Back Into the Swing of Things--It's April!

Steve's last post was such a kind one and it pretty much sums up the last month.
Now we are realizing we only have a few short weeks left here in Taichung!
Coming back from the States I realize this place is extremely different from Irvine, CA. It is a city, has lots of pollution, mosquitoes, but best of all such convenient food choices. I busy mom does not have to cook in this city, as healthy (and unhealthy) choices abound often for less money than the ingredients separately. And I would not have to shop, prep, cook, clean, and store. I am worried about going back to the States and having to spend large amounts of time on cooking again.

But then how can you nurture a home without good food? Grandma always had food on the table, as does my mom, and that makes a great difference in making family members feels at home and comfortable. At least it does for me.  Everything always kind of falls into place in my mind when someone dies or is diagnosed with an illness. All of a sudden those material things in life are not of such great importance as are all the worries and concerns of everyday. Have faith in the Lord, continue to serve Him, and then have as much fun and love as many people and as much as you can. It's simple, actually, and not difficult when we remember how good God has been to us all these years,  especially during grandma's passing.

I am so thankful for God's grace to our family during grandma's passing. It was hard to lose such a great woman. Her greatness was in her love and care and the way she nourished her relationships with people, especially myself. What an inspiration for me.

The kids have been amazingly well-behaved this past week. Perhaps they are enjoying being together?
Moses is picking up Taiwanese very quickly as he can memorize poems subconsciously. Every week they have a recitation competition at Moses' kindergarten. Kids randomly get chosen to go up on the stage and recite a poem or song in front of the entire school. I am continually blown away at the quality and caliber of education Moses is getting. Each month they have full color progress reports. They are working in small groups and learning to make decisions together and choose leaders, etc. This is only Pre-K.  Seraphine is back to being happy and friendly, especially with Steve's dad. Yesterday he sat down and said, "Gong Gong Ni Hao" like she was starting a conversation. She also has an amazing grip when drawing and can spend many minutes concentrating on her drawings. She is so fun to be around.

Hi Everyone! I am cute!

Both like eating  chicken feet

Moses likes the driving range

We are going to Taichung Christian  Church today--finally after so many weeks and I am sure Pastor Kevin's sermon will be encouraging and it will be great to see our friends. Then we are coming home and driving Steve's parents to a taxation class and Feng Jia University, picking up train tickets,  taking Moses to the driving range, and then going to pick up our parents and go to dinner near Dong Hai University. Somewhere in between we hope to take a nap as I am still jet lagged. Lots of driving but we have to thank God for this car. I need to take a picture of this car for everyone, for it's quite an original. I am sure you've seen nothing like it! It's a jalopy and I get stares and lots of questions about it but hey it runs and I don't worry about scrapes. The pictures don't really do justice. For example, there is no door handle on the right side and the rear view mirror is taped together with black tape. I still can't believe I can manage to drive here. Not easy without a GPS.
  

Next weekend we are visiting Tina's relatives in Banchiao, then more relatives and friends in Taipei, then heading out for two nights three days in Hualien. This will be our second vacation here in Taiwan. Our first was visiting Flora Expo in Taipei.  We are also hoping to visit Sun Moon Lake, Lukang, and Gaoshiong in the next few weeks. The weather has finally warmed up here! Lots of traveling for the Chen family before we begin packing again, and our trek back home. The only thing that I regret is not having found a way to give back to the community or serve in some way.

I had a quick stint as an English teacher at the Teacher college next door, facilitating the English corner for some college students and that was very insightful. I helped with some translations. But with grandma's falling ill and my return to the States I was not able to teach my last two classes. My music classes for toddlers playgroup is also on hold due to the Tomb Sweeping holiday and my own travels. Plus Apple, who hosts our group, has a little girl in the hospital with pneumonia. Poor An-an. Seraphine keeps mentioning her name to me, like she is reminding me to pray for her. She is my little angel.

More later!
Tina