leave for school.  Part of our ministry here is learning to love each other, taking care of each other as we take care of our students.  Our American grandpa helps us take care of the house, he listens to our struggles with stubborn students, and forgives us when we're crabby.  He is a model of selflessness and humility for us to mimic.  Our Taiwanese coworker is a good roommate and we always share silly stories of the what our students have been up to and sometimes watch tv shows together.  I'm so blessed to have them, each one of them in this house.  It certainly is a beautiful place. 

It's necessary, because teaching is not without it's struggles.  Of course.  Any teacher will tell you that.

A teacher's work is never done, nor is a missionary's.  There is so much love and grace we want to give, but at the same time we must be disciplined in order to keep the high standards of the school and in order to keep our authority (students know that American teachers are a bit softer than Taiwanese teachers, and they're good at using it to their advantage!)  Most of the struggle is just classroom management.  When we struggle with that, we also struggle with feelings of failure.  But we must keep going, and we must keep loving in a firm way.  God gives us grace to not give up.

Spanish classes are my biggest struggle.  We have no textbooks, and no fund to buy them.  I did my best to construct a first semester curriculum for the students' to use, but I cannot do the job of a team of professionals.  I'm waiting to send my request to the administration for a Spanish textbook fund... if that doesn't happen, I'll be talking with Lutheran schools in America to see if they have any old textbooks that they can donate.  I am in prayer about this, as a solid Spanish program could be a real advantage for Concordia and keep its reputation as an elite school.

A few weeks ago we had a young person's confirmation at church, and next week a student is getting baptized.  I'll post some photos.  Praise God that He is the one who changes hearts!  We cannot do it, but His Word is powerful.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."  -- Ephesians 3:19-20

The weather is cooling, and I'm finally able to sit at my desk and walk to my class without sweating profusely.  Mango season is almost over, soon to be replaced with oranges in the marketplace.  Chinese classes are going well and I'm reading a second grade textbook right now (it's challenging enough!)  My colleague has been teaching me free of charge, which is a real Godsend, and so I always try to gift her with fruit or other food to show my appreciation (as is customary in Taiwan).  I'm resigned to the fact, however, that no matter how fluent my Chinese may become, I'll forever stick out in Asia with my blond hair!

Thank you so much for your encouragement and your prayers.  I love hearing from you all, via emails or facebook, and you are a joy to me in my ministry.  Remember that you are not alone in your faith-- along with you, millions of Christians from all over the world are setting their sights on eternity, renouncing this world and its ways, living lives of love and waiting for Christ to return as He promised.    You are not alone!

In Christ,

Anna Gruen




A letter that keeps me going...

New Year, New Goals

And so starts our first week of the new school year.  I'm happy to say that it's going well and I am excited about getting to know my kids.  I am teaching the same courses I taught last year, so everything will be a bit smoother and easier, now that I know what to expect.  I am glad to be here for two years; it was definitely worth the investment.  I hope to give more this year, grow more, teach better, love better, reach higher.

My goals this year:  

1.  I want to make Team Taiwan a priority.  I want to build stronger relationships with the other Americans, pray for them, help them when they need help, and take time to enjoy their company.  We are a team and the body of Christ.  Our relationships with each other set the tone for our relationships with others around us.  

2.  I want to clear our my schedule and make room for new ministry opportunities.  Last year tutoring filled my schedule.  This year I'm not doing that.  Instead, I'm starting with nothing but my teaching hours.  In a week or two, I will look at the different options and see where God is leading me to be involved-- in Friday Night Bible study, or an on-campus Bible study?  A music ministry?  A student prayer time?  We'll see, and I'm excited and open to being more intentional in sharing God's Word outside of class.  I'm learning that it's better to be fully-invested in leading a few ministries than be divided amongst all of them.

3.  Studying Chinese.  I want to actively make time to study the language, so that I can continually improve my understanding of the Taiwanese people and culture.  That is so important for missionaries and something I enjoy very much.

I hope that your Labor Day was relaxing and memorable!  For all the teachers and students out there, enjoy your new semester and work hard!  

"God sells us all things at the price of labor."  Leonardo da Vinci.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters."  Colossians 3:23.

In Christ,

Anna 

A Whole New Year

It's amazing that I've been back in Taiwan for four weeks now.  Times flies and I have so much to say, so little time to write:

SUMMER IN THE STATES

God provided for all my financial needs through brothers and sisters in Christ in lightning-speed this summer!  My sincerest thanks, again, for providing me the opportunity to serve the people of Taiwan for another year!  But my time in the States went by so quickly--  and I wish there was more of it to spend with all of you.

SUMMER SCHOOL

The last four weeks have consisted of teaching summer school-- a light schedule, but difficult breaking in the new 7th grade students to the school's high expectations, and monotonous teaching the very basic English lessons we begin the year with.  I have one particularly wonderful class-- the students are all responsive and respectful-- and another particularly challenging class-- undisciplined and uncaring.  I am being stretched in my ability to manage a classroom, to discipline students, and to be patient.  So, thank God for new challenges!

THE PRACTICE HOTEL

Other than that, my role for the last couple of weeks has been helping organize and update the house we live in (which we have named the "practice hotel" because it used to be a hotel used by the school to teach hospitality courses to students).  Since missionaries come and go rather quickly here, the house was left outdated, cluttered, and in need of repair.  The school agreed to update some things for us, and we missionaries spent a lot of time cleaning, organizing, sorting and rearranging.  The girls in our house are all excited to have a new kitchen and washer/dryer.  It's so nice to have a comfortable house that looks fresh and clean.  The last couple years have been riddled with mice, fleas, and cockroaches.   As of right now, I think we're mice-free and I haven't seen any cockroaches in a while.  Needless to say, we are so blessed with what we have now!

NEW MISSIONARIES

We've also been busy helping new missionaries adapt to life in Taiwan.  Each new team member who comes is an investment, and it takes time to teach the ins and outs of what we do here.  Everything from how to order tea at a tea stand, to grocery shopping, to proper eating etiquette, to driving a motor scooter, to getting around the city, to learning necessary Chinese-- it all takes time and someone to show you how.  I really enjoy this aspect of team life, and I'm glad God is giving me so many opportunities to teach all the things that have been taught to me.  Every challenge that can inhibit people when they come to Taiwan can also be an equal sense of accomplishment once it's mastered.  The language barrier can be a huge struggle for newcomers, but it is such a joy once you can order your food by yourself in Chinese!  So we encourage each other by teaching each other.


That's all I have for now.  By Wednesday we'll have our full team and start to get a feel for team dynamics.  It's different every year, but always a HUGE blessing to have partners in ministry.  The fall semester starts in two weeks, so I'm hoping to do a little traveling the week in between summer school and the fall semester.  I'm hoping to learn more about the aboriginal cultures in Taiwan of which I am particularly passionate about learning.  I'll be sure to tell you all about it. :)


For all of those starting a new school year in the States.... have fun and God's blessings!  Enjoy every moment of it!  Learning is such a joy.  Praise God that we always have new things to learn every day.



In Christ,


Anna Gruen

Home!

I'm finally home!  It's so good to be back in the States and to see some old friends again.  First of all, thank you so much to all of you who made this last year in Taiwan possible.  I strove to teach the Gospel as best as I know how and it was coupled with constant prayer for my students.  Missionaries often do not see the fruit of their work right away, but I know for a fact that God works through Concordia Middle School in a powerful way.  It was an unforgettable experience and I have probably learned just as much as my students have.  Thank you.

I will be giving two more presentations while I'm home, one at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Wauwatosa, WI on July 14 at 9:30, and one at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Antioch, IL at 10:45.


I'll be home until July 25th when I will be going back to Taiwan to teach for another year.  The purpose of my return to America is to see family and friends but also to raise support.  Since more than enough funding was raised last year, my current need is only $5,425 for my next year in Taiwan.    Some missionaries have to raise $90,000 for a year of work, so I am very blessed!  Still, I can't do it by myself.  If you are interested in partnering with me in this mission or just want to read more about what we do, here's my LCMS webpage:


www.lcms.org/gruen


You can give directly online.  It should be fast and simple.  If there are any questions, please contact me at anna.gruen@cuw.edu .


"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."  1 Corinthians 15:58

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."  Galatians 6:9

Whatever ministry or service you find yourself called to, whether abroad or in the Midwest or another place, it's just as important!  The Lord has you there for a purpose, and your work is not in vain.


In Christ,

Anna Gruen