Oh right.. I have a blog...

There hasn't been too much going on since the last update...
Every week's about the same... Often going out after church to see where God leads me. Had a few good encounters... and a few blah ones...

The trip itself is starting to wind down... I'm teaching my first devotion in Chinese for the church on Tuesday and Wednesday, so pray that goes well and have people respond to it. Currently, I'm in the process of translating the message from English to Chinese at the moment, but I'm feeling a little bit stressed since I wrote quite a lot down.

Overall, my Chinese have improved on this trip... but not to where I want it to be though. I have started to pick up on a lot of what people say.... especially today's sermon when we had a guest speaker. I noticed he didn't open his Bible along with the rest of congregation and I noticed he talked a lot about himself and a seminary... so basically the lesson today was his testimony.. which I really didn't care about. But he did end with an invitation, so mixed feelings there.... Usually when someone doesn't even quote scripture to support what they're talking about.. I tune them out...

Anyways, that's it for now... I'm a bit too tired to think of anything new right now.... I kept waking up to the bugs biting me again.... stupid mosquitoes >_<

Till Next Time!

I feel like I'm thinking like Pastor Brandon...

scary isn't it?
Well, not at his level of thinking currently, more like his first few years at Cross Lanes back in the day... when I was in high school... (has it really been that long?)
Anyways, I remember back in the day... (uh oh.. sign that I'm getting old) when Brandon was trying to use activities to witness and invite youth to church.. such as Halo or basketball or something fun of the sort..

Wednesdays are basketball days, where I take the older kids to the local school and play some hoops with them. I do notice how much more I talk (or shout out) at other kids that don't belong to a church, such as inviting random people to play or just being a lot more open by talking to them... but I do need to be careful since I do represent a church and I don't want to hurt a witness.. But it leaves a lot of opportunities that I've been looking for
There was this huge guy today as well  who was sitting by himself and I was extremely close to talking to him, unfortunately, there were also 10 people telling me to continue playing (which I'm still shooting myself in the foot)

Earlier today I went to get my Visa renewed so I can stay longer... Hard to believe that it's almost been 2 months... definitely over halfway right now... I'm surprised of how fast this trip has gone... Reading back, it seems to drag on and on... probably because I was suffering so much.. But as of now... the weeks are flying by... mostly I enjoy my schedule.. wake up, work out, go to church, go out different subway stops, exploring and having an open heart; go home, sleep... and repeat.. keeps the days busy

I realized recently that my delivery in the Gospel is pretty weak right now, so I bought business sized cards with Bible verses on them so I can use them to help... I can drop them into beggar's hands or just give them out wherever...Even though, I do need to start translating the Romans road as well.

Also been walking around after I get done with my projects at church, if I have the energy to do it... Trying to pace myself and not get burned out too quickly... I keep reading about missionaries being burned out too quickly and have it affect their ministry so I'm currently trying to prevent that.

too many I's, me's, and my's on this one... sorry about it.. I hate talking about myself, but I can't really think around them for this posts... perhaps because I'm exhausted because today was an extremely long day...grammar is also really off as well.. but I blame that on how little English I've been speaking nowadays..

I think that's enough for today...
Till Next Time!

The kids are killing me...

...not in a bad way.... but the older kids have taken a real liking of me.. mainly because I'm athletic which means they could go play basketball and I'm old enough to look after them without other kids wanting to mess with them...
The younger kids like how I'm involved with their games as well and always seemed amused that the teacher would join in on their fun..

otherwise.. it's been a tiring week.. mainly because the kids wore me out from running after them up and down the basketball court... I really cant believe that this week went by so fast... Guess the busyness sort of attested for that...

There isn't much to update... I'm finally into the rhythm of things right now..
I realize that I've been lacking pictures ever since Chinese New Year ended...  But I'll get some of me teaching ESL to the kids... It's not on my camera but someone else has them... I'm just glad someone got them for me...

EDITED: just read through the last blog and realize that there should be a little more updating...
well... my second ESL job has not called yet... dunno what's going on, but if it gets any later I don't think I could accept it because the time would be too short... Not that I'm complaining... I'm enjoying what I'm doing right now.. But hope that more opportunities presents itself regarding the lost..

Can't really think of anything else at the moment... My laptop is getting worked on right now... (finally!) my low powered netbook is not meant for some stuff that i want it to do...
Don't know what else to write about now... if you want to ask about something, leave a comment or send me an email... otherwise..
Till Next Time!

One Month Down...

Not much to update on... Just a normal week... did go looking around for miscellaneous items and things... My laptop has a hardware problem that needs to be fixed but I don't understand computer lingo in Chinese well enough to do anything effectively...

Today, I woke up late because my phone died and missed the second service of church (which i usually go to)... so I went to the third service... At the end of the service they did the Lord's Supper... Since I sat in the balcony today, I was one of the last ones to get to and yes... the Lord's Supper here is basically the same as it is in the US...

Today also marks a month since I've been here... and what a month it's been.. first part of it was conflicting blatant suffering over theological issues pertaining over a Pentacostal church and how they were misleading with information... but I'm at peace with it... they can worship how they like... it's between them and God.. if they want to embrace the health and wealth gospel, that's up to them... Who am I, not even a seminary student much less somebody nobody knows to tell them how or what they should do... plus it's better to leave things alone than start a conflict.. I didn't come here to start a fight, I came to serve... so more or less, I disconnected from that ministry, as I was so heavily convicted with it I couldn't sleep at night and started to plug into my parents' church..

second part of this trip is more or less showing others I'm a Christian, as I got more familiar with the streets, I started walking around more and being a little more outward than the average person... I also got a chance to teach sort of a children's camp at the church here English and incorporated the Gospel and stories of Jesus into my plans everyday...

I think I'll be playing second fiddle starting this week... so I'll be seeing a different perspective of how to teach ESL...I'm also supposed to be getting a call this week to meet with the Taiwan Seminary about doing ESL there...

Overall, I'm satisfied with the work I've done so far... Not trying to puff myself up at all, but with all the conflict and suffering... I still managed to get back on my feet and still tell others about Jesus whether it was the kids or that American dude...

Yes, I'm a bit homesick but that's due to me being extremely lonely... nobody to really talk to.. sure there's my relatives... but I want to hear from my friends..

Well, there goes me whining again... gotta cut back on that
Till Next Tine!

Post-Chinese New Year

All the hoopla is finally over... Technically Chinese New Year isn't over, but all the family reunions are done and everyone in the house went back to work this week... including me... Today, I went to an ESL session where the kids got to learn from someone else. It was also a good experience for me as I saw things from a different perspective..

Kinda funny how my WVU Alumni hoodie works... it garners attention to Americans and it strikes up a good discussion... Someone this week asked me if I was from WVU and I told him I graduated there... He then asked if I was visiting and I told him that I was teaching ESL at a church which starts up the conversation about Jesus... Unfortunately he didn't show any interest but told me what I was doing was great... (not really the response I was looking for)... But I'm a bit relived that I'm not only conformed to a certain age group...

Felt a huge jolt of homesickness today... so I went to McDonalds... which didn't help.. I'm getting sick of that place... If anyone invites me to go to Rice Bowl OR McDonalds when I get back...they may not live to see the next day..

Not much to else to update
Till Next Time!

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

As you may expect, Chinese New Year is in full swing right now... Visited my uncle on my mother's side yesterday and found an Internet Cafe with my cousin, much to my delight. At night was even more intense... Had a feast with the remaining Tu family that's in Taiwan (the other two are in WV, my oldest uncle and my dad of course), so it was my second uncle and his family, my third uncle (whom I'm living with currently) and his family, and me... The rest of the family are at home eating due to some kind of tradition that doesn't allow them to visit us until the 3rd day after New Years.. I know, sounds confusing..

Fireworks ruled the night skies yesterday...all....night.....long... >_<... of course I slept some, but there were times I was awakened by a loud *POW!*.. not cool at all... of course, one of the tradition was the stay up the whole night... of course, i wasn't letting that happen...

This morning, I woke up for the Chinese New Year service... which was VERY unique... One of the things they did was pass around red envelopes which had a bible verse in them... sort of like your fortune for the new year.. you can also stand up and read it out loud and tell them what the verse means to you or for what's in store... Mine was Galatians 5:22-23... that's right... the fruits  the spirit... how fitting they give one to me that I know so well..

Afterward, it's customary for us to visit our passed away relatives, so up a huge mountain we went to our grandparents' and great grandparents' gravestones.. not really much to say there... just visited and climbed back up a slippery hill

Not much else is going on right now... everyone's resting after the huge event.. and resting up for more of it later on... the holiday here lasts like 3 or 4 days!!!
I'll get some pictures up soon since I took a bunch..

P.S. I just remembered that had my sister been a boy... my parents would've named her Ray... Ray... I like that.... I think I'll call her that from now on..

Till Next Time!

If someone in church talked the entire service...

DO...NOT...JUDGE!
I mean, I was distracted for the entire service they talked... but about halfway through I did realize something that was affirmed at the end of the service... Those people were visiting Taiwan and they were translating Chinese to Japanese.. So lesson learned... if they talked the entire service non-stop.. they must have a reason... if they talk for some of the service they probably don't and if they don't talk at all, well..good for them...... unless they're sleeping

As far as updates go, prayers answered! I received a call confirming a second ESL project that I talked about in the past... I'm excited, but a little more stress now that I need to find more materials for ESL... But all's good for the Kingdom...

In ending, I'll say that I ate pizza today... I was ecstatic.. first American food in more than 3 weeks.... I think I may take a trip to McDonalds tomorrow after I'm finished with ESL... Fatty foods FTW!

Nothing else to write about that's noteworthy... New pictures are up and more will be coming since Chinese New Year is in a few days... oh.. and if anyone wants like a souvenir or something, they should probably facebook me or email or something... (not phone)

Till Next Time!

Finally...

Got a small stint at my parents church teaching children English along with the Gospel as well... while it's in the mornings for now, I hope to get a second stint somewhere else... I'm really hoping it falls through which will give me a busy week which will result in it seeming shorter...

Also contemplating if I should leave earlier than I intended to... Of course I won't make a rash decision about it and just decide to leave.. But will pray over it to see when the time is right... Ever since I found out that I wouldn't be working from Mondays to Fridays and only going to service on the weekends, my mom as been pestering me to come back and find a job in NC much to my annoyance...

Anyways, the time is a lot shorter than I had originally predicted since teaching ESL can only go so far until I have nothing left... Speaking of which, I should probably look up more materials...
As for today, it went well as far as first days go... Kids liked me at once, which was shocking to me since it always seem to take some time for people to like me..
I'm trying to think of more innovated ways to reveal Christ.. I got a few ideas going but executing them is going to be a bit rough

Wow.. this post a lot shorter than the previous one... sorry if you read through the entire thing... It's torture, I know...

Till Next Time

A small progress...

Past couple of days were uneventful... today however wasn't... I went to meet with a pastor that my parents and I knew from the church they go to in Huntington since he goes as a guest speaker sometimes.. reason being was because he was who I needed to come in contact with for the ESL program... But before we discussed that, he gave me a tour of the seminary he taught at (Taiwan Baptist Theological Seminary).. Really bad day to forget my camera since there's a huge part of Christian history there and my mind started churning as we went through the archives (which I'll post my thoughts tomorrow... like about 10 hrs from now lol..) But afterward we discussed about what God was doing in my life and talked about things that a pastor would ask a student that's about to go into seminary... As for the ESL job.. there's good news and bad news... bad news is that right now is not a great time to discuss it since Christmas was just over and Chinese New Year's about to come up which is basically a second Christmas here... so, in short, it's like that time slot between Thanksgiving and Christmas for the U.S. Not a lot of people want to start up anything around that time since it's stressful and people go around visiting relatives and such.. (not that I know anything about it since I'm usually studying finals and when I finally take note of Christmas, there's usually 3 days left).. good news is that people seem to assume I have something to do during the weekdays, which I don't, but they'll ask around since they know I have so much free time.. This sort of contradicts what I said about not going to Taiwan to be at a church at first... but he also said that when kids come home from school, usually there's nothing to do, so they come to the seminary to hang out with some of the kids there... so the students there wouldn't exactly be all Christians, but a mix.... plus I could always go around the neighboring houses to rally up a few kids if need be... c'mon.. English for free at just a small walk away? Learning English in Taiwan is compared to learning Spanish in like California... while it's not required... it'd be useful.. and the stereotype is true... they do hold education above pretty much everything else here...
I'm also supposed to contact someone from my family's church for their ESL program... something like sit in, sort of see what it's like... One of the requirements was to read Bible stories in English.. (yeah like that's hard to do..)
Yep, while it all seems like good news in the end, I still need prayers that this all falls through... while everyone in this country is on a Chinese New Year high while they get ready for it, I'm not... I'm a bit weary of what's going to happen afterwards... I'm surprise my relatives aren't sick of me yet and kicked me out...lol... but I degress.... biggest prayer here is that this ESL thing goes through...
Oh, and don't forget to read the next post on my take on some Christian history that involves Taiwan.. and China as well... if you don't learn anything from it.. I'll be surprised :)

Till Next Time!

The Latest...

Another lack of updates yet again... This time due to my main computer either getting a virus or a hardware problem. Shame that all my programs that could fix it are on a external hard drive at home. Anyways I've been very bothered the last couple of days. When I went to church Friday, my worst fear was confirmed... the denomination was Pentecostal and sure enough they spoke in tongues which really bothered me... One, because I don't believe it to be biblical, and two, it's really hard to concentrate praying while they're chanting... But I'm not here to judge, but to serve... which is what I haven't been doing at all but wish to do... I've just been really convicted Friday and Saturday night after the services if this is surely where I should be attending... However, when I went to the Baptist church that my family goes to, I was at peace...
I'm still praying that the ESL job comes through.. It's been good news, bad news, little better news so far... which I'll keep prayer over... So to say the least, I am stressed and very lost in what I should be doing... I know ESL is what I've really wanted to do since I've arrived since I'm using the language I've spoken for the most part of my life to help others improve or learn as well..
It's easy to say that I've been suffering a lot during this trip... One may ask, "Shane is trying his best to do Your work God, so why is he having such a hard time and feeling horrible doing it?" Why not? Satan of course is going to try to trip me up and give up.. what Satan intended my sufferings for evil, I know God will intend it for good. While it is hard at first, I know in the end, there will be blessings ONLY if I draw from God and not Satan...
That is all for now...
Till Next Time

Lacking..

Sorry for the lack of updates, pictures, and more... The internet at my uncle's house isn't operating the way it's supposed to.. as in at all.... As for the meeting, we talked about what the church has been doing and they would love for me to be a part of their services. Though i feel like it's more like a "just be there at church and be involved" sort of thing which was not at all what I expected...(I could just do that at home) But needless to say, my weekends will be a bit busy... As for the weekdays... i have nothing, which is killing me right now..(i have a prayer about it, which I'll list below) Meanwhile I've found out that this apartment complex has a lot of stuff downstairs...including a mini-mart, pool, games, and a small gym; which will accommodate me for the time being since I'm basicaly bored and freezing in my room... so if I come back and I'm buff... don't be surprised (/sarcasm). Finally going to church by myself tomorrow and not have someone trailing me to see if I get lost... I definitely miss the independence where I can do and go wherever.. As for pictures.. I really don't know how much I'll post to be honest... If you're in my shoes, you'll know that I've been here before, and nothing really comes out at me like "oooooo ahhhh gotta take a picture of that" ... plus it makes me look like a tourist which I'm definitely not... but I'll still try to get some that may be entertaining.... Chinese New Year especially since it's coming up in less than 2 weeks...

Back to the prayer request... One of my mom's friends called me the other day after she found out that I'm going the be totally free during the weekdays... She said that there is a sort of an after-school program at the church (different one) and asked if I would like to teach ESL there for some of the kids (english as a second language).. Of course I said yes, and that I don't mind the age groups since I've worked, taught, played, etc. with kids of all ages.. She said she'll ask the person in charge if it was okay and will get back to me as soon as she can... So pray that this goes through... quickly if possible... Y'all know me and I'm a "cup half empty" sort of guy and isn't extremely confident that this will happen... But this is what I always felt like I was called to do here during the trip (not just to attend church).. Anyways.. prayers help.. Thanks!

Till Next Time

Going Out!

Not much has been going on. Went to church on Sunday where I became somewhat a celebrity (to my dismay). Reason being was because this was the church that most of my family went to. It was also the church that my parents grew up in, so seeing me there at the age of 23 (and not 12) was a pleasant surprise to most of the people there. Everyone remembered what I looked like as a kid, but not as an adult since it's been almost a decade since I've been at church (not Taiwan itself. For some reason, I wasn't able to go to church the last time I went to Taiwan)
Monday was disappointing, I called the pastor in the morning to schedule a meeting and while he got my call and said he would call me back, he never did... So I basically sat around the house doing nothing except reading, watching TV and being cold.
Tuesday (which would be today) I decided to call him back and got a straight answer this time. Meeting at the church at around 2:30, but also meeting my cousin's brother-in-law first since my cousin first asked him and then asked the pastor if there was any opportunities to do missions for me which then got relayed back to me by my cousin (*whew, that sounded simpler in my head).
Anyways, pray that the meeting will go well and that I'd be assigned to something that uses my ability to the best extent.
Till Next Time!

PS. It's about 60 degrees here....

I've arrived!

After about 20 hrs on the plane and around 5 hours of layover overall...I've arrived in Taiwan. I'm staying at my 3rd uncle's house and being very spoiled at the moment.While I expect great works from God, I also should be weary that the devil will throw everything and the kitchen sinks at me. I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do yet, but I will meet with the pastor the next few days to see what assignments he has for me.
But for now, I'll try to keep up with this blog and post pictures of things. Remember that everything is 13 hrs ahead here (thought it was 12 but i forgot that Taiwan doesn't have daylight savings time), so if you send something in the afternoon, I'll be sleeping... As for sleeping, I slept well last night because I refuse to believe in jetlag (am I turning into a Christian Scientist?) But the key is to pace yourself on naps on the plane so you don't mess up your sleep schedule. Plus, the guy beside me on the 3 hr trip from Tokyo to Taiwan was snoring up a storm and was chocking like he was dying. Needless to say when I arrived, I was pretty tired.

Till next time!