It's hard for me not to share some of the things Lydia says. If I don't write them down I might forget them, and It would be a shame to forget them!
Lydia is learning how to read, and Lydia started saying the letters on an ornament on our tree. "N...O...E...L..." Still not sure what she was trying to read, Hannah came up and said "Noel!" And Lydia said "yes there is!"

Merry CHRISTmas!

Did you know that you have a shaking machine on the back of your neck? Everyone does you know. When you are cold and you shake it is because of the shaking machine on the back of your neck. At least that is what Lydia tells me... You also have a tickle machine in your mind and it gets turned on with no buttons. Anyway, just some wisdom from a 5 year old.

I think I know more of what I will be doing this next semester. I talked with Dad last night and we went over some things. I don't have the money that I had last semester, and I don't want to go into debt at all. So I think I will be taking Math or English, and then Chinese 102. So not full time this semester. I will be trying to get a job in the area so that I can pay for more classes later on though.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lyonsjia/CelebratingChristmas2008#

This college student...

Finals are finished! I am really happy about this right now, as you can probably tell. :-)
God helped me to get through Economics, Math, Humanities, Business and Chinese courses. I am just trusting God right now. I never thought I would be going to college, but that is where He has me right now, and I am excited and a little anxious to know why. But I don't HAVE to know why, maybe I never will, but I trust He has a plan and I am just to follow where He leads.....Which brings me to wondering where He is leading me to next. So far I am planning on getting a part time job and taking classes at the community college near by. No doors have closed, and my parents are all for it, so that is where I am headed. But I know that God works in ways we could
not have imagined and "man makes his plans, but God will direct them".

Teaching my niece Maggie the Chinese Yo yo

We voted!

waste not, want not

Labor Day! What a wonderful time to eat things you don't normally do... like hot dogs, hamburgers, coleslaw, and..... Ginger Ale! Our Ginger Ale decided to make a fountain when it was opened. And Ben, I guess, does not like to waste....

"We're going camping now...."

Alright. Everyone sit down now. So.... What was Large group about?

"yes, Penny, thank you for raising your hand."

"Eggs?"

"Yes, there were eggs in the story."

"Andy, what did the eggs, that got smashed all over Trevor, mean?"

"Ru..ru..les"

"Rules, yes, or commandments."

"Can you keep all the rules that God gave us? Remember, if you break one command then God says you have broken them all!"

"No teacher! That is impossible!"

"You are right. No one can. What does the Bible say will happen if you break even one? Steven?"

"You die. But teacher this is not true. It is just a story"

"Actually, this IS true. It is what I believe, and it is what all the other American teachers in this camp believe. " "But I will tell you more of what I believe... Sure no one can be perfect, we all know that. And God knew that too. So He sent His Son, and came down as a man. He lived the perfect life for us, and then He died for us taking OUR punishment on Himself."

"Yes, Steven?"

"But this is Taiwan, and we believe other thing, you are from America and you believe other thing."

"Actually Steven, I have some Taiwanese friends that are Christians"
"I am not trying to force you to believe this, It is your decision and it is your responsibility. But I don't want you to die. So I have to say something. OK? If you have any questions please feel free to ask."

"OK."

This is very very close to what our class was like. The only other thing was that my TA Sally translated it as much as she could word for word. And she usually does not translate everything. So if there was a doubt in the students mind of what I was saying in English, Sally translated it in Chinese. I did not get any questions later from the students. But they seemed to respond to me in a different and better way after that. That day I went on to teach one of our country lessons and about a famous song 'Amazing Grace', and the story of John Newton and how he came to write that song. Usually our lessons are not so serious. But my 13 students and TA (Teacher's Assistant), paid very close attention.

I know I have not posted in awhile. And maybe some of you know why, and some of you do not know why. I am working on my testimony of what happened to me about a month ago. And hope to post it soon.

Thank you!

The girls here put on a "surprise" party for me on the 18th. Though I don't think I have ever really been surprised. :-) It was fun.

I spent the day of my birthday (the 20th) getting up at about 5:40am and taking a taxi to a bus stop, and then a bus to the airport. Me and 2 other teachers waited about 5 hours to take a stand by flight to a small island called Kinmen an hour long flight away. It is an island of Taiwan that is right along the shores of China. You can see China from the place I stayed (at some other IBLP teachers dorms). The Kinmen teachers got me a little cake, and a candle in the shape of a 2, and out side under the stars looking at the lights along the shore of China I blew out my birthday candle.

Thank you Lord for another year.

Tainan

Teresa and I went to Tainan for a quick whirl wind media trip. We left at about 6:20 no, wait... 6:30am (due to Teresa's morning eating rituals), and took a taxi to the HSR (High Speed Rail). We got into Tainan with Jean, a King Car rep. and went to the Broadcasting Station where we were given a tour and then asked if we would like to "hear our voices" which meant that we would get to use the REAL equipment to make a fun broadcast... no, it was not live. So we did.

Later we were taken to a school near by where we were escorted to a class room of about 40 6th graders. To
teach a class so that the media could come in and video and take pictures of us to promote their camps. We walked into a class room full of students and they all started whispering. then they just looked at us like we should know what to do. Teresa and I looked at each other and said I guess they want us to start teaching. It was a fun 40 minuets with the students. The media got their video and pictures and left.

I talked to a reporter as we were leaving and she asked me why I was teaching when there was other things that I could be doing instead. They always seem curious about that. I told her that I wanted to help/serve the Taiwanese people... and that really I thought that God wanted me here. She looked very shocked when I said that. We did not say much more as everyone was on their way out, but something sure made an impression.

Thanks for all your prayers.
Please click on the link below to listen to our broadcast!

http://usgirl21.googlepages.com/KCTainan.mp3
Everything said is not necessarily the opinion of the speakers, and every perceived mistake was planed to make you feel better about yourself. Don't try this at home without consulting your neighborhood broadcasting expert.

There a mold, here a mold, everywhere a mold mold

This was a tough EV for a lot of the teachers. Sometimes you get a team of students that don't respect you at all. And don't even seem interested in anything you have to say. It is those times that you have to just love the kids and do your job of teaching as best as you can. The Lord knows what we need, and what kids to send our way.

I'll be taking some things over to Kinmen for Teresa on Friday. So I pulled out the old suit case I got from my great grandmother for a graduation gift, only to find out that it had a nice thin layer of mold all over the out side. I just finished wiping it off and spraying it with Lysol and then using my hair dryer to dry it off. I know many of us have thrown things away due to the mold that gets on your things so easily here. You gotta love it!

Lynn is awake now! They have taken her slowly off the medication that has been keeping her under. She can have visitors soon.

13 days, and then everyone starts to leave Taiwan. I can hardly imagine our team dispersing.
Some of us are coming back for the next school year. Some of us are not. And then some of us hope to come back again one day. Only God could have picked the team that we have, and I am ever so grateful for each person here.

Me and my roommate Sarah. At the Dragon Boat festival in Taipei.

Quick Update on Lynn

Just heard today that she is off the breathing machines. She can now breath on her own! She has been under since the heart transplant, for 11 days. The doctors are keeping her asleep so that she may recover faster. She does not yet know that she has a new heart.