Jeremiah teaching begins

Yesterday I started my week on teaching Jeremiah and Lamentations. I've been so blessed this year to teach books that have allowed me to really see others' journey in their relationship with God. Psalms brought me into the communion between King David and God, Moses challenged me in Exodus in his journey of discipleship by the Lord and his ever growing confidence as a leader, and Jeremiah has challenged me to the core on what commitment and obedience to the Lord truly looks like. 

The above "wordle"....(you can make your own at www.wordle.net) is of the text of Jeremiah. I've spent many hours and read over that text many times and am only beginning to feel like I'm digging into it. 

One of the greatest things I have been challenged in is Jeremiah's call and his life's work is his obedience that went beyond understanding what God is doing. I like to know the "why" behind things. I like to know that what I'm investing my time and energy in has value and is producing something that will last. But God doesn't always give us that reassurance before he asks us to do something. This really stands out to me when the city of Jerusalem in under siege. Jeremiah is in prison and God speaks to him to buy a piece of property in his hometown. By this point in time he's prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem for nearly 40 years. He's seen it happen in his prophetic understanding, his circumstances don't lend to this being a wise decision and yet God tells him to. The text tells us he purchased it, and then he turned to God and asked for understanding about why he was supposed to do this. But, his obedience wasn't halted or even slowed by his need to understand. 

In my journey with God, I don't feel I've been so trusting. Even now, there are things being laid upon my heart, stuff I've been processing about for the future, but I'm wanting a bit more of an understanding that it might be worth it, that I will see good things come out of it. But obedience to the voice of the Lord doesn't come with a guarantee of results, the guarantee we have is that the one speaking is trustworthy and good. 

I hope to take some photos this week from class. I transformed the front of the classroom into a giant timeline and it's proving to be fun teaching this way. I have a few tricks up my sleeve for the rest of the week as well. 

What the Poop just happened?.....or, thoughts on loving my neighbor

Friday afternoon....seemed like any other ordinary day here in Taiwan. Minding my business, meeting with people, getting some work done. In the midst of normal, crazy walked into my apartment building.

Our second floor neighbors have some cleanliness issues. Serious cleanliness issues. They have piles of bags of something unidentified that have been in our stairwell for 2+ years and have never moved. Their living room is one big pile of junk/garbage with a small pathway through it. They own a dog....a very stinky dog who they also let out "secretly" at night to pee in the stairway cuz that's easier than taking him for a walk. They also chew and spit out beetle nut, also on these lovely stairs. These people are a constant source of frustration to me. When we have guests over, we have to apologize for the journey up the stairs to the apartment. Some friends run as fast as they can so that it can be over quickly.

So.....back to the crazy (yeah....we haven't even gotten to the crazy part yet!). While my roommate was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for a friend, a man who was "not all together there" walked into the building and tried loudly and quite adamantly to try to get into the first floor apartment. He must have known these people. When he couldn't get in, he dropped trou and went diarrhea ALL OVER the landing in front of the first floor apartment. He came running back down, poo down his legs and took off, leaving his poo in the hallway, which soon sent odors all the way up to our fifth floor apartment. I showed up at home just a few minutes after this all happened....there was no way to avoid the stinky lake of diarrhea. You had to walk in it to get up the stairs.

I was so frustrated I left....I spent the rest of the afternoon just boiling up with frustration inside. I arrived home 6 hours later to find nothing had changed, and the paper towels my roommate had put down so that you could somehow get beyond the poo-river, had been strewn all over and the other people in the building had just walked through this and scattered the poop up and down the stairs. and I can't even begin to describe how disgusting the smell was. I couldn't eat anything all day.

I don't get angry very easily...frustrated yes, but not angry. This made me so, so ANGRY. I was ready to go down and give my neighbors a mouthful of nastiness in English, but my other roommate was home and was not in such a rage so we calmly and quietly went down to ask them to clean it up. The man who lives there came and walked through the middle of the mess, just looked at us, said nothing, walked into his apartment (shoes still on....gag) and shut the door.

I didn't get much sleep that night. The angry monster kept my thoughts racing.

Next day, my roommate and I bought 2 bottles of bleach, pulled out some old mops and cleaned our stairwell top to bottom. It took us 2 1/2 hours and we used almost the whole 2 gallons of bleach and countless buckets of water. The "substance" of the poo had been kind of removed sometime during the evening, but there were crusty remnants everywhere.

This turned out to be actually very therapeutic for me. After we had thoroughly cleaned off the "landing of abomination" we just stopped and prayed for our neighbors. In that moment, I got a glimpse of how sad these people's lives are. Their external reality was just a reflection of their internal. They are a mess. They are broken and lost. They are in a really sad and pathetic state. It made me realize that loving my neighbor is not just having a cup of coffee with a really fun university student and sharing about my life and Jesus. Sometimes loving my neighbor means you scrub their crap....sometimes literally. Sometimes loving  your neighbor means it costs you and benefits them. Sometimes loving your neighbor means that you have to speak hope into complete hopelessness. I learned a valuable lesson.

And the dog peed on the stairway again that night. Just an ordinary day.

Countdown to the USA!!!

With all the mediums of technology to communicate through these days email, blogs, twitter, Facebook, etc, it still means you have to sit down and actually tap out the letters on the keyboard or screen and send it off to everyone.

Right now I'm in the process of switching over all my email updates to a newsletter email program so that I can send photos and nice looking updates without the hassle or sending ginormous attachments. This process is taking longer than I thought because I realized half the addresses I have are outdated, life here in Taiwan is quite busy at the moment, and it takes more motivation than I seem to have to sit down and work through all this.....
but it's coming soon!!!!
(and if you want my new and shiny updates, I'd LOVE for you to send me a current email that you actually check!)

And not only are my emails coming, but SO AM I!!!! to Minnesota and Colorado, and soon.

I'm taking about 3.5 weeks in the States for some rest and rejuvenation and reconnection with people because I will be working with Titus Project here in January (this will be included in said newsletter when it makes it's way to you!). I'm mixing it up with my visit home in that this time I'll be primarily at my mom's house in Mankato and therefore more in the area of the Twin Cities and southern MN. If you are reading this and you are near that area, I SERIOUSLY would love to see you. I'm really missing friends and family from back home and don't want people to feel shy about finding me (did you know I am an extrovert....it's true! I miss people a lot). I'll be home from Nov. 7-Dec. 2.

AND>>>> I'm also going to be in Colorado from Nov. 10 or 11 to 17. I'm flying into Denver and will also be visiting Ft. Collins...so again, I'd love to see you.

For both locations I'm not sure what the transportation situation will look like so if we get together, I'll make you a deal....I'll fly across the ocean, and then you can drive to meet me the rest of the way, sounds good?!

Before I head home I'm teaching the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations in the SBS here. For those of you who may not know this fun fact, Jeremiah is the second longest book in the Bible (Psalms is the first) so I've been spending a lot of hours pouring through the text and being very challenged by the life and message of this prophet. Take time to pray for me and for the students that will be studying this book. I teach three days: Oct. 31, Nov. 2, 4.

Well....I hope you enjoyed what is basically an email update in blog format. Just killing two birds with one stone. Next blog update will be more fun-filled and hopefully include some photos.

Oh yeah, and the countdown: 29 DAYS!!!!!

Chiggers: boo!

Normally, this blog is for sharing my deep contemplative thoughts, or sharing a story of cross-cultural significance, to keep friends and family around the world connected with my daily life. It's my way of keeping you involved in the highs and lows of life while living far away from so many of you. So, here's to keeping connected.....

This is something I never thought would be a result of overseas living and ministry: Chiggers.

Now, I grew up in the Northwoods of Minnesota. My summers were spent building forts among the trees. I learned at an early age the proper way to search for and remove ticks after a day in the woods. I know how to bear-proof a campsite and have tried everything known to man to prevent bites from the mosquitoes that are the size of small birds in my back yard. But I've NEVER dealt with chiggers before and I have to say, I hope never to deal with them again.

About a week and a half ago, I spent two days outside doing various activities: A picnic in the grass after church with friends, an outdoor lunch with my church, a BBQ for the Moon Festival with students from my English class near the beach. Somehow over those two days, these little guys found their way onto my skin and burrowed deep.

I initially was afraid all the little red bites that appeared on my skin were bed bugs and I was freaked out. Bed bugs are near impossible to eliminate. I was imagining the discussion with my landlord, buying a new mattress, and figuring out how to clean everything in my room. However, I had no additional little red spots. So then I just assumed they were ant bites from the various outdoor eating adventures and they'd disappear shortly.

Oh, how wrong I was. Now I know that chiggers latch on and after about a week they fall off. THIS is when the itching really happens. And so it did. My arm started to itch like CRAZY and later that night it was near impossible to sleep and the welts on my arm were about 10 times their original size.

Thankfully, with Taiwan national health insurance, I marched into the doctor and for $5 got a diagnosis and some anti-itch cream and antihistamines. But these suckers are gonna itch for a few more days and I'm just gonna whine (a bit...) and shake my head at the crazy things that happen while living overseas. So the moral of the story is....no matter how enticing the grass looks in Taiwan, don't sit in it! And, living for Jesus sometimes requires weird suffering. And, building relationships sometimes costs you physical discomfort! ha ha!

Remembering....

I woke up this morning and went through my morning routine: worked out, showered, made coffee and sat down to read the news while eating breakfast. It was very similar to the same morning exactly 10 years ago when I stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom in my college apartment, getting ready for class and listening to the radio. That morning the plane hit tower one in NYC...and I watched on TV as the second hit tower two.

I watched the video on CNN today and could not hold back the tears. The emotions that day were suddenly upon me and I sat there thinking of all that has unfolded since that day. I watched as those buildings collapsed and the graves of 3,000 people were there, right before my eyes. People who have friends, relatives, children still alive today that watch that with even more pain in their hearts.

And so much has transpired. That day opened a door, unknown to me at that time, to move into the very land of these "enemies" of my country. I looked into their eyes, I passed Talibs on the street. I heard bombs and gunshots go off in their own backyard. I was taken in as family by these people who in the minds of my own nation are the enemies of all that is good: prosperity, education, democracy, the right to freedom and comfort, women's rights and liberalism, secularism, etc.

Now, my post is not intended to be a political rant, nor is it intended to express my opinion on America's war on terror (though I do hold my own opinions!)...but I've really been challenged lately from a lot of different angles. I've just recently finished reading the book "Tea with Hezbollah" in which Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis travel the Middle East and ask people what they think about the teaching of Jesus to love your neighbor and the parable of the good Samaritan. The dialogue is intriguing, some of the answers predictable, but the glimpse into the human heart and it's struggle to get beyond it's own hatred and prejudice, is humbling.

9/11, if we are not careful, may cause a bitterness in our own souls that will cause us to hate Muslims, to hate anyone with dark skin and an accent revealing Arabic as a native language. When we meet those who kneel on prayer rugs and press their head to the ground facing Mecca, those of us who to look to the teachings of Jesus and the way of the cross, we can't afford to hate. This is not the "ministry of reconciliation" Paul speaks of in Corinthians.

This morning I wept over the senseless loss of my own people who were killed for the sake of an ideology. Those who died that day never looked into the eyes of their killers. They never interacted on a personal level. They never had a conversation about what life was really about and what they believed. And I wonder, I wonder if anyone dared to set foot where these men, men who'd we'd label killers, and shared a message of love and reconciliation, of relationship with their creator, and common human condition of sin...I wonder if the result would have been the same. And this causes me to weep over those who haven't had a chance to even consider the message of Jesus. Afghanistan will never be "enemy territory" to me. I weep over that nation as I weep over my own. Oh God, help me to love my neighbor.

approval addiction

There's something I've been greatly challenged by over the last while, a thing God is speaking into the depths of my soul, as well as the shallow areas of my sin and insecurity. This last week in church here in Taipei, the pastor shared on "approval addiction" or what we may call "the fear of man" in churches. I've heard so many talks and speeches on the fear of man, but calling it by the term approval addiction kind of shook me to the core.

An addiction is something that you usually orient your whole life around to have and it implies that you have an unhealthy relationship with that thing, depending upon it to temporarily fill some kind of need...you're stressed so you have a smoke, you're depressed so you down half a gallon of ice cream, you're an adrenaline junkie so you gamble, etc, etc.

And each one of us has this need to be loved by others. But what about when it gets out of hand, when you orient your entire life around getting people to like you, to praise you, to affirm who you are as a person (and usually who YOU want them to know you as...something you portray yourself as.) This is temporarily filling a need that needs a more permanent solution.

I thought this little image was a pretty powerful example:

This person is saying "love me, see me, don't walk away from me!"

Now here's the honest truth...I have a lot of the fear of man in me. I would like to deny it, talk about my utter dependence upon God's identity for me, my security in who I am, but there is a lot in me that wants others to think very highly of me, to paint an image in people's minds of a woman who is capable, fearless, bold, confident, intelligent, loves everyone and doesn't need anyone. Sigh, but inside, I'm often intimidated, fearful that what I think or believe will cause a negative reaction from others, I sometimes doubt the Lord can fulfill what he has promised, I feel rejected, neglected, over-looked, etc, etc, etc. I'm human. I'm fallen. I'm weak.

This week we are in the book of the Samuels in the SBS...a book that speaks volumes into the fear of man. Saul was a man who oriented his whole life around what people thought of him and this came at the expense of walking in obedience to God. I've been realizing the more we orient our lives around what others think of us, who the "right" people are to associate, or even spiritualizing it and calling it ministry when really we are doing things only to look good or to feel like we are making a contribution and have something to offer others, it can be at the expense of walking in our true identity and living a life of obedience to God. Saul could have been a great king...he had the greatest opportunity in all of history and yet he threw it all away for the sake of himself.

So...I throw this out there to open up a discussion. Honestly, I think we all struggle with this to a degree, some more than others. How willing are we to admit this, walk this out, hold one another accountable. And I want to be a woman who walks in the fear of the Lord, who holds the thoughts of God higher than all else, who is not swayed or makes decisions based on others' reactions. I've wanted to find a "quick solution" to shocking my heart into the fear of the Lord, thinking maybe I need weeping and repentance session with my face on the floor, maybe have someone shout at me and tell me how awful I am until I come back at them with confidence in my true identity, a self-help book and council and wise advice from humble leaders, but really, I know that walking in the fear of the Lord means KNOWING my Lord...spending all the time I can with HIM, hearing HIS heart, being honest with HIM. It can't be about me any more....it's gotta be about HIM.

The calm before the storm

This is the most recent (as I type this) satellite image of these two twin typhoons baring down on the little island of Taiwan and heading toward Japan. I grew up in northern MN with the worst storms involving thunder and lightening and the occasional tornado warning. Typhoons (the Pacific Ocean's hurricanes) are quite a whole other thing. I experienced a few of them last year...the most epic one being when a bunch of us threw paper airplanes off the top of a building and watched them literally fly over half of the city that we live in because the winds were so strong and gusty.

But, today is such a weird day...before Typhoons hit, it is absolutely GORGEOUS outside. The sky is clear blue because all the clouds have been sucked back into the storm, it's a little breezy and the temperature has dropped (for a normally hot, humid tropical climate, this is a wonderful phenomenon to experience in August). And it makes me realize what that phrase "calm before the storm" really means.

And if you look at the map above, it's going to hit all of Taiwan pretty hard, but we are in the north so we'll get the storm a bit later. So, today I'm going to enjoy some time with friends and get out and just enjoy the blue sky and cooler temps. If only I could take a lesson from this, when I know busy or difficult times loom on the horizon, but still appreciating the NOW moments, enjoying the beauty, the change, even when it is mixed with uncertainty, dark clouds, and a lot of wind and torrential rains.

So, for those of you East-coasters who just braved your own storm, please keep Taiwan in your prayers as we brave our own! :) See you on the flip side.

Pain is a part of the process....

I ran a half marathon a little over half a year ago, believe it or not.
I still have the medal in my room.
I still remember how it felt to cross that finish line.
I even have pictures to prove it (see below)...

And now I'm feeling like I'm back at square one trying to train for another one!
I took a 3 week "break" while I was prepping and teaching Exodus...BAD idea. I should not skip workouts to study and stress. That defeats the purpose. The workout is supposed to ease the stress and make sure those snacks I ate while studying don't take up permanent residence around my waist.

So....
I'm back on the training circuit. And sending out my intentions into the cyber-world maybe in a manner of accountability or of confessions from a slacker. But, I'm excited to run another half. It's true, you really do get addicted to them.
But I know these next few weeks will be a little painful. It's embarrassing when I can barely bust out two miles but I have to keep in mind, it's the way training goes! And I was thinking it's a bit like life, you know...sometimes you are going and you know you're prepared for it, when it gets a bit rough it's okay, you've been trained for it. But there are other times when you're stepping into something new or getting back into something again and the learning curve is steep and a bit painful...it hurts the pride, and maybe even the physical body.
So, I'm facing the pain and going to get back in shape to conquer these 13.1 miles!

Hopefully you'll be seeing me like this in a few months: :)

thoughts on the presence....

presence of God that is. :)

Exodus has been mulling around in my mind and in my spirit after I finished teaching. I've been SO blessed to study this book and really, really loved the journey God brought me through with it. One thing I've been really challenged by is God's presence and I wanted to share a bit about it here...if I get too "teachy" or "preachy" please forgive me....but then again it is my blog, and my space to share my thoughts.

Anyways, the instructions for the tabernacle are given in the book of Exodus. I have always considered this kind of the "boring" part of this book, or the part that you could probably just not include, maybe mention that it was built and move on with life.

But, as I went through and processed this part of Exodus, I made the connection to Hebrews 8:5 in that what God did in the wilderness was a shadow of what was to come, namely through Jesus. The tabernacle was a shadow. It pointed to a much more glorious reality. And the whole end goal of the tabernacle was that God's presence would dwell with his people. He made a way that their sins could be atoned for and a holy God could dwell in their midst. The end goal was relationship and God's presence.
Well, hello....that's exactly the purpose of Jesus! The end goal of his death and resurrection was that God could dwell in relationship with his people. He provided a way that their sins could be atoned for and a holy God could dwell and draw near to a sinful people (ahem....you and me). The end goal is relationship and God's presence with man.

And this is the epic conclusion of all of history that is pointed to in the book of Revelation 21:3 "...Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man..."

God wants to be present in our lives.

After the sinning of the people by worshiping the golden calf, Moses interceded for the people. And God commanded them (Exodus 33:1-3) to leave Sinai and head towards the promised land. He says that he will still fulfill his promise for the people and bring them into the land but his presence will not go with them....

I asked myself this question: "If God promised to fulfill every promise in my life and yet he was not present in it, would I be content with that?"...namely, do I just want the benefits of God, the working of his power and great plans for my life, or do I really truly desire the presence of God in my life...Him, for who he is, no strings attached. The passage after this is Moses' well known interaction with God asking that his presence go with them and if it doesn't, it's not even worth it for them to go. Then he asks to see the glory of God.

Moses and Exodus has taught me a lot of God's intentionality with his people. God has pursued me. He has saved me. He has given me his word and his truth. He has set me free. But it also begs a response on my part....the design of my life has always been God's presence, not just "all things working out in a really good way."

So...let me leave you with that question:
Are you asking God only for the fulfillment of his promises or do you truly recognize and seek the presence of God in your every day life? What keeps you from the presence of God?

Teaching and teaching prep

Yesterday I taught my first day of Exodus. The more I teach, the more I love teaching. I am quite the academic nerd in that I love the WHOLE process...I love studying. I love learning new information. I love when I come across facts that takes me to a deeper level of understanding about something. I love it when people ask challenging questions that make me dig deeper. I love studying current events and cultures and history and literature. sigh...I'm such a nerd. But it's who God made me so I will continue to be that.

I'm also very thankful that God took me on a non-traditional route of education. I could have studied and worked in a university (when I went to undergrad, my goal in studying English literature was to become a lit professor at a university!). But, I love that my academic passion has been an area that I've been able to used in the nations. I love that I got to work with training teachers in schools in Afghanistan....as a 25 year old young punk. I love that I'm getting to train future missional leaders in Taiwan as a 31 year old, not quite as young punk. I love that studying the Bible just doesn't bring about a head full of knowledge but it challenges the way I live, the way the students live, the way we see and know and love God.

Anyways, can you tell I love what I do?

When I was an SBS student I used to romanticize the studying/teaching prep process. I pictured the staff the few days before they are teaching sitting at a desk with a Bible open and God is just pouring out revelation on them, they are weeping and getting brilliant ideas for words to share in class.
Well, guess what I did the day before I taught?
Made cookie monster cupcakes:

I found the recipe online and I just couldn't resist! My small group got to enjoy these little guys....and it happened to be my dinner last night after I got done teaching too.

So, I thought I'd post a few photos from class yesterday so you can get a bit of a visual of what life in the classroom looks like. It's where a lot of my time is spent and each and every one of those people in that room has come to be so precious to me. I'm so proud of them as they put in very long hours to know God's word and to ultimately know God more. Please pray for them this week (and as you think of them through the middle of December) as they study through the Old Testament...some have never even read it before so this is going to be a deep and eye-opening season for them. Pray that they'd be following God's lead as to how to give out to others what they are receiving in this season. And pray for me as I finish out teaching tomorrow. Thanks for being a part of my journey!

(ha ha! Can you tell I have a common hand gesture when I teach?!)

What probably won't be included in my Exodus lecture.....

Tomorrow I teach Exodus.
Tomorrow I will stand in front of a classroom full of people and wax (semi-)eloquently for two and a half hours.
Tomorrow all of my prep is summed up in a few brief hours.

It has been such a privilege to be studying and teaching the Bible full-time. And I'm even more amazed that I feel like I am growing and being impacted by the book and my teaching time than the students most likely are. I'm walking away from my journey through Exodus extremely humbled by the process.

I've put my lecture together, my powerpoint is ready to go and I have things to talk about but I feel the things of the heart, how God has REALLY touched my life through this book will not be the primary content of tomorrow or Wednesday. That's probably a good thing though...this lecture is not about me and my transformation, but about God and what he did throughout history to love and care for his people.

God's really been speaking and teaching me a lot about "being" lately...and I have to admit that I tend to roll my eyes at people who feel like God is teaching them this. They get all over-emotional and just spend "soaking" time with God and slack in their responsibilities because God is teaching them it's okay not to be perfect all the time. So, if you're rolling your eyes at me, no worries friend, you're in good company.

But he truly is...and it's not so much about stopping and laying on the floor with my arms stretched out listening to praise music for hours while my lecture notes sit neglected on the table. But, it's more about allowing my heart to grapple with the fact that God chose to make his dwelling place with man. You know...he is perfection itself and he chooses to dwell with imperfection and sin...and not only that but to have relationship with people who reject him and do their best but always fail. God chooses us. God chooses me, Danika.

The students have read through Exodus in preparation for class and studying this week already and I've heard that the "part on the tabernacle is boring!"...which yeah, I don't really care how many cubits the curtains were either. But the tabernacle is touching my heart and moving me to tears at times because God dwells....God resides, he created this picture for the Israelites that expressed a spiritual reality for all time. God dwells with his people. God is not far off. He is not hidden. He is with me.

And because God chose to make his dwelling place with man, I don't earn anything from God. Who I am is who I am and God is with me. Yes, I want less sin in my life. Yes, I want to be less selfish. Yes, I want to be better at what I do and able to connect with people in a way that God is honored and I can go deeper with people. Yes, I want to do well at my job. But all those things don't define the personhood of Danika. I am who I am and I am the temple of the Holy Spirit.

I don't even know how to put these things into words today....which is probably good I'm not spending my six teaching hours talking through all of this. But, I am amazed today. Amazed by a dwelling God. We make a big choice when we choose to live together on this earth, whether roommates or living with family or the ultimate choosing to live together: marriage. But the fact that God pursued humanity and is present with us, though we reject him and question him and misunderstand him and for some even hate him, this humbles me.

If this concept moves your heart, take some time to meditate on Rev. 21. This is our eternal destiny with God. Amazing.

Emerging from the Wilderness

Wow...long time, no write.

My family has come and gone. I had a GREAT time having my dad and my grandma visit. We ventured all over the place...spent time in Taipei, went to the night market, hung out with my English class, had a bbq with my staff, and then spent a few days at a gorgeous hotel in Hualien, a city on the east coast of Taiwan, with an ocean view room. It was good to reconnect, hang out, introduce them to my life here in Taiwan and my friends, and just BE together. This is the one thing that is very limited in living life overseas, just BEING with good friends and family. It's something I treasure so greatly now that it happens so rarely.

This photo was taken on top of Taipei 101, the second tallest building in the world.

Since they've left, life continues to be full and busy as always. It's been a great season of life thoughtI'm still learning the balance of everything that is currently on my plate.

This is a photo of my English class that I work with on Thursday evenings here. I'm getting to know many of them much better and have really enjoyed the growing friendships.

And here is another class I am involved with every day, our SBS!!!

Next week, July 25 and 27 I will be teaching the book of Exodus. So, pretty much every day since my grandma and Dad left I have been studying, thinking, preparing, typing, reading and getting ready to teach the book. I've been blown away by what I've learned from Moses' life and the things God does among the Israelites. It's a book whose story most of us are familiar with and it's been a joy and a privilege to be able to study it more in-depth. I'm excited about teaching so ask for your prayers as i finish my final prep work, as I teach and as I interact with the students as they themselves study through the book in about a week from now.

One thing that really challenged me was how intentionally God makes himself known in this book. It's caused me to reflect on my own journey of knowing God and realizing that God does all things in our lives so purposefully and his goal is knowing him and relationship with him. So, my question to you is, in what ways has God intentionally made himself known to you? How has that impacted how you live?

Visitors!

My Grandma and my Dad made it here to Taiwan late last night. This is my grandma's first time outside of the US and my dad's first time to Asia! I'm excited to have them here and this is the first time my family and my life overseas has merged together for a time! Their travels went well, a little two hour delay which stared from the US but they met some good people on the flights, watched some movies and tried to sleep.

(I'll have you know this second picture was a self-portrait. I'm pretty impressed with my abilities if I do say so myself).

We took the taxi back last night and rolled into Danshui about 1am! So, needless to say we all just gave each other hugs and went to bed. But, today is a new day. I know many of you are interested in seeing how things go while they are here so I'll try to update my blog and include some more photos as I can.

And THANKS for all who sent stuff with my grandma. I haven't yet brought the suitcase over to my house yet, but she FILLED one whole suitcase and then some (60lbs of stuff!) It feels like Christmas and I feel so loved and blessed. And I've heard I have enough brown sugar to make cookies for a long time...so my roommates and friends here will also feel so blessed! ;)

A little randomness from my side of the ocean

I've realized my blog has been sorely neglected.
Not so much that I've forgotten about it, but more that life has settled into a bit of a routine and once "adventurous overseas life" becomes "normal daily life" one forgets to take photos and document the extraordinary that is present in the ordinary day.

So, a few photos to keep you connected with life here:

Most of my life is still pretty much involved with studying the Bible and spending time with students...in this photo I am doing both. We had a pretty intense religious festival where I live so some of us hopped on the train and went into the city (where firecrackers are banned!) and had a quiet study day at Starbucks. I'm working on preparing to teach the book of Exodus the end of July.

I've had a few random adventures around the city of Taipei with friends including a sleepover at a Taiwanese friend's house before she moves to America. It was a fantastic evening of great fellowship and at church the next day we were all prayed over by the pastors. It was a huge blessing to have a Taiwanese pastor blessing me and my journey which has led me here to Taiwan for this season. So encouraging!

I continue to find random things here that make me smile from the crazy English phrases, dogs shaved in funky ways or riding on motos in various ways, or old men doing "exercises" up at the track by slapping themselves on the belly. I've grown to love Taiwan more and more and the daily parts of life usually put a smile on my face. And as hard as they try at English, I'm definitely feeling a push to put more effort into some basic conversational Chinese...hopefully next quarter.

And as always there are food adventures to be had and new things to try! Some new samplings this month is that I've gotten more bold with seafood, I've found out I really enjoy the coconut-pineapple jelly bits they put in the bottom of the drinks here, sampled some marinated squid and am continually trying new drinks at the tea shop. I'm looking forward to more adventures when my dad and grandma arrive in just TWO DAYS!

Teaching, teaching and more teaching....

I realized I have a severe lack of photos, especially of myself. Much has been happening and I need to be more intentional to take some photos so I can let people in on a bit of my life. So, hopefully this little update can paint some pictures with my words.

SBS is proving to be a busy and full season of life. Before staff training things started picking up speed, getting my book ready to teach, getting settled in my house and anticipating a pretty busy schedule. Then staff training and then the students arrived and it was full speed ahead. SBS was busy but my responsibilities were limited to one thing: my studies. Now, my responsibilities are many between preparing for teaching, grading students' work, meeting with a small group of girls once a week, meeting one-on-one with students, handing back work and helping answer questions. Then I'm also in charge of the students work duty schedules and also have my hand pretty heavily in the students' visa process which this year is turning out to be quite complicated and time-consuming. I'm also involved with ministry here at our coffee bar once a week.

Last Friday I taught the book of Psalms! :) I struggled with this book a lot during my own school, I think just finding time to meditate and pray, using that portion of scripture as it was originally intended and instead focused on it as an academic exercise. So, my study and prep time really redeemed that book. I fell in love with the Psalms and am amazed at how much of the Character and Nature of God is in that book and it made me fall more in love with God as well.

Earlier last week I also was able to share for an hour on pioneering and the cost of missions during the teaching on the book of Acts. This hour blew me away! The night before I was going over my notes and it just felt dry and insignificant. I was a bit discouraged. That morning the other staff member who was teaching Acts and I sat and prayed and were both saying that we really wanted the students to grasp this book with their hearts and not just their minds. Well, God really moved during that hour and challenged students in areas of their calling to missions and their heart for the lost. I got a lot of feedback from that time and saw the students go out and share the gospel with others in Taiwan. Talk about having the fear of the Lord that day....I can't believe how privileged I am to be able to teach and speak into these young people's lives, to know that God is raising up others to go into the nations and I get to be a part of his plan.

....as a side note, there are a number of students who have a heart for the Mus.im world and we have been having some good conversations about it. I can see through these connections that it is no accident we are all here together. I'm holding my hands open and have been sensing some things in prayer but will have to keep you posted as to how this unfolds and the details later. :)

This week I also got the opportunity to lead Bible study in the DTS and will do that for two more weeks as well. I'm going through the book of 2 Timothy with them. And on Thursday evenings I work at the coffeeshop that we run here and will be helping lead the advanced English class also. We had an interesting discussion this week in light of OBL's capture and had a very animated and lively discussion on the role of religion in a nation. There are a few Christians in that class but most of the students are Buddhist. Please pray for the friendships and relationships I've been invested in there!

And finally, we had a staff conference this last weekend and a few of our Taiwanese staff were ordained. We also spent a great weekend together just fellowshipping, praying and hearing how things are moving here in this country. As I saw these amazing men and women being prayed over and commissioned out, I was so overcome by how blessed I am to be here and learning from and growing with these amazing people. I am seeing this season is a refining one and one that is going to build into wherever God takes me in the years ahead.

And to let you all know....I found out my other books I'm teaching this year: Exodus (2nd quarter) and Jeremiah (3rd quarter)!!!! I'm SO excited to study and teach both of these books!

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!

There's no minute like the last minute!!

Great news friends.....

WE GOT OUR VISAS ISSUED!!!!!

50 visas got approved and issued after nearly four months of struggle and difficulty. This is a very, very, very good thing. The crazy thing is we got the news this morning and SBS starts tomorrow. We have 60 new students who arrived not knowing if they would have a visa for the entire time, many of them budgeting to fly out of the country multiple times but all coming in faith because we believed that what God said to us, he was going to do.

Wow....what a way to start a school, with the favor of God and a miracle for us all to experience!!

We dive in tomorrow morning. I'm super, super excited. This school is full of students who feel they have a long-term calling to missions and God has shown me that my presence in this school and these particular students are not an accident. I want to be a part of seeing people walking out that calling, no matter how costly or difficult it may seem. We have a great staff team and we've enjoyed getting to know one another during out staff training time.

So.....here we go!!!

An ever-expanding heart

The above two pictures represent what is going on in my heart these days. The first are the mountains of Afghanistan and Tajikistan. I climbed this mountain one day and just had a sense of worship and thankfulness as I stood on that mountain and gazed at the rugged landscape around me. The land was harsh and a bit uninviting, but it had become home to me. I love the people. I love the smell of the kababs on the street and the taste of green tea at a good friend's house. The language just feels good in my mouth now where at one time it was like spitting out cotton balls. My prayers and tears have soaked into that land.

Now I find myself physically in Taiwan, a much different country. (the second picture above) I have an apartment surrounded by busy city streets. People around me are constantly on the internet on their phones. I'm surrounded by temples and parades in which the people carry their idols down the streets. I wear shorts in the summer and I have the freedom to go for a run or sit at a coffeeshop and study. My local friends are dealing with issues about dating and getting a good job rather than will my family let me go to school or will our family have enough money to heat the house all winter or will one of the daughters get married off to pay for fuel.

It's a different world.
And yet, each has been home in that season.
I am called to be where I am at.

Yet, my heart really misses Central Asia. I know that much of who I am now is tied to that place. My heart is forever connected. This year, I am called to staff SBS and teach and grow in teaching. I know this is the season. There will be students to disciple, friends to be made, and people with whom I get to share the gospel of who Jesus is.

But, my heart is constantly pulled toward the Muslim world, especially central Asia. I have been encouraged to be totally 100% focused on where I am, and I believe I am doing that as best I can. God is ever increasing my heart for the people of Taiwan and I have been so blessed to see the beauty of this culture, to see how God is moving here and get a vision for the future of this nation and people. What a privilege to know God's heart for people and be a part of it!

So, for now, I keep these pictures both in my heart. I have truly become a citizen of nowhere and where I put my feet, there is home for that moment. My journey continues and I really am not sure where it's leading come December 2011 (when my visa expires). There are many options. So for now I invest where I'm at. I hope those of you who are interested and invested in my journey (supporters, friends, family, people who read my blog and updates and think of me) will just pray that I'd follow the one who is walking the journey ahead of me. I don't want to just figure out the next step of my life plan, but rather, I want to follow the one who has authored it.