An update

Considering that it’s been over a month since I last updated this blog, I figured it was about time. I guess the word that would best describe my recent life is “insane”. It seems like I’ve been going form one final, paper, or report to another…

Finally. Done. My last class was last Tuesday, with the paper due this Tues. A little bit of English editing, and it’s done. (I never thought I’d put my mother’s insistence on correct grammar to so much use! I’ve been able to help a lot of classmates with different things that they’ve been working on, which has been nice.

Since classes finished, it’s been kind of weird to be able to do stuff I’ve been too busy to do when school was happening. I got out and did some exploration on my scooter – I’m going to Taipei tomorrow for the first time in 2 months, and am going to Yilan next weekend with a friend.

However, the end of the school year has meant that people are leaving…a few people that I’ve gotten pretty close to are going back – one couple to America, and another guy to Sweden. I guess all good things must come to an end, but it’s still no fun to say goodbye to friends

This summer is still a big question mark. I’ll be working on my internship 3 days a week, will be tutoring at least one night a week, and am hoping to find more, and getting some traveling in when I can. About all I know is that it won’t be very relaxing…

Here’s something I’ve been wondering about:

If “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.(Proverbs 13:12)….however “…those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)” So…is it good to wait or not? Will it renew your strength or make you sick? What does it mean to wait on the Lord?

 

These are some pictures from my wanderings last weekend…

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Insanity

Wow…even when you think you can’t do any more, God gives you more, ensuring that you’re stretched beyond what you think you can do and be. I guess this is God’s guaranteed way of driving you into His arms, showing you His love, and strengthening your relationship with Him.

Every part of my life is now completely out of control, but it’s definitely been forcing me to pray, trust, and rely on God (which is a good thing). Funny how that works.

It feels like I’m on a treadmill, hanging on for dear life, and praying that I don’t get thrown off before June is over. Some of my classmates need their grades before the semester is over, which means that the professors have agreed to finish their courses a little earlier, which is a good thing. However, they all want the students to do the same amount of ‘stuff’, which is a bad thing. I guess you can’t have it both ways….

I went to Danshui yesterday with a bunch of friends from church, which was awesome…It was my first day off in two weeks, and I really appreciated the chance to get some good conversations that had nothing to do with classes. :o).

God is good… "I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me" ~ Philippians 4:13

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A never-ending lesson

Sometimes, we feel as if we’ve learned a lesson, only to find out that there’s more to be done…I guess we’ll never really finish until we get to Heaven.

After I found out that I had an internship at ITRI, I found out that I need a work permit to do it. Normally, it wouldn’t be a problem, as the permit would be “in process”, and I’d be able to retroactively apply the permit to any time I’d already worked. However, ITRI is part of the Taiwan government, and as such, is a bit stricter on permits and all that sort of thing.

Anyway, I haven’t yet found out definitely whether or not that’s going to be a problem, or what I should do. All I can do is wait, and try to get some definite answers.

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A few weekends ago, I went to Penghu, a small island of the Taiwanese coast. GORGEOUS place. I’m definitely hoping to get back there this summer. I met a lot of cool people, had a lot of fun, and got even more behind on sleep (but it was TOTALLY worth it :p I saw the best fireworks show of my life, rode on more boats, and visited more tiny islands than I ever have before.

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I finally got a new lens for my camera, so I was able to get some good shots…I didn’t realize how much I missed photography. I’m really hoping that I’ll get some time this summer to do some exploring and shooting. I just haven’t had enough time this semester, though from what the senior students say, next semester will be a LOT easier compared to this year. If nothing else…NO MORE MATH (provided I pass economics).

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Lately, God’s given me lots of opportunities to encourage people, and I’ve really been praying that Christ would shine through me. Other than prayer, and offering to pray with them, I don’t know what else to do…after all, what else could I do that’s more powerful than prayer, anyway?

It’s kind of neat, as this has been something that I’ve been praying about ever since I came to Taiwan. As the need is so great, it’s neat to see the opportunities that have come my way…all of which I totally wasn’t expecting.  

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School has been getting tougher and tougher…the two months until the semester ends are looking longer and longer. However, then end WILL come, I WILL pass (totally by the grace of God),  and life will go on. If nothing else, I’ve learned endurance, and stick-to-it-ivity. 

Pics from Penghu:

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Life…God…Trusting vs. Control

This is going to be one of those random posts that combine a lot of different things because I’m too busy (lazy?) to post more often. The good news: I finally found an internship – I need it as part of my MBA program, and wasn’t finding ANYTHING – talking to everyone I know, but nobody with any links to opportunities for students.

On Tuesday night, I had class with Professor Tang, the head of the GMBA program. He asked if everyone had found internships. All but 6 people had – (me being one of the 6). Needless to say, I was feeling rather bummed. Walking home after class that night, I was praying, and I realized that I had been worrying….I knew that God was the one who would provide the internship, but I was thinking about how I needed to do my part…I prayed “Ok, God. I’m done. I don’t know what else to do, who else to talk to. I don’t know what I’ll do if I can’t find an internship, but there’s nothing more I can do. I had an appointment the next morning with a lady at ITRI (a government scientific research institute here in Hsinchu). This appointment had been canceled twice already, and I was thinking that I was just being put off indefinitely. When I got there, however, I was offered an internship doing patent research, and a possibly the chance to work with a company implementing a new product. We’ll see…

So…ya….I’ve had that lesson before, but I’m always realizing just how slow I actually LEARN! Can’t blame the Israelites too much…I’m the same way!

In other news…School is starting to get a bit overwhelming. Another fun part of this whole ITRI thing is that I’ll be working 2 days a week, starting in May. Sooo….I have even less time than I did before! I can’t wait until the semester is over! I just need to get through 2 ½ more months, and then I don’t have to think about it for 2 months!

I have NO idea how people make it through life without God! It’s tough enough, and I’ve got a Friend, a Brother, and a Dad who help me get through every day!

He Is Risen

Let me say it again…HE IS RISEN! Those three little words separate Christianity from all other religions and belief systems this world has ever known. We aren’t following a system, a list of rules invented by some guy who lived in a time long ago and at a place far away. We’re following a Person, who is alive and well today, who sits at the right hand of God Almighty, the absolute master of the universe.
We don’t do good things in order to get saved, we do good thing because we are saved, and we want to show our love to the One who saved us.
That, in a nutshell, is what life is all about. The single, solitary goal and purpose of life on earth is to bring honor and glory to Jesus Christ. Granted, I mess up every single day, but I pray that I never lose sight of the goal, and become distracted by other, temporary things.
Why would the King of Kings leave His throne, become a slave, allow himself to be killed by other slaves, for the sole purpose of saving those same other slaves from themselves?
I don’t understand it, but I’m thankful for it every day!
He is risen, indeed!

As iron sharpens iron�

Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron,
       so one man sharpens another.

 

God�s blessed me with a small, but incredibly awesome group of guys at church. We had our first small group tonight, just talking with and praying for each other. I didn�t think about it too much until winter break, but I really miss being around Christians, having good fellowship, and being able to pray for and with others. I found a church a few weeks after I got here, but it was basically going every Sunday, saying hi, sitting by myself, and then going back to my room.

Last Sunday, one of the guys mentioned that they had started getting together with another guy, and invited me and one other guy along�

So�that�s the update. Still no word on internships or income, but hey, God�s got it under control. What do I have to worry about it for?

…and it goes on

Ah…another week. Over. I can’t believe that we started the semester 5 weeks ago. It doesn’t seem like that long. I guess that’s a good thing. It means that I’m that much closer to summer, and internship (hopefully). We’re doing some more interesting classes, more practical than last semester, though a bit harder and a LOT busier.

I’ve started helping out at church a bit – I’m going to try to make it to the youth group on Friday nights, and help out. We also had a “young adult” day yesterday – we went hiking in Caoling, a place I had never been before – really pretty, but a LOT of stairs. I met some new people, invited one of my Taiwanese friends, and had some good conversations along the way.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been going to ITRI, a local company, on Wednesdays, to do a Bible study/English class. It brings back a lot of memories from my days as an English teacher – lesson planning, etc. It’s been good. I’ve met some good people, and enjoy the time I spend there. There’s a range of English levels, and I think everyone understands a different amount.

We’re going through Mere Christianity. I’m reading the book, taking notes, then making a summary and study guide each week. It’s time consuming, but I’m learning a lot, about teaching, my faith, and how to interact with the Chinese culture.

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I don’t know. What does it mean to be a Christian? Why are there so many people who say their Christians, yet don’t act like it. I know that I’ve got a long way to go, but at least I’m trying to go in the right direction – trying to go 2 steps forward before taking 1 step back. Thankfully, there are a few guys that I’ve been able to meet who are real Christians, and we’re going to try to meet up for a Bible study.

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Please pray that God would multiply my time and my finances, and that He would use me to touch my classmates and acquaintances. I feel like every time I try to say something about my beliefs, it comes out wrong, and has the opposite effect of what I want to say. God’s put me with so many people who need Him, and all I can do is live my life, and leave it in His hands.

I was reminded this week that reaching the lost isn’t the focus of our lives. Our only goal in life is to be a living sacrifice to Jesus Christ. Nothing else matters. If God uses us to reach others, that’s only frosting on the cake!