Super Typhoon Jangmi

This has been by far the worst typhoon that we have experienced in our almost 3 years in Taiwan. This one did not have as much rain but the wind was very strong -- knocking over tree limbs, signs, etc.

We did not have church today nor are we going to have school tomorrow.

We are all fine and even enjoyed a typhoon party with another family tonight.

Thanks for your prayers.

Believe It or Not ... Another Typhoon Approaching

We are bracing for yet another typhoon (our 5th one this summer/fall season -- by our count). This one (Typhoon Jangmi) is supposed to be a big one. We will keep you updated!!

Light of Taichung

Here is another excerpt for you to get a feel for the type of people we minister to here in Taiwan. The Light of Taichung is our m team that focuses on the entire city of Taichung. Thanks for your prayers for the people of Taiwan.

LIGHT for TAICHUNG

Neel and Grace are a young couple with a boy who is almost two and another baby on the way. They want to raise their family in a healthy environment, such as they have observed in the lives of some Christian friends. In the past few months they have expressed interest in the truth of Christ and have consistently been participating in a local church. They are beginning to understand the joy and peace that comes from salvation through Christ. However, they are struggling with how to reconcile the Taiwanese tradition of honoring family by times of ancestor worship if they give their faith to Christ. Please pray for them to see that faith in Christ is of far greater worth and pray that God will show them ways to honor their family without having to bow down and worship the ancestors. Pray that they will realize their sin and understand God's provision of forgiveness and new life through Jesus Christ.

John 16:8 He will convict the world of guilt, in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment; in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me.

To His Glory and Honor and for their salvation

Taiwan --

Here is a recent excerpt about Taiwan from an EA publication. Continue to lift this precious nation along with its people to our Lord. Thanks.

Taiwan is known as a hard mission field. If you walk down just about any street or alley and look into the windows of homes and businesses, you will see "god shelves" laden with idols and offerings of fruit and incense. A worker in Taipei recently said, "Idolatry has blinded the people's ability to see The Truth."
Southern Baptist missionary efforts in Taiwan began in 1948 when Christian workers had to leave China. Since then, generations of Chinese believers and missionaries have labored faithfully — some of them for decades — all throughout the island. Taiwan now has 400,000 believers, 206 Baptist congregations, and many other churches. But tragically, only 2.7 percent of Taiwan's 23 million people have accepted Christ.Despite 60 years of concerted Christian witness in Taiwan, many of her people are still walking in deep darkness. Workers are urgently needed for Tainan, Hsinchu/Chungli, and Taoyuan. If you sense that God might be calling you to share Christ in Taiwan, please write to: ripetoharvest@pobox.com.

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.