Day 8 - 7/7/2016 - A Penultimate Farewell

In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety.
                    Psalm 4:8

       Hello all, this is Jeremy, writing after an exhausting yet fruitful day. From the news of the cancellation of Friday's program to the realization that we have only a few more days together as a tightly knit group of brothers and sisters in Christ, almost everything that occurred today was bittersweet and undeniably nostalgic. Despite this, we enjoyed today far more than any previous day here in Taiwan.

       This morning's breakfast was a refreshing departure from the usual omelette and sandwich; Mr. Zhen woke up early and cooked us a plain but delicious breakfast of chicken dumplings along with a healthy helping of Taiwan's unique milk. We are so unbelievably grateful for the continued hospitality that our hosts show us, and we pray that God bless them for their kindness and generosity. 

        Edward and I arrived at the church a little after Josh and Emily, and we frolicked about with the kids for fifteen minutes or so before the day's program started. Today's games took place in the side gym as well and included a mix of individual and team games. The first game was an twist on frisbee toss where the kids tried to throw a frisbee into a basket and won marshmallows based on the number of baskets scored. While the kids were actually quite good at making throws into the baskets, they tended to score in the wrong basket more often than not. In fact, one team scored more points from other teams' wayward tosses than from their own throws. Once the children were warmed up a bit, the next game started: a safer interpretation of indoor kickball. Rather than actually kicking the ball, the game leader just threw the ball in a random direction, and that counted as the "kick". The final was a rather chaotic team bonding that made each group line up into a "caterpillar" and had them try to pull a flag tucked into the "tail-man's" shirt.
         
       When they came back and finished their snacks, the kids settled in for another round of songs. The enthusiasm of both the kids and the leaders while worshiping never ceases to amaze me and remind me of the real heart of worship. It's so inspiring to see such energy on the faces of the people around you and to hear it in their voices. I'm so grateful to the Lord that he has given us this chance to recall our original passion for Him and that he has sent us this reminder like he did to the church of Ephesus. 

       Worship is not, however, solely about praise and worship. We need to grow in the Lord by continuing to grow and refine ourselves into His Son's image. Today's story delved into a vital aspect of this growth: honesty. When asked to define honesty, the children gave very insightful answers. Some said that honesty is the quality of never lying, while others said that honesty encompasses a willingness to take responsibility for one's mistakes as well. To provide some examples, the teacher went deeply into stories of honesty such as the boy who cried wolf, George Washington and the cherry tree, Pinocchio, and the story of the axes. The idea that honesty rooted in the Lord always bears fruit is embedded deeply within the Bible via various stories, and the teacher chose to show us a video of Joseph's story to illustrate this point. 

        After exhausting their attention span during the story, the kids split by age group to watch Disney musicals and participate in a live, interactive musical. In one of the upstairs meeting rooms, the younger kids watched Peter and the Wolf along with other Disney classics such as Mickey Mouse, bringing pure nostalgia to us older kids and simple yet charming entertainment for the younger ones. In the main sanctuary downstairs, the older kids joined in on a musical about a kind-spirited woodpecker who treats the diseases of trees. Led by Teacher Ray, the musical itself was very sparse, but there were many variations on the central musical, including following the beat with drums and tearing newspapers to the beat. Around an hour in, the two groups switched places, and the older children went upstairs to enjoy the classic Disney musicals while the younger kids participated in a simpler version of the musical that the older ones appreciated earlier. 

        To recover from a few nights of patchy sleep, Josh, Emily ,and Edward took a nap during the lunch break. The afternoon program began with Emily explaining the rules again to ensure that everyone remembered them clearly. After a few days, the kids were much more familiar with us and our teaching materials and styles. Thus, our English lesson on emotions and personal characteristics was very well received. The kids really seemed to understand the vocabulary quite quickly, and they pick up on basic grammar easily as well. Thank the Lord for giving us such a receptive group of children to teach this year. Our review game, flyswatters, started out a bit uncertainly, but as we developed a rhythm, the kids responded very well and rose to the challenge well. 

          After a fruitful English lesson, Edward stepped up to lead the day's game. Charades was a prime way to review the vocabulary of the past few days and to let the kids loosen up after a long day. While it started as a heated competition between the groups to guess faster, Edward and the team soon mellowed it down so that it became more of a review than a race. 

         As with the much of our curriculum today, the song time involved a recap of the songs the children had learned thus far while also introducing them to a new song: Down in My Heart. Thank the Lord for opening up these children's hearts to sing for His glory and pray that they may remember their experiences of worship in times of need or uncertainty. 
   
        Our Bible story involved something new to freshen up the experience; I brought up Albert to work with our team to act out the story as I told it. The story of the paralyzed man was perfect for a dramatic rendition, as the characters are full of emotion and passion, and the message is clear and to the point. Although the English was perhaps slightly too complex for the kids, the addition of an acting rendition and some partial translations definitely helped them to understand. To review, we played a game that pitted the teams against one another in modified racing. Each round, rather than simply having the kids run to the front, we instructed them to move up in a certain restricted fashion to imitate the paralyzed man. Once the first person arrived at the front of the room, he/she was asked a question about the story or its central message. The kids' answers were very encouraging, as they were both accurate and detailed. The Lord's work is truly being done with these kids, and I ask that you pray for them and their parents as they continue to navigate through life, hopefully with the support of the church. 

        The memory verse related well to the story, as it recounted the mutual loyalty of the Lord and his disciples. While one has faith in the other, they will never separate. Just as God healed the paralyzed man of his sickness and forgave all of his sins, he will take care of us and will never forsake us. As such, we should know that the Lord will accompany us everywhere, and that with Him, there is nothing to be afraid of. 

        Before the program finished for the day, we reviewed two more songs, Deep Down and King of the Jungle, before dismissing the kids. Once they were released, the kids bounced all over the room with excitement until they left. At a certain point, once many of the kids were gone, the youth leaders and our team went upstairs with Pauline to hammer out the details of Saturday's program, given the fact that a typhoon will hit us tomorrow, preventing us from continuing the VBS that day. Please pray that we will at least have Saturday open to finish strong and conclude properly with the children. 

         After our program, we reluctantly said our goodbyes and got a ride to the restaurant for dinner with Teacher Ray's family, Hwa-chi, and Pauline. Once again, the incredible variety and delicacy of Taiwanese cuisine caught us all by surprise, and we quickly ate as much we could. Among the dishes we tried were well-known foods such as boiled duck and pickled vegetables, as well as more obscure, acquired-taste foods like stewed sea cucumber and pig's feet. Thanks so much to Ray's family for taking us to such a nice place to eat and to Hwa-chi and Pauline for taking such good care of all us.

        And now here I sit, waiting for the typhoon to hit and praying that it won't cut our VBS short. Thanks to everyone for coming here and reading this blog, and please continue to pray for us, the kids, and all of the church members that have been so kind and hard-working. Good night all.

Prayer Requests:

• Please pray for our VBS and that the typhoon not affect its ending too much.
• Pray for the children's families and that they may be the salt and light to their families just as we should be to them.
• Since our final day is most likely Saturday, please pray that we may focus one last time and send off the kids with a strong message and a powerful impression on their lives.
• We are so grateful to all of the people who have supported us as well as to our fellow youth for being so enthusiastic.
• Thank the Lord for guiding us so well and putting us past our fears and concerns.
• We are incredibly grateful that the children are so open-hearted and receptive.