The Second Day at Gueishan.

shing chow:

hello from taiwan again! it is week 3 and we are in taoyuan city/guieshan running vbs at the local church. it is a lot smaller this week than compared to the first two weeks, but i'm having just as much fun. there is a different class dynamic, but no complaints here. it is also nice that we are pretty close by the city so we can walk over and grab a decent bite and also destress a little with some shopping in the little free time that we have.

definitely keep praying for us even though we are nearing the end of the trip. i think everyone is wearing down from everything. even though i am used to the early wake up calls and late evenings since i do teach on a regular basis, i'm still sleeping when i can/as much as i can cause there is some fatigue setting in. also, seeing the same people for 3 weeks straight gets annoying at times and i think i've had like 40 minutes total to myself since we've arrived so you can imagine what it feels like for an introvert like myself. we are going to need the patience and energy boost to get us to through the last 3 days!

look forward to seeing everyone and my bed in about a week. now off to listen to my joshua band cds we bought. it's all new praise songs we sing, only translated to chinese. hope i can learn some more chinese through it! i stepped it up this week by trying to order my own food xP

norman ai:

today i was helping out in elean and josh's class all day. it was rather fun to be in one class for a whole day. i think i'll end up just staying there unless a need arises for me to go to another class. haha. well. starting to connect more with the kids. and we're in a church so im not as hesitant if the opportunities to share the gospel shows up. please pray for strength, health, and patience. thanks!

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.

The Last Sunday at Baifu.

norman ai:

today was the last day at baifu. it was rather hard to leave. the place is so familiar to me. this being my third year returning to baifu, i know alot of the local stores, even am quite friendly with some of the local storeowners. the sunday service today was quite touching. we had testimonies from members of the short term missions trip, our baifu youth coworkers, and the pastor. its great to see how we effect each other and how we all encourage each other. sigh. it was indeed a great moment. PTL. afterwards, everyone was all over the church taking pictures [first picture, fanny finally decided to take pictures with the teachers today because she is somewhat photophobic] , exchanging emails, and writing messages in notebooks.

this year, ive been talking to jenny [second picture] alot since she hangs out with us teachers at bear cafe after class and she was in my small group of three people for our afternoon english class. jenny came to sunday service today and i gave her my dogtags as i usually do every year to students i spend alot of time with. i gave mine last year to kevin and the first thing he showed me this year was that dogtag. haha. i hope i can do my best to follow up with every student and continue to keep them in my prayers even after this missions trip is long gone. i still have a couple weeks here in taiwan afterwards and i plan on returning here every sunday for morning service, lets hope i can get jenny to become friends with more of the youth coworkers at baifu so she can regularly come to church! and anna: eden did not cry this year. he did, however, call me three times within an hours time to ask me if we got to the next place safely and if i could go online so we could facebook chat... i think he misses our team already... haha

thanks would have to be for this week. i didnt imagine it would go very well as i was not at wudu elementary teaching, rather instead at huaxing elementary, and separated from the rest of the missions team. but God was faithful and this week went better than i ever could of hoped. i had alot of opportunities to share my testimony and to hang out with the kids. prayer requests would be for my skin problems as it sometimes gets really painful. also i am deciding whether or not to join the baifu church for another stm for a couple of days in taidong before i return to america. they are going to serve a church that was hit by the typhoon last year. i dont know what exactly i can offer as i am not very fluent in chinese, but it seems they would be happy if i came along. it definitely seems like a great experience!

The Last Saturday at Baifu / Chris Sung's Birthday.

norman ai:

its our last night here at baifu. i am tired. i am worn out. instead of having one class for 6 hours a day, we had 2 classes for 3 hours a day. at first i thought it would be more restful than the week before, because we had a couple hours in between classes, but it seems God had other plans. great plans. so during all the "breaks" we hung out with the kids from wudu elementary. im not going to lie, it takes alot of energy to hang out with young people [yes, this is in acknowledgement that i am old, haha] its been a great blessing and encouragement this week at baifu.

today the baifu church had a special children's program in the morning for the kids who attended the english camp this week. we had about 60 kids show up. me, bernard, and josh yen helped lead the english worship songs, it was a good time. we watched a movie about the story of david, along with a short gospel message from the pastor's wife. it was good seeing so many students there, encouraging. in the afternoon, we took part in the baifu evangelistic meeting. our worship team dedicated "hosanna" by hillsong and "precious cross" by stream of praise. it was a good time of fellowship. we managed to convince some of our kids from english class this past week to come to the evangelistic meeting too! PTL. its always a great experience to worship with another culture, in another language, among people you may not be familiar with. in that moment, culture, name, language, our differences play no matter. God is our foremost and most distinct similarity. one body, one family in Christ!

thank God for this week, getting daily chances to hang out with eden, jenny, fanny, and lisa [which meant us teachers paying for their drinks and snacks whenever we went out, haha]. i also got to chance to see emma, bonnie, and donna today at the children's program in the morning. they came to see me since i had been at huaxing all week instead of wudu. i was thankful to see them again and exchange contact information. im extremely grateful for all the people here at baifu. thank you!

The Final Day at Wudu & Huaxing.

bernard & karen:

bernard wen: today...was different from the rest of the week. maybe not so much the morning class, but the afternoon one at baifu church. josh and i were defeated trying to teach our junior highers english, so we started talking to them about church and their beliefs. i was at first trying to ask them about why they came to church, and what have they learned from church, but they ended up turning the questions on us...haha. they asked our reasons for believing in God, so we gave them brief summaries of our testimonies. whatever chinese speaking skills we lacked, God filled in. they could see through our choppy chinese that our lives had been changed by God and i hope that was encouraging to them. immediately after, i felt a lot of regret for never being this eager and bold to speak to others about my own beliefs. if i was so brave to start talking to these kids in chinese, why couldn't i have been this brave back in America, where i could convey my thoughts much more easily? pray that the boldness that i felt tonight would remain with me. and i thank God for always filling in for my weaknesses. walking back from the morning class, i felt like i had done barely anything here at baifu, but God showed me again that even though i might not see results in what i'm doing sometimes on this mission trip, i need to trust in Him to lead me. oh yeah, i'm also disappointed that we aren't able to attend Sunday service with the church in guishan. and i'm giving my testimony tomorrow at the baifu church evangelistical meeting. i just remembered again and i need to practice, so pray for me :)

chris & esther:

Chris Sung:

Today was the end of the week for teaching at Wudu/Baifu church. It was a much different experience from the first week of teaching at Nei Li. With the half day schedule and two classes in one day, it felt much more tiring. Also with the shortened schedules we definitely got much less time to get to know these kids. However, the kids were more ready to get to know us I guess.. I'm not really sure if that's worded properly. Anyways, it ended up not being so bad because the kids were really friendly and really wanted to become our friends so praise God for that (that we were able to get close to the kids with half the time or less than that of the first week). I must say that it is a bit sad because the kids at the end of the week keep asking us if we are coming back next year, and I'm just not sure. Sigh. Okay, well I can't think of much else, my mind is somewhat blank. Praise God for getting us through two weeks and for providing us with people/churches that support us a great deal. Pray for the last week to go smoothly, for continued safety, and for strength and energy.

pastor josh & norman:

norman ai: the second week of our missions trip is almost over. we have two more days serving at baifu church in wudu. i'm really going to miss this place. we hang out with the kids here alot, even after all the classes end! we take them out for lunch/milk tea/hang out at the church. its a great atmosphere. i was once again able to give my testimony today to two students in my afternoon class. today, i am especially tired. so today's entry will be short. its been a great day, as the past two weeks have all been. im glad ive had so much time to hang out with new and old students. i will try to post more tomorrow. please pray for our service in the children's workshop tomorrow morning, our service in the youth evangelistic meeting tomorrow afternoon, and our testimonies in chinese on sunday during service. thanks!

The Fourth Day at Wudu & Huaxing.

bernard & karen:

karen ai: week 2 almost...over @_@ this week is definitely different. we have our first session at wudu elementary from 9-12, then we have session 2 from 2-5...with different kids. I was a bit disappointed in the beginning of the week just because i felt like i wasn't getting to know my kids as well as the first week. The first couple of days were hard. My kids from both sessions ( 1st session:me and ber-nerrd teaching 1st-3rd graders and 2nd session: me and jacqueline teaching junior highers) were unenthusiastic and unresponsive, and with the shorten schedule, everything was rushed. however, things turned around today. We ( me & ber-nerd) realized that instead of forcing the kids to repeat the vocabulary words over and over again, we told the story of Daniel..making sure they remembered the moral of the story...which they did~ then we just went outside to take group pictures and also run around....which made the kids more comfortable around us. Session 2 was the one i dreaded the most for a long time. These kids were older and had "better things to do", one girl was on her cell phone the whole time. But i'm thankful to be teaching with jacqueline. These junior highers knew absolutely NO english...they couldnt read, write, or speak. so we started with the basics: ABC's. During break time the kids became more opened to me...following me around. That made me feel a lot more comfortable. and i got to know them well. Tomorrow is friday, last day with them. It makes me sad because these are good kids and i didn't have enough time to spend with them. But like i said with the Neli kids, i trust that God has a special plan for them.

pastor josh & norman:

norman ai: its the eve of our last day of english camp here at wudu / baifu. i never imagined this week to go by so fast. i never imagined this missions trip to go by this fast. our missions here in taiwan will be over in one week! talking to several of the teachers earlier today, we wish it would not come to an end. today during my own devotions, i asked myself the question: why am i much more willing to serve on this missions trip than in my life back in ohio? why do i feel like i could stay here forever [in service]? and the answer came to me. i am here in taiwan knowing that one day, despite the humidity, the heat, the pollution, the noise, the atrociously painful rashes, and whatever troubles and trials come my way, that i will be able to go home to ohio at the end. so why not give all i have to the missions trip? the soul purpose of these three weeks in taiwan is to serve. and to be so embodied in serving God in every pore of these three weeks is just amazing. and thats when a tiny epiphany hit me. our lives here on this earth, here in this life, is our short term missions trip. [well, not terribly new actually, but nonetheless still powerful and moving to me] i should approach life with the same attitude as i have now in taiwan. that despite the hardships i may face in this life, i know i will be heading home to my Savior when this life is over. so why hesitate? here in taiwan, i have no hesitation in telling students or sharing with parents about God and my relationship with him. it is kind of scary [in a good way] how comfortable it is to tell of God's amazing love for me and all that he has done for me so far in my life. praise the Lord! i'm always excited to come on these missions trips to taiwan, because i do feel they really strengthen my dependence and relationship with God, along with other members / youth leaders on the team.

today, me and jacqueline went to bear cafe again with several of our old students: jenny, candy, lisa, and evelyn. it was a great time. we confirmed each other as friends on facebook, went through facebook pictures, and had a good laughing time. though we've only seen them for two weeks a year for the past three years, i feel like we know them really well. i will truly miss everyone here when the time comes to say goodbye. sigh. it is rather hard to answer them when they ask if they will see us again next year, as alot of us will not be returning. *trying not to cry* haha. well, hopefully i can try to find an architecture / design internship here in taiwan next summer.

please continue to pray for our missions team as many of us are facing fatigue. we're basically on our feet from 6:30am up until 10:30pm at night. and with only one, sometimes two bathrooms, everyone getting ready for bed adds another 2-3 hours to the end of the day. please pray for our team as tomorrow, we bid farewell to our students here at baifu. its especially hard for those of us who have come here 2-3 times already. it really is. please pray for the evangelistic meeting we are helping out with at baifu on saturday, may it bring some if not many to Christ through the music, testimonies, and fellowship! please pray for my rashes as today was rather unbearable and sometimes my head feels like it cant take the burning feeling. please pray for the future missions team that comes next year, whether it be many returning members or a completely new team, may God's love and gospel story be spread to the people here in taiwan! thanks!

The Third Day at Wudu & Huaxing.

bernard & karen:

bernard wen: today...was no different from the past two days. i wanted to get closer to the kids, so on the second day we played a game instead of doing crafts. however by the end of the 3rd day i feel barely any closer to these kids, really to my disappointment :/ i do feel like the afternoon classes with the junior high kids are going better though. josh and i are working on pronunciation and for the most part they're getting somewhere. my morning class is different. the few advanced kids are always answering questions, making the other students less responsive in class.

church-wise i also don't feel that close to the youth but it's still better than my morning class. playing for worship is exciting, but learning to play without all the luxuries at home that make me sound better is hard (honestly i'm not that good at guitar without effects). hotpot tomorrow, so looking forward to that.

things to pray for: energy, we're tired even though we're not as busy. love, to live beyond our limitations in loving these kids. trust in God, that all we need is Him, our Provider. pjosh, that he'll have the diligence to get through tomorrow's bible study."

jacqueline & marissa:

Marissa Liu: This week is going by way too fast. I absolutely love Baifu. The people here are so cool and welcoming. Even though we are teaching half days, I still feel close to the students that I am teaching. Today i played the guitar for the English class at church and my fingers started to hurt but after I prayed about it, it stopped hurting until I was done [praise God]. please continue to pray for me and the language bearer that i have with the students because it's by Gods willingness that I am able to know these students. =]

pastor josh & norman:

Pastor Josh: This week has been very different for me and the team. Having 2 classes a day is quite tiring. For the first class, I have to drive Norman and the helpers to the school, so the team is separated. Please pray for us, that we have the strength to continue, and that we can continue to Love with Christ's love. I am teaching the book of Joshua on Tuesday and Thursday. 7:30-9:30pm. I taught 10 chapters on Tuesday and tomorrow I have to teach another 14 chapters. Please pray for me. Thanks for your prayers.

norman ai: i'm starting to feel very tired FROM the missions trip. mind you, not tired OF the missions trip. today God once again showed his awesome grace and amazingness. today was pretty non eventful at huaxing elementary. everything went smoothly and with the short three hours we have to teach, it goes by very fast. the kids are definitely starting to stick to me and im definitely going to be sad come friday. let's savor the last two days i have with these kids!

afterwards, i headed to bear cafe, an internet/food cafe near the church, and met up with several of the other teachers and hung out with some of our old students. it was great seeing them and catching up with how they were doing. basically it was a great time of fellowship with them. thank God for this time. we also exchanged emails and facebook addresses. hope we can keep in better communication this coming year.

today, two new students came to me and elean's afternoon class. one of them being an old student of jacqueline's from last year, jenny. it was fun teaching her, helping her pronounce alot of our bible story vocabulary words, and drawing flash cards for them. we also started to teach them "still", a worship song written by hillsong. its always a great experience to worship in another language, with another culture. praising Jesus is universal!

prayer requests would be energy. i am becoming tired. also for my skin rashes. this week is much more hot. and my skin basically burns and stings crazily all day. the pain sometimes does effect my mood, which is not good. emotionally, its rather hard for me as it will most likely be my last year ever coming back on the missions trip and the thought of not seeing these kids that ive seen grown up for the past three years is quite terrifying. but im deeply encouraged by the fact that the baifu church here has been great in following up with the kids after the english summer camp and being great mentors to them. its always awesome seeing kids weve taught in years past attend their children's sunday school or youth group when we return each year. praise God indeed. he truly is amazing. just pray that God will work his way with these kids and that if we do not meet again here on this earth, we will one day all be reunited in his presence!