Border Tragedy

Since I had a free moment this afternoon, I went and read a few headlines in the local newspaper via the internet.

One particular item caught my attention.

On the border of Egypt and Israel in a small seaside town of Taba, a bomb was planted on a tourist bus that killed four and wounded all 33 people on board with 13 in serious condition.  The bus was filled with Christians from South Korea who had just been to Saint Catherine's Monastery in Mt. Sinai.  This group of Christians probably had climbed Mount Sinai in the wee hours and were heading back to Israel, going from the wilderness into the Promised Land.  I read that the trip was to mark the 60th anniversary of a church located near Seoul and many members had saved up for quite a while just to go and visit these well known Biblical sights.  According to the news report, the bus made an unscheduled stop at a café and that might be when the bomb was planted.

In 2008, when we went around the world, we had climbed Mt. Sinai and caught a small shuttle bus from Saint Catherine's Monastery to Taba.  Our kids almost died of dehydration and we rested in Taba before taking another small van to the border where we walked across into Israel.  When I saw the footages of this tragedy, I can recall exactly where the bus was parked when the bomb exploded.

I don't know those who were on that bus, but how I grieve with their families and friends.  Yes, the four who were killed have entered into the eternal Promised Land and are now with their Heavenly Father.  Yet, I am sure there will be many tears and questions for those in their church back in Korea.  How can those who love the LORD experience such a tragedy?  I don't have any answers.  I pray that God would minister to those whose hearts are hurting. I pray that God would minister to those whose body is in need of healing.  I pray that God would shine through this time of mourning... and in ways I cannot see possible, may He turn this mourning into glory to His Name.

Seek Him First!

Getting Things Done!

Things are finally getting done.

We ordered the couch and it arrived today.

Last night we had the handy man here to install a new hot water heater.  We were getting about two minutes of hot water and then the water would turn cold. I had hoped to get it replaced before our trip to the States and receive 3000NT$ as subsidy for the new machine.  But, the job turned out to be more complicated as a hole had to be cut into our back window. So, we couldn't get anyone here.  (Before Chinese New Year, every body wants to buy a new sofa or get their house remodeled or updated.  It was very difficult to hire a handy man.)  Anyhow,  he came at 8:00 and was finished by 9:30. It cost more than I had expected, but still, compare to the States, it was very reasonable.  It's so nice to have a hot shower especially since the weather has been quite cold.

Classes start back tomorrow and I need to get my syllabus printed out. 

And yes, the list of things that I need to get done remains to be quite long.


Seek Him First!

The Sofa

Well, we did it.

We bought our sofa.



This looks much grander than the real thing...

The sofa can become a sofa bed -- A double bed and a small twin!

The size is right as the handles on both sides can be removed!

Now, here is the kicker -- the price was originally NT$24,900 (830US$). It was reduced to NT$18,900 (630US$), but for a limited time, which was when I got on the internet this morning, the price was only NT$9,900 (330US$), including the cost of getting it to our house!

Seek Him First!

Headaches and High Blood Pressure

Since coming back to Taipei, we've all had a slight headache. Maybe because it has been so cold in Taipei.  Or maybe we are all jet lagged.  After some rest, the kids and I have felt much better.  But Alan's headache just didn't go away and in fact, got worst.  So, today he went to see the doctor. His blood pressure was a bit high so the doctor gave him 7 days of medication to see if it would help his headache.  His heart beat was too fast and they asked him to fast for 12 hours and will do a blood sample tomorrow morning.  He has tried going to the pool to work off the headache. He has tried going for a run to sweat off the headache.  For me, I have not gone for any kind of a run in 7 days.  Either my body was feeling exhausted and I didn't want to overwork my body or there just wasn't time.

We are all going to bed early tonight and hopefully, we will all stay asleep. 

Seek Him First!

The On-going Search for the SOFA

 Three different choices... three different measurements... three different prices... three different colors... three different companies...

What to do? 


Alan is trying to use the maps to "map out" what each one will look like in our living room.  By the time he had all three set out on the floor, he sat down and was in a state of confusion.  We looked at each other, I busted out in laughter, went and grabbed the camera, and took the picture.


Whatever we end up getting, it won't be here before the first week of March... We haven't ordered it yet... so... who knows when we will have the SOFA... The search goes on...

Seek Him First!

I'm Back

I mean that in more ways than one --

I'm back in Taipei.

I'm back to blogging daily!

The last week in the States did indeed fly by.  On Feb. 9th, my dearest sister, Annie, drove us to LAX only to find out that our flight had been delayed due to the biggest snow storm in the past 45 years in Tokyo. Both airports were completely shut down and they gave people sleeping bags as all flights were cancelled.  It was 8:30 in the morning and the flight won't be departing until 1:30p.m.  So, they gave us meal coupons -- 25US$ per person.  Now, how in the world would we be able to eat 100US$ worth of food?  So, we had a brilliant idea. We'd go in and buy 50US$ worth of food and give it to Annie to bring back to enjoy. And we'd use the rest for our own meals.  I bought Panda Express and a vegetarian omelet plus pancake.  I went out and handed her the food and went back in through the long security line.  Unfortunately, the good food gave my sweet elderly Daddy George diarrhea!!! 

Now, back to the journey... we had no idea what would happen in Tokyo. Would we be asked to stay overnight?  We spent the food vouchers and boarded the plane. It was a long flight.  I still cannot sleep well on these flights.  The food is great. The entertainment was mostly repeats.  I wish they'd put more TV shows or had more TV selections, such as home improvement programs.  We landed in Tokyo and there were people with signs everywhere.  Our connecting flight was pushed back and we had one hour to catch it. Off we went to gate 59A and got there just before boarding time.  We arrived back at the Taoyuan International Airport at 10:40, went through custom and got our luggage. We caught the 11:40 bus back to Taipei.  At 12:45 we were standing in front of the Song Shan Airport in a slight rain, getting two taxis to get us back home. We stepped into our front door by 1:10a.m.  It would be a little more than 24 hours since we were in LAX.

We left things as is -- too tired to try to unpack. We found our toothbrushes and PJs and head off to bed.  At 7a.m. I woke up to call the school. The kids weren't going today. They needed the rest. So, we stayed home, unpacked and I went out to run errands and buy some groceries. It was freezing outside with a slight sprinkle.  I think I over-exhausted myself.  By Wednesday morning, after my time with the LORD, I came down with severe flu symptoms -- pounding headache, achy body, chills. I could not lift my head as the pounding was just horrible.  I stayed in bed and prayed.

God is faithful.  He healed me.

So, it's already Thursday, Feb. 13th, Taipei time. I got up at 3:30 in the morning and now sits in front of the computer, blogging again.

I'm back!

Seek Him First!

One More Week ONLY

It is hard to believe that I have only one more week and we will be heading back to Taipei.  I am presently down in San Diego.  Last night we had a great get together with our HOP Family!  Jenny's son made beef noodles. I wish my stomach was bigger so that I can eat three bowls.  In the morning, I had lunch with my three best friends and the hours went by so fast.

What will this last week be like?

Getting together with people!

Helping out as much as possible!

Packing up the stuff!

Needless to say, the days will fly by all too quickly!

Seek Him First!