Jesus is my friend

Thank you Montsy for leading us to this gem.

Every Blogger's Dilemma

When some of our family members and supporters have asked, "what in the world is a blog?" we usually describe it as "a public, online journal." I think that's a pretty good description. But depending on the day, that description can sound like a real contradiction in terms. A collection of public secrets. A list of private announcements.

So the question that I've been wondering lately is just how honest can we be on this thing? I mean, if people actually read this stuff, maybe we should be careful about what we blog about. How honest can I (Chip) really be about my wacked-out theological musings? Some of our supporters read this thing. How honest can we really be about our frustrations at work? Some of our co-workers and customers read this thing. How honest can we really be about the way our organization operates? Work supervisors and students read this thing. Is honesty really the best policy? It's gotten good men killed. I suppose it got the Best Man crucified.

Come higher ground

We have the exploration bug. Last weekend, we did a little exploring on the trails through the wooded hillsides just behind our neighborhood. Though these little hills don't compare to the mountains that make up the majority of the island, it was still fun to get into the outdoors for a little while. We found a pretty great lookout point where we can look out over the whole city and our neighborhood. It's a great little spot to watch the domestic flights fly in and out of the city, while keeping an eye on Taipei 101. We're looking forward to making a little trip back when the city lights come alive some evening in the future.

Safe, sound, and a little bored

Typhoon Sinlaku hasn't gotten us out of any workdays just yet, but it is giving us a chance to catch up on some blogging and skyping this weekend. Though this typhoon's high winds are putting it in the "strong" category (which would be around a level 4 hurricane in the States), it's also been extremely slow-moving at only around 10 km/hr. As you can see from the picture (which is actually from yesterday), it's several times the size of the whole island. And at this point, it looks like it's going to be hanging over the island, keeping everyone indoors for the whole weekend. Overall, we're nestled into our apartment, quite safe and sound. If you want to follow the storm along with us, this link will keep you better updated than our blog will.

Chelsea's Debut

Just thought we'd post a few shots of Chels' first of many on-stage performances with our organization. At our Friday night English bible study, the bulk of the night's large-group message is usually presented in the form of a skit. It's a medium that communicates pretty effectively to a crowd whose English communication levels range from high to very low, and whose ages range from old to very young. This particular skit involved various parts of the body who were having trouble working together as a united whole; each was having trouble recognizing the value of the other parts. The skit did a good job of prepping everyone to discuss Christian unity in smaller groups immediately following. And as you would expect, Chelsea's acting performance was superb. Look out Jennifer Aniston.

The Battle Continues...

Home Sweet Home

We intended to have this tour of our apartment up for your viewing pleasure long before this, but our internet connection wasn't being friendly with video until today.

Our First Typhoon

It seems that everyone in and out of the office is pretty excited about the weather right now, as it might possibly turn into a holiday. As I type, a typhoon (which is simply a hurricane in the Eastern hemisphere) is slowly making its way north and will most likely brush up against Taiwan by the weekend. At this point, it looks like the east coast will get hammered pretty hard with severe rain, wind and waves while those of us in Taipei (the northwest part of the island) will just get soaked with torrential rains. If it is severe enough, it might get everyone out of a day of work, as the government may declare a "typhoon holiday." We're keeping our fingers crossed.

101 Stories

With 101 stories, Taipei 101 towers far above any and every other building in Taipei... and up until this summer, it towered above every building in the entire world. This past weekend, we had the opportunity to visit the structure. Because the sky wasn't especially clear, it wasn't a good time for us to go up to the top. But thanks to our good friend Isaac, whose office is actually in Taipei 101, we were able to sneak a peek from the 35th floor.

Our great friends Marlin, Richard, Kelly, and Isaac joined us for dinner at the food court at the 5-story mall at the base of the tower. Though the shops were a little too high-end for us, we certainly enjoyed our time in the area, which has quickly become this generation's center of commerce. We're anxious for the next clear day.

Woo-hoo/Boo-hoo!

About one week after we arrived here in Taiwan, we got word that our niece was baptized at the end of a fantastic week of camp at Little Galilee in Clinton, the very town we lived in for the last year. We were completely elated, and completely disappointed that we couldn't be there for it. Her mom wisely sent us pictures, which appeased us enough to keep us from flying back to Illinois to make everyone reenact the baptism. Fortunately, even in our absence, it was a success. And we've never been more proud of her. At the end of a week of camp deaned by close family-friend Greg Taylor, she had her Papa do the dunking (always a good choice). We are so grateful to God for our niece, and her willingness to give her whole life to Jesus. Only He knows where in this world that willingness might take her.