Sunday, October 5

3 months of marriage and a month in Taichung



We have now been living in Taichung for a month. We are settling into a routine and are enjoying our little apartment. We now have a plant which we are loving.

We also were blessed by a delivery from Taipei that was full of things like towels, cutlery, dishes, and Christmas decor. This was left behind from when my (Mel's) college roommate, Katie Cole, lived in Taipei. It was like Christmas for us! We are so thankful for this!

Last night we went on a date out to TGI Fridays ... it was such a special treat! We both ordered an appetizer each, and a meal (we were so stuffed and felt like gluttons, but it was so nice to taste good Western food!) and then we proceeded to order one dessert to share between us. It was a three layer brownie with ice-cream, chocolate sauce, and carmel sauce on it. It was delicious! So much fun. This special date night was in celebration of our three month anniversary. We also spent the afternoon in the park, chatting about life and eating cheese and crackers - so it was wonderful to have a rain-free Saturday to enjoy Taiwan!

Today we went back to our church (which was cancelled last week to the Super Typhoon) and were so blessed. A lady was baptized which was cool to see, and then, I know that I (Mel) am just in awe of the passion that the locals here have in their worship. I think it's due to the fact that they are free from tradition, free from bondage and fear- and they are not complacent - they didn't grow up in a Christian culture - they truly celebrate Christ and know that He is powerful to change lives.

This afternoon we went to the Home Group for foreigners in the church. It was really encouraging to be with those believers. They prayed for us as we shared our desire to serve God here but are unsure how that will work out as we have the language barrier. We were encouraged and blessed by their fellowship, love and prayers. We know that God has us here for a reason and we hope to find a way to serve Him and His Church here in Taiwan.

Here are some cool things the church does:

*Free kids English classes (used for outreach)
*A Parenting class for parents of kids in the English classes (many moms stay and a lot have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior due to this outreach)
*An English adults intro to Bible class (It's a class to teach people God's word, held in English - (many adults come merely for the English - but have come to Christ through this too.)

It's also an amazing experience to worship God in both Chinese and English - I hope that I can really learn some songs and commit the Chinese worship to memory.

We are also blessed looking back at how God has worked in our lives to bring us here. We don't think that we really knew what God had in store - but this has truly been a wonderful bonding time for us in our marriage - as we seek to learn more about our God, more about each other and about ourselves.

We love you all, we miss you all and we so appreciate your continued prayers. Please feel free to comment and let us know of any prayer requests you might have. We love to stay updated on what's going on in our homes and how we can pray for those we love so dearly.

Just for the fun of it, here are some of our favorite things so far in Taiwan:

*The mountains
*Passionate Christians.
*Teas - Mel's favorite = Passion Fruit Green Tea (on Ice) YUM!
*The fried rice at the night market - a five minute walk from our building.
*The work hours. We get a whole day before we have to leave for work.
*The kids are really stinking cute!
*People are really sweet to us, even though we can be completely ignorant regarding their culture and language.
*Oreo's from the convenience store
*Did we say.... fried rice?
*Really cheap local meals - although I (Mel) am still learning which ones my taste buds like.

And our desires/ goals/ free time pursuits... when we're not spreading English to the masses:

-We both want to learn more Chinese
-I (Mel) have applied for a Master's Program (Master's of Education in Curriculum and Instruction - focus in Literacy), so if I
get accepted that will take up some of my free time.
-Nic is loving reading Christian books (right now he's working on Mere Discipleship)
-We both want to exercise more... I think the park nearby will be a good way to do that.
-Nic is thinking about learning guitar
-I am reading more about being a wife (i.e. making healthy, economical meals, etc.... I've found some great blogs I spend a bit of time perusing.)
-and of course, involvement in the church and exploring more of Taiwan!

1 comment:

Mary Ann said...

You two look so happy. I think it is a wonderful way to start out your marriage. All though, we all miss you! Did you hear our great news? Gina and Kevin are having another baby! We are so happy for them.
Love reading your blog and keeping up with all your fun and new adventures. Take care.God Bless!
Love,
Aunt Mary Ann