Falling in Love with the Students

Hello everyone!

I am sorry I have been slow at communicating to people through e-mail, bogs, Skype...I have been fairly busy this last week. I got to witness something pretty cool though this week. I got to share a little bit about God with one of the students, and now he keeps coming back to the Gospel center! How exciting is that!? YEAH! I spend a lot of time with students here because they speak the best English and are mostly the only ones I can communicate with. At the Gospel Center where we have class and church and hang-out time is where I see them most of the time. This past week, just about every night, I was meeting students there to practice English.

Let me explain the school system here in Taiwan. Normal high school students and even some middle schoolers, go to school from 7am to about 5pm. Then most of the ones that can afford it go to Cram School from 7-10pm or so. This is every day and sometimes the students have some classes on Saturday as well.

I got to visit one of my students at her home town and she gave us sooo much food! Taiwanese love to eat so much! We made dumplings (my favorite) and then went out and stopped at a tea stand (there is a tea stand every 15feet). Then we went and had pearl ice (ice with tapioca and sweet stuff on top). Then we stopped for duck, but I was still stuffed so I convinced her not to get any. We bough bao zi (steamed buns...amazing) to take home and then went for stinky tofu! Other than stopping to by some Taiwanese silk stuff and visiting an old train museum, we did nothing but eat all day!

With 3 English lessons under my belt, I feel like a pro. I have plenty of helpers to help me translate if there is a miscommunication, and we all have realistic expectations of each other. They know I can't speak Mandarin and go through someone else if they can't get their point across. They also know that I expect them to try and participate or I have learned to call on them. I don't like putting them on the spot, but I found out that they are used to it and more likely than not, they know something they can say.

They thing that has impressed me is their creativity in coming up with English names. I have heard everything from Amy to Skinny. I LOVE my Chinese name which is, He Rou En. He is my family name, rou mean gentleness, and en means grace. I don't think either of those terms apply to me, but I like to apply them to God and say that is how He is treating me here in Taiwan, with gentleness and showing grace.

Sorry I don't have too much new to write now. I have gotten into a routine here although there are always unexpected things happening. Please keep praying that God will speak to me because although I am surrounded by gospel-focused people, I need to keep it real in my life. Pray that as I get to know the students more that I will be bolder to ask them about their families and share about my Father. :) Also continue to pray for new workers to come to the Taiwan mission. Two of the missionaries that were here in Chiayi when I arrived are gone on home assignment in hopes of getting recruits and the work here is enough that they could use some help (male especially) now.

Love and Miss you all!

LB