An Unexpected Peace

So, Asia has a LOT of people. And I live in a bustling Asian city. Not only that, but it is a tourist city so on the weekends when the sun is out the streets are packed, the restaurants are full, the traffic is nearly driving over my toes and humanity is EV.RY.WHERE!

A typical street scene on the weekends:

Yesterday I ventured into Taipei to restock some knitting supplies (I know, I'm a nerd) and I had planned to sit in a coffeeshop and work on grading. After looking in 4 different coffee shops and not finding a single table to sit at, I decided I would get on the train, head back towards my city, but get off at another stop and work there. Same thing. No room. People ALL OVER!

By this time, I was crabby. I wanted some space. I wanted people to stop bumping into me. And I wanted my own seat on the train rather than elbowing for my own little plastic handle to hang on to. I arrived back in Dan Shui, went to a coffee shop near the train station and worked my butt off the rest of the evening. I walked home, ready for rest and rejuvenation, when I find there is a crew of workers on a street opposite my house that are repaving the road....ALL.NIGHT.LONG.

Now, normally, I'm pretty extroverted. And after living in Asia for five years, my need for personal space and time has adapted to the culture and I find I'm much more flexible. But, I seemed to just reach my limit. I woke up this morning after finally falling asleep around 4am cuz the trucks got a bit quieter (oh yeah...and they were directing traffic all night with the aid and use of a WHISTLE! gah!) but I was just so tired and wanted to not face masses of humanity. The sun was shining and I really wanted to go for a walk or to the beach but just couldn't handle the crowds. So, I decided to go for a walk but head towards where I knew were some quieter neighborhoods. I walked, and walked and walked and soon enough....this is where I'm at:

Maybe you're thinking, "Wait, there's nothing there" and to that I answer....exactly! I was so overjoyed and had a great time just praying and thanking God for living in Taiwan, remembering what Easter is all about that the death and resurrection of Christ is for these masses of humanity. I walked back home with a smile on my face...and so blessed by the beauty around me:

I'm so thankful that God knows my heart, knows just how to fill me up when I feel so depleted, speaks my love language of beauty and the outdoors! Now I'm ready to spend the evening hanging out with people again!

The Fullness of Time

Today we received the final government letter that we have been waiting on so that 50 people can get their visas for Taiwan. I am so excited about this as we've been praying and waiting and I've formed about 100 different "contingency plans" of what to do with the students who are waiting on this letter...one of our students is on a visa where she can only be in the country 2 weeks at a time and has to go in and out every 2 weeks until this letter arrives. I've been thinking about this letter quite a bit. And today, the glorious news that it has arrived...there is still more work until the students have their actual visas in hand, but the rest of the process is possible, until this letter arrived we were staring at impossible.

But with all of this, I've been thinking about God's timing. In both Galatians (4:4) and Ephesians (1: 10) Paul uses this phrase "fullness of time" when he's talking about the coming of Jesus. When you think about it, from the time that Adam and Eve sinned to the time the Messiah and the promised redeemer finally arrived on the scene, that was thousands of years. And yet, it was at just the right time, not too late, not too early but in time's fullness, according to God's plan.

I know that God does things for a reason and I know he's trustworthy, but in our "instant" society when we can get anything we want when we want it with credit cards, microwaves, internet, etc. I forget this aspect of God in my impatience and my selfishness. God's timing is for our good. And it is always right.

Waiting is the test of trust...those amazing truths that I know with my brain, does my anxious heart also know it when the stress level rises? The lesson that I've learned in this whole process with visas on the base is seeing once again that God never lies and he is faithful. When we received the first news that visas had been denied and the base had a day of prayer and fasting, the overwhelming message was that we were to move forward and God was going to be faithful to us. We weren't even sure if having an SBS is possible...but NOT ONE of the students walked away because of visa complications.

Then came the news that the visas were approved (Yeah!) shortly followed by the news that we couldn't get the government letter because of some issues on the government side. In all of this, I kept thinking about what God had promised....we have 57 students in Taiwan with hearts wide open to know God and his word more. He is good. He is faithful. And his timing is always right.

I find it ironic (or just the way of God) that the first approval news came the day before SBS started. Now, this letter went through the DAY that the students were buying tickets for their first visa renewal run to Hong Kong (some are only on 30 day landing visas, waiting for this letter). To me, God was clearly speaking that though there may be a time of waiting, he does not fail and he will always come through.

Dependence upon God and trust in his ways is something that I think is always a challenge when I have my eyes fixed on the circumstances. I've been thinking about that letter a lot, but only when I fixed my eyes on God did my heart find peace.

These visas have been so much work and have taken control of large portions of my day. But the lesson God is teaching me and being on this journey of faith is invaluable.

God is faithful and he is trustworthy...his plans come in the fullness of time.

Staffing SBS begins

SBS 2011 in Taiwan began a week and a half ago.

I'm feeling so blessed to be here. It has been an incredibly busy season, for sure. The students began arriving so there have been new faces to see and people to get to know. I've been thanking God I'm a bit of an extorvert so I've been getting energy from hanging out with new people and learning their stories. It's a bit overshelming because there are 57 students in the class, plus the above pictured 25 staff members (one is missing in the photo), so there are lots of relationships to invest in.

I have a lovely group of three women who are in the small group I'm leading.
And then every three weeks I have three students whose work I'll be checking and this also gives me the opportunity to get to know them a bit as well.

I have to admit, it's been a bit strange to transition back to being a staff member. I was rather enjoying my season of being a student and just being a sponge. At the same time, I feel parts of me lay dormant last year and I'm excited to be utilizing my gifts.

One area of that is teaching!! I will be teaching the book of Psalms this quarter at the end of April--it's only one day of teaching for three hours, but the preparation has been so rewarding. Ashamedly, I really slacked in my study of the Psalms during my school. So, this has more than made up for it. I think one of the biggest highlights has been seeing who God is in the Psalms...time and time again his character and nature is praised, affirmed, repeated. If you close the book of Psalms without knowing God more, you've missed the message.

I also taught Figures of Speech this morning (See...you can use an English Literature degree in missions!!) and I'll be sharing some Bible teaching with the DTS as well in May. So, I've got some great teaching opportunities. I'm really hoping that I can make some trips outside of Taiwan and teach in some other schools as well this year.

The visa drama continues as our visas nearly were ready to go through but they got submitted wrongly (not our fault) so we are waiting on the correction to be made to see the final push through. This is especially important because a number of our students are having to leave the country repeatedly until this goes through and they can switch their visas over to their resident visas. Lots of info...for me it just means some long hours and helping students think ahead for their visas until this thing gets sorted out. I'm going to have a major party when everyone's visas come through and are in their passports, finally!

Taiwan springtime has been lovely. I spent my Sabbath this week laying on the beach soaking up the sun. I heard snow was falling in MN this week so I was very, very thankful. I'm also back out running again....cuz I want to try to run the FULL MARATHON in December this year. So, I'm getting back into the swing of running and realizing what three months of slacking can do to help you fall out of shape again!