Today was our final day of the mission trip. As I write this in the church office, there are more people in the church than I've ever seen. Mission members rushing around packing luggage and cleaning up, tons of kids who didn't go home after VBS but are running around chasing us and giving us presents and requesting our emails, and parents who are preparing one final dinner for us. We will eat dinner with the church members, and bid them goodbye afterwards, where we will all go our separate ways.
This morning we went to a disabled persons hospital to visit patients and help feed the children. We first performed our music set, with 4 testimonies in between: April, Norman, Isaac, and Jacqueline. It was a very moving experience. Although the crowd of patients had mental disabilities and might not have fully understood what we were saying, they were excited to participate with us while we used hand motions during the songs, and several of us were moved to tears. After the music part, we separated into 3 groups of 4 and went into classrooms to help feed the children. Many of the children are autistic, and we helped feed them lunch, brush their teeth, and get them ready for an afternoon nap. It was an amazing reminder that God loves all people, and that He created each of us the way that we are for a reason. Although it was the last morning and we were all very tired, it was a very memorable time for the team.
Our last VBS class was even more moving. The church members here, especially the pastor's wife, led the children in an extended time of worship and prayer. At one point, she asked every teacher to go around to each of our students and pray for them. Although our prayers were a jumble of english and broken chinese, many of the kids were moved to tears. Afterwards, the teachers lined up and each child came by and gave us a hug. By the time the kids had finished saying goodbye to each teacher, nearly every member of the team was crying.
We have been so blessed to have this opportunity to serve here in Wudu. Being able to spend 2 weeks developing relationships with these children and church members has been one of the most amazing experiences I'm sure many of us have ever had. We are reluctant to leave, but we have faith that the seeds we have planted here will be nurtured and watered by God.
Please continue to pray for this team, because we know the trip is never really over. We have dozens of new friends to pray for, and also a lot of traveling for each of the mission team members. It will be a difficult adjustment to return home to America after this 3 week experience, but we are excited to share in more detail with all of you about what God has been doing in our lives.
Thank you to all the people who have kept with this blog and continued to pray for us! The joy of the Lord is our strength!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Last 2 Days
The missions trip is winding down after 3 weeks of teaching kids, house visitations, testimonies, and music evangelism. This past week has been more relaxed than our previous 2 weeks, but in a very different way. We are not doing street evangelism, but every morning we visit families of the students we had previously, and also some church families. It's been a great opportunity to invite the kids to the afternoon VBS, talk to the parents, and also share our testimonies in a more personal setting. A great thing about this community is that almost everything is within walking distance, and it's a small enough town that we often chance upon students we know while simply walking down the street.
In the afternoon we have the opportunity to play basketball with a student from the camp, Eden. He has been coming to the church every morning and staying until after VBS because he enjoys spending time with us so much! It's been such a great chance to integrate him into church life and introduce him to the YG kids here. Eden even went with us to the night market last night, and through him we've been able to play basketball with some of the other old students as well.
VBS in the afternoon consists of games, singing, a message, and crafts. It's from 3-5pm everyday and happens to fall in that time period where everyone is most tired, so it's a struggle to keep up our energy through it, but it's great seeing many of the same kids again!
At night Pastor Josh is leading a class that goes through the entire Old Testament and parts of the New Testament, from 7-9pm. The church has been very blessed through this class, and there is a great turnout. It's encouraging to see how excited the church here is to increase in their knowledge of God.
Tomorrow is our last day and we are doing all that we can to treasure these last hours here with this church. Thanks for reading!
In the afternoon we have the opportunity to play basketball with a student from the camp, Eden. He has been coming to the church every morning and staying until after VBS because he enjoys spending time with us so much! It's been such a great chance to integrate him into church life and introduce him to the YG kids here. Eden even went with us to the night market last night, and through him we've been able to play basketball with some of the other old students as well.
VBS in the afternoon consists of games, singing, a message, and crafts. It's from 3-5pm everyday and happens to fall in that time period where everyone is most tired, so it's a struggle to keep up our energy through it, but it's great seeing many of the same kids again!
At night Pastor Josh is leading a class that goes through the entire Old Testament and parts of the New Testament, from 7-9pm. The church has been very blessed through this class, and there is a great turnout. It's encouraging to see how excited the church here is to increase in their knowledge of God.
Tomorrow is our last day and we are doing all that we can to treasure these last hours here with this church. Thanks for reading!
Monday, July 27, 2009
The Final Week
It was an eventful weekend for the mission team. On Saturday we started off the morning helping out in a weekly art class hosted by the church. It's a great ministry that the church is doing. They hold this art class every Saturday morning, and as they teach art they also teach about God's love. Many of the children are ones that we taught last week, so it was wonderful being able to see them again. Praise the Lord for all the talented members of the mission team. Victor was able to demonstrate some photography lessons, April showed the kids how to draw simple sketches, and Norman used photoshop to create a digital image right before our eyes, a picture of a king and a child with the Chinese words "Jesus Loves You." We printed the image out and gave each child one to take home.
On Saturday night we joined in the church's youth group. We first had a prayer meeting at 4:30, and although there were some slight language difficulties, it was still a blessing to spend time together, Taiwan church and Ohio church, in praying for this city and for the youth group. The main theme of youth group was testimonies, and Isaac, Norman, and Jacqueline all did a fantastic job giving their testimonies in Chinese. The Youth Group said that they were very blessed by what we had to say, and afterwards we helped to lead their small groups and get to know many of the youth members more. We are so happy that we can minister not only to children, but to the church here too. May we continue to pray for the youth here in Wudu, praise God for their dedication to serving their church and their community!
Sunday morning was very hectic. We started off by leading worship for the Sunday service. We played our entire set, the same one we did for Sunday worship back in Ohio. Karen and Elean both gave their testimonies in Chinese before the entire congregation, and Pastor Josh preached about having a thankful heart. Although he preached for nearly an hour, much longer than he normally does, the congregation insisted that the sermon was far too short, and that they wanted to hear more! While all this was going on, Victor, Esther, Vivian, and Deacon Katy went upstairs to help out with the children's Sunday school and each of them also gave a short testimony. What an opportunity each of us has had to tell of what God has done in our lives! Now each team members has given their testimony.
Sunday night we took the train down to Taipei again, and after eating dinner there, we attended a Stream of Praise concert, which was located at the Sun Yat-Sen memorial hall. If you haven't heard of Stream of Praise, just think of it as a Taiwanese version of Hillsong. The church here was kind enough to get us a whole set of tickets (tickets are free, but they are very hard to obtain). It was a huge encouragement to see the entire memorial hall packed with Christians - many of us had no idea that Taiwan even had that many Christians! We were able to worship along with the 3000 other people present, and last night also happened to be a recorded concert, which means that we may be in the Stream of Praise DVD that will be released in a couple months! Hallelujah, it is amazing how we all worship the same God, whether it be in Chinese or English.
Today we had a team meeting about the house visitations that are coming up in the following week, and then made about 100 beaded cross keychains and Gospel bead bracelets to give as gifts during visitations and street evangelism. Today was also our first VBS, from 3-5pm. There were about 45 kids present, and we were able to share with them the Gospel message through the Gospel bead bracelets that we made together. By the way, happy birthday to Jacqueline, who turns 19 today!
As you can see, the mission team has a very full schedule! This is our final week here, and we need your continued prayer to support us through! May we scatter many seeds during this week and continue to encourage everyone that we meet here. God bless!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Done with 2 Weeks
We have made it through two weeks! Thursday was our last day of teaching at Wudu Elementary School. It was a very long day. In the afternoon, the youth and members of the Bai Fu Zi Jia church (where we are staying) hosted an evangelical meeting for the children while the CCCC team rushed back to the church to practice 2 of our songs, grab gifts for the kids and helpers, and deal with other errands. The final performance night was stressful but also encouraging. It’s very difficult to get 111 children to cooperate and pay attention during an hour long performance! However, many parents came, and we were able to meet a lot of them and talk to them a bit about what a joy it was to teach their children. We performed 2 songs for the parents as well, and officially finished off the camp at about 10pm.
Friday was our day of rest. We were able to sleep in, and in the afternoon we took the train down to Taipei, where we split off into two groups. The boys and Jacqueline and April went to a buffet, while the rest of the girls went to get beef noodle soup (they were joined by Mrs. Wu). Five of the team members got haircuts in Xi Men Ding, and then we all browsed and shopped for awhile before going to Shi Da night market and meeting with many of the church members to discuss our art class on Saturday morning. It was very crowded at the night market, so we weren’t able to shop very much. We took the train back with all the church members, and then finished off our night with group devotions. It was a much needed break for all of us, and a great time to get to know the youth group here better. We have become pretty close to many of the youth here, as they come to the church often simply to talk to us and get to know us more. It is a blessing for us to be able to encourage and strengthen the local church here!
As for our team, we are all pretty tired and each of us has multiple mosquito bites. Two days ago a mosquito got into each of our rooms, and many of us got 6-9 bites in only a couple hours. We are still fighting sore throats and heat rash, and Norman has an ear infection. Please continue to pray for our continued perseverance and health!
Some things that are coming up in the next week:
Tonight: Participating in Youth Group. Isaac, Norman, and Jacqueline are giving their testimonies.
Sunday: Leading children’s Sunday School and doing worship for the Sunday Service. Pastor Josh is also preaching. We are attending a Stream of Praise concert at night in Taipei
Monday – Friday: VBS at the church from 3-5pm everyday, which we are leading and teaching. We were not aware that we were expected to lead it until last week, so we need to prepare lesson plans for it every day. House visitations in the morning.
Another verse from our devotions today:
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Friday was our day of rest. We were able to sleep in, and in the afternoon we took the train down to Taipei, where we split off into two groups. The boys and Jacqueline and April went to a buffet, while the rest of the girls went to get beef noodle soup (they were joined by Mrs. Wu). Five of the team members got haircuts in Xi Men Ding, and then we all browsed and shopped for awhile before going to Shi Da night market and meeting with many of the church members to discuss our art class on Saturday morning. It was very crowded at the night market, so we weren’t able to shop very much. We took the train back with all the church members, and then finished off our night with group devotions. It was a much needed break for all of us, and a great time to get to know the youth group here better. We have become pretty close to many of the youth here, as they come to the church often simply to talk to us and get to know us more. It is a blessing for us to be able to encourage and strengthen the local church here!
As for our team, we are all pretty tired and each of us has multiple mosquito bites. Two days ago a mosquito got into each of our rooms, and many of us got 6-9 bites in only a couple hours. We are still fighting sore throats and heat rash, and Norman has an ear infection. Please continue to pray for our continued perseverance and health!
Some things that are coming up in the next week:
Tonight: Participating in Youth Group. Isaac, Norman, and Jacqueline are giving their testimonies.
Sunday: Leading children’s Sunday School and doing worship for the Sunday Service. Pastor Josh is also preaching. We are attending a Stream of Praise concert at night in Taipei
Monday – Friday: VBS at the church from 3-5pm everyday, which we are leading and teaching. We were not aware that we were expected to lead it until last week, so we need to prepare lesson plans for it every day. House visitations in the morning.
Another verse from our devotions today:
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Ending Wudu Camp
Hello faithful readers! It has been a very fun, very hot 3 days. Wudu has been an amazing experience, especially compared to last week. We are actually hosting our camp in a real school, meaning that each class gets their own classroom, and each child has a desk and chair. This in and of itself means that the kids pay a lot more attention, especially because they are students at Wudu Elementary, so they respect the school and the teachers more in this environment. The challenging part about being in the school is no air conditioning, only fans in the ceiling. In addition, Wudu is much hotter than Taoyuan, so many of us (especially Norman and Karen) have severe heat rash, and the rest of us are very uncomfortable during the day. Please pray that we can keep our energy levels up and that our skin problems would not be as severe.
This week Anna and Karen changed classes, so Karen is now working with Elean and the youngest kids in Dolphin Class, while Anna is working with April with the oldest children, Whale Class. Here is a specific update about each class.
1st/2nd Grade Dolphin Class: [Karen & Elean] The kids give great effort and are very enthusiastic. Their English isn't very good, but they are very affectionate. Several of them are even asking deeper questions about Christianity, which their 2 helpers (2 youth from the church here) have been answering.
3rd Grade Jellyfish Class: [Esther & Isaac] The kids are much more shy than last week's kids, but they are finally starting to open up and become very affectionate. The kids especially love to give their teachers massages! All is well.
3rd Grade Shark Class: [Norman & Vivian] Vivian was given a chance to teach this week and showed huge improvement in her ability to relate to the children and speak up when necessary. The kids are extremely quiet, but also very affectionate.
4th Grade Lobster Class: [Jacqueline & Victor] Their kids are great and really attentive, only it's sometimes frustrating for the teachers because their Chinese is a bit limited, so Jacqueline and Victor wish they could explain the stories and questions at a deeper level.
5th Grade Whale Class: [April & Anna] My class is amazing. They are very intelligent and participate well, and they also listen when told. They are incredibly affectionate. The only drawback is that during group time (when all classes combine), they never sing and dance with the other children.
We are so blessed this week because the church at Wudu is full of caring and compassionate youth members who have been helping out in our classes, eating meals with us, and being a huge source of encouragement and laughter. We also praise God for the comfort of the church here, having 2 separate rooms for guys and girls to stay in, and 2 showers. The air conditioning here is also very comfortable, so we are well taken care of.
Please continue to pray for our health and energy. As time goes on, many of our bodies are finally reacting to the intense heat and long days. Pastor Josh is starting to lose his voice, and many of us are feeling a little under the weather. We continue to depend on God for our strength! This week's camp is only 4 days long, so tomorrow is our last day. Pray that our final performance night would go well, and that we would really be able to minister to the children's parents. We are more unified as a team than ever, and we continue to depend upon your prayer and support from America!
Praise the Lord. From our devotions this morning: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God" 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Sunday, July 19, 2009
PRAISE THE LORD. He has already gotten us through so many tough situations this past week, and we continue to depend on Him for strength and guidance as we prepare for another week of teaching starting tomorrow morning.
Our final days in Taoyuan were very exhausting. Some of the church members took us out to a delicious hotpot buffet on Thursday night for dinner, and we spent the night preparing ourselves for the final day of class. On Friday, the kids stayed with us all the way until 10pm. We went through class as normal, and then after 4pm, when the kids normally would leave, we allowed them to watch “Narnia” while we got a short break, and then we had our final performance at night. About 60 some parents came, so we were able to play one of our mission team songs (“Zhe Yi Shen Zui Mei De Zhu Fu”) and share a little bit about why we came to Taiwan and what we believe in. The kids did a great job with their final performances, they were all very cute, and it was difficult to say goodbye. Many of us ended the night with tears in our eyes. It was an emotional week, but we praise God for such an opportunity to plant seeds, and we will continue to pray that one day those seeds would bloom, and these children and their families would come to know the Lord.
On Saturday morning, Xu Chuan Dao came to pick us up and bring all of us to Wudu, about a 45 minute drive away. This is the same exact place that the mission team last year lived at, so past members are already very familiar with the area. After arriving, we spent the afternoon practicing our music as a team, and then went to Costco to pick up supplies for teaching (640 sheets of construction paper!).
Today we visited a different church from the one we are staying at, taking 3 taxis to get us all there. Pastor Josh gave a sermon about prayer, Anna then gave a shortened impromptu testimony, and the entire team performed “Send me Lord.” In the afternoon we had a meeting with all of the helpers and mothers that will be aiding us in teaching through the week. We have a very busy schedule ahead of us, we will be teaching Monday to Thursday, taking a break on Friday, teaching an art class at this church on Saturday, and then teaching Sunday school and leading worship (and preaching, in Pastor Josh’s case) on Sunday.
Please continue to pray for our health, nobody has gotten ill yet but many of the girls have several bug bites. We are also very tired, so pray that we can continue to lean on God for energy and strength. Finally, please pray that we may continue to have patience with our fellow team members and with whatever situations we may encounter. Thanks for reading, God bless!!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Teaching Day 3
The third day of teaching has ended. Today was the most difficult day for us because it's the middle of the week, and we are all feeling pretty exhausted. As always, we wake up before 6:30am to do our devotions and then eat breakfast and clean up. We are having a great time and really working together as a team though. We have been able to visit many of our students families at night and gotten to talk to their parents about our testimonies and why we came to Taiwan, and we are making many friends here. We also got the opportunity to visit a mantou store, where 4 of our students live, and have been getting to know their mother.
Here is an update on each of our classes and our prayer requests.
Here is an update on each of our classes and our prayer requests.
1st/2nd: Anna & Elean - We continue to struggle through lesson plans and we are basing all of our teaching off of how well the kids are paying attention. Dealing with our 3 year old child still takes a lot of energy, and we need continued energy to keep up with our kids. We also aren't allowed to go outside to play (according to Zhu Chuan Dao, the pastor that is leading the church here), so the kids get more and more hyperactive towards the end of the day and more and more difficult to control.
3rd: Norman & Esther & Vivian - The kids are sometimes inattentive but they are truly learning the material. Please pray that the students would be less loud/rowdy (they shared a classroom with the 5/6th graders and often disrupt them with their noise level). Norman is sometimes too nice for his own good, pray that he can continue to keep the kids under control.
4th: Jacqueline & Victor & Isaac - The ADHD child, Andy, is the main cause of the problems in the class. He literally needs constantly attention and discipline, and so Jacqueline can barely teach for 10 minutes at a time without some disruption. Pray that Andy would be more calm and that the teachers would be able to continue helping their class through lessons.
5th: Karen & April - Their class is unenthusiastic because they are at an awkward age where they try not to show interest in the camp. Pray that Karen and April would not be discouraged but will continue to work hard to make the lessons more interesting and fun for the kids.
We are also having some problems getting along with Zhu Chuan Dao, the pastor here who we must work with. She is often difficult to get along with because we seem to operate on different wavelengths, and some of her requests seem unreasonable to us. Still, the Bible commands us to get along with the local church and encourage them, so pray that we may all have more patience and understanding!
And finally, here are the following prayer requests for our health. We are eating tons of vitamin C and multi-vitamins, but we still need your prayer!
Elean - minor ear infection
Karen - bad skin reaction to mosquito bites, so she ahs large red patches where she gets bitten
PJosh - strange purple bruise on his ankle
Vivian - has stomachaches and headaches
Thanks everyone!
And finally, here are the following prayer requests for our health. We are eating tons of vitamin C and multi-vitamins, but we still need your prayer!
Elean - minor ear infection
Karen - bad skin reaction to mosquito bites, so she ahs large red patches where she gets bitten
PJosh - strange purple bruise on his ankle
Vivian - has stomachaches and headaches
Thanks everyone!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Teaching Day 1
Today was our first day of teaching! As a team, we woke up at 6AM in order to do our devotions together at 6:30am, and then the guys got breakfast for us while the girls stayed behind to clean up the room and prepare for the day's events. (This is going to become our regular routine). We start off our day with Singspiration, and then separate into our 5 classes and begin to teach. There are 75 kids here and 5 separate classes. We all had a lot of fun teaching, although there were many challenges and many very hyperactive children! Here are some photos and some prayer requests, we REALLY would appreciate your prayers because we are facing a lot here!
1st/2nd Grade - Anna and Elean: Please pray for us to know how to divide our attention among our students. We have 22 small children, the youngest in the camp. We also have a 3 year old (she needs extra attention), and a mentally disabled girl, so we are working hard to try to give each child adequate attention. In addition, we found out that our ABC lesson plans are no longer applicable because the children are more advanced that we predicted, so we are preparing new lesson plans every night, which is extra work for our team. May God help us to think on our toes!
3rd Grade - Norman and Esther and Vivian: Please pray that they can learn to control their kids more, especially the noise level, as they are sharing a classroom with the 5th/6th graders. They have about 20 very enthusiastic children.
4th Grade - Jacqueline and Victor and Isaac: Please pray that they can also learn how to handle their class, which is the most enthusiastic and energetic. They also have one child with ADHD who is extremely hard to handle, pray that they may have patience and wisdom in learning how to teach and love him!
5th/6th Grade - Karen and April: Please pray that they can learn how to capture the attention of the oldest children, as they seem bored with camp and unwilling to respect and listen to their teachers. Pray that Karen and April can learn to speak with authority over their students.
Thanks so much for reading. God is already teaching us so many lessons in patience, wisdom, and love! May we continue to keep our energy levels high as we tackle another day of teaching!
3rd Grade - Norman and Esther and Vivian: Please pray that they can learn to control their kids more, especially the noise level, as they are sharing a classroom with the 5th/6th graders. They have about 20 very enthusiastic children.
4th Grade - Jacqueline and Victor and Isaac: Please pray that they can also learn how to handle their class, which is the most enthusiastic and energetic. They also have one child with ADHD who is extremely hard to handle, pray that they may have patience and wisdom in learning how to teach and love him!
5th/6th Grade - Karen and April: Please pray that they can learn how to capture the attention of the oldest children, as they seem bored with camp and unwilling to respect and listen to their teachers. Pray that Karen and April can learn to speak with authority over their students.
Thanks so much for reading. God is already teaching us so many lessons in patience, wisdom, and love! May we continue to keep our energy levels high as we tackle another day of teaching!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Arrival
We have arrived in Taiwan! Praise the Lord for giving us swift and safe travels. Although we were very tired from all the waiting at terminals, sleeping in the plane chairs, and going through customs and immigration, we finally made it to Good Earth Church (Hao Tu Jiao Hui).
Last night Zhu Chuan Dao, who is taking care of all our living needs here, hired a large bus to pick us up from the airport and take us to the church (Jennifer, it was like a van of joy, EXACTLY like a van of joy). After unloading our luggage, we were able to go outside to get some of Taiwan's delicious food to eat: shaved ice and noodles! We also stopped by a local market in order to purchase some essentials, and then spent a long time figuring out the showering system here. After we had each showered and had a short team meeting, we went to bed.
This morning we woke up early, each of us before 8 AM, and Zhu Chuan Dao took us out to get some breakfast. We then spent our afternoon working on lesson plans for the first week of school. After going out to get lunch, we spent more than an hour meeting with two of the pastors here and going over our plans for teaching during the week, and also meeting our 3 helpers: Cecilia, Joanna, and their mother, all three of whom are from Seattle and are in Taiwan for the summer. We spent our afternoon relaxing and trying to overcome jetlag, and also preparing more for our testimonies in Chinese.
It's been a relaxing day, but once tomorrow comes, it will be non stop activities for the next 3 weeks! For more photographs, visit our flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/victorhuang20/sets/.
Last night Zhu Chuan Dao, who is taking care of all our living needs here, hired a large bus to pick us up from the airport and take us to the church (Jennifer, it was like a van of joy, EXACTLY like a van of joy). After unloading our luggage, we were able to go outside to get some of Taiwan's delicious food to eat: shaved ice and noodles! We also stopped by a local market in order to purchase some essentials, and then spent a long time figuring out the showering system here. After we had each showered and had a short team meeting, we went to bed.
This morning we woke up early, each of us before 8 AM, and Zhu Chuan Dao took us out to get some breakfast. We then spent our afternoon working on lesson plans for the first week of school. After going out to get lunch, we spent more than an hour meeting with two of the pastors here and going over our plans for teaching during the week, and also meeting our 3 helpers: Cecilia, Joanna, and their mother, all three of whom are from Seattle and are in Taiwan for the summer. We spent our afternoon relaxing and trying to overcome jetlag, and also preparing more for our testimonies in Chinese.
It's been a relaxing day, but once tomorrow comes, it will be non stop activities for the next 3 weeks! For more photographs, visit our flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/victorhuang20/sets/.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Final Days in Columbus
It's been a hectic week for the mission team! In the past week, we met on Tuesday and Thursday night from 7-10pm in order to go over the teaching materials. We have 5 days of Chinese/English lessons concerning Noah's ark, including vocabulary, sentences, and reading comprehension questions. We read through all of the lessons as a group, answering the questions together and correcting each other's pronunciation. On Thursday, we also worked on our own personal lesson plans as we prepare to teach our specific age groups. The classes are divided as follows:
Classes (Grade) - Teachers
Dolphin (1st/2nd) - Anna & Elean
Jellyfish (3rd) - Esther & Isaac
Shark (3rd) - Vivian & Norman
Lobster (4th) - Victor & Jacqueline
Whale (5th/6th) - Karen & April
Sunday night our team met for a combined dinner with our parents at Deacon Larry Ai's house. We were able to share each of our personal prayer and pray together with the parents. It was a great blessing to realize how much we have grown together and how we have truly formed a team that can support and encourage one another. After PJosh answered many of our last-minute questions about packing, Taiwanese food, and other plans, we are more excited than ever to finally leave for Taiwan!
Group 1: Victor, April, Esther, Isaac (coming from Detroit)
Leave at 7:15am to Washington DC, then Tokyo
Group 2: PJosh, Deacon Katy, Elean, Norman, Karen, Jacqueline, Vivian, Anna
Leave at 8:00am to Chicago, then to Tokyo
All will convene in Tokyo and then fly together to Taiwan!
Tomorrow we are meeting to work on our testimonies in Chinese. It is our last official meeting before we leave. As the time draws closer and we begin packing, please continue to pray for us! We need your prayer for safe travel, physical health, and also mental and spiritual preparation. Thank you for reading!
Classes (Grade) - Teachers
Dolphin (1st/2nd) - Anna & Elean
Jellyfish (3rd) - Esther & Isaac
Shark (3rd) - Vivian & Norman
Lobster (4th) - Victor & Jacqueline
Whale (5th/6th) - Karen & April
Sunday night our team met for a combined dinner with our parents at Deacon Larry Ai's house. We were able to share each of our personal prayer and pray together with the parents. It was a great blessing to realize how much we have grown together and how we have truly formed a team that can support and encourage one another. After PJosh answered many of our last-minute questions about packing, Taiwanese food, and other plans, we are more excited than ever to finally leave for Taiwan!
Group 1: Victor, April, Esther, Isaac (coming from Detroit)
Leave at 7:15am to Washington DC, then Tokyo
Group 2: PJosh, Deacon Katy, Elean, Norman, Karen, Jacqueline, Vivian, Anna
Leave at 8:00am to Chicago, then to Tokyo
All will convene in Tokyo and then fly together to Taiwan!
Tomorrow we are meeting to work on our testimonies in Chinese. It is our last official meeting before we leave. As the time draws closer and we begin packing, please continue to pray for us! We need your prayer for safe travel, physical health, and also mental and spiritual preparation. Thank you for reading!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Summary of Sunday 5/28/09
Last Sunday the Mission team was very busy! We arrived at church at 8:30am, as we have been doing for many months now, for our Sunday morning prayer meeting and devotion time. Right after our meeting we rushed down to the sanctuary to practice our songs for Sunday worship, and then led worship with the help of Deborah for the Mandarin congregation. It was a huge blessing to be able to participate in the mandarin worship!
We also went up on stage for the English service as Pastor Nick introduced us and encouraged us with his GREEN tips. Many members of the english congregation came up to pray for us afterwards, which was very encouraging.
The lunch this Sunday was made by the parents, and all proceeds went to support our trip. We had a great time serving bubble tea, chicken, and various desserts during lunch. Great hustle, team. =)
Please continue to pray for us, we have less than 10 days left before we leave!
We also went up on stage for the English service as Pastor Nick introduced us and encouraged us with his GREEN tips. Many members of the english congregation came up to pray for us afterwards, which was very encouraging.
The lunch this Sunday was made by the parents, and all proceeds went to support our trip. We had a great time serving bubble tea, chicken, and various desserts during lunch. Great hustle, team. =)
Please continue to pray for us, we have less than 10 days left before we leave!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Getting Ready for Battle!
This is a quick peek at what happens every tuesday and thursday night. If you get a chance, throw out a quick prayer for us as we prepare for the mission trip
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Introduction
Welcome to the CCCC Taiwan STM site! Here the daily activities of the Taiwan mission team will be posted for the benefit of all family and friends and whoever else would like to know what we're up to and how they can pray for us. =) We will be leaving on July 9 for Taiwan and the participating in the missions trip until July 31. Here are the team members and some of their prayer requests!
Pastor Joshua Ong
Prayer Requests
1. Patience to wait on God’s timing
2. Patience and love for the team (including discipline)
3. Having a servant’s heart so I do not become prideful
Deacon Katy Yang
Prayer Requests
1. Lean on God and try my best to serve with this STM team.
2. Pray for everyone's health both physically and spiritually.
3. Salvation of family in Taiwan.
Victor Huang
Prayer Requests
1. Spiritual and physical well-being for the team
2. Overcoming the language barrier
3. Patience
Vivian Wu
Prayer Requests
1. Please pray that I won't be that nervous for teaching the Taiwan kids
2. Pray that we will perform our songs well
3. Pray that we get a lot of people saved
Isaac Chan
Prayer Requests
1. I'm am really scared that I'm not suitable to spread God's Word. I feel that it is such a big responsibility and that if I don't say the right thing, people will find it harder to believe me.
2. I need to be more focused in doing my devotions and prayer time.
3. Lastly, I pray that we can work well together as a group and learn to love one another.
Karen Ai
Prayer Requests
1. To learn how to let go of things and give them to God
2. To use my time wisely and be productive with my spare time
3. To continue to pray hard for this team as God is leading us
Elean Yang
Prayer Requests
1. Piano and keyboard practice
2. Communication with kids and knowing how to fit their needs while teaching them about God
3. To be available for God to use me to do His works
Esther Wong
Prayer Requests
1. That we will work together as a team smoothly
2. That the children will be receptive to the gospel
3. That my hands don’t act up again (I have tendinitis)
April Li
Prayer Requests
1. Language and Culture Barrier, and remembering that we’re doing this all for God.
2. To let God use each one of us, according to His plan. May we work together as a team.
3. I pray that God will prepare the hearts of the people we'll meet in Taiwan and our team's as well; He's the only one that can change a person's heart.
Norman Ai
Prayer Requests
1. Being able to trust and lean on God in every step I take.
2. Being able to invest everything I have into glorifying God whether it be on this missions trip or in everyday life.
3. Being able to have patience, compassion, and love in interacting with the students in Taiwan along with the mission team itself.
Jacqueline Lee
Prayer Requests
1. Pray that I won’t let my judgments on people hinder me from spreading God’s Word to everyone
2. To have more compassion on those different from me
3. Not to be ashamed of my faith, specifically with my non church friends and with the kids in Taiwan.
Anna Wang
Prayer Requests
1. Pray that I will turn to God in everything: for strength, energy, help, and love. With God as my foundation, may I be a source of encouragement to my team.
2. To have true humility and consider others better than myself, remembering that all I do is for an audience of One, who is God.
3. Please pray that I would have a heart to truly sacrifice for and love those around me, especially my team.
For now our team is busy preparing for our departure to Taiwan. We meet every Tuesday and Thursday night at church, after service on Sunday, and some of us meet on Saturday night as well to prepare food for fundraising. Last night we practiced the three songs that we will be playing on Sunday in the Mandarin congregation as we lead worship. It's been a blessing working with Deborah, Olivia, and James as they give us tips on how to be good worship leaders.
Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers! God bless.
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