Survived the typhoon...

We survived the latest typhoon (see below post). Not much damage here -- just a lot of rain which meant a lot of leaks. We did manage to have friends over for an "American supper" on one of the typhoon days. Nick, Gloria and Zack (their 2 year old son) came over for Page's homemade pizza. They seemed to enjoy it. The picture above has Nick and Gloria in it with Keith and Hunter, but Zack did not want to stay still for the picture. Nick and Gloria have been attending our church and both seem very interested in Christianity. We watched the Jesus film in our church for two Sundays. Afterwards Nick told me that was the first time he had ever heard that story. Please pray that they would put their trust in Jesus. Thanks!!

Another Typhoon

We are in the midst of another typhoon. This is the 4th one for Taiwan this year. Not much wind here in Taichung but a lot of rain. Keith went into his classroom today and there is some water in his classroom -- not too much but it is still pouring outside. Our apartment seems dry except for a small leak in the boys' room. Here is an expert from an article about the typhoon.

Typhoon slams into Taiwan, six injured
6 hours ago
TAIPEI (AFP) — A typhoon pounded Taiwan on Sunday bringing fierce winds and torrential rains, sparking evacuations and leaving at least six people injured, officials said.
Traffic was severely disrupted as Typhoon Sinlaku made landfall in northeastern Ilan county early Sunday, packing winds of up to 173 kilometres (107 miles) per hour, the Central Weather Bureau said.
Hundreds of domestic and international flights have been cancelled on the island, and around 500 passengers were stranded in Kinmen airport, a Taiwan-controlled offshore island near the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen.
Power and telephone services were also disrupted to nearly 100,000 households as trees were uprooted by the strong winds.
Some 250 residents in northern mountain villages were evacuated to safety, said the National Fire Agency which coordinates Taiwan's rescue missions.
The typhoon lost momentum after making landfall but weather forecasters warned residents against relaxing their vigilance, saying the storm had brought heavy rains across the island.
"Its strength declined slightly, but the whole island remains surrounded by the typhoon. People should take precautions against the torrential (rains) which may trigger flooding and landslides," said a weather bureau official.
"Over the last six hours, the typhoon circled near Suao," a fishing port in Ilan county, the official said.
Six people were injured, including two hit by debris, while four were hurt when their bus crashed in southern Taiwan, the National Fire Agency said.
At 0100 GMT, the centre of the typhoon was 30 kilometres east-northeast of Ilan. With a radius of 250 kilometres, Typhoon Sinlaku was moving north-northeast towards Japan.

Teacher Ding

As many of you know, last year, Levi attended a Chinese kindergarten. Levi's teacher was Ding Lao Shr (or Teacher Ding). Levi loved her. Recently, we invited her to our church and she attended. We watched the Jesus Film in Chinese and her heart was very moved. We are hopeful that she now believes in Jesus!!! We praise God for this news. Please pray that she will continue to grow and understand more about Jesus.

This picture was taken last Christmas of Levi, Ding Lao Shr, and Levi's classmates. At Christmas time, Levi's classmates were told about Jesus, and we caught them in a prayer to Jesus. Isn't that a great picture??!!!

Jennifer and Albert visit from Taipei

We had a nice visit with Jennifer and Albert along with their kids (Tracy and Felix) this past weekend. Tracy is not pictured because she actually took the picture. They live in Taipei, and Jennifer used to teach Page Chinese. They took a weekend trip to Taichung. It was great to catch up with them.

Meet the New President...

Wade was nominated by his class to be the first class president. Every six weeks they will have another one, so his reign is very short. He has a few duties as president -- such as holding class meetings, writing an emergency phone list, etc. He likes the title of Mr. President.

First Day of School

The first day of school for us here was Monday, August 18 -- Keith's 42 birthday!!!

All the kids had a great first day. Wade and Levi were especially excited. Wade has now entered middle school. He was especially looking forward to his HUGE locker as well as being able to wear flip-flops. Levi was thrilled to finally be able to go to an English speaking school. Milly and Hunter enjoyed their days as well. Here are a few pictures of the day!!

School Starts Tomorrow!!

It is always exciting the day before school starts. All the kids are excited about the 1st day of school, especially Levi. He told us this morning that "he can't stop waiting for school to start". We think he meant that he can't wait for school to start.

Keith is excited to to be back in the classroom full time after a 10 year absence.

We will post some pics soon about the start of the school year.

A Visit from a Good Friend

Janet, pictured on the left, has been a good friend to us. We met Janet through Keith Hall -- a friend from High Point. Janet and Keith do buisness together. When Keith Hall found out we were moving to Taipei, Keith told Janet and Janet helped us a lot. Janet's English is very good so she was big help. The other night Janet and her sister joined us for dinner here in Taichung. It was neat because now a majority of our conversation is in Chinese. Please pray for both Janet and Jennifer as they are not yet believers. Thanks.

Levi Learns to Ride A Bike!!!

Levi finally did it. We bought him a new bike for his birthday. Wade spent one afternoon teaching Levi -- now he is very comfortable and proud of riding his bike.

Milly and Wade Taking Chinese Classes

We survived our second typhoon in less than two weeks. Thanks for your prayers. Not much damage was done here in Taichung.

We are now back to our normal routine. Since coming back from the States, both Milly and Wade have enrolled in Chinese classes. They both are doing great!!! Pictured above are their teachers. Teacher Tien is Wade's teacher while Teacher Chang is Milly's teacher. Both teachers have taught Keith and Page as well.

Another Typhoon Headed Our Way!!!

It looks like we will have to deal with yet another typhoon in the next day or so. As you can see in the picture above, the typhoon is headed right toward the island of Taiwan. We will let you know how it goes. With the typhoon last week, here in Taichung, we had major flooding problems.

Day Road Trip to Taipei

Today, Saturday, we took a road trip to where we used to live -- Taipei. Milly and Wade hung out with old Bethany friends while the rest of us enjoyed catching up with some friends that we have not seen in a while. It was a nice trip -- even though our air conditioning in our van did not work on the way back.

Page -- 3 Days of Sickness

Page has been really sick -- and in bed the last three days. She apparently caught a virus that I (Keith) had in the States. Finally, today she is at least up and moving around. Hopefully, tomorrow she can get out of the house some.

On one of the dinners that Keith and the kids had alone -- Levi said "it is sure hard when Mom is sick. Dad, I would rather you be sick." All the other kids nodded in agreement :).

Flooding in Taichung!!

Here in Taiwan we have a typhoon (I think it has now been downgraded to a tropical storm) that has dumped a ton of rain down on us. Thankfully, Keith unplugged our drains on our 5th floor porches before the water could get into our apartment. Other friends were not so fortunate as their places have been flooded or close to it. We are hoping this storm moves out of here soon.

Back in Taiwan!!!

We made it back home safely. We left the Charlotte airport on Sunday, July 13 at 5:00am and walked into our front door in Taichung on Monday, July 14 at 8:00pm. A total of 27 hours -- not too bad.

We enjoyed spending time with family and friends in the States. A big thank you for all of your love and support.

Week #2 at the Beach

We are winding down our time in the States. This week we were able to spend time with Page's family at the beach. (See picture above). We have had a super time in the US but we are ready to get home and not live out of suitcases. We leave the Charlotte airport early on Sunday morning and are scheduled to arrive in Taiwan on Monday night.

At the Beach

We have really enjoyed our vacation in the States. However, the pace has been very hectic. In two weeks we have stayed at 4 different places and seen countless friends and family. So, we were all glad to get to the beach for some real R & R. We will be staying at Holden Beach for the next two weeks. This week we are spending time with Keith's family. Next week, Page's family will come to the same beach cottage. So far the weather has been great!! Above is the view we have from our front porch.

Celebrating Birthdays in the US!!!

We have been busy celebrating birthdays here in the US. Levi turned 6 and had a putt-putt party (see sign below). Actually, he will officially turn 6 on July 10. Page turned 40 on June 23 and we had a surprise birthday party last night for her. The picture above is of Page and her very good friend, Jeanne, who helped plan the party. Page was quoted as saying, "This was the best birthday party that I have ever had!!" Milly also had a party -- a sleepover with 5 of her HPCA friends. Sorry, no picture of that one. Milly will turn 13 on June 26.

In the US!!!

We arrived in the US last Sunday night!! We had a short visit with Page's folks and then headed to our hometown of High Point, NC. We are having a great time seeing family and friends. The food has been great too. We will post some pictures soon.

Headed to the US!!!

On Sunday we are headed for a 30 day vacation to the States. We will fly into Charlotte, NC, and spend a few days with Page's parents. We then will head to High Point, NC, for about a week in our home town. On the 26th we head to Southern Pines to spend time with Keith's dad and stepmom. Finally, from June 28 to July 12 we will be at Holden Beach, NC, (one of our favorite places). We are looking forward to having time with our extended family, our church family, and friends. This will be our first time on US soil since December 29, 2005 - we are very excited! Please remember us in prayer as we travel.

An early swimming "turtle" 13th birthday party!

Yes, our little girl will be 13 on June 26! We are the parents of a teenager!

Since we are going to the US for vacation over her birthday, Milly wanted to have a party with her friends here before we left. So we rented out the MCA pool for a night-time swim party! This is the first time she has had a party where both boys and girls are invited - it is no longer "gross" to have boys who are friends. In fact she has just as many boy friends as she does girl friends now! She also loves turtles, so mom made her cake into a turtle...

Here are a few photos:

Keith passed Level 3 Test BUT....

an even cooler thing happened today.

First, thanks for praying for Keith on this test. He felt relaxed, and the test administrator was very kind and forgiving. Passing this test does not mean we are done studying, but it is an indicator that we are making progress. Again, thanks for your prayers!!!

After the test, Keith joined Page and the boys at a local water park. The place was very empty since Chinese school is still going on. This gave Keith an opportunity to talk to a lifeguard named Eden. Small talk turned into spiritual talk, and Keith gave his testimony to Eden. She had heard about Christianity from a Christian friend of hers. After finishing his testimony, Keith asked Eden if she wanted to believe, and Eden said, "Yes"!!! Keith asked, "Are you sure?" Eden said, "Yes, I am sure!" Keith led her in a short prayer, and Eden said she accepted Christ. We are going to follow up on Friday and take her a Bible - so please pray for us. We also will give her name to another Christian who will follow up since we will be in the States for the next month. Another cool part of this is that all of this was done in Chinese. If Keith had not prepared so hard for the assessment then he could not have shared or prayed in Chinese. Exciting stuff!!! God is working here in Taiwan.

Happy Dragon Boat Day

Today, Sunday June 8 is Dragon Boast Festival. This is the day that ushers in the summer here in Taiwan -- although it has already been pretty hot and humid for the last couple months. Today, as I was walking I saw two Chinese ladies trying to make chicken eggs stand up. Well they did it. I asked why they were doing this and they commented that on Dragon Boat Day around 12:00pm you can make chicken eggs stand up. They were right as all three were standing. You do see some interesting things here in Taiwan.

Here is some more from Wickipedia on the Dragon Boat Festival celebrated here.

The Duanwu Festival is a Chinese traditional and statutory holiday. It is a public holiday in mainland China[1][2] and in Taiwan, where it is known as the "Duanwu Festival". It is also a public holiday in Hong Kong and Macau, where it is known as Duen Ng Festival. Its alternative name in English is "Dragon Boat Festival", after one of the traditional activities for the holiday.
The Duanwu Festival has also been celebrated in other East Asian nations. For their equivalent or related celebrations, see Dano (Korean festival), Tết Đoan Ngọ (Vietnam), and Kodomo no hi (Japan).
The Duanwu Festival occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar, giving rise to the alternative name of Double Fifth [3]. In 2008, this falls on 8 June. The focus of the celebrations include eating zongzi (see picture above) which are large rice wraps with some interesting things inside, drink realgar wine, and race dragon boats.

Good day at Morrison

We had a good day at Morrison today. It was the first day of summer vacation for the kids. Secondly, Morrison graduated 77 seniors in a very nice ceremony tonight.

However, the best part of the day was that we had two more students baptized this afternoon. Two brothers, one senior and one freshman accepted Christ some time ago but followed Him today in believer's baptism. Both of these guys attend our House of Blessing Church. Praise God for their bold statement of faith!!!

Teaching English

Page's last day of teaching English to the three classes in Levi's kindergarten was today. Page had a great time in teaching the kids English and some of the stories of Jesus. We hope many seeds were planted!!!

Above is a picture of one of the three classes -- Levi's class. I bet you can pick him out. One little girl told Page -- "Ke Ma-Ma (Ke is our last name in Chinese, and since Levi is one of their classmates they call her mom) please don't forget me when you go to America." Page told her we she would never forget her, but we will only be in America for 4 weeks!!

Three Baptized at House of Blessing

We had a great day of worship today at House of Blessing. We had three people commit themselves to Christ recently and today they followed their commitment with baptism. Above is a picture of Carrie, one of the three that were baptized today. The lady on the left is Kay -- another missionary who has helped Carrie tremendously in her walk. The other two that were baptized were both in middle school. Praise God!!!

A Special Prayer Request

We received the following prayer request from a China Prayer Team --

As you are aware, the horrendous casualty from the earthquake in Sichuan province a couple of weeks ago continues to rise, and the fear of the worse continues. China hoped 2008 would be a yearlong celebration, a time to bask in the spotlight of the upcoming Beijing Olympics. Instead, the "Year of the Rat" has been a string of troubles -- both natural and man-made -- that are diverting the attention from the Olympics. Remember the paralyzing snow storm in the Chinese New Year, the problems in Tibet, the recent terrible train accident in Shandong and the viral infection that killed scores of children. All of these events have poured cold water to the festive mood Chinese were hoping to enjoy on the opening day of the 2008 Olympic Games. We would invite you to pray along with all the Chinese believers the following:

1. For the divine comfort for all the victim's families and the countless others that are now homeless.
2. A window of opportunity for Chinese Christians to demonstrate the love and compassion of God in this time of great suffering.
3. Pray that the Lord will soften the hearts of all Chinese, not to depend on their strength and might, not to take glory in their own achievement, but to turn to God and give glory to Him alone.
4. Pray for all the Chinese churches, Mainland and overseas, as they unite in prayer to uplift the country in God's hands.

Milly's basketball team

Milly played basketball this year for the 7th grade team. She had a great time and really improved a lot. Her Dad enjoyed coaching her. Last week the team had an end of the year tournament and finished 4th out of 8 teams. Above is Milly in action -- well sort of. Don't you love those socks!!!

Counting Down....

We have two count downs going on. One count down is the number of days until school lets out. We are down to 16 days on that one. The other count down is when we will go to the States for a short vacation. We will arrive in the States on June 15 and are excited to see our family and many of our friends. As you can tell by the picture, it was taken a couple of days ago, as the numbers are sligthly different than what we just reported to you.

Happy Mother's Day 2008!!

Happy mother's day to all of you mother's out there. Page had a great mother's day. She did not cook all day -- which is very rare. For dinner we all went out to eat at Friday's. It was treat for us all. The first picture is of Page and all of her kiddos -- the serious picture. The picture below is all of the kids being goofy.

Morrison Middle School Students Baptized

Last Friday six Morrison middle school students were baptized in the swimming pool. The six gave their testimonies and were prayed over by other students. Many of the other middle school students were on hand to cheer and encourage their friends. What an exciting thing for the middle school students to see. The picture is of Jordan -- one of Milly's friends -- being baptized by his dad -- the elementary and middle school principal. Praise God for the willingness that the six displayed in following Christ.

End of School Year Events!!!

The close of a school year always has brought business to our lives. Here in Taiwan -- it is no different for us. We have end of the year ball tournaments, concerts, and science fairs. Milly and her classmates had their 7th grade Science Fair program last week. Milly did a great job and worked hard on her project. Above is Milly and her project in the background. The other picture is of Milly and a few of her classmates listening for the winner of the science fair to be announced. Although Milly did not win, we were very proud of her as she completed the project -- without very little help from her parents -- and it looked great!!!

MCA Elementary Spring Concert

Wade and Hunter both participated in the spring concert this week at Morrison. Hunter played the cello (see picture below). He continues to improve!! Wade sang in the elementary choir and also played the clarinet (see above picture). He also plays the bass clarinet. Both did a fantastic job. Levi and Milly felt the best part was going out for McDonald's ice cream after the program.

ACC ???

Today in my PE class I found a basketball that had the ACC conference logo as well as nine of the ACC schools. This ball must have been made before the expansion. Anyway, I thought it would be a good time to quiz my PE class on what ACC stands for. Did you know out of the 29 kids in my class -- only one -- knew that ACC meant Atlantic Coast Conference. Of course then I had to give a history lesson to my students about the ACC, tobacco road and of course NC State. I am sure they loved it. Today was just another reminder that I am indeed 10,000 miles away from NC.

Church Fellowship

Tonight we had a church fellowship. It was full of fellowship, food, as well as singing. Please continue to pray for our church as we continue to reach out to the surrounding community. In particular, you can pray for James and Paula, Nick and Gloria -- two couples who attended the fellowship but are not yet believers. Thanks for your faithfulness.

Our fellowship sang a few praise and worship songs.

Levi plays UNO with some other children.

Delicious Chinese food along with KFC (we brought that along).

House of Blessing Meets at New Location

House of Blessing -- our church here in Taichung has changed locations. Lately we have had quite a few people come to our services, so we decided to move to a larger facility -- Sz Chang Li Middle School. It is a pretty amazing story of how we were able to rent this middle school. Let's just say it was a God thing. We are hoping the move allows us to reach out to the Sz Chang Li community -- which is just right down the road from Morrison. We are going to give the new location a trial run for 2 months to see if it works out well. Please pray that God will shine through our church so that the Chinese in this area will able to come to know Him. Below are a few pictures of our first Sunday at the new location.

Page and a few Morrison students warming up before worship.

This is Amy and one of her daughters, Annie. The other daughter, Angel, is hiding behind her Mom. Our church is made up of some Morrison teachers' families, some Morrison students as well as some Taiwanese familes.

Page Teaching English

Every Friday, Page goes to Levi's school and teaches English to Levi's class and two other kindergarten classes. She is having a great time getting to know Levi's classmates better.

Easter Break

We all had a good Easter break this past week. We stayed here in Taichung, but we did end up taking a couple of day trips. One day we went to the Nine Tribes Aboriginal Park. This consisted of the history of the nine original trips on the island and also an amusement park. It was a lot of fun. The above picture is of the kiddos posing like one of the totem poles.

Morrison Field Day Pictures

A couple of weeks ago Morrison EMS (elementary and middle school) had it's annual field day.

Top picture is of Milly running in a relay race. On the right is Wade showing off his high jump form. The next picture is of Hunter participating in the long jump. The last picture is Levi participating in the softball throw -- although he does not yet attend Morrison.

All the kids did great and enjoyed it!!

a prayer request...

Okay ppls...I don't know how many of you actually read this but for those that do...i have a prayer request. There is this guy in my class that is not a Christian and believes in evolution (this is Milly btw). He and I r really close...I'd say he's one of my best friends. Well, my heart really aches for him as i c him w/out God and all the joy and peace he could have. Please pray that he'll hear the message while it is presented in our school and that i'll be a good example to him. not only that he'd hear it, but that it would penetrate his heart and that he'll understand and believe. it would make me really happy to know that ur praying for him. i love ya'll.
TURTLES RULE~ Milly (sry im not allowed to say his name...so just regard him as a guy in my class while ur praying for him....if u pray for him...plez do tho...)

Hunter turns 8!!!

Hunter had a good birthday today. He had a couple of celebrations -- one in his school and one with his family. The picture below is of Hunter and his second grade teacher -- Mrs. Taylor. He will have his "official" birthday party on Saturday.

Hunter chose to go to McDonald's for supper. After supper he opened his presents from us and his extended family in the States. He loved everything. The picture below is Hunter and one of his presents -- soccer goalie gloves.

You Know It Is A Bad Week....

When you can't leave your house without a mishap happening!!! That is what has happened to Page this week. On Monday, Page and Wade were on the scooter going to the bank. As Page was backing up she forgot the kick stand was down and smashed her big toe. She had to go to the emergency room and she now has no big toe nail -- ouch!!!

Then today as she was driving home from a store a scooter driver pulled out right in front of her and she hit him!!! Thankfully, he is ok -- just a few bumps and bruises.

It certainly has been an interesting week for Page!!!

From the mouths of babes!

The first graders at Morrison Christian Academy had to write a sentence on what they would do if Jesus came to their house. The answers are posted outside the classroom. The words touched my heart, and I wanted to share them with you. I understand why Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14)

If Jesus came to my house, I would play the piano for Him.

If Jesus came to my house, I would teach Him how to sing and run fast.

If Jesus came to my house, I would teach Him now to read.

If Jesus came to my house, I would tell Him to stay as long as He wishes.

If Jesus came to my house, I would give Him my watch.

If Jesus came to my house, I would whistle for Him.

If Jesus came to my house, I would want Him to live there.

If Jesus came to my house, I would give Him the best thing in my house.

If Jesus came to my house, I would do whatever He wanted me to do.

If Jesus came to my house, I would teach Him how to draw.

If Jesus came to my house, I would give Him a pet dog.

If Jesus came to my house, I would give Him all my best jewelry ("julry").

If Jesus came to my house, I would play piano for Him.

If Jesus came to my house, I would let Him eat my food all up.

If Jesus came to my houes, I would give Him some hand lotion ("loshin").

Milly in MS Play!!!

Milly recently had a part in the middle school play. The play was funny and entertaining. All the students did great and Milly played her part as a prissy student very well. Below are some pictures that were taken after the production. The top picture is of the actors and actresses bowing as they receive an ovation for their great acting ability. The middle picture is of the entire cast while the last picture is of Milly and her proud brother, Wade.

Taiwan Churches vs. Temples

Even though statistics tell us there are only 3 to 5% Christians in Taiwan there are several Christian churches here, like the one pictured below. The building on the left says, "Jesus is Lord" while the building on the right says, "God loves the people of the world".

However, there are many more temples than churches here in Taiwan, like the one pictured below with Milly and a few of her classmates standing in front. There are temples like this on literally every street corner. The temples are usually either Daoist, Buddhist or a combination of both.

Please join us in praying that the people of Taiwan will understand and see that there is one true God, and that He loves them and sent his Son, Jesus, to this earth to die for their sins so they could have a relationship with Him. Thanks.