回 家: ADVENT 2014

Returning Home.

I apologize that I have not been able to blog since I've arrived in Taiwan. But I have a lot to say, so if you care to read, please do :)
Firstly, the Taiwanese students are attacking my facebook. 
Secondly, missions was good, it was a wonderful experience.
We woke at around 6:30, had breakfast at 7, and then left at roughly 7:30. Rally (singing songs, playing games, performing a skit for all the classes), started at 8:30, and class began at about 9:15. We taught till 11:30, ate lunch boxes provided by the school, and then traveled to a second school in the afternoon. We were at the second school from 1:30-4:30PM, and then we went back to our living quarters. Rinse and repeat. The first week our big team of 9 was split into two, and we went to separate schools in Tainan. I taught a 1st grade class and then an '11th' grade class. The second week we were all together again in the beautiful countryside city of Nantou. BIG MOUNTAINS! I taught a '6th' grade class, and then an '8th' grade class. Had to speak primarily in Mandarin for all 4 classes. We shared the gospel and our testimonies in class on Thursday, and then had a Friday night fellowship type event.

I could write a lot more about the little details, but I'm going to focus on a few of the big ways God really revealed Himself to me. 

1 Corinthians 2:1-5
When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
The second week, only one of our girls came to the Friday night fellowship. She was super quiet in class; never spoke a word. She had never been to church before either. But I was just so amazed! His Good News is truly so GOOD. We don't have to make it sound pretty or 'eloquent', it's already so GREAT. She had checked 'yes' earlier that day, and we (Kelly and I) were so glad she came. I was very much encouraged by these verses before gospel sharing both weeks. 

1 Kings  17:14-16
For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’ She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.
It's a bit weird of a passage if you don't know the context. But basically, God never let the woman's flour or oil run out. And in the same way, at no point during the mission trip did I ever feel 'run out.' Never out of patience or love or energy or hope. He continually sustained me throughout, and I praise God for that. I couldn't, I wouldn't have done it without Him.  

Okay, okay. Almost done.
I think it's so cool how people here worship God the same way we do, by laying themselves down before Him. Arms lifted high with loud praise streaming out of our mouths. It didn't matter that we were singing in different languages, or that sometimes we didn't understand what was being sung. You could still tell we were worshiping an awesome, all-power, all-loving God.

Praise God for everything He did IN and THROUGH us on this mission trip.I pray You continually watch over the kids we shared the gospel with this week, and that they'd all grow to have strong, awesome relationships with you.

THE END.
07.21.2014