Sharing the Christmas Story in Taiwanese Schools II

 This year provided many opportunities for all of us here to share about the meaning of Christmas in the different settings where we volunteer on the western coast of central Taiwan. For me personally, I shared different parts of the Christmas Story over the course of 3 weeks at the Flying Sands Elementary School. We also talked about the cultural aspects of Christmas, and played Christmas Bingo.

For three weeks we've read Christmas stories, played games, and (as of earlier today) talked about New Year's at the English Class that meets in my home on Saturday afternoons.

I was especially happy to welcome team member Lorne to my class at the Mouth-of-the-Lake Middle School, where he shared the Christmas Story with application, taught other vocabulary, and led Christmas charades.

I was also happy to join Lorne and his wife for a celebration in their home in Baojhong last Saturday night. Forty (!) of Lorne's students attended for a good time of games, food, and singing (Lorne had previously shared different parts of the Christmas Story spread over several weeks in the classroom). Coworker Fungyee, gifted in evangelism though soft-spoken, had the opportunity to share Christ at length to a couple mothers who attended.

On the morning of Christmas Eve, I accompanied Pastor Mike of the Beigang Conservative Baptist Church to a small elementary school in a remote village in his home county. Very few of the students had ever met a foreigner before. There I shared the cultural aspects as well as a powerpoint Christmas Story prepared by coworker Penny (including the rest of the story) to the entire student body of 130 split into halves over two hours.  Since we were there not just to celebrate a birthday party, Pastor Mike (who is also related to the principal) shared the Good News even more directly, homing in on the meaning and effect of Christ's birth to all men, with personal application in Chinese. Before the noon meal, I was invited to say a prayer of thanks, with Mike translating.

On a sidenote, the most unique aspect of that last appointment was witnessing an intense emotional outburst by a young, high IQ but low EQ male teacher in the principal's office while we were having tea after lunch. The reason for his being upset had nothing to do with us, and it seemed very strange for us to be there witnessing it. The Chinese have a proverb about airing one's dirty laundry in front of outsiders -- - 家醜不可外揚 jiā chǒu bù kě wài yáng -- so his outburst was all the more unusual. The whole time I sat there wondering why God had arranged for us to be there during that time.

That wasn't the only unexpected event in my Christmas activities calendar. My final event for Christmas -- having the English Club at Four Lakes Elementary School over for an Open House at Don and Rachel's home on Christmas Eve-- had to be canceled that very day due to their son Mark' s acute shunt-related headache forcing him to be hospitalized several days leading up to Christmas. In their prayer letter today, Don and Rachel thanked everyone for praying: "an unexplained shunt blockage, and an unexplained clearly flowing shunt....God gave us our Christmas "miracle. " As of Christmas day,  their son was home and fine, and now they now have a much better plan in place for the future should the need surface again to seek medical treatment in this remote area.

Off for Mandatory Military Service

Tonight my neighbor's 20 year-old son dropped by to say goodbye before he heads off for 3 weeks of basic training as he commences his mandatory military service. For basic training, he'll be in nearby Chiayi County, but he doesn't know where he'll be stationed after that.

I asked a blessing for God's protection and the peace of Jesus for Sakray.

Sakray feels lucky because he only has to serve for one year. When I first came on-island 11 years ago, the term was for 2 or 2 1/2 years and before that it was longer. When Sakray's brother Ben, an elementary school student, reaches age 20, Taiwan will probably have already done away with its mandatory service obligation.

Hiking with Formosa Plastics on Mount DaDong

  Last Saturday I joined my neighbor Wu Hai Qin to hike again with some of his coworkers from Formosa Plastics. This time we went to Mount Dadong, elevation 1975 meters, very close to Ali Mountain, and almost just as high an elevation (so I don't feel like I need to go to Ali Mountain quite so much now).

The weather was much cooler than my last hike last spring, and we hiked a little farther (though still only 9 km). With a some kids along this time, and some of the men who usually hike tougher trails absent or out of shape, I hiked faster than most of the folks this time around. But one guy was really "li4hai4": he carried his baby the whole way on his back both up and down the  mountain and finished in front of most of us!

Light in the Gloomy Darkness

 Yesterday afternoon after completing prep-work for this month's English classes in Western Yunlin, Taiwan, I emerged from hiding to discover that what has passed for a road (mostly dirt) in front of my house the last few months is even  less passable than before.

 

 

They've removed 3 feet of dirt, not leveling what remains, so that now it is impossible even to drive my scooter  back to my house at night, not to mention a car. To say the least, things look rather bleak outside, especially at night, since even the  street lights have been out of commission in recent weeks.

To brighten up the gloomy-looking neighborhood, I've decorated the small tree in front of my house, put up a string of Christmas lights on my second floor, and have another small tree inside. Although they're not much, may God use the colored lights to impart a sense of the hope we are reminded of in Christ every year this time of year:

 "But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish....The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined." Isaiah 9

Another Good Day of Community Interaction

Sunday provided another good time of informal interaction with various residents of my town here. First, in the morning, I visited the breakfast shop run by the parents of Chris and Jerry (renamed himself as of last week), two of the new kids that started coming to my Saturday English activity 2 Saturdays ago. Two other boys who visited for the first time Saturday were also there. Since their parents run a rice shop right next door to the breakfast shop, I went back in the evening for a bowl of chicken rice and a serving of seaweed, supposedly good for the hair!

Before coming home, I stopped by to say hello at the seafood restaurant, where the Laoban told me for the first time himself that his wife was in the hospital. I'm hopeful that God will provide our team an opportunity to pray with her for divine healing in the name of Jesus Christ. On the way back over here, I passed by Lily (another of my Saturday kids) and her mom on their scooter and chatted with them at a couple of red lights.

Arriving back at my front door, Da2Guan1, the middle school son of the beef noodle soup shop I visit the most frequently, was waiting by my front door. He wanted to borrow a bag for his school camping trip. He also asked me to give him a bible in addition to the bible portion he picked up last time, so I gave him a 300 NT Chinese bible translated into modern Chinese. We also went through the first lesson of a evangelism/ discipleship/equipping course I've been taking recently but I don't think he was really tracking well with it.

Last but not least, Sakray came back over when he got off work from the seafood restaurant. In addition to asking me to listen to a few songs on his IPOD, he brought over some venison soup to share (I didn't tell him I had been to the same shop just the night before). He shared a few personal things and also invited me to join a group of his friends for dinner this Saturday before he heads off for basic training. Sakray also dropped by again Monday morning on his way to work as well, but we were having our team meeting.

Anyway, weekend visiting opportunities are more frequent than Monday to Thursday, so I'm thankful for the touches God gave me with different acquaintances again yesterday. In addition to our community service, proactively taking advantage of those kind of opportunities is pretty much the "main event" for us right now since we don't actually have a church at this time.