A Priceless View

Four hours. 

That's it.

From the flat congested civilization  to the glorious mountainous wilderness.

From sea level to 3,100 meters (10,000 feet).

From high 80's  to the low 50's.

In just four hours....

....on a scooter. 

What an adventure! 

(Warning.... you are about to be subjected to vacation pictures.)

Three couples... four scooters!

Half way there resting point.... The Purple Restaurant.

All purple decor........ 

Great atmosphere. Great food.
Thanks Don and Mark for the recommendation! 

 
As the road winded up, the temperature fell.. Layers were added. As we neared the top, the clouds dropped, visibility reduced. White moisture hung in the air. Finally, our destination, appeared around a bend- an old ski resort. Yes, you read that correctly- an old ski resort. Remains of the ski lift, vaguely visible in the weedy vegetation. Forty years ago, the ski resort operated for two months out of the year. 

After checking in, there was just enough time for a short hike.
The clouds had lifted,  but not enough to see the sunset.
And in case you wondered, the high elevation kicked my rear.

But the view was clearly worth the strenuous effort! 

Only a few clouds were in attendance the next morning for sunrise.

As the clouds once again began to settle over the view, we had time
for one  more hike- elevation 3,560 meters. (11,680 feet)

While the view was priceless our budget was not. The three couples shared a hostel room that was equipped with six sleeping pads, comforters, and pillows. The room was just big enough for all six to stretch out and sleep. The shared bathrooms were adequate with lots of hot water. All this, and two meals for just $30 a person! Gas for the scooter? About $8!

I am blessed!

Mickey Mouse

M-I-C .... see you real soon.

K-E-Y.... why? because we like you.

M-O-U-S-E.

Mickey Mouse (Donald Duck)

Come on, readers. I can't hear you.

Mickey Mouse (Donald Duck)

Ok, so maybe you don't like karaoke either. But please tell me you remember this famous Disney song. I'm not THAT old, am I?

Mickey is so cute, and lovable.
 People in America spend thousands of dollars to go visit him in Florida.

We don't need to go to Florida.

One of Mickey's long lost relatives has decided to make our laundry room his residence.

Or should I say did?

One early morning, upon waking and descending into the kitchen, I found a well poised sticky note on the door into the laundry room.

"I saw a rat in the laundry room last night", it clearly stated. Well, that decided that. No more early morning trips into the laundry room. And no after dark trips either. I certainly would not want to disturb the beauty sleep of our guest.

Being the amazing, terrific, fabulous husband that Carl is, a trap quickly appeared. I might mention, a mouse friendly trap. No reason to be nasty, right?

Then we waited, and waited, and waited.

Hmmm.... sometimes overnight guests just don't get the hint.

So out came the poison. 

A few nights later, a barely stifled scream emerged from the well lit laundry room. Abbi, my dear precious girl, innocently doing her laundry, was flashed. A quick check revealed, that yes, some of the poison was missing. Just a matter of time now.

Then one day, Carl entering the laundry room, was met by this sight....

Lovely, right?

Well, obviously Mickey's ancestor wasn't feeling too great. Instead of running, he just sat and watched Carl. The hunted watching the hunter.

(By the way, did you notice the length of that tail?)

To make this long story some what shorter, and skip some of the details best unwritten, the critter died and is no longer with us. Carl, being the kind loving man, allowed nature to take its course. Later, using a set of pliers carried the guest to our covered parking area and gently pushed it through the grate into the city's drainage line.

And by the way, Carl did wash the oven mitt!

PS. Critters galore. Last Monday during the community swim meet, a baby bat decided it, too, wanted in on the fun. 

Nice, huh?

Fabulous Friday!

Friday was our first day off school since school began August 12, excluding those wonderful Saturdays and Sundays, of course. My body was ready for a more relaxing day.

So how did I spend this most magnificent day?

Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words....

An early morning swim!

A fabulous breakfast date with this handsome guy!

A nice quiet room in which to prepare next week's lessons.....
and most importantly, air conditioned!

A Taiwanese style barbecue, except with more American food--
 hamburgers!

Strange tradition... after a pomelo has been peeled, children place
the peeling on their head, as demonstrated by a friend of Ben's.

The puppy across the street came over to check out our barbecue!
Jacob loves this little fella. Apparently, so does Abbi.

Jacob, adapting his brother's skateboard, to a more interesting
activity! Notice the shoes on his hands.....

No Karaoke, Please!

Warning!

This blog contains 0 pictures....

Because someone, who shall go unamed, forgot to recharge her camera battery, and thus, just as she was about to have an amazing cultural experience, had no way of  making record of it.

Moon Festival is just around the corner. Like most Taiwanese holidays, family and food are involved. Last Sunday, we were invited to a Moon Festival barbecue. The host was Michael's (our friend from Shalu) cousin. I was expecting, well, I am not sure what I was expecting, but I knew it would be fun. It's Taiwan after all.

I was pleasantly surprised to find more that just a small family gathering. An entire street was closed off, each household armed with charcoal barbecue. At the end of the street a truck bed, decorated with an arch of colorful balloons, served as a stage.

Our hosts, Henry and Vicky, were prepared to feed a small army. As the sun began to set, the smell of charcoal began to fill the street. Smoke wafted through and over the heads of the many people gathering.

The word barbecue conjures images of hamburgers, hot dogs, and other mouth watering delicacies. None of these were served.

Squid balls, pork cutlets, sausages, pig's blood cake, tofu, timbula (fish paste), pomelos, mushrooms, green pepper, corn in the cob.....   Topped off with an old fashion American roasted marshmallow. And yes, I tried it all, except the pork, of course.

Throughout the evening neighbors came by with gifts of food. One brought a large loaf of bread. Another, two medium size fish. A third brought pomelos, a fruit somewhat similar to grapefruit. 

On stage, a constant flow of activity filled the air. A tenor sax solo. Names pulled from a box for giveaways. Speeches. Of course, we didn't understand a word of the unceasing activity. Fireworks punctuated the evening's festivities. Sparklers added to the atmosphere.  

There was no denying we stood out in the crowd. Unlike Taichung, foreigners are less common in Shalu.

Overall, it was a great evening.

Oh wait a minute, the title of this entry was No Karaoke, Please. 

Well, it was a great evening until I was somehow railroaded. Early in the evening before the festivities got under way, Michael asked me what English song I would like to hear. Remembering Michael's enthusiasm for Country Roads, I jokingly suggested it.

 I found out later part of the reason for the stage was for the talented neighborhood people to perform for their friends and family. Surely, Michael didn't think I would actually get up and sing karaoke?

In all my life, I have never sang karaoke. I have never wanted to sing karaoke. Karaoke and I just are not friends. We're not even casual acquaintances. Period. (enough said, I think you get the point.)

We  were just getting ready to leave. If I had just said to Carl five minutes earlier that we needed to get going, the whole episode would have never happened. I would still be karaoke free. But, no. Michael did expect me to go up on that stage, and so did Anna. There was no getting out of it. I tried. I pleaded.

Luckily, I wasn't alone. Bless Michael. He loves to sing. And he loves to sing loud.... loud enough to cover up this little American's tiny voice. So sing, I did. Even though the promised English words never appeared. The chorus was great, but the verses non-existent. Yeah, Country Roads isn't on my repertoire of memorized songs.  Should have requested Jesus Loves Me!

Translation Please

Outside our back gate:

Looks official. Looks important.

Sometimes translation just doesn't come out right:

Patterns of Normalcy

Patterns of normalcy... fancy title..
 What I am really trying to say is life has slipped into a comfortable routine.

One of my favorite routines is the nightly walk Carl and I have been carving into the evening hour. After  our dinner, and the subsequent clean up, we head out into the cooling darkness.

 A favorite destination is the large park a couple blocks away. Quieter now that the Chinese public schools have resumed classes, the park still teems with life. I enjoy watching the large groups of women dancing what appears to be line dancing, but I could be wrong.

Another favorite route of mine takes us past the small temples closer to our old apartment. I feel drawn to them, not because of their beauty or mystique, but for the opportunity to pray for the true God to be known to those who worship these false deities.

Carl's favorite route takes us past the tea shop that serves his current favorite: grapefruit green tea slushy.

Last week, one of our walks found us in the little park just at the back entrance of our community. Along the fence separating the park from our gated community, bloomed one of the largest, most beautiful flowers I have ever seen.

This picture, although beautiful, just doesn't seem to do the bloom justice. Maybe it was the unexpectedness of it. Or possibly its existence among the many weeds. Or maybe it's brightness despite the evening's darkness. Or it might just have been just the fact that it was so big and so bright.

I hope my life here in Taiwan can be like that flower. 

It is a spiritually dark world in which God has planted me. Satan has free reign among his false gods and ancestor worship. Weeds are everywhere, just waiting to choke out God's joy,  His peace, His love. But, yet I want to bloom and allow God's love, God's joy, God's peace to be seen and known. 

The flower couldn't control its circumstances, and neither can I. Yet, the flower not only existed, but thrived. And with God's strength , power, and wisdom, so will I.

Thank you for your prayers!

English Camp

It rained.

There was an earthquake!

And although I didn't see it, I heard a rock slide.

Last weekend was the Ark Fellowship English Camp.

 Seven native English speakers, four translators, six children, and about twenty-six high school/college age native Chinese speakers wanting exposure to English. It was quite an adventure.

Carl and Nick left Friday morning, where they met up with Don Bettinger, fellow OMS missionary. Traveling to nearby Shalu, they joined the rest of the camp to travel to the mountains of Taiwan by bus.

Abbi, Jacob, and I joined them Saturday. Ben couldn't come because his class had an overnight planning session for an upcoming event. 

The first night was spent at a large Bed and Breakfast, where the group played games, watched Soul Surfer, and spent time practicing their English.

The next morning Carl shared a teaching from the Bible. This, of course, was translated so seeds of the truth could be sown. He even was able to incorporate some magic into the teaching.

The view from the Bed and Breakfast was beautiful! The unique thing about this area is the type of buildings. At some point, someone decided to build European style buildings. At times, I felt I was in Switzerland instead of Taiwan.

The kids and I arrived Saturday morning just in time for some games.

It was a beautiful place, but I guess all good things must come to an end. We loaded into the vans and cars to travel to our next location: a Taiwanese campground. I didn't think we could get any more remote, but I was wrong.

The above picture shows the European chalets from the other side of the ridge. From the campground, the mountains towered over us. Here we set up our tents, on concrete slabs, and made camp.

And then it began to rain, and rain, and rain. It rained for the next six hours, not a steady gentle rain, but a hard-soak-everything-in-its-path rain. Thank goodness for those little roofs over our  tents. 

Carl and I learned that camping in Taiwan isn't quite like camping in Ohio for example:

Our idea of a camping chair.

Taiwanese idea of a camping chair.

And yes, there really was an earthquake. Trust me, I was asleep on that concrete slab with nothing but a sleeping bag between me and its hardness, I felt it. It was only a 4.4, but the epicenter was near our location. I had just fallen asleep, when its shaking woke me up.

The next morning, I heard an unfamiliar sound but couldn't locate the source. About ten minutes later I heard it again and someone pointed across the river. More rocks and dirt were falling in a previous landslide.

Overall, it was a good weekend. It was an exercise in cultural patience for this Ohio family, and hopefully, a planting of God's truth in the hearts of the Taiwanese teenagers. Thank you for praying!