Well I have been here in Taiwan for two months and it has been about a month since I last posted. I will give a glimpse into my life as what I am doing but there is something more weighty that I want to write about.

First the glimpse. Monday through Friday I am at work from 2 until 9, which means I have to leave my apartment about 1:30 on my scooter and drive up to Gangshan where I work. I spend roughly a hour and half preparing for my classes, that is all four for you teachers, eat you heart out. I get 30 minutes for a break to get something to eat then I spend an hour listening to students work on memorizing spelling words and sentences. Then from 5 to 9 I teach four different classes; they range in age between kindergarten and junior high, and each one of them has its own personality, both the students and classes. After I get home I will either pick up something to eat from a local “restaurant,” or I will cooks something simple for dinner. I will also play a game on my computer or watch some movie that I was able to get my hands on to relax. If you are wondering about my morning schedule, well there really isn't much of one. I will get up anywhere between 8 and 10, depending on how tired I was from the day before and also depending if I have a appointment that day. I will take some time to do my devotional then I head out the the local coffee shop where I check my email, though that will change soon because I have finally gotten my ARC, Alien Residence Card, and will be able to get phone and internet in my apartment. Once I finish checking my email and surfing the web I come back home, do a few things around the apartment, have lunch and prepare to got to work. As far as the weekends are concerned, well my schedule is even more non existent, I think I have done the same thing on the weekend only twice or three times since I got here, but that will be for a different post.

Now for the more weighty matter. In the last month I have seen two things have have just about made me cry and for two different reasons and in two different ways. The first happened about a month ago as I was coming home from checking my email on a Sunday evening I say what seemed to be a parade. I just made it to the bottom of my apartment building when I saw them coming down the street. Since my apartment looks over the street I thought I would just watch from my balcony. Over the next forty five minutes to a hour I watched the procession of different groups pass along the street as they were wearing beautifully decorated costumes that were highly detailed in their color and how they were made; also a number of different musical troupes passed by with either some kind of wind instrument or drums, you could hear the drums echoing through the streets for what seemed like miles. Yet despite all the beautiful colors and rhythmic sounds I did not enjoy watching the people as they passed by; for everything that was being expressed in the parade seemed to have some link to Buddhism. Buddhism is not a religion of peace and tranquility as some would try to lead you to believe, but of fear of demons always tying to find ways to appease the gods. If you ever go into a Buddhist temple you will be struck by how the people inside burn incense and other 'offerings' to various gods hopping to gain their favor.
Seeing people like this did not bring out any joy or happiness, but a deep sense of sorrow for them, and it reminded me that without the good news of Jesus there is no true hope.

The second thing that I saw just today did not make me want to cry tears of sorrow but of joy. At the church I have been attending since I got here, three people were baptized, one of them is a friend. To see the contrast of people who have no hope and people who have found hope is just overwhelming.

As I end this message I cannot but think of anything more important than the words of or Savor and Lord when he said in John 4: 35, 36 “do not say that it is yet four months, and the harvest cometh; lo, I say to you, Lift up your eyes, and see the fields, that they are white unto harvest already. And he who is reaping doth receive a reward, and doth gather fruit to life age-during, that both he who is sowing and he who is reaping may rejoice together;”

Goodbye to a friend

With all the burdens and needs there are out there it might seem strange to want to take time to stop and shed a tear over the passing of a dog, but when that dog has been your pet for over thirteen years, it is less of an animal or pet and more like a friend or member of the family. Killa came into our family when I was still in high school and before my brother went off into the Navy. As a pup we kept her in the garage and as she grew up we would let her stay inside the house while we were home and the we would put her in a small pin in the back yard until we returned. It was always comical to watch her burst out of the pen when I got home because she had so much energy pent up during the day while I was at school. Even though she was a pit bull, she was more playful and loving than anything else, in fact she would rather play keep away with a ball or stick than bark at anyone. As she grew up she saw herself more as my mother than as my pet I believe, because the only time you could get her riled up is if she felt that I was threatened. It would be humorous at times when my girlfriend would come over how Killa would do everything possible to insinuate herself between us as we would sit together on the sofa.

When I went off to college mom would tell me of how she would mope for days, but when I came home she was only excited to see me and ready to play as if I had never left. As I was away for school or when I was in China I was noticing that mom was collecting more pictures of the dog than of me. As she started to grow older and was not able to play as much that did not stop her from showing her enthusiasm of seeing me by wagging her tail and wanting to sit by me so that I could scratch her and she never grew tired of licking my arms even when I got tired of her doing it.

Even though you might say she was just a dog, she was one of the most loyal and trusting friends I have ever had. She made me laugh, she would sit quietly by if I needed to cry, and she was always happy to see me.

She was my pet and friend and I will miss her

Bye Killa