Funny thing, I just checked the dates and I'd forgotten I didn't spend a whole year in Taiwan last time, I was there exactly 50 weeks. So I have actually already been here over a week longer than I was here that year. And here I was going to do a whole Samwise Gamgee from the movie analogy with the "one step further and I'll be farther from home than I've ever been," thing. Ah well. I'm still celebrating the actual one year mark.
This post will be a sort of photo journal of my work here from last December until June, then we'll continue on from June and catch up to now in the next photo post.
Two apologies:
1. A lot of the pics are not super high quality, I only have my phone (HTC One) to take photos...
2. I don't have those great close up pictures of interesting-looking people's faces. Since I don't have a camera with a good lens, I can't focus from far away, and getting up in someone's face to take a picture of them because they are picturesque may be acceptable for tourists far from home, but not when you live here!
Winter 2013-Early 2014
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The first non-rainy day, over two weeks after I arrived
(Shot of our Community Activity Center) |
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| Exploring our neighborhood - the old part |
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| Exploring our neighborhood - the new part |
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| Christmas/Baptism Service 2013 |
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| Delicious snacks... (I won't put many food pics in here, there are too many to even start trying to choose between them) |
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Christmas, 2013 - Went to look at the place on Lishui where I lived last time. A bit sad...
Already blocked off and slated for demolition, the area is being redeveloped |
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| With a team that visited to do Christmas outreach ministry, great group |
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| Firework show at the Taipei 101 for New Year's Eve |
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| The Taipei 101 building was the world's tallest from 2004 to 2010 |
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| Inside the metro station, at whatever the opposite of rush hour is |
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| This is a newer Metro station in Taipei, but they are all very clean and efficient |
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| Also, this happened |
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| Yes, there is a giant inflatable rubber ducky in Keelung harbor |
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| I climbed Yangminshan (Mt. Yangmin) with some old and new friends... |
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| Highest point |
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| The view was worth the climb |
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| Looking back over Taipei |
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| It's a dormant volcano - here's a sulfur vent |
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| Chinese New Year Time! |
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| Our Chinese New Year spread |
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| Man burns paper money as offering to ancestors |
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Red envelopes! Happy Year of the Horse
(Gifts of money for CNY or any time traditionally are given in red envelopes) |
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| "People mountain, people sea" (huge crowds) at Danshui, north of Taipei |
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| Kite flying at sunset |
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| Winter VBS! This kid really loves his french fries... |
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| Winter VBS - Making invitation cards |
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| Winter VBS - An attending middle schooler made the smallest paper crane I've ever seen |
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| Winter VBS - Playing in the community center park |
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| Winter VBS - Preparing for our recital for parents |
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Someone's blurry pic of our winter VBS finale
Often you only get a few quick, blurry shots of actually important moments |
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| Pingxi - home of the lantern festival |
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| Our sky lantern! |
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| And up it goes |
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| You really have to be there to experience it |
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| Someone borrowed this tradition for a movie or something |
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| The river that forms the northern boundary of our target area |
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| It's a working class industrial neighborhood with some renovated areas along main roads |
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| Having a good time in our weekly bible study |
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| We live near a famous spot called Bitan, "Jade Green Pool" |
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| "I said I wanted a 'nice' massage!" |
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| A noodle turtle with the blessing for a long life |
Spring 2014
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So many pandas... and in the background, a protest for support of traditional marriage
(They were going to change Taiwan's constitution to redefine marriage as a union between two partners
instead of a man and a women. Due to the protests it was delayed for now.) |
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| Spring Comes to Taipei... This and above is Freedom Square at the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. |
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| National Theatre Hall |
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| The Formosan Black Bear is a symbol of Taiwan to many people |
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| Early morning trip into the city |
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| Outside of one of the new metro stations in Taipei. Stunning fountains |
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| I did morning devotions here once, it was pretty amazing (but too long of a trip to do often) |
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Meanwhile our ministries have been going on every week...
Here's our special Easter activity day |
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| Hard at work... |
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| Bible lesson |
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| Coloring some eggs |
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| "Because He died for us, to give us life" |
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| Another week: Prodigal Son |
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In May we welcomed a short-term team from California for 3 weeks of service
(Figuring out what to order at what would become their favorite Taiwanese restaurant) |
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| Great turnout for our Mother's Day event |
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| They came prepared with gospel skits for it |
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| Elementary school activities - we covered the entire second grade the weeks they were here |
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| Seeing off the team - they did a great job and are welcome back anytime! |
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| We actually do a smaller English outreach at that elementary school every week |
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| One of our several classes |
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| Writing carefully |
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| They're not out there now, but this school has about 3000 kids in total |
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| Students are required to clean the school themselves, sweeping, mopping, etc. |
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| Noah's Ark Lesson (This is from later but I don't have a picture of me teaching in the Spring) |
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| Wind catchers on the last day of the school year... summer "break" has arrived! |
That's only scratching the surface of all the things that happened in the first six months, but hopefully you get the idea. And we got busier from here on... but the next post may be shorter because after the summer (when there were other people to take pictures), I've been too busy to take as many myself.
Note: Comments tend to get left on facebook, but if you leave them below here I'll read them too!
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