A Season of Thanksgiving

During the week of the American Thanksgiving, our family had the privilege of participating in three separate but wonderful celebrations. Pictures of these events can be seen on our DropShots page. The link is on the right side of this page.

Our first was with our church BCC (Bilingual Christian Church). It had its an annual Sunday turkey lunch. Eating cooked turkeys from a local hotel and other prepared side dishes, the congregation enjoyed a semi-western traditional Thanksgiving meal. We even had pumpkin pies. As a side, Matt and Monette (a kidney transplant doctor from the Philippines) carved several turkeys while Susan helped organize the meal. It was also wonderful to see the youth group serve the food. As a group, BCC seems to be coming together, reaching people of all ages, slowly growing and developing Christian Taiwanese leadership.

Our second Thanksgiving meal was in our apartment. Susan cooked and prepared her first turkey for a group of sixteen (church family and several from the Morrison community). The event was truly a time to thank God for all His wonderful blessings.

Finally, on Saturday, we helped host a Thanksgiving pitch-in for the Free Methodist missionaries in Taiwan. This was a great time to catch up with everyone and fellowship with missionaries we often hear about but rarely see. David Yardy, F.M.C. Asian director, and his wife shared about the many exciting ways the Free Methodist Church is working, assisting, and encouraging brothers and sisters around Asia. It was awesome. God is good all the time! Another bonus of this gathering was Josh and Jake getting to make friends with some of the kids they will go to school with in Taichung. They are now a little less leery of our impending move next summer to Morrison's central campus in Taiwan.

Extra

Matt is now helping with an English club at I-Shou University just up the mountain from our campus. The club is offered as a way for students to learn and practice English in a topical way. The leaders teach Christian songs and lead a short Bible study at the end of the meeting. Our goal is focused: helping these students understand God's love for them.

Susan is involved in an Alpha class after church on Sundays. This class is designed to give an overview of Christianity and give people a chance to question and learn in a none threatening environment. These opportunities are really getting us excited about how we can serve God in Taiwan through our current church situation.

Prayer Requests

1. The I-Shou University English club started last Monday nights. There were between 15 to 18 students. Pray that the leaders are able to develop meaningful relationships with these students. Pray that Jesus is seen and felt during the four meeting. In a side note, I met a Jewish man last Monday walking to the car. In a short conversation, he said he was new to Taiwan and was lonely. The other leader I was with chatted with the man (Rick) and exchanged phone numbers. Like the I-Shou students, pray that Rick sees Jesus and asks Him into his heart.

2. Susan is going to help lead a women's Bible study in English at a local hospital on Wednesday afternoons. Pray for clear communication despite the significant language barrier.

Year One Over, Year Two Full Steam Ahead

Wow! The Strange family is well into our second school year at Morrison Academy, Kaohsiung (M.A.K.). We apologize for taking so long to write and let you know how things are going. To God goes all praise and thanks for where He has brought us. I continue to learn that it is about Him and not me. It is about His glory and not mine. It is about His love, mercy, and plans not mine. I think back to last year and am amazed at how far God has taken us. God is amazing and has brought use through a year of highs and lows. Listed below are some areas of interest:

Our Family~
We had a bit of a bumpy reentry this fall. Maybe it had something to do with an excessively fun summer with little responsibilities and not much solitude, but we were all a bit grumpy and out of sorts. Caleb is definitely maturing in his Christian faith. Along with this deeper understanding of spiritual matters has come a burden for his classmates at school. Unfortunately they are not too receptive to his or anyone else’s ideas. This has been somewhat disappointing for him. However, he is really learning to lean on Christ for his encouragement. This is the most amazing thing for us as parents. We are so blessed by what God is doing in Caleb’s life, even though at times it has been painful for us to see him struggling. This year has also brought changes for Rachel. She has Matt and me for her teachers. This has been a hard adjustment. Her best friend also moved to another school so she has had a few social challenges. Josh and Jake are still in the little kid stage where everything is great if you get to play outside and get dessert after dinner. The onset of adolescence has brought huge and unexpected changes into our home but with the challenges we also see the great possibilities in our kids and our encouraged to see their faith strengthened and stretched.

Matt is still teaching fifth grade but he is also preparing for a new job next year. In order to be familiar with Morrison policies and procedures he is doing a lot of observing, reading, and regularly attending meetings in other parts of the Island. Just recently he traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a conference. Susan is working half days in the school library and also still teaching the fifth grade Bible class.

We are excited to be more involved in ministry this year. Matt is helping with a university English class based on the Bible. He is a "whatever and whenever needed volunteer" on Sunday morning, doing some subbing, greeting, and helping Susan prepare and serve the Sunday lunch. Susan is helping with a seeker Bible Study on Sunday afternoons called Alpha. She is also helping to host a monthly ladies luncheon. Caleb is serving on the leadership team for the school youth group. He just returned from a great weekend of training.



Prayer Requests~

• The salvation of students and other Taiwanese we serve.


• Preparations for the move to Taichung next summer: our children's adjustment, finding a place to live, making new friends, adjusting to new responsibilities


• Susan to decide what to do next year in Taichung- possibilities are: taking formal Chinese lessons or teaching at the school

Coming Soon: Updates about the First Half of 2007