30/09/2009 by paul.

Last night I set my alarm clock for 5.30am, and to my suprise I actually responded to the buzzing in my room and got myself up and dressed for morning prayers at 6. Despite the early start, this time of prayer was amazing. Each day the teachers, pastors and volunteers gather together to sing three hymns (I don’t think I’ve played the piano before 7am, ever!), read two Psalms, and then pray through various verses of those Psalms. After about half an hour of each person praying aloud (at the sametime as everyone else - amazing!) People stay in quiet in the church for around half an hour doing daily readings and devotionals and praying more. I escape to come speak to Jo before breakfast (just about midnight in the UK). At breakfast I meet with the pastor and we pray some more about the days work and ministry. The students arrive at the school at about 8.30 to clean and brush up the leaves, then at 9am school starts with daily devotions from one of the Psalms (a different one to earlier), some explanation, the singing of a song, and prayer. Lesson begin at 9.45, at which point I escape back to my room. I am going to be joining the classes in the afternoon. Today I spent this morning preparing for a music/English class. Some of the students had been to see The Phantom of the Opera - I think the movie rather than to a theatre, and wanted to learn more about the story and the songs. Despite a wrench in my whole body I started typing Andrew Lloyd Weber into Google….

Lunch is at 12 and then there is a break till around one. My ‘class’ started at 2.30 and it went really well. The students speak very good English (well they should since they start learning English one year after learning Taiwanese and Chinese). The fourteen year olds have been learning English for 9 years! The biggest thing that they like to practice is pronunciation and listening to an English voice. I think is likely to mean that their will be a group of Taiwanese people in the future who speak with a nice Yorkshire accent, oh well!

After classes its time for tea, except because the staff wanted to welcome me we went out to a restaurant - an all you can eat Taiwanese/American steak house. I know there are many people worried about my constant mention of food on here, but this really was exceptional - there were at least 20 varieties of steak to choose from, I plumped for a 10oz T-Bone, which came in it at a mean 290NT (about £5.00)!!!

My bed beckoned sooner than normal due to the early rise and the prospect of another 5.30 start in the morning, and an afternoon class all about England!

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29/09/2009 by paul.

Having escaped the morning prayers at 6, I wandered over for breakfast in the manse at 8. There I got to know Rev. Chuang a bit more. He has been at this church for twenty years or so, and, when he arrived there was just a congregation of 10-20. During those twenty years the church has grown to around 100 on a Sunday, they run a school, and support other work such as homes for disabled kids. In keeping with Rev. Chuang’s work at the church he is also a part-time lecturer in Tainan Theological Seminary in Missiology, and a representative for CWM. So he’s a little busy!

After breakfast we headed for a tour of the school. It was interesting getting know such a place after listening to Hsinte talk about education in Taipei. Elementary school in Taiwan runs from age 7-13 (I think!), Junior High from (14-16), Senior High (17-19) and then university. At each stage you have to pass exams and studies to be able to progress from one to the next. So, some kids may finish their formal education at 13, if they fail the Elementary school exams. The school that the church runs caters for kids who drop out at elementary school, but still want to learn. The timetable can help the kids pass the elementary exams so they can move onto the next stage, or, give them a vocational root into a profession. There are two full-time teachers, a placement student, and the minister’s nephew (who is also at theological college). There are about 20 kids, all but one of whom are girls (the boys who drop out can go to another single sex school in town). We will return to the school later, because I was then quickly bundled into the car for a trip through the country to visit some of parts of the church work.

All the places we visited are part of the ‘Joyce Agape Group‘; named after a missionary from America who gave her life to work with firstly children with polio and then after the introduction of the polio virus, the work shifted to helping children with any physical or mental disability.

The first place we stopped at was a print factory where all of the employers have physical disabilities, mostly caused by polio. It was amazing to see everyone working together, despite there physical restraints. The factory produces envelopes, gambling slips, printed mugs, t-shirts, packaging for tea - you name it they print on it! The place is designed to be able to give guys with polio an income and salary in which they can support themselves. If people travel from a distance to get work here, then there is accomodation on the first floor. It was a fantastic place…

After a tour of the place we headed to the two branches of ‘Erhlin Happy Christian Homes’. These places are also part of the Joyce-Agape group, and are residential homes and schools for children with physical (and some mental) disabilities. The first place looked after 120 children under 15. We visited the kids as they were having excercise in the park, having physio, having speach classes, and playing games. It was a difficult place to be as some of the disabilities were very severe, but it was a joy to see their happy faces when you communicated with them. Strangely language wasn’t a problem here! The second place was much bigger, and catered for another 120 people, this time aged 15-20. Here, not only do they have the same physio and excercise facilities but there are also vocational jobs. There is an on site bakery which produces mooncakes and cookies, and a dumpling restaurant. It was phenomenal to see the work here.

We headed back to the church for lunch and I was asked if I would join in the classes each afternoon. This afternoon was music, and piano practice. I led a two hour class to help some of the kids learn a simple tune. It’s still going round in my head, but it is quite nameless and anonymous! Afterwards, because it was national teachers day, the kids performed a dance in the park for the teachers. Then after a half hour break it was tea time, and the arrival of more children. In the evening the school runs an evening homework class for those still in mainstream school. I enjoyed a few games of table-tennis with some teenage guys, who seemed impressed that a Westerner could hit a ball! After some grocery shopping, my first trip on a scooter (someone else was driving, mum, and we only had one puncture!) it was time for bed to rise for the 6am prayers tomorrow. What an amazing church and work, God has really blessed me today by being able to be involved in the work here in some small way. I pray that as he has blessed me, he will continue to bless all those that I have met today, and the work of this church and community.

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28/09/2009 by paul.

Well this morning was church. Slightly different to last week, in that instead of the main choir singing, the ladies fellowship choir sang - it seems each week a different choir sing.

I had a good conversation with Hsinte afterwards about his sermon. He preached, for the standard 40 mins on family values, and in particular parenting. Education (and subsequently, life) for children in Taipei can be really tough and competitive. A child’s day usually begins at 7 with the trip to state school (which the family pays a nominal fee for). School finishes around 4, and then its a quick trek across town, grabbing something to eat before heading to a private school for more classes. Children (and this counts for kids as young as five) get home sometimes at 11. The road next to the church has about 20 evening schools for kids aged 5 and upwards. And all of this is driven by parents wanting their children to be the best in the class and move through the states-style ‘grades’. Hsinte’s sermon then used several passages from Proverbs to indicate a more balanced life for kids and family, finding time for God, and achieving well at school. We had an interesting debate about how situations talk to scripture and scripture talks to situations; particularly, because during Hsonte’s 40 mins he didn’t refer to scripture much. He told me that ‘biblical authority’ was a Western ideology and theology, but I’m not sure, some of the other denominations in Taiwan may think otherwise.

After another choir practice, lunch and an elders meeting, there was a little time to get my things together and head for the station for my trip to Taichung. The High Speed Rail makes the journey in 49 minutes, and the nice, multi-lingual display at the front of the carriage told me were travelling at one point at 300 km/hr. Nice.

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Another minister, Rev. Chuang met me at the station in Taichung, and we drove into the countryside toward the sea for about 40 mins, before we arrived at the Agape church. The church premises include a school, a guest house, a chapel and the manse. I was shown to my room, was told prayers were at 6am, but I could miss them the first morning. phew.

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28/09/2009 by paul.

Well today was a funny day - full of suprises, but yet funnily things that reminded me of church back in the UK.

I woke as usual around 7.30 for a quiet day of pottering before I headed on the train to Taichung on Sunday. In my half-eyed state I was sat waiting for prayers before breakfast in the living room, when Hsinte came in through the door to tell me that the Ladies Fellowship were going on a trip and that two ladies hadn’t turned up so there was space for me and him, but, we had to leave in 2 minutes. I was also told to take my swimming shorts. hmmm….

It turned out that we were going to health spa up in the mountains, about an hours drive away. Thankfully someone gave me a sandwich in the car, which I needed to complete the two hour trek we did in the morning up a mountain in temperatures 30+ (if you’re counting, thats three mountains in the space of a week!). The mountain path was well marked in steps with a rope to help you up the really steep bits. The jungle we were climbing through was just beautiful….

After the trek we had some fellowship time in a wooden hut, and I played a strange blow up piano, definately an Asian invention, methinks. It was funny spending time with the ladies fellowship, because it was really very similar to the ladies fellowship groups that I have known in England - all the women liking a good natter, a laugh and joke, and a good cup of tea (well the latter was Chinese tea, not good old Yorkshire tea, nevermind…) After fruit for lunch we headed to the hot springs. You’ll be pleased to here that I didn’t photograph the swimming attire, complete with compulsory hat. But it was very relaxing. After an hour or so, we headed back to the church. After an hour of packing and ironing, we headed to the young people’s Bible study/fellowship group. The discussion, centred around a book that I didn’t quite pick up, but it was all about finding space and time for God in a busy city life - again this is exactly the same things that we discuss in churches back in England. I had some really good conversations with some of guys afterwards, and here, in this group praticularly, it seems I can share with them and we can grow together, rather than me just being on the end of a translation. Here’s for the big moving day tomorrow…

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28/09/2009 by paul.

Yesterday I moved from Taipei to Taichung, and am staying on a church complex for 10 days. Its taken a bit of time to get an internet connection organised, but soon I hope to put posts up on a wonderful weekend. Saturday included a suprise trip to some hot springs, yesterday I travelled through the countryside at 300km/hr and today I’ve visited several church run homes for disabled children and adults. This afternoon I’m going to give a two hour lesson to teenagers on playing the piano!

Later tonight I hope to write about the weekend and share some of what’s being going on.

Apologies for lack of posts in the last few days!

Paul
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