following an unknown path

a "what's up" list

What's up:

• Wu MaMa is home for the week, after 2+ weeks in the hospital.  If she qualifies, she might be placed on a research project testing a new direct chemo treatment for liver cancer (which is more common in Asia than it is in America).
  
• School started three weeks ago.  I've finally been to every class once as of last Wednesday.  Several of my classes require students to "test in to" them, so they started a bit later than other classes.
  
• I'm teaching two freshmen classes.  I like this classes because I get the upper-intermediate non-English majors.  Most of my students don't know each other outside of class--this is a good thing for class dynamics; easier to take risks and not lose face so much.  I also like that it is all four skills.  Much easier to teach when I can blend all skills together.  We talk about what we are reading; we write in response to what we've heard and discussed.  Much more "real."
  
• I'm also teaching two really cool classes for junior and senior English majors.  One is called International Career Path and the other is called Social and Global Issues.  In these classes, the students spend one week preparing to discuss a topic and then one week discussing the topic with students in Japan using the internet and online chatrooms.  Really cool.  I love that my students are using English for a real reason and that they are using English to learn about their own culture as well as Japanese culture.  Let me say it again, really cool.
  
• I strained my back last Friday.  We spent our Moon Festival holiday (this past weekend) watching movies and doing not much more than that. 
  
• Law has taken superb care of me when I've not been able to move quickly and take care of as much as I do when I'm feeling better. 
  
• I've cried several times this weekend in appreciation for all he does for me.  He truly has been so sweet.  It's really hard to believe that he knows me SO well--all the good and ALL the bad--and chooses to still love me completely anyway.  It is humbling.
  
• I'm studying Chinese again.  I've not actually studied language in . . . oh, about a decade.  I really wanna work on my reading and writing.  And, to improve my oral self-expression.  I'm really good at ordering food, shopping, and answering questions about myself, but I fail when it comes to carrying a conversation on a deeper more complex topic.  I can listen and understand, but I'm unable to respond in Chinese the way I want to.  Hence, the studying again.
  
• I stumbled upon Laura Story a little while ago.  I've been listening to her stuff over and over.  I've not done that in awhile.  Her song "Grace" is available free here (you do have to register though).

I could keep going, but for now, I need to go get ready for my classes tomorrow. 

I miss blogging, and hope to get back to it sooner rather than later.

wu mama

We found out this week that Lawrance's mom has stage 3 liver cancer.   We've been told to expect her time left on earth to not be very long. 

My husband and his siblings are in the midst of making lots of decisions, trying how to provide the best care for their mother and father right now.  

We would very much appreciate prayers for the Wu family right now. 

The one praise this week has been that Wu MaMa accepted Christ as her savior on Wednesday.  After Lawrance shared his testimony, a dear Christian friend invited Wu MaMa to believe and she did. Father is merciful to the end.  I am so thankful for his patience and mercy!!  Praise Him!

So, in the midst of a heartbreaking situation there is hope. 

Right now, I will just leave it at this . . . we thank you for going to the Father on our behalf.

 

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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.

He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 
Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 

The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

(Psalm 121)

i delighted in the lord . . . and he gave me YOU

I love you Lawrance!!  I thank God daily for making you my husband.

What a privilege to walk life next to you, with you. What great joy is mine . . . all because God is kind and gave me to you and you to me.

Happy 1st  Anniversary, LaoGong!!

birth day for my new nephew

I don't have much time . . . but I did just want to shout from the mountain tops that my sister gave birth to a BEAUTIFUL 12 pound 4 oz baby boy on Thursday, August 27!!  He shares his birthday with two of his great-grandmothers!! 

Welcome to the world Clayton Joe!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm in love with this newest little guy!!! 

I can't wait to snuggle with him . . . I just hope he hasn't lost his precious baby smell by the time I get to hold him!!

dinner at dudu cafe

One of our favorite restaurants is called DuDu Cafe.  It is a family style restaurant that serves food that is most similar to Chinese dishes you might find in the States.

Here's what we had. . .


{bamboo shoot, served cold}

{cashew chicken}

{kung pao chicken}

{pumpkin seafood soup}

{beef with green peppers}

Now do you see why we like it?  DELICIOUS!!!

missing home

I didn't get to go back to the good ole USA this summer.  :( 

I miss home.  I miss my parents.  I miss my brother and sister.  I miss my grandparents.

And, I'm sad that I don't get to be there in a few days when my sister gives birth to my second nephew!

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And, I'm sad I don't get to be there when my brother starts the new football season.

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And, I'm sad I don't get to be there to play with this cuttie pie who has changed SO much since I last saw him!!

Yep, I'm missing home . . . big time this week.

Happy Father's Day!! and a Typhoon

Today is Father's Day in Taiwan. Here's why:

Daddy in Chinese is "BaBa."
Eight in Chinese is also "Ba." So, August 8th is "BaBa."
So, Father's Day in Taiwan is August 8th. 

Actually, many people here are surprised to hear that Father's Day in America is not August 8th but rather in June. 

Today is also the 2nd typhoon day in a row.  Typhoon 莫拉克 has been perhaps the biggest typhoon I've ever experienced.  Officially 6 have died and over 20,000 have been evacuated.

We've had heavy rain and wind for two days in a row now.  It was dumping 3-6 feet of rain per hour.  And, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau, "the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 144kph."

Signs, plants, and mopeds have been down all over our city, streetlights aren't working, tree limbs are in the streets, and intersections are flooded. 

We took Lawrance's parents out to lunch despite the typhoon, but other than that, we've been locked inside.

So, I'd like to let Lawrance introduce his parents to you.  So, please meet my in-laws:

unfortunately and fortunately

I now like chocolate for more than one reason.  Lawrance came home with a new chocolate-colored camera last week.  

After we got the new camera, we, unfortunately and fortunately, learned that our older camera wasn't as broken as we thought.  (Unfortunately since we didn't "need" to buy a new camera, and fortunately because now we each have our own camera.)

At first we thought it was just the perpetually shaking shutter, which rendered the camera useless even with power.  And, then since "fully charged" batteries were not able to power up the camera for more than five seconds, we assumed that it was dead for sure.  

When we got the battery charger for the new camera, we noticed our older camera batteries fit inside, so we charged our old batteries in the new charger.  We discovered that the perpetual shaking of the shutter stopped once the batteries were charged with our new charger. 

So, it wasn't our camera that was broken.  And it wasn't our batteries that were bad.  So, it must have been our older battery charger, right?  But, the sad thing is . . . the charger wasn't broken either.  The charger was just dusty, so the connection was bad. 

So, I got a new camera all because we have lots of dust in Taiwan.

So . . . the moral of the story is if you think you have a bad camera or bad batteries, make sure the charger is clean before you reach your final verdict on the state of your camera. :)

Anywho, here are some of the photos we've taken with our new camera:

{our Sunday ritual of "ice"}

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{cutest bug zapper ever}

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{one of Law's fav snacks--dried tofu--kinda like "tofu jerky"}
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{where I teach English on Fridays--at a livestock research institute}
~*~*~

{buying a train ticket}

my first birthday married

I made the traditional birthday cake for my mom's side of the family.  It is a peppermint cake.  It is really easy--add a few drops of green food coloring and a 1 teaspoon of peppermint oil to "white" or plain cake batter.  Layer with chocolate frosting and crushed peppermints.  DELICIOUS!!!

But . . .  there was one huge disappointment . . . the "peppermints" I bought here in Taiwan had some extra "flavor" (menthol).  That's just not right on a birthday cake!! :)

My birthday present was the purse sitting behind the flowers . . . I got to pick  it out. 

And, on the Saturday before my birthday, Lawrance came home with the flowers.  At that time all the lilies were closed.  It was fun watching them one by one throughout the week.  He is SO thoughtful!! :)

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And, Lawrance took me out to a stake place called "Tasty."  They have a set meal that is 7 courses--for most of the courses you get to choose between 2 or 3 items.  It was very nice! 

I think they have some of the best wait staff in Taiwan. 

Not all of the courses and also not in the correct order, but to give you the basic idea . . .

Maybe not the best dessert they have but definitely the coolest (as in most unique) is a fried chocolate wanton that you break and pour over vanilla ice cream.  Then you get to eat the rest of the fried chocolate wanton.

a wonderful wedding gift

We got some amazingly creative wedding gifts that I will share details of with you a bit later.  Today, I just wanna celebrate our biggest gift of all. . . . a new fridge!! :)

Many friends and family (on both sides of the ocean) graciously gave us cash as a wedding gift.  It is the traditional wedding gift in Taiwan, but not so in America.  However, we are very thankful for all our American friends and family understanding that many traditional wedding gifts from a registry in America would have been quite impractical. (Nevertheless we did register for a few items for our home, and I know my mom and sister would love to see what they look like in place, so I'll do that a bit later too.)

Boy, I am gabby today!! :)  Guess I must be excited. ;)

So . . . now . . . . for the grand revealing . . . .our beautiful new fridge that arrived yesterday: 

Although it fits perfectly in the "fridge spot," from this photo it seems to dwarf our entire kitchen! :) 

The fridge part is on top (which I LOVE).  I love being able to stare directly into the fridge part.  Before we had a freezer top fridge, so I had to lean over and down to look into it.

Then below the two door fridge, there are two sections that pull out.  The middle section is for fresh fruit and veggies (a huge crisper, I guess).  And the bottom is the freezer.

So, instead of shelves, it is kinda like a top loading deep freeze--just pile and stack.  I really like it.

Here are some shots I took last night of the inside of our new fridge--this might be the only time I ever show you the inside . . . so make sure you take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity. ;)  (Clicking the photos will take you to their flickr page.)

 

                   

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And, here are a few photos taken before new fridge's arrival:
   

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And, here is how the little black fridge became black . . .

This fridge was nearly 20 years old.  It was given to me when I first moved to Taiwan.  Some missionaries on the island were leaving to go back to the States and were giving it away. 

Some other missionaries that knew I was coming took it and kept it for a few months, then when I arrived they gave it to me. 

I love the way the missionaries I've met here take care of one another and bless each other by sharing not only material stuff but of their time and care too.  God is good.

We loved little black, but he was not working quite as hard as he once was. Sometimes he would forget to work at all, and at other times he would work so hard EVERYthing--even the eggs in the fridge door--would be frozen! 

He did quit working all together back in 2006, but then he came back on.  I know it sounds weird or insanely selfish to some that God would care about insignificant me and my stupid old fridge, but I honestly believe that God caused it to work again.  He cared for the widow and her son by causing her oil to run over; he cared for me by allowing a broken machine to keep running for three more years.  He is a God who cares about us and meets our physical needs.  What a great God we serve!!

red bombs

Tuesday night we folded, stuffed, and addressed all the Taiwanese wedding invitations.  We are still missing a few addresses . . . but this is one major "to do" that we got done. :)  YAY!!!

Our invitations to the Taiwanese ceremony and banquet are traditional Taiwanese in style . . . and yes, they are red with gold lettering.  Lawrance's parents picked them out.

The inside wording follows the traditional form and announces that an oldest son will be marrying an oldest daughter.  And, we chose to go with Chinese only for these invites.

Oh, yeah, and, like most Taiwanese wedding invitations, they are scented too. 

In Taiwan, wedding invitations are known as "red bombs" because receiving one means you must now "pay money" (wedding gifts are not given, but red envelopes with cash inside are given ).  I think it is kinda sad that, like children, wedding celebrations are considered a burden and not a blessing.  Don't get me wrong, Taiwanese people love weddings . . . but to have the first gut reaction to be "oh no, a red bomb" . . . well, that's just sad.

Anywho, I guess this week are bombing close friends and family in Taiwan.

perfectionism

Where do I sign up for the official membership card of the "yes, I struggle with perfectionism" club?

Disclaimer: What follows is TOTAL stream of conscious rambling of some thoughts that just need to clear my head.

Ok, so we've had our wedding pictures back for a little while now . . . and since I've not had time yet to do anything "perfectly" with them yet, they sit locked in my private flickr account.  Poor little neglected photos, sitting there are wonderful and everything not able to be seen in all their splendor because I struggle with perfectionism.

Actually, blogging and teaching for six years had helped me a lot to get over the need to be perfect in many ways . . . and yet I've slipped back up in the blogging aspect, so instead of continuing to give into it I am just going to bite the bullet and go for it again.  I can't blog perfectly, so it is either blog imperfectly or not at all.  I've decided I'd rather blog that not blog . . . so imperfect here we come. 

I'm not sure how being married will change the shape and scope of my blogging . . . I know it will but I still am not exactly sure how.  I've got lots of blogging ideas bouncing around in my head.  There are still lots of simply taiwan ideas to get out there; I still wanna blog all about the wedding; I still have lots to post about our time in Texas before (and after) the wedding . . .and then there's just regular life and my adventures in becoming a Taiwanese wife that is really American.

So. . . thanks for your patience in the past few months as I slipped off the blogging train while I fell in love, got engaged and then married.  In the coming months there is going to be some "back blogging" and some "current blogging" and just about everything in between . . . as I struggle to once again allow myself to be an imperfect blogger.

2 more weeks!!

In two weeks I will be ecstatic with anticipation!!  In two weeks I will be beside myself with joy. 

Because . . . . in two weeks, this guy:

is coming to Texas!!

I can't believe we've already been apart for 25 days.  The time has actually gone by quite fast, but it is getting harder and harder to be apart.  But, I am oh so very thankful for unlimited international calling for only 4 USD a month with skype--can't beat that.

I don't know how military wives do it.  I'm not even his wife yet, and it hurts to be apart.  And, we only have to be apart for 39 days, but still it's not easy.  So, how they do it . . . I have no clue and much more respect.

making decisions

I've made more decisions in the past three weeks than I think I have in the past three years!!

I mean just deciding about the cake alone I think I must have made at least 15-20 decisions!  It's crazy!!  I had no idea wedding planning included this much deciding.

I am SO thankful that we went with the inn.  It was so much easier just answering her questions and choosing from preselected possibilities then thinking and searching and planning and trying to make it all work.  Even having to think of all the questions that needed answering would be an insurmountable task!

And don't even get me started on how hard making all those decisions on music are.  Once I choose what song I want to use, I then have to sort through and find the version I like best.  It can be overwhelming to say the least.  I have set this task aside and will work with Lawrance on it when he is here.

Oh, yeah, all that and I'm planning all the things I want Lawrance to experience while he is here for a month.

And, I made a small registry  . . . that just about killed me.  I honestly was overwhelmed with all the decision making at that time.  Do we really need this?  Do we need that one or this one more?  Is there room for this in our suitcases?  Is it really worth the space and weight it will take up? 

I am SO thankful my brother (who for those of you who don't know is only 14) went with me.  It's summer vacation; he was bored; there was a "gun" to use . . . it was a great excuse to get out of the house.  Actually, he was a blessing.  A few times he got a little impatient with me and was like "yes.  get it;" scan.  But, for the most part he helped me think though and make decisions.  And most of all he was incredibly patient.  I did however have to remove duct tape, a ficus tree, a turquoise tamale steamer, a bobble head thing, and a few other random surprise items off the registry when I got home. :)

Oh, yeah, and another person who has been awesome in all this is my mom.  She has also been really patient and understanding too.  She also keeps chanting "no second guessing" or "nope, can't rethink it now" to me. :)  After I added a fourth color two weeks ago, she stated firmly "no more changes." 

And, when I've vented to Lawrance he's been good about either encouraging me and supporting me or about helping me refocus and keep the Main thing the main thing.  And, of course, he is constantly bathing the all of the wedding planning in prayer.  What a blessing!

Ok, so . . . . all that to say. . . . I am SO tired of making decisions.  I have no idea how some of you who have long engagements spend a year or longer doing this.  I think I would literally crash and burn.

But, praise God!  I think I'm on the downward slope now and have made the majority of the decisions regarding wedding ceremony and reception.  Just need to spend some more time planning how to spend our time together before the wedding experiencing life in America.

our invitations

(Now, I am "live blogging"--as opposed to reposting past posts--the wedding.)

Yesterday I sent out our invitations to the American wedding.  Yipee!!

In planning our whole wedding . . . we don't necessarily want to "buck tradition," but we don't want to be bound by it or to it either.  We are seeking to do things in a simple way that doesn't cause lots of stress and that also honors our Father. 

Ever since I saw my parent's wedding invitation when I was a child--which included an engagement photo of them on the invitation--I've also wanted a photo on my own wedding invitation.  And since everyone we invite to the American wedding hasn't seen me in two years and won't meet Lawrance till August, we thought having photos on our wedding invite would help "introduce us."

Originally I was going to just make my own photo-based wedding invitations, but we decided that paying someone to design them for us might cost a little more but would be less stress.  So that is the route we took. 

We are both very pleased with the results!!

In addition to going non-traditional with the layout/design/paper of our wedding invite we also changed the words of the invite to be uniquely ours but still seem formal/traditional.

Here is the text of the invite (minus all the specific details):

With joyful hearts
Rev. & Mrs. Kenneth Parmley
invite you to join them in celebrating
the union of their daughter 

Amanda Nicole
to
Lawrance Aaron 
son of Mr. & Mrs. Sen-Song Wu
as they glorify God
for what He is graciously joining together.

On the return address label we used a "double happiness" seal/stamp.  This double happiness character is used at Taiwanese weddings and is hung on doors and walls of a new couple's room or home.  It is called "double happiness" because it is the word "joy" twice.  Kinda like "joy joy"--meaning that when two are joined together there is double the joy.

howdy yall!

Greetings from Texas!!

I've been back in America for about two weeks now.  It's been good to be with family--both day in and day out and at family reunions.  It was wonderful to hold my nephew, the cutest little boy, in the world!!  And, I've enjoyed eating yummy Mexican food and Bluebell ice cream.

But, oh, is it ever so hard to be away from the man who has become my fiance and will, in about two months, become my husband. 

Wedding planning has had it's ups and downs.  It's been fun at times but at other times it has been a little stressful.   When it gets stressful it is always a reminder to refocus and remember Who is to be the center of our wedding.  Not always easy to refocus but necessary.

Pictures from the past two weeks coming soon. :)

engagement photos

Thursday, Abu, a friend of ours, helped us take some engagement photos so we could make a photo-based wedding invitation.  We had SO MUCH FUN!!!  We kept laughing and laughing . . . so all the smiles you see . . . totally real. :) 

Abu took over 400 photos  . . . quickly picking out MY favorites leaves us with over 80 to choose from--that doesn't even include Lawrance's faves which might be different than mine (he let me download to my computer first, so he's only seen my faves so far).  We only need four for the invites--it's going to be really hard to choose.

(Random FYI: The church that is in the back of some of the photos is most likely where we will have the Taiwanese wedding.)

I leave tomorrow . . . . oh it's going to be hard to say goodbye to this guy who delights my heart so.  So . . . I'm leaving the computer now so I can finish grading, packing, and cleaning, so that I can spend the rest of my time with "my guy."  Thanks so much for all the wonderfully kind words and congratulations!!  Yall are so sweet!

Here are some of our "outtakes."  They aren't the most attractive photos . . . BUT . . .I love the way they show how much we enjoy each other!!! :)

someone to walk this unknown path with

This is our story of God's grace . . .

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

It's a simple story really.
Two people learning to trust God.
Two winding paths that God made straight.
Two straight paths that He choose to cross at just the right time. 
. . .
The Creator of romance, the Maker who arranged the first "boy meets girl" in the Garden so long ago, is still at work. [Taken from Joshua Harris' book Boy Meets Girl]

When I read those words months ago when I first started dating the man I will soon marry . . . I knew those were the words I wanted to use on my blog to announce my engagement!! :)

Needless to say a lot has happened recently.  God has been kind, very kind!!

Some of you found out that I had a boyfriend in real life, some of you found out by email, but for many of you this is coming as a total shock and surprise.  :) 

I promise I didn't just decide yesterday to marry the guy next to me on the bus.  And, I also promise that we didn't keep our relationship secret from our family and in-real-life friends.  We just choose to keep our relationship off the blog for a couple of reasons. 

And, that is really what made blogging these past few months difficult . . . I couldn't blog about what I really wanted to . . . and I was kinda busy spending time with the man of my dreams. :)
 
We are working on putting our story online, so those of you who have not been walking next to us as God brought us together and we fell in love can praise God with us now as we tell our story of His grace in our lives.

You can go to our wedding site and/or wedding blog to read more, but here are the basic details:
Lord willing, Lawrance Aaron Wu and I will be married on August 31, 2008 in Texas. 
We will have another celebration here in Taiwan at the end of the year, and we will continue to live, work, and minister in Taiwan--just together, rather than apart. :)

Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!  (Psalm 126:3 NLT)

This coming Monday, I will, Lord willing, leave Taiwan and go Stateside for a little over two months.  I will leave single, but return married to an awesome man who loves the Lord and has a heart that beats strongly to share the gospel with the lost.  What a blessing!!

We would appreciate your prayers for us as we make all the transitions that we will face in the coming weeks and months.  Our greatest desire is for God to be glorified, please pray that as we wrap up things here, transition to a different country for awhile, and plan for both a wedding and a life together that we can keep our focus on Christ alone.

silence

I can't believe my blog has been silent for 17 days!!!  I am pretty sure that is the longest I've gone in the past two and a half years without blogging.

In about five days I will be going home for the first time in two years . . . YIPEE!  There is still a lot that needs to happen before then . . .

I just wanted to say hi and that I'm still doing very well . . . silence isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I'll come back to blogging soon . . . just need to catch my breath in real life first. :)

awol

So . . . life got even too busy for some simple blogging.  I'll get back to simply taiwan soon. 

Thank you to those of you who emailed or commented and asked if I was doing ok.  I am doing great!!

God has been kind, very kind. 

birthday cakes galore!

One of the benefits of having 8 hours of class on my birthday is that over 140 people sang happy birthday to me!

And . . . three of my classes surprised me with cakes!!

The first class actually used another student from another class to tell me they were in an assembly in another building, and our class would be canceled and I was free to go home.  I walked by their classroom before my class and it really was empty (little did I know they were hidding in the stairwell).  I debated for a moment whether to trust them or not.  I decided they were trustworthy.

I sent a text to one of the students and told her what I expected them to have completed by our next class.  But, about 5 min into class time the three guys in the class came into my office and told me the assembly was over and they were ready for class.  So, we all went back to the classroom.  I was thinking about how amazing these kids were since they were willing to have class even though they actually had a free pass for the final hour of the day. 

When we walked into the classroom, there was a party going on. :)  (Can you see the numbers on the cake?  That's right . . . 18!!!)



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They had transformed the chalkboard into a giant birthday card.



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Another class came back from the break during the second hour of class with a cake . . . and so we had a party too! :)



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Even though my last class wasn't over till 9:00 and I didn't get home till after 9:30, some special friends were waiting for at my neighbor's home with pizza and cake to celebrate with me.  I don't have picture of that cake, but here I am with my neighbor and her daughters. (I don't know if you can tell, but to me, I look SO TIRED.)



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Then the following day, 15 minutes into class, some of the "absent students" came in carrying a cake and singing "Happy Birthday!"  First thing one of them told me after singing was "you can't count me tardy" (apparently, I'm known for being strict about that.)



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Then later during the week of my birthday, a dear friend, Anna, stopped by with a beautiful little cake to help me celebrate my birthday.  She had seen my blog on Monday and thought I needed some cheering up--isn't that so sweet!!



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So, if I had to be in school all day on my birthday, it was nice being surprised so many times! :)  And, I also appreciate the others who through out the week made me feel special too. :)