Goodbyes

Really not looking forward to saying my goodbyes tomorrow and Wednesday morning. I hate goodbyes, especially if I don't know if I will ever see people again. I've just started getting to know some of the older kids in the orphanage and I wish I had a lot more time with them! I'm glad some of the babies are going home soon because goodbyes will be easier knowing they finally get to go home where they belong, but I'm really sad to leave the ones that will still be here. I just wish they could all go home now because it would be easier to say goodbye. I know that God is in each adoption and His timing is perfect. He'll get me through my goodbyes and maybe someday bring me back here again!

Last week in Taiwan

It's my last week in Taiwan! I can hardly believe that summer is just about over! I've loved being here and will miss the babies and friends I've made here, but I'm ready to go home and start a new school year.

Things I'll miss:
-Baby smiles
-Baby giggles
-Babies snuggling
-Playing with babies
-Late night chats with Bev
-Pineapple, mango, bananas, other fruits
-Eating with chopsticks
-Spending time with the other volunteers
-Showhwa
-Cold showers (and wanting to take them!)
-Rocking babies to sleep
-Babies in general (because I could go on and on with a list of things I'll miss about the babies)
-Bike rides with Abbey
-I'm sure there are more things that I just can't think of right now

Things I won't miss:
-Always smelling like sweat and spit up
-No weekends
-Fish
-Heat and humidity (although I may still have that at home)

Looking forward to seeing family and friends, a new school year, and some good American food!

MATT AND CHRISSY ARE COMING TODAY TO GET MIRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Night time bonding

Our 8:00pm feeding is usually pretty crazy. The babies go over to devotions at 7:15 to be held by the older kids. We usually take the bottles over to them at devotions, so once devotions is over, we technically only have to change diapers and put them to bed. This rarely happens. Usually, there are babies who haven't eaten their whole bottle so we have to re-feed them. We appreciate all the help from the older kids because it takes a much shorter amount of time to feed the babies! All the babies are usually in bed by 8:15, but they are not generally calm, quiet, and asleep. Lately, the babies seem more lively than ever at this time, so we've been spending some quality bonding time with them. Some babies require only that you put their pacifier back in their mouths while others demand another bottle. Some will go to sleep simply be having their back patted for about five minutes, while others are just not ready to go to bed and want to play. This can be tiring at the end of the day and sometimes it's easy to get frustrated. Last night, most of the babies actually went to bed, but there was one little girl who kept crying. She had already been given a second bottle, and still carried on. I pulled her out of her crib and took her to the kitchen to rock her (isn't that where you keep your rocking chair?!) She snuggled against me, stuck her thumb in her mouth, and I thought "Oh good, she'll be out in no time!" Boy was I wrong! For the next half hour, she smiled and talked to me! Hard to be frustrated and crabby when that's the picture you see looking down at her. :-) As exhausting as these evenings can be, they are sometimes the best times to bond with the babies.

Happy Birthday Joel!

Happy birthday Joel!

Wish I could be there to celebrate with you! Love you!

Trust His Heart

All things work for the good


Though sometimes we can't

See how they could

Struggles that break our hearts in two

Sometimes blind us to the truth

Our Father knows what's best for us

His ways are not our own

So when your pathway grows dim

And you just can't see him,

Remember he's still on the throne



[Chorus:]



God is too wise to be mistaken

God is too good to be unkind

So when you don't understand

When don't see his plan

[ Find more Lyrics on http://mp3lyrics.org/863P ]

When you can't trace his hand

Trust His Heart



He sees the master plan

He holds the future in his hand,

don't live as those who have no hope,

While our hope is found in him.

We see the present clearly

But he sees the first and last

And like a tapestry he's weaving you and me,

To someday be just like him



[Chorus]



He alone is faithful and true

He alone knows what is best for you



[Chorus]



When you can't trace his hand

When you don't see his plan

When you don't understand

Trust His Heart

Amazing babies!

It's 7:30am and all fifteen babies are still in bed! I can see one peeking out at me from his crib, but he's content to just stay there for now. He knows the routine and usually sticks to it! It amazes me how smart these babies are! At four or five months old, they know the routine, can hear the microwave and know that means bottles are on the way, open their mouths as you're drinking from your water bottle because they want some too, and cry as soon as you walk in the room because they know you'll pick them up! Sometimes I have to remind myself that they are still so young!

Veggietales... in Chinese

Tonight we watched a movie in devotions. I never know what it is until they turn it on and then I usually recognize it as Hermie, Adventures in Odyssey, or McGee and Me (all great old movies!). As I watched the first few seconds of tonight's movie, I simply heard voices and there wasn't anything on the screen. I didn't recognize the voices, but heard all the kids saying the words with the movie and immediately thought "Veggietales!" Then, they all broke out into the song! I never really thought about kids in other countries loving Veggietales as much as kids in the U.S. do. I'm imagining a group of kids from all over the world singing the Veggietales theme song in their language all at once. How cool would that be?!

Kelsey, Adrian, and Kalyn left yesterday :-( Miss them already! It's so much different with just three volunteers left. I'm SOOOO thankful for Showhwa (who is here everyday except Sunday)!

14 babies right now, one possibly joining us soon, five leaving soon. I'll miss them, but I'm so excited to meet the families and see them finally get to go home! Then it will be my turn. Mixed emotions- excited to see family and friends, but I'll definitely miss the babies!

Thankful

I'm thankful for:

-Noodles two days in a row for lunch
-Skype (and my family who takes time out of their day to skype with me)
-Friends here who stay up late to talk
-Friends from school who are willing to help me out any way they can
-Friends from home who encourage me
-Our Saturday evening English services (though odd at times, they are a real blessing)
-Devotions every evening here, especially the praise and worship
-Babies who give kisses
-Our God who gives second chances.... and third.... and fourth.... and.....

Waiting

While I'm Waiting :

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait
I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait
I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

This song has been running through my head for the past few days. I've been reading blogs and updates and it comes to mind. It pops in my head when I feed a baby or hug them or give them kisses. I can't stop singing it when I play with the babies, even when there is other music playing in the background. Every time I hold a baby, read a facebook note from an adoptive parent, or am feeding the babies, I remember that they are waiting and how hard it must be. I know it's hard. It has to be hard for them because it's hard for me to watch these babies grow up, knowing their parents are dying to have them in their arms. The parents are waiting to come get their babies while I'm waiting for them to come get them!

Over the last two days, I've really struggled knowing that I only have three and a half weeks left here. I'm excited to go home, see my family and friends, and start a new school year, but I don't want to leave these babies behind. I just wish all the adoptive parents could come get these babies before I leave. I know they will be well-cared for here and loved, but I would just feel so much better if I wasn't leaving them. So, I spend my days waiting for the court dates to be scheduled, waiting for their papers to come back, waiting for their parents to finally come get them.

It's easy to get caught up in the wait. It's so easy to worry about why papers haven't come or be frustrated when timing doesn't work out. As I've repeated the lyrics to the song above over and over, the words that stick out are "peaceful" and "faithfully." It's hard to wait peacefully. I find myself having to remind myself to wait without worrying and making sure that I'm focusing on the task at hand instead of focusing on the waiting.

Pacifier thief, shots, and camp

A few random things:

One of our babies is a huge pacifier thief (though I think she is following after one of our babies who already went home). She will grab all the other babies' pacifiers and try to suck on them. The other day, she grabbed a little boy's pacifier when he was sucking on it. We gave it back to him and he held onto it so she couldn't take it again, but she kept trying anyway. Babies can be SO funny!

The other day, Showhwa came out with a list of five baby names and told us to grab them because we were leaving. We didn't know where we were going at first, just that we were taking them somewhere. Along  the way, we found out we were taking all five of them for shots! I thought "Oh no! I hate shots! I'm not sure I can handle holding a baby while he gets shots!" The babies were called back one by one, measured, temperatures taken, ears, noses, and mouths checked, and then they were taken back for their shots. The nurse had me lay my baby on the table and hold his leg down. I prepared myself for the scream as she inserted the needle... only it never came! He didn't cry a bit! Such a brave little baby boy! The babies did all fall asleep in the van on the way back, but they were all SO good!

The older kids on the other side of the orphanage are all away at camp. The older kids left on Sunday and and the younger kids left on Wednesday. It seems so much quieter here without them and I think we all are looking forward to them coming back. However, we have found one advantage to them being gone: The water on the other side is always cold :-) Usually with so many people around, it gets hot by afternoon and we have lukewarm water, but now it's cold all day :-) We'd much rather have the kids around than have cold water though, and we'll be excited when they come home!

Haircut in the kitchen!

Today, one of the older girls cut my hair! She was cutting another volunteer's hair and I thought "Hey, I could use a haircut," so she did mine too! Just layered it a little, but it was much needed and she did a great job! The kids here have so much potential. I just pray that they have opportunities to succeed in whatever they have a passion to do.

I wish the language wasn't such a barrier! I would love to be able to have conversations with some of the kids here, but since I only know about 10 words in Chinese, that isn't really possible. Now I understand why missionaries often take the time to go to language school as soon as they move to a foreign country. It's "kind of" important :-)

Today, I'm thankful for: tuna, banana bread, encouraging volunteers, the couple who comes and helps with the babies on Sunday afternoons, and that Showhwa is coming back tomorrow from vacation!

I'm praying for all our sick little babies to get better soon!

Staying busy

Well, it has been quite a while since I've updated, probably for a couple reasons. First, I usually use my computer time to e-mail and skype, and secondly because sometimes I feel like there's not much new with the babies. Each day is different to us, but probably wouldn't be as exciting for anyone reading about it! However, I have had some exciting experiences over the past couple weeks.

4th of July

We had a fun 4th of July... took a bike ride, ate some great American food, dressed the babies in red, white, and blue, and took pictures, ate Bing (like an icee, but better), and the kids had some sparklers/ fireworks. A day that I didn't think would be any different from other days here, turned out to be fantastic!

The Temple

Some of us took a bike ride up to the temple that is nearby a couple weeks ago. It was a beautiful temple, but just reminded me of how lost people are and how much they need Christ. There were people all around us who were there to worship the idols and offer sacrifices to them. I was reminded while there how much hope I have in God. At night, they sometimes set off fireworks here to scare away the evil spirits. These people are living their lives in fear, but I have hope in Christ Jesus and I don't have to live in fear!

The view from the temple was beautiful! No picture can do it justice!

Lights Show

The other night we gathered up a bunch of them babies and went down to the lake to see a lights show. They played music during the show and some of the babies were just fascinated by the water lighting up! Not sure how often they do this (maybe every night?) but it was a nice evening and we enjoyed getting out for a little bit. Afterward, Shr Baba came out to the lake and led devotions. There were a few other people sitting around the lake and watching what was going on. I'm just praying that maybe they listened to the message Ted was sharing.

Taroko Gorge

Shr Baba (Ted) likes to take everyone who comes to visit to a place called Taroko Gorge (a National Park). On the way there, we stopped at this church, which has been dedicated to a woman who shared the Gospel in a cave(also shown below) at the risk of her own life. The time we spent in the cave (which was only about 5 minutes) was probably my favorite part of the whole day! Sometimes I forget the cost some have had to pay and what others have gone through to share the Gospel!

After visiting the church/cave, we headed onto Taroko Gorge. It was beautiful! Such a great reminder of how great our God is and how creative He is! We had a wonderful day out with some wonderful food (some sort of crepe thing with egg for breakfast; noodles, pineapple, and mango for lunch; snacks in between). I really missed the babies and was excited to get back to them after a full day of being gone! What am I going to do after I leave here! I think I'll be going through baby withdrawal!

Rafting

We also had the opportunity this week to go white water rafting. I don't have any pictures because if I'd had a camera, it wouldn't be any good anymore after getting wet, but thought I'd share a little about the experience. Picture this: our guides wearing Mickey Mouse life jackets and helmets with mouse ears sticking out! It was pretty great! Definitely wish I'd gotten some pictures of that! The water was pretty calm (I'm guessing. Since this was my first rafting experience, I don't know that for sure, but it seemed pretty calm). Only one person fell out. One of the other boats flipped. I did a full flip inside the boat. Fun times!

Earthquake

Woke up at around 3:45 the other morning to the whole house shaking! Yep, there was an earthquake. I guess it was a 5.4, which is pretty big for this area (or so I was told). It only lasted about 10 seconds and I wasn't positive it really happened (because I was still pretty groggy) until the next morning when others were talking about it. I guess there has been another one since I've been here, but I missed out on feeling that one.

Devotions

I love devotions time! Even if I don't understand what is being said, I look forward to it! My favorite time is the singing time. I love to hear the kids worship God in their own language! The other day, they memorized the following passage for devotions:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me

and lead me in the way everlasting

~Psalm 139:23-24

I love the message of the verse, but I was also struck by the fact that they were memorizing it in another language. It made me think about the people who don't have the Word of God in their own language, or the people who have only a few copies in their language. The longer I am here, the more I realize that I am blessed to be an American, as most people know at least a little English and most places have English writing. It's easy for me to learn about God and His Word, but it's not that way for everyone.

Prayer Requests

-Pray for a few babies who have been sick. Please pray for their health and that no other babies get sick.

-Pray for paperwork to come through quickly, so that families can get their babies home soon!

-Pray for a friend I've met here whose sister has lupus and is not doing well

-Pray for continued strength, health, enthusiasm, and unity among the volunteers

-Pray for the many people in Taiwan who do not know the true God. Pray that we can be a light while we are here, even with the language barrier.

This week....

-went shopping AGAIN! :-)
-two babies left to go home with their families :-)
-Ted and Bev, the orphanage directors, got back from vacation :-)
-I took two bike rides and didn't crash :-)
-We walked up to the temple that's right down the road. It was beautiful, but so sad to think about the many people who don't know the true God.
-A new baby came. He's tiny!
-Actually tried the soup at dinner.... it wasn't too bad
-Su Li went home :-(
-Ate Mac and Cheese :-)
-Had McDonald's :-)
-Changed lots of diapers :-/
-Fed lots of babies :-)
-Got lots of smiles, hugs, and kisses from babies! :-) :-) :-)

Pictures to come later.

I will never get tired of.....

I will never get tired of watching parents see their baby for the first time! Their expressions, excitement, enthusiasm and pure joy bring me close to tears every time! Can't wait to see this at least five (hopefully) more times while I'm here!

All 16 babies

All 16 babies and some of the volunteers

Saturday!

Before coming to Taiwan, I received a page of information about what to expect while at THOGL. "You will feel like you've been run over by a truck" was something that stuck out to me while reading this. I thought, "Hmmm.... really? I wonder what that will feel like?" Now I know! By the end of each day, I am ready to crash. I love the babies and it's not that I don't want to be around them, but I just don't have the energy to pick up another baby. I will think "How many more days until the weekend?" and then remember that we don't really have weekends here.

BUT

Then I'm reminded that I depend on God for strength each day. GOD- who made the ground I stand upon. Who made each of the precious babies. Who gives me life and breath each day. HE is where I get my strength.

SO

Depending on my strength, yes, I will feel like I've been run over by a truck. But by GOD'S strength, I can finish each day strong. I can feed that one last baby before bed. I can hold the baby that won't calm down. Because HE will give me strength.

AND

I'm reminded over and over each day why I'm here. Some of the little things God has allowed me to experience that bring such joy are (in no particular order):

1. Watching parents meet their baby for the first time- seeing the joy and excitement... something I can't even begin to describe.
2. Seeing some of our little ones push themselves up to their knees, knowing they are trying so hard to crawl, but they just can't quite figure it out.
3. Hearing the stories of the volunteers, parents, staff and how they came here- realizing how blessed I was to have the childhood/ life I've had.
4. Spending each day with my sweet niece.
5. Looking on as the babies grab each others hands during play time- not just once, but over and over again.
6. Spending time each Saturday night in worship with the other volunteers
7. Listening to the older kids at the orphanage singing praise to God in their own language.
8. Seeing the older kids at the orphanage love on the babies during their devotions
9. Making new friends.
10. Watching the babies grow over the past two weeks- it's amazing how much each of them has grown in such a short amount of time. I can't even imagine how much they will have grown by the time I leave here.

Just thinking about those blessings from God gives me more energy. I just pray that I can remember His faithfulness and blessings as I begin to wear down. GOD IS SO GOOD!

Prayer Requests....

Please pray for:

-the three babies that have court dates on Tuesday morning (Monday night U.S. time). The birth mothers have the opportunity to see their babies, then they must go to court and relinquish their rights. Pray that all will go well and the mothers will have peace about their decisions
-one of our babies who was a little sick today. Pray that he feels better quickly and nobody else gets sick
-Adrian, one of the volunteers, who was also sick today
-Ted and Bev, who left for vacation today with their daughter and family- safe travel, great time, rest
-Anna, as she has a large load to handle with Ted and Bev being away
-Unity among the staff as it can get a little stressful at times

Tuesday
-Tuesday was bath day :-) All the babies smelled so good, at least for a little while!
-We sang lots of songs to the babies- all the songs we could think of..... song suggestions are welcome! We're running out of ideas!
-Work up to fireworks very close by (they are to scare away the evil spirits)

Wednesday
-Went to the Dragon Boat Festival and saw the HOGL team race :-)
-Ate ice cream (Thank you, Natalie!)
-Had a Chinese donut!  

Overall, two good days!!!

I love....

.... the smell of babies after a bath
.... babies grabbing another babies hand.... or mine!
....babies falling asleep on me
....baby smiles
....hearing babies talk
....seeing all the different baby expressions

I'm reading My Heart's Desire by David Jeremiah and there's a chapter called "Do You Ever Wonder?" In it, the author asks, "Do you ever wonder? How long has it been since you've been a child again, gaping with wide eyes? How would it change your life if you could live like that every day? How would it change the people around you?" I look into the babies eyes and see them just marveling and wondering at everything they see, as if they're trying to figure it out and everything is amazing to them. Wouldn't my life be so different if I could look at everything that way?

Good food, car rides, and exploring outside

I can't believe it's only been four days since I arrived at HoGL. It seems like it's been so much longer than that! I love the babies, but miss everyone from home. I finally feel like I have the schedule down, remember all the babies names, and am able to hold more than one baby at once. Now on to learning who has which bottle. I think right now I only know four of those!

The exterminator came on Friday, so we spent the day at the apartment the HoGL has available for when parents come to pick up their babies. It was an interesting day, but since I had only been there for a day, the change didn't seem too much for me. It was definitely different for some of the volunteers who are used to the routine and the babies were really glad to be back at "home" on Saturday morning. Staying at the apartment meant two car trips for us and the babies. Each of us grabbed two babies and hopped in the car! Amazingly, all the babies were pretty calm during the car rides.

Natalie and I were also able to go on another car ride yesterday when we took three of our babies to get their passport pictures taken. Once again, the car ride went well, but the photo session didn't go quite as well. Two of the three babies didn't seem to like getting their pictures taken. Oh well.... who has good passport pictures anyway? And they do tell you not to smile!

Here are some of the babies at the apartment. We didn't have cribs for all of them, so some of them got to experience sleeping on the bed for the night!

So I'm kind of a picky eater and don't generally try new things, so I've pretty much been sticking to just rice and fruit while I've been here, but they are the best foods here! The fruit is amazing and I know I'm going to be spoiled by it. I'm going to be so disappointed in all fruit when I come home. Some of their best fruits I've had so far are: pineapple, mango, watermelon, and grapes (they're huge!) The fried rice is pretty amazing too!

I went for a walk around the orphanage the other day and took some pictures.

The Front of the orphanage

Pretty flowers next to the orphanage

                                                                             The playground

This is where I sit to skype in the morning (if it's not raining).

You can see plenty of these lined up outside.

 If I understand correctly, the kids have to learn to drive

 one of these before they can drive a car.

 A lot of the older kids in the orphanage seem to have them.

More pretty flowers

First Day= Exhaustion

Well, my first day here is complete! It was busy and in some ways, I feel like it was a whole week instead of just one day! There are seventeen babies here right now, which is actually down a lot from the 28 they had not too long ago! Here's what our schedule somewhat looks like every day:

       Feeding/ changing time

       Play time

       Feeding/ changing time
       Nap time/ break for us :-)
       Feeding time
       Play time
       Feeding/changing time
       Nap time
       Play time
       Feeding/ changing time
       Bed time

That is pretty much it from about 8:00 in the morning to 8:30 at night! Each baby is precious and I'm starting to love them already, although I was completely exhausted yesterday by the time I went to bed, but I did get 8 WONDERFUL hours of sleep :-)

A picture of play time:

Time to get ready for a new day. Today the exterminator is coming so we're moving the babies out to one of the apartments for about 24 hours. Should be interesting and probably a long day!

We made it!!!

We made it Taiwan and to HoGL around midnight (noon PA time!) I'm wide awake at 3:00 in the morning, so wide awake that I just spent an hour helping on the night shift. Loving the babies already :-)

No delays+ no lost luggage+ no deportations= a good traveling day!

Tomorrow

Leaving for Taiwan tomorrow and will arrive there Wednesday night Taiwan time (Wednesday morning U.S. time). Can't wait to meet all the babies and the others working there right now!

Definitions

Just so you know who/what I'm talking about when I post:

     HoGL or THOGL: The Home of God's Love, the orphanage where I am staying/working
     Ted and Bev: The directors of the orphanage
     Natalie, Kelsey, Adrian, Kalyn, Abigail: The other summer volunteers
     June 8: The date I'm leaving
     August 12: My return date
     Matt and Chrissy: My brother and sister-in-law who are adopting from THOGL
     Mira Joy: My soon-to-be niece
     Packing: What I should be doing right now! :-)

If

One of my favorite books is "If" by Amy Carmichael. While reading it this morning, I came across a few quotes that I think will be very relevant for me in Taiwan.

"If I have not compassion on my fellow-servant, even as my Lord had pity on me, then I know nothing of Calvary love"

"If I put my own happiness before the well-being of the work entrusted to me; if, though I have this ministry and have received muchmercy, I faint, then I know nothing of Calvary love."

"If I myself dominate myself, if my thoughts revolve around myself, if I am so occupied with myself I rarely have 'a heart at leisure from itself,' then I know nothing of Calvary love."

"If I take offense easily; if I am content to continue in a cool unfriendliness, though friendship be possible, then I know nothing of Calvary love."

"If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love."

"If monotony tries me, adn I cannot stand drudgery; if supid people fret me and little ruffles set me on edge; if I make much of the trifles of life, then I know nothing of Calvary love."

"If I am inconsiderate about the comfort of others, or their feelings,or even of their little weaknesses; if I am careless about their little hurts and miss opportunities to smooth their way; if I make the sweet running of household wheels more difficult to accomplish, then I know nothing of Calvary love."

"If something I am asked to do for another feels burdensome; if, yielding to an inward unwillingness, I avoid doing it, then I know nothing of Calvary love."

"If the ultimate, the hardest, cannot be asked of me; if my fellows hesitate to ask it and turn to someone else, then I know nothing of Calvary love."

God is so good!

Praises:
 -My trip is completely funded
 -I get to spend the summer with my soon-to-be-niece
 -I have a travel buddy, Natalie, who I am so excited to meet in person and get to know this summer!
 -Natalie and I have seats next to each other for the longest portion of the flight, even though we booked our flights at different times!

Prayer Requests:
  -Safe travel
  -Smooth transitions to life at The Home of God's Love
  -Good health for all at the orphanage
 

Can't wait to meet this little one!

Mira Joy

22 days!

Expectations

Sometimes I think I know what to expect when I get to Taiwan, and there are other times, like right now, that I know I can't even imagine what it will be like! I recently got information about the trip and they told us what to expect:

"No sleep, lack of time to yourself, don’t plan on shaving your legs very often..there won’t be time, a lot of noise and crying, feeling like you are running into a brick wall….and feeling of accomplishment, one of the most rewarding things you will ever do."

I love reading other peoples blogs and seeing the pictures they've posted! I follow a few blogs of parents who I will probably get to meet when they come to pick up their babies and that makes me so excited! I look forward to seeing parents' faces when they get to meet their babies and seeing them begin to bond with them.

I now know "Hello," "phone," and "thank you" in Chinese. And considering I already knew two of those words before I started trying to learn Chinese, I guess I'm not doing so well. I better get moving! Less than a month now!

Dreaming about Taiwan

Well, I started dreaming about Taiwan last night. While I don't remember much of my dream, I remember that I was mad at myself for not learning Chinese before I left (I'm planning to learn some basic words before I go, so I can at least say/understand a little bit). I also remember feeling completely overwhelmed, which I'm sure I will be at first.

I have my Visa and my plane ticket. Time is flying and I know I'll be in Taiwan before I know it. Less than 2 months now!

Websites

Just thought I'd share the Home of God's Love website:

www.thehomeofgodslove.org

Also, you can find a video about the HoGL at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5IniQ1gPrk

3 months!

In just a little over 3 months, I will be in Taiwan. I leave June 8 (just 4 days after we get out of school for the summer)!







I received this picture of the babies at the orphanage:






There are 22 babies there right now, soon to be 23! It's going to be a busy summer!





I also "stole" this picture from someone else's blog:






Please pray for these babies and for those working with them. I'm sure the 22 babies are keeping them very busy!

A New Adventure

Well, God is starting me on a new adventure, one that I had never even thought of until December. This summer, I'm going to Taiwan for two months to work at the Home of God's Love! I'll be holding, changing, feeding, and playing with babies and I'm so excited!



It all started on Christmas Eve when Matt and Chrissy (my brother and sister-in-law) got a call that they were matched with a little girl.




As Matt and Chrissy started talking about the trip to Taiwain and the possibility of the family going with them, I started getting more and more excited about the Home of God's Love and I knew I wanted to go, even if I couldn't go when Matt and Chrissy went. After thinking and praying about it, I decided I would contact the home and see if they needed any help. Now, I have a plane ticket!!! I'll be leaving June 8 and returning August 12.

I'm so excited about this opportunity, and a little nervous, but I'm already seeing God at work. Prayers are appreciated!

Here's a picture that I received of some of the babies: