Reflection: Mike Yang -STM

 

Its my third time as a short-term missionary and I was still impressed by the amount of transformation I witnessed both from the kids and from myself. Even though my group (group five) was not a rowdy group and most kids were from fortunate family situations, many of them were not Christians. God really spread his word and the gospel even through we had not emphasized Christianity often in class and this was evident when all the kids in my class voluntarily raised their hands when asked whether they would accept Christ as their savior. Also, I felt I could really relate this year’s theme or reconciliation and culture as there have been some familiar problems as of late and as an international student n the states, I understood the meaning of bringing different cultures together. Personally my goal this year was to take more of a leadership role and be assertive in my leading and with a group consisting of mostly newcomers, God pretty much made sure I became the leader as I am more experienced and I felt like Moses than past years. I did a better job of making use of all my group mates and we evn assumed our individual roles to form another harmonious group. Again, thank God for everything and all his blessings.

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Reflection: Carrie Lin- TA

I loved this year’s AEF Camp!  I thought it was a great opportunity to meet new people, and to strengthen my leadership skills.  I had never taught anything before, so this was a totally new experience for me.  At first, I was really nervous that none of the kids would listen to me, but I was able to take responsibility and teach an entire class.  They were all really sweet, and it was way less scary than I thought it would be!  A lot of the students, especially the girls, were really nice and welcoming to me.  They wouldn’t laugh if I wrote an incorrect Chinese character (especially because I’m used to simplified Chinese), and they would always invite me to play games with them.  Plus, with the help of Jeff, Nathan, Esther, Shirley, and Tiffany, the whole week went by really smoothly.  Team 4 was the best for sure!  Even though there were some trouble-making kids in our class, I still loved all of them.  I hope I can come back next summer, I really want to see everybody again!  This camp taught me to be more patient, loving, and responsible.  I made some life-long friends here, and it was just a really great experience!

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Reflection: Molly Cheng – STM

 

Missions is one of my favorite times of the year. I learned how to rely and work with co-workers who helped lead my team, Group Five. Although we had different styles of facilitating the kids, our ideas helped the final product run even more smoothly.

Before and during camp, God had great things planned out for me, his little girl. For some reason, the theme of being weak kept being placed on my heart. I was never absolutely sure what it meant, but something along the lines of how in society, people have a constant temptation to appear proud or show their best successes to all. But God wanted me to not be a part of anything like that. I want to stay away from using the word “humble” because that alone comes with praises from the words of others. Also, I know that if you’re weak, that’s what God can use you most! At the Sunday church service the day before Nantou camp, we sang a hymn and one of the verses was “And now, let weak say i am strong / Let the poor say I am rich / because of what the Lord has done for us”. I had a whole list in my mind of my own inadequacies for this job, but being weak, being vulnerable, bringing my broken heart to God and His reassurance allowed me to soak up His step-by-step guidance during the whole camp, so I was able to serve the kids best.

    One thing I have learned this past year about Jesus is about His love. It’s a different kind of love than people on earth can give. It’s so crazy (loving enemies, generously giving to people in less fortunate conditions, loving despite all the bad stuff) that it shocks people out of their state of fear or sloth or contentment with being “just good enough” (rather than striving for better, for what God wants to provide for us. His beloved children). During camp at the altar call after testimonies were spoken, we were told to peek to see which kids were interested in learning more about God in order to have the ability to challenge and encourage them. At that time, us teachers hadn’t really discussed anything about Christianity in the classroom so I expected one or two (or maybe not even any) kids to raise hands. But! When I opened my eyes to take a look, I think about all of them raised their hands! A love that shocks you out of your state of contentment with not enough Jesus! That moment was so so encouraging because I realized we can never get enough of Jesus in our lives, never enough of the holy spirit filling us up, never enough of the Father’s affection for us. Oh man and the teachers hadn’t even influenced the kids about coming to God, it was not anything we did, it was all God! To see my kids (with eyes closed, no looking around or anything) confidently come before God with such a childlike faith… It was such a blessing to stand back and watch this Redeemer of the universe earnestly reach out to these kids.

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Reflection: Lee Ng- STM

This was the second time I went to this missionary trip..

Looking at the Wu-Yi, the hall, the classrooms, the field, the doom, and the people, it brought the memory from 2009…

I was very happy when I saw the worship team from Xing-Yi, I almost cannot recognized Eric as he is totally a teenager, Abus and Benjamin had ‘colored’ their eyes.. we were shouting and laughing when we saw each other.

It was so good to see the co-workers, Paulina, Joy, Joseph, Mei-Wen, etc, etc just like seeing the old friends…

I was very touched to see 2 of my students from the 2009 now served in the worship team, seeing them playing in the class last time, but now serving God and praising God, isn’t it wonderful…  

             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Reflection: Chris Su- STM

This year’s mission trip was more than just sharing the love of Christ to children in Taiwan. It was embracing cross cultures and uniting together to celebrate Christ together in response to the populations at Nantou. As each day progressed in Taiwan, I became more aware of our surroundings and the fruition of what God had planted at Nantou. My reflections consists of my daily blog from Taiwan:

Taiwan is amazing (Of course, duh!). Food is abundant in portions, squatty potties are thenew In for this camp, and dance battles were some of the highlights in the pre-camp. Can you believe, we got to celebrate Louis’s birthday with some Taiwanese food at “New Café” in Nantou. Pretty good place, although we went as such a huge group. The youth members were quick to open up; they bonded very well with the aboriginals and their partners almost immediately; Stephen had multiple dance battles with some of the dance veterans, and Emmeline was constantly asked to show some hip-hop moves, unfortunately to no avail. God was with these youth members, and opened their eyes to the wonders of Christ.  Jeremy, Eve, Seaton and Jonathan continued to lead with the Holy Spirit within them, whether it is leading worship or prayer or fun games, the missionaries and their helpers united with ease. The voices of the children combined with the youth sounded like a choir from Heaven; abounded with joy and energy, we are resting up for the big start for tomorrow.

Showers were amazing. With the shower angle of 10 degrees, the water blazed with only cold water in the morning, and if you were lucky you’d land yourself a nice big beetle in your shower or sink. Talk about surprises. What is more amazing is the fact that no one had a stomachache! Talk about God’s grace! The Jello Wall of Taiwan Humidity was a bit harsh for many of the newbie members; but ultimately, the weather was not having an effect on our group at all; in fact, it only solidified the fact that we were here to spread the love of Christ through such treacherous environments when time again did we accomplish such amazing feats of embracing the native children as part of Christ.

Love. What is Love? For the fact that this camp was built on the one word of Love, I had a chance to hear the ideals of this camp. I was especially stirred today during the sermon at churchSunday; TJ had shared the story of Joseph as the foundation for learning the reasons of AEF. As part of the Christ, we know that God is Love, and we as His followers are to love God, our neighbors, and children; for if we love one another, God loves us, and the unity of Christ flows within us to strengthen our cause of the AEF missions. Like the branches in a vineyard, those who bear fruit are on the branches that are connected to the vines, and those who dwell upon themselves have no fruition, like those who are on the ground, trampled and hurt by the Devil. Friends, what we are about to embark is a mission that is way beyond the comprehension of serving others; it is the plan of loving the children; for loving the children is the big picture of this mission purpose.

Like Joseph, we must not lean on our own understanding and power to get what we want; instead, we must be one with Christ to serve His purpose and ultimately become part of God’s process of changing the world through the perspectives of one another. The camp at Nantou City is beginning to transform itself into a haven for God, a place of transformation for those who wish to receive Christ. Students are enjoying the games and the fun events that are planned such as group “blow-wind-blow” or fried chicken for lunch that caused some stomach problems for a few, although they remained happy about the food. God is continuing to watch over us, and we are excited to see what God will provide us later on in the future.

As the camp progressed, there are a few highlights of good and bad; the arrival of so many students have caused some stress amongst the STMers that are not fluent in Mandarin; although the TAs are trying their best, the ability to engage in communication is sometimes not connected. Some of us are going to bed extremely deprived of energy from the whole day; I can understand the energy level needed to maintain the same balance of happiness is literally so immense, so pray for us.

The work here at AEF is beginning to take its toll on some of the STM and TA members; while Language remains a major barrier, the communication between the students and teachers are sometimes quite tense. Some STM members are feeling the stress from maintaining class control from the rowdy students or the problem of finding fun activities to do. We remain vigilant in praying hard for ourselves; we ask that everyone pray for the STMs and TAs that are with us; although we are sometimes down physically, we remain high for Christ and serving these kids.

Wednesday and Thursday, July 6th-7th

Today is the day the Lord has made. Indeed, it is joyous and great day for the AEF camp. As the camp winds down, we’re excited to see the many children receive the blessings of Jesus Christ. During our altar call last night there were so many students that raised their hands to know Christ. God truly is amazing and continues to amaze us. Of course, who can’t forget the amazing mountain pig? It’s what Jesus would eat if he ever had meat. But then again, animals probably aren’t eaten in Heaven. Oh well. For those who don’t know what mountain pig is, I would suggest spending a plane ticket to fly back to Taiwan and try one of the ribs; it’s literally mind blowing from the start; the rich intense flavor of the mountain pig combined with the secret blend of ingredients and hickory wood is perhaps the best thing since white bread. Those pictures will definitely be up on my albums soon, so check it out!

Praise God Almighty for the weather! It has never rained since day one, and the weather was pleasant enough for a lot of fun games and water sports. I have never had a week of pleasant sunshine in Taiwan for such a long time; it’s seriously amazing to find how God plans everything way beyond our time. AEF is almost over, but it seems the bond that we made with the kids is more than just a few days; the children are attached to the TAs and STMs like older brother and sisters. In addition, there is an emotional bond that cannot be described simply with words. Emotion is intangible, yet is solid like a rock that remains intact to our lives. Every group has bonded not only with their own group members, but with other groups as well; the unbreakable love for the kids have expanded beyond the boundaries of our own children; perhaps this is God’s Grace for sharing the Love for them.

We’re still excited and running a full blast of energy before closing out tomorrow (Friday). We will later perform our final group music project as well as some fun parodies; the 2011 AEF camp is indeed a transformation of Love for the children and for the TAs themselves. We hope the kids will continue to grow in Christ and in Love.

Friday, July 8th

Tears started flowing down their faces. It’s hard not to tear up when the children were trying so hard to hold back their small little wet drops; in the end, I opened up as we prayed, joining the hundred of freed tears and joined the crowd of emotional folks who loved their kids so much. God is amazing because his Love spreads even to the most hardened of hearts at camp; there were kids that at first didn’t respect or understand the point of camp, but at the last day they poured their hearts out into the dances and games. Love is simply an understatement at this camp; Love is the foundation that will change their lives forever, and fashion them into respectable and well-mannered students in the near future.

Every little hand I had held once had started to drift away in the afternoon, leaving me pondering if I will ever see them again. Some the children were crying, begging to stay one more day before leaving soon; it was hard for the kids to leave when they had just fully bonded with their young teachers. One by one each little hand began to move back to their homes, and soon it was just the teachers and the co-workers left at Wuyu High School. Silence pondered in the air. It wasn’t the same anymore now that the kids had left. During our free time, I would just stand in classroom three, restarting the entire sequence of the week, day by day, filling my own mind with the fun and exciting times of the camp. In the end, as I opened my eyes, it was just chairs and tables, with the sounds of cicadas chirping away.

Saturday dawns. Sleeping a needed ten hours, I awoke to the sounds of no children screaming down the halls or high fiving me in the morning. Walking towards the bathroom, the memories of big beetles and scaring the children and girls alike were fading away.  Finishing breakfast, the STMs and TAs and worship team are chilling and enjoying the presence of one another. Smiling, the sense of peace dawned on me. I would be seeing my kids once more, even if it meant waiting for another 365 days. That would be enough until next year.

This camp had always been an emotional rollercoaster for many of the teachers and students; bonding and uniting together in games and challenges made all this camp worth the trip. Cliché? I think not. There is a lot of work that needs to be done, and we’ve just scratched the surface.

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Reflection: Justin Chan- TA

 It’s my first year here in AEF camp, and I really feel like I’ve grown a lot and learn a lot as well. I learned how to communicate with different people with different race and different family background and also I became more passionate and enthusiastic in the past few weeks. Even though it was really tiring taking care of kids but I can clearly see that’s where God shows his love among us. This camp deeply changed who I was before, I used to be lazy and joking around doing nothing for most of my summer holidays, but this year’s camp I learned how to be responsable and to love and to actually care about one another. And of course, I had a lot a lot of fun for the past few weeks, I made tons of nice friends and I never thought I will be this popular for my first year of camp! I will never forget what a great time I have here and I’m sure that I will definitely come to next year’s camp and to continue God’s love for Nantou.

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Reflection: Jonathan Weng- STM

The most prominent blessing I received coming to AEF this year has been to see how God works through the years. Having not come back in 3 years, a lot of things seemed to have evolved and it has been such a blessing to see fruit that has resulted from the work of previous years. Many of the kids of the past have gone on to be SGLs, strangers have become friends, and those deemed least likely to have faith now have the most.

Through this witness, God has spoken to me about the nature of how he conducts his work. It is on no one’s time except his, and it is in terms of generations and ages. This has challenged me to have more faith in the perspective of God and not be so short-sighted or impatient in my own life. Bearing witness to how God has worked through AEF is a great and timely encouragement to my life as a whole and I feel truly blessed as a result of being here this year.

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Reflection: Jennifer Sum-STM

My first impression of the missions trip was that it would be lots of fun playing with the kids, singing, dancing, and teach—all of which I love to do. Also, I was expecting for this trip to have an impact on my spiritual life. Before coming to Taiwan, my spiritual life was okay. Not bad, but not great either. After being in the camp for a week, it definitely had an impact on my life, and it was not easy at all.

When I decided to go on this trip, I thought that my mandarin would be sufficient. However, it was a lot worse than I imagined. With communication a huge factor, the missions trip became extremely difficult. Also, before the trip, I felt that this past year God has been pushing me out of my comfort zone and pushing me to do things I normally won’t do. For example, I became worship coordinator of my church/fellowship. I have stage fright so it was scary. Also, I didn’t want to go on the missions trip because I do not like traveling, especially away from my family. However, I felt that God was telling me to go since my summer was wide open.

Overall, the missions trip was not what I expected. It put a lot of stress on me and it was very very hard communicating with the students. Also, I got group 10, the highest group-the oldest kids. That made it harder. In addition, my TA was very shy and not very authoritative. I felt that God put all these
difficulties in front of me in order to give me a transformation and for the kids as well, and it did. I ended up loving my kids and they loved me as well. They were so nice to write me notes and cards and so many people were there for me when I needed help and so many people prayed for me and gave me so
much encouragement. I was very surprised to find that everyone around me was so encouraging. People I barely knew came up to me to talk to me, to pray with me, and would even give me little notes and gifts. I felt so much love from everyone. It even felt that instead of me trying to transform the kids,
everyone was transforming me. I grew a lot during this missions trip and I felt that God used the kids and the workers to help me experience God’s love. I feel a lot stronger now and I hope to learn more Chinese in the future so that I can come back! 

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