A Tropical Winter Day

I have loved so many things about this trip that it would be impossible to pick a favorite. But so far, today has held the most surprises. Following yet another amazing breakfast, Tim led us in a Wisdom Search that I found particularly applicable to my life. But that can be saved for another blog.

After Wisdom Search, it was time to depart for the much anticipated beach trip. We boarded a shuttle decked to the nines in blue t-shirts and flip flops. A short ride later, we were at the ferry on our way to the island of Chijing. After disembarking, Tim led the way to a seafood restaurant where you could see your food laid out on the tables before you went in. I made a decision to eat at least one of everything that was served. The first course was shrimp, which, when shelled, was very good. You will have to ask Skyler how they taste with the shell… Typically you are supposed to bite off the head, but one of our interpreters assured me that eating the head was quite normal and proceeded to prove to me that he thought it was. So I followed his example. It really wasn’t too bad. Although I can’t really say I have had worse. The next few courses consisted of squid, minnow, clam, fish, fried oyster, and fried fish. All were in their original form with the exception of the fried foods and even the fried fish had eyes that watched us.

After stuffing ourselves, we walked to the beach. The first thing I thought of was all of my friends and family in PA who were walking around in snow and ice while I was burying my feet in the hot sand. The next hour or so consisted of jumping, running, wading, and dropping people in the water, all of which provided many moments of mirth. For the rest of the afternoon, we perused the shops and drank milk tea. After gathering up the rest of our blue-clad friends, we boarded the ferry and returned to Kaohsiung.

We arrived to the church with not much time to prepare but miraculously had written our lessons, prepared our crafts, and were closing in prayer just as the first of our kids began to arrive. The night also held a few surprises for me. I made friends with one of the children who we had prayed for the night before and the one guy on our team who seemed to have trouble adjusting began to come out of his shell. All in all it proved to be a most exciting day. Just one of many that we have had and will have in the weeks to come!

David Rowe