Camp Day Eve: The Day Before Camp (Timothy Lu)

Hey everybody! This time it's Tim coming in to tell you about day 4. We woke up to the human alarm clocks of Hannah and Nathan (at 6:50!), and got ourselves ready for a long day.

To start off, we're giving you the first picture of how laundry is done here. Outerwear is machine washed and hung up on coat hangers (until we run out and tie the clothes up with strings). Underwear and socks are hand washed when we are given the opportunity.

We were tasked with creating the decorations for the camp, so Hannah put together some great posters (I'm BATMAN) and we all collectively made a string of flags to make everything look good.

After morning devotions, my small group finished early (I take full responsibility because I was leading for my group), and we used the extra time to have some fun worship with the Taiwan missions team.

We had some great egg pancake breakfast (in which some people ordered double... one of them may have been me) and break time where CEC was left to its own devices... this was the product.

After that... we went over the lesson plan for the rest of the week with the Taiwan missions team. We then debriefed with the rest of CEC to see what we could do better.

The decorations are ready to hang up!

We went tot he school to prepare to set up for the camp. After doing some dancing to a song called "I Can Do It" (in which very few CAN do it right), we were treated to some boba, grass jelly, and herbal tea. Guess who picked up their boba first (his name rhymes with pen).

With our refreshments, we broke off into groups and played some games in preparation for the camp. The one pictured below consisted of guiding blindfolded team mates to spots on the floor. My team mounted a massive comeback to win.

The next game had us collectively blindly draw a birthday cake, Arthur and I starred in this one.

All of us with the finished product. Looks perfect.

After playing the games, we went to the auditorium where we were going to be holding the camp. You could hear the calls of birds in their natural habitat of the auditorium, and you could see the poop that goes on with them.

We made over the entire auditorium, and came up with some cool group slogans (videos to come later). All I can say is some cool stuff happens.

When we finished cleaning up the auditorium, and being good team mates, we moved to the classrooms where we set up for the next day.

All in all, it was a great day, where we grew much, much closer with the rest of the team. Within the Taiwan and CEC STM team, the language barrier is almost a non-factor. Some of us decided to fast for dinner and we had awesome quiet times of prayer and sharing. Some of us shared our testimonies with Pastor Lin and some other STM members from CEC and Taiwan. I know God is working in each and every one of the team members, and moving us closer to each other and to him as we prepare to serve.

We also still have prayer requests (below is another cool picture of Baozhong):

1. Camp starts TOMORROW. Please pray for the smooth flow of camp and that we can be good witnesses to the students.
2. Pray for our levels of energy, many of us are starting to feel fatigue and the camp hasn't even started yet.
3. Pray for team unity, that we can keep as one body throughout the camp.
4. Pray for the students that their hearts would be open to the work God wants to do in them.
5. Pray for our interactions with the students, communication will most definitely be a problem due to the language difference.

The Fun Never Stops In BaoZhong Taiwan! (Ben Lee)

Hey guys! This is Ben and this is what happened on Day 3. We woke up to a beautiful sky. It never ceases to amaze me, the beauty in everything He creates. I was thinking that the first week would be mostly just rain, but God has provided us with nice weather for us to enjoy.

We started the day with group devotions. I thought it was a good way to set our hearts in the right foundation before the day began. We talked about John 21:1-19 where Jesus told Simon Peter “How much do you love me?” And he prepared Peter to follow Him, even if it was somewhere that he didn’t want to go. So the team had this question in their hearts of whether or not we loved Him throughout the morning and were able to meditate on it.

After a hearty breakfast of egg pancake and breakfast burgers, we began our Sunday service. This Taiwanese service was a totally new experience for the CEC members, and the fact that it was 2 and a half hours long!! But it was interesting that a few local Taiwanese people came in to worship as well as the listen to the sermon. The sermon was on Matthew 2. It was titled, “Which On Are You?” The pastor talked about how there are different responses to the birth of Jesus. Are you a teacher of the law who rejected and feared His coming? Or were you one of the magi who earnestly sought His presence and rejoiced at His coming?

Raaaaiiiinnnn!! This was the first time that we witnessed the monsoon in Taiwan during lunch. You’d have to see it in person but it was torrential! During lunch our Gospel Center hostesses cooked us a traditional Taiwanese meal. And we used this opportunity to bond with our other Taiwanese coworkers as well as the VGM leaders. I feel like God really used this meal time to really gel the teams.

After a short post-lunch nap, we played another game so that we could be more comfortable with each other, even if it meant getting really close face to face (literally). Everyone had to put a roll of tape on their nose with the sticky side out. Then they had to face off and try to steal another member’s piece of tape. The objective of the game was to steal all the tape. If you lost your tape, you had to join by grabbing the winner’s shoulders.

Jamin (left)

Guess who won??!?!! (Leave your answers in the comments hahaha)

 Then we had a few hours to rest some more as our Taiwanese coworkers prepared their portion of the teaching material. We really bonded as a team as we spent hours cutting and gluing papers under Hannah’s direction to use as decorations in the auditorium of the school. We also used this time to ask each other a lot of funny questions such as “Who do you think is the most sassy?” and we would all vote on the top two.

After dinner, we had a worship session led by our very own college worship  crew of Doris, Nathan, and Hannah. Even with the language difference, everyone was able to worship and seemed to really be able to praise God together.

Later, we performed our skits in front of our Taiwanese coworkers. Though we were nervous, everyone had a lot of fun and the Taiwanese coworkers enjoyed our performance as well as gave us helpful feedback before we performed in front of the kids. It was nice to have some audience participation.

At the end, the CEC members grouped up with the Taiwanese coworkers and spent time getting familiar with their set of teaching material. We also did a practice performance of the teaching material with the other groups. The first was about learning English and saying names, the second was about responsibility.

In these past few days of preparation, everyone’s worked hard and we’re all really excited for the oncoming days in which we will share not only English, but hopefully our testimony to the kids at the school.

And we still have prayer requests!

1) Health! We've had a few bloody noses and some of us are feeling a little bit of sore throat in the morning. We pray that God would heal us, and continue to protect us as we serve here.

2) Energy. Sleeping is sometimes hard due to the heat, or the hard ground. We pray that God would give us peace and a good night's rest. Also, that the energy that He does provide will be used for His glory.

3) A praise that our teams are bonding well and we're getting over the language and culture barrier.

4)Continue to pray that God would give us a heart of humility. That we remember we're not here to necessarily have fun or make friends with the kids, but to do His will with a joyful heart.

Day 2

NOTE: We are getting rid of the daily update section and have moved this post over from there. It was just too complicated to keep it. Sorry for the inconvenience! And thank you for the comments. They are greatly appreciated and we are reading them.
Note#2: Attached are the comments from the daily updates post. Sorry they had to be deleted. They'll be kept at the bottom of this post now (:

Hello again!

We have just finished our second day in Taiwan and we have had a lot to do today! The jet lag was a blessing in disguise s we had no trouble waking up this morning. We started the day with a devotion led by Nathan that included all the present Taiwanese coworkers. After morning devotions, we had breakfast which was a burger-like food and a small eggroll.

First thing after breakfast, we went back to the school to play with the elementary kids. We learned from them how to use a ripstick and also played some more basketball and hot lava monster on the playground. 

To cool off and to go with our lunch Gary brought us some boba from a local tea shop. It was soooo delicious! Some of us had been waiting for this since we got to Taiwan. The reviews were awesome, the boba was firm, juicy, and chewy all at once and the tea was spot on. Plus It was only about  $1.33. After lunch, we waited for the rest of the Taiwan team to arrive and relaxed a little. 

Once they arrived, we played a lot of icebreakers that one of the Taiwan Coworker members organized. Their main goal was to get us to learn each other’s names. The first game involved tossing a bunch of stuffed animals at each other while calling each other’s names.

After three games led by the Taiwanese coworker, Hannah and Nathan led one song and the couch game. Then Peter explained the rest of the days’ schedule while Angelica translated. On the agenda for the afternoon was a time for presenting the London stations. During that time, the Taiwanese coworkers watched and gave feedback. Overall, it went very smoothly and Peter praised us for being the most ready team he’s met in eight years with VGM. 

Once we finished practicing for the London Stations, we had dinner together. Following dinner was “Rex’s time”. Rex is the missionary currently at the gospel center. He led us in a time of reflection over spiritual warfare by watching Band of Brothers. 

We ended the day by splitting into small groups, groups in which we will do devotions, lead the kids, and do everyday chores from now on. There are six small groups and each group has 1-2 CEC STM members and 2 Taiwanese members. We’re excited to meet the rest of the Taiwanese team coming soon!

Though today went successfully, many of us are very tired. The following are our most pressing prayer requests:

1)      Energy. In just our second day in Taiwan, we’ve felt pretty tired and worn out. Part of it is the adjustment to climate, culture, food…etc, part of it is the time difference, and part of it is the amount of work we know we must complete before the camp begins.

2)      Cohesiveness with the Taiwanese coworkers. Everyone already seems really nice and accommodating, but in honesty, the real tests have yet to begin. Hopefully, despite the language barrier (some of their English is better than others—as some of our Chinese is better than others). Please pray against miscommunication.

3)      Health. As always, we hope to be healthy and have able bodies in order to serve the Lord. Bug bites are becoming more common and stomachs are beginning to feel uneasy. Please pray for continual protection.

4)      Humility. For each of us so that we can truly trust what God is doing here in Taiwan, and to allow Him to work through us.

1. Wei-ChiJune 28, 2014 at 8:47 AM

   May God give you rest in Him, knowing that He is in control and that He will provide for all your needs. Who did the update today? Thank you! We are looking forward to your daily updates. We are praying for you!

   ReplyDelete
2. 
   LiJune 28, 2014 at 9:25 AM

   Excellent report out. Thank you. We are all eager to read them. Thank God that you are all ready to serve. Continue praying that God's wisdom strengthen you everything you do and act. We love you all.

   ReplyDelete
3. 
   H LinJune 28, 2014 at 9:47 PM

   We are praying for you guys. That God will heal your sicknesses and work tremendously with you guys. -VeAnn. (Hi Ben)

   ReplyDelete

Day 1 in Taiwan!

Hello Everybody!!

We're finally in Taiwan, as you can see from our previous posts! Things are going pretty smoothly. We landed safely at the TaoYuan airport, met up with Jenny Ah Yi and Shih-Lien Shu Shu before getting aboard our bus and making the trek down to BaoZhong.

While on the bus, the team bonded over group games. We played several rounds of Resistance and contact, some of our new favorite games we've been playing on the trip.

The trip from TaoYuan airport to BaoZhong is five hours, but we stopped in SanYi, a friendly tourist spot known for its woodworking. The people were very friendly and let us take pictures of them working the wood.

The bus ride was very roomy. Many of us spread out on whole rows and napped, catching up on lost sleep and trying to correct jet lag.

After SanYi, we continued towards BaoZhong, stopping just once for lunch. The food was delicious and really cheap. Many of us got a dish similar to a rice bowl for about $3. 

After lunch, we continued to our destination, BaoZhong. Arriving at the church, we were allowed several hours to rest from our travels. We got much needed relaxation time in a nice air conditioned room away from the tyranny of the humidity.

At four PM Taiwan time, some of the Taiwan team members arrived. We met Peter, Irene, and Raymond. After they arrived, we cleaned all three floors of the church building by dusting and mopping. After we finished, we took the ten minute walk to the local middle and elementary school.

When we arrived, we found some kids hanging around after classes and challenged them to a friendly game of basketball.

In the heat of the day, we sweat a ton, but it was fun! We will most likely see many of these kids during the camp next week.

Afterwards, we returned home, washed up, and had a delicious home cooked dinner of rice, curry, clam soup, onions and chicken. After dinner, we  hung around until our prayer meeting, led by the taiwanese coworkers and leaders of the church.

Now we are all washed up and ready for bed. Hopefully we all sleep well and get a good night's rest so we are prepared, strengthened, and have the energy for tomorrow.

Prayer Requests:

1) The language barrier is very real. Most of our Chinese is rusty at best. The expectations of the coworkers seems to be greater than we expected. Hopefully we are still able to be used by God. Pray for humility and trust that God can use us no matter what. 

2) Energy and Strength. During the prayer meeting, we were all feeling the jet lag. Heavy eyelids abounded. Hopefully we all get the rest we need for tomorrow to be able to serve to the best of our ability.

3) The upcoming camp in BaoZhong. We are worried about the age-appropriateness of our teaching materials and music lessons. Most of our materials seem targeted for younger audiences. We have also heard that the kids are known to be quiet and very shy. Pray them to warm up quickly to us and learn and enjoy our teachings.

4) Health! Mosquito bites have already shown up. Thankfully no digestion problems yet. Pray for health in general and continued protection for all our team members. 

That's all for now. Thank you so much for all your prayers and support. We miss all of you very much, but we're excited for the work God is preparing us for. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and we will continue to update you here. 

Your brothers and sisters in Christ,

CEC's 2014 Taiwan Short Term Mission Team

Nathan, Hannah, Doris, Angelica, Timothy, Johnny, Ben, Arthur, Andrew, Phillip, and Pastor Caleb Lin

2014 0627 Arrive Taiwan (Taiwan Time)

2014 0625 The Clock Start

2014 0622 Blessing prayer from CEC Congregation before leaving