Priceless Faces

Recently, our schedules have been very full with travel, office work, trainings, language classes, homeschool, and daily life. We usually spend our days doing study, preparation, and emails. We spend our nights and weekends teaching HIStory, three nights inside of our home and three nights outside of our home. Sometimes, it gets a bit overwhelming. (We now have a chart so we don't forget which lesson we just taught to which group :) But, when we look back over the recent photos of our friends, we are ALWAYS encouraged to continue full speed ahead on this journey.

We hope you will agree that these faces are priceless!

Our First Love

In 2005, our family embarked on a journey around the world that has forever changed each of our four individual lives. We started simply enough....just a couple of short term trips to teach English to East Asians. But, then, something remarkable happened....we fell in love with these people.
The short term trips turned into our decision to quit our American jobs, sell our American house, vehicles, and furnishings, and move our two American highschool-aged daughters to a "small" (one million), rural city where we knew NO person, spoke/understood/wrote/read NO words, and definitely did NOT "blend" into the society or culture. Then, in 2008, because of a change in "job" asssignment, we packed up again and moved to a "big" (seven million), cosmopolitan city where we knew NO East Asians, still did not speak/understand/write/read many words, but felt alot more at "ease" in the society and culture. And, guess what? Once again, we fell in love with these people.

During the past three weeks, we had the privilege of visiting our first love, the Mainland. We attended some meetings, visited with some old friends and made some new friends, and charted the progress that has been made in our absence.

Some of you that have followed our blogs from both places, may remember this photo from May 2007. The caption read: "Hi, my name is Peter. The first time my foreign friends met me, I was three weeks old. I was abandoned at the police station and the police brought me to the orphanage. I'm very small and quiet. I love it when Jackie visits the orphanage and feeds me a bottle. My favorite times are when she holds me and sings to me, because the workers are too busy to hold me very much."

Well, this is Peter now, August 2010. He is no longer small or quiet. Instead, he laughs constantly. The orphanage has a new facility, new dining room, new bathrooms, new classrooms, new bedrooms, and a great heating system. Many "sisters" continue to show these children His love, including Jackie.

Or, how about this photo from May 2007? The caption read: "Hello, my name is Hope. I had a disability that made me unable to tell when I had to go to the bathroom, but I had surgery to fix that problem. I am just learning how to walk, and I love holding onto Jessie or Esther's finger as I totter about the room. If they let go of my hand, however, I just sit down. I am too scared to try walking all by myself."

This is Hope now, August 2010. "Scared" is no longer a part of her vocabulary. In fact, she pretty much "rules the roost." All honor and glory go to HIM who is able to do so much more than we could ever think possible. Continue to remember Jackie, these children, the caregivers, and the director. May ALL come to know HIM as Father, Savior, and Lord.

No matter where we go, we are always called upon to teach English. One morning during our trip, we accompanied Jackie to an English activity. Over 400 children, sat in rows in the blazing sun, to receive awards and to hear the native English speakers (us) lead them in games and songs. As we led the children in the "Hokey Pokey" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes," how I longed for the freedom that I now experience on my little island to openly share HIStory. Millions of children (there and here) are waiting to hear the truth.

Now, we have returned to our little island to continue to share HIStory....one person at a time. We are so thankful for the opportunity to visit our first love for three short weeks. But, we have been reminded that our first love is really ANYWHERE there are people that are still waiting to know HIM. We are at home on our little island, and we press forward on the journey to reach the millions. Thank you for always supporting us in so many ways. May you freely continue to share HIStory with all of the people surrounding you.

Mother's Day in July

Yesterday afternoon, Esther and I slipped into "Make Believe" world for two hours. Esther and Elizabeth (via video camera and photos) treated me to an elegant English Afternoon Tea party at a local British-style tea house. It was a belated Mother's Day gift, and I'm pretty sure it was the best $20 USD ever spent on a mother. Sometimes, amidst the sights, sounds, smells, and stresses of everyday life in a foreign country, you forget just how refreshing dressing up, sitting across the table from your beautiful 17 year old daughter, smelling rose "everything", and slowly, quietly sipping tea can be.
The food was tasty. The rose-scented potpourri was amazing. The decor was fantastic. And, the relaxing chat with my daughter was priceless. (Elizabeth will visit us in December, and then, all three of us can have this magnificent experience together.)

Thank you girls. I am truly honored to be your mother. May we have many more of these opportunities in the months and years to come. To HIM be all glory and praise.

Hakka Celebration

This week, I (Esther) was invited to attend an all day Hakka celebreation. Although I did not know what that would entail, I whipped out my camera, joined my friend, J, and her mother, P, and set out for an adventure! Before we arrived, my friends explained that the Hakka people are an Asian minority group that have lived on this island for generations. Best known for their colorful handicrafts, unique language, and delicious foods, I soon discovered that I had a lot to learn about these beautiful people! While we were waiting to pick up our tickets, lion dancers paraded down the street to announce the beginning of the day's festivities. Following behind them were several government officials who are running for office this year and a drama group that performed ancient folklore skits. Another exciting event of the day was making traditional, blue tye-dyed handkerchiefs. Even though I ended up with a blue, tye-dyed thumb, I was fascinated by watching the professionals create intricate designs of cranes and flowers on their cloths.Of course, what is a celebration without food? The picture above shows all the tools necessary for the Hakka men to make the well loved dessert, Mo Chi. The dough for the sticky rice cakes must be pounded with the large wooden hammers to crate the perfect consistency. Then peanuts, strawberries, or other toppings can be added to make a tasty treat!Here is my friend, J, eating some wonderful peanut Mo Chi. Yum! There were even booths with games and prizes for anyone who wanted to practice speaking Hakka. I think I pronounced my words incorrectly, but all of the Asian people were quite interested in hearing the white girl try to speak.
All in all, the Hakka celebration was fantastic! I loved learning more about this remarkable culture. As I heard their stories, I thanked the Creator for making such a unique people group. I just hope that the Hakka people will also come to know how much He loves them!

VBS 2010

This year, our BIG national clubhouse stepped out in faith and chose to host two sessions of VBS each day. By making this decision, we were able to host over 400 children at Saddle Ridge Ranch (and yes, it is possible to turn an Asian island into a western dude ranch and Asians into cowboys and cowgirls).
Esther and I spent 10 hours a day working both morning and afternoon sessions all week. It was VERY hard work, but the dividends are definitely eternal with over 200 children making decisions for HIM. Now, the real work of follow-up with entire families begins.

The week was greatly enhanced by all of the donations from our friends in WV and TN. Thanks so much for all of the "leftover" supplies that you sent our way. It definitely added to the theme.

Esther helped out in the Craft site and with one of the first grade classes. I worked with 3rd graders.

Over 1/2 of these children had never attended any kind of VBS-type event before. Pre-registration filled the 400 slots within days of opening. We were so happy that six of our children from the orphanage were able to attend.

I think this photo best describes the entire event: I will give my life, I will give my all, I just want to be like HIM! We were so honored to be able to work alongside our national brothers and sisters who definitely gave ALL they could give this week so that these children had the opportunity to find answers in HIM, both now and in the future.

Off To A Great Start

We just finished up an incredible week of work with a HUGE group of 31 from Kansas City. The team, consisting of adults, teens, and children, got involved with almost every aspect of our ministry...children's events, youth events, BOOK distribution, sports EV, and the orphanage.
For five mornings, they led a Children's English Camp at our little national clubhouse. About 75 children attended, and 15 made decisions to follow HIM.

Each evening, they led a youth event at our little national clubhouse. One night, the group participated in a photo scavenger hunt. This activity really cemented the relationships between the national youth and the teens from the USA.

The highlight of the week was the formation of an on-going weekly youth group. We had our first meeting last night with 25 teens participating.

We will be using 40+ chronological stories to lead these teens through an overview of HIStory during the next year. Seven teens made decisions to follow HIM during the weeklong youth events. These teens are already involved in Sunday morning service and Friday night youth group at our little national clubhouse, and Saturday English Youth Group that Esther leads in our home. We are really looking forward to seeing them be discipled into servants for HIM.

The KC group also had two opportunities to distribute BOOKS to Mainland tourists, to participate in sports EV at the local elementary school and park, to PRYwalk local temples, and to make daily visits to the orphanage. We are grateful for their investment in strengthening and expanding our existing ministries. We praise Father for all of the lives they touched for eternity.

Almost Heaven, WV 6

We have just experienced twenty days of "almost heaven". Once again, WV came through and sent us a great team of workers. This particular association has been supporting us for many years, sending us a summer "m" worker to MT in 2002, the same summer "m" worker to the Mainland in 2006, eight workers to the Mainland in 2008, four workers to our little island in 2009, and six workers to our little island this summer. Four of the six were "newbies" to our little island; so, of course, we initiated them with a traditional trip to the hot pot restaurant.

The shepherd of the group is also an artist. So, he used his talent to draw and tell the C2C story fourteen times in six days.

He shared in elementary, junior high, and university classrooms; private homes; our little national clubhouse; parks; and apartment complex courtyards.

Everywhere he shared, he was well received. Many heard HIStory for the first time. Several were very interested and asked lots of questions.

Some accepted, including a father of 4 teenagers, a grandmother, and our 13 year old neighbor.

We could not have done it without the help of co-workers, national brothers and sisters, and lots of translators.

Then, it was on to English Camp #1 and English Camp #2. Again, doors were opened into public schools through national brothers and sisters.

The highlight of English Camp is always the recreation time, including basketball, football, and other games.

As always, we used holidays to share the C2C story: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and Valentine's.

Special thanks to everyone who helped gather supplies. The children really enjoyed craft time.

We even recruited co-workers to help us tell HIStory. It was literally "all hands on deck" as we shared with about 75 children in English Camp #1 and about 100 children in English Camp #2.

Each child was given several gifts to tell HIStory: a copy of the BOOK, a coloring book, a comic book, and a dvd. Please ask that the children will use these items at home to share HIStory with their family and friends. May the seeds that were planted quickly come to harvest.