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