A Long Time...

First I want to say sorry for waiting so long to post:) But, I think after I tell you what has been going on lately, you will forgive me.
About a month ago I came down with a cold, it was really bad...thankfully it lasted only a couple days. A week later I came down with a fever, and was in bed for like a week. I saw a Doctor after most of the sickness was gone. She said it was in my head, and gave me some Tylenol. Some days later I got a really bad cough, and I thought it was Bronchitis. This time I was sent to the hospital, and had a better Doctor.
It appears like I might have pneumonia. It's not at a really bad stage, but it could get worse. So I am writing to ask for prayer. I really want to get better, to work, and spend time with people. It gets lonely, but I have the most awesome friends, who are taking good care of me. I really don't want to get worse, so please pray! I love all of you! And of course I miss you guys!

Thanksgiving

This was my first Thanksgiving spent away from home... that should say a lot. I know that I really missed my family more than ever during this holiday. And I think the rest of the teachers here did too. We celebrated with a real thanksgiving dinner. Everyone brought their favorite dishes and the traditional food they would normally eat.

I guess I've realized how much I took my family and Friends back home for granted. I miss the corny jokes, the discussion times, being crazy and not worrying about it. I guess it's just being with the people you love, and being yourself. So from being away from home, and the ones that I love dearly, and miss greatly, I've learned how special they are to me. Nothing makes you appreciate it more, than to have it taken away, and you realize how much you need it.

I'm thankful for a Dad that willingly listens to my problems and helps me solve them. I know that if I called him at three in the morning, he would be happy I called him, and talk it out with me.

I'm thankful for a Mom that is always there to supply any need she hears of. Even if I slightly suggest something, right away she is there to try and meet it.

For a brother that talks to me about the little details back home. It makes me feel as if I was there. for another brother who is patient, and always has a good attitude. For a sister who is the best! Spunky in her own way, and always asks how I am doing. For yet another brother who is so adorably cute, and I miss his hugs very much! For a sister who is always making a joyful sound, I miss her smiles! Another sister, she is my sweetie pie! Always trying to be like me, and I love her to pieces. And my little baby sister, her small voice saying "I love you", is the sweetest sound to my ears.

Other than learning more and more what things I should be really thankful for, life is going great. We are trying to improve our teaching here at the English Village, and mixing stuff up.

I am probably going to start tutoring eight kids next week! That's an awesome opportunity, I'll let you know more later. I'm making many friends here, and spending time with them a lot.

Life...when it seems hopeless.

Sometimes in life a person runs across a time where they feel like they have nothing important to write about. They feel as if what they are doing really does not matter at all. They think their life will never add up to something significant. Each day is spent thinking about how dull their life is and how they want to do all these wonderful and exciting things.
But the sad part is that they never do them. We dream about it and put it off till tomorrow, and then the day after that, and it never gets done.
Sadly that’s what happening to many of us. We become so depressed in what are lives are like and what they are becoming, that we never change and keep thinking on what we will do tomorrow.
No matter how many times we go through a time of depression, or time of great longing; we still have not realized how this can be stopped and overcome.
We focus on the future. What we will do differently next time, what things we will try next week, or how to change some detail about our everyday lives.
And we never see the present. We never see how we can change the things we are doing at that moment. How doing something right there and then can matter for eternity.
It’s not a question of what will I change, or how I will do it differently. But, rather a question of what will I do right now. And what will I keep doing.
So many people stop right there, and never go any further. They never change their lives because they keep hoping for the morrow, that something better will turn up.
Each day is spent in a vain hope, and with no change whatsoever; except that the smile is swept of their face and the joy is gone from their life. Because they never showed anyone that they cared. And never believed they could change the world, and really matter.
What do you do when you realize that this is in you life, that you have become an average person, just living through life, and not trying to reach out to our world?
Stop it, and do that little thing you thought would be nice for someone. Give someone a hug. Help an elderly or disabled person. Go to an orphanage and just be there with the children. See the needs around you and meet them.
The most important thing is to keep doing it. Never giving it up, and striving to accomplish what we have set out to do.
If we fail here, we will keep falling back into that depression, never changing, and never mattering for eternity.

Seashell

Today after one of my classes, a little girl handed me a white seashell. I smiled and told her thank you. Then, looking on the seashell, my mind wandered off to some random thoughts. Holding the seashell, I thought of the little crab that used to live in it. All through it's life he gets bigger and has to move to another shell. He keeps doing this until he draws his last breath. Imagine having to find another shell, a bigger better one, and hoping that the shell has no one in it when he gets there. He has to struggle to get to that new shell, it's not easy, but very hard. And if he does not get there successfully, he will end up dieing.

I was thinking also, that we also have to move to new stages of our lives. We have to move out of the place where God has us, and go to the new one He has given us. As we grow in Him we have to keep moving and doing the things He has called us to. If we stay in our comfort zone, and never leave the thing that we already have worked with and done, when God says it's time to go; then we will just die like that crab, and never go anywhere or do anything. Life is not easy sometimes, and it's hard to know where the new shell God has for us is, but He will show us. We just have to be willing. God is showing me this over and over. I just have to continue to grow, follow Him, and wait for Him to show me where the next place He has for me is. This is hard for me most of the time, but we were never called to an easy life. It's a daily battle that I face, one that requires self denial and sacrifice. Sometimes I think I will never make it, but at those times my Father just picks me up and sets me on my feet, with the urging to keep going on. Praise God that He never gives up on us, and when we can't go on, He is there to help and guide us!

There and back again...a travler's tale

Well, the Vacation to Hualien went well. We traveled on a bus the whole way.At first we were excited, but after a few hours, we could not wait to get off the bus. Stopping frequently, to get off the bus and explore was our only consolation of not getting too car sick.

Riding on the road was a little scary sometimes, because of the typhoon, most of the road had fallen off into the ocean. So during some of our trip we would be looking down into the ocean as we drove past. While most of sane people would just not talk about it, and pray for the best; Hannah and I were talking the whole time about what would happen if we fell, how we would get off the bus, sharks, and the possibility of death for everyone. Isn't that an interesting discussion?

After about a ten hour trip, we finally got to our destination. There we rested, and started another day of touring. We saw beaches, went shopping, saw awesome mountains, and got to grow closer together as a whole. But, I must say, all of us were happy to get home.

Please remember us in prayer, alot of the group is sick with a virus that seems to be going around. I have not got it yet, and I really hope I don't.

A long time later...she writes a post.

Sorry that I have not been keeping up on this blog as I should be. But, I will try to keep it up. Other then exploring death mountain, guy's hoodies, strange mountain men, neat jane austen hairdos, surprise teaching opportunities(with a 5 second thought of a lesson plan), running around Taipei with voice students, and spending time with friends; I have not been too busy:)
My school is going great. I am able to spend a lot of time with Mary, a nurse at the school, she is very interested in what I am doing, and has looked up at everything that she possibly could on the Internet. The English teacher's name is Jessie, she is very kind and trys to help me in every way she can. The principle hardly knows English, but she can say my name:) My driver can speak little, I plan to find out how much later.
We have started working with YWAM, they are doing a lot of stuff with the community. Like the English cafe, where they take in people, have coffee or tea, and do English lessons. They have a boy's home ministry, abused women and children shelter, and they do hospital visitation. I plan to try and help out in every thing I can. This would basically fill up my time in the afternoon, right after my teaching time. Another answer to prayer, of how to fill up this time.
On Saturday I plan to go to Hualien for vacation. There we will celebrate the moon festival and meet some of the other TESOL teachers. I'll fill you guy's on the detail later.

I am here!

Well, here I am finally at the English Village. We started this week on Monday, and everything seems to be going well. We have the kids for two days, and then they leave. The places we are teaching are the Airport, Library, Bank, Store, Clinic, Drama, Science, Dance, and Cooking. These past few times I have taught the library, which has been fun. The lesson time we have with each group is 40 minutes, then we go to another class. Which makes a total of 5 classes a day for each place. You can imagine that after awhile we start to get a little bored with our classes, our throats get dry, and start to hurt, and we get very tired after the day is over. Other than that, I am excited that we have finally started the EV, we know what is expected and we just have to do it. I am excited about going to the school and teaching for the day. It will be something new and refreshing. Which is something all of us need. I hope to put up some pictures of the EV later, because I am really feeling tired. Sorry it has taken me so long to do a post!

Prayer request

Hi! I am writing to ask for your prayers, right now I feel really bad. I guess I am getting the burnt out feeling. And all the running around is starting to take it's toll. I feel sort of dizzy and light headed. Last night I hardly got any sleep. I went to bed early and could not get any sleep till about 1am, and it was a not very good either. Tonight is performance and I need to be there, so I am asking for your prayers. That God would give me strength, and that I would be refreshed. Thanks!

Saved by Superman.

Well, I must say that I never thought I would be able to say that. But through a weird set of circumstances, I can. It was a normal average night, Camille and I headed down the normal dreary road to 7-11. We got our mango slurpee's and some Chinese pastries and sat down at the little table to enjoy our treats. As we were sitting there, Camille started to sway her head side to side with the music, and I dumbly followed her. Little did we know how much problems that would cause. There was a weirdo guy outside and he saw us. And he was smiling! I made a comment to Camille that he better not come over to us. And then he came inside and much to my dismay, sat down beside me and with the clearest English, said "You are beautiful." And then walked away. I about died in my chair, never has a random guy ever done that. Then he left to get his things, Camille and I bursted out laughing. He checked out, and we thought "Well, he's gone." Sadly enough, he only put his things in his mop head, and came back in. He then asked me for my phone number, and of course we did not give it to him. He asked how long we would stay, and we both replied "One minute!" with much enthusiasm. He left and went outside, and sat down on the bench. Of course Camille and I were like, no way are we leaving without someone else. Luckily, the Lord provided me with a Sim card for my cell phone the day before and I was able to call Charity and get some help sent out to us. After about 3 minutes, the automatic doors open and there we beheld our hero, Joel. He was wearing his superman shirt so it was very fitting. Never in our whole life were we so glad to see him. So, after getting his groceries, he walked us safely back home, where no more weird dudes can pick on us.

The weirdest job!

A few days ago I was thinking about what I am doing, and how abnormal it is. How many people go to another country for a year, play with kids all day, get cover in soot, and never have a day off? Not many, and I am lucky to be one of those few. A friend and I were just talking the other day about, that if we weren't Christians, we would totally be having a nervous breakdown. Life over here is full of surprises and a never ending list of things we have to do. And we take it as God gives it to us, accepting it as His will, and trusting that He will help us with the problem. Because we know that He will not give us anything that is too hard for us to do. If I did not have that hope, I don't think I would be here anymore. There is so much happening that it gets stressful at times, but I have a strength not many people have. Without it, I would have a miserable life, because I would have no hope, and no strength. So I love being a Christian!

My week so far has gone great. The teachers are fewer, because a couple went back home. Other than that we have been doing well. Of course we miss them tons, but we have stepped up, and started to pick up where they left.

The team this week is great. I have 10 boys and 3 girls. Two of the boys are taller than me, so that takes a little getting used to=) But one of the boys, Frank is a Christian, and I think that is awesome. I really want to develop close relationships with my students this week, so I would ask you to pray that I could do just that.

Having fun!

As you know, I totally love the kids. They are cute, as you can see! The first small group I taught went good on Monday.I loved it! It has been a long time since I have been able to teach, so I went all out, I used 70 of my 80 minutes. so there, you can see I enjoyed it. I taught on Noah's Ark, and gave so much information. On things like how the ark could withstand the waters, how dinosaurs were on the ark, and explained the kinds of animals. It was really cool. And went well I thought. Today I taught on Esther, and a couple kids knew what I was talking about, so that was neat. I have no idea what I will do for tomorrow though, I am thinking about Daniel in the Lions den.

Things are going well, except that I have one problem, some of the kids on my team are picking on Billy, he is the littlest in the group. And it seems like he does not feel like he is part of it. It was sad for me, because I hate to see him hurting. And because the kids speak in Chinese, I have no idea when they are picking on him. Sometimes I can because of how they act, but that takes tons of observation. I spoke to Lucas about it to see if there was anything we could do, and he talked to the kids, and told them if they don't stop picking on each other, they will be in trouble. So hopefully things will change for the better. The team is very interactive, and they are teaching me some Chinese. Which is fun.

The kids are teaching us a little about their culture. And today I went to the music class. A girl named Wendy showed me how to play a Chinese instrument. And I have no idea what it is called, but it was fun. After I got used to the bow being on the side, I played most of "Come Thou Fount" on it. That was fun. I might get one of those someday. Well, thank you for your prayers!

The first has ended and another begun.

Well, Saturday was a day of complete business. After saying goodbye to my team, and they were taken to go clean up and prepare to perform, I had another 100 or so kids to amuse for 4 hrs. some arrived early, so the UNO cards were taken out, and ways to amuse the kids were thought of. The horrible thing was that Susanna and I had to help the kids take their luggage up to their rooms. Some of the kids are going to America after this week, so their luggage was very heavy. And there Susanna and I were carrying their luggage up to the 5th or 6th floor. After a couple trips we earned the name super girls. And we totally did our exercise for the day.

I must say it was the longest day of my life. After the kids took their luggage up to their rooms, it was lunch time. so off we went. Then to orientation. Then we had the testing, that took about 3 hrs. No break for the teachers! After that it was time to split off into teams. An hour small group, dinner, large group and finally time to take them to the dorm! After dropping them off, I did not go to my room to prepare for bed. But, stayed up to go swimming with 2 other girls. Which I was thankful I did. We had permission to go, it sounded too good to be true. And of course we ran into trouble when we got there. The pool closes at 9pm, and we got there at 9:45. We went into the pool, but the people were still there. And using the little English they knew to try and communicate to us that we needed to leave. Well, we did, even though it was for a few minutes, it was worth it.

My team this week is great! I have 6 girls and 5 boys. So as you can imagine we are having a blast. I did the Evange cube today. I had some laughs at what I said, but I also had a boy, Billy, who knew a lot about the Bible, and a girl, Jenny, who thanked me for teaching. I hope to get a chance to talk to each one of my kids about some things that are spiritual, especially these two. And my goal for this week is to teach them more English, and the idea is to use Bible stories. I might make the stories a little more modern, so they can get some more English into their vocabulary, but it would still have the same principles. This thing is still in the makings, so I would appreciate tons prayer! I really want to get more Bible in the small groups as much as possible, and this is just one way I can.

I also am helping out in the song leading. I have never done this before, so I am kind of nervous. And I really need to make a fool of myself on stage, so the kids will laugh. So please pray that God would give me ways to reach out to these kids in the songs I am doing. And that what I do will be really funny, and that I won't care what people think of me. This is a silly prayer request, but I honestly do mean it from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for your prayers. May God bless you!

My life saver

This is a life saver for any American that comes over here. You can get almost anything at 7-eleven! I am not kidding, even clothes( you order them online, but still...clothes!)This store has basically everything, I even got a pair of plastic chopsticks today, so I could use my own! Right next to it is an awesome drink stand, which we visit every once in awhile.

Well, there so much I could write about, but I seem to have lost all I could write about. I really enjoy the kids. We have had so much fun getting to know each other these past couple of days. It has been amazing! On Saturday, I will get my first team, and I will have an English Village station. Like the school or the bank. I am sort of on the nervous side, because I do not want to do a bad job at all. Then again, I am excited that I will get to teach. That will be so much fun!

The kids are great. And some are trying to teach me Chinese. It is sort of confusing sometimes, because I have to guess what I am saying. Which okay with me as long as I say nothing bad! So there it is a summery of how things are going on over here. Please continue to pray that God would work in the children's lives and that we might be a tool He uses.

The camps have started!

I cannot describe how glad I was when the buses loaded with kids (and cars too) arrived. I was so happy to see them. Working with the children just helped make being over here in Taiwan not seem too bad anymore. I was starting to get kind of homesick, but the feeling has been replaced with excitement with all that will happen this week. My Team is the A team. We have 12 children, and all of them are cute in their own way. Our primary objective is to teach the kids English. So each day we go over a place. Like the first day was the airport, we went over vocabulary that would apply and got to know the team. And today was the church. We had the opportunity to share the Gospel. The kids seemed interested when we showed them the Evange cube. And the day went pretty well.

I had some problems though because I do not know Chinese. The kids have been saying some bad words in Chinese. I had a big boo-boo too. One of the boys had a shirt that had guns on it, to start up a conversation I asked if he liked guns. He nodded his head, and asked me what the English was for gun again. Of course I said it to him, but when he and his friend came back and asked me what the word was, I knew something was up. Rebekah, the team leader, explained to me that gun was a bad word in Chinese. Isn't that great to find out? So they pestered me all day trying to make me say it. But, I decided to use the word"firearm" instead. I am still having problems with these boys, I would appreciate it if you would pray for me that I would have wisdom while I work with them.

I have had some times to get close to the kids too.The opportunity arose during dinner. i have been sitting with three girls from my team, and their English is not good. I had been wondering how I could reach out to them and get close to them. It all started with a thumb wrestle game, then "rock, paper, scissors". One of the girls turned her water bottle upside down and was watching the water that was on top fall. Her and another girl were having so much fun, that I turned mine upside down, and joined in. Man! We were a sight to behold. There I was pounding my hands on the table trying to make mine drop the most. And she was doing the same. Then we would shake up the bottles and start over again. this continued on for awhile, and believe it or not, that was the most fun I have had in awhile. It's amazing how you can open up a door to a child's heart if you act crazy and fun to be around. I look forward to many more water bottle games myself.

Another really awesome and weird thing I have to tell you is how we wash our dishes. First we scrape all the food off into the garbage can. Then we go outside to the assembly line and rinse off the dish from a hose. After we dump out the water, we get the soapy water and a scrubby(which everybody uses) and get all the messes out of it. Then we rinse it again, and put it on the shelf for Another person to use at a Another meal. All I could think about this the first time was"UNSANITARY!" But, it's life and I have to get used to it. But, of course I am keeping a pair of chopsticks, and I clean them off with hand sanitizer a every meal.

Thank you for your prayers! Until next time!

Taiwan

Well here I am, finally in Taiwan. When I first arrived I had a cold, but I must say I feel SO much better. Thank you to all those that were praying for me to get better. Today we are going to start doing some prep work for the Camps. The first one starts tomorrow, followed by two more. I do not really know the schedule, nor do I really know how we are going to do the camps. I guess I will learn that in time to come.

Anyway, I've really just been trying to get some rest. Since I was really tired.

I found out there is a chance I might end up doing TESOL, instead of the English Village. There are like three openings and they have not decided who will go and do the TESOL. I know God will place me where He wants me, so I am not worried about this. I really feel like I have nothing to say, except that I got here safe and there will be another post soon. Once I have done something which I can write about.

Having fun

Well, this past week my cousin Kayleen came down to spend the week with us, so we could spend time together before I leave. Of course we had fun, spent late nights to watch movies, play card games, make jewelry, and all that good stuff. My mom said it would be relaxing and not to worry about my trip, but it was not as relaxing as I had thought. Everyday we had something to go and do. I must say I had fun the whole time.

Today I went to get my certificate of health, shots, and a physical. How fun!(My arm is still sore!) Everything went fine until we were told that they did not have my shot records, neither did my previous Doctor. The records are still in Michigan. And for the past few years my parents have tried to get my brothers, but have had no luck. And without my shot records I can't get a certificate of health. Although I might not need the records right away, it would still be a good thing if I could get the records before I leave.

I have finally been given my itinerary for the trip. I will be leaving the 3rd of July at 9:15. and from there I will go to St.Louis, then to L.A., then to Taipei. To tell the truth I am not looking forward to the long flight. But I can't wait to be in Taiwan again and start teaching. Please continue to pray for me as I am getting ready to leave. My family also needs your prayers(especially mom)!

I'm being nonsensical

Well, I'm sitting here learning how to do a blog. It's not as hard as I expected, but I am now being forced to sit here and write something. How fun!
As many of you know the purpose of the blog is just to let you know whats going on in my life. And since I'm going to Taiwan, for a year long, I should have a lot to write about. My support letter for the CI trip should be coming soon. And I hope you enjoy it, this one is a little longer and more detailed than my last support letter.
Right now life seems to be very busy, I'm trying to finish all the things I have to do before I go in less than a month. Every day seems to be crammed pack of stuff I need to do, and things still seem to pile up. Hopefully some of it will die down once I'm over there.Haha! Oh, and hopefully I will be able to write better posts in the future for your sakes!