Puppy Dogs Dumped

Last week one day when I was out of town, a young man passed by in front of my house on his scooter, at which time he was chased by the dog described below in a previous post, as is her habit.

With all the mud and dirt from the construction outside, the road is sometimes slippery, and the young man's scooter slipped out from under him as he evaded the dog. Evidently he was hurt badly.

His father came over and angrily scolded the owner of the dog and the puppies. That night, one of the owner's sons angrily bundled up the dogs, hopped on his scooter and deposited the puppies in different places out in the middle of nowhere well outside of town. Although they were eating food on their own, they were also still nursing, so it's doubtful they'll ever be heard from again.

He dumped the mother dog off about 18 kilometers and several towns away. You have to pass through several towns and also cross a river to get there. However, 3 or 4 days after it was dumped, it reappeared again, her internal compass guiding it back (unfortunately) to her territory. When I last saw it yesterday, it was happily chasing passing scooters and bicycles again.

Puppy Dogs

In earlier posts I've raved about the dogs which run loose around here, barking all hours of the day and night.

Just before I left for Australia, one of my neighbor's dogs which runs around the neighborhood had puppies again.... she nursed  the five of them just to the left of the front door in front of what was then an empty unit. Thankfully, someone moved in and the neighbor forced them temporarily into cages.

Unfortunately, they've long since been let out of the cages. They bring their bones, trash, etc. to my house front, where I sweep them up in the morning. I've been reminded that I need to leave my outside trash can elevated on top of the bird cages or else they'll get to them.

In my weaker moments, I've contemplated kidnapping the puppies in the middle of the night in order to drop them off in a remote location far from here, or leaving them some steak laced with something to make them go to sleep (to facilitate the dog-napping) or worse. Thankfully, I never acted on those thoughts.

Last week the 20 year old son of the neighbor in question came over to chat with me at my house... the very first time. He works in a small local seafood restaurant. Soon he'll be leaving home for the first time as he does his compulsory military service. He's been back two or three other times since. In one of our talks, he shared about how a dog he raised over by his restaurant was kidnapped and killed by someone in order to enjoy the dog meat. This saddened him greatly.

If I had acted out on my thoughts and been discovered, I would certainly not be in the position I find myself now of being able to share the hope and love we have in God through Jesus Christ to this young man as he moves off into what he feels will be an uncertain period in his life. May God give us additional opportunities to interact. Maybe I can even gracefully approach the topic of the stray dogs and the havoc they cause for the rest of the neighborhood again... However, they do provide an important security service in this area where thieves break in wherever they feel they can make a quiet get-away.

The Inspector is Coming!

A few months ago I wrote about the ongoing road construction in front of my house and some of the resulting inconveniences. Since returning to Taiwan's coastal countryside a month ago, progress has been slow. As we continue to battle the dirt, mud, and noise, we'll be lucky if the project is completed before Chinese New Year's.

However, what happened yesterday especially deserves to be mentioned.Because the inspector is coming, the road workers erected fences across the other side of the street (beginning with a bang at 6:00 am no less). The only reason they've put the fence up is to pass the inspection. This probably doesn't fool the inspector, who can simply look up the street to see the unfenced construction a few hundred yards away, but at least provides an opportunity to snap a picture to say everything was done properly. The day after the inspector leaves, they'll probably take the fences right down again, just as they did earlier once last summer already.

A little over a month ago, my elderly next door neighbor fell into the ditch in front of her house when trying to move her scooter across. She got cut up badly and had to make several trips to the doctor.

There was no official attempt on the part of the local government or the safety crews to provide safe crossing boards for the residents; we go and borrow some boards or ask them to drop them off (Having said that, the workers are friendly and helpful in an unofficial capacity-- when I came back from Australia they piled dirt over the ditch in front of my house in order to allow me to pull my car out from inside).

Early yesterday morning the work crew without warning took all our boards away again as they evidently need them for their unit's work elsewhere. So I went off to fend for myself and came back with the best I could find.

The safety concerns of the construction companies and local government seem about as complete as the concerns for justice of Taiwan's fledgling democracy, what with all that has been in the news about the jailing, handcuffing, etc. of the former president and others these past couple of weeks. Thankfully though (and here I take the optimistic view) things will continue to move forward and not backward.

Aussie Rules!

Besides being asked the question "Do you like Vegemite?" (I find that I do, spread very thin on buttered toast but not every morning), one of the most unique aspects of Australian culture I've come into frequent contact these past 3 weeks in WA is "Australian Rules" football.

Two weeks ago I chose to go for an afternoon walk rather than watch most of the AFL Grand Final. That was mainly because I didn't have a clue when it came to understanding the game. After all, I'll always be first and foremost a diehard NFL fan. Needless to say, the streets were nearly empty as everyone else in Kalgoorlie was glued to their TV sets.

However, yesterday afternoon, the couple I've been staying with this past week here in Perth, Russell and Coralie, provided me with a unique opportunity. Russell, an avid player and fan, first showed me DVD highlights of marks, long bombs, other goals, etc.  Then last night, I went with them to watch an Old Timers' Exhibition Game.

There we saw Russell's 48 year-old brother, a retired AFL multi-millionaire player, who played for the the West Coast Eagles, battle against their foes the Fremantle Dockers.

We also saw Rick Arden, a newsreader and amateur player,  participate in the game. In spite of the fact that Rick stands at about 6 feet four inches, Russell joked that he had bested Rick in their own veterans' competition 3 months ago ("he'd never score a goal like that on me, ha ha!).

Although this entry is on Aussie Rules, let me also say here that I thoroughly appreciated the chance to observe and participate in what God is doing in Russell's church. Russell and Coralie spent several years as Alliance Workers in Vanuatu in the South Pacific prior to returning to Perth (Coralie was an MK whose parents worked with aboriginals), where God led them to start the church. The meeting on Sunday was lively and truly a pleasure to participate in.

After the church meeting, we enjoyed the traditional Australian meringue desert Pavlova (another new experience for me), had gourmet pizza at an Italian restaurant, and tea (Australian term for dinner or supper) that night after the match at an outdoor steak/hamburger joint by a roaring fire.

Viewing The Heavens in Kalgoorlie, WA

Whether it is Australia or back in the United States, the most unique aspect of of traveling from place to place to share about our team's work back in Taiwan is the opportunity to stay in different homes and get to know lots of different people.

Last week in Kalgoorlie, WA, I stayed with Denise and Peter. Some years ago, Peter built a huge telescope from scratch (pictured in foreground below). It took him nearly a year to plan the design and several months after that to build and fine-tune. He's made it available for the community to come to view from time to time.

He did a great job in the construction---  Peter was able to clearly point out to me  3 of Jupiter's moons as well as the twin stars Alpha-Centauri, not to mention the densest section of the Milky Way.

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.  Psalm 19: 1-2