The First Day at Gueishan.

this week is a little different than the past two weeks in terms of teaching location. we are teaching at a church instead of an elementary school, which makes everything, well, a little more complicated. haha. as this is the third week, and fourth location the missions trip has taught at, we are really tired and emotionally drained. to be honest, for me, it is hard to find the energy for this last week. but also at the same time, this is really when God shows us his power and strength: when ours is completely gone. the rooms we sleep in are also the classrooms we teach in. the building is much much older than the past two locations. many of the luxuries of home are missed, as we have rusty ceilings, cracked bathtubs, outdoor bathrooms. but praise God for air conditioning. please pray that God gives us the strength and love to go through the last four days of this missions trip!

si chu:

this is our last week for missions and we're all really tired. also it's really different from the first two weeks because our class is cut in half. shing and i only have nine students in our class and majority of them already understand english. also some of us are running low on our patience with each other and i hope that you guys can pray for us that we'll be patient with one another and with the kids.

this week is different not only because we only have nine students but we're back to the long 6-7 hour classes. very different from last week because we had two classes to teach and three hours long.

i really miss the baifu church right now because there were youth our age and they were really welcoming us and connecting with us. even though each class we taught were only three hours long, we got really attached to our kids. they would follow us back to the church and eat lunch with us. some of them even join the afternoon session to see the teachers. even though they already learned everything in the morning. departing from them was really sad because we got really attached to them. i'm really happy that we got so close in just a week.

God is good, all the time.

norman ai:

this week is a rather testing week for me as we only have 5 classes and 6 groups of teachers: so therefore, i am a "floating" teacher. i dont have my own class, but go around to each class for about an hour or so helping out whoever needs help. its rather hard not having my own class to teach, as i often feel like i am interrupting the other teachers just by being there. and its just alot harder to get closer to the kids when im constantly moving around. but all the other teachers are highly qualified and we have God on our side, so i have no worries about us being God's light to gueishan. please pray that we will finish this missions trip on a strong note, depending on the unending strength and power and love of our God.

my thanks would have to go the facebook. why? because this year, alot of the kids we've taught use facbook. and i am thankful that through this internet source, i can keep in good contact with them. my prayer request would be that im rather missing baifu. haha. its silly i know, but i do feel like baifu is my second home if i were to ever leave columbus. on that note, i really do hope i can return to taiwan again next year, whether it be on the church missions trip or an internship. ive been praying the past couple days about finding a way back. and today, my father called me and told me his high school friend now has his own architecture firm in taipei and may be able to help me find a job for next summer. interesting how fast God can work sometimes. or maybe its frightening? anyways, i trust in God and his plan for me. please pray for the peace and loving heart for these last four days in the missions team.