03/11/2009 by paul.

Well I knew it was likely to happen. In pauls-view-of-politics-in-Taiwan-since-1600 that was T45 & T46 I managed to make some mistakes. I have been informed of one of them - the DPP came to power in Taiwan in 2000/2001, not 1996 as originally stated. The first democratic election was in 1996, but it wasn’t until 2000/2001 that the DPP were elected to power. Thanks Jane, for your info. You mention 2001, wikipedia (the totally fallible truth!) says 2000. As for me 2000/2001 will do just fine!

If any of you spot any of the other mistakes I’m likely to have made, please do try to get in touch. I know a few of you have tried to leave comments, and trust me I;ve tried zillions of settings in my blog but can’t get them to work, so find me on facebook or send me an e-mail

Posted in Paul's diary | No Comments »

03/11/2009 by paul.

Well somehow its got to Tuesday and I haven’t updated my blog since the weekend!

Well really the weekend was the same as ‘usual’. I spent most of Saturday preparing materials for English class in the evening, and I took my Bible and commentary down to the river to sit in the relatively cool sun to read through Ezekiel. I was once told at college not to bother reading Ezekiel because it is too complicated and difficult to understand. Suprisingly I’ve decided to disagree. Yes, its not an easy read, but that has little to do with it being complicated and difficult to understand. It is hard to read because you are told in intricate detail the view that God had of Israel’s sin just before the exile. As a sinner myself I too am subject God’s wrath and judgement in the same way as Israel. However there is hope in Ezekiel - if you return to God, your sins will be forgiven. Through Jesus this is possible. He took my sin and shame on the cross so I can come back to God. Reading Ezekiel makes me praise Jesus all the more for his wonderful love for me, my old life he died for, the new life he has given me, the opportunities he has opened for me and the calling he has given me. All of this from a complicated and difficult book - its only complicated and difficult if you don’t accept Jesus on the cross has some relevance today.

Sunday then!
Hsinte continued the series in Ephesians, this week reaching teh dizzy heights of chapter 3. Today I got to give something to the worship! It was my turn to play the piano and sing a solo as part of the men’s choir. I enjoyed myself in front of the grand piano and cheesy key changes abounded! The only problem was the singing. It was accapella. That means without instruments. I had the first line by myself. I got the note from the piano. I sang a different one. We stopped after two bars. Started again. More successful this time. Phew. Sunday afternoon was filled with a full church lunch, choir, men’s choir and handbell practice. There was a great atmosphere here again! By five pm everyone had gone home and the slouch in front of some online episodes of ‘are you being served?’ was in order.

Monday was another fun-packed day. It began with a trip to the hospital. Thankfully this wasn’t because I’d had an accident or was ill, but it was to meet the chaplaincy team. The Mackay Memorial Hospital is Taipei’s main hospital. It is owned and run by the Prebyterian Church. The brochure I was given begins with scripture, ends with scripture, and throughout it reiterates its main objective of providing holistic care of physical and spiritual needs first and making the accounts balance second. It was amazingly inspiring talking to hospital chaplains who welcome people to the faith after evangelistic courses on wards and giving bed-side baptisms. Every few weeks the chaplains have a wonderful job of phoning a local church pastor to tell him or her that someone who lives near their church has become a Christian while they are in hospital. After a quick trip to the station to discover that there are no trains for me and Jo on Friday (it’s OK we’re now on a plane) I headed back home before travelling out to Tamshui to catch the sunset at the fisherman’s wharf. We met up with one of the church family and after some lovely sightseeing was treated to same raw fish and other Japanese culinary delights. We then went back to their flat to meet their son, Alan, who had managed to get himself married whilst he was in China this year, and is going to hold another service of blessing in Taiwan in the New Year. It was a wonderful time to spend together.

Posted in Paul's diary | 1 Comment »