Hunter -- A Baseball Star

Hunter enjoyed his first baseball practice and game today. He is on the Giants and was so excited to get his hat and t-shirt. Here they play baseball in the fall, soccer in the winter, and basketball in the spring. He had a good day at the plate going 3 - 3 and also had no errors. He will have games every Saturday through the end of October. Wade and Levi also enjoyed their time as they played tackle football on the astroturf field.

Taking Out the Garbage

Since Page and I have been married, I have always taken out the garbage. It is one of those unspoken rules we have in our house. Well, here in Taiwan, taking out the garbage is a much different experience than back in N.C. At 9:20pm each night I must walk out to the corner of two streets and wait for three trucks to come. One truck is for regular trash, one is for recycleables, and I have not yet figured out what the third truck is for. The regular garbage truck has a loud speaker that plays a song so all the neighbors can hear when it arrives. I don't really know the purpose of the music - if I heard the music and had forgotten to take the trash out, I wouldn't be able to get it out there in time anyway! Sometimes the trucks are a little late, so this time has given me a chance to practice my Chinese. I have even developed a few friendships. One of the those friends is Ricky. Ricky is a 20 year college student who is trying to learn English. Therefore, when I speak with Ricky I talk in Chinese and he speaks back to me English. Last week, I asked Ricky to go out to lunch. So on Saturday we went to Subway (I got to pick where we were going since I offered to pay). We had a great time, and the Lord even prompted me to share the gospel with him. He was very interested and said he believed everything that I told him. However, he indicated that he could not accept Jesus because his parents are Buddhists, and they would not allow this. He does want to continue to talk about Jesus and study the Bible. My prayer is that Ricky will see his need for Christ and accept Him. Please join me in prayer for Ricky. In the meantime, I am thankful for this daily "chore" that has become a unique opportunity to meet some people who live around us!

Keith turns 40!!!!

• It is certainly hard to believe that I am married to an "old" man now. Keith had a good day on Friday celebrating his big day. He woke and checked the computer to find almost 30 emails wishing him a happy birthday. Then in the afternoon he opened all the cards that I have been collecting over the last week or so and a few packages. His favorite was a U-lock for a bicycle that Milly had purchased for him. His bicycle with the usual chain lock was stolen last week! He bought a new bike today with his birthday money, and we hope it won't be stolen with his handy U-lock on it now! He bought a very plain one with no gears, no fancy things or flashy paint. Maybe nobody will want it! :)
  
  In the evening, Milly watched the three boys as we went to our favorite Chinese restaraunt - - The "Green Table Cloth". We don't know the real name, but all the foreigners call it this because the tables have green table cloths. Next week we are going to have a "party" at Outback Steak House! We invited several of the other missionaries here, some teachers from Bethany, and some of our house church members - I will let you know how it goes. Going to Outback is a special treat - we have only been there a few times: once Milly and I went with some other girls for a girls' night out, and the other time Papa was here!
  
  Anyway, I just wanted to thank all of you for remembering Keith's special day and to let you know he is the same great guy even though he is so old now. You made his day!!!

Dentist Appointment

Milly cracked a tooth yesterday at school during lunch. We have not been to the dentist here yet, so I (Page) called the number of the Pediatric Dentist referred by some friends here. The receptionist did not speak any English, so I fumbled my way through the conversation and THOUGHT she said to bring her "tomorrow at 7:00 p.m."

Today, before I rode my bike to go get the kids from school, I decided to make sure I could find the dentist's office and make sure I understood right about our appointment time. Levi and I (he rides on the back of my bike) found the office with no problem - which is an accomplishment in itself since I didn't have directions. I just happened to know the street and followed the signs to the correct alley and building. I was most thrilled that I was correct about the appointment time! In the 7:00 p.m. slot on the appointment calendar were three Chinese characters that mean "foreigner". I told the dentist that was me! I was so happy I not only made an appointment using my Chinese, I also recognized the characters written in the book.

Milly and I rode bikes to her appointment tonight. The dentist was very kind, and he actually spoke English pretty well! The cracked tooth was the last baby tooth in her whole mouth! He numbed her gums and pulled it easily. My total bill was $150NT, which is about $5.00! Though most things here are very expensive, medical care is excellent and cheap! What a blessing!

First Day of School

Monday, August 14, was the first day of school for all the Curlee kids. Milly is now in 6th grade - yes, middle school! She has a locker and changes classes for the first time. She is especially pleased that she sits next to her friend, Cynthia, in almost all her classes (see photo).

Wade is in the 4th grade. His teacher is very structured which is good! He is enjoying himself so far. His favorite thing is playing basketball on the playground before and after school with a group of 5th graders! By the way, we could not get a good picture of him in class.

Hunter was the most excited about school. He is in the 1st grade. His teacher is very sweet. After the first day, she said Hunter would have to learn to raise his hand before talking, but she was glad to have such an enthusiastic student in class. He has enjoyed reuniting with all his buddies from his time in kindergarten last spring.

We were a little nervous about Levi going back to Chinese preschool. We have been very blessed - there is a family here for six months to study language, and they have a boy Levi's age who goes to preschool with him! Now Levi is not the only foreigner in the school. He really seems to like going, and he likes his new teacher.

Thank you for all your prayers about their first day!!

A Short Trip to Taroka Gorge

We just returned yesterday from a 3-day vacation to Taroka Gorge, located on the eastern part of the island. This area is where a majority of the world's marble is found, and we were able to see the beautiful marble boulders everywhere. There were also many waterfalls, cliffs, and caves to explore. After a 3 hour train ride from Taipei to Hualien and then another trip by shuttle from the train station to the Gorge, we were all ready to arrive at our hotel. As the shuttle made its way into the gorge, the noise level in our shuttle changed from a group of tired, whiny, arguing children (and parents!) to total silence and then many oohs and aahs as we observed God's creation. We can't even describe the beauty! What a blessing...Wade made a comment that summed up our feelings as we first laid eyes on this piece of His creation - "you know sometimes it is pretty cool living in Taiwan." We know the pictures we took cannot portray the beauty we beheld, but they give you a little hint. As I was telling the children, God could've made everything the same everywhere, but He chose to give us majestic beauty and color to enjoy!

Our favorite excursion was to a place called Baiyang Falls. We hiked almost an hour through eight different tunnels to get there. There were no guardrails on the sides of the cliffs, either! Keith, being afraid of heights, had a hard time on a few of the narrower trails and on a rickety bridge to an amazing waterfall! By the way, even though we can't read Chinese yet, we think we understood the sign next to Keith in the above photo. The last tunnel was called the tunnel of the the "water curtain". There was a sheet of water that came down into the cave like a curtain. The water was frigid and beautiful! The kids enjoyed splashing around in it. It was truly an amazing few days! To enlarge the pictures, simply click on them.

Vacation Bible School -- What fun!!!

We had a good time at VBS this week. Page taught 19 - five year olds, which included two sets of twins and one set of triplets (all boys, of course). Most spoke only Chinese so the language barrier was pretty difficult. At the very least the children heard numerous times that Yesu ai ni (Jesus loves you). Keith went in every class and taught a mission story each day. Milly, Wade, Hunter, and Levi were in class each day. They had a great time as well. Here are some pictures of Page in action and the kids in class. By the way, if you want to enlarge the pictures simply click on them.