Typhoon Morakot

We missed the biggest typhoon to hit Taiwan in 50 years. 

Right before we left Australia, Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan (pictures & story here), toppling buildings & flooding whole villages/towns.  Some places in the south got nearly 3000ml of rain from the one typhoon!  (That's nearly 6 years worth of rain for Michael's hometown in Australia!)

A couple of days after arriving back, Michael had the opportunity to go down south with many of the students from the SBS to help with some relief work for a few days. They worked hard cleaning mud out of houses -- some with a meter of mud, some with "just" a foot.  By the end of the day, they could feel some muscles they hadn't felt for awhile, & they all had fun standing in line for their turn at the shower (2 showers per 100+ people :-P). 

The damage was extensive & the clean-up process will continue for a long time!  Pray for the people on the southern part of the island as they deal with all of this and pray for the whole island -- that people would open their hearts to God!

Returned from Down Under

We are back in Taiwan!

We had a great time with family, were able to catch up with friends, & had a nice restful break while in Australia for 6 weeks. :-D

Our kids are going to go through dessert withdrawals, Michael & I might go through tea withdrawals ;-), and though we will definitely miss everyone, it will be good to get back into the swing of things here too.  Thanks to family & friends for a great time Down Under!

Photo highlights here!

Speakin' Aussie

I've heard somewhere that Australia contributes 10,000 unique words to the English language (but I'm not sure the accuracy of that number). 

In our house we use several Aussie words in our everyday communication: Our kids have all worn nappies (diapers); we throw rubbish (garbage) into the rubbish bin (garbage can); we stop at the petrol station to fill the van up with petrol. When we buy groceries, we put the bags in the boot (trunk); Michael loves footy (football); for a special treat for dinner sometimes we'll have bangers & mash (sausages with mashed potatoes), or put something on the barbie (grill/BBQ); and Michael checks the kids' rooms for mozzies (mosquitoes) before going to bed at night.

Then there are a lot of Australian words we don't use: we don't eat sangers for lunch -- we eat sandwiches. Michael says 'man' or 'guys' instead of bloke. We are happy/excited about various things, not rapt. We wear sandals or flip-flops on our feet, not thongs :-P.

Sometimes we both use our own word: I don't let the kids eating too much candy, Michael doesn't let them eat too many lollies. I look, Michael has a squiz.

Even though we use several Aussie words in our household, it struck me during this trip just how different some of our vocabulary really is. See if you can track with the following:

• Where's his dummy? =
• Look under the bonnet =
• This arvo =
• Hundreds & Thousands =
• Want a bikkie? =
• Put it in the back of the ute =
• I'm flat out today =
  
• Stop whinging (win' jing) =
  

I'm pretty familiar with the above words, but there were a few times this trip I found myself needing some English to English translation! :-)

So, here's the English to English translation from above:

• dummy = pacifier
  
• bonnet = hood of the car
  
• arvo = afternoon
  
• Hundreds & Thousands = those tiny colored candy sprinkles
  
• bikkie = cookie / biscuit
  
• ute = small pickup truck
  
• flat out  = very busy  (I always forget this one -- I keep thinking it means "tired" -- but I guess when your super-busy, you're likely tired as well! :-P)
  
• whinging (win' jing) = whining, complaining
  

Well, this post is long enough and I'd better head to bed soon, or it will be time for Brekkie! :-)

I Smell... Koala!

Elise was the first one out the door,  ready to head into town for a squiz at a few Op-shops.  Moments later, we heard excited squealing, "Come! Hurry! You have to see!"

We were staying at the YWAM Adelaide base for 2 weeks in the guest house, and right outside the guest house is a big gum tree.  As she was heading to the van, Elise (who had seen some koalas in the wild just a few days before) thought she could smell koala poo.  Looking down, it was koala poo, and lots of it!  Looking up, here is what she found:



(Note: We stood outside & took several photos before he/she eventually climbed down.)

Culture Shock?

We have arrived in the land of Oz!

We haven't been out of Taiwan for 3 years, so the first couple hours in Australia, Michael & I both realized we were having a bit of culture shock, or something... lots of things so normal once, but now so different... it felt a little weird as everything hit us all at once:

• being able to read ALL the street signs, shop signs, window adverts, etc. -- everything was in English.
• Brown and blond-haired people all over the place.
• Driving down the street -- we kept checking the side mirrors whenever we turned -- but no motorbikes ever tried to whiz around us.
• No motorbikes! (Well, a rather rare sight, anyway)
  
• Driving to Clare -- traveling at 100 k's felt so fast. And switching the lights from dim to bright... (In Taiwan, you never have a long enough stretch without oncoming traffic to ever get to turn your brights on)
• Footpaths (i.e. sidewalks :))
  
• Variety of cuisine -- I couldn't wait to find a Yiros shop!
• Car seats for 3 of the kids -- (and following the car seat rules strictly)
  
• ...plus several more that escape me right now...

It's definitely good to be back & we're looking forward to lots of fun with family & a good rest/break. :-)

Snakes & Sneakers

We often put these cardboard squares around the house to catch cockroaches. They are super sticky with some bait in the middle to lure the roaches in. Once the cockroach hits the sticky part, it's stuck ... for good!

As we live on the 1st floor, we get more than our fair share of creepy crawlies trying to get into the apartment... so we usually put a few of these roach stickies in our entry way to try to cut down on the summer population inside. Today, Michael thought he'd check to see if he caught anything... and found this:

You'll notice what remains of a roach on the bottom right. Then a lizard/gecko encircled by the snake, then of course, yes, the SNAKE!

And where did Michael pull this out from? Right under the kids' shoe shelf, in the entryway of the house, right next to the screen door with totally broken screens (the kids don't even both to open the screen doors, they just walk right through)!

Michael showed it to our community groundskeeper who said it was a very poisonous variety... comforting thought!

If this was the first incident, it might not be so bad... but this is the 5th snake we've found in our entryway area, and the 3rd one under the shoe shelf! So, I guess the next time we put on our sneakers, we'll check to see if there's anything slithering inside first!

34 years!

No, neither Michael nor I have recently turned 34... (though one of us is currently 34... not for long though)

Neither have we been in ministry 34 years...yet.

34 years is a statistic. A statistic about exponential growth.

Did you know that if there was only one Christian in the world, and in one year that one person led one other person to Christ, then the following year, those two people led (one each) two more to Christ, then the following year, those 4 people led 4 more people to Christ... how long would it take for the entire world to come to know Christ?

Well, I guess the title sort of gives it away... but can you believe the answer is actually just a mere 34* years?!? And that's starting with just one person! If the whole body of Christ around the world right now started doing this... where would we be in just a few years? Go ahead, do the math -- and be challenged! I am!

(* does not take into account the projected population in 34 years time, which could be more like 12 billion... but still... don't think about the math quite that much... just accept the challenge!)

Theology with a Three-year old

"Mom, did you know that after Jesus died, he got alive again?"
"Yes, Anaya, that's exactly right!"
"Mom, when we die, Jesus will make us alive again too."
"Wow, honey! I'm impressed! ... Did daddy just talk with you about all of this?"

The last couple days Anaya has been asking lots of questions about when we will die, and there has somehow been a connection with flying on an airplane. As we have been talking about flying to Australia, she has mentioned/asked several times, "Will we die when we go on the airplane?" I don't really know where she is getting this from, but am guessing maybe she saw something when Michael had the news on about Air France and somehow made a connection...?? Anyhow, we are all trusting God that we will make it Down Under in one piece :-), and we have assured Anaya that flying is quite safe and not to worry. This evening, Michael must have spent some time talking with her, and by the time I laid down with her for bed-time prayers and a little chat, she was sharing the above with me. We continued on:

"And, Anaya, where do we get to go after we die and Jesus makes us alive again?"
"Uhhh... we get to be with Jesus?"
"Yep, that's right! We get to be with Jesus in heaven."
"But, Jesus live up in the sky. We can't fly, mom."
"Well, we can't fly right now, but I'm sure Jesus will work something out. Jesus will come and get us, and we'll get to go be with Jesus & God."
"But, Jesus is God, mom."
"Yes! Jesus is God, (she has that down! but now, how do you explain the Trinity to a 3-yr-old??? ... how do you really explain the Trinity at all, for that matter?!) but, Jesus is God's son, so God is Jesus' dad, and we also have the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is also God -- so God is 3 in one..."
"(getting a bit lost on that last bit) Mom, will Jesus really make us alive again?"
"Yes, honey, He sure will! We just need to have Jesus in our hearts and believe that He is the only true God... If we love Jesus and believe in Him, then we will get to live with Him forever! Do you love Jesus, Anaya?"
"Yes, I love Jesus. ... Mom, when we die Jesus will make us alive again.? (half statement, half question)

And we started the conversation all over again...

Fun times, those bed-time chats. :-)