Survey the Beauty

Ni hao {hello}! After almost a year's worth of preparation, I am finally in Taiwan! It's been a busy and tiring (jet lag is not fun,) but encouraging first few days. I've been meeting lots of people--teachers, students and other staff at Christ's College. I've also had several meetings and observed a few English classes. I thought I'd share a sort of random list of initial cultural observations, highlights, things I love and things that are hard about my new home (for the next 2 months.)

First Impressions of Taiwan:
--The photo at the top of the page is of the Danshui River and the Goddess of Mercy Mountain. There is a walkway next to the river that stretches across most of Taipei. I've taken a walk along this path twice now and I absolutely LOVE it. So beautiful. I love that you can be in the middle of a busy and noisy city, then walk about 5 minutes and be on a quiet tree-lined sidewalk, looking at the mountains. It's the perfect combination of natural beauty & the excitement of city life.
(Below: another photo of the Danshui River and G.o.M Mountain)

--The town is like a county fair in the States....except all the time. The photo below is a street in Danshui within walking distance of Christ's College. It basically always looks this crazy.
--If you hear cheesy music coming from a truck, don't expect to get ice cream. It's the garbage truck. Very odd.
--My least favorite thing about Taiwan, as of now, is that they recycle EVERYTHING...paper, plastic and even food. You have to save all of your wasted food and put it in a special trash can. At this point, I really don't know what I'm actually allowed to throw in a general trashcan.
--So far the only Chinese food I've eaten is jiaozi (dumplings) and a local restaurant specialty--shaved noodles. Both were delicious. My chopsticks skills are improving by the minute.
--I've finally gotten all settled into my little apartment in the girls' dorm building. It's very nice and already feeling like "home." I'll share some pictures of my room soon....
--I ate lunch in my room with a student named Emily today. I learned from this lunch that Pride & Prejudice crosses all cultural boundaries. Even Taiwanese college students love Mr. Darcy! Now that my apartment is cleaned up, I'm looking forward to many more visits from students!
--Even after a mere 3 days, I've learned that living in Asia is always more hectic than you expect. I planned to have some time to relax this morning before my first meeting of the day. Instead, my shower head broke and I spent most of my morning finding another place to shower and getting my own shower back in working order.
--If you're walking in the town, it feels like you're going to get hit by a car or motor bike at all times. Asians have a very different (possibly non-existent) concept of personal space.
--Squid on a stick looks super gross and I will not be eating it.
--What's considered warm/nice weather in Pittsburgh, is considered "really cold" in Taiwan. It's been rainy and foggy the past few days, but it's very warm and humid.
--I've had two older Taiwanese women who work at the school (neither speak any English) tell me that I'm "so cute" and that they have sons who are my age. It's rather hilarious.
(Above: Another view from walking along the Danshui River)
--I got some sort of mango shaved ice drink from the above shop. Yummy. I also tried pearl milk tea (or bubble tea) for the first time. If you don't know what this is, wikipedia can tell you. How the Taiwanese thought of putting tapioca balls in tea is beyond me, but I'm glad they did. I'm excited to try more tea concoctions...

Thank you all for your support and for sharing in this adventure with me! I'm excited to continue sharing my thoughts, stories and photos with you. Feel free to drop me an email (jamie.l.stuart@gmail.com) or message me on Facebook or Skype (jam.ie.stuart.)

I purchased plane tickets today. This was equal parts frightening and extremely exciting. Our dear Father is faithful and all of the details are falling into place. As I've been thinking about both traveling and embarking on this adventure by myself, I've been overwhelmed with the knowledge of my own inadequacy and the Father's great sufficiency. A song written by Sandra McCracken (one of my favorite song writers!) has particularly struck me over the past few weeks.

"Can't Help Myself"
I confess the things I am afraid of
thorns and danger just around the bend.
I pray for tongues of fire and bands of angels
to come and circle 'round me like a fence.

Chorus:
I lift my eyes to the hills.
Where comes my help?
I lift my hands--empty hands.
I can't help myself.
I can't help myself.
No, I can't help myself.

My enemies surround me like an army,
within, without, the battle's raging on.
I pray the Spirit will be strong and mighty
for courage through the night until the dawn.

Chorus

I trust the Lord, my soul and all that is in me.
Oh, trust the Light to show your darkest parts.
With words of truth and love, a friend who has known me.
A fool would keep his secrets in his heart.

Chorus

"I LIFT UP MY EYES TO THE HILLS. FROM WHERE DOES MY HELP COME? MY HELP COMES FROM THE LORD, WHO MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH." --PSALM 121:1-2

I recently read the book "Ministering Cross-Culturally: An Incarnational Model for Personal Relationships" by Sherwood G. Lingenfelter. (Fun side note: Dr. Lingenfelter received his Ph.D from Pitt!) Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

"The Bible speaks to all people and all cultures and that Jesus Christ is the only faithful example of divine love in interpersonal relationships and communication."

"Jesus was a learner. He was not born with a knowledge of language or culture."

"God's Son studied the language, culture and the lifestyles of his people for thirty years before He began His ministry...He identified totally with those to whom He was sent."

"Culture, then, is the conceptual design, the definitions by which people order their lives, interpret their experiences, and evaluate the behaviors of others."

"Culture is always learned and shared with others, and in this process, people perceive and respond to one another in culturally conditioned ways."

"Missionaries, by nature of their task, must become personally immersed with people who are different."

"Our goal should be to become more than we are...even if that means being less than 100% American."

"We must love the people to whom we minister so much that we are willing to enter their culture as children, to learn how to speak as they speak, play as they play, eat what they eat, sleep where they sleep, study what they study, and thus earn their respect and admiration."

"Becoming incarnate in another culture will be a trial by fire, a test of inner strength, of personal faith, and most of all a test of the veracity of one's love."

"We must enter a new community of strangers, often without many if not most of the comforts and symbols of home, and begin as children, learning at the feet of those we have gone to serve. We must be willing to become world Christians."

"Jesus attended to the multitude around Him, and then He ministered to Himself."

"Jesus not only grasped the content of Jewish life and culture but also discerned the workings of the minds of the people."

"Jesus created stories to illustrate and teach particular truths."

"Hudson Taylor made similar demands on his missionary colleagues, forcing them to consider Chinese expectations and showing them how their acceptance of Chinese ways opened the Chinese people to the Gospel."

"In America, we find out very little about others as persons because we do not take the time or have the opportunity to observe them."

"For the Christian laborer, then, the challenge is to have an unwavering declarative commitment to the Gospel and an open, questioning, noncrisis-oriented lifestyle and ministry."

"The missionary is sent to people to serve them, to minister to them, to communicate God's love for them. Building relationships is central to ministry. A missionary must devote his or her time and life to personal interaction."

"Although we might be doing a work of love with our hands or heart or mind, unless we show people our love in a personal way by interacting with them as individuals, our work will mean nothing to them."

"We must seek to share our lives."

"To accept one's vulnerability is to be open to the strength and support of others."

... I will be getting ready to leave for Taiwan! I can't believe how fast my trip is approaching and I'm getting even more excited with each passing day. :) I thought I'd give you a brief update on my progress/preparation/plans/etc.

Funds:
The Father has ABUNDANTLY blessed my financial needs! I almost have 100% of my financial need fulfilled! *sighs* What a relief and a blessing! I am SO humbled by and thankful for the generosity and support of my brothers & sisters.
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work." -- 2 Cor. 9:8

Personal Preparation:
As this is my first time serving for more than a week on the mission field (and without a team!) I have A LOT of heart preparation to do! Here are 5 things I'm doing right now:
1. Word study: I just finished reading the book of 2 Corinthians today and man, what a challenge that magnificent epistle is! Paul has a way of teaming boldness with humility that simply amazes me. His love for the Church and his confidence in Christ are clearly evident. {I'm planning to share more about my study of 2 Corinthians in a few days.} Tomorrow I will begin reading the Gospel of Matthew. I chose this book because I want to study closely the teachings and character of the One I will be representing while in Taiwan (and here in Pittsburgh.)
2. Other books: I just finished reading a really insightful book on how to deal with conflict in cross-cultural ministry {A post of my favorite quotes from this book is also coming soon.} I have a few other books on crossing cultures, as well as books specifically on Asia that are on the shelf, waiting to be read...
3. Rosetta Stone: Thanks to my dear friends, the Landons, I am the thankful owner of Rosetta Stone for Mandarin Chinese. Part of my purpose at Christ College will be to engage in conversation in English with students, but it would definitely be awesome if my Mandarin vocabulary wasn't limited to about 10 words. I'm hoping to soak in as much Mandarin as possible while I'm there and RS should be helpful preparation for my ears, eyes and tongue :)
4. Asking Questions: How can I show the most love possible to the students at Christ College in a mere six weeks? What personal sins will rise to the surface when I am confronted with loneliness, conflict and uncomfortable situations? {I'd love for you to ask me questions, too :)}
5. Talking to strangers: If you want the full explanation of this, just ask me. It's too hard to explain here :)

Prayer:
1. Pray for the hearts of the people that I will be in contact with--students, faculty, random people on the street (or plane)--only the Father knows where seeds will be planted :)
2. Pray that I would have clear focus on my purpose for serving and that I wouldn't get caught up in details and planning.
3. Pray for the staff at both MTW and Christ College who are working hard to get me on the other side of the world.
4. Pray that the Father would fill my heart with overflowing love for Him.
5. Pray that the Father would give me a humble spirit and that I would be joyfully willing to "become a Taiwanese child"--learning the most basic elements of a brand new culture and way of life.

Thank you again for your prayers and support! I look forward to sharing more with you soon...

Thank you SO MUCH to all who have supported me! Within two weeks, I already have 75% of my needed support! This is such a relief and a blessing to me! I have enough to purchase my plane tickets soon! :)

ps. "xie xie" = "thank you" in Chinese :)

Hello all! As you can see from the title of this post, I am heading to Asia this May! I'll be using this blog to share with you during my 6 weeks in Taipei, Taiwan (and in the months prior to my trip.) Below is a copy of the support letter that I've mailed out....

Dear Friends and Family,


I hope this letter finds you well rested from the holidays and newly thankful for another year of life. I'm writing to share with you why I'm incredibly excited for what 2010 holds for me. As many of you know, I graduated from Robinson Township Christian School in June of 2009. Since graduating, I have been taking a full class load at a community college, working at a local coffee shop and enjoying living at home with my family. Since early September, 2009, I have been in the application process to be an intern for Mission To The World (MTW.) MTW is the mission-sending agency of the Presbyterian Church in America (the church denomination in which I am a member.) Through MTW, I spent ten days working at a church in Tranas, Sweden with a team from my church in July of 2007. This time around, I'm excited to announce, I will be heading even farther east to the beautiful island of Taiwan! I have been invited to serve at Christ College in Taipei, Taiwan for about six weeks in the summer of 2010.

Christ College was established in 1959 by Dr. James R. Graham Jr., a lifelong missionary to the Chinese. It is a standard four-year Christian Liberal Arts College with around 600 students and 55 faculty members. Christ College is committed to building a strong faith in the lives of their students through Biblical teaching and discipleship. The school's desire is to also reach out to non-Christian students and win their hearts for Christ. While at Christ College, I will be assisting teachers in the classroom, tutoring students in preparation for (English) finals, preparing materials for their summer Bible camp and most importantly, building relationships with students. I will be arriving at Christ College in mid-May, just 5 weeks away from finals. I am praying that I will be of great service to both the faculty and students as they busily work toward finishing another school year.
To read more about Christ College, visit http://www.christc.org.tw/.

So....why am I going? Why am I leaving friends, family and comfort for six weeks to live in a nation so unlike my own? Simply put, I'm going because I believe that the Father has a heart for the nations. I'm going because I believe there are souls in Taiwan that desperately need the good news of a Savior. I'm going because Jesus has commanded me to share the Good News with every tribe and every tongue. I'm going because the Father has given me a heart for the Chinese and a desire to encourage the hearts of his Chinese children. I recently read the autobiography of J. Hudson Taylor, the founder of China Inland Mission in the late 1800s. He recalls a conversation with a Chinese convert who asked him: "Is it possible that for hundreds of years you have had the knowledge of these glad tidings in your possession, and yet have only now come to preach to us? Oh, why did you not come sooner?" Since reading these words, they have been burning a permanent imprint on my heart. I have been given this gift of salvation and hope, who am I to remain silent?

I'm asking you to prayerfully consider partnering with me in my service to the Lord's Kingdom in Taiwan. It will cost roughly $3,500 for me to serve in Taiwan for six weeks and I need the financial support of the Church here at home. More importantly, I desperately need your prayers in the months ahead as I prepare to leave and during my weeks of service. This will be the longest I've ever been away from home, not to mention I'm heading to the other side of the world by myself! I know that despite the blessing and excitement of the trip, there will be times of hardship, loneliness and discouragement. If you feel able and led to support me, please simply mail the enclosed form to the address listed. All checks should be made payable to Mission To The World, and should include "Jamie Stuart--17139" (my MTW account number) on the memo line of the check. If you're interested in giving online, please go here: https://www2.mtw.org/donations/donate/AddDesignation.aspx?No=17139. Even if you are unable to commit to supporting me through finances or prayer, I'd love to keep you updated on my trip. I will be doing my best to update my blog (www.jamielynnstuart.blogspot.com) with stories, photos and prayer requests. I will also be sending out updates via email. If you'd like to be on my email list, please send an email to jamie.l.stuart@gmail.com and let me know! I'd also love to meet with you in person to pray with you or share more about my trip. Please send me an email (to the address listed above) if you're interested in setting up a meeting with me.

In His Service,

Jamie Stuart


More details and news coming soon!