Energy 精神

(Spent and gained!)

This time of year is always full of energy. All around the world, the campaign to invite people to the memorial of Jesus' death is in full swing, nd Taiwan is no exception. Not only have the requirements to pioneer been reduced for this special activity- allowing more people to try it out- here in Taipei, we've been having an extra one or two meetings for field service each week, and we're really working to cover as much of our territory as we can!

Look at us go!

Of course, there's no way we'll really cover it. Especially now that the congregation has split, there are only about 90 publishers in Taipei South, and about 300,000 people in our territory. Still, last year we had about 350% attendance for our Memorial meeting, and I have a feeling this year will be even better!

Come on... you know you want it...

Besides the campaign work, we also had our Circuit assembly last weekend! It's held in a suburb of Taipei called Tucheng, in a rented Jr. High School's gym.

We covered up the basketball court markings this time

It was a very encouraging program, all about pursuing peace- both how important it is, and how we can accomplish that goal. It was also encouraging to realize that I could understand every single talk! I find that it's difficult to pay attention during long meetings such as assemblies without taking notes, and I can't write in Chinese characters very quickly, so I took notes in English- basically translating the main points of every talk. To my surprise, I had hit them all! There were a few words here or there that I didn't understand, of course, but I can't help comparing this assembly to the first one I attended in Taiwan more than a year ago. Taiwan has definitely been good for me- my Chinese has improved, if nothing else!

But of course, there are a lot of other reasons why Taiwan is so good- like these guys:

Joe is much better at selfies than I am

And speaking of those guys, besides all the preaching and assembling we've been doing, we somehow managed to find time for a bike ride down to the Xindian River! Joe had seen a place you could rent paddle boats down there a while ago, and we finally got around to making plans to try them out.

On the ride down

So, bikes. I didn't really know how to ride a bike before I came to Taiwan. I mean, when I was younger- like, eight years old- I remember my mom teaching me how to ride one, but after that I don't think I got on a bike more than twice in the intervening fourteen years. Obviously, bikes are incredibly useful here in Taipei- they take a 30-minute walk and transform it into a 5-minute ride, and when you've got to travel between people's houses spread out all over the city for both preaching and work, that really adds up quickly. When I first arrived in Taiwan, I was a bit afraid to ride a bike; the roads are a lot more crowded that I was used to, and the traffic laws a lot more lax. Still, I forced myself to try the city's rental bikes, and after a few weeks of mild terror I found myself relaxed enough to actually start enjoying the ride, and now I consider my bicycle to be an absolute necessity.

Yang Jie posing on my bike while out in the ministry- he doesn't quite fit

Of course, I have crashed a couple times. When I was first riding around on Taipei's rental bikes, I hit walls a couple times, and people a couple more times- 對不起! A couple months ago, I got cut off by a motorcycle coming out of a side alley without looking and went flying- amazingly without being hurt beyond bruises, but my poor bike had to have both its wheels replaced and its front fork bent back into shape- not quite good as new, but not bad either. 

And unfortunately, minutes after taking the above picture with the flowers, I crashed again. This time it was pretty bad- the bike's front fork was already weakened, and now it was bent so far backwards that it was impossible to turn anymore- the wheel would hit my feet! The front shifter was out of alignment so I couldn't shift up, the rear one had completely fallen apart, and in the fall I sprained my right elbow. We were close to our destination, however, so I limped onwards until we arrived at the Xindian docks.

The boats are down there, I swear

I was considering leaving and going to get my arm checked out, but I was about 95% sure it was just a sprain, and if it was just a sprain the doctors would probably just give me some pain meds and tell me to take it easy. I decided to tough it out and get in the boats with my friends.

Unfortunately, there were seven of us and the paddle boats only seat four. Also, they're paddle boats, which means you have to pedal them very quickly if you want to move. Also, they gave the guy with the sprained right arm- me- the helm of our boat, which was steered by pulling on a lever to my right. That hurt. Still, it was pretty fun and really good exercise- next time, we're going to eat before we get on the boats, not the other way around!

Friendly rivals

All together, myself, Cary and Amy were in our boat, and our opposite number was comprised of Alix, Joe, Lise and Yunya. It was difficult keeping up with them- they had four people after all, and we only had three!- but it was a cool time. Sea shanties were sung. I may have accidentally grounded our boat once.

The Taiwanese cycle keeps working- Amy has already left Taiwan for Korea, and Lise will be leaving us this Monday. We'll miss you guys! Keep up the good work!

Also, recently the Dalai Lama visited Taiwan I believe, because at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall there were banners up all over the place with his face and this rather large temple in the middle of the square:

Their god looks scary! Look at that guy!

Despite their very visible presence, or maybe because of it, this week has been absolutely incredible at CKS. This last Tuesday, over the course of just five hours, we placed 87 books, 92 brochures, and had five or six people sign up for a bible study. Five hours!

Sr. Huang showing a video to a pair of Mainland Chinese tourists

There is definitely energy in the air, and we can all feel it. Good things are happening, and although problems do come, they are far outweighed by the blessings we receive. At times it seems like things are moving very quickly, but as long as we put Jehovah's goals first, we don't need to worry about being left behind- we're just along for the ride!