So much to see! So little that I understand!

Tuesday Happenings

For the past two nights when I close my eyes and lie down to sleep I am bombarded with a myriad of colorful images and lights that shout out to me.  There is so much visual stimulation in Taipei that I cannot turn it off that quickly. Yet I do fall to sleep within a very short time.

As you can see in the pictures, there are signs and people everywhere. I had forgotten just how busy life can be in Taipei. Last night Naomi and I went to the night market where we discovered some very unique items, ate some interesting food and had a fun conversation.

Early in the day, she and I took a walking tour of Tamsui, where George Leslie McKay established the first of his many churches in Taipei. As I understand it,   Dr. McKay was quite advanced in his approach to mission work. He assimilated as much as he could into the culture of the island and never tried to westernize the converts to Christianity. Dr. McKay is from the Zora Township, Oxford County in Ontario. Through his leadership, Oxford Christian School was also established. I was able to walk the grounds of the school and informally observe the students. I was impressed with a group of art students outside on the lawn sketching the scenery while another group of students scaling a rock wall.

During the morning, I had a chance to observe Naomi teach an English as a Second Language reading class to 55 first year university students. I was very impressed with the class picked up some good ideas as to work with a group that size. After class, we discussed about the challenge of how to make the class as interactive as possible with so many students.   I also talked to one student and was encouraged by his engagement with learning a second language and how that helps in the understanding, cultivating and creating of culture.

Wednesday Happenings

It seems like sitting in airport is a good time to blog. Currently I am in Taipei airport waiting for my plane to Hong Kong. Saying goodbye ye to Naomi was difficult. I miss her already.
I started today by attending a men’s bible study at the American Club in Taipei. We talked about signs and wonders, grieving the Holy Spirit, and how our story fits into the bigger story. This men’s group has been meeting for the past 30 years. A fine start to the day!

After the bible study, I headed back to ORTV where Naomi asked me to join her in recording several radio shows that centred on a article about Miep Gies (This is the women who helped Ann Frank and her family during WWII.) After drawing a blank on the first question, I enjoyed the next hour and half of radio conversation with Naomi and two of her colleagues. You will be able to find the taping of these shows at www.ortv.com . However you will have to wait until May when the shows will be aired.

After the taping Naomi took me to my favorite restaurant, DinTaiFung. Check it out at www.dintaifung.com.tw . mmmmm!

Reflecting on my past three days in Taipei, the thing that I strikes me the most is how much we can learn from each other. Today I witness the practice of burning ghost money and leaving food sacrifice for love ones who have died. The reason this is done is so that the deceased will be taken care of in the afterlife. It is a form of ancestor worship. When this is done, people believe that it is will help them and bring them good fortunate in this life. Although this practice is very foreign to me and I could never support it, I am impressed with the biblical principles of honouring parents and the importance of passing the truth from one generation to the next. This makes sense to me.

The plane is almost ready to board so I am going to stop for now.