Autumn at the Equator

While most of you are probably enjoying fall colors, hayrides, and pumpkin pie by now, we have just returned from two weeks of training on another island country near the equator. Brisk autumn temperatures, raking leaves, and frost are no longer a part of our family's vocabulary.

Although we were all four busy with class-type work each day, we spent the evenings and weekends exploring the area and finding out about the various cultures and religions. Most folks in S-pore are from Chinese, Malay, and Indian descent and follow Buddhist, Muslim, and Hindu beliefs. The city was literally filled-to-the-brim with temples and mosques. Please use the following photos to think of this area and these people on a daily basis.

A Hindu Temple

One billion people around the world

follow the Hindu religion.

A man bowing to one of the thousands of

gods in the Hindu religion. A statue of another Hindu god

Burning incense at the Hindu temple The elephant-headed deity

A Buddhist Temple
500 million people around the

world follow the Buddhist religion.

Burning incense at the Buddhist temple People rubbing the Buddha's belly for good luck
A Moslem Mosque

(1.5 billion people around the world

follow the Moslem religion.)

We returned home yesterday more determined than ever to share HIStory with the people in our New City. "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field."

Children of the World

Happy Double Ten Day to all of you! Today is the National Holiday for our current city (similar to our July 4th). So, the streets are lined with flags and parades, and the night sky will be filled with fireworks.

We, however, wanted to use this week's blog to introduce you to some of our newest friends. Each Saturday afternoon, we attend a children's program at a local store-front clubhouse. The program is completely conducted in the local language, but we are beginning to understand some of what is being said. (They use really simple words to tell the stories from the BOOK, simple songs, and simple phrases to talk to Father.) We enjoy being with the children and joining them as they memorize various passages, play games, and make crafts.
Several national women from this clubhouse go to the local elementary school every Friday to teach basic "Character" lessons. These women invite the children to come to the clubhouse on Saturdays to hear stories from the BOOK. In the summers, they have lots of other activities for these children...English camps, Vacation BOOK School, etc. NONE of the parents of these children attend the clubhouse on Sundays...yet. But, these children are learning the TRUTH about Father's plan.
On Sunday afternoons, we are visiting a local orphanage. All of the children in this orphanage are HIV positive. At least one of their parents had AIDS. Some of the parents are in prison, some are in Drug Facilities, and some are unknown.
Most of the 25+ children are preschoolers. A few are elementary school age, and a few are teenagers. The facility is very small, but clean and well supplied. Like most places, people prefer to donate "stuff" instead of time. Not many people want to get involved (hands-on) with these types of children.
But, you know us and our love for children. Last week, all four of us went, and Jack "rolled around" on the floor giving pony rides to all who dared to climb up on the back of the GREAT BIG foreigner :) Elizabeth and Esther spent most of their time holding and feeding the least of these...a one month old little boy and a three month old little girl. Jessie became permanently attached to the one child that cries when any stranger enters the room. They have nicknamed her "Koala" since she definitely clings to whomever she chooses to attach herself. She and Jessie have become fast friends.
Yes, these children are definitely precious in His sight (and ours). But, there are literally thousands more like them that we see on a daily basis. With only 2% of this island's population trusting in Him, there are still many that need to hear HIStory. Please join us in remembering all of these children on a daily basis. And, consider coming over to help us in this monumental task.He so loves the little children, ALL the children of the world, Every color...every race, they are covered by His grace, He so loves the little children of the world.

A Weekend Adventure

Last weekend, a co-laborer, "Libby" (name changed for privacy), who has lived in our city for more than twenty years invited us to spend the weekend with her and two 12-year-old national girls. The girls wanted to give us a tour of the city, and Libby wanted to show us ways we could be involved in the work going on here.

First stop, the science museum!

Libby is a mentor to these two young girls. (One of the girls is actually living in her house because of some family issues.) The girls really don't enjoy their science classes. So, Libby took all of us to a hands-on exhibit at a local museum hoping our enthusiasm for science would spark the girls' interest. I think it worked.

Next stop, the changing of the guards at the Military Martyrs' Shrine.Everything in this country is strongly influenced by the local religions. The Martyrs' Shrine is no exception. People come here to worship those who have sacrificed their lives during revolutions and wars. We learned a lot about local religions that day from Libby and the two girls.

On to the Aborigines Museum.
In this country, there are 14 recognized minority groups, each with different languages and customs. The museum features miniature and life-sized models of aboriginal dwellings and a village meeting hall. Also on display are pottery, baskets, hunting weapons, musical instruments, aboriginal costumes and ornaments, while the basement area describes aboriginal belief systems. It was amazing to learn about all the differences of religion in each tribe. (On a different outing, we got to meet some of Libby's friends that work with one of these ethnic tribes.)

Another interesting picture from the Aborigines Museum:

The silver "hat" has two openings for the eyes. Esther and I decided that we wouldn't mind visiting this tribe. They are the only ones that never participated in head-hunting.

After the Aborigines Museum, we headed to a famous night market!
The night market was literally shoulder-to-shoulder full of people. The girls, Esther, and I pushed and shoved our way like everyone else. We tasted some interesting national foods and soaked in the local flavor. There are soooo many people in this city, and only about 2% claim to have a personal relationship with Father.

In the night market, we saw something new to us:

Each of these banners marked the doorway to a little room where a person sat at a little table waiting to read your fortune. Many of these rooms were filled with couples seeking auspicious days for upcoming weddings, singles looking for that perfect mate, and people searching for answers to life's biggest questions. There were even special rooms for English and Japanese patrons. It was sad to see so many people searching for help in these kinds of places.

After the night market, we returned to Libby's house and fell exhausted into bed. The next afternoon, Libby led a house group meeting with some national folks and some Filipino factory workers. (There is a huge Filipino population in our city; most of them workers who have come here alone in search of jobs to support their families back in their home country.) After church, Libby treated all of us to a special meal: Pizza from Pizza Hut! And yes, in the foreground, those are buckets of chicken. Don't you always order buckets of chicken from Pizza Hut? Well, it was all delicious!

Our weekend adventure was really a great way to get to know the city's culture through the eyes of natives and "almost-natives" like Libby. Esther and I now have a much better understanding of how to talk to people in a culturally appropriate way about those most important topics. Hopefully, this experience will help us as we begin our own work with the people in this city.

Weather-related Waiting

From Jessie's perspective:

In April 2007, when we arrived in our former city with 12 suitcases, 4 backpacks, and a banjo, we "hit the ground running". We spent weeks and months completely outfitting an apartment, studying the language in a university setting, leading various studies throughout the week, loving on orphans and new siblings, and just surviving daily life in that environment. We worked hard to the very last moment, hosting 26 visitors from June to August 2008. During that time, we were also handling all the necessary paperwork needed for our upcoming move, shutting down our apartment and business affairs, and saying goodbye to so many good friends.

In August 2008, when we left our former city with 10 suitcases, 4 backpacks, a banjo, and a keyboard, we entered a new state of existence: WAITING. We waited two weeks in HK for more medical/paperwork/visas to be approved. And, now, we are waiting in our new city to find a way "to get started" and to be able "to get outside" to meet folks. Why waiting? Well, during the past month, we have experienced two typhoons and an earthquake....our family's first typhoons and earthquake.

The first typhoon hit while we were in HK:
Typhoon Nuri, August 22, HK ; (damage pictured below).
Then, after being in TW for just ten days, we experienced our first EARTHQUAKE on September 10. The quake, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, hit at 3:43 p.m. on Tuesday, shaking buildings in TP. "This was the biggest earthquake of the year so far, but because of the distance and the great depth (off the coast and in the ocean), there is not so much to worry about," said a government official.

Then, we experienced our second typhoon: Typhoon Sinlaku, Sept. 14, TW; (preparing pictured below).
None of these weather-related events caused any problems for us personally. However, they did shut down businesses, government offices, schools, and bus, subway, and airline routes. So, a lot of the time, we were housebound and waiting.

Waiting is not a word that any of our family members are comfortable using. Hurrying, pushing, striving, running, rushing....these are words we usually use to describe our lives. Maybe, it is because of our "Southern" upbringing, but we have always functioned in light of the words of the old hymn: "Work for the Night is Coming." "Hit the ground running" has been our theme everywhere we have ever lived. And yet, lately, we've been doing a lot of waiting.

I know that my Sovereign Father knows what is best for each of us. The weather-related waiting has given us time to rest and recuperate, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. We've been given time to grieve the loss of our old city and focus on the needs of our new city. For the waiting, we are thankful. We look forward with great anticipation to see what He has in store for us next. We allow Him to be in charge of the divine appointments He has planned for our next days, weeks, months, and years. We wait on Him. He is our "strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow."
Some photos obtained from other internet sites.

Welcome to our NEW blog!

Welcome to our new blogsite! Why did we start a new blog? Well, last week, our family changed locations. So, we decided to start a separate blogsite for this journey. (We will no longer post to our old blogsite, but a new blogsite about our old city will be up and running soon. We will keep you all informed of that information as it becomes available.)

As you can tell by our blog heading, our new city is very different from our old one! And yet, very much the same. We thought we'd use this entry to share some things we have noticed about the differences and the similarities. One difference is the food. Remember hot pot from our old blog?It's still available in this city, but not nearly as popular as it was in our old city. (Probably because it's so hot here!) Instead, there is lots of food sold by vendors on the street. Local snacks are easy to eat on the go!
Speaking of food on the go:
Those really are Pizza Hut delivery scooters. There's a Pizza Hut take-out restaurant just a couple of blocks from our new home! (Of course, the prices for Western foods are the same or higher than the USA, so we haven't sampled it yet.) In our old city, we were happy just to have one little KFC. Here, KFC's are everywhere; some even four stories tall!Being in a tropical area means they also grow different foods. No more mutton or donkey jaozi. But, LOTS of fruits like:bananas! Yes, this tree was actually growing in a residential area near our new home.


Another HUGE difference from our old city is the freedom to openly worship.
This Baptist church has several services on Sunday and lots of activities throughout the week. The English-speaking service that we recently attended had over 500 present. And it's right out in the open! Of course, the city is also much more heavily influenced by Buddhism and every other conceivable belief system.

Another big difference is the memorials built to remember famous people from this island's history. This huge building and the surrounding park is all dedicated to Chiang Kai Shek. A far cry from the statue of Mao that reigned over our old city's main square.

But, one thing that has definitely not changed here:masses of people. Everywhere. So many more than in our old city. Millions of people everywhere we look. All searching for peace, hope, and love through materialism, career advancements, false religions, or pleasure. However, these people are still speaking our Old language, have the same Old customs, and worship the same Old gods. So, we keep doing what we did before. We continue to learn the language and the culture. We continue to spend our days looking for ways to point people to Him. We continue to share HIStory at every opportunity.

Our people group has not changed. We have not changed. He has not changed. We're just in a new location doing exactly the same thing we've always done. Please think of us daily as we all make the necessary adjustments to be the very best representatives of Him that we can possibly be.