Together We're Better

I cannot begin to express my joy over this summer's activities. Our annual Holiday English Camp for 6th graders at a nearby elementary school was a huge success. We were able to share this summer more than ever, and one young man, Mark, decided to follow Him. We've already been invited back to the school for next summer, and we have been given two other exciting possibilities for year-round activities in the community.

Mini-vbs for children and youth at our small national clubhouse was great!! We had about 75 children, teens, and adults join us.

And, VBS at our big English clubhouse was bursting at the seams. This year, we had 495 children attend two sessions, morning and afternoon, and 205 teachers and helpers. More than 200 children made some kind of a decision to follow Him.

But, the best thing about this summer's activities was PARTNERSHIP. We had friends come from California and West Virginia. Local volunteers from our home BOOK groups, BSF, Esther's youth group, our small national clubhouse, and our big English clubhouse ALL worked together in every location to share HIStory. It was absolutely amazing.

Here are just a few of my favorite photos:

Easter crafts at the public elementary school

Distributing the BOOK to tourists

Crafts at mini-vbs

Sharing the Plan

Connecting with Others

Working together

Heading to NYC

Great decorations! Thanks!

Training trainers

The Centurion, of course!

You said "go"

You said "yarp"

So, I will!

$100,000 NT for Japan Disaster Relief

Until the whole world knows!

Work for the Night is Coming

Usually, we are busy almost every morning, afternoon, and evening of each week. But, recently, our Tuesday evening activity ended. So, we have been trying to spend TERRIFIC TUESDAY evenings with Esther. She will be leaving us soon to begin her university career, so we're enjoying every moment we can with her. This past Tuesday, we took a ride on our city's gondola up a mountain. Then, we walked around on the mountain top during the late afternoon, dusk, and evening hours. The beautiful views reminded me of an old song, Work for the Night is Coming.

Work for the night is coming, Under the sunset skies;

While their bright tints are glowing, Work, for the daylight flies.

Work till the last beam fadeth, Fadeth to shine no more;

Work, while the night is darkening, When man's work is o'er.

During the next five weeks, we will have several summer activities: Holiday English Camp, Distributing BOOKS, Pry Walking, Mini-VBS for children and teens at our little national clubhouse, and VBS for 500 at our big national clubhouse. We'll have folks joining us from WV and CA to help with these activities. We'll also be helping Esther pack up her room and say her goodbyes to her friends here on our little island. Please ask that we have the strength and energy to continue to "work" to the very last moment.

Hope for the Living

When you are alive, there is hope! The 921 Earthquake was a 7.3 earthquake which occurred at 1:47 AM on Tuesday, September 21, 1999, on our little island. 2,145 people were killed, 11,305 injured and US$10 billion worth of damamge was done. In the central part of our island, one Junior High School lay directly on the fault line and was severely damaged by the quake. Today, the remains of the Junior High School are the site of a museum.

921 Earthquake

Classroom on 9/20/1999

Track at the Junior High School

Classroom Buildings

Classroom Buildings

Classroom Buildings

This past Tuesday, Jack, Esther, and I went to visit the museum. We used the day to learn about earthquakes and to "yarp" for those affected by such disasters, especially recently in the BIG country and in Japan. As usual, on our drive, we also saw many "god" statues, reminding us of how many people in our area do not yet know the truth.

A typical "god" statue

Another typical "god" statue

Please join us in remembering all of the survivors of these disasters and all of those serving in relief and reconstruction projects in our area. May many come to know HIM as the ONE TRUE GOD through these efforts.

Take Up the Baton

Recenly, our big national clubhouse hosted a conference reminding all of us of the need to "yarp", give, and go. The event included booths from a variety of sending organizations, seminars led by specialists (including Jack), a choir (including Esther), a parade of flags, reports from past outings, food, an incredible drama about the life of Hudson Taylor, special "yarp" times, messages, and a call of commitment to full time and short term service. It was incredible to see so many of our national friends step forward to take up the baton and carry the GOOD NEWS throughout every part of the world.

Our national flag

The parade of flags

Representing India

A recent participant in an outing

Other recent participants in short term outings

Remembering past service

A recent in country trip participant

The Event Choir

"Yarping" for specific places

Young Hudson Taylor

Taking the baton to the ends of the earth

Older Hudson Taylor

Making Commitments

Malaysia: Round 2

Last year, I had the privilege of visiting Malaysia for 3 days and 2 nights. I got off the airplane, got on a bus, went to a hotel, sat in continuous meetings, slept, got back on a bus, went back to the airport, and flew home. And, although the meeting was very uplifting, I did not see any of Malaysia.
But, this time, I was in Malaysia for 17 days. It was very hard to be away from Jack and Esther. You all know we are a very tight family. In fact, we thought about it alot. I have not been away alone (except for the three day trip to Malaysia last year) for 16 years. If I've gone anywhere, it was always with Jack or one/both of the girls. (I guess it was time.) So, a friend and I spent one day before the training touring the significant sights of Kuala Lumpur. They have a great deal with a tour bus that you can hop-on-hop-off all day and see LOTS of the city!

Then, we left the city and drove west to the ocean to a local camp. The camp was semi-rustic with bunk beds, community showers, lots of rice/curry, and intermittent internet service. But, it did have air-conditioning, hot water, and was located right next to the ocean. BEAUTIFUL! During the intensive seminar, I was trained "how" to learn a language and "how" to help others learn a language. Most people learn a language from a textbook in a classroom, with many students and one teacher. Because of this method, they focus alot on grammar rules, pronunciation rules, writing, repeating, etc., and most do not have much time to practice spontaneous conversations. (Remember your Spanish classes in high school?) The approach I learned in Malaysia focuses mostly on listening ALOT and quickly starting to speak, even though your grammar and pronunciation might be awful at first. And, it focuses on remaining a life-long learner of the language and the host culture. Jack and I are currently using this new approach, and we feel it has reduced our stress-level about language learning tremendously. Now, I will be able to "coach" others in this new approach.

The group did take one Saturday off to tour a little more of Malaysia. We attended a cultural dance performance. The dancers, the music, and the costumes were so beautiful.

We also visited a nearby "historical" and "tourist" town. It was fun to be outdoors enjoying the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of a competely different country. I learned alot from the training, I had LOTS of time to reflect on our past few years in East Asia, I enjoyed a new culture, and I made some dear friends from all over the world. (But, I must say, it is great to be back home on our little island with Jack and Esther doing what we love the most, sharing HIStory with all we meet!)

Celebrating the LIVING ONE

Today is Qing Ming Jie (Tomb Sweeping Holiday) in my part of the world. I woke up to an interesting newspaper article this morning, and I'd like to share parts of it with you. Qing Ming Jie is celebrated by our people group as a way to remember their dead ancestors by visiting their graves and burial grounds. It is tradition for the living to clean the grave of their ancestors as well as to offer worldly gifts to the dead in the form of paper "replicas" that are sent to the other side by way of burning. The latest and hottest paper "replicas" come in the shape of IPhones and IPads. For about $1 USD, family members can purchase a paper "replica" of an IPad 2 with an 888 gigabyte capacity. (888 is a lucky number in our area.) The paper IPhones and IPads come complete with USB cables, so the dead can sync their data with their paper "replica" computers. Unfortunately, most stores have sold out of the paper IPad 2 "replicas" and can only offer their customers the IPad 1 models. Some customers, however, will not be giving their dead relatives technological gadgets because they are afraid the older generation of dead relatives will not know how to use them. So, they will only be giving other paper "replicas" of necessities like shirt and shoes. Because Qing Ming Jie is a national holiday, all banks, schools, offices, etc. were closed on April 4 and 5. So, we decided to celebrate the LIVING ONE.

We invited 45 national brothers and sisters to our home for Mexican food and an Egg-dying party.We also spent some time teaching them how to use the upcoming Easter holiday to share the GOOD NEWS of the LIVING ONE with the living: distributing dvds, tracts, BOOKS; inviting friends, relatives, and co-workers to their homes for Egg-dying parties; sharing in offices, schools, clubhouses the true meaning of Easter; using emails, facebook, instant messages to share the GOOD NEWS, etc.It is our desire that no one will enter eternity without a personal relationship with the LIVING ONE. Please remember the 1.6 billion in our people group!