I'm off to Gou shong

Today was different.... it was interesting.... it was .....Fun!

And I think it will continue to be that way for the rest of the day.

Sarah's letting me use her backpack. I really should have brought one with me from the US. I had no idea how many little weekend "trips" I would be taking while here in Taiwan. Teresa called me last night and asked if I would like to go with her and Grace to Gou shong (spelling?). And today I asked Dad about it some more, and so I'll be going!

One of the teachers fallowing their class today brought in this coffee making contraption, you know, the kind that you put the ground coffee in and you light a fire under the water and it boils up into the coffee and then seeps back down? kinda looks like a science experiment.... actually it probably is. Anyway, she gave me coffee today in cooking class! after all the thousands of students and teachers I've seen that has NEVER happened, even close. No teacher ever thought of bringing in refreshment for the English teachers.

I better go... it is 3:37pm and I need to pack the rest of the way and get out the door to leave at 4pm.

12 more weeks of solid, no holiday, teaching, starting tomorrow morning. And then it is goodbye to many that I have grown to love over this year that we have spent living, and teaching at the EV.

Here is what your day might look like at the EV...

Hit snooze a few times, Wake up, try to open eyes, climb down from top bunk, try not to step on Sarah's hand laying on the last step of the ladder. Find Air conditioner control turn temp UP!
8 girls, one bathroom... ya, we've got this down! or so we thought, until this morning. Get ready for day, Go to the living room (14 of us share), get a cup, if you can find one with your name on it. Go to trash room where refrigerator is, Grab something out before it bites you. Look at your cell phone "yikes! One more minuet, and I'm late!"




Making pizza


Meeting in Airport, hope no one is carrying drugs today, pray (we need it!), make sure first class room is set up, kids come in, 20 more than signed up (but that is OK), pick up your team, "Ah! How did I get the team with 16 boys?" Be happy! Because we are the Happy School Teachers, right? Even though we have taught the class 1000 times act like it is your first day every day, It is for the kids.

Say good bye to kids, sign autographs, give high fives, Go back to the airport for another meeting, download.

After school, meet with Taiwanese friends, tutor, shop for groceries, wave at every kid that looks like they are in the 5th grade, you've seen about 6000 and they all remember you, you think every kid looks familiar, but your aren't sure. Make dinner in living room, wait your turn for the one electric burner, flip the breaker back on because someone decided to use the hot water at the same time, take 10 minuets to throw away your trash, is this general garbage, general plastic, general paper, etc? Stay up way to late debating and talking in the living room, tease Teresa for brushing her teeth for an hour, climb back into bed, eves drop on the others still awake in girls dorm, you can't help it really, the walls are paper thin, read Bible/do devotions, make sure alarm is set for next morning. Go to sleep.

And there you have it. Though there are variations... this is just a taste of EV dorm life. You gotta love it!

Sometimes we try too hard to "have fun". And end up being disappointed. I think it is because we have certain expectations that we make, as well as unconscious expectations. If we leave those all to the Lord and we decide to rest in Him, then the joy/fun will come. And it will be the kind that is most likely free of selfishness and unfulfilled expectations, but full of true joy in the life that He has given and the unexpected things that come our way. I like surprises, but it is hard to enjoy surprises if I know exactly what I think I need or want. Because when the surprise comes, I may see it as not my plan, or something that is going wrong. Instead I should take the unexpected things that WILL come, as from the Lord.

The only reason I say any of this is because I am still learning this very thing... Not even sure how it came out. I just started typing and this is what you got, I was not even consciously thinking about this subject. Must be that God wants me to learn more about it...

And as I see it from the verses below, this is the end of the matter...Our expectation should be in the Lord!

Here are some verses I looked up that encouraged me on this subject...
Ps. 10:4 - The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

Prov. 11:7 - When the wicked man dies, his hope [for the future] perishes; and the expectation of the godless comes to nothing.

Ps. 92:5 - O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.

Is. 55:8-9 - For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Prov. 16:3 - Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

Ps. 62:5 - My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

Ps. 39:7 - And now, Lord, what do I wait for and expect? My hope and expectation are in You.

Rom. 9:33 - As it is written, Behold I am laying in Zion a Stone that will make men stumble, a Rock that will make them fall; but he who believes in Him [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] shall not be put to shame nor be disappointed in his expectations. [Isa 28:16 ]