Friday, November 30, 2007

At Least...

I'm not the cause of my cat's cold! Judah went back to the doctor today and he gave me a different medicine. He's had this cold since I got him, I gave him that medicine, but he didn't get better. The doctor said it wasn't my fault and not to worry.

The doctor said the cat would hate the new medicine, but he loves it. Smells like pineapple. And since Judah likes pumpkin pie, why would he not like this!

(Yes, my cat likes pumpkin pie (and cheese)...he jumped on my table and started eating my pie)!



I like to do backflips!!!

Calls in Sudan for Execution of Briton

How incredibly stupid do some people sound? If you live in the Sudan, watch the video in the post below. If you're not from the Sudan, watch the video anyway.

Do it. Do it. Do it.

Calls in Sudan for Execution of Briton
By MOHAMED OSMAN,AP
Posted: 2007-11-30 07:55:44
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) - Thousands of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and knives, rallied Friday in a central square and demanded the execution of a British teacher convicted of insulting Islam for allowing her students to name a teddy bear "Muhammad."

The protesters streamed out of mosques after Friday sermons, as pickup trucks with loudspeakers blared messages against Gillian Gibbons, the teacher who was sentenced Thursday to 15 days in prison and deportation.

They massed in central Martyrs Square, outside the presidential palace, where hundreds of riot police were deployed, although they did not attempt to stop the rally.

"Shame, shame on the U.K.," protesters chanted.

They called for Gibbons' execution, saying, "No tolerance: Execution," and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad."

The women's prison where Gibbons is being held is far from the site, as is the Unity High School where she taught, which is under heavy security protection.


Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
11/30/07 07:53 EST

Watch This...The Whole Thing.

Home.

I want to go home. I don't like myself here any longer...

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Ai You!

Can this week possibly get any worse? My little ghetto oven has called it quits...my hairdrier, without warning, gave out...and my space heater no longer heats well...

uuuuggggghhhhh....

Looks like I'll be buying a new space heater tomorrow. Unfortunately, my bedroom is huge and I have to buy a large heater that will heat the room and not just the 30 cm around the machine.

Where did all the sticky, summer heat go? I need a vacation!!!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Another ER Visit...

Last night I had heart palpitations, tightening in my chest, shortness of breath, and my body was convulsing. I went to the ER at 1 AM. No heart attack, my heart is fine. It wasn't a seizure. Everything checks out. Yet, again...unexplained. The best the doctors could do was tell me it's anxiety. Although I work many hours (60+ a week), I'm not stressed like last year. No one has a clue what's going on. I'm healthy...but back on some meds.

There's no explaination for any of this. I need Jesus! I hate medicine.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Getting Ready for Winter!

What's with the coat?!?
This makes me look so stupid!!!
Get this thing off of me!!

Judah's on the Prowl...

and always looking for human fingers, hands and arms to eat!




Kenting!!!

The first time I've seen a "real" beach in over a year. We went to Kenting for two days. Stayed in the most expensive hotel in the town. Actually, it's the only beach front hotel. The water was closed because the typhoon was coming, but I still had a blast!! I laid out on the beach, went to the spa, took some walks...a very relaxing weekend! This was the view from one of the hotel lobbies. (They had 3 lobbies).


Kenting: The Hotel and Beach...Random

We ate at Smokey Joe's. Everyone had Mexican...I had BBQ pulled pork....*insert drool here...*

It wasn't bad at all.





Kenting: The Beach and the Typhoon





Kenting: The Beach and the Typhoon Part 2





Kenting National Park

We stopped at Kenting National Park. This is the very southern tip of Taiwan. As you can see, the typhoon is on the way!!





Monday, November 26, 2007

Kenting National Park Part Duce





If Blaspheming the name of muhammad is Illegal in Sudan...

then moreover, blaspheming the name of God should be illegal in the US...It is "illegal" for my students in my class to say, "oh my G-d." Althought, all I can do is tell them not to do it, I would love to see this sort of thinking take hold in the US.

Just think, muhammad is only their prophet. I wonder what the punishment would be for naming the bear allah. But then again, this comes from a culture that sentenced a woman who was raped to jail time and 200 lashes because she was in a car with men she didn't know. WOW! Tell me again how Christians are intolerant and violent?

However....

Two things I have always admired muslims for
1. their discipline in "prayer."
2. their reverence for "holy" things.

Although I believe they are wrong, we, Christians, can learn a lot about reverence towards our Creator!

I can actually relate to this story. When I was in 2nd grade, I got a Cabbage Patch Bee Doll for Easter. I wanted to name it Jesus. My mom told me I could not do this because it was wrong. However, she couldn't tell me why. I remember saying that Hispanic people name their kids "Jesus," why can't I name my doll, Jesus. I'm understanding why...but I completely understand the kids point of view.


Sudan arrests teacher over 'Mohammed' bear
Briton allowed her class of 7-year-olds to choose teddy bear's name
NBC World Blog

updated 8:15 a.m. ET Nov. 26, 2007
KHARTOUM, Sudan - A British primary school teacher has been arrested in Sudan, accused of insulting Islam's Prophet by letting her class of 7-year-olds name a teddy bear Muhammad, her school said on Monday.

Colleagues of Gillian Gibbons told Reuters they feared for her safety after receiving reports that young men had already started gathering outside the Khartoum police station where the Liverpool woman was being held.

Teachers at Unity High School in central Khartoum said Gibbons, 54, made an innocent mistake and simply let her pupils choose their favorite name for the toy as part of a school project.

Police arrested Gibbons on Sunday at her home inside the school premises, said Unity director Robert Boulos, after a number of parents made a complaint to Sudan's Ministry of Education.

Boulos said she had since been charged with "blasphemy," an offense he said was punishable with up to three months in prison and a fine.

A spokesman from the British Embassy in Khartoum said it was still unclear whether Gibbons had been formerly charged. "We are following it up with the authorities and trying to meet her in person," he said.

Boulos said he had decided to close down the school until January for fear of reprisals in Sudan's predominantly Muslim capital. "This is a very sensitive issue."

"We are very worried about her safety," he added. "This was a completely innocent mistake. Miss Gibbons would have never wanted to insult Islam."

Class voted on toy name
Boulos said Gibbons was following a British National Curriculum course designed to teach young pupils about animals and their habitats. This year's animal was the bear.

Gibbons, who joined Unity in August, asked a girl to bring in her teddy bear to help the second grade class focus, said Boulos.

The teacher then asked the class to name the toy. "They came up with eight names including Abdullah, Hassan and Mohammed. Then she explained what it meant to vote and asked them to choose the name." Twenty out of the 23 children chose Muhammad.

Each child was allowed to take the bear home at weekends and asked to write a diary about what they did with the toy. Each entry was collected in a book with a picture of the bear on the cover, next to the message "My name is Muhammad," said Boulos.

The bear itself was not marked or labeled with the name in any way, he added, saying Sudanese police had now seized the book and had asked to interview the 7-year-old girl.

Boulos said the first he knew about the course was last week when he got a phone call from the Ministry of Education, saying a number of Muslim parents had made formal complaints.

One Muslim teacher at Unity, who also has a child in Gibbons' class, said she had not found the project offensive.

"I had no problem with it at all," the teacher said. "I know Gillian and she would never have meant it as an insult. I was just impressed that she got them to vote."

The country's state-controlled Sudanese Media Centre reported late Sunday that Gibbons had been arrested for "insulting the Prophet Muhammad." It said charges were being prepared "under article 125 of the criminal law" which covers insults against faith and religion.

No one was immediately available for comment from Sudan's ministries of Education or Justice.

Unity, an independent school founded in 1902, is governed by a board representing major Christian denominations in Sudan, but teaches both Christians and Muslims aged 4 to 18.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Dentistry.

Permanent retainers in Taiwan are quite different than in the US. For my PR, the orthadontist bonded the band to the back of each tooth with a lot of glue. Well, that glue cracked and finally fell off yesterday...I'm glad my 6 month check up is in 3 weeks.

Judah's doing fine. He LOVES to bite my hands. As Eric says, I'm his (Judah's) toy. Judah will have a babysitter this weekend while I'm in Kenting!! (Thanks Judy!)


Last Sunday, I went back to Nantou with Tina and Irene. It was a very early morning...I was up at 4 am to be in Luju by 6:30 am!!! I had fun worshipping the Lord in Taiwanese! That's right, I sang in Taiwanese and have some video! Fun stuff. My favorite part was when Irene convinced the bamboo shop lao ban to let me carve the bamboo. (He said we didn't have enough time). Mine turned out ugly, but that's okay.



Saturday, November 17, 2007

"I Love Jesus!!"...."You do?!?"

As we were eating dinner, a blue van with an idol came rolling down the street. I caught the attention of the guy in the van. I yelled to him in Chinese:

Me: "Jesus loves you!"

Guy on the truck: "I love Jesus!!!"

Me: "Then why are you worshipping idols?!?!"

The van rolled on....

What a Day!!...Mexican Fishing...Sorta

My boss took all the teachers out to lunch today. We ate at a fancy-smancy place. I felt out of place and underdressed. I didn't know we were going to such a nice place. Anyway, last week she asked what I wanted to eat. I told her curry was fine. It turned out to be beef. I don't like beef, nor did I like the salad dressing that drenched the salad before the meal. The waitstaff was wondering what was wrong with me. I did't eat. I wanted to cry. I felt bad and it was my fault for not asking more questions about the food.

Anyway, I slipped over to the English Conversation meeting. Irene and Tina went with me this time. Then we went to have dinner with Eric and David. While we were eating our "Mexican" food, an elderly couple came over to talk with us. I had said "hi" to them in Chinese. The older man started talking to David, and with his wife talking to us, I started to ask her what would happen to her when she died. She was convinced she was going to heaven because she's a good person. I gave her the good person, test, and to her surprise, she failed. I took her through the law and God's grace. She said she could not accept Jesus because she has her god, although, she is now very concerned about going to hell. You could even see it on her face! She was so quiet and you could see remorse on her face. I told her this was a good thing and that I hope she thinks on it. She did give me a compliment and thank me for coming and sharing the message with her. She talked about how wonderful and how grateful she is that Christian people are coming to teach English. She said indirectly, Christians are effecting the school systems and she saw that as a good thing!

The older lady.

After the woman and her husband left, I noticed that Eric's facial expressions had changed. And since he translated for me, he understood what I had said. I asked him what he thought about it and he said that going to hell concerns him, too. Taiwanese men don't cry or show emotion, but Eric was all but letting the tears roll down his face. It was such a precious thing to see the Holy Spirit moving. We lent him Irene's Bible for the week and he promised to read the Gospel of John. Please pray for Eric. I'll see him in a week or two.

David (left) and Eric (right).

I handed out gospel tracts as foreigners passed. I gave some to 3 guys. They approached me as I was leaving and asked if I was a Christian. I said yes, and he turned out to be one too! I made 3 new friends: Carlos from Guatamala, and Paulo and Luis, both from El Salvador! Carlos offered to help me practice my Spanish and I told him to come evangelizing with me...What a great exchange!!

Friday, November 16, 2007

Finally, There's a Response...

The following was taken off of http://www.time2changechurches.blogspot.com/

It is one of my new favorite websites. It's as if the writer is expressing exactly what I have been thinking! Anyway, I will always remember this clip now! Thanks time2changechurches guy!

"WATCH The clip to use when someone is just rambling along making absolutely no sense whatsoever.

You can use it when you listen to Rick Warren ramble on about how to be saved! He sidesteps the issue when confronted about Jesus being the only way.

You can use it when you listen to Joel Osteen ramble on about how to be saved! He sidesteps the issue when confronted about Jesus being the only way.

You can use it when you listen to Bill Hybels talk about his church and what it takes to be saved. They have just recently realized that their way of doing church has been wrong all these years!

You can use it when you listen to your own pastor start telling jokes in church instead of preaching God's Word. When he tells stories of his life instead of telling you that you need to repent of your sins. When he only wants you to "feel good" about yourself, instead of showing you that you are exceedingly sinful in God's eyes. Use it when he is wasting your time by not being an expositor of the Scriptures."

Monday, November 12, 2007

Fishing During Lunch

Howard and I went evangelizing during our lunch breaks at Cheng Da University. We talked to about 7 people in one hour. Please pray for Chueng-Way, Cathy, and Bear. They were the three that really came under conviction, I believe. Cathy got so upset and flustered, she took off on her bike. She was telling us that she attended a Christian school and that her teachers told her that maybe she could go to heaven. However, according to the Bible and her own admission, she won't be unless she repents.

One guy even told us he is god and when he dies, he'll continue to be god...um, yeah.

It was wonderful to have Howard long with me to translate. I really encouraged him to approach people and give them tracks. He even tried to start the conversation! I was so proud of him.

Here's a picture of Howard talking with Bear. Although he didn't choose to repent on the spot, he really began to think and even asked us if he could give us his contact information! So, Howard will be giving him a call in a few days...

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Fishing in Taiwan

This morning I saw yet another set of Mormon missionaries in the streets. I've seen 9 Mormons in 3 days and my city is extremely small compared to others!! As I passed them, I started to think about what are Christians doing?!? Mormons are out preaching a false gospel and a false Jesus. And we are sitting on our lazy behinds eating potato chips and watching football!!! What is wrong with us? Do we not care about others?

And then today happened...
I'm learning how easy it is to evangelize in Taiwan. I think Taiwanese, especially the younger generation, are really open to at least hearing someone talk about the Gospel to them. (And for all y'all that say it's too scary to evangelize and feel that you're not adequately prepared...just think, I DO NOT speak Chinese! Think of what it's like for me and then give me your excuses...hopefully, you'll think twice and get out there...)

I went to Ray of Hope today for English conversation. I met a guy named David. I got to share the Gospel with him. Please pray for David as he is really searching. I left him with some thoughts about eternity, heaven, hell, and the fact that what it comes down to is his relationship with God and not with a church.

From there, I met Tina, Irene, and Mona for dinner at a really great Thai place tonight. We were going to do the teaching there, however, it was just too noisy. I opted to wait until next week and we decided to go for a walk.
Now, if you know me, I love to act stupid when I walk around Taiwan. I love to scare Taiwanese people by saying "hi" and "happy new year" in Chinese to them. But I realized that this "stupidity" is more valuable than I thought. It's turning into some excellent "bait" to catch some fish. Tonight, I had the privilage to share the Gospel with two more people.

The first was Ms. Jhong. She turned out to be a Christian, but she also got to see me share the Gospel with another guy. That was really cool. I still gave her a Gospel track.

Then came Ming-Yi. Ming-Yi is a student at Tainan University. His English was exceptionally good. I stopped him by acting stupid by saying things in Chinese. I gave him a million dollar Gospel track and told him it was a gift. It took a long time for him to accept it because he thought it was real money. In the end, I got to lay down the Law and Gospel.

Ming-Yi had NEVER heard the Gospel before!!!!

He was really curious and he was really considering what would happen after he died (he actually never gave thought to it before). You could see his whole demeanor change from the start of our conversation. You could see conviction on his face. You could see tears forming in his eyes, but because he's a man, he would never let them run down his cheeks. He was asking Irene about Living Waters website (www.livingwaters.org) and the Gospel of John, which I encouraged him to read. Please pray that God would save Ming-Yi.

You know, I'm not disappointed that I didn't get a decision on the spot. Actually, both David and Ming-Yi are going about it the Biblical way, which is to look at Scripture and then count the cost of following Christ. Only God can convert the heart, not me. And I'm so grateful for that.


Miss Jhong
Sharing the Gospel with Ming-Yi.
Irene (who translated a bit), Ming-Yi and I.