Don't Know Much About History... but here's what I DO know

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me..." (Psalm 23:4)

If I have children one day...

...I would tell them how, on the afternoon of March 19, 2004, Tim burst through the office door to say that President Chen had been injured by a firecracker. We later learned that it was not a firecracker, but a gunshot wound. "Assassination attempt..." screamed headlines. The government declared a national security alert.

I would tell them how, on the morning of March 20, my 93-year old Wai Gong donned his vest of many pockets, picked up his walking stick, and headed out the door to cast his vote for Ticket #2-- Lien Chan and James Soong. Why? Simple-- he knew Lien Chan's father.

I would tell them how curiosity drove me to visit the polls that afternoon. I joined a small crowd in the garage of Hsin-Yi Friendship Presbyterian and watched election volunteers reach into the ballot box and announce each vote. I would tell them how the crowd erupted, when one volunteer reader accidentally credited a vote to the wrong ticket. "How can this vote be accurate with mistakes like that?!?" The air was thick with tension.

I would tell them how all of Taiwan was glued to the television that evening-- at home, on the street, in restaurants and shops-- each person willing the number of votes for their candidate to rise. The race was nail-bitingly close.

I would tell them how President Chen and Vice President Lu won by an "hairbreadth margin" of 0.2% (~30,000 votes), how over 300,000 ballots were ruled invalid, and how the national security alert kept the military from voting. I would tell them how we listened to Candidate Lien's concession speech and how several thousand KMT supporters sat in front of the Presidential Palace for the next few days, demanding a recount.

I would tell them how politics dominated meal time conversation around the country-- even in our ABC home. Hushed rumors developed into bold questions and then outright accusations.

I would tell them how this election divided Taiwan-- and not just party against party. The division created rifts in businesses, schools, communities, churches, and even families.

If I remember all these details, I will tell them to my children and-- if I'm around long enough-- to their children. Most importantly, however, I will tell them how I had a choice to wait out the election in America. I chose to return, because I believe that my God is still in control. I believe that He is scripting His story despite the personal prejudices, mistakes, plots, and ignorance of man.

The morning of March 21, I led the choir in singing "Psalm 23." The song verbalized my reasons for coming back. The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. I will follow Him through green pastures, beside still waters, and even into the valley of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil, for my Shepherd is with me. He will never leave me nor forsake me.

And that is what I'd want my children to know most of all.

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"And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace." (Jeremiah 29:7)
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Photo Journal

What my Canon IXUS would tell you about the March 20 elections...

I wandered around for awhile (trying to look inconspicuous) before I found this back classroom at Ku-Ting Elementary. While a police officer watched from the doorway, two volunteer workers took turns holding up the next ballot and announcing each vote: "Number 1, 1 vote... Number 1, 1 vote... Number 2, 1 vote..."

Meanwhile, two other volunteer workers echoed each vote verbally and then marked the vote on the official tally chart.














Ballots were then sorted into three piles: Ticket #1, Ticket #2, and Invalid (ballots that were purposefully misstamped to protest both tickets).








Those who were not watching the count live gathered around the nearest television to watch the election results pour in from around the country.







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Soul Lemonade, No. 11
Taipei, Taiwan

I Can't Be Your Valentine

"May He remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah. May He grant you according to your heart's desire, and fulfill all your purpose." (Psalm 20:3-4)

Confession: Three years ago, someone asked my father for permission to court me. For various reasons (which I will explain later), I never gave him a definite answer. In December, I received the dreaded phone call: I had one day to decide what I had allowed to sit on the back burner for three years-- was I going to give this courtship a chance?

How does a girl decide the rest of her life in just 24 hours? How does she know if her concept of love and marriage is shaped by God's Word or merely the influence and experiences of others? How does she know if what she wants is God's will or her own-- or if the two might be the same?
My mind reeled with these questions and more as I considered why I'd say yes and why I hadn't said yes, why I'd say no and why I hadn't said no. I talked to my family and a few close friends. Most importantly, however, I brought the matter before my Heavenly Father. If this was a match made in heaven, I had to know for sure; and only He could show me.

Long story short, I had several reasons for saying no, but I had one reason for not saying no-- and that is what sealed my decision. That night, the Holy Spirit sifted through my questions and brought me face to face with the ugly truth: I had hung onto this possible courtship for fear of never receiving a "better offer" (yes, thank you, Jane Austen, for likening marriage to a rare business opportunity). In saying no, I had to reconcile myself to the possibility of staying single for the rest of my life. Could I be content with that? Could I surrender my marriage to the Lord as a "burnt sacrifice"?

In the darkness of that night, my spiritual commitment to wait for God's best took on flesh and bones. If I was going to trust God to give me His best, I could not hold on to anything less. Yes, the world oft times reminds me that the pool of good men is shrinking. I believe, however, that if someone was not intended for me (no matter how good he may be), my "prospects" were not shrinking but narrowing. If the Lord scripted marriage for my life, I can be certain that He is bringing us closer day by day... whether I know him now or not.

And so, my friends, I have found peace in saying no. I'll continue this journey of Singleness as long as it is God's best for me. And as long as it's His plan for you, you will never be alone.

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"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew 6:33-34)

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Soul Lemonade, No. 10
Taipei, Taiwan

Return to Jerusalem

"For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?" (Romans 11:34)

Have you ever had the nagging feeling that perhaps somewhere you misunderstood God's will and made a choice that forever altered the life you could have had? If only I had studied at _________ University (or in my case, gone to university period), I could be _________. Or if only I tried _________, I could be _________. Or if only I had _________, I could be married...

I confess that I have occasionally wondered where the life I'm living will take me. In ten years, will I be sitting at the same desk, working for the same boss, and doing the same thing while the rest of my family and peers have "moved on with life"?

I found myself asking the same question about Paul as I waded through the book of Acts this past month. I wondered why he chose to go to Jerusalem, when the Lord sent so many brothers and sisters to warn him of certain imprisonment. I wondered if he appealed to Caesar too rashly, especially when Agrippa turned to Festus and said, "This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar" (Acts 26:32). Did Paul miss a turn somewhere? What would his life had been like if he had NOT returned to Jerusalem?

I don't know the answer to that last question, but the more I read, the more certain I became that Paul was in the center of God's will when he took that last journey to Jerusalem and when he appealed to Caesar. The night after his first trial in Jerusalem, the Lord assured him, "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome" (Acts 23:11). Luke concluded the book beautifully as he described Paul's imprisonment in Rome: "Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him" (Acts 28:30-31, emphasis mine). Whereas Paul once had freedom to travel from city to city preaching the Gospel, imprisonment offered him what freedom could not-- a hearing with the rulers of the Roman Empire and protection from the persecution that dogged his steps in the early years of his ministry. What an amazing Savior we have that would send Paul to the most unreachable hearts in the Roman Empire! What a wise God we serve to provide Paul with a place to "settle down" and pen some of his greatest epistles, which have supplied "food for thought" to generations of believers. "Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!" (Romans 11:33)

No one would have chosen imprisonment for Paul, but I suspect that if he had to choose all over again, he would set his face toward Jerusalem like a flint. God may not have called me to Jerusalem at this point in my life, but obeying Him in the little things of ordinary life is just as much a part of His will as Paul's return to Jerusalem.

So Lord, keep me in the center of Your will from day to day. Let nothing sway me from obedience. And let there be no regrets.

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Soul Lemonade, No. 9
Taipei, Taiwan

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