Spring Break = Scooter!

Spring.

Spring Break.

Time for exploring!

Yesterday, in the warm breezy sunshine, Carl bathed his scooter.

Good thing, since we took it out on a ride today!

I am not sure why, but I love riding on the back of my guy's scooter. I don't know if its the fresh air washing away the grime of the city, or the closeness necessary, or maybe its just a little known wild side rising to the surface.  

Warm sunshine, gentle breezes, and green views beckoned us once again up into the "hills" surrounding Taichung. 

As we were winding through secluded orchards and farms, we came upon a village that seemed to specialize in strawberries. We decided to stop and pick some for ourselves.

The strawberry plants were grown off the ground making the picking hassle free. 

Carl is dreaming of homemade waffles with sliced "just-picked" strawberries for supper! 

Mountainous roads in Taiwan can tend to be of the no frills type. This makes me laugh because friends used to complain about our road back in Ohio being way out in the sticks. This road makes that road look like a four lane highway!

One of the fun parts of exploring is not knowing when, where, or what you might eat. Thank goodness Grace speaks and reads Chinese or Carl and I would have to resort to pointing, smiling, and taking a lot of chances! Which, by the way, does work MOST of the time!

Our travels brought us close to the reservoir, which we have visited before. This time, however, there was a lot more water thanks to all the rain the two (or was it three, or four) previous weeks.

While the man made sights were interesting, God's creation shined!

I have no idea what kind of trees these are, but they were uniquely beautiful!

After our six hours of exploring, my heart was full, my body relaxed, and my bottom tired!

Until next time.....

Because He Lives

Fu hou Jie kuai le! 復活節快樂！

Happy Easter! 

Today, I am missing friends, family, as well as the traditions of my past.

A very normal reaction when living in a culture so dramatically removed from that of your heart.

Especially on a day so special and significant.

Growing up, the significance of this day, grew from memory making events.

Each year, a sunrise service was held outside, at sunrise. Not trying to be redundant, but most sunrise services nowadays begin after sunrise. Convenience outweighs accuracy.

As the first light of dawn creeped over the horizon. we would begin the trek up the hill behind the church. Boots, hats, and usually gloves were a must! The weather didn't matter; we went in rain and snow.

By the time the sun made its appearance, the small congregation was singing that old hymn "Because He Lives". That was what the day was all about- celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior! As a small child, the memories were embedded deeply. I miss those days.

As an adult, sunrise services continued to be a highlight of Easter.

Every year, the kids and I would build a tomb. Some years we made it from paper mache'. Other years our building material was the ever present Legos. Good Friday. the chosen Jesus (for years it was a Ronald McDonald figurine) was wrapped in white gauze and carefully laid inside our tomb. Early Easter morning, before waking the kids, I would unwrap "Jesus", leaving the burial clothes outside the door of the tomb. Jesus would then be placed some where within the house, waiting to be found. When the kids got older, the tradition stopped. I miss it.

As an adult, Easter service typically meant singing a cantata at church. I think I got more from singing those songs than if I had been in the congregation listening. So many great memories- memories of standing next to Joyce, and eventually Sarah. Memories of Ramona's solos and Bob's expertise and joyous directing.

I miss these special friends.

And finally, gathering with my mom and sister's family. Stuffing ourselves with yummy food. Just hanging out, enjoying each other's company. I miss them!

Today Nick and Ben are in Oklahoma. Abbi is in Thailand. We are spread out across the world.

But that's ok.

Yes, I miss all these things, but God has given me something else...

Watching the face of a student when he suddenly connected the dots between the blood of the lamb on the doors of the Israelites enslaved by Pharaoh and that of the blood Jesus. The perfect lamb sacrificed so our lives could be spared!

Or having a student lean over and whisper into my ear that she asked Jesus into heart last year while watching the children's version of the Jesus film. 

Or being with a student as he asked Jesus to forgive his sins and be his Lord and Savior.

Or hearing the kindergarten teacher share how her student exclaimed, "I KNEW JESUS DIED ON A CROSS, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW HE DID IT FOR ME!"

Yes, I miss my Ohio Easter traditions.

Yes, I miss my church family.

And yes, I most certainly miss my family members.

But, its ok. For now, God has other plans!

Missionary Kids

Growing up, missions was an every day part of my life.

No, we were not missionaries. My family were rope holders. We prayed for and financially supported many missionaries serving in places all around the world. 

Occasionally, they would come to our house, have a meal, and sometimes stay overnight.

The results of these encounters are comparable to a window: a small opening into the lives of these servants. But, a window only allows you a limited amount of knowledge, and little understanding.

A door , however, can provide more data, and hopefully, more understanding. Several times in my life time, I traveled to a far off country on a short term mission trip: Grenada, Taiwan, Mexico, Haiti, Ecuador, Philippines. These were more like coming into a stranger's front door. 

You can see more of the house, and thus more about the personality of the family. A week, maybe ten days gives much more perspective into the life of a missionary.

It wasn't until we moved to Taiwan to serve as missionaries at a missionary school that I entered fully into all the joy, struggles, and difficulties to living and serving in a country other than your country of birth. It's exhilarating at times. 

But, not all the time.

Sometimes its just plain hard.

Over the past three years, I have been experiencing an area of missionary life that is probably one of the more difficult aspects of missionary life- the letting go of children.

I know this is a difficult time in the life of any mother. 

Ask any mom who has had to drop off their child at college. Its not easy.

But, when the dropping off entails three separate airplanes, and thousands of miles, anxiety levels multiplies.

If its hard on the parents, what about the kids?

I know this reality never struck me until Nick graduated three years ago. Many of his classmates had been together since kindergarten. And unlike their counterparts in America, once they left Taiwan for college, they may never return or see their classmates ever again.

When I left for college, I came home every couple months.

Over Christmas, I knew all my friends would be home. Plans could be made.

Summers were opportunities to reconnect.

Not so for the thousands of missionary kids scattered through out the world.

Graduation is more than just getting done from high school. It is literally leaving EVERYTHING and EVERYONE you have known behind.

Since our family moved to Taiwan only four years ago, this transition for Nick and Ben wasn't as sharp and soul wrenching as for some of their classmates.

As a missionary school, Morrison understands the issues of these TCKs (third culture kids).

Every year the seniors attend a transition retreat where experts come and help them begin to process the grief and shock of this transition. 

The class of 2016 attended theirs last week.

Graduation is truly bittersweet. They are ready to move on; ready to tackle the challenges of adult life. But, to move on means cutting loose. 

I am glad that Morrison recognizes these difficulties and takes the time to prepare their seniors for the grief of transition.

Abbi has grown up a lot over the past four years. She was barely a teenager when we arrived.

Saying goodbye will not be easy, but necessary to continue the journey onto adulthood. While the internet can be totally irritating at times, it does allow friendships to continue and even grow despite massive distances. I think that does help soften the blow of goodbyes.

So if you have a loved one graduating this spring, congratulations! But as you celebrate their achievements, please say a prayer for the graduating missionary kids from around the world. 

And, maybe a little one for their parents, too!

Two Truths and a Lie

This weekend, I spent a total of nine hours on a bus.

The weather in Taiwan the last several days has been much nicer than the weather in Ohio.

I enjoy attending Track and Field competitions.

Not that I advocate lying or being deceptively honest, but one of the above statements was a lie.

Do you know which one?

Well, the truth is......

I did spend about nine hours on a bus. 

 On Friday, the teachers left Taichung to travel to our southern campus in Kaohsiung. Three times a year, the teachers gather to collaborate and develop professionally. Since we are the central campus, two of those times, the other schools travel to Taichung. The third time alternates between the northern and southern campuses. 

Katie, the first grade teacher, and I naturally used our bus time wisely. 

We had a great time of worship and fellowship. The music was extra special since a bagpipe was used on one of the songs. Unique, for sure!

It was a great day, but I was tired by the time we traveled back to Taichung.

The next morning, I was back on a bus traveling the opposite direction to Taipei with the Morrison track team. 

Which brings me to my second truth. I do enjoy watching Track and Field meets. I must, since I have been to so many in the past six years.

Thursday was our school's annual Track and Field Day. This is typically a fun, but exhausting day for me. Leading (herding would be a more accurate word) my second graders around event to event can be mentally draining. But, I love watching them run and jump!

So now that you know my two truths, you've discovered the lie.

The weather in Ohio has been nicer than the weather here! Friday evening, Abbi checked the temperatures in both places and Ohio was actually a degree warmer than Taichung.

We are cold and rainy. 

So put that lie together with the one truth and yep, there you have it....

Wet, windy, shivery spectating.

Thursday began with a slight misty rain that steadily became a harder rain, until a downpour sent everyone running to the tents for cover. Two of my boys were just finishing their high jumps and wanted to finish, so like a good encourager, I stayed to cheer them on! 

Despite the shivering, smiles were aplenty!

I did learn that scarves make terrible rain hats.

Needless to say, the events were eventually suspended and we all returned to the classroom.

The weather Saturday was similar. Taipei is typically cold and damp during the winter months, which is why I say- "nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there."

  The rain is still falling, but hopefully, tomorrow, the sun will come out and warm up the soggy air.

Spring is coming! 

Three Little Pigs

No, this is not a post about the condition of my children's bedrooms.

And, no. This blog post has nothing to do with a big bad wolf.

It's about science.

Science?

Yes, science.

Today, we had science.

 Not just a period of science, but a whole entire morning of science. And not just your ordinary, open your book to page such and such science or even turn off the lights for cool Youtube science.

Today the Morrison campus was overtaking by scientist. Or to be more accurate pre-scientists. Or science wannabes. Or more how about future scientists?

Today was the first ever MAC Science Festival.

What's really, really, really (is that enough reallys for my excitement to shine through?) cool is that it was conceived, birthed, and nurtured by a high school student.

Maybe you need to see some  pictures to truly understand  how big of an undertaking this was.....

Tuesday evening, these large tents were assembled on the playground. Each came with tables, stool, and assortment of colorful balloons.

These were not the only indications of something exciting about to occur.

Balloon art at its best!

Girl scientist.

Boy scientist.

After a kickoff assembly, each class worked their way through a series of science demonstrations and experiments conducted completely by members os the high school science club.

The second graders first stop was at a liquid nitrogen demonstration where a beautiful flower was frozen and shattered into a thousand pieces. Each student froze a grape, and eventually, ate it.

At our second station of the day, my students were split into groups of six. Using duct tape, they covered the open end of a large bucket with a hole in the bottom. Using the resulting air force, students attempted to knock down cups. 

Our third stop of the day was a station introducing cells. This was a favorite because it involved snacks!

The last station of our science festival involved a slimy goopy concoction that sometimes seemed to be a liquid and other times acted more like a solid. After a relay race of carrying the drippy solution from one bucket to another, the students were needless to say, quite a mess!

But, why you may ask, is the title of this post Three Little Pigs?

Good question since I haven't mentioned any pigs and pigs are not usually associated with science.

In addition to all the fun, lunch was also provided for all the students, staff, and parents.

Lunch

was

a

(keep scrolling)

a

pig

roast!

Not something you see everyday on an elementary school playground.

One student, who has a very soft heart for all animals, thought it was cruel and mean, until I asked her if she liked pork!