Taiwan Tales

A few Things

2010-03-14T10:35:00.003+08:00

The last few months have been so busy. I have a few pics here showing why. Our church has moved towards independence and are now the Kaohsiung International Church. The logo seen here was created by the highly esteemed and sought after Mike Chu of Alberta, Canada. We are now meeting in a new place and will soon start looking for a pastor again (once we settle in). We have lost a few people in the last few years because we don't have a pastor. I guess some people need the figure at the front to give them the feeling of stability. I feel that with a good leadership and people being willing to pull together we form a more realistic picture of the body of Christ. We need to rely on Jesus and not on some person to keep us. Not that a pastor wouldn't be nice to have. (By the way if you know anyone interested in moving to Taiwan and earning very little money to lead a church where you will never get strong leaders because they leave Taiwan as soon as they are ready to lead, let me know)(I'm serious. That person is out there somewhere.)
Other highlights have been Chinese new year, Christmas and news that my little sis is getting married. Pics for some of these will come as soon as I get some time.
God has blessed me with many extra tutors in the last few weeks. Pray that He will now provide the energy I need to handle them.
God Bless

2010-02-09T16:14:00.000+08:00

Good to know someone is there.

2010-02-09T16:01:00.003+08:00

Here is a picture of Leanne and I at Sun Moon Lake on our Christmas Vacation. I had a long weekend and we used it well. Good to know somebody looks in. I will try to be more faithful again.
God Bless

Helloooooo

2009-12-27T21:49:00.001+08:00

Does anyone still read this? If so let me know.

Sorry the links didn't work

2008-03-29T15:52:00.003+08:00

Here are the links to see more pics from our time with Tracy.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=102675&l=b69ce&id=522630113

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=102679&l=9c818&id=522630113

Some Many Things

2008-03-29T15:33:00.003+08:00

I have not blogged in a while. I am so sorry for that. A lot has happened in the last few months. Here are a few of the highlights.
On New years we went for a big fireworks party on the beach and spent all night going to see a sunrise that never quite happened.
February was Chinese new year which was relaxing. A friend of ours (Mike Bell) came towards the end of the month and hung out.
March saw us go on another mission trip to Miaoli. The trips are becoming more organized and fun. They are also tiring. Pray for energy and blessing as we go again on April 12 and 13.
My sister, Tracy, came to see us and we had a grand old time. Below you can see some of the pictures from these various events. If you want to see more pictures go to the following facebook pages

Overall a busy but fun few months.
Pray needs:
1. Our church is looking for a pastor. Pray God sends the right person (and if you know someone send them my way).
2. Continued support for the missions trips to Miaoli. Pray for financial details and volunteers as well.
3. Rest for Leanne and I. We are over tired right now. Pray we can rest while we have the chance.
God Bless you all for your prayers.
Cliff and Leanne

One Wedding and a Missions trip

2007-12-22T20:57:00.000+08:00

We have had an eventful few weeks. The pics you see above are from a wedding I did today for a couple in my cell group. It was very informal but all of us were incedibly nervous. We were situated on a lower platform and evertone was above us looking down. I didn't use a microphone and everyone could still hear me. I was able to give a good simple gospel based message to a group that consisted almost entirely of non-Christians. Pray the seeds stay in their hearts and grow.
The last picture is from our missions trip to Miaoli. It was to an aboriginal tribe in the mountains. You can see more pics at this web site:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=78118&l=17006&id=522630113

The trip was a success. We felt like our church can do some good up there so we will send groups up once a month and alos do other supports for the people already working with the kids in the area. Pray for those kids.

The other thing was our trip to visit the Lovely Steven, Kamyee and Noelle Ladas in Bangkok. Steven was my first roommate in Taiwan and Kamyee was there so much she was practically a roommate too. The trip was fun especially meeting Noelle. Next time in Kaohsiung. This link has some of the pics from Bangkok:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76389&l=28aac&id=522630113

A busy few weeks but we have had a great time.

Merry Christmas

Baptism At the Beach

2007-11-29T21:34:00.000+08:00

We at the Bread of life English fellowship were priviledged to be able to baptise 5 people on November 11. The pics you see are from the beach where we did it. It was wonderful. I was priviledged to be able to lead the service and to baptise two of the candidates and assist with the others. I was initially skeptical about doing it on the beach and the waves you see were powerful. God baptised me several times. But it was a really powerful witness to the other foreigners who were on the beach (there was a french speaker who got baptised and did his testimony in french. At the same time there was a group of frenchmen having a BBQ right next to us. God works) and did a lot to bring our church together. We spent most of the day there having a BBQ. It was great. I will be the first to suggest doing it there again next time.

God Bless

Sorry Again

2007-10-25T09:48:00.000+08:00

I am looking for something very happily.

Happy Together

With Paul at his birthday BBQ.

With a group of explorers in a cave.

The lovely Mike Chu, hamming it up as always (he and his wife Kathy left us about a month ago sniff sniff)

It has been a long time. I don't know why other than that Facebook has sort of taken over the role of this blog. The pics you see here are some of the recent happenings in our life. These are us with some of the people at church. Some are gone and some are still here. I feel sad as I see these people coming and going. I don't want to say goodbye. I want to hold on to them and keep them with us. I guess they need to move with their lives but it does make our life a little less bright.
I never know what to say here. I guess a run down of what has been happening is good. I have just finished my 8th course in my Master's course. It went well but not as well as I hoped. I did not do well on one paper ( I still think it was the teacher's fault). My wonderful 4.0 GPA is now gone and I see it with the silver lining that at least I don't have to worry about that anymore. Pray I will put the effort needed in the last few courses. I have grown weary of studying and feel like the writer of Ecclesiates when he said too much study is tiring (not sure where it is but it's in there somewhere).
We just had a church retreat and I had to deal with some difficult issues which came to my attention. PTL the people took the criticism well and that God gave me the ability to present it with love.
Leanne is excited as the Taiwan bookstore Eslite is planning to put her on display in their stores. They will be presented as they are, one of a kind gift items and not mass produced journals. Pray this goes well.
We are planning a trip with our air miles to go to Bangkok to visit some friends there. right now we are on a waiting list for tickets so pray that we are able to get them and go to Bangkok. We haven't seen these people for about 7 years.
Our church will hold its Thanksgiving dinner this Sunday. Pray that we can have a good time and some of the divisions in the church can be healed at this time.
We are still looking for a pastor. The candidate we have will visit in January. Pray God will make it clear to him and us what should happen here.
I will sign off there.
Let me know if you read this. I like to see people are looking in. Just leave a short comment like Hi.
Thanks

Typhoon Saturday

2007-08-18T22:17:00.000+08:00

We sat in the house all day today because Typhoon Sepat hit us this morning. This morning it was still calm although this thing had been approaching for about four days. It was crawling along. It hit on the weekend which sucks. It means no time off work and you have to stay in on your free day. But at least we are safe in our house. Pray for those in less sheltered areas as they are getting slammed. This is a Super Typhoon which means it will do alot of damage.
I have uploaded two pictures. One is the sattelite view of the typhoon. You can't see Taiwan in the picture because it is covered by the typhoon.
The second picture is what I might look like if I were a Simpsons' character. Leanne says I got the hair and nose right but that I am not that fat. I tend to disagree. What do you think? Did I capture myself?
I am the proud uncle of a beautiful boy named Milo Davin Pierce Hildebrand. You can see him and the rest of the family above. I got to see him on the Skype the other day and he actually opened his eyes for me. What a handsome young man! I think I will have treat him extra because he is a fellow second oldest brother in the family. We gots to stick together!
It's been a busy summer but it is drawing to a close. I will finish up my summer session at the junior high next week and then will start up the new school year a week later. Pray for a good relationship with the new classes.
I start another of my Masters courses in two weeks. I am so ready to finish my masters. I still have 5 courses to go but at least I am on the downward side now.
Leanne has a couple of her pictures in a show next weekend. Pray they sell. She will also display some of her books for sale as well.
God bless

Seven Years and no itch

2007-07-06T20:49:00.000+08:00

I am pleased to announce that Leanne and I will have been married for 7 years on this coming Sunday in God's eyes (I will explain if you ask). I have been looking back at my life and cannot imagiine what I would be now if I had not come to Taiwan and met Leanne. She has been the single biggest blessing God has given me in my life. I know that I would not be in Taiwan now if it had not been for her. I would not be going for my Master's. I wouldn't be leading worship. I would be a loner living in some hole somewhere. I thank God everyday for giving me a helpmate who knows me as well as anyone and even better I know myself. Thank You Lord.
Happy Anniversary Leanne

A question: Please Respond!!

2007-07-02T11:58:00.000+08:00

Is it sacriligeous to talk about Dr Pepper and God in the same blog? Thoughts?

Dr Pepper

2007-06-28T21:21:00.000+08:00

I am sitting here drinking a Dr Pepper and thinking how good God is to us. it is such a small thing to have a certain treat like a soda available to you but it makes my day when I can have one at the end of the day. Being in Taiwan these things are sometimes hard to find but here I am drinking one. Praise the Lord for He is good.

Long Time No See

2007-06-23T22:19:00.000+08:00

Blame it on Facebook. I have gotten on facebook recently and that coupled with doing my Master's thesis proposal for the last two months has made it hard for me to update here.
To catch up then:
1. Leanne just completed a successful exhibition of her hand made books at a book store. See her blog on the right for details.
2. I did complete my proposal for my thesis. 85 pages later I am very happy to report getting high praise from my instructor. Pray the evaluation comes back as good.
3. Leanne and I took a trip to Taipei for the Dragon Boat long weekend (four days!!!). We started the trip off right by going up on the new high speed train. You can see some of the pics (one outside one inside). It was underwhelming as it never felt you were actually going close to 300 km/h. So cool!
4. We went to see some of the famous Terra Cotta soldiers at a museum in Taipei. They were imported from Mainland China. Very interesting.
5. Went to the area around Taipei 101. This is the tallest building in the world.
6. We are having a very hot summer. Pray it will be a little cooler as I start my busy schedule.
7. The church is still waiting to hear from our pastoral candidate. Pray we can find out God's will for this. We need to find someone soon as we are losing some key leaders this summer.
8. I am getting fat. I have been sitting at the computer alot doing my Master's. Pray for determination to brave the heat and get some exercise.
9. Leanne had some pain in her leg last night but it seems to have gone away Praise the Lord.

That's the best I can do for an update. Please let me know if you read this.

Stephen and Elizabeth's Wedding/Anniversary

2007-05-06T14:21:00.000+08:00

What was it? A wedding banquet? An anniversary celebration? Whatever it was we had a great time. Stephen sang a lovely song for Elizabeth (Was that 'catch a kangaroo'?) And Elizabeth sang a beautiful love song to God. A moving night. They shared stories about each other including all the blood and gore.
Stephen and Elizabeth have been a huge blessing to our church. In the absence of a pastor they have stepped up very well to lead a group of immature church members. God Bless you guys as you find your path.

Men's Retreat- The Aftermath

2007-04-24T15:16:00.000+08:00

We got through the weekend and the time was well spent. God taught us alot through Robert Branch and the guys got a great chance to bond and get to know some guys that they don't usually hang out with. I just threw in the last pic to let you know I was there too. Pray the things learned this weekend will stick and grow in the guys hearts.

Men's Retreat

2007-04-19T09:56:00.000+08:00

I have spent the last couple of months preparing for this next weekend. The Men for our church will be going on a retreat this weekend. The theme will be "Being a Godly Husband". Please pray the theme rings true for our church. We have about 40% married guys at the retreat and the rest are single. One guy is engaged as well.
Please pray the weekend can bring us together as men.
Thanks

Check Out Leanne's Blog

2007-04-17T14:10:00.000+08:00

That's right. To the right you will see a link to Leanne's Paper Wonder. Check it out. It has some of her latest creations and a link to our flickr account to see the rest of them.
Post a comment when you go there to say hi and let her know what you think.

We Remember

2007-04-13T07:55:00.000+08:00

Dad went home one year ago. We remember him.
A man who loved us and whom we loved.
A man who worked hard to give to us whom we seldom really appreciated.
A man who talked to us and hoped for us to talk back.
A man who helped people whenever he could and left us a great example.
A man who sometimes complained but never refused.
A man who always had a plan about how to do it.
A man who I would love to ask for advice but can't anymore.
A man who is missed more than we can understand.
A man who we thank God for bringing into our lives even if only for a short time.
Henry David Peter Hildebrand 1947-2006

Some Fun Pics Of Me

2007-04-10T15:56:00.000+08:00

I never get to be in the pictures. So here are some of me and various things and people. Enjoy

It's been a while

2007-04-07T12:48:00.000+08:00

I always hate it when I check blogs regularly but find no new posts time after time. I usually give up looking at them. I hope you have not given up looking at mine (Although if you are reading this I guess you haven't:). The pics you see are from the Chinese new year holiday we had in February. One is my nephew Charlie. He is finishing up junior high which means tonnes of studying as he gets ready for his exams to go into Senior high. Pray for him as he gets ready for these tests.
Another pic is of us in Taipei. We were on the bus and playing around with the camera. It was a good trip. We went to the National Palace Museum which has just been renovated. We also just hung out and shopped.
The other pics you see are some signs I saw while in Taipei. These were near the Shihlin night market. I thought they were cute.
As for news there is very little to tell. I have been working hard to get a Men's retreat organized for our church.That will be on April 20-22. Pray it goes well. I am also doing an open house for my school on April 21st. That's right! The same day as the retreat. That burned me up a bit but there was nothing I could do about it. Pray I get through that weekend.
Leanne has been workign on her books and cards. She is trying to arrange some new business contacts in Canada. Pray that will work out.
My brother Kenny and his wife Jo are going to have another baby. I can't wait to see the new one. Pray that everything will go well so that we can maybe go home for a trip to see my family not too long from now. I miss them so much.

Ah sweet rest!!!

2007-02-14T10:32:00.000+08:00

Next week is Chinese New year and so that means a week off. Yeah!!!! I need a break. I am finishing up my latest course in my Master's and feel ready to kick back a bit. We will mainly hangout here and may do some traveling up to Taipei for a few days. I need the time to recover. I feel I have been go go go for the last two months. Last week I started coming down and immmediatly got sick which tells me I was too long in hyper mode. I am feeling better now and am looking forward to the time.
Leanne has been busymaking books and cards but has been troubled by a hurting hand. Pray it will get better very soon. She really needs her hand to feel good in order to do the work with enjoyment. She continues doing her paper painting and the latest ones look amazing. She is getting out of flowers and is moving into landscapes. It is really nice.
While up in Taipei we hope to go to the National palace museum. Leanne wants to get inspiration for her cards while there. I hope to see some cool old Chinese artifacts. We will also go to a paper museum wher Leanne hopes to buy some paper for her work. Pray we can find it and that we can get good deals on the supplies.
In the pictures you see my family. My younger called me last week and told me they are going to have another child. Yeah!!!! Pray that Jolene will remain strong and healthy throughout.
Enjoy the pics.

Taitung, Tainan, Kenting and Head Surgery

2007-01-12T10:19:00.000+08:00

What a whirlwind vacation my family had here. We saw beautiful places. The coast meeting the mountains near Taitung. The old forts and markets in Tainan. The lighthouse and rocks near Ouluanbi. The fire circle near Henchun. The emergency room of the Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taitung. We also met a lovely neurosurgeon in Kaohsiung.
As you can see in the picture my mother got some lovely headgear while she was here. It was not as bad as it looks. She got cut on the head in Taitung and so had to have some stitches. She was fine but just looked a little silly.
Overall it was a good time with my family here. We spent a lot of quality time together getting to know each other again.
Now it is back to normalcy with a tear in my eye. Sniff sniff.
Thanks guys for coming out.

Christmas Fun

2006-12-25T16:24:00.000+08:00

We had a great Christmas party at our house on Monday. We decided to make people feel like their was family for them and so we had 19 people over for lunch. It was great. Turkey with all the trimmings. Leanne and Melanie (a friend of ours from UK/Taichung) worked all morning to get ready. Shouts out to Sean, Albie, Lisa and Patty for all their help.
It was great and reminded me a lot of the old family gatherings with my Mom's family. 50+ people getting together and just talking the time away. Many of the people had to go teach this afternoon but we hope they felt a bit less away from home.
Merry Christmas.
Sherrie, Wally and Mom: for me it is only 3 more days. Can't wait to see you guys.

Merry Christmas

2006-12-23T15:12:00.000+08:00

An eventful year. People came to visit us. People are coming again. My best friend got married by the providence of God. God providentially brought me home just in time. Dad went home. Leanne started becoming an internationally viewed artist. She busily worked in her workshop preparing gifts for good little children. I took on leadership roles before unthought of. I became more weary than ever before. I praised God through all of it. God carried me through all of it.
Merry Christmas to all of you and I hope that in this season where we remember the incarnation of God's son you will see Him and His love, mercy, righteousness and holiness more clearly.
Blessed be the Name the of the LORD.

Here They Come

2006-12-16T13:09:00.000+08:00

I am so pumped. In a little over a week I will be welcoming three members of my family to Taiwan. My brother, Walter, has been here twice before as has my Mom, Mary. This will be the first trip out for Wally's wife, Sherrie. I feel so fortunate to have so many family members who want to come to visit me out here. I know people who have been here a long time and have never had any visitors come out. I am blessed.

We are doing well. We are gearing up for Christmas. The Christmas eve service will be coming up on ...... Christmas eve. I don't know what my involvement will be yet as my team is not in charge of the music this time. But I will be involved to some degree.

Leanne has gotten some cards ready for people this week. She finds it exciting when people order her cards but it also ends up being a very busy time for her. Pray she can get through it all.

We are alos planning a Christmas lunch for our cell group. Finding the turkey has been some work. But we found a good meal. We will have to fill it out a bit with veggies and such but it should be fun. I will teach in the morning as schools don't close for Christmas here but I took the rest of the day off. Pray we can have a good time and give people a home while they are away from home.

God Bless
Merry CHRISTmas to you all.

The Dinner

2006-11-17T10:39:00.000+08:00

Here are some pics from the Thanksgiving dinner our church had last weekend. It was in a very nice place. The food was good but, in my opinion, not as good as last year (oh how I miss the Finnish restaurant). It was a very location though. It had a nice piano which Stephen and Chuck let loose on. It was interesting to here lounge versions of Jesus Loves Me and Amazing Grace. You also see Leanne and our friend Patty. Everyone was supposed to get dressed up which is why everyone looks so spiffy.
There were some non Christians at the thing. Pray the gospel light came through to them.
We are doing follow up by starting a church games night. Pray some of these people will come out for that. It is at the church on Friday night at 10. It is just board games and people hanging out and playing and chatting.
I had an unexpected morning off today. That is why I am blogging. Enjoy.

Sorry For Taking So Long

2006-11-08T09:34:00.000+08:00

I have had a very eventful past two months. No excuse for not blogging but ...well I guess it is. The first big thing was a five day weekend we had at the beginning of October. As I was in the middle of my stats course we didn't go anywhere but it was a nice restful time. One of the pictures is of Stephen and Elizabeth (prominent leaders in our church) as we went for a seafood meal with them during that weekend. We were getting on the ferry.
I was also doing one of my courses for my master's course. It was a Stats course which meant some Math. As some of you know Math is one of my things and so that part was not hard but doing the interpretations of the stats was more challenging. I found though that I learned a lot in the course such as using data to come to conclusions and how to use Excel to do that. I will need that when I do my research I will need those tools and so this course took away some of my anxiety about that aspect of my course. I finished with a 99.8.

The last two weekends I went down to a retreat center near Kenting, a beach community in southern Taiwan. We had a time to go to the beach and do some hiking. The sunset picture is from the beach and the other two were from hiking. It was so nice to go down there because we can get out of the city and breath some fresh air (or fresher air at least). One was a church leadership retreat where we were making some important decisions about the future of the church. Pray as we decide on these things. The second weekend was for the OMF partners and so it was just relaxing. I also learned some interesting stuff about the structure of the Taiwanese folk religion's gods. It was fascinating to see first that they are structured a lot like an army or bureaucracy with levels of complaint. You don't go to a high level god with a small problem. It was quite interesting.
Anyways I had a good rest.
Leanne was up in Taipei last weekend where she worked very hard to help with a Christian weekend called Tres Dias (Three Days). She went to it last year as a participant so was invited this year to help run it. She was very tired but glad that she went.
We will have a Thanksgiving dinner this Sunday for church. It will be done in the same place as Leanne and I had our wedding. That is one of the few places that can do a good turkey dinner. By the way, for you Thanksgiving purists, we are doing it deliberately between Canadian and American Thanksgiving so that explains the weird day. It should be fun.
I hope I have caught you all up.
God Bless

More Pictures

2006-09-13T22:05:00.000+08:00

Considering the most comments I have gotten on my blog has when posting Leanne's pictures, here are some more for you all to enjoy. A couple of these are also in Morden at the gallery.

We are doing well. The church has been going well without a pastor. We do need prayers so that we as the leaders don't burn out trying to run it.

Leanne is getting busy teaching crafts such as card making and paper painting. The girls at church are absoluting loving getting together and making the pictures. Pray this will lead to successful outreach to ladies in the English speaking community.

Here Is A Leanne Hildebrand!!!!

2006-08-30T10:38:00.000+08:00

What you see is one of the pictures Leanne sent to Canada for the Gallery. It is at the Pembina Hills Art Centre in Morden. If you happen to go through Morden check it out.

What Was I Thinking

2006-08-29T09:44:00.000+08:00

I am exhausted. I just finished my summer schedule which could be described most suitably as really really stupid. I ended up saying yes enough times to load myself down with 48.5 hours of teaching a week. That of course does not include the prep time needed for those hours. I am finished now and am very happy to be through. God was good to me. He kept me healthy and strong throughout as well as keeping me relatively happy. I am enjoying my mornings off this week before I hit the fall schedule head on next week. Shouldn't be nearly as many hours.

Leanne is really excited. She sent some of her pictures to Canada along with some hand made cards. A small gallery in Morden is showing them and selling them for her. Pray they sell quickly so as to encourage Leanne in this area. She will be starting some classes where she will be teaching some of these skills (hand made cards and the "paperpainting") as outreaches. One class will be for a pregnancy counselling center she volunteers at and the other will be a women's outreach for our church. She will also be doing an art class for a Chinese church as an outreach to Taiwanese kids. Pray for her as she does these things. Give her success and joy in them.

Another One Down

2006-07-18T21:03:00.000+08:00

I have just finished another one of Master's courses. Thia one was on critical issues in education. I think the discussion boards were really interesting on this one. Glad to be finished again. I was carrying a 98 into the last week of classes so I am hopeful of maintaining my grade point average at 4.0. I am not bragging; just stating the facts.:)

As I work to complete my master's in the next couple of years I find myself questioning more and more why I am putting myself through all this stress. I feel I am more like Dad than I thought. He was always doing something. He always had a project to work on. He could hardly ever sit still for a day and relax. I smile when I think that I have something in common with him. It makes me realize that I am truly his son. unfortunately I am like him in the way that probably was his undoing. Too much stress could not have been good for him. Maybe I need to pull back somewhere.

Summer is a very busy time here. I will be teaching about 45 hours a week (that doesn't include prep time) for about 5 weeks. I am worried it may be too much. Pray for me as I try to deal with it. Pray for Leanne as she tries to deal with me.

I found out Wally, Sherrie and Mom will be coming out in January. We are really looking forward to them coming for a visit. We will try to take them to Taipei, Taroko Gorge and Kenting. I seem to be looking forward hoping to take my mind off the next five weeks. Here's to hoping and anticipation.

Here are a few more pictures from our last vacation to Canada.
Enjoy

Three Cheers for Henry

2006-07-08T22:16:00.000+08:00

"I suppose your doing alright now
Making beautiful music on a white cloud
Father, Son and a holy host of angels
Surely sent up three cheers
Even as your mortal friends shed a few tears
We miss you down here

...We remember you yeah We laugh when we think of you

... We remember you, yeah, we cry when we think of you...

We love you....

Flap your wings"

The Choir song " Hey Gene" From the album "Flap Your Wings"

Six Short Years

2006-07-08T22:00:00.000+08:00

"She makes alot of trouble Yeah When things don't go the way she plans

.... She makes noise, she breaks toys, she brings me tears of joy...

Cherry bomb with a face just like a cherub she's a bomb, she makes her presence known....
She's sweet as anything I know...

She never takes things lightly, no, her little heart explodes sometimes...

She kills me, she thrills me....."

The Choir song " Cherry Bomb" From the Album "Flap Your Wings"

Happy Anniversary Leanne

Six Years of Killing and Thrilling

Can't wait to be killed and thrilled for another sixty years.

Beauty Underneath

2006-05-27T22:46:00.000+08:00

Dad saw something in it
He knew beauty could be brought out
So he placed his hand on the sickle and started to cut
He cut away the overgrown grass
He cut down the dead trees to allow new ones to grow
He tore down eye sores of buildings and replaced them with functioning ones
He lovingly tended the grass
He dutifully tilled the earth
He encouraged growth
He sowed and cultivated

God saw something in me
He knew beauty could be brought out
So He put His hand on the sickle and started to cut
He cut away the overgrown ideas
He cut down the dead habits to allow godly ones to grow
He tore down eye sores of sin and replaces them with His word
He lovingly tended my virtues
He dutifully tilled my heart
He encouraged growth
He sowed and cultivated

Wedding

2006-05-22T11:49:00.000+08:00

We had the priviledge of joining Josh and Paula as they got married last weekend (May 20th). It was a beautiful wedding. Leanne did the music for the processional. She was nervous before the wedding and said she didn't want to go to the party after the wedding. Afterwards she was hyper excited and of course had to go to the party. It was a fun party. Some highlights included: Josh's Freestyle Ring Exchange, Flower Girl Dancing, Josh and Paula First Dance Montage.
The pictures included are of Josh and Paula Lighting the Unity Candle, Leanne playing for the processional, My friend Albie and his Fiance Lisa (Hear that----- Fiance, Cool!!!) in my token artistic dancing shot:)

Family

2006-05-17T10:59:00.000+08:00

Leanne mentioned as Dad was sick and passed away that she was amazed at the way our family came together as one. It did not surprise me but it did her. As a result she knows that when she needs help she knows the family will help her. She really appreciates them. It is hard over the thousands of miles for the family to know her well. That is hard on her because she can see that difficulty in this. But she appreciates the efforts made by all.
Here are a few pictures of Leanne with the family.

Pictures: I MISS HIM

2006-05-13T19:16:00.000+08:00

The Last Day

2006-05-13T19:04:00.000+08:00

On our last day we went to a museum.
We went shopping.
He sat in the car and waited.
I sat with him.
He talked about buying a computer.
I told him about my apple.
He said, "your brother is trying to get me to buy one too"
"They scare me"
I said, "I know what you mean"

We came home and he sat by the TV eating a hot dog.
I sat with him.
He lamented his headache.
He lamented the growing distance between us.
I looked at him and resented it.
I thought, 'Why did you ruin a great day with that, Dad?'
He changed the topic.

I see it now.
The gap had grown over the continents.
But something I want Dad to know.

Even with no words to say between us
I know I love you
You know I love you
I know you love me
You know you love me
It's all we have now.
All I can cling to

In the last moments the bridge was built over the gap.
LOVE

We Know Where He Is

2006-04-25T14:27:00.000+08:00

My dad knew a guy. He was slightly mentally handicapped. He loved my dad and they would talk on the phone often.
When he met my brother in the McDonald's parking lot my brother told him that my Dad had passed away. He was sad and then my brother said that now my dad could see out of both his eyes (my dad had one glass eye). At this the man started to laugh. He got on his bicycle laughing and saying, " We know where he is" over and over again.
We would often say, " Dad is in a better place now" with a small tear in the corner of our eyes. Why the tear? For us yes! but there should be smile and a laugh and joy as well.
WE KNOW WHERE HE IS!!!!!!!! Praise the LORD!!!!!! :)

In Rememberance

2006-04-14T08:15:00.000+08:00

My wife and I went back to Canada for a couple of weeks. During that time my father had a stroke. He was recovering when we left for Taiwan. However when we got homewe received a phone call from my brother telling me Dad had had another stroke and had passed away.
My father was a godly man. Honest and full of integrity. He worked hard all his life to provide for his family. He loved talking about fishing and football and was loved by many people.
I was happy that I had a chance to say things to him before I left that I needed to say.
He is now with his heavenly Father and will rest forever in His arms. This was my father's belief and hope. Raise a praise to God for this man. Henry David Peter Hildebrand. Dad and Grandpa and a loving husband.

Paper done!!!!!!!

2006-03-22T16:47:00.000+08:00

I finished my paper on Saturday and sent it on Monday. I feel great. I hope the paper comes back before we go to Canada but nevertheless I will enjoy my time free of schoolwork.
I just changed some light bulbs today. I know it doesn't sound all that interesting but we had light that would usually take a minute to come on. Now it works perfectly. I first changed the buldb and it didn't work. So I changed the condenser. wrong kind. Went to get the right kind and now it works. I did three of them and I am feeling like a real man. Doing home repairs. Feeling masculine!!! Yeah!
One week until we head to Canada. I am pysched. MOre now that I have finished a lot of the other things that preceeded it.

I'm a driver

2006-03-14T21:38:00.000+08:00

I did it today. I finally got a Taiwanese car driving license. It was because I couldn't renew my Canadian one anymore so I needed to get one for our upcoming trip. It was not easy but I passed.
I am finishing up my latest course in my pursuit of a Master's degree. This one has been pretty lazy for me but that might be because I am such a keener and decided to read the whole textbook before class started. Everyone else has been bogged down in reading while all I need to do is write my papers and quizzes. I have one 2000 word paper to write on my personal learning theory. The course is on the psychology of learning and has been fascinating in some ways but incredibly boring in other ways.
I can't wait to finish my paper and get ready to go to Canada. I can see the light!

New Contact info

2006-02-27T22:53:00.000+08:00

Hey everyone or anyone who maybe interested. Leanne now has her own email address and would be so psyched to get some mail from y'all.
It is leannehil316@gmail.com
Give her some love.

We Got It

2006-02-25T14:57:00.000+08:00

Just an update on some of our worries. We got all the visas Leanne needs for our trip. I have been doing very well (A+) in my course assignments. Tickets are almost all booked. I had a great time teaching last week. God is good. See the smiles.
By the way, if you to talk to me for free, go here http://www.skype.com and get the free long distance between skype users. I have used it and it is grrrrrrrreat. Crystal clear from here to Panama. Yeah!!!! Get it and we will talk.

Worry

2006-02-22T17:21:00.000+08:00

I never like to worry. I am, however, very good at it. These last few weeks have been a time of incredible stress. I have worried about my next course. I have worried about airplane tickets. Ihave worried about money to pay for the airplane tickets. I have worried we are not going to spend enough time with everyone. I have worried about our church. I have worried about leading worship. I have worried about my job. I have worried about my sister. I have worried about my father. I have worried about my repuatation. I have worried about my nephew.
Even now I worry. I don't how to stop doing it. I try to say "God is in control" and yet I worry. I try to lay it at His feet and yet I worry. I worry about what God thinks about my worrying. The things I want to do, I don't do and the things I know I shouldn't do, these I do. Free me Lord Free me.
I think this picture is adorable. It takes some of my worry away.

Caleefu is my Chinese Nickname.

2006-02-10T21:53:00.000+08:00

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Caleefu!

Baby swans are called Caleefu.
Most bottles and jars contain at least twenty-five percent recycled Caleefu!
Plato believed that the souls of melancholy people would be reincarnated into Caleefu!
Grapes explode if you put them inside Caleefu.
The colour of Caleefu is no indication of his spiciness, but size usually is.
In Vermont, the ratio of cows to Caleefu is 10:1!
Bees visit over three million flowers to make a single kilogram of Caleefu.
99 percent of the pumpkins sold in the US end up as Caleefu.
The average human spends about 30 days during their life in Caleefu!
If the Sun were the size of a beach ball then Jupiter would be the size of a golf ball and Caleefu would be as small as a pea.

Chinese New Year

2006-02-02T13:39:00.000+08:00

We are in the middle of our Chinese New Year Holiday here. That means a week without work for me. This is a time alot like Christmas in Manitoba. Families get together and hang out. We went to Leanne's Mom's place on Monday. Usually this means sitting around watching TV and doing nothing. This time Leanne and I borrowed a scooter from Mom and rode around for awhile. It was fun although her scooter has no muscle. We spent the whole day there and had a good day. Yesterday we went to see The lion the witch and the wardrobe. I cried when Aslan was killed. The blood sacrifice. It reminds me of Chinese new year here. Most families will put red banners with "lucky" words on them over their door and on the sides of the door. It always reminds me of the story of Exodus. The red banners are meant to scare away the monster called "Nian" or year in english. If you don't do this the monster will eat you. It is just custom now but it reminds me of the blood the Israelites put over their doors at the Exodus. It also reminds me that the people here are living in a past of fear that the past will catch them and get them. Praise the Lord that He has saved us from this fear and the need of a blood sacrifice. He has set us Traitors free by His Blood Sacrifice.
PTL

Pray

2006-01-18T17:18:00.000+08:00

OUr church is going through a serious crisis. OUr pastor is leaving as God has called him to a new place but this has left the church in a very disunited state. Many people are not on board with our transition time measures and there is a little bit of an out cry among some that they want to break away and start a new fellowship. Pray God will have His way as we will be having a Town hall meeting on Sunday after church. Pray the dissenters come and express themselves in a Godly way.
The picture is of some of the leadership during our recent Leader's Retreat.

Pictures: I keep forgetting!!!

2005-12-30T13:07:00.000+08:00

Here He Is

2005-12-30T13:00:00.000+08:00

Finally I have been able to see my nephew Tate. Here are two incredibly cute shots of him. We are having a blast although it is alot easier for me as I am just the uncle and when he starts crying I can just let Mommy handle it. Never the less, I love him. I didn't know how he would react to me or how I would react to him but no doubts now. I am in love. When he sees me and smiles I melt.
Kenny and Jo are doing good. It is so fun to watch Kenny with Tate. He is a great Daddy and Jo is a great Mommy. Tate is so blessed to have them.

Forgot the picture: Here It Is!!!!!!

2005-12-24T16:57:00.000+08:00

Congrats to Brad

2005-12-24T16:49:00.000+08:00

I just received a special message from my good friend Brad. Brad, a self-proclaimed monk and bachelor for life, is getting married. Leanne and I are so pumped. Brad has come to visit me twice in Taiwan and has been very supportive of me in my choice to live here. I love him. I don't know Helanna yet but look forward to meeting her. Here you see a picture of Brad and myself playing Chinese chess. I bought it for Brad a few years ago and he adores it.
Brad, if you see this, we love you and wish you God's greatest joy and blessings in the times ahead.
From a former monk and bachelor and a Lesser Brother of Zion.

Merry Christmas

2005-12-20T14:46:00.000+08:00

This shot is a little old but is a good picture of our church. In it are people from Canada, The USA, Finland, Australia, England, South Africa and Taiwan. I think at Christmas I remember most that Jesus didn't just come for me but for all the people of the world. This picture reminds me of this.
I pray you all have a blessed Christmas and New Year.
Kenny and Jo and Tate are coming. Yeah!

The Darkness

2005-12-06T15:15:00.000+08:00

I took this picture while playing with camera. We were at a conference for missionaries, some of whom we are partnered with. It was a great weekend although I had to sing and because I had a cold it ended up the cold has lingered all week. I am just starting to get past it now. I just loved this picture. I don't know why. What do you think?
It was great to see so many missionaries and hear their ministry stories. I know some and realize their lives are very much like mine but they possess a certain drive which pushes them beyond their own security onto deeper things. I have been so affected by some of them. I will share some of their stories with you all in the future.

Genius

2005-11-30T10:44:00.000+08:00

I have a couple of friends. One you see here with Leanne and I. His name is Mike. He used to live in Taiwan and is back on a fact finding trip for his role as OMF short term coordinator. He is a unique individual. Given any practical problem Mike can find a way to solve it. He grew up on a farm. He is a lot like my Dad that way. Both are great practical problem solvers. The other picture is of another friend. He is able to speak knowledgably about almost any topic. He is an awesome piano player and in the picture he is writing the music for our Christmas Choir. Both of these men are geniuses in my eyes but in very different ways.
By the way, I finished my latest course and got 98 in it. I feel pretty good but am humbled by looking at these guys. I guess God blesses us all in different ways.

Update on School

2005-11-20T15:28:00.000+08:00

I have not updated this thing for a while. Sorry to all who read it.
I have been caught up in my class recently and any time I am on the computer I am usually in class. I am now finished the class work accept for a bit of discussion time. Through 3 weeks I have 57.4/59 points in the class. I am feeling more confident now with my ability to do this knid of work. I had been worried about this course as the first one was considered by the school to be easing me into the environment of online classes. I felt this one's marking would be alot harder. I guess it shows me that I may have some ability in research and study. PTL.
The picture is one of Leanne's handmade cards. This one sold I think 6 copies.

The Wedding

2005-10-22T09:45:00.000+08:00

Here is our friend Igor from South Africa with Leanne. He usually doesn't dress like that but it was a special occassion. It was the wedding banquet for a couple from our church and our cell group. It was fun to see everyone all dressed up but Igor definitely stole the show. I think of another wedding banquet we will go to. At the end of time the banquet of Christ and his bride (Us- The body). I guess no one will be stealing the show from God on that day. We will be fixated on Him and His Bride perfected through His blood. I can't wait to see Him. I bet the food will be great too.

In The Looking Glass

2005-10-15T10:15:00.000+08:00

I really think this is the cutest picture I have ever seen. I can't wait to meet my nephew. He will be coming at the end of December. I can't help thinking about whether he will like me or not. I mean we will be new to him in a new place and that can be scary. Maybe he will cry when he sees us. I can't wait to find out and yet feel scared that maybe I will be rejected by him. I guess at times I feel the same about my relationship with God. I know God loves me and yet I fear when I see Him I will be rejected because I didn't quite cut it on some obscure section of observence of bible dogma. Maybe my hair IS too long. Maybe I didn't worship truthfully enough. Maybe everyone is better than me. ALL RUBBISH. God loves me. I know it. Tate will too!

Long Weekends

2005-10-07T21:22:00.000+08:00

We have a rare long weekend this weekend. Monday is Taiwan's National Day. As holidays are not moved if they fall on the weekend it is rare to actually have a long weekend. We aren't doing anything special as I need to lead worship on Sunday. Still it is nice to have the break.
I am in the middle of preparing for my next class. I am doing the reading I need to do before the class starts. I found that very useful last time as I don't need to take time while I have a lot of other things to do. I will be learning how to do research as part of my teaching. It is interesting and boring at the same time and scary. I need to start thinking of what research I will do as part of my thesis. As I read I feel more and more confident that I can do it. The way they present it, it becomes part of your natural teaching pattern. As a teacher you are constantly observing and adjusting your style to what you see. So that is what the research is all about.
Leanne is in the back playing the piano. She recently sold her piano and brought the one her father gave her as a girl here from her mom's house. She just loves the sound it produces. I am so happy that she enjoys playing again. I love hearing her playing back there.

Lil' Kenny

2005-09-27T21:27:00.000+08:00

Leanne says he looks like Jolene but I see a small Kenny everytime I look at my nephew, Tate. I got my my grades back on my final paper and my overall class score. 15.5/16 on the paper and 95 in the class. I am very happy. I know it will get more intense but am so happy to have done well in the first one. It gives me such confidence. I need to start thinking of a research topic for my thesis. Pray I can find a good one.
Leanne went out to Tainan today to help at a pregnancy crisis center. She seems to have enjoyed helping there. I pray she will have the desire to continue.
I am feeling a little sick today. I think I may be teaching to much. The junior high can be a lot of work. The kids like to shout and have fun which means I have to shout over them at times. It takes its toll. "Oh this blister soul" I am listening to the wonderful sounds VOL produced 8 years ago. I love it.

Rest at last

2005-09-18T11:48:00.000+08:00

I have finished all major work on my first course and am looking forward to a break before my next one starts up. I have been doing well in the class (so far 48.5/51) and am encouraged that maybe I am capable of this level of work. God is a good God. He gave me the strength I needed for the last few weeks. I looked forward to concentrating on my classes and doing a better job with them as I have more time to prepare now. Pray for my Junior high classes as I think I need to loosen up a bit and let the kids be kids. I will try some games this week to lighten up the atmosphere, Leanne is busy making cards for people. She is really enjoying that. The picture you see is an old one from Leanne's art exhibition last year in a restaurant.

12/13

2005-09-10T17:49:00.000+08:00

I got my first week feedback on my course. I got 12 points out of a possible 13. 4/5 on my paper and perfect on the participation aspect. So far so good.

In the thick of it

2005-09-09T22:08:00.000+08:00

I am in the middle of my first class in the pursuit of my Master's. I am slogging through it and have begun to feel capable of actually handling the work required of me. I am a bit overwhelmed by looking up at the mountain of courses to go before I finish my degree. It all feels just abit impossible to me. I know that looking at the whole thing at once is not wise but sometimes I just can't help it. Someone prophesied over me recently that they got a picture of me dressed as a traditional Chinese scholar going up to the emperor. In the picture I was lookingup at hundreds of steps to get to the top where the emperor was. As he told me this and as I recall it now God is saying don't look to the top , just look at the next step and take it. You will get there eventually. I know but I can't help but look up at times. I gues we the long term vision to keep us wanting to go on but the determination comes from each step we take. The picture has nothing to do with it but is from the typhoon we had last week. Not as bad as Hurricane Katrina.

Typhoon

2005-09-01T13:10:00.000+08:00

I have the day off today because there is a typhoon going on outside. Not anything like the one in New Orleans. But it does give me a chance to get a jump on some of my reading for my online class. It has been going well. I am conversing with people over 12 hours away from me. When I get up they are in the middle of conversations and the great part is I can jump in and add my thoughts at any point without it feeling totally out of context.
Pray for Leanne as her shoulder is giving her some problems today.

I did it!

2005-08-31T16:20:00.000+08:00

I am an official online master's student. I started yesterday and was immediately freaked by the amount of work I need to do. But when you break into small chewables it's not so bad. I will need to manage my time well but God will get me through. Prayer for this is needed.
We have another typhoon hitting the island although it may not be as severe as the last one.
Shout out to Theresa. Miss you.

Cutie

2005-08-26T11:29:00.000+08:00

His name is Tate. He is my nephew. I think this picture of him is so adorable. I have not yet seen him face to face. I am so excited that he will be coming here in December. He will bring along his mommy and daddy (Kenny and Jo). It thrills me to see the pictures but I also know that seeing pictures and seeing in person is not the same thing. It reminds me of what Paul said to the Corinthians. "Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everthing with perfect clarity." (1 Corinthians 13:12a) I want to see clearly the purposes God has for me and yet I know that might give me a big head. I want to be able to say with certainty that God is going to do this with me. I am imperfect and thus am not able to see all. God gives me glimpses so I know the direction and the next step but where it will end is uncertain. Or is it. I know one thing. As I follow Him, He will lead to Himself. Ah. Sweet.

Playing Games

2005-08-25T10:44:00.000+08:00

You see a picture of some people from our church and I playing Risk. It was taken on a recent church retreat. I am in the midst of a time when I feel like I am just playing games. I want to think I can be a serious student but am haunted by the thought that despite all hard work I put in to getting my Master's I am fooling noone into thinking I know anything. I am just playing games. Just fooling myself. I have already done my first weeks readings and am about to begin my first paper. I haven't even talked to the professor yet about details ( though I do have the first assignment). I guess I hope to impress with diligence and hard work. Not bad things but they can be a cover for original ideas and thoughts. God give me the confidence I need to understand and present my own ideas to others in the class effectively.
Leanne has had someone want to buy her hand made cards. She is thrilled.

Surprise!

2005-08-20T12:29:00.000+08:00

I was a little surprised to realize people read my blog. I appreciate knowing someone is out there remembering to check in on me. It reminds me to check in my friends. I so often feel self pity that no one cares about me. Then I am reninded that I so often forget to check in on people. Sorry to all that I have done this to you. Know you are in my thoughts and prayers. Just not always in my communications. God bless you all.

Stop

2005-08-19T23:39:00.000+08:00

I want to stop worrying. I want to stop being a pain in the butt. I want this crazy ride to stop. I want to stop wondering what the next step is. I want to stop being the weak one in the group. I want to stop giving in. I want to stop being selfish. I want to stop giving so much. I want to stop being a contradiction. I want to stop writin..........

Unseen

2005-08-18T13:26:00.000+08:00

The Wind. It moves where we cannot see. It touches places we can't get to. It is felt by all yet seen by none. We could easily say it does not exist if not for the cool sensation on my skin and effect it can have on my mood. Walking on a hot day I can be miserable until that breeze touches my sweaty skin and I exclaim "Praise the Lord". His Spirit is much the same. We don't see Him but we know He is there. As we go into pits of despair and frustration He comes along and cools our spirit. We can do little else but exclaim "Praise the Lord. Your Loving kindess is new every morning. The Spirit.

Eating Ice Cream

2005-08-14T22:30:00.000+08:00

Well we didn't eat ice cream. It felt a little surreal to be having a picnic outside in March in the middle of a snowy field. We couldn't find a picnic table anywhere else. I found it cool (excuse the double entendre( it was intended by the way)). I enjoyed being out in God's creation. I saw it in Canada in the grandiosity of the Rockies. I see it in Taiwan in the people here. All those people wandering in the darkness, eyes not open to the truth only God can reveal. Or maybe they just have never been pointed in the right direction. Sometimes you can be in the most beautiful place in the world and not know it because you are looking the wrong way. I guess my job is to be a pointer. Once people see Jesus' sacrifice they can choose for themselves.

The Right Spirit

2005-08-10T10:26:00.000+08:00

This is a picture of our band practicing for worship on Sunday. Not long after this picture was taken my guitar string broke. I was totally frazzled with only an hour to go until the service we only had a crappy little practice guitar which has terrible sound. Some people helped us and changed the strings on the guitar in time. However I was not focussed on God. All I could think was "NEW STRINGS BREAK" over and over again. When we prayed later one member of the band mentioned the tension she felt was evident and I realized I needed to give this all to God. If I don't there will be no worship in my heart. I did. and God kept the strings strong throughout the service. PTL. It is so important that when we worship God that our spirit is focussed on Him or there is no true worship happening. ONly when we focus all of ourselves on God can we enter into true worship.

Water

2005-08-07T12:26:00.000+08:00

Cleansing, Refreshing, Quenching, Life-Giving, Cool, We need it, We search for it, We would do anything to get it when we are in need of it. Jesus, the living water. The cleansing of His death is water to my soul. Worship Him, Praise Him and no other.

Something New

2005-08-05T11:52:00.000+08:00

I had never travelled a long way on a big ship before this trip to Penghu. I was unsure of what it would be like. Would we get sea sick? Would we feel the ocean moving? I was nervous but once we started the trip found that there was nothing to worry about. No real motion could be felt. It was a great and comfortable trip. It reflects how I often view changes in my life. I know I need to do something new but am scared of many aspects of it. Am I able? How is it done? Will I be exposed as a fraud? As I prepare to study online for my Master's these doubts come rushing in. Lord help me to trust in You.

At the Feet

2005-08-03T11:55:00.000+08:00

In Shi Tou there are these statues which depict Dr. Sun Yet San with many students around him. He is the founder of the Republic of China. He is revered as a great teacher and as a Father of both China and Taiwan. It is the one thing the two sides can agree upon. Teachers in Chinese culture are highly respected. As a teacher in Taiwan I have felt this respect given to me and I appreciate it. Yet putting your trust in a teacher (Confucianism) can only end in dissappointment as humans are all imperfect and fallable. Only one isn't. More than a Teacher. More than a master. The only perfect one. I fall at His Feet. Christ alone.

Home

2005-08-02T09:30:00.000+08:00

Here we are in Singapore about to go into the zoo there. We found it to be an extremely beautiful place. The animals seemed to be in very realistic surroundings. They seemed happy and content even though it was not anything like what they would experience if they were in their real home. It reminds me of myself. I am comfortable here and can't really imagine what heaven will be like and why it is going to be so much better than where we are now. I am told it will be but I don't understand yet. I will!

Revolving Door

2005-07-31T11:04:00.000+08:00

Here is a picture of Leanne and I with a couple of friends who had just been baptised when the picture was taken. The reason for the title of this post is that they have been an integral part of my band at church for the last two years and will be leaving in a couple of weeks. When they leave my band will have to make huge changes in style as he was the drummer and we don't have another to replace him. Our church suffers the revolving door phenomenom as most people in it are only in Taiwan for 1 or 2 years. But the encouragment comes in what God has shown a few of us as the purpose of this church. People come to Taiwan usually running from something. As a church we have seen numerous of second baptisms (I like to call them Mennonites after they get the second baptism) as a result of people who were baptized as babies but wanted to recommit. The purpose with the short time is to get them in and get them ready to go back into their home country and church as on fire believers ready to set their church aflame with the help of God. Pray for these guys (Brad and Laura) as Brad has no real christian community in South Africa as he became a Christian is Taiwan. It will be a struggle as he deals with old friends in their old ways. Pray Laura will be a good support for him.

The Mist

2005-07-29T11:49:00.000+08:00

A mist hangs over the hills after a brief downpour. This was taken in a mountainous rainforest type area in central Taiwan called Shi Tou. We were on a church retreat on which we baptized 4 people. It was amazing to see what a great artist could do with just the color green. As we left His showroom and returned to Kaohsiung we all knew once again that he is a God of Wonders. Indescribable.

My Girls

2005-07-28T09:11:00.000+08:00

Here is one of my favorite pictures with a couple of my favorite girls...Excuse me...WOMEN. When I look at this picture I am reminded of change. I think about where I was many years ago and where God has taken me in that time. I think it is pretty amazing. I used hang out at malls looking to fill time. Now I am in Taiwan doing more than I ever thought possible all by the power of God. I miss Taco Bell though.

Next Step

2005-07-27T08:00:00.000+08:00

I have been struggling lately with what my next step in life will be. It has caused me tension and anxiety. I need prayer. Lord help me to trust You in all that happens today and with all that will happen in the future.

New Life

2005-07-26T09:14:00.000+08:00

A tunnel in an old Japanese fort in Penghu. From the darkness into the light.

A Taste Of Heaven

2005-07-25T07:52:00.000+08:00

Looking at this picture always makes me happy. It is during worship at church one Sunday. Our church is an international church and in this picture there are people from Africa, Finland, England, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA, and Taiwan. Seeing all those people together worshipping the Lord, united by nothing except the love of God makes me feel this is just a taste of Heaven.

The Lights

2005-07-24T08:50:00.000+08:00

Danshui at night.
A long day done, so were riding the subway back into Taipei city. The lights across the river caught my eye. I seem to be drawn to lights. Cities, christmas trees, sunsets, neon. Pulled toward the lights is a good thing I think. At times when I stray into the darkness, to know and see the light is still there is a great relief.

First Time

2005-07-23T22:51:00.000+08:00

The first time you do anything is always a little exciting. For example, right now. I have never had a computer before or had a blog before. I really don't know why I am doing it. It might be a way to keep in touch with people or it might be a place for me to ramble on incoherently without caring what other people think. Or I might just think it is cool. We'll see from what I post I guess. So far I am going with the rambling one.

Another World

2005-07-23T15:03:00.000+08:00

Here is a picture of Leanne and I in Penghu. Leanne loved the store behind us but I was less impressed and decided to play with my camera outside. This was my first timer shot on the camera.
Penghu is an island near Taiwan (4 hour boat ride). We had a great weekend there with our carecell.
It was like stepping into a whole different world from Taiwan. Still all chinese but much cleaner and low key.
Beaches were beautiful.
Sunset picture in the previoous posting was from the boat ride back.

Life

2005-07-23T13:13:00.000+08:00

I see the sun and know life comes from it and all the science of how that happens. And yet it takes your breath way doesn't it.