Prayers for Taiwan: Bringing Life to a Culture of Death

A Culture of Death

Search for “Taiwan + abortion” on Google, and you will find titles like “Taiwan’s Astonishing Abortion Rate,” “Abortions Exceed Births,” and “Taiwan has up to 500,000 Abortions in 2010“–titles that depict a culture where choosing death is an astonishingly ordinary occurrence.  Most of these online articles were published in the last six months; in fact, a year or more ago when I learned by word of mouth about Taiwan’s high abortion rate, I could find very little data online about it.  This is because until last summer, the most recent statistics were from over a decade ago.  But on July 17, professor and pediatrician Lue Hung-chi announced in a public forum that he estimates there are 300,000 to 500,000 abortions every year in Taiwan.  One article comments that if his estimate is true, “it has to be one of the highest per-capita abortion rates in the world” (“Taiwan’s Astonishing…“).  Lue’s announcement began a long overdue discussion in Taiwan about the low birth rate and high abortion rate of recent years; rightly, these issues are of growing concern and alarm among leaders of the country.

These little ones were given life. (Photo credit: www.hishandstaiwan.org)

Smoke Stacks and Mountain Ranges

After two years and counting, I am still amazed every time I look out of the windowed balcony doors of my cozy apartment that is perched on a mountain just outside the city of Kaohsiung, Taiwan.  From my 12th floor vantage point, I see a contrast of worlds. 

Penghu w/ the 6th Grade

Recently, I spent two days on the islands of Penghu with my 6th grade class for their science field trip.  Obviously, I’m not a science teacher, but I went along as the female chaperon, and we had a blast!  Grant Wardle did an excellent job planning and leading the trip, and the students were able to see in real life a lot of what they’ve learned in science class this year.  Beyond all the science and natural beauty we experienced, we also had a great time hanging out together. Here are some of the highlights from our trip:

Killing time and playing “Monopoly Deal” at the airport.

My First Scooter Ride!

No Hands!

Today, I faced a fear:  riding a scooter in Taiwan.  You see, everyone rides scooters here–everyone but ME, that is.  I’ve been terribly nervous about riding on a scooter, so I’ve avoided them for the last year and a half in Taiwan.  However, I had the opportunity today to go to a lovely little restaurant in the hills with some fabulous friends, I couldn’t pass it up, and the only way to travel the narrow road there was by scooter.  

To Market, To Market…Jiggety-Jig

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Ashleigh and I enjoyed a quick trip to the local morning market today.  

Would you write that down for me?

This week at my favorite local Thai restaurant, I experienced a first.

Living in a Chinese-speaking country, I am quite accustomed to the frustration of not being able to communicate clearly.  I have a basic knowledge of Mandarin Chinese, but my language acquisition over the past year and a half has been relatively slow.  Because Morrison is a “no Chinese zone” for the students who are supposed to be getting an American education, there is little opportunity (or need) to practice Chinese during my work week.

Prayers for Taiwan: Qing Ming Jie (清明節) or Tomb Sweeping Day

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There’s a national holiday this weekend in Taiwan, and if you’ve lived in the western world all of your life, it’s one that you’ve probably never heard of:  Qing Ming Jie (清明節), literally “Clear Bright Festival,” or more commonly known as Tomb Sweeping Day.

Dream Mall on Qing Ming Jie Weekend

This weekend is Qing Ming Jie, a national holiday in Taiwan (see my latest post for more information).  Sara and I ventured out to the Dream Mall in Kaohsiung on Sunday, but we weren’t thinking about it being a holiday weekend, and we were surprised by what we found.  Take a look!

Robotic Man @ the Dream Mall

This is at the Dream Mall in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The guy does an amazingly believeable robot impression.  He’s probably not the only one who said as a kid, “I wanna be a robot when I grow up!”  He’s just one of the very, very few that actually pursued the dream.

Worldview–Literally

Today, one of my students drew a quick sketch of the Earth as part of a picture he was working on for a vocabulary exercise (the sentence was “The Earth instantly exploded,” so you can imagine the rest of his drawing).  What struck me about his Earth drawing was the perspective he used.  If someone told me to draw the Earth, I would make a feeble attempt at sketching North America, Central America, South America, Africa to the right, and maybe even a swipe across the top and bottom of the globe to indicate the Poles.  But check out my student’s work.  He started with China and then drew in Japan, Taiwan, and Australia (and added some lines at the top and bottom–in that we’re similar).  Where does this student live?  Taiwan.  What’s featured on his map?  Taiwan and it’s surrounding countries. Interesting.  This is worldview–literally.  It’s all about perspective.

Prayercast: Taiwan

Take a look at this powerful short video about the spiritual needs of Taiwan.  Most importantly, take a moment or two to lift up this nation after you watch the clip.

Bai Sha (White Sands Beach)

Sometimes it’s still hard for me to believe that I live on such a breathtakingly beautiful tropical island.  This was the view on Saturday in Kenting, Taiwan, about 2 hours south of my home.  God really outdid himself when he made this gorgeous Formosa (Formosa is the former name of Taiwan, and it means “beautiful island”).

Eyes to the Mountains

"I lift my eyes to the mountains--where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2

 

Update:

Dear Friends and Family,

I went into the operating room around 8:30 a.m. (Taiwan time), and the surgery last about 2 1/2–3 hours.  The doctor said that it was a perfect surgery with no complications.  They did a frozen pathology on the mass as soon as they removed it, and it was completely benign, so they had to remove only the left side of my thyroid.  Praise the Lord for that and for the mass not being cancerous!  I was in the recovery room for about 2 hours, and I was back in my hospital room around 1:30.  My family said I looked great; in fact, Ashleigh and Sara were a little disappointed that there wasn’t anything funny to video record. 

Typhoon Fanapi

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Many of you have heard news of the typhoon that swept through and engulfed Taiwan this weekend.  I would like to give a quick written update, but I think the most interesting part of this post will be the pictures and videos of the storm.  Read, look, and watch on!

The Big Picture

Praise the Lord that my sisters and I, all of the other Morrison staff, and all those involved with His Hands Taiwan are safe after brutal Typhoon Fanapi blasted us for the last day and a half. 

If you can’t beat ‘em…

… join ‘em!

It seems like everyone has a blog these days.  Though for some time I’ve resisted the temptation of starting an “all about me” site, it seems that finally I have something worth writing about!  I’ve decided to try my hand at blogging as a way to keep in touch with friends and family around the globe.  Hopefully you will find this blog site to be a useful source of information, prayer suggestions, and multimedia samples to keep you informed about my life and my ministry in Taiwan.  I plan to continue to send out my newsletters via email, but the blog will be a central location for all the information I’ve shared over time.  I have archived my previous email newsletters already, so this blog will be a complete collection of my writings since coming to Taiwan.  More than anything else, I hope you will be encouraged and reminded to pray for me and for the people of Taiwan by checking out my blog every now and then.  Enjoy!

In Him,

Christel

A Season of Thanks

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been over two months since my last update, so lest you forget about me while I’m halfway around the world, I think it’s time I write again.  I think about and pray for you often, at the same time thanking God for your support of my ministry and His work here in Taiwan.  I have begun writing this newsletter several times, but because of the busyness of life and the exhaustion of mind and body, I haven’t been successful at completing it.  Hopefully this letter will finally come together, and I will be able to share with you all that God is doing in my life.

I Wish I Had Time for More…

Dear Friends and Family,

So much has happened during my first two weeks in Taiwan, and I desperately want to share all of my experiences in detail because I wish all of you could be here experiencing everything with me.  I can’t wait to tell you about driving a moldy car with no power steering fluid that broke down in the middle of the road during my first driving experience in Taiwan, or about the small earthquake we experienced on my second night here, or about the barbecued bird we found in my water heater that had a little something to do with my lack of hot water for the first four days living in my apartment, or about all of the details of weathering the worst typhoon to hit Taiwan in fifty years. 

A Whirlwind Summer & Other Thoughts

July 21, 2009

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been a whirlwind summer so far, and the excitement is just beginning.  I am less than a week away from hopping on a plane to Taiwan and heading to my new home.  My departure date is July 27, and though I have what seems to be an immeasurable list of things to do between now and then, I feel quite ready to go.

I guess this is sort of a catch-all email before I find myself with limited internet access and even more limited time during the first few weeks of this transcontinental move.