Day 1 - 6/30/18 - Excitement Abroad!

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” - Acts 1:8

Hello everyone! This is Jonathan (writing from Jeremy's computer) for my very first blog for the very first day of Taiwan STM 2018! We thank the Lord that everyone has safely made it to Taichung even with our various departure schedules.

I can't believe what a long, eventful day it's been, and today's only the first day! I'm currently writing this in Hwa-Chi's old apartment, but our exciting journey started back in JFK airport (almost exactly 24 hours ago). While waiting for our flight, Josh, Emily, and I read 1 Corinthians chapters 1-3 and talked about how we should not rely own abilities but rather allow God to use our flaws to achieve His will. Meanwhile, Adam, Amy, and Jeremy discussed the same passage, coming to the same conclusion halfway across the world.

After our 15-hour flight (with some breathtaking views), we arrived in Taipei at around 5:30AM, just in time for the beginning of another whole day! Waiting for us was Amy and her family, who we cannot thank enough for coming so early to pick us up and providing us with the supplies we needed. We settled into the apartment and even got the opportunity to visit Albert's (Amy's oldest son) university which had an impressive church built based on two hands praying.

We next traveled to the church where I met the Taiwanese youth for the first time, and all I can say is wow!! Every single one of them was welcoming and introduced themselves to me with broad smiles. At first, I was afraid the language difference would prevent me from getting to know them, but soon everyone was talking and laughing along like old friends (though they were quite adamant that Josh and I looked very similar, which I personally don't see it). We got to know our groups better (go Columbia!) and they performed their choreographed worship songs for us, which left all of us sweaty and out of breath. At this point, Adam, Amy, and Jeremy arrived from the airport just in time for the youth to explain the various fun games we would be playing with the children. Josh, Emily, and I were even able to fight the exhaustion and stay awake the entire day, so hopefully our jet lag will be conquered soon.

It was truly amazing to meet all of these fun, wonderful youth and I cannot wait to get to know them more! However after saying our goodbyes and heading back to the apartment, our team had a more serious meeting afterwards to discuss the logistics and to realign our focus for this mission trip. Looking forward, I realize that in addition to fun and excitement, there will no doubt be struggles and tribulations that will test our entire team. Fortunately, the Lord has a plan for each and every one of us so all we can do is place our trust in Him. Again, we cannot put into words how thankful we are for all of your support, and we hope that you will continue to pray for our focus on the weight of this mission, our complete reliance on God, and our energy as this week goes on.

Now, I'll be signing off to get some much-needed sleep.