While It Is Yet Night

"She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household..." (Proverbs 31:15)

The moment I set foot in New Zealand, I began a mental list of everything I needed to learn before the team arrived. Driving on the wrong side of the road was top priority. Arranging meals was a close second.

"Oh, no one eats out in the South Island," one mother cheerfully informed us. "Restaurants are so expensive. There are some takeaways, but almost everyone cooks at home. If the place where you're staying has a kitchen, you can cook your meals!"

Cook? That wasn't part of my job description! I could count all the recipes I knew on one hand-- and still have fingers left! What in the world was I going to do?

I hoped she was wrong; and, thanks to the internet, I was able to arm my Clie with lists of all the affordable restaurants and takeaways I could find. I also stocked up on granola bars and Tim Tams (one of my favorite cookies), hoping they would tide us over when restaurants were scarce.

Sunday morning, as we met our travel-weary team at the Wellington airport, I suddenly realized that they might be hungry... and despite my preparations, I still had no idea what to do. "Stay cool," I told myself. While everyone unpacked (I was trying to buy time), I nonchalantly asked the hostel receptionist if there were any inexpensive places to eat. Half an hour later, we paraded through New World, a grocery chain across the street, with the sandwiches and takeaways we selected. Whew-- one meal down, twenty-two more to go.

Later that evening, I returned to New World to get fixings for lunch the next day. Someone had warned me that meat was rather pricey, so with the words "expensive" and "budget" in mind, I bought one slice of turkey and cheese per person. I got just enough bread and extra lettuce to make up the difference. Unfortunately, the lady who prepared my turkey couldn't count... so one girl got a BLT with only extra L.

With that reputation haunting me, I found myself going to three grocery stores one night just to find meat for lunch wraps the next day. No luck. Finally, we asked Subway if they might sell us their meat. Again, no luck-- however, they were open 24/7, so we could place an order and pick it up the next morning.

Mornings came awfully early in New Zealand. We headed into the still slumbering town of Queenstown at 5:30 the next morning. As promised, Subway was open and our order was almost ready.

I stifled a yawn as I waited. Never thought I'd be doing this in New Zealand. Suddenly, I remembered a verse that almost made me laugh aloud-- "She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household." Was the Lord giving me a taste of motherhood?!?

I went to New Zealand to help with a photography course. Instead, the Lord taught me to make grocery lists, brave the kitchen (with the help of my girls who already knew how to cook), run errands, balance the petty cash, and learn a little of the sacrifice my mother has made for me all these years. Through it all, the Lord taught me that there is more to life than my desk job and more to ministry than doing seminars. True servanthood is not determined by what I do, but how I do it and for Whom.

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Soul Lemonade, No. 8
Taipei, Taiwan

Love at First Sight

"But the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the LORD your God cares..." (Deuteronomy 11:11-12)

New Zealand is a photographer's paradise. Here are eight reasons why I fell in love with the country...

The view of Wellington from the peak of Mt. Victoria. We braved a wind that would put Chicago's wind to shame in order to shoot this picture.








"Stop, Rowan!" He didn't always comply, but this time he pulled over, so that we could shoot our first snow-capped mountain.









We heard fantastic stories about the Peninsula Seal Colony, but the lady at the Kaikoura Information Centre warned us that the seals came and went as they pleased. Only one seal pleased to grace us with his presence that day... and he got plenty of attention.




Sunrise over Christchurch. We crawled out of bed at what some might call a godly hour for our destination: Godley Head. As the road narrowed and wound around the hills, we prayed we wouldn't run into any oncoming traffic... but we forgot to mention livestock. A certain cow around a certain bend made sure all of us-- especially our driver-- were awake.


Cathedral Square, Christchurch. Cathedral Square was not just a place of worship, it was a community-- for coffee addicts (Starbucks was just across the square), chess players, children, adults, and tourists alike. By 9:30, half a dozen men had already gathered around to watch and comment on the ongoing chess game.










Marton. One of millions of sheep in New Zealand. This one resided in the field by the Arahina Training Centre.














Huka Falls, Taupo. What stood out to me was the power of the rapids and the startling clarity of the water. Got to love that shade of blue and green.













The New Zealand Experience Team at Doubtful Sound (minus Rowan who didn't trust anyone else to take this picture). As Rowan's assistant, one of my jobs included arranging meals. Thankfully, this team didn't mind being guinea pigs.

Thanks to all who prayed for me. If I could recount all of my stories, you'd know that Someone heard... and answered!

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For daily updates and photos of the trip, visit ips.iblp.org.

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Soul Lemonade, No. 7
Taipei, Taiwan

My Cup Runneth Over

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." (James 1:17)

It was a gift I thought I did not want. Someone had invited my family to dinner, but I wanted to make my own plans. When dinnertime rolled around, I gritted my teeth, swallowed my complaints, and put on my best pasted smile.

All of that melted, however, when I saw the incredible spread of food and the oil lamps and flowers that graced the tables on the patio. "It's beautiful," I heard myself say.

Our hostess smiled and replied, "A beautiful setting for a beautiful family."

My face flushed with embarrassment... and guilt. Beautiful? I felt anything BUT beautiful. The ugliness of my selfishness taunted me. "You don't deserve any of this," the Holy Spirit whispered. And He was right.

That evening put my entire summer into perspective. I thought of our refreshing, self-imposed SARS quarantine at the Browns' farm... my adventures with Kristi in the back hills of South Carolina and at my first Children's Institute down South... a perfect weekend with some of my closest friends in Arkansas... three packed weeks with a wonderful TESOL class in Oklahoma City... We built mud slides in Iowa, sailed through downtown Chicago at twilight, and played football in Pennsylvania (got to be QB for the first time in my life!). The Lord gave me an opportunity to teacher train at my first Stateside CI and then attend my good friend Melissa's wedding. And if that weren't enough, He's sending me to New Zealand this Tuesday to help out with a two-week photography course!

The Lord has lavished blessing upon blessing, granted desire after desire these last few months-- not because of who I am, but because He is God and He is good.

Last summer, I returned to Taiwan hungry for more vacation, more fun. This year, the Lord used that unwanted dinner invitation to remind me to be grateful for and content with what He has given. And now... my heart is overflowing with the unrestrained goodness of our Lord.

"...my cup runneth over" (Psalm 23:5).

PS: Please pray for me while I'm in New Zealand (Sept 9-27). I will be going somewhere I've never been before to do what I've never done before. I'll tell you about it when I get back. Thanks.

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Upon the cross of Jesus mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One Who suffered there for me;
And from my smitten heart with tears two wonders I confess--
The wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness.

("Beneath the Cross of Jesus" by Elizabeth C. Clephane)

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Soul Lemonade, No. 6
Taipei, Taiwan

A Bomb Called EMOTION

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Beware to all who dare to pray, "Lord, keep me humble."

In answer to that innocent prayer, God dropped a bomb called EMOTION that drove away all control and reason from my ordinarily logical being.

A few weeks ago, I left Yankee country to participate in the Atlanta Children's Institute. No, I was not staff-- I was a teacher, who wore "nah-vy blue" and white, cut crafts, wracked my brain to keep the little boys entertained and controlled, and adjusted to the Southern drawl.

This CI served families that attended the Basic Seminar and the Anger Resolution Seminar. I taught Team A1 (Basic Seminar children), so my responsibilities began Monday. The Anger Res Seminar began Thursday, so the staff tried valiantly to recruit new teachers for those children. The Lord gave us three. As last resort, the staff pulled a few Basic Seminar teachers and placed them on brand new teams. Guess who became leader of Team A2? Little ol' moi.

I gathered my things in a daze, trying desperately to maintain control. But as I thought about leaving my team (which included a set of quadruplets-- my quad-shot macchiato-- and a pair of non-identical twins), working with a new assistant, meeting new children, creating a new lesson plan, and doing things like making new bathroom passes, EMOTION hit the pit of my stomach like lead and began to wreak havoc. When my good friend Sarah caught me in the hall and asked, "Karen Chen, are you OK?" I lost it.

With tears streaming down my face, I assured her that I'd be fine. I just needed alone time to regain composure. But when I beheld my bloodshot eyes and bright red nose in the bathroom mirror, I knew it was a lost cause. After fighting back tears for five to ten minutes, I reconciled myself to the reality that I would NOT be able to control myself, and my assistant was going to see me at my worst.

I took a few deep breaths and proceeded towards the classroom. My assistant was already in there cutting crafts for the evening. I nearly sobbed out my greeting:

"Hi, my name is Karen, and I'm not usually like this, but I'll be OK. Really." I added that last word to convince myself more than anyone else.

She looked back and replied calmly, "My name is Brianne. So is this your first CI?"

I choked back both tears and laughter and replied, "No." Somehow I survived the next five minutes until she left for dinner. The empty classroom, however, taunted me with how I had become "high maintenance" and "the point of weakness," so I sought refuge in the only secluded place I could think of... the church graveyard.

I settled down on a granite block and played with the angel hair spaghetti Ginny had gotten for me. Gazing out over the tombstones, I imagined the crises those people had lived through-- war, miscarriage, terminal illness... My musings mercifully led me away from myself to the feet of our Lord. He reminded me that I had asked for humility. He assured me that my worth lay not in what I could accomplish but rather in who I was in Him. What others thought did not matter. There in the graveyard, I learned to surrender my pride and embrace my weakness. And then He began to dry my tears.

I returned to my room a calmer emotional wreck, and there on the white board I found a message from Sarah: "Karen, come find me. I have comassive info."

That "comassive info" was the staff decision to switch me back to my team and make one of my Team A1 assistants the leader of Team A2. I cringed at the thought of them making adjustments for me, but I faced my weakness and accepted it as God's measure of grace for me.

Perhaps no one will ever know just how much the Lord glorified Himself that evening, but I went home much more aware of how utterly helpless I am without Him... and that was exactly where He wanted me.

"...for when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10).

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Soul Lemonade, No. 5
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The Importance of Being Ignorant

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17).

A Comical Consolation on Aging

CAST (in order of appearance):

BEN: Ben McGregor, Spy #1
RO: Rowan Gillson, Spy #2
JANY: Jany Chen, Oblivious Friend
KAR: Karen Chen, Clueless Birthday Girl
CHRIS: Christina Mason, Cohort #1
STARLA: Starla Adams, Cohort #2
FAITH: Faith Chen, Cohort #3

ACT ONE: The Salon (Kaohsiung, Taiwan)

Two men in black converse on walkies outside the salon.

BEN: Ro, do you read me?
RO: Copy.
BEN: What's your location?
RO: Behind the truck next to the salon.
BEN: I think it's time to make the drop.
RO: You have the paper?
BEN: Yeah. Follow me in.

Meanwhile, three ladies sit innocently in the salon, hair lathered up in shampoo.

JANY: Is that Ben?
KAR: (turning to peer out the window) Sure looked like him, but why would Ben be here when the team is about to leave for the coast? And why is he wearing BLACK on such a hot day?
CHRIS: Weird.

A few minutes later, there is a commotion at the door. Ben strides in with Ro snapping pictures in his wake. Ben slaps a newspaper down on the table in front of Kar and walks out without a word.

KAR: Grief!
CHRIS: (laughing)
STARLA: (laughing) What were they DOING?
Hairdressers: Who are they?!? Are they the gou zai dui?
KAR: What are gou zai dui?
JANY: You know, like the news people who follow people.
CHRIS: Oh, like the paparazzi?
STARLA: How funny.
KAR: (to hairdressers) No, they're not the gou zai dui. They're just some of our very strange friends.
Hairdressers: Are they OK?
KAR: I... think...so. At least I thought so.
STARLA: So that WAS Ben!
JANY: Yeah, so I did see Ben.
CHRIS: Why did they give you that paper?
KAR: I don't know. (pausing to look) Huh-- there's a piece of paper stuck in it.
STARLA: What does it say?
KAR: It says, "You are being watched." Weird. I think the heat is going to their head.
Hairdressers: Why are they sitting outside? Do they want to come in?
KAR: Well, I guess if they're here, they may as well join us. Jany, could you ask them to come in?
JANY: Sure. (departs)
KAR: (to self) I wonder why they're not with the group. They're supposed to leave for the coast any minute now.
JANY: (returning) They won't talk to me.
KAR: They won't?!?
CHRIS: Weird.
KAR: I'll try calling them. (dials on cell phone)
ROWAN: (over phone) Wei?
KAR: Hello, Rowan? Why don't you...
ROWAN: (over phone) Wo ting bu dong. (I don't understand.) (click)
KAR: (incredulously) He hung up on me!
STARLA: That's strange.
CHRIS: Well, if they want to play this game, let's just play along. We'll enjoy our shampoo and they can roast in the sun.

The girls return their attention to the mirror, while the hairdressers work on straightening their hair. An hour later...

CHRIS: Starla! Your hair looks so cute straight!
KAR: I love it!
STARLA: (admiring her hair in the mirror) I can't believe how straight it is!
JANY: (to hairdresser) If I come back in a couple days, could you cut my hair so it looks like hers?
Hairdresser: Sure.
KAR: Let's take a picture and then take a taxi to the coast. If the guys are still around, we can take two taxis.
CHRIS: OK.

Girls get in place with the hairdressers, and Jany takes their picture. The girls pay and head outside.

KAR: (catching sight of Ben behind a pillar) Ben! (waving) Ben!
(Ben turns on his heels)
KAR: (following) Ben! We're going to take a taxi, are you coming?
(Ben quickens his pace, looking over his shoulder occasionally)
KAR: (frustrated) What is his problem?
CHRIS: Forget about him.
STARLA: That's strange.
CHRIS: You go on ahead. I'll try to get his attention. (turning back after Ben) Ben!
JANY: Why is he acting that way?
KAR: I don't know, but if he's going to play that game, let's leave without him. He'll just have to find a way to follow us.
CHRIS: (returning) I lost him.
KAR: (dialing cell phone) Well, forget it. I'll call Faith and tell her we're coming without them.
FAITH: (over phone) Hello?
KAR: Hello, Faith? Hi, we're done. I've been trying to get Ben's attention to come with us, but he's acting really weird.
FAITH: (over phone) Why? What's he doing?
KAR: Every time I try to follow him, he runs away.
FAITH: Weird. Well, where is he now?
KAR: I don't know. (turning) Oh! He just rounded the corner.
FAITH: What's he doing?
KAR: He just dropped a pink piece of paper on the ground!
FAITH: Well, what does it say?
KAR: (walking over to pick up the paper) It says, "From the Hi Lai, go over Wu-Fu, follow each clue..." (pause) Wait a minute! This isn't his handwriting! What the cheese are you guys doing?
FAITH: (laughing and trying to sound innocent) What do you mean?
KAR: OK, OK... I'll play along.
FAITH: Right. Bye.

Hmm... at this rate, this play will go on far too long for my readers. So for your sake, I will give you the reader's digest version.

After I hung up, I embarked on a two and half hour adventure through the streets and alleys of Kaohsiung.

Clue #1 took me to the basketball court in the park, where I saw six Americans dressed in red and black playing bball under the hot sun. As I drew closer, I saw black 27s taped onto their backs. When I finally arrived, they stopped the game and launched into a great game-time rendition of "Hap-py Birth-day, Ka-ren!" The only catch was that I had to shoot 27 baskets before I could get my next clue! (Did I ever tell you that bball is NOT my sport?) After what seemed like an eternity, I earned six red roses and Clue #2...

Which took me to the Love River near our hotel. En route, my personal paparazzi snapped pictures as they passed by in a taxi. They pulled out just ahead of us and dashed down the river, and so we followed. There I found five statues dressed in black, each posing with a sunflower-- from the dreamy "he-loves-me-not" to the fierce fencer to the jazzy saxophone player to the golfer in mid-swing to the Ronald McDonald. They got their share of stares from the lantern festival workers. But after I "unfroze" them all, they presented me with Clue #3...

Which took me directly to Starbucks. And across the street were six picketers, dressed, decorated, and faces painted in the colors of the rainbow. They raised quite a ruckus-- especially with their "Honk, it's my birthday" sign. I kid you not, the Boba made me wave it at on-coming traffic until I earned 27 honks. If they had not been such great sports, I would have died of embarrassment. When I persuaded enough drivers to honk for me, they shooed me back across the street into Starbucks... where the paparazzi were waiting for me behind the counter! They presented me with Clue #4 in a coffee cup and promptly disappeared.

Clue #4 baffled me. (Getting older does NOT mean that you necessarily get smarter!) With a lot of help from my friends and the elusive paparazzi, I heard strains of "The Sound of Music" wafting from the underpass-- "Kaohsiung is alive with the sound of music, With songs we have sung for the past few days. The underpass is filled with the sound of birthday..." The first song surprised me. The second song amazed me. After that, I was speechless. Somehow, this group managed to rewrite the lyrics to SIX different SOM songs for the occasion. Two more clues to go...

It took a few guesses and a couple hints to solve Clue #5. I led the growing group (we were drawing attention to ourselves) to an outdoor cafe in the park-- not too far from the basketball court. There I found five people dressed in the "GAP summer look" (white and khaki), each reading at a different table with a single rose lying in front of them. They treated me to a light Oreo cake and peach smoothie, while I read my final clue...

Which took me "home" to Kingdom Hotel. The last five people stood outside with mismatching socks, hotel slippers, and newspapers shielding their faces. I pegged them all (including the newly corn-rowed Liesel), and then returned to my room heavily laden with a huge bouquet of flowers, which had grown with each stop.

That was two weeks ago. The flowers have since wilted, but that bouquet of everything from roses to sunflowers to Queen Anne's lace to daisies represented the variety of lives and friendships Jesus has already given me this year. One of my "New Year's resolutions" was to make time for people. In the past, work robbed me of time with the seminar team. This year, I purposed to set aside work that wasn't absolutely necessary to build relationships with my teachers. The reward? Not only an incredible birthday celebration and a lot of fun memories, but a beautiful bouquet of friendships, which I hope will last through eternity.

I guess getting older isn't such a bad thing after all...

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Editor's Note: While the characters in this Soul Lemonade are real, conversations were not quoted verbatim due to the editor's age and ailing memory. A BIG THANK YOU once again to the 2003 seminar team and all you did to make my transition into twenty-seven so memorable. I love you guys!

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Soul Lemonade, No. 4
Taipei, Taiwan