Homeward Bound

Week 2 is over!! More info to come soon...I am leaving for the airport soon with John Heald, Benedict Yuan, Joyce Chin, Samantha Chu, Thomas Wei, Brian Wuu, and myself. Sam Pan and Alex are leaving today as well.

Albert, Evany, and Sung are leaving on Thursday. Nathan and Christine are leaving Tomorrow.

The rest of the team is sporadically heading home soon as well.

Please pray for safety as all the members are now leaving to head back home.

Be on the lookout for the testimonies of all the members on this site!

I get down, He lifts me up!

Greetings!

So we've wound down to our very last day!! Some of us really can't believe the camp is finishing today!

We've had two team members come down with fevers within the past two days, but both have broke through, so we praise God for that. Everyone is tired and weary, but we continue to praise God for sustaining us and being ever faithful. Our God is truly an awesome God.

Last night was altar call night for the 2nd session campers. Again, around 55 children and Taiwan coworkers raised their hands and stepped forward to receive Christ, but amongst this number are children who may not understand the meaning behind their decision, children who were just "testing it" to see what would happen when they walked to the front of the room, and children who raised their hands because the kids next to them raised their hands. It is very difficult to tell who truly understood and who didn't, so we pray for the follow up, that these children would continue to grow in Christ.

Today's program consists of Sunday worship with the children and then our Talent Show, where each group performs a short skit for their parents to see. After lunch, our camp closes and the children go home. Everyone has made close bonds and friendships, so today will be bittersweet for sure.


Pictures soon!
:D

Pressing Onward!

Good afternoon everyone!

Praise God!! We have had relatively clear skies these past few days. We are so blessed to have weather that does not impede on our program. There has only been one child sent home this week of a fever, but other than that, the children are generally healthy. As for our American team, we have been giving those who are feeling under the weather the rest that they need, mostly in the form of naps here and there. Eric, Albert, and Evany step in to fill in any gaps while English teachers are resting. Everyone still feels exhausted and so we have to be extra careful and sensitive with each other-- your prayers are much appreciated! Every day God has been so good and for sure He will continue to provide as we continue to lean on Him.

Before our morning program today we took a look at 1 Peter 4: 7-19. This passage was a great reminder of what our attitude should be like towards each otheras well as an encouragement to press on. We took some time to pray and realign our hearts to God and we can only pray that in these last few days our team will work as one to effectively witness to the children.

Tonight Pastor John will be laying the groundwork for tomorrow's altar call. Please pray for both Taiwan and American teams, the children, and that everything we do would glorify God.

Thanks!! :D

Week 2

Hello everyone!

Last night we kicked-off week 2 of our trip, SEC's 2nd session! It was a crazy night. Though we have about 90 registrants (~40 less than last week), they seem to be much more vocal at the start of the week than the last group of kids. Praise God!

Nevertheless, Satan is attacking us, and hard. Our entire team is very tired and exhausted. Many are coming down with sore throats, headaches, and chill/sweating combos. Everyone really needs more rest, but week 2 has already started, so down time is scarce. With the heightened stress and sickness, emotional fuses tend to be short, so please pray for our team, that we would be renewed and refreshed with each day and that we would not lose focus of our purpose here in Taiwan.

Also, word is that a typhoon is scheduled to hit Taiwan tomorrow. We already had rain last night and, as you can imagine, that really throws a wrench into our plans. Hard to believe, but the harsh Taiwan sun is preferred to typhoons! Please pray that the weather holds up!


Thanks for your continued support!
We miss you!

Week 1: Complete!

Dearest friends and family!!

We have just completed our camps first session! It was a long and tiring week, but we've made it to the midway point of our trip! Praise be to God!! All the campers from week 1 have just left with their parents after many pictures, joyful hugs, and tearful goodbyes.

Many of you will be delighted to know that at last night's altar call, we had about 50 children accept Christ into their lives as their personal Savior. There were many who walked to the front, but it took some time to confirm their understanding of their decision, as the campers this year are exceptionally young. During the small group session immediately after the altar call, I heard one child say the reason he raised his hand was because he "really wanted to receive Jesus' love into [his] heart." Not only did children raise their hands, but there were a few Taiwan coworkers who raised their hands and walked to the front!! Praise and thanks be to God!! Please pray for these beautiful souls as we follow up with them!

This past week was filled with English classes, Large group sessions that included skits, games, and worship, Small group time, and very delicious meals. As the week wound down, the children were instructed to write their own skit that they would perform for their parents on Sunday (today). Much preparation was to be done and little time to do it, but our Taiwan/American teams gave their all to these kids and produced a wonderful show!

Here are some photos of this past week:



Our Backstreet Boys or N'SEC.












Albert chilling with Evan and William before large group session.













Our hardworking skit team!!
L-R: Ika, Sam, Alex, Samantha, Joyce, and Brian












It's been really hot and muggy, so a Panda ice cream pop cheers Evany up! :D












Taiwan coworker Brian Hwang translates Pastor John's talks every night.












Puzzle Heart skit our American teachers performed before the altar call.











That's all we have time for right now. Please pray for Chris Pai as he is flying home tonight to make it to work tomorrow morning! Please also pray for complete rejuvenation for our entire team before we head into Week 2!!!

Thanks! We love you all!

The Cross Roads

Hi Everyone,

This is Albert... updating for us here in Taiwan.

Right now we're at a critical time for the camp. Usually around this time, the kids begin to open up and are more comfortable with the teachers. This allows us, as American Teachers and Missionaries to begin to share the gospel with the students. Each of the members of our team have prepared their testimonies ahead of time to use for the next couple of small group times.

We really need to thank God for the great group of Taiwan Local Co-Workers this first week. They have been such an incredible blessing and help during this camp. However, we do need a LOT of prayer for next week. Out of 14 co-workers for next week, only two are Christians. The other Twelve are students who took either the Old Testament or New Testament class at the University. It will take much more energy to work with the non-believer co-workers as well as the campers. This is going to be really tough... so we're praying to God for strength and wisdom.

We miss you all!

Over and Out,
The Taiwan STM Team!

Intro Night In Progress!

Praise God! The intro night is currently under way. The groups are currently in deep discussion as to how to design and decorate their team SHIELDS. Kids have been pretty energetic and pretty good so far. There are currently 128 students attending our camp. We have 22 American coworkers and about 21 Taiwan coworkers split up into 8 different groups. Praise God for sending so much help for this week!

Some prayer requests:

1. Safety: 128 kids running around a college campus is difficult to manage. Please pray for the safety of these kids and that no one will be injured.

2. Health: We are trying to keep the program a little bit lighter with more breaks in between to keep people from being burnt out or from becoming sick. We are also making sure that we are eating healthy and at regular times.

3. Team Dynamics: The team dynamics between ALL of the coworkers (American and Taiwan) have been awesome! Praise God that we are able to work so well together. Please pray that we continue to do so and continue to have open communications.

Today's the day!

Greetings!

The time has finally come! At 2 pm, the students arrive and meet us for the first time! We are excited, nervous, and more excited!

Our last few team members arrived yesterday, so finally, our entire team is complete! We are still running through skits and cleaning the auditorium before the kids arrive. The auditorium was decorated yesterday by both the English and Taiwan coworkers and we had a prayer meeting last night to pray for each and every child by name. After some really good pizza and Hey Song Sarsparilla, we broke for the night so we could get some rest before the start of camp.

The past couple days have been filled with meetings, some final planning, skit practices, meeting our Taiwan coworker counterparts, and other last minute prep-work. Getting used to the muggy hot weather has been rough, as the walk between the dorms and our large group auditorium/ classrooms is about 10 minutes in the oven!!

Some prayer needs we have right now are:
1) Health. Being sick during camp is not fun, as several of our veterans can attest to. Some of our team members' throats aren't feeling well, or haven't fully rested up from the plane ride. Please pray for energy and healing.

2) Registration. Today we are meeting the kids for the first time, and for whatever lack of excitement they feel, we must make up for! Please pray for much energy, joy, and less awkward moments!

3) The camp as a whole. Please pray for the children and the Taiwan coworkers that aren't believers, that they may have receptive hearts. Please pray that we may be humble and loving towards everyone, children and coworkers alike.


Pictures will be posted soon! Promise!!
Stay tuned!

Most of us arrived today in Taiwan bright and early (or not, for those in the US) to the humid heat of Taiwan. One of the first things we did was grab a great breakfast at Hot Burger, where we'll probably go tomorrow because their food is just that good. Most of the day comprised of just sitting in the computer lab, hiding from the heat. We're just relaxing after a really, really, really long plane flight for today...and bracing ourselves for more work over the weekend to prepare for camp. We're still waiting for the completion of the team. Actually, someone just arrived.

- Jessica Chen

Fasten Your Seat belts!

Hey all! A quick update!

The time has finally come! As of this moment, we already have a few of our team members in Taiwan, a bulk is leaving tonight, and a couple more over this weekend! Much excitement!!! xD

Our T-shirt design is being finalized, the handbook is nearing completion, and our English lesson plans are drawn up and ready to go. Skits are being written with careful consideration and creativity, too. These past few weeks have been super busy and everyone worked very hard. And there is still much work to be done!


What we need most right now would definitely be prayer, specifically on the following:

1) We currently have ~120 children signed up for SEC 1st session, but only ~30 signed up for session two. Please pray that in the coming two weeks, the roster will flesh out a bit more.

2) When we land, we will soon meet the Taiwan locals that we will be partnering with for the duration of the camp. It's always a challenge not knowing where they are in their faith and also, the locals will be on different levels of English fluency. Please pray for a smooth transition and that everything pans out well Taiwan-side.

3) Our camp runs through Taiwan's typhoon season. A good amount of our camp involves the outdoors, and herding children across campus through heavy downpours is not ideal. Please pray for good weather!

4) Everyone will be tired and frazzled after the long flight, but in those few days before the camp's first session begins, there are many many meetings already scheduled! Please pray for ample rest, organization, patience with each other, and focus before and throughout the duration of the camp!

5) Please pray for everyone's safety as we depart!

Status Check, 1, 2.

Our SEC 2010 planning process is underway!

Through much deliberation and prayer, we have decided that this year's theme will be "Knights"! Now whether that means medieval knights or Jedi knights has yet to be determined. o_O (Semi-kidding.)

Each day, a particular character trait will be stressed: Patience, Courage/Confidence, Discipline/Self-control, and Compassion. It's been a little hectic trying to plan out a cohesive plot for our traditional week-long skit while also outlining our English Teaching lesson plans for each day!

If you do not already know, our team is finalized at a count of 22! Praise God for such willing servant hearts! Our team is all over the map, however. We will never have the entire team in one room until we gather together IN Taiwan for the actual camp!

As you can imagine, coordinating a team via email and phone calls becomes frustrating very fast, so please pray for:
1) clear and prompt communication amongst our team members,
2) patience with each other
3) diligence in our planning process and
4) Eric Lin, who is our team leader that not only coordinates meetings for those in Jersey, but must communicate with those out-of-state as well as the overseas coworkers.


Thank you for your continued support! Remember to keep the campers in your prayers as well!
Stay tuned for more! :)

Taiwan Missions SEC 2010!!!

Hello bloggers!!

Taiwan Summer English Camp 2010 is about to get underway!! Please keep us in prayer as we are going to be starting up training sessions THIS Sunday April 25th, 3:30pm at Monmouth Chinese Christian Church. God has been faithful this year and has provided with nearly 20 coworkers to serve in Taiwan this year! The final count has YET to be finalized, but praise God for his faithfulness!! Keep checking back for blog updates and blog prayer requests!!