Day 9 - Worship, Part 1

We told the kids they didn't have to go to the Chinese church, although I hoped they would. They chose to stay home with Amy while Sandy and went to church with Jon. So they played basketball at the school playground during the morning. The Taiwan Christian church meets in a converted apartment in the second floor down by the park and the market we visited yesterday. The Pagels and Edwards families live much closer to the church than the Ralls', so we took a taxi.

Arriving at the church, several church members welcomed us and told us their names. I met two other Davids. Their friendliness made us feel right at home. Jon had warned us that we might not be able to participate at all, because everything was in Chinese. But the first song was "Everyday" by Hillsongs, so we were off to a good start. The praise band included a female leader (Jen-Jen, who can speak some English), two female singers, a female keyboard player, and Chad Edwards playing guitar.

Within 30 seconds of singing, Sandy was crying. Singing along in English, we immediately recognized the powerful joy and enthusiasm of the leaders and the Christians. They sang about six songs total, half English imports (Blessed be the Lord God Almighty, God and God alone, Everyday) and half Chinese written. The preacher was "Joe," who delivered a message from Daniel and 1 Kings. Jon translated some for us, but we didn't really know what was going on most of the time. The sermon was followed by communion, and then a time of teaching on the topic of eldership. After the service was over, believers joined one another in fellowship and encouragement while various meetings took place. I met the mother and brother of Sophia, one of our CCCB students. I was blessed also by the testimony of the worship leader. She truly has a heart of praise.

Going to church in another culture is a good way to see shortcomings in your own church. Several American church practices became offensive to me after seeing how these Chinese believers do church:

1. Why do we have a dedicated, "holy" communion table in America? How many children have been scolded for touching the table? People are so protective of the holy furniture in church. The Chinese church celebrated communion on a folding table. Not only that, but they didn't set the table up until time for the Lord's Supper. We finished singing a song, then while the congregation was seated, two men came forward: one with the table, one with the trays. They set the elements up in 15 seconds. After we were done partaking, the same men had the whole thing moved in another 15 seconds. Following church, they sat around the same table having a meeting.

Can someone tell me where in the New Testament we find a sanctified Supper table?

2. Speaking of communion, why do we even care about special servers? I suspect in America we started the practice of having servers to give the deacons something official to do during church. The only benefit I see to this is now we can argue about who is and isn't qualified to be a server. Women? Probably not. Teenagers? Maybe if they're old enough. Dress code? Depends on what the complainers will say. How do the Chinese do it? Come up when you're ready and get your own. Taking communion isn't an automatic part of an assembly line for them. They prepare, make the effort to come forward, take it back to their chairs, then return the cup when done. But how could we have communion that way for more than 50 people? Easy: multiple stations around the auditorium. Folding tables aren't that expensive. But won't it take too long? Two hours isn't too long to be in church. I didn't feel bored for a minute, and I don't know Chinese at all.

3. How often in communion are we off in our own little worlds? Examine myself, prepare myself, have my own cup, and my own piece of bread. Sometimes when I'm preparing to play piano during the communion time at our church in Moberly, I will sit and look at everyone in church, just to see who is there, smile at them, and "recognize the body". I'm surprised how many people give me strange looks, as if to say, "What do you think you're doing looking at me." But I've never considered doing what I saw today. One person brought communion to another person, offering words of peace and a hug. Why can't I do that in America during church? Oh yeah, because I have to remain seated and the servers are in my way.

4. Once I was preaching in a church when a lady brought a 44 oz. soda from QuikTrip. She sucked it down during my sermon. I thought if it kept her awake, it was no big deal. In fact, I was a little jealous. After church, you would have thought that she had profaned the holy temple to hear some people talk . . . "Did you see that big drink she had in church? What was she thinking?" Maybe they were jealous, too. At Taiwan Christian Church, they have a water cooler in the sanctuary. It even dispenses hot water. And they have tea bags if you need a little caffeine buzz. Problem? Not that I can see. And I didn't find one person sleeping during church.

5. On the topic of creature comforts, why is church furniture designed to be so uncomfortable? Probably to keep you awake (since we know it's unChristian to drink anything during church). Now this church had padded chairs, which was no big advancement. But I had to be impressed by the sofa on the back wall.

Some people sat on it during church. A few people gathered on it for after church fellowship. Now this is a concept we have to work on in America. It's 12:00 p.m. and church has just let out. In America, people are racing for the exits. In Taiwan, they're sitting and standing around having a conversation. A man is handing out gum to keep the kids quiet. Some are drinking water and tea. The kids are bragging about their crafts from children's church. My wife is holding a baby. Strangers are conversing with me. Hugs are being passed from shoulder to shoulder. And I'm jealous of these people who have time and the desire to continue in community as long as possible before they have to leave.

6. Scripture reading is an important part of Biblical worship. Most churches do far too little of it. My personal practice has been to have singers on our praise team read Scripture, or to read Scripture myself as the worship leader. Occasionally I will create a responsive reading for everyone in the congregation to read together, but that's always a roll of the dice to see if everyone can stay together and read the right parts.

Imagine my surprise when during the sermon, everyone starts reading Scripture. The preacher tells them where to go in the text, and they just start reading it out loud. We couldn't pull this off in America for many reasons. Too many different versions, too many lazy Christians, too many big words. They read Daniel 1 & 2 as a church. I found a dozen words in the first chapter that would trip up the average high school graduate in America. And yet these people read it, word for word, with enthusiasm. And then one time, the preacher had the men and women alternate verse to verse (making it much easier for me to follow along and giving them a little bit of a break). Very impressive. Kudos to the leadership of this church to develop a hunger for the public reading of God's word. Again, I'm jealous.

Next Time: Day 9 - Worship, Part 2 (Let's see if the English-speakers are as impressive as the Chinese)

Day 8 - Change of Scenery

Once again, the kids wake us up at the break of dawn. All five of them are sleeping in the same room, and it's really a hoot to see how they get themselves arranged. Here are three sleeping in one mattress.


This was our day to spend with the Pagels, so Jon and Amy took us to eat at one of their favorite restaurants: Marvin's. Another small restaurant on the side of the sidewalk, it was very busy the whole time we were there.


The food was great, and we waited there to meet Alicia Edwards, Allison Edwards, Bethanie Pagel, and Cole Edwards. Jon took the kids to the park while Amy, David, and Sandy walked through the day market. Think a farmer's market with everything imaginable for sale that a person could grow or cook. Raw fish and pork, fruits and vegetables, clothing, and even incense and god money were there. The people selling their stuff are hard workers, some of them family operations. This couple had brought their kids for the day, and apparently enjoyed posing for this picture.


The fruits and vegetables looked delicious. Some of the meat wasn't as appetizing.
This picture brings back bad memories from my childhood. At least we would chop the heads off. They needed something to put the hook through. Amy tells me they cook the chicken with the head still on. She isn't sure if they eat it or not.
I stayed away from the meat and bought an apple.

The girls went off to get Anna's hair fixed. She received a special hairstyle to make her match the other little girls. The hair stylists did it for free and even gave the girls free cookies while they waited.

Anna really enjoyed spending some time with girls after being stuck with the boys all week.

Bethanie walked us from the Edwards' to the Pagel's (about 5 minutes away). For an 8 year old, she has a lot of confidence navigating the part of the city we were in. Of course our kids were glad to see a new houseful of toys, and we were happy to see the Pagels for the first time in over a year. After Angie fed the baby, they took us down to their favorite restaurant ("Fried Rice Heaven"). What a selection of food! Scott ordered a variety, and it was all delicious. We had some fried dofu, pepper chicken, fish, egg something, beef and empty heart vegetable, fried rice, and who knows what else. All of it was super!


Dessert was green bean soup. On the way out the door, they remembered that we were supposed to have it for the close of the meal. I prepared myself for some hot broth with long green beans in it. It sounded interesting, but not offensive. In reality, it was completely different. Scott and Angie have learned to like it. I possibly could if I tried it a few more times, but my first impression was that there were too many things wrong with green bean soup. The soup was cold, not hot. They weren't even green beans like we have, but more like split peas. The flavor was kind of sweet, but not really. And it was served at the end of the meal, instead of the beginning or during the meal. This is probably the only thing I've eaten on the trip that I couldn't enjoy. Sandy thought it was ok. This picture shows you what it looks like and what I thought of it.


After lunch, we returned to the apartment for a few minutes, then Scott and David went to a place elsewhere in town loaded with computer and technology stores. It was like having any computer part or system you might need at your finger tips. The hot items seem to be MP3 players and cell phones. I saw a really nice butane torch that I wanted to buy for soldering. The man told me it would be good for lighting incense and god money. I resisted the temptation, afraid of what things I might set on fire with it. So I went to another booth and bought a new flashlight. I saw more laptops in one afternoon than I could count. Each store would have dozens, and we walked through a couple of dozen stores, at least. The stores also had movies, video games, books, and anything else technology related.

While Scott and David were shopping, Sandy and Angie were catching up on life at the apartment. Angie made a delicious supper of lasagna, bread, and salad. Right in the middle of supper, we heard the telltale song of Fur Elise, which is played by the trash truck announcing that it is time to empty the garbage. This is no joke. Now, I found the answer to my question yesterday of how often do they empty the trash. I suggested it isn't very often, but the reality is that the trash truck comes to pick up trash twice a day every day. When you hear the song playing down the block, you grab your bag of trash, hustle downstairs, and prepare to put it in the truck. This really works well, seeing that it's hot here and there's no room in your house to store several bags of trash for a week. Compared to Moberly's once per week trash pickup, I would say this is an improvement. Angie had already been delayed from eating a few times to feed the baby and take care of Joshua. So I offered to take down the trash. Sandy followed me down with the camera. The elevator stopped at every floor to pick up more trash-bearing tenants. We finally got full and could take no more passengers. Here I am waiting for the truck to drive up.


The kids enjoyed playing with new toys and new friends. Even though we spent about eight hours together, the day went too fast. We enjoyed the relaxing day at the Pagels, along with the food and conversation. Before leaving, we snapped this picture of everyone together.


Scott put us in a taxi for the trip home. Our first trip all alone! Scott gave good directions and we wound up right across the street from our destination. $75 NT ($2.35) for a 10 minute taxi ride in a major metropolitan area. Seems reasonable to me.

The kids headed to bed after a story from Obi Jon Kenobi and the adults tried to keep from falling asleep before 10:00 p.m.

Tomorrow: Day 9 - Worshipping with the believers

Day 7 - Road Trip

Today's posting will be a bit different. First a brief overview of the day, then observations. Short version: I took my first scooter ride, then we loaded up the van and drove to the ocean. Eating a picnic on the beach and playing in the water and the sand was very enjoyable.
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Then we drove back to town and while we waited for the key to get into the apartment, Adam and I went to 7-eleven and walked around the block. Supper consisted of Gwotea (fried dumplings filled with pork and cabbage). Jon, Allen, and I went to see Star Wars, but first I was told by a 50 year old woman that I look smart and have a big nose. Love that Chinese honesty.

Today's observations will be grouped into the following topics: Toilet (paper), Traffic, Tourists, and Technology.

One of the things we take for granted in America is our system of restrooms. We expect every store to have a free, clean, stocked public restroom. And if they don't, we will take our business elsewhere. Imagine my surprise when I was confronted with these toilet truths in Taiwan:
1. Carry your own toilet paper, because public restrooms don't always have it.
2. Toilet paper here looks like a cross between a napkin and a kleenex, and it doesn't come in rolls.
3. People pass out free toilet paper on the streets with advertising printed on the package. Something you won't throw away, I guess. In fact, one day we were walking around and a lady handed me two packs of toilet paper with a flyer.
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I kept them to put in Amy's bicycle basket. When we got back to the apartment, I asked Jon what the advertisement was for and he determined it was for an adult video store (no pictures on the advertisement, just words). If the porn shop uses toilet paper to advertise, you know it must work. Chinese apparently miss the irony of associating your product with toilet paper.
4. Toilet paper is not to be flushed down the toilet. Instead, place it in the trash can. How often is the trash emptied? You don't want to know.
5. Toilets may or may not be clean. In fact, they may or may not have a seat. You may or may not even be able to heed nature's call because of the surroundings (Anna refused to use one that she went into). No wonder they aren't called restrooms.

My first scooter ride was interesting. You can watch it if you like right here. Mike Worstell said it made him carsick to watch. Listen carefully for the conversation between Jon and me while we ride. I've now taken a half-dozen taxi rides, three scooter rides, three van rides, and walked up and down the streets and alleys. I can boil the experiences down to these traffic truths in Taiwan.
1. The biggest vehicle has the right of way, no matter what the lines, lights, or traffic would appear to dictate.
2. Scooters will drive through every available seam or crevice between cars, between pedestrians, and even on the wrong side of the road.
3. Traffic lights are strong suggestions for pedestrians to follow, optional for vehicles to follow.
4. Everything is five minutes from everything else, "depending on traffic."
5. The timers on the green lights are very nice, telling you how long you have until the light changes color. Only one problem: The drivers can see the timers, and they don't always wait until it counts down to zero before they go.
6. If you're in a hurry, take a scooter. If you want to be comfortable, take a taxi. If you have plenty of time, walk. Either of the three options is just as likely to get you in an accident.
7. Police cars are nowhere to be seen in the city traffic. Perhaps this explains why people drive the way that they do. It also explains why people settle their accidents right there on the street without waiting for law enforcement to arrive. In two hours of driving on the freeway today, I saw three patrol cars. And by the way, they always have their flashing lights on, whether they are pulling someone over or not. We're not sure how they get your attention if they do pull you over.

8. You never know who or what you'll see on a scooter. This guy has a minivan load of stuff on the back.

Jon says he has driven his scooter with his electronic drums tied to the back of them. I can hardly carry our church's electronic drums without running into something.
I've seen a mother driving three children on a scooter. The kids rarely wear helmets. This girl looked to be about one year old.

If you're old enough to stand, you're old enough to ride a scooter.
The moral of the story: Our missionaries deserve hazard pay for all the travel they do around this city and I should never complain about traffic again.

We have felt very welcomed and safe during our time here. The people here seem to have special feelings about tourists. My interaction with strangers today made me painfully aware of the tourist truths in Taiwan.
1. It's nice to try and use a few words they know, but you will be made fun of. Returning from the beach, Alex and I saw five teenage boys and we said "knee-how" ("Hello") to them. They all pointed at us, laughed, and said it back to us in a sing song voice. Either they were mocking us or mentally impaired. Or perhaps they thought we were.
2. If you point a camera at someone here, they will strike a pose for you and put on a big smile. Their favorite pose seems to be the two fingered "V" ("peace")sign. As far as I can tell, it isn't condescending or profane. Apparently, they think Americans still use that gesture. They must have seen too many videos from the sixties.
3. Chinese people don't mind telling you what they think about you in very blunt terms, even though you are a tourist. Allen, Jon, and I were at a convenience store buying coffee for the movie (you bring your own snacks to the theater - great idea!). Anyway, she butted into Jon's conversation trying to correct his Chinese. In the midst of the conversation, she starts telling us what she thinks about us and our looks and how old we must be. I guess we are the guests and we should put up with this behavior. They must believe that since we are dependent on so many of their products and technology, we also need any advice they can give us about life, language, and whatever else they think of.

Well, I wrote more, but something happened and I lost it. So let me close with technology truths from Taiwan.
1. The chances of losing something you have typed are proportional to the amount of time spent typing since the last time you saved.
2. Technology is most cantankerous late at night and 10 minutes before quitting time.
3. When your life isn't dependent on it, the best way to respond to a technology failure is to go to bed.

Tomorrow: Day 8 - Change of Scenery

Day 6 - Why bother with Taiwan?

We really appreciate the hospitality of Jon and Amy Ralls. They have been gracious hosts, opening up their home and putting their lives on hold just to entertain us. They normally both go to language school and have their children in school, but they have all taken this week off to spend time showing us around. I don't think any of us realize how much work it is for missionaries here in Taiwan to host groups who are visiting. They do it for one reason: to help people appreciate the need this field has for prayer and mission work. We have certainly heard about that need from many of our friends and students who have made visits here to the field. Today we would see it most clearly for ourselves.

Adam got up at 6:00 am this morning (I'm skeptical of his claim to have awakened at 2:00 am without going back to sleep) and woke up the rest of the kids to play. The adults would have preferred a 7:00 am wakeup call instead. Jon is still conducting VBS via phone, so we couldn't really go anywhere until 10:00 am. Sandy spent time chatting with her family on the computer, while the kids enjoyed some Playstation time. Mornings have been relaxing for us and a good time to catch up on e-mail and phone calls. (By the way, I apologize for the picture quality on today's post, but all the photos were taken with my PDA since I left my camera's memory card at the apartment.)

Jon decided today's destinations would be Longshan Temple and Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. Around 10:45 am (9:45 pm Wed in Missouri) we took off on our typical travel route: dodging scooters, taxis, and busses across the streets to the subway station, riding escalators, buying tickets, and walking through turnstiles. One of the fringe benefits of this week has been the number of escalators we have walked on: easily 40 per day. Our kids used to be afraid of them, but now it's no problem. Today, Adam asked if there are any escalators in Moberly. We all racked our brains before deciding that the closest escalator to our house is at J.C. Penney in Columbia Mall. Of course, the only building in Moberly taller than three floors is the old folks home, but that's another story.

The destinations we visited really reflect the reasons Taiwan is an important country for mission work. From a worldly perspective, Taiwan has it made: prosperity, family, national identity, religious activity, beautiful land, technological savvy. In fact, Taipei 101 describes its 6 distinctive characteristics as Technology, Art, Innovation, People, Environment, and Identity. All of those things are important to the people here. Today's destinations showed me the futility of life focused on things that are less important than following Christ.

We make quite a crew travelling together, but so far we have left no one behind. Once today we pondered what it would be like if one of our children failed to make the train transfer and we left with4out him or her. We couldn't figure out a way to go back and get them, so we changed the subject. The trains are all the same and basically boring, except for the occasional one advertising Star Wars. Yoda has a way of drawing attention.
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Arriving at Longshan temple, we started smelling the burning of incense and other things. It is a beautifully designed building. Inside the gate, a waterfall draws your attention.

Alex wanted to know if we could play in the water. I told him not today.

Here is a picture of me inside the front of the Temple.

In case you're wondering, it is acceptable for pictures to be taken. We saw many American businessmen there also snapping pictures and video of their excursions.

The temple really is a feast for the senses. Of course, you can't avoid the smell. The burning of incense and who knows what else fills the air. Being a pyromaniac myself, I was more than a little impressed by all the lighters, lamps, candles, incense sticks, and other sources of smoke and heat.

The sounds of the temple also get your attention. In the background is music I swear I've heard before at China Garden restaurant. Added to that are the sounds of people roaming around chanting, praying, and conversing.

The sights are the most disturbing. You honestly don't know whether the right response is pity or ridicule. There's more to see there than I can possibly describe, but here are three quick sights.


Tables full of food and drink are set, offered to one or more of the idols there. I honestly don't know if Buddha prefers junk food or health food, because I saw both on the table. Judging by the picture of Buddha that I saw, he probably prefers junk food but his followers think he needs the health food.

All this stuff is collected by the employees of the temple and resold to the next lost person who wanders in looking for something to buy and offer in worship.


People are there to pray and find out what the answers are to their prayers. Here's how it works. After making an offering they hope will be pleasing, they grab two pieces of wood shaped like apple slices. They bow on their knees toward the idol, pray and ask for the answer. They roll the dice and throw them to the ground (notice the red items falling from this lady's hands). If it comes up snake eyes, they rephrase the prayer and roll them again. When it comes up craps, they finally stop. It took this lady at least four attempts that I saw before she got the answer she wanted.


Finally, this temple is unbelievably commercialized. Patrons spend money on the incense, the food and drink that they buy to offer to the idols (which is resold after it is offered), books and tapes to listen to, and all kinds of decorations to take home as a reminder. They can even buy a fortune, which is like a mega fortune cookie, printed on a sheet of paper located in one of 100 drawers. So the patron buys a fortune, is told which number of drawer to pull from, and then discovers the idol's insight for living (with apologies to Chuck Swindoll). I thought that there were only 100 possible fortunes, but Jon told me there are dozens in each box. Any rational person could see that this is simply random, but these people are either irrational or choose to ignore the truth.

So the worship at the temple gives a clear picture of the darkness this country is in and how large the need is.

1:30 pm: After lunch at McDonald's (3rd time this week), we went to the Chiang Kai Shek memorial.


CKS was the man who led the fight against Communists in China, but then retreated with thousands of people to this island. He is considered a national hero, and a massive statue of him is on constant display, guarded by soldiers.


Most of the time, these soldiers stand at rapt attention, staring straight ahead (with a fan behind them to stay cool).


Every hour, these two pour souls get relieved of duty, but not before they do an elaborate 10 minute changing-of-the-guard routine.
At 2:00 pm, we watched their matinee performance. A crowd gathered and the 5 guys (2 going off duty, 2 going on duty, one point guard) put on a show, complete with choreography, boot stomps, rifle spins, and an occasional shout. Now, I mean no disrespect by this, but I couldn't help thinking this looks like a mixture of synchronized swimming, a pom-pom routine, and a presentation of colors, all done in slow motion. VERY slow motion. A still shot really doesn't do it justice. I think the message of this routine is, "We've got an army, and it is precise, prepared, and pretty." All I know is that if they can fire their rifles halfway as good as they can spin them around like a baton, then the island is well-protected.

About this time, the kids were getting really hot and tired, so we went to the air conditioned museum, which was beautiful and full of art and history. We could have spent 3 hours there, but five children had plans to go to a toy store, instead.

Watching the five bored children lose interest in this very interesting place forced me to reflect on my childhood. My parents often took me to places in Missouri and other states where history like this was on display and influential leadership was honored. I wonder how many times my brother and I lost the opportunity to learn because we were concerned more about our own discomforts. Maybe this is just the way all kids act, but I sure wish I could help them see what they're missing. They will probably end up learning it from their own kids.

After roaming through a pretty garden, we walked back to the MRT, back through escalators, and rode the train back to the Ralls' neighborhood. Sandy, Amy, Anna, and Alex came back to the apartment for ice cream while Jon, David, Joshua, Sean, and Adam travelled in a taxi in search of the perfect toy store.

3:30 pm: Adam had been hoping for months that when he came to Taiwan, he could find some Bionicle sets that have yet to be released in America. In fact, he had not spent his money for toys since finding out that so many were available here. He had $1000 NT (about $35) saved up to spend. He was successful in that quest, and we also found three Megaman toys for Alex. It is so much easier to shop for Alex when he isn't with us.


5:00 pm: Jon wanted us to eat something authentic for supper, so we walked two blocks to a cart on the side of the street that makes "bings". A bing is a combination of an onion bread and eggs, fried on a griddle like a pancake.
Jon and Amy like this couple, who bring their little truck every evening to make these things for $25 NT (about 80 cents). Very tasty and very filling.

On the way back, I snapped this picture so everyone could see a few things.

First, note the unbelievable number of scooters parked on the side of the street. This block had at least 300 parked scooters just on this side of the road. Allen Messimer said there are about 2 million registered scooters in this county of 6 million people. I think I've seen about a quarter of a million of them in the last four days.
Second, note the location of Jon and Amy's apartment. They live on the 16th floor, with one small elevator servicing 20 floors. I have highlighted the balcony of their apartment with a yellow box (it's really green like the rest of the building). The tall building in the middle is a bank that they are adjacent to. The building to the left is across the street and contains a huge department store, restaurants, and the health club that we went swimming in tonight.

After eating our bings, Adam and I played the Spurs vs. Heat in NBA 2K5 on the playstation. Adam has really become a huge NBA fan lately, and he's even watched some of the games here with the play-by-play in Chinese. He jumped at the chance to play. In case it matters, we teamed up as the Spurs to beat the Heat 63-62 on a 3 pointer by dad at the buzzer.

At this point, Sandy left to go visit Jennifer Reynolds, another friend we have serving here in Taiwan. They went to a place for pink grapefruit tea and caught up on things.
While they were gone, Jon, Amy, and I took the kids swimming at the health club. Their rule is for everyone to wear a swimming cap, so we had to buy those. I didn't take my picture in the cap, but here's what the boys looked like:

If they weren't tired enough to sleep well, 30 minutes in the pool finished them off. Alex complained about having to stop swimming, but by the time we got back to the apartment, he was virtually asleep. All the kids were out cold by 8:45 and Sandy soon thereafter. Jon, Amy, and I stayed up working on various things and listening to music. A relaxing ending to an eye-opening day.

Why do they bother with Taiwan and why did we come? Because people here are lost. They are either caught up in false religion, false hope from prosperity, or false pride from nationalistic pride. Unfortunately, all three of those things are going to be burned up some day. All that will last is what the Lord has done in our lives. Through the support of Christians like us, our friends are doing their part to see that happen.

Day 7 - Road trip to the Ocean

Day 5 - The tallest building in the world

2:30 AM - We were afraid that someone would wake up in the middle night and not be able to get back to sleep. That almost happened to Alex. He apparently woke up and Anna told him that he could come and see us in our room. So Alex walks in the door and says, "You told me that we could read books if I woke up early." We tried to convince him that meant after it was light outside, but he was adamant to have a book read. We were actually afraid he would wake up the rest of the house. So David got up with him and took him into the living room, where he rocked back to sleep. Praise the Lord we didn't have to stay awake the rest of the morning.

7:00 - 8:00 am: We all wandered out of bed, with Adam sleeping the longest (over 12 hours). Thanks to Jon for his impeccable guidance, we seem to have conquered jet lag in only one day.

The boys spent a quiet morning around the house, playing, watching strange sports on TV, and working on the Internet. Jon did an audio interview with the Christian church in Clarence for their VBS. The girls went on an adventure of their own. Here's Sandy's account:

8:45 am: Amy needed to go to the eye doctor, so she invited Anna and me to tag along. We took a taxi to the clinic. We were in and out of there in about 10 minutes! And the cost for Amy was only about $5 (American), including seeing the doctor and two kinds of medicine! Next we checked out the large daymarket nearby. There was booth after booth of fresh fruits and vegetables and all kinds of meats and other goods. I really enjoyed walking through this and seeing all the cool different things that we don't have in America. We sampled a few things and will buy more later when we are not headed to other places. We didn't want to carry a lot with us to all the places we were going today.

11:00 am (10:00 pm Tuesday in Missouri). Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world, was our destination for the day. Adam had done an Eagles report about this building, so we knew a little about it and were looking forward to experiencing it ourselves. After an MRT and shuttle ride, we were finally there. Here's how it looked from the street.


Lunch was in the bottom level of this building, where there was a huge food court. There must have been three dozen places to eat, including a couple of American choices: KFC & Subway. Everything else was oriental food. Imagine my surprise that our kids wanted to eat at Subway. So we come 10,000 miles and our kids want to eat cold cuts and chips. Anyway, Sandy and I were feeling more adventurous, so I found a place where I pointed at what I wanted. For about $7 (200 NT), I bought soups, rice, some strange meat, and some kind of pickled greens. We even ate with chopsticks. Jon snapped this picture in the middle of a bite:


Unfortunately, we had just missed Bill Clinton's visit to this building by a few days. Since we couldn't see him, we spent a little time looking around a very impressive toy store (Think of a combination of Toys R Us and a jewelry store and you can get the idea of how the place looked.)

We rode the world's fastest elevator to the 89th floor. It reminded me a lot of the observation deck on the John Hancock building or the Sears tower, if you've ever visited there. It was a bit cloudy, but we could see throughout the city. One cool part of the visit was the elevator, which has an animated display showing you how fast and how high you are going.

It takes less than 40 seconds to ascend 89 floors. Amazing.

This was the day of taxi rides, as we split up and took two taxis back to Jon's apartment. For 30 minutes, he talked to the driver. When it was over, Jon informed me that the driver was asking him to explain the gospel and Jon had given him an overview and the church's business card.

I spent the time listening to the three kids in the back seat with me argue about who was touching and leaning on whom. And reading the Chinese newspaper. At least it had pictures.

Jon and Amy had arranged for Leslie, the nanny for the team, to come and watch the kids so we could go out to dinner together. Lindsay is a student at Ozark Christian College who has taken off a year of college to come and help with the ten children of the team members. A few times a week she babysits for the Ralls's. She was great with the kids, and even survived Alex bumping his knee and bleeding.

We took the taxi down to the area near where Chad and Alicia Edwards live. While Jon and David walked around the park and a library, Amy and Sandy had a side trip. Again, in Sandy's words: We went to a little beauty shop and I got to experience a hair wash. It was mostly a massage of the neck, shoulders, and head and rubbing the shampoo in while sitting up. It felt great. I can't wait to tell my stylist at home about this.

Then after quite some time, they rinsed my hair and dried it. All for about 5 dollars!

Jon and Amy took us to a nice restaurant called "Tomatoes." They had a variety of nice American meals in a very pretty environment. We had several courses of food including salad, soup, appetizer, entree, dessert, and drink. Something on the menu caught my eye, and since my meal came with an appetizer, I got wild and chose it: Goose Liver Mousse. Now, I don't know what you think of when you hear "Goose Liver Mousse". I'm not a big liver fan, but I love chocolate mousse pudding. I thought it was worth a shot. It turned out to be a large slab of something that looked like bologna, but was spreadable like a pate. It didn't taste like much, but it was worth trying it for the story.

We enjoyed a great meal and conversation. One other odd thing about the place: The bathrooms are shared by men and women at the same time. In other words, there are multiple stalls in the same bathroom, one marked as men and the others marked as women. It's not bad until both a man and a woman walk in or out of there at the same time. Sandy, Amy, and Jon used the restroom and had no problems. I chose not to risk it.

After a quick taxi ride home, we got the kids to bed in good time.

The adults spent the rest of the evening playing games and relaxing.

Next time: Day 6 - The halfway point of the trip

Day 4 - Soaking up so many things

6:00 am - Departing the plane was much easier than boarding it. Jon Ralls told us don't worry about where to go, just follow the crowd. That was easy, and we immediately found some long lines to wait in. Checking into the country as foreigners was much easier than I expected. They checked our passports, and we walked to the baggage claim. I thought Jon would be there to meet us, but apparently visitors aren't allowed to the baggage claim area. So we loaded up the boxes and bags, and followed everyone out. We were asked at the customs desk what was in the boxes and I wondered if they would be unpacked. I figured honesty is the best policy, so I explained that they contained kitchen supplies for a family that is moving here in a few months. No problems, and we were through. The Ralls' were waiting right through the door, and our kids started running around and playing with each other right there in the reception area. They were all talking with each other a mile a minute. We barely stopped them long enough to take this picture (7:00 am Tuesday local, 5:00 p.m. Monday in Missouri):



Jon had brought a van to carry us in, so we loaded up the little Toyota with 9 people and 18 boxes and bags. Amazingly, it all fit. Jon warned us that the traffic is the first culture shock we would experience. Having immediately come from LA, I was slightly prepared. The main part of traffic that surprised me was the thousands of scooters everywhere, weaving in and out of traffic, barely missing pedestrians and busses.

In fact, later as we walked around town, we were regularly within a foot of bikes, cars, and scooters. Apparently, people rarely get hit by scooters, and when they do, it's thought of as no big deal. We warned the kids to stay on the side of the street while walking down the alleys and they did fine.

After lunch at McDonald's, we took a train ride to the north part of the island, some little touristy place. It was about a 30 minute subway ride. Jon spent some time talking to a Buddhist monk on the train. Here's a picture of Joshua and Adam together, with Jon and the Buddhist in the background.



Dan Shway reminded me of the strip in Branson or Lake of the Ozarks, with shops squeezed together offering food, toys, clothes, games, and all kinds of ways to spend your money. Jon talked me into getting a massage. In Taiwan, many who give massages are blind, because they can be trained to do the job. Unfortunately, the camera didn't work, so I can't show you what it looked like, but it felt great (I am on vacation, after all). For $3, I got 10 minutes of a neck and shoulders massage.

It was raining off and on, but then it started to pour. We got soaked waiting to take a boat ride through the harbor. It sort of reminded me of being on Lake Michigan in Chicago. Another trip to McDonald's for coffee and a snack, and then we were on the train back into town. That was about the time Alex konked out on the train. (Notice how I got a picture of Sandy wet, but not me).


We went to supper at Tepinyaka, where they cooked right in front of us. The restaurant was right across the street from where Jon and Amy live. The kids enjoyed the chef's antics, but mainly, they liked the fried eggs with a happy face in soy sauce. Allen and Cherry Messimer joined us with their new baby Kirstie.




Back home, where I was about to fall asleep starting at 7:00 pm. Jon urged us to stay up until 9:00 pm local time in order to get a good night's sleep and not wake up in the middle of the night. Adam fell asleep first at 8:00 pm (and slept until 8:30 the next morning).

We put the other kids to bed at 8:30, then Sandy and I stayed up talking to the Messimers and the Ralls. I made a few phone calls using Skype, which costs only 2 cents a minute to call over the Internet.

We finally went to sleep about 9:00 pm and had a fairly good night's sleep for the first full night in Taiwan.

Reflections on the day: We really just soaked up rain and culture. The traffic was certainly a shock, as was ordering at McDonald's. They really couldn't understand much of what I said, but they did have a picture menu. We tried one unique rice beef burger, but everything else was standard fare for McDonald's. Adam even ordered his own ice cream cone and paid for it himself. The train was just like riding the metrolink in St. Louis. I was amazed at so many conversations Jon could have in Chinese. Only a few times did I find him struggling for a word, and the people he was talking to were so willing to help him find the right word when that happened.

Every corner has a Seven-Eleven for shopping, and a McDonald's or Starbucks about every block. Even though it was rainy, we enjoyed walking around and soaking it in. One observation: As I pushed Alex around in the stroller, I was constantly getting smiles and pointing from the Chinese people. I think they were in awe of Alex. One place we walked in front of, a lady said, "Oh, you have five children!" in an excited voice. Jon says that if he takes Joshua with him some place, he can literally talk to people about Christ as long as he wants, because they ask him questions constantly and Joshua always brings up Jesus. We're hoping to gain that kind of heart and perspective on this trip.

Next time: Day 5 - The world's tallest building

Day 3 - The shortest day of our lives

Day 3: Monday, May 23 at 1:00 am (3:00 am Missouri time)
We boarded a very large EVA Airlines plane with capacity for about 750 passengers (double-decker). Our plan was to have the kids sleep starting at 1:00 am when we took off and hopefully get a good night's sleep. The airline had other plans. Not only were all the lights on at 1:00 am, but they came around at 1:30 to serve us a meal. I had just gotten to sleep with the boys when a stewardess asked me if I wanted the meals for our kids. I accepted at first, but since they were asleep, I later returned the meals and asked if we could have them after they woke up.

It turns out that what they were doing was serving meals as if we were already in Taiwan. So 1:00 am on the West coast was about 4:00 p.m. in Taiwan, about the time when people were getting ready for supper. They turned on a movie, and kept the lights really bright. Then they served us breakfast about 5:00 am Taiwan time.

On the way home, we'll avail ourselves of the meals on the airline's schedule and see if that makes a difference.

If this makes any sense, we flew 13:45 but we had only a 6 hour Monday. Here's the breakdown:

1 hour in LA waiting to depart.

6 hours of the flight took place on Tuesday, from midnight to 6:00 a.m.
That leaves 7:45 of the flight taking place on Monday. So Monday lasted 8:45 for us, but we'll redeem that time on Monday, May 30.

The kids did great on the flight. Alex slept more than the rest of us put together. The airline showed about 6 movies, and fed us and kept us stocked with drinks. One oddity: the child's breakfast contained a sweet roll, a cream puff, and a Hershey's candy bar. The kids couldn't believe their good fortune. All of the food was good, and the service by EVA air was outstanding.

Here are Adam and Alex enjoying their seats.


By the time the flight was completed, almost all of our battery-powered entertainment devices were depleted: Game Boy, Laptop, Clie, and Digital Camera. The only things still working were two minidisc players, so Adam listened to music and I listened to preaching.

As long as the flight was, it wasn't as bad as I thought. And the good news is that on the way home, it's an hour faster (with the jet stream speeding up planes headed East).

Next time: Day 4 - Soaking up so many things

Day 2 - "Trust Me"

The short version . . . It's very difficult for me to summarize 19 packed hours in three sentences, but here is my best attempt for those who don't want the details.

We woke up too early, ate breakfast, picked strawberries, and waited in line. We enjoyed a full day in the park of riding, watching, playing, and shopping all things Lego. We travelled the 90 miles from Carlsbad to Los Angeles in fog and traffic, got separated from each other for an hour, waited for security, and boarded a double-decker plane.

More for those who want it (all times Pacific). All day long, we learned to trust each other, but most of all, to trust God. He brought us through nicely.

5:00 am We were clearly operating on Central Time, as the kids started waking up at their normal time (7:00 am), even after going to bed late the night before. We were a little afraid that their noise at 5:30 would not be appreciated by the other hotel guests, so we turned on Disney channel while getting ready. Funny how that quiets them right down.

6:30 am - One of the best continental breakfasts I've ever had, and we enjoyed a variety of food at the Fairfield Inn. I can't recommend the place more highly for anyone wanting to visit Legoland. It's a nice facility, good amenities (slightly small room), but very helpful staff.

7:30 am - We thought it would be a shame to be this close to the ocean (.5 mile) and not visit, so we looked for a good place to park and walk down on the beach. We found a state campground near our hotel and got a 15 minute visitor's pass. Unfortunately, it was cool and foggy, making it not as enjoyable as it could have been, but we still got to watch some surfers. Ask Sandy sometime how a wave almost washed her out to sea.

8:00 am - We knew we would be early to the park (it doesn't open until 10:00 am), but we drove there anyway. The gates were locked, so we decided to drive around and look at the town some. We were so glad we did. Less than 1/2 mile from the park was a huge "U-Pick Strawberry" field, with at least 120 acres of strawberries. All sorts of people were pulling off to pick, and we decided to have a morning snack of strawberries, so the whole family got involved picking them. Look at the picture and you'll see how much easier their field was than you might visualize picking strawberries to be.



8:45 am - Sandy was convinced that we needed to be one of the first cars in the park, so we drove and got in line. While waiting for the parking lot to open, the kids were watching a DVD on the van's system. I had recorded "That Darn Cat" from Disney channel a few weeks ago, and had it on a DVD for them to watch. It was funny to hear Alex try to say it. He kept calling the movie "That Barn Cat", which was fine with us. (Later that night, while leaving the restaurant, he ran outside, pointed to a guy, and yelled "That Barn Cat.")

9:30 am- So when we got in line to wait at Legoland, we were near the front. The kids were amazingly well-behaved and had fun just looking around at the decorations. virtually everything at the park is decorated or illustrated in Lego style. Even the Welcome sign was made completely out of Lego bricks.

I'm not going to give you the details of all we did in the park. I just suggest that you visit the website to get an idea of what it's like. (www.lego.com/legoland/california) I'm not a paid spokesman (in fact, I paid them royally for the ability to make this statement), but of all the theme parks I have visited, Legoland is the most beautiful, organized, safe, and functional. The cost wasn't even that prohibitive ($180 for a family of five, with nothing more to pay for other than food and souvenirs). The ride lines were ridiculously short; most of them we walked right into without even standing in line. People from all over the world were there, with so many beautiful children having the time of their lives. Here's a brief overview of some of the coolest things.

1. Lego driving school - All three kids got to drive their own electric vehicle through streets, with traffic signs and lights to obey. Puttering along at an amazing 3 mph, they had a blast.
2. The dragon roller coaster - No waiting at all, and the kids loved it.
3. Lego Mindstorms - Adam and dad played with robotic legos, programming them to do different sports events.
4. Knight's castle - a huge interactive playplace that Alex and Anna crawled all through.
5. Lego Racers 4D - A video show with amazing 3D effects and cool computer animated graphics.
6. Kidpower Tower - The children pull themselves up a tall tower with ropes (kind of complex to explain, but easy to learn).

This is just a small taste. The park kept us hopping from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, and I would estimate that we only did about 2/3 of what was available. After loading up on souvenirs at the shop, we walked away, but not before snapping this picture:


Sandy and I have been so pleased about how the kids have acted on this trip. Those of you who know our kids may or may not see them in whine and complain mode, but trust us, they can kick it into overdrive. But on this trip, nothing but positives and gratitude.

After leaving the park, we were starving for some good food. The first place we found was Applebee's, and it was delicious. However, I have discovered in the last couple of weeks that Adam has a very strong conscience about alcohol. Unfortunately, they sat us very near the bar. Two minutes after sitting down, Adam says, "Dad, I don't feel safe here because so many people are drinking." Apparently, the public school really emphasizes to children that alcohol consumption is to be avoided at all costs. Since we don't drink, Adam just assumes that anyone who drinks is doing something bad and hurting themselves. So it was time for a little lesson on the difference between social drinking, binge drinking, and underage drinking. I think he listened, but he still traded places with me so he wouldn't have to look at the bar. I just hope his conscience wasn't permanently scarred. The other two kids were oblivious, but Adam was very observant and bothered.

We were told by several Southern Californians that a Sunday evening drive from San Diego to LA would have little traffic and be no problem. All I can say is if that was light traffic, I couldn't imagine commuting that I-5 corridor during the week. Four or five lanes of traffic each way (eight in some places), with so many cars (many out-of-towners like me). I don't know how anyone could fall asleep driving on the freeway with all of the people changing lanes and zooming around. We missed a great view of the city and the ocean because of the smog. Our drive to the rental car return was uneventful, but stressful.

(9:00 p.m.) I'm not going to fully describe my problems with Alamo on this trip, but suffice it to say, I would not rent again from Alamo in Los Angeles and I probably wouldn't rent from them anywhere. In sharp contrast to everything else we experienced (theme park, hotel, airport, American and EVA airlines), the customer service from Alamo was dreadful. They cost us far more money than we counted on, made us late, left Sandy and the kids on the side of the street with all of our stuff. Enough said.

(9:45 pm) There have been so many ways this trip that we knew people were praying for us. The next two hours illustrate it for me powerfully.

We had left a bag the day before that needed to be picked up in a separate terminal from the one we were flying out of. We talked about it and determined that Sandy and the kids would stay on the shuttle bus with our stuff while David went in to retrieve the bag. American had apparently lost a bunch of bags from Miami, so the line at baggage service was fairly long. I knew my bag was right back there, but I spent 30 minutes standing in line listening to the three people in front of me explain why their lost bags were crucial for them to retrieve and how they couldn't believe American would lose their luggage. Behind me stood 10 more people with the same complaint. Fortunately, mine was easy to solve (once they got to me). But the whole time I was waiting in line, I'm thinking "I wonder how Sandy and the kids are doing on the shuttle bus?" I kept seeing the Alamo shuttles drive through and wondered if they were worried about me. Turns out, I should have been worried about them. Apparently, the shuttle driver decided it wasn't legal for her to let Sandy and the kids wait on the bus (even though we had paid them $240 for a one day rental), so she made them get off the bus on the sidewalk. Thankfully, she helped them unload our 500 pounds of boxes and luggage onto a cart. Then the driver pulled away. Perhaps you can imagine Sandy and the three kids on the sidewalk in Los Angeles at 10:15 pm, guarding 17 different pieces of luggage. Fortunately, they were standing right where I was supposed to meet the bus. I didn't see them, but they saw me running to the spot. Adam said, "Where were you dad? What took you so long?"

Carrying 9 checked pieces and 10 carry-ons would be hard enough, but the baggage check for international flights at LAX has lots of problem. David loaded everything on a cart and waited an hour for the bags and boxes to go through security. Now, I appreciate the work that the TSA does to keep our flights safe, but something needs to change. We were told to be to the airport 3-4 hours early for an international flight. It took every bit of 3 hours for us to go through the hoops. The lady in line in front of me had a box opened because they thought they saw something in it. They unpacked everything out of her box, examining it. She was not happy. I started praying and told Sandy to pray for our 9 pieces to quickly be approved. It sort of reminded me of the people who travel to Mexico and pray for the green light so they don't have to wait at the border. Baggage security is the border, and you just hope they aren't predisposed to find something to meet a quota. Fortunately, our boxes came through great. So we waited in another line to check in.

The next picture was taken about 11:30 pm, after already being in the airport 2 1/2 hours.


We look tired, but everyone was doing great. One more trip through security (we got a short line because of the stroller! Praise God!) and we went to the gate. I can't really describe the gate there, because it's the smallest one I have ever seen, but about 400 people were waiting to board this flight.

Most flights I've taken have a tunnel connecting the gate to the aircraft. I have been in an airport where we had to walk to the plane. In this case, they drove us to the plane via shuttle buses. The EVA airways lets families with children and elderly go first (a policy I think should be implemented everywhere!) When we finally got the plane after a 10 minute bus ride, it was a long walk into the plane. However, we made it with plenty of time to spare.

The battery is about dead on my laptop, so I'll have to sign out for now.

Next time: Day 3 - The shortest day of our lives

Day 1 in Review

The kids have done great on this trip so far. That's a real answer to prayer, because this is outside their comfort zones, for sure.

Here they are at the airport with all of our stuff.
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Here they are with Sandy on the plane.
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The plane arrived in LA early, so we were optimistic that we could make it to Saddleback Church in time for their 4:30 service. Unfortunately, no such luck.

After retrieving all our luggage (so we thought), we waited for the rental car shuttle. We decided not to put all the luggage and boxes on the shuttle bus, so an airport official determined the best thing to do is for one of us to go get the van and the other one of us stay behind with the kids and the stuff. So David took Alex to the Alamo place where we saw a long line. Honestly, I didn't know how I would keep Alex quiet for an hour while I waited to get my car. And then I saw it. I told Alex if he was good for a couple of minutes, I had a big surprise for him.

We moved up in the line far enough to see it and he said, "Look, a McDonald's Place." Alamo apparently knew how long it would take to wait in line, so they provide their own playplace. Alex loved it and it kept him occupied the whole time I was in line. Thanks to the nice lady from NY that I stood in line next to, I didn't lose my place when I took him to the restroom or went to call Sandy.

Here's a picture of Alex at the "McDonald's place."
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To make a very long story very short, we got a van, picked up Sandy and the kids, but by that time, we had been at the airport 2.5 hours, so it was too late to go to Saddleback (maybe next month when we come for vacation).

We decided to go ahead and drive to Carlsbad so that we could get to our hotel and get something to eat So we travelled I-5 south and arrived at the hotel about 5:45 p.m. local time (7:45 in Missouri).

Hopping out quickly to dump some stuff in the room, Sandy noticed that she didn't see all of our bags. On the way to a restaurant (El Pollo Loco), she asked if I had seen all of our bags. I thought for sure we had them, because I counted at the airport. Turns out, I'm a better theologian than mathematician, because I counted wrong. We found out that one suitcase (ironically, the one with my clothes!) was still at the airport.

So we start making phone calls, chatting online with Mike Worstell at the same time, and determined that they had the bag at the terminal, and we can pick it up when we go back to the airport Sunday night.

It will be complicated, but we're sure that God is answering your prayers to keep us safe and get us to Taiwan. We closed the evening with a relaxing dip in the pool and had a good night sleep, until we started waking up at 4:00 a.m.

Next time: Sunday at Legoland