Taiwan Mission Video and Typhoon

First, I want to let you know about a new link on my page, that I think is very exciting. In the links column I have added a connection to a new You Tube video, of the mission work being done here in Taiwan. Josh Lange, from LCMS World Mission, came out here last spring and video taped a lot of ministries that are happening here at CMS and in Chia Yi. He also interviewed me and a couple of other missionaries who serve as teachers at the school.

Over the last couple of months he put all of this together into an informational video, and it is now up on the internet. Josh did an outstanding job on this video and I would highly recommend that all of you watch it. It is a great chance to see some footage of what is happening here, meet some of my fellow missionaries and get to hear about the wonderful ways God is working in the mission field of Taiwan.

In addition to this link, I added the LCMS World Mission blog to my "other blogs" column. This blog is well organized and has tons of information, pictures, and videos about mission work being done all over the world. Also, fellow Taiwan missionary Kevin Foley has a new blog that is up and running. Check that out to get more perspectives on the mission work being done here at CMS. It is under the "Taiwan blogs" section.

Finally, today is Monday, but it is a no school day. Hooray! Everyone loves a day off, right? We are currently in the middle of a typhoon and the winds and rain were strong enough for the government to call off school. Actually here in Chia Yi it is not nearly as dangerous as being along the coast, but none the less I'll probably make a lazy day of it and stay inside. It allows me to catch up on my blogging, email, school work, and get some much needed rest.

But while I am thankful, it is dangerous for some out there, so please pray for the safety of those here on the island who are in the path of danger.

Feet Eating Fish

Here are some picture from the school trip that I took back in August. First are 2 pictures of those fish that eat the dead skin off of people's feet. (see previous post for more information).




I also will include a picture of Kevin and I holding our artwork that we created. One of the stops on the trip was to a traditional arts interactive museum. Here we made incense and Taiwanese traditional tops. The tops use a string and you throw the top toward the ground and then yank the string back, to make it spin.



At the museum we painted tops to make our own design. Mine is made with the theme of a sunset.

Of Typhoons, Holidays, and Football

Hey readers, I just have a couple of short times that I wanted to blog about, as nothing major or super interesting has happened lately.

First, we are in the middle of a typhoon this weekend. It started, I believe, on Friday evening, and has continued through Sunday night now. On Friday the winds started to really pick up. You can especially see it when you look up at the giant palm trees on campus and the branches sway back and forth. Some even fall off.

Now I don't want to exaggerate, this is not the biggest typhoon I have been in. Also, in Chia Yi, we are in the middle of the island and are protected on the east by mountains. So for me this is more of a giant wind and rain storm, but nothing dangerous or scary. However, it has rained pretty much straight from Friday evening until now (Sunday night). So it has regulated me to a lot of indoor activities with movies and card games, along with a wet ride to church on the scooter this morning.

In addition to being a typhoon, today is Moon Festival in Taiwan, and in China. Moon Festival is typically celebrated with family getting together and recently having BBQ as a big family meal. It kind of has the family feel of Thanksgiving in America, and it is a major holiday here in Taiwan.

In fact, it is one of only three holidays that we get a vacation day for during the first semester. But alas, the Taiwan education system is not quite like the American one. Normally if this day was on a weekday, we would get a day off of school, however, since the holiday is on a Sunday we don't have to come to school. So, there is no need for a vacation day, since every one can celebrate on Sunday. This brings the first semester count for vacation days (other than weekends) down to 2 days...October 10th and Januray 1st. But hey, Happy Moon Festival everyone!!!

Finally, I do need to bring attention to my readers that Iowa beat Iowa State this weekend in football. Go Hawks!!!!! I was not able to watch the game, but gather it was pretty ugly. I did listen to the first half on the radio through an Internet website, but decided at 1:30 that the game wasn't too exciting and that I REALLY needed sleep. But it was wonderful to wake up and check the headlines. So a good game. Iowa is 3-0 and I can cheer Iowa State on the rest of the year!

Laughint Out Loud

This week is the first week of the new semester, and it has been such a joy to meet my new students and to get back in the full time swing of things. Like every year the first week is spent getting to know the kids and talking about rules and expectations for the class. I have 8 different classes this year, so it made for a rather boring week of teaching.

I would like to use this blog to tell about one more thing from the school trip a week and a half ago. Our hotel had a decent sized swimming and hot tub area that we had access to as guests of the hotel. One feature of this complex was a small pool where fish could come and eat dead skin off of your feet.

What you did was sit on the side and stick your legs into the knee-high pool. The pool is filled with small fish that come up and pick dead skin from your feet. Often there would be about 5 or 6 of these little creatures around each foot. The idea is that this will be healthy for your feet as it helps to clean them and make them more beautiful. I personally thought it was a little strange, but definitely had to try it out.

When I stuck my feet in the pool it did not hurt so much as tickle. I remember being unable to hold back laughter for the first 5 minutes while these fish "ate" at my feet. After a little bit I got used to the feeling and could control the laughter. It was actually sort of relaxing after adjusting, but more than anything it was just a unique experience.

I'll post a picture at a later time!