Settling in ...........

We haven't written much lately because life is falling a bit into place. Nothing too extraordinary to tell or show. The kids have been fighting colds and Jake has been running a slight fever. We have been warned that they might be sick more frequently due to a new environment. I certainly hope not. We do not have our trusted pediatrician over here to help us out.

Some of you have asked about the van and how it is handling. In general we are managing with it OK. I took it out the other day to Nanzih and it really gave me a hard time but I was eventually able to get into reverse. I went to a grocery store that is huge and I got lost inside the store. I know it sounds silly but the parking garage is many levels and so is the store. I could not get myself oriented. I just kept praying and eventually found the car. Needless to say, I am not eager to repeat that experience any time soon.



Rachel and Jake got a phone call to do some more modeling this weekend. I think they asked for Jake because the last time we went he was alot more excited to get his picture taken than Josh. The pay was pretty good and they like, it so we went. There are a few pictures of the experience here. Also there are pictures of us eatting dinner with our new friends the Muirs. They are from Saskatchewan, Canada. The kids get along really well and we like the parents alot too.






Prayer Concerns:
The closing of our house is scheduled for Friday at 9:00. Please pray that the deal goes through and we are relieved of the mortgage payment.

We are trying to settle on a church. Neither of us has ever had to choose a church so it is a big decision. The kids have already cast their vote and Matt and I are still unsure.

The kids get to model. On Saturday we drove north to Tainan for the kids to model for a local pajama add. The photographer ended up using Rachel in quite a few shots and Jake for a few. They made about 30 dollars an hour and they might have a chance to do it again. On the way Rachel got a kick out of Taiwan's version of traffic direction.










In these pictures our friend Regan Muir is "playing" the dad. We were amused that the photographer planned to superimpose a model's head over Regan's in the final shoot. That didn't do alot for his self confidence.

A Few Chapel Pictures~








Here are some pictures from Friday's Chapel. Rachel's class led the worship and acted out a skit about Noah. Here she is onstage with some of her classmates

Here is the elemenatry classes gathered for worship. Josh and Jake were proudly displaying their Tennessesse connections- Go Vols!!!!

Some Great News!!!!
This is the final results- what a well groomed family! The barber asked us to take her picture too.





Matt is recovering from the loss of his manliness. Jake is a "little" nervous about the straight razor.








Rachel's stylish hair do


We are happy to report that we have accepted an offer on our home, PRAISE GOD! We are so blessed to be relieved of this concern. Our closing is set for September 22nd and then we will be poised and ready to focus our complete attention on life in Taiwan. Thank you so much for all your prayers and also thanks to our West Morris Street friends for faithfully cutting the grass. I am sure it made a big difference in the home's presentation.

I am also including a few pictures above (please forgive thier placement I have not yet mastered these technicalities) from our first visit to the barber/beauty shop in Taiwan. Our Chinese teacher graciously agreed to accompany us overcoming the language barrier. Unfortunately she had to leave early before we unsuccessfully tried to convince the barber NOT to cut Matt's beard off. She was very determined. Rachel also got her hair washed and styled, Taiwanese style, great fun. In the future we might try to do the cuts at home but it was a neat experience.

Some pictures~

Just wanted to show you a few pictures from our new home. Our ability to upload to our computer from our camera has just recently been restored.

Here is the view from our back balcony towards the school. It is about a five minute walk.


Also from our back balcony, here is the view of the playground in our yard. There is plenty of play room from the kids

Here are some pictures of the school from the entry and then back looking at our building.

Here are a few shots of Matt's class.




Above is Matt leading after school activities.