I can’t believe how many people I have been saying goodbye to already! I only have 3 whole days left here in Taiwan and I leave Wednesday to fly back home and arrive home Thursday morning. This week was a lot of lasts. On Wednesday Birgit and I visited our last school Bible club. I didn’t really get to know these students, except for one girl Bess who came to class, because they were all too shy to speak English. The thing that saddens me about the Bible clubs is that the kids don’t come for the Bible. Most if not all of the students randomly pick the club and aren’t Christians. At this last club meeting they asked some of the students to share some of the things that have learned and they couldn’t come up with anything that they learned. Most of them just said having fun.
I am stumbling into a change of heart on this matter. I just had a conversation with a co-worker tonight about how one of the hardest things about my month here was not knowing the language. He pointed out to me that language is only one way of sharing the gospel. He said when I play with the kids, laugh with them, and just listen to them I am sharing the gospel. They will remember me, remember this odd, yet smiley foreign girl that came to spend time with them. So I guess if nothing else, I hope that I had that impact.
On Thursday I went ad visited my last temple (for now I think). It almost physically saddened me to watch the people come so earnestly to the temple expecting things. Expecting answers, expecting blessings, expecting something that will deliver them. That is hard to watch when you have the truth…just about BUSTING out of you. But I will continue to pray for the people of Taiwan, long after I leave.
On Friday my mentor and I had out last study time. We have been going through Galatians, which is a wonderful book, in case you hadn’t noticed or had forgotten. Sometimes I forget about this amazing thing called God’s grace! And it’s right there over and over again! You can’t earn righteousness, salvation, or God’s love through works…no matter how “godly” the works are. No matter if it’s your own pride or even your church over-stressing something important, that’s not the point. The point is the gospel. These are just a few of the things that I have been re-introduced to in our study.
Today was my last “class” although I shared my testimony instead of teaching English. Tonight was…a night of laughs to say the least. We decided a while ago to have everyone bring a favorite Chinese dish to share for a big American potluck dinner before class, Chinese style. If any of you have seen the movie “Beauty and the Beast” and remember the part where Belle is hungry and the kitchen puts on a show for her…that’s a little bit of what I felt like tonight, with everyone yelling “try the gray stuff it’s delicious, don’t believe me ask the dishes!” EVERYONE wanted to make sure I tried their dish. From three cup chicken, to green bean soup (for dessert), to three color egg (NOT dyed with the Easter bunny) to some more unidentifiable dishes, I tried to make them believe I’d tried it all…and I carefully avoided the people that brought stinky tofu.
As an added bonus to my evening, that morning I went and played basketball with some friends and due to the extreme heat and sun at ALL parts of the day, I got a little sun burnt. Bad timing I suppose because I didn’t realize that Taiwanese don’t really get burned and so they assumed that I was drunk. Some gave me the benefit of the doubt that I was blushing…constantly. Thankfully I cleared up this misunderstanding.
Tonight, I also got to play probably my last big game of Uno here. I don’t think I mentioned before that I play roughly 5-10 games of Uno a gay at the Gospel Center with the students. They just LOVE it.
Ok, I know I didn’t give too many details, but I have to get some sleep before I leave tomorrow for Kenting Beach for a couple of days before I fly home. I’ll let you know how it goes and how “drunk” I look when I get back. I am NOT ready to leave all of the friends I have made here and the learning I am doing, but I miss you all so much and I can’t wait to see you! Love you all!
LB
Posts
lauren it's so true! you've LIVED out the Gospel; it's not simply spoken through words... it's a way of life! and you've shown that to the people you've interacted with!! :)
ReplyDeleteand that's so sad, too...what you said about the people coming to the temple, expecting things. *sigh* yes, yes, it's very good to keep them in prayer.
we can sing, we can dance, after all, Miss, this is France/Taiwan! And the dinner here is never second beeeest!... :)