T11 - a solo trip

25/09/2009 by paul.

You’ve got no idea how disabling it is to be in a place, where not only do you not understand what words mean, but you can’t even say the words. Road signs, where the toilet is, place names, food - only the saving grace of the odd number helps out. Unless there is pictures on the a menu I can’t even pronounce what I want, let alone know what it is! That’s why today, I set myself the target of using ppublic transport to get myself to Taipei Main Station, because that’s what I’ll be doing on Sunday to catch a train to meet with the minister of a church in Taichung. The trip also involved a visit to a couple of shopping malls, which, were underground, huge and full of little boutique shops, rather than department stores. It was quite fascinating, even if, when you look vaguely interested in something in the window the shop owner comes out and starts talking!

Before I headed out this afternoon me and Hsinte sat down together to prepare some Bible study notes on Nehemiah 7. It was really good being able to share different interpretations, we mostly agreed and listened, but at one point we had an interesting cultural debate. Nehemiah 7 contains a census of the Israelite people who returned from exile to Jerusalem. It list the people by their descendents and numbers each group. I said that this was great because it showed that God cared for the individual, and that each person who returns to Him (for Jerusalem was the worshipping centre of the Jewish people) is known. He said that in Taiwan a list of people like this is more likely to let people know that the authorities know who you are, where you are and what you are up to, just in case they need to ’speak’ to you. Perhaps both interpretations have some weight in viewing God’s care for us?

Sorry for the short post, but its been a quiet day

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