Dragon Boat Festival

Recently our little island celebrated Dragon Boat Festival. It's a tradition to eat zongzi (Asian tamales) on this special day. We had been given MANY zongzi in the past as gifts, but we had never made our own. This year, our language school sponsored a cultural event to let the foreigners make their own zongzi. The school prepared all the necessary ingredients for us. They washed lots of bamboo leaves and cooked the necessary fillings. All we had to do was wrap, steam, and eat. Sounds easy, doesn't it?

1. Each person must choose a freshly washed and dried bamboo leaf.
2. Next, shape the bamboo leaf into a funnel.

3. Fill the funnel with sticky rice, meats, peanuts, mushrooms, shallots, dates, sweetened red bean paste, etc.

4. Fold the bamboo leaf over and over and over several times.

5. Tie the wrapped zongzi with a cotton string.

7. Steam and eat.

Dragon Boat Festival is one of Asia's oldest festivals dating back 2300 years. At the end of the Zhou Dynasty, the area we now know as the Mainland had fallen into a state of fragmentation and conflict. While the Zhou dynasty had ruled for several centuries, several other states, originally feudal domains, tried to carve out their own kingdoms. The state of Qin would eventually emerge the victor and unify all of the Mainland under one rule for the first time in history.

Qu Yuan served as minister to the Zhou Emperor. A wise and articulate man, he was loved by the common people. He did much to fight against the rampant corruption that plagued the court-- thereby earning the envy and fear of other officials. Therefore, when he urged the emperor to avoid conflict with the Qin Kingdom, the officials pressured the Emperor to have him removed from service. In exile, he traveled, taught and wrote for several years. Hearing that the Zhou had been defeated by the Qin, he fell into despair and threw himself into the Milou River. As he was so loved by the people, fishermen rushed out in long boats, beating drums to scare the fish away, and throwing zongzi into the water to feed the fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body.

English Camp #1

One month from today, four VERY good friends from WV will be joining us in our city. They will be doing a variety of things while they are here including two 3-day English camps. English Camp #1 will be held in a rural village about 45 minutes from our mega-city. Please use this blog post to begin thinking about these camps on a daily basis.

This school has approximately 100 sixth graders. English Camp #1 will be held the week after 6th grade graduation. We anticipate 50 children will participate. Please ask that their minds and hearts will be open to hearing and believing HIStory.English Camp #1 will focus on the TRUE meaning of three American holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. We will use stories, games, songs, crafts, etc. to introduce these holidays to the students.
We will also use holiday-related vocabulary words, reading comprehension, speaking/listening drills, etc. to reinforce the students' English skills.
Yesterday, our family had the opportunity to visit the school, see the facility, and meet all of the 6th grade students and teachers. They were so excited about the upcoming camp.
We were invited to participate in this camp by a local sister, Nadia. Please remember us (and the WV team) as we make preparations. May we use every word, every activity, every moment to lead these precious children towards a personal relationship with HIM.Many of you cannot physcially come to assist us on our journey, but ALL of you can join us in thinking about the people on our little island on a daily basis. May these children's lives be changed for eternity!

A Typical Saturday Afternoon

A few weeks ago on a typical Saturday afternoon, Esther found herself "caught up" in a Folk Temple Parade near our apartment complex. She walked along for a while with the participants and spectators snapping photos as she went. When she reached the actual temple building, the leader of the temple invited her inside to have a look around and to take more photos. Esther had alot of questions, but her language skills were limited. So, she asked a co-worker to accompany her the next week to meet him.

She and the co-worker have had two lengthy discussions with the temple leader during the past two weeks. During the second session, the leader agreed to take a BOOK. When questioned as to where the power for his gods originates, he said: "Oh, the idols have no power. It's all in your head." Please remember Esther as she and this co-worker continue their conversations with this man.

Mother's Day ?

(Some photos obtained from other sites.)

Every day, we learn something new about our culture. In our minds, yesterday was Mother's Day: a time for flowers, cards, meals, and gifts to thank mom for all of her love and support. But, on our little island, yesterday was also the day set aside to mark the birthday of Buddha.
In the exact same spot used to celebrate the Franklin Graham Festival and glorify HIS name last fall, thousands of folks gathered to seek a different kind of "peace" in the midst of turbulent times.

Before giving a speech, our president performed the “bathing Buddha” ritual. Holding a wooden ladle, he poured water over a small statue of the Buddha three times while reciting: “May I eliminate all evil thoughts” on the first wash, “May I cultivate good deeds” on the second, and “May I help save all living beings” on the third. (Bathing a statue of Buddha symbolizes a fresh start in life and the care given to newborn babies.)

As mothers demonstrated for their children how to perform this ritual, we were reminded of the urgent need we have to share the true source of real peace, the Prince of Peace. He is the only One that can truly give a fresh start in life, both now and for eternity.

We celebrated Mother's Day by giving our mom flowers, a meal, and a gift. We want this small Oriental lamp to daily remind all of us of the desperate need to continously shine HIS light into the darkness.

Righteous Generation

Every Friday night, Esther gathers with about 75 local teens for Youth Group. Most of the teens are in grades six to nine. Esther leads the small group time for the high school girls. During the week, they also have other events including leaders' meetings, retreats, service projects, outreach projects, and m-type trips. We wanted to use this blog update to share photos from a recent three-day retreat.

The group is mostly Asian,

but does include a few "white-faces."

Kids from South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Europe,
New Zealand, America, Hong Kong, India,
Canada, etc. all participate together.


Wherever teenagers gather,
it requires alot of food....Korean Bar-B-Que.



One of the highlights of the weekend was a ropes course teaching the value of goal-setting, teamwork, and perseverance.

Everyone can always use a little help from their friends.

Together, we're better!

Of course, the best part of the weekend was the concentrated time devoted solely to HIM. Please remember this group on a daily basis. Many of the kids are the first and only believers in their families. May they be a generation that seeks HIS righteousness.

Worth a Thousand Words

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so we hope these photos will clearly describe the elation we experienced riverside with Jerry and our little storefront national clubhouse friends on Easter morning.

Symbolizing His death,

burial,
and resurrection.
Jerry testifying to New Life May Jerry's entire household decide to follow Him soon! Thank you for all of your support. We are on this journey together!

Sushi and Saturday School

The very first Sunday that we arrived in our new city, a co-worker introduced us to a small storefront national clubhouse. Since our national language skills were still very limited, it was difficult to sit through several hours on Sundays of classes, services, and meal times with so little understanding. But, the local brothers and sisters were super, and we really wanted to spend time with them. They invited us to attend (and assist with) their Children's Saturday School, and we have been joining them every week since then. During the past seven months, we have become more and more involved. We can now understand about 1/3 of the national language used during the stories, songs, activities, etc. Jessie has started teaching the featured story each week in very simple English (a few sentences) and very simple Asianese. We have also memorized many of the songs and pr-yers in the national language. But, most of all we have fallen in love with these children and teachers. On a typical Saturday, about 10 to 15 children attend (over 60 are enrolled). The above photo is the multi-purpose room used for all clubhouse activities. If all 60 came on one day, we'd have to move out into the street. (Of course, friends from WV remember when we did that with youth group activities every Wednesday night....so it's definitely a possibility.)

Lately, lots of moms and dads have started joining us. We think it's a great idea. We can use the extra hands. Also, the parents can practice their English skills and hear HIStory along with their children. (Most of the folks from the Children's Saturday School have not joined in Sunday activities yet.) This past Saturday, we had a very unique experience. Have you ever made SUSHI during your children's clubhouse activities? Here's some additional photos in case you want to try it yourself. After spreading cooked rice onto a sheet of seaweed, just add other favorite ingredients like cucumber, mayo, pork floss, etc. (If you want to try this at home, there are actually recipes for pork floss sushi online. So enjoy!)

Then, roll it and cut it and eat it. Or, just roll it and chow down like "corn on the cob"!

On a recent drive through the countryside, we saw farmers preparing their rice fields. They, of course, are expecting a great harvest. We too are busy each day in the fields....preschoolers, children, teens, university students, workers, senior adults, etc. Would you join us? Please daily think about the nationals in our area, and consider coming to join us in these fields. They are literally white unto harvest.