A "Typical" Day Off

We stay busy 6 days a week, mornings, afternoons, and evenings. Since there are three of us now, sometimes, we are all three doing three different things in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings. So, once a week, we try to take a WHOLE day off. And, once a month, we try to go out of our city to explore another part of our island. Usually, we know which direction we want to drive. But, most of the time, we have NO IDEA what we will do, eat, or see. It's always an adventure. Yesterday, we got into the car and headed down the east coast of our island. We knew we wanted to quickly follow the national 4 lane highway south until it ended and then slowly follow the local 2 lane highway back north until we reached our city.
The 4 lane highway ended at a small fishing village, famous for its temple to the goddess, Mazu. Our island has approximately 1000 temples dedicated to Mazu. Originally, she was the patron goddess for local fishermen. But as time went by, people begin to pray to this statue for health, careers, farming, relationships, and all sorts of concerns.

This particular temple has a jade statue of Mazu.

And, the only gold statue of Mazu on our island.

This fishing village is also famous for its fresh seafood.

Hopping back in the car, we headed further north. We were excited to find a National Museum dedicated to the Traditional Arts of our island. This museum is very well maintained and even has some English translation. There were lots of small shops selling local folk art. Artisians were at work, and (for a fee) you could try your hand at making an object.

There were even shows! Now, we have been to our fair share of amusement parks, museums, aquariums, art galleries, science centers, state fairs, zoos, etc., but it is ALWAYS an adventure to visit those kinds of places in Asia. There is just something very interesting about not having a clue what the performers are saying or doing.

Yesterday was no different. The stage was located outside of a traditional temple, so we knew the show would have some "religious" significance. The story centered around one particular figure in Asian culture, the Monkey King.

I must say this was our first trip to an amusement-type facility that featured stage shows and costumed characters concerning Asian "religious" culture. People lined up to have their photos made with these characters and to get their autographs...just like at DisneyLand.

The show was completely done in the local language, so we had to do quite a bit of internet research after we returned home to have "some" guess at what was being said or done.

The actors, actresses, costumes, etc. were very beautiful, but we most enjoyed watching the crowd. Lots of those in attendance were tourists from the Mainland. Hmmm...perhaps this would be a great spot to distribute some BOOKS in the future. We know it was a great spot to "think" about these folks and to hope that they can soon know the truth about HIStory.

Spring Time on the Island

Spring has finally come to our little island. And with the coming of spring, Esther is another year older. It's hard to believe the time has gone so quickly, and our baby girl is almost an adult. She pretty much celebrated in various ways ALL MONTH! But, one special event was the "annual" Scum Card party. Some of you may remember that Granny sent Esther a cake-decoraing kit last year. So, with a little help from the internet, she designed, baked, and decorated her own cake!
Lots of local friends helped her celebrate. These girls attend her Saturday night High School Youth Group. They also attend our BIG English clubhouse and help with VBS.

Of course, Twiggy and Sabrina were invited. They are definitely family. Twiggy is co-leading the Saturday night High School Youth Group with Esther.

Nadia is our friend from the Summer English Camp at WanLi, the Orphanage ministry at Harmony Home, and various other groups at our BIG English clubhouse. You can tell, by the lovely crown, that she won the highest honor of Queen.

Spring also gives us ample opportunity to go into public school junior high and high schools to do Holiday presentations. We were able to present HIStory of Easter to several hundred students in multiple classrooms.

We really enjoy being able to use our holiday supplies in various areas: our Wednesday night Home Book Study, the Saturday night High School Youth Group, public school holiday presentations, Summer English Camps, Awanas, our Saturday SS class at our LITTLE national clubhouse, Harmony Home Orphanage, etc. Jack has been busy laminating every thing in site, so we can use our supplies over and over and over throughout the year for many years to come.

Another highlight of the Easter season was being able to hear various choirs present special music at our BIG National Clubhouse. Even though we don't understand many of the words, we can feel HIS Spirit and can see their love for HIM on their faces. Many of Esther's Awana children partcipated in the children's choir.

And several of her high school friends from the Saturday night High School Youth Group, the Tuesday night Senior High BSF group, and VBS also participated in the Youth Choir.

It's been a wonderful season of celebrating Esther's 17th birthday and HIS resurrection. We could literally do hundreds of public school classroom presentations if we just had the manpower. Think about coming to visit us during any holiday season. We can use your help year round!

May I Be The First

As I go about life each day in my city, I am CONSTANTLY reminded of the darkness that prevails here. It is everywhere, in the sights, the smells, the noises that continuously bombard me. But, this morning, I was also reminded of the powerful light that forever shines in this darkness. Although the percentage of believers compared to non-believers in my city is almost undetected, those that do profess HIM as Savior and Lord, do so with great boldness and faith….much greater than I have ever observed before in any of my former life experiences. I feel humbled to live and to serve beside the believers here. It is my privilege to be their friend and co-laborer.

Today, Rita* (a local sister and friend) shared this personal story with me:
This past week, Rita needed to attend the funeral of her younger sister’s father-in-law. Her younger sister married into a very large and strict Buddhist family. Rita's younger sister is the lowest member of the family due to the fact that she has only produced one daughter. So, Rita wanted to support her sister by attending this funeral. She did not, however, want to participate in any of the rituals associated with the Buddhist religion….bowing, burning incense, etc. So, before attending, she asked for Father’s help.
During the ceremony, Rita was beckoned to the front of the hall to participate fully. Immediately, she called out silently for Father’s help. At that moment, she noticed her elder sister standing toward the back of the large room, and she went to join her. Because Rita was now standing in the back, she did not have to participate.
Then, Rita's elder sister went forward to join a famous Buddhist choir in presenting special songs for the occasion. My friend wept as her elder sister lifted her voice in this manner. My friend, Rita, silently in her heart, sang hymns to the True Creator, Sustainer, and Giver of Eternal Life. Afterwards, one of her cousins came forward to praise her elder sister for a job well done.
Later that evening, Rita went home and wrote out her Last Will and Testament. In it, she begged her family members to honor her wishes and to provide a Christian funeral for her when her time comes. In her prayers that night, she also pleaded with Father to allow her to be the first person in her family to die. Rita is willing to die first so that all of her family members can hear the TRUTH at her funeral and be given the chance to accept it at least once in their lifetimes.
Through tearful sobs, I tried to recount this story to Jack. He thought I should share it with you. Please remember our sisters and brothers here on a daily basis. Their commitment to HIM is a living example to our family. May they have many opportunities to share HIStory with their families and friends. And, may each of you take the opportunities HE so freely gives you to share with your family and friends.

(These photos are typical of the worship practices in our city. They are NOT from an actual funeral ceremony. *Rita's name had been changed.)

Lantern Festival

This year, February 28 marks the end of the 15 day celebration of Chinese New Year. The 15th day is also called Lantern Festival. One small village near our city is famous for its' celebration of Lantern Festival. On the three weekends of CNY, it is packed with nationals and tourists. So, on a weekNIGHT, Esther and I joined 3 other language students (one Japanese and two Americans) and our language teacher, Sabrina, and we headed to the mountains to see the beautiful site.
The two American students only arrived this past week and will only study in our city for one month, so they were quite excited to have a "cultural" experience. First, we stopped at many stores deciding which shape, size, and color lantern we wanted to purchase.
Then, we all took turns drawing pictures or writing short sayings and poems to decorate our lantern.
Then, we went outside with many other people to "light" our lantern and send it into the night time sky.

Then, we set it free.

Up....

Up....

And Up! Until the whole sky was filled with beautiful lights....reminding us at least that we are called to let HIS light shine all over our little island. (Above photo from the weekends when thousands of people send the lanterns into the night sky simultaneously.)

A Day in YangMingShan National Park

I read on a friend's blog yesterday that so far in 2010, we have had around 32 days of rain. And most of the rest of the days have been overcast thus far. But, recently, we had one day that was warm and sunny, and we took the ENTIRE day off and went out to explore a National Park located right in our city.We began the morning by visiting YangMingShuWu, the last and largest retreat completed in 1970 for the late President Chiang Kai-shek and his wife. It was mostly used as a summer residence and a place to host local and foreign dignitaries.

Besides history, this place is also a perfect demonstration of Chinese garden art, with plants grown according to the climate such as tea trees and plum trees and exotic stones in ponds full of elegant fish.

The east-wing reception room was designed to accommodate foreign leaders and VIPs; however, after TW left the UN in 1971, this beautiful section never really had a chance to be seen by these leaders. But, we got to see it, and it is indeed MAGNIFICENT.

Most of the furnishings are made of red wood and create the feeling of classic Chinese-style elegance. The eyes in this portrait are very interesting. They follow you no matter where you stand or move around the room.

Inside, it's an odd mix of classical Chinese decor, 1970s Western design (including Madam Chiang's pink-tiled bathroom) and extreme security: the basement is bolstered by reinforced concrete to resist air attacks, with a series of escape tunnels leading to the gardens and beyond. The contents of the house – furniture, personal items – are authentic reproductions, including a small collection of Madam Chiang's own paintings. If you go, make sure to call a day ahead and request an English-speaking tour guide. We learned alot about the history of our little island and Chinese culture in general.

YangMingShan is famous for it's flowering cherry trees at this time of year, and we were not disappointed.

We try to always take time off in the middle of the week in order to avoid the weekend crowds and acutally experience some peaceful moments.

Many of you that know Esther well are familiar with her obsession with flowers and photography. So, we had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the fresh air while we waited for her to take pictures of every thing in sight.

We had never seen this flower before, but I now have a bouquet sitting on my dining room table.

And, Jack bought Esther a bouquet of these calla lilies for Valentine's Day. I think both of our daughters want these flowers for their wedding bouquets. Wish they were as cheap in the States as they are here. We got six long stem calla lilies for less than $2.

You could pick them yourself, have someone pick them for you, or just wander through the fields at your leisure. Incredible beauty! This is definitely the most relaxing and refreshing day we have had outside in the warm, sunshine since we returned. Isn't HIS creation unbelievable?

Our EVERYTHING Dinner for Two

Jack will be gone on a trip from February 23-March 6. So, we decided to celebrate our EVERYTHING dinner for two tonight. We are celebrating our 24th anniversary (Jan. 4), Valentine's Day, Lunar New Year, Jack's birthday (Feb. 21), and Jessie's birthday (Feb. 29). It's also been rainy and cold for days, so we decided we needed a splurge. So, Jack made us reservations for hot pot at our favorite restaurant on our little island.

Unlike the States, eating hotpot here is a timed event....all-you-can-eat in two hours. After being seated, you choose the kind of broth you'd like to eat. We chose 1/2 HOT and 1/2 mild.

Next, you choose the kind of meat you'd like. We chose beef, pork, and lamb.

Then, there is the WALL of veggies, seafood, noodles, etc.

We could not read many of the labels, but we were able to recognize most choices and just guessed at others like sliced lotus root, tomatoes, pumpkin, cabbage, green leaf lettuce, bok choy, string beans, broccoli, squash, corn, etc.

Then, there is the never-ending list of musrooms: abalone, enoki, beech, shiitake, etc.

And, piles of tofu: dried, frozen, "skin", fresh, and quail eggs.

Jack's favorite part, however, is concocting the dipping sauce from such ingredients as: Sesame Paste, Peanut Paste, Chili Oil, Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce, Fried Minced Garlic, Sliced Scallion, and Chopped Cilantro.

And to top it all off, there are 8 flavors of Haagen Daz ice cream and 8 flavors of Movenpick ice cream. Who can taste just one? The entire two hour experience was about $30 USD. I think Jack got off pretty cheap since we were celebrating five occasions in one meal. Tonight was our first time to make reservations, order, eat, and pay without a national's help. Maybe our language skills are improving. Come visit soon, and we'll give you the opportunity to have this incredible experience!

CNY 2010

I know where most of you live, February 14 is a very important day. It's Valentine's Day, of course. But where we live, February 14 is the beginning of Chinese New Year. And, folks over here have been busy preparing for this 15-day long holiday. The local kids are out of school for about a month. Most government-type jobs will have about ten days of vacation (including two weekends). And, people are decorating, buying gifts, and stocking up on food items as they prepare to travel to be with their families during this time.

They say our city will be a virtual "ghost" town. We can't imagine it. We will continue with work and school as usual. Please remember us as we hope to have many opportunities to share HIStory while people are a bit more relaxed and have a lot more free time. Xin Nian Kuai le! (Happy New Year!)