Hey everyone,
We just finished our first day of camp in Hsinchu! This camp has proven to be pretty different from to what we’re used to, but that means that God is working in different (and great) ways.
The setup of this camp is pretty unique, as we’re only technically in charge of teaching morning classes. Our classes today were pretty hectic, since we had to condense our 50-minute curriculum into 25 minutes. I’m teaching English with a partner, and with some of the younger classes, we only were able to do simple introductions and teach the word “walk.” We have to make a lot of quick decisions, and think on our feet for how we can make things work, but luckily for us, the kids are pretty receptive and positive about the activities we include.
It’s also been really cool getting to see the kids, especially since I recognized some of them from the Buhe Elementary camp two years ago (which I will admit was probably my favorite camp ever). It was awesome being able to connect with them quickly and pick up right where we left off. The kids at our camp aren’t very familiar with each other, as they come from multiple elementary schools and townships, but so far I think this will be a really good group.
We also learned more about our small group leaders, particularly the fact that almost all of them are in high school and have never stepped foot into a church until today. They aren’t as comfortable in this kind of environment, and generally aren’t as sure about how to interact with the kids, but that means that we basically have a high school camp embedded into this elementary school camp. We only have a few short days with them, but please pray that we will be able to establish good relationships with these students, and be able to have intentional conversations with them. This is a unique opportunity that we don’t want to miss out on.
I’ll end with praise: This afternoon, we were in charge of games for a short period of time. We had been planning on using a closed-off outdoor area, but when another team member and I went to check it out, we realized that it would be really hot and way too bright outside (because the floor was made of bright, white tile, and was in direct sunlight). As we hosed off the tile to cool it off before the kids came, we prayed (while laughing) and asked God to move over the only sizeable cloud in the sky, or to bring a bigger cloud to cover the sun for 45 minutes. We had to go inside after about 10 minutes because it was seriously too bright. When we returned later with all 66 of the kids and other team members, we looked up and realized that God had sent us a huge cloud out of nowhere, which allowed us to play outside comfortably for the entire time. It was a huge blessing, and a testimony to the non-Christian small group leaders as well, with whom we shared the story later.
Day 2:
This was technically only my second day working with the team, but I really started to feel my age haha. The first year I joined the.i42.project I was 16, and now at 21, I definitely can feel my energy level being at a really different place. On top of that, something weird was happening with my hands physically (I’m suspecting maybe tendinitis), which I still need prayer for now. But in terms of my mind and my heart, I still felt alert and excited, especially around the kids. Praise God.
Day 2 had two bigger challenges. The first was afternoon classes, which we weren’t in charge of. Instead of resting, a bunch of us ended up in various classes, particularly dance class, which basically descended into chaos. Luckily we were able to help the teacher keep the kids under control!
The second challenge was water games, which we also weren’t leading. Unfortunately the weather was pretty terrible; it was super sunny and really hot outside. We tried our best to cool kids down, by running around with umbrellas (“sunbrellas”) for shade, and fanning them with flattened cardboard boxes, but it was definitely very challenging.
We also held our outreach event after camp with the small group leaders! Some were from church and some were non-Christian, but we all had a really great time playing games and completing challenges to find all the pieces to Matthew 7:7 – “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” We were able to discuss the verse with the students, and we could tell that one non-Christian student in particular was thinking really hard about everything that we shared.
We also split up to go house visiting! The family I visited was located right next to Buhe Elementary (where we held camp two years ago), so seeing the school brought back a lot of memories. I went with a team member from Taiwan and two older adults from the church, and we had a really nice time chatting with the mom of one of our students. We also found out that his older brother was going to be a freshman at the same college (and same department!) that our Taiwan team member was going to be a senior at!
Day 3:
My teaching partner (also named Rebecca) and I clicked really well this week with teaching, so class was never too difficult! My favorite part of English class was teaching the kids about my scorpion killing method (which was probably the only time of class that every kid was quiet and listening attentively, haha).
One random but really cool blessing came from when we went out to do laundry. We had seen a Laundromat near church, but when we walked over with our clothes, we found out that it was their first day in business, and because of that, they were having a special event – where we could wash our clothes for free! Praise God for unexpected blessings.
God also reminded me on this day about the brokenness of families in Taiwan. Single parent homes, mixed homes, and parentless homes are all too commonplace. I was chatting with one girl whose mom was late picking her up after camp, and she said that her mom had either overslept or was out on a date (since her father passed away). Please be praying for these kids, that they will be able to experience the unlimited love of our Heavenly Father.
Day 4:
This morning we had our ending ceremony and performances. It was actually a kind of confusing time; there were a bunch of politicians and NGO leaders and random people that gave little speeches, and the kids seemed tired from the warm room and didn’t sing as loud as we wanted them to. But it still was great to spend our last moments with the kids!
I also got a chance to chat with a parent of a kid, who was at our camp two years ago! She talked about how much he liked the camp, and how this year, his little sister was able to join too. I was able to explain a little about our team and why we keep coming back to Taiwan; she was really thankful for how much we love the students and take care of them. Please pray that their family will be able to connect with the local church, and experience the love of God!
Prayer Updates:
· Thank you for praying for our outreach and house visits! You can check Day 2 for detailed updates!
Prayer Requests:
· Pray for the local church, that they may continue to reach out to these families and members of their community.
· Pray for the kids and their families, that they may be able to experience healing through the love of the Father.
· Pray for my hand(s)! I’ve been doing better recently but occasionally I get weird pangs of pain. Luckily during camp and outreaches, I’m too distracted to notice, but it can be a nuisance in the morning and at night when we’re trying to rest.
· Pray for our upcoming two camps: Sanyi and Huajiang. We’ve been praying about moving members around (due to sickness and low numbers in general), so it’s not set yet, but I will likely be ending up at our Huajiang High School camp in Wanhua (Taipei). I’m super excited to be at this camp – it was my first (and only) high school camp 5 years ago, and I’m really looking forward to closing out this year with Huajiang.
Thank you for your continued support (and for reading these long letters)! You can anticipate two more updates from me: one at the start of the next camp, and one more at the end!
In His love,
