Thanksgiving Day

Recently, on a glorious Saturday, I was avoiding work. Not any particular work, just work in general.
Have you ever been there?

I should have been in my classroom preparing lessons for the upcoming week.
I should have been at home cleaning, or something domestic related.
I should have been furniture shopping.

But I wasn't. I was, instead, watching a soccer tournament. I might mention here that none of my biological children really like soccer, so its safe for you to assume I wasn't there as a mom.  But several of my Monday through Friday children were involved. I had planned to watch just one game and then head over to my second home (my classroom). But as I mentioned before, I just wasn't feeling it. So I just watched and watched. Oh, and of course, conversed.

So the day passed pleasantly on that warm November Saturday. Eventually, hunger pains jarred me out of my nonresponsibility bliss. Carl and I decided to jump on the scooter and head out to some local furniture stores. On the way, we agreed to look for something to eat.

Now that seems easy enough, unless, of course, you are unable to read the local merchants' signs. With Carl driving and me comfortably situated on the back, we passed place after place. We knew food was being served, but could not tell what without stopping and looking into every vendor's cart.

Luckily, I recognized a steamed dumpling shop by the bamboo steamers.We like dumplings and the lunch hour was long gone. So we stopped.

And, although everything was in Mandarin, both Carl and I have become very proficient at communicating with our hands, faces, and whatever other body part that gets the message out. So thus began the ordering adventure. But it wasn't too difficult because the owner spoke enough English that communicating was possible, even pleasant.

To make this increasingly long story, shorter, we had a great time eating and conversing with Steven, the owner. As we sat below his family's god shelf, I felt pulled to pray for the Holy Spirit to somehow reveal the truth to our new friend and his family.

 Needless, to say, we never made it to the furniture store.

But if you were to scroll back up to the beginning of my discourse, you would notice that I entitled this piece Thanksgiving Day. Which so far, I haven't said a single thing about Thanksgiving. But hold on. Its coming.

When we finally left Steven's dumpling shop, we told him we would return and bring our four children. The only problem was we were at least 2 kilometers from our apartment and with no car...  If only six people could fit on our scooter.

So Thanksgiving Day (see, I told you I would get here eventually), I was feeling somewhat disconnected. Our Thanksgiving had been the day before, and although we all had been there, we had been spread out among fifty other people. I wanted, no needed, a family gathering. So it was decided that a trip on the bikes to Steven's dumpling shop would be the perfect family Taiwan Thanksgiving. Wow, its taken a long time to get to the point of this blog. But here we are....

                                                                                 The Dingus Family's Thanksgiving Day meal!

          Yummy steamed dumplings!

Delicious Hot and Sour soup!

Nick and Ben shared a huge bowl of noodle soup-- no turkey, just pork and assorted seafood.












We enjoyed spending time with Steven again. He said Carl must be very strong to have four children. And,  he said our children were very handsome (the boys, of course) and beautiful (that would be Abbi). Steven is such a wise man!

We will visit Steven again. One, because he has really great steamed dumplings, and two, because we may be the only Christians he may ever know!

Happy Thanksgiving

It will be about 77 degrees today.
Turkeys have to be ordered.
A can of pumpkin cost about $5.
It is a normal workday for our neighbors.
And no one is talking about Black Friday!


But yet, I am thankful! Yes, it has not, will not, be a "normal" Thanksgiving for the Dingus family, but that doesn't mean we are not thankful for the things God has blessed us with over this past year.

1. No matter where we travel, God is there!  (Psalm 139:7-10 Abbi's favorite verse)

2. God not only knows our past, our present, but most importantly, our FUTURE!  (Jeremiah 29:11 Kelli's favorite verse)

3. God continues to direct our paths- even when the road signs are in Chinese!
    (Proverbs 3:5-6  Carl's favorite verse)



4. Skype- So we can see those we love, even when they are on the other side of the world! And thankful that those we love were willing to overcome their "new technology" fears. (I guess if I searched and searched I could find a Bible verse for this one, but I won't!)

5. New friends/old friends- Isn't there a song about this.... silver and gold.... Or am I just delusional?  Seriously, God has blessed us abundantly-- both with the old and new!  We miss so many of the relationships that were formed over the last 25 years but God is faithful, and has been providing us with new friends.

6. A day off from school/work- Hey, its an American school, and its an American holiday, so we get two and a half days off, just like schools in America. Actually, we are double blessed- we get American holidays AND Chinese holidays!

7. Food- We don't like being hungry! And yes, we are thankful for all our food- even the odd and strange. I must add that I haven't had any restaraunt American food since moving. We can see McDonalds from our apartment and there is a Starbucks next to it. Chili's is very popular. We also have Kentucky Fried Chicken, Baskin-Robbins, and Gorden Biersch. But as you can imagine, prices are high, so I abstain.

8. Our scooter-  This makes Carl's many trips to the various stores much easier. Not to mention, getting the five gallon water container back from the school. And, I just love riding around town! If only we could fit all six of us on it!

9. Our home- not a perfect place, especially when the neighbors below you are very picky, but its home! It has all the necessities, plenty of space, and a really great view of the mountains beyond the city. Plus, its just a five minute walk to school!

10.You- People who care enough about us to continually check out this blog, even when days (sometimes weeks) go by with no new posts. And as you check up on us, we hope you are praying! We thank God for all of you- our friends, family, and  partners in ministry!

 

So while I could go on and on, I am sure you get the idea- We are thankful, even here in Taiwan where few know the Pilgrim story. Where few know the culinary joy of a roasted turkey, fluffy mashed potatoes, tangy cranberry sauce, smooth, rich pumpkin pie. But while all that is yummy, it is truly the heart that makes or breaks this holiday.

But don't worry. Last night, among fifty other OMS missionaries and friends, we ate the traditional Thanksgiving meal. I was even able to contribute my usual corn bake and sweet potato casserole. There was even pumpkin and pecan pie, so see, God does care about the little things!

And speaking of little things, Carl said he was thankful for this shoe! It literally saved him from being thrown up off his bike onto the hood and windshield of the white Mercedes that hit him back in September. Who knows how many other little things God used to protect us, that we may never know about, except God himself?

So What About the Kids?

My kids are awesome. Not perfect, but then again, neither is their mother! Nick, Ben, Abbi, and Jacob have been amazing during this transition period. It is very obvious that God was preparing all of us for this move long before we stepped off the airplane.

One of the hardest aspects for several of my children was adjusting to a different academic community and its expectations. Education is the highest priority in the Chinese community. Anything less than an A is failure and the way to achieve the highest is to study and study and study. That's it. Homework and extra classes outside of school consume their lives. In high school, all sports cease. Morrison's sports teams mostly play the local colleges because there are very few high schools with a sport program.

This was difficult for my children who were use to being at the top of their class with minimal sweat and guts. For the first time, they were being academically challenged. Tears were shed. Teeth were gnashed, but they prevailed. I am proud of their effort, determination, and dedication and their first quarter grades made their parents proud!

So besides studying, how else have Nick, Ben, Abbi, and Jacob spent their free time?


Nick, despite this being his last year of high school, has found several ways to invest his time. Losing his senior year of football was hard, but lifting  has helped dull the sharpness of the loss. The school has a very nice weight room and an after-school lifting program. He still looks like a football player, and continues to get stronger and stronger!

 The recent volleyball and soccer seasons were  profitable for  Nick. As a student of the sports management class, he was eligible to work several games as an assistant. This has helped finance his multiple  trips to the movies, night market, and tea shops.

 Another class that is providing hands-on experience is the computer web design class. Every week, Nick is responsible to update the  high school website. I love getting on and seeing what he has done. The teacher is impressed with Nick and has asked him to sign up for the class again next semester and serve as a student editor.  Check it out at www.mca.org.tw !

As for next year.... Nick is still praying, thinking, deciding.. There is a college that recently sent a representative to Morrison's college fair. As Nick put it, she was a good salesman. Decisions need to be made soon so please pray that Nick will seek God's heart and will know, without a doubt, God's will in this area.

I would put on a picture of Nick but, unfortunately, I don't have any. He prefers to be behind the scene and not the focus of it! He tends to disappear when the camera comes out!


Coming soon..... updates on Ben, Abbi, and Jacob.

A Picture Is Worth a 1,000 Words

 2 scooters.

10 hours.

3,000 meters.

One totally awesome Creator!

The Mountain Top!

10 hours. 3, 000 feet. Awesome!

The Life of Carl

It's a miracle! It's Tuesday evening..... and I am at home. I walked into the apartment by 6:30 pm. That means I put in less than a 12 hour day. I need to write this date on the calendar.

Everyone is home, except Nick. Carl and Jacob are playing Sorry Sliders at the kitchen table. Ben and Abbi are draped across the living room furniture doing their nightly homework. Nick is still at school.

So you know a lot about what my life has been like since our moving to Taiwan. But what about the rest of the family? I am so glad you asked because that's exactly what I planned on sharing with you tonight!


 Carl's life has been turned upside down. After 29 years at a great job, he now takes care of the home front. And I am slightly embarrassed  to admit that he does it better than me!

 The kids have already declared him the best pizza maker in the family.  He does the grocery shopping  which is a lot different than our old Walmart/Kroger  days. He goes to 4 different stores to accomplish stocking the kitchen: Costco- twice a month for our more American desires, the bread store- a couple times a week for, yep, you guessed, bread, the vegetable market-a couple times a week, and the fruit market as needed.  But don't worry, he is not alone. His Coscto trips are with two other male accompanying spouses whose wives work at the school.

He  refills our 5 gallon jug down at the school several times a week for our drinking and cooking water.

He does the laundry, cleans the house, and cook.

Tomorrow, he is substituting in a Spanish class. Don't worry, he is only giving a test! His other part time job with the school, at this moment, is at a slow point. When the time comes to order textbooks for next year, Carl will be busy again. He will be responsible to order, arrange shipment, and disperse all the textbooks for the three campuses.

And starting next week, he is donning a new cap- the jv girl's basketball coach. God is so good!

But life isn't all work and no play for Carl. Friday, he and one of his Coscto buddies, are heading to the mountains. I can't wait to see the pictures!


I thank God continually for blessing me with a loving, supportive, and amazing husband!