Travels around Taiwan

Even though Taiwan is a small country, there certainly is a lot to see and do here.  Just a little bigger than Vancouver Island, Taiwan boasts a population of over 23 million.  Most of the people live in the bigger cities on the west coast, the east coast is dotted with rocky beaches and smaller cities, and mountains and aboriginal villages span the central area in between.  Taiwan also has several smaller yet beautiful islands in the surrounding area.  

Whether you like big metropolitan areas, quaint farming villages, fresh mountain air, or the sea breeze along sandy beaches, there is something for everyone to enjoy in Taiwan.  I've been so blessed to have travelled to several different places throughout the country already but, as always with me, there are still so many other places that I would like to visit!

Hualien

Hualien is a city on the east coast of Taiwan, which I was able to visit in early February.  My friend Jocelyn from Ray of Hope went to visit our other friend Isuz, who's grandmother passed away.  We went to pay our respect and attend her memorial.  It was a beautiful celebration of her life and although it's always sad to say goodbye to a loved one, all of her family were at peace, knowing that she is now in the wonderful presence of the Lord and also that they will see her in heaven again someday.  

Isuz is an aboriginal Taiwanese, from the Bunun tribe so it was also interesting to learn more about aboriginal customs and culture.

Ruisui (pronounced ray-sway)
The aboriginal farming village where Isuz is from

Local aboriginal art adorns the village streets

View of the Pacific coast from the train

Pingtung

Pingtung is in south central Taiwan, towards the mountains.  My friend Jessie and I came here to go hiking one day because we were both craving nature and itching to get out of the city.  We hiked a relatively easy hike and ended up at a waterfall where other Taiwanese hikers took a refreshing dip in the pool of water to cool off from the heat.  We took our time driving back, slowly making our way through the scenic mountain roads - just the drive alone is worth it!

Came across some waterfalls while hiking

One of many rice fields in the countryside

View of the mountains

Watching the sunset while having dinner

We loved Pingtung so much that we came back another day.  We visited one of the most beautiful churches that I've seen in Taiwan, a small aboriginal church constructed with big, natural stones.  It was wonderful to hear the people lifting up their songs of worship to God in their angelic voices and their local language.  We ended the day with a stop at one of the local tea shops, famous for their pounded tea.  We learned how to grind the ingredients by hand with a mortar and pestle and then relaxed for awhile, savouring every sip of this slightly sweet and nutty flavoured tea.

Wufei (pronounced oo-fay) aboriginal church

The service is preached in two languages - their aboriginal language and Taiwanese
The congregants all wear traditional clothing and the women wear crowns made of flowers

A beautiful variety of flowers grow in the wild 

Learning how to make lei-cha, a special type of pounded tea

All dressed up in traditional Taiwanese clothing
The color and type of banding indicates your status in society

Meinong

Meinong is also in the south central part of Taiwan, full of lush scenery and mountains in the distance.  Leah, a dear woman from the USA was volunteering with Ray of Hope for a month so while she was here I took her and one of the moms out for a day trip.  We visited the Meinong Folk village where they make the traditional paper umbrellas, stopped off at the shop where they make traditional clothing, and then made sure that we stopped in for dinner consisting of local fare.

Miaoli

Miaoli is in the central mountainous area of Taiwan so it's great for camping!  Being a nature girl at heart you can imagine my excitement to go camping.  Taiwanese camping is a little less rustic compared to Canada.  For example, our campsite had a pre-constructed wooden frame for your tent, complete with a wooden floor to keep you off the ground and a roof to keep the rain away.  Each site is pretty much right beside each other so trees are pretty much non-existent, as is privacy.  Our campsite was also complete with running water, flush toilets, and showers so it was almost like camping in luxury.  The culture is the same, however, where having all of the right gear and bringing the best food for camping is of upmost importance.  The one thing that was missing was a campfire pit - due to the high-risk of fire they are simply not permitted.  Not to mention nobody wants to sit around a fire when it's already 32 degrees Celsius at night!

Our campsite, complete with gazebo and tent

The most important question when camping...
"What's for dinner?"

The Taiwanese know how to eat
12 course meals are not limited to banquets, they're also appropriate when camping

Old style Taiwanese house that we came across when hiking

Driving home always involves stopping off at every tourist spot along the way

Here we are at one of Taiwan's oldest railway hubs

Driving home also always involves stopping off at every city along the way
and eating whatever food that city is famous for

Tainan

Tainan is in the southwestern part of Taiwan and it's where I currently call home.  People here always talk about the cultural difference between northern and southern Taiwan in that the southern Taiwanese are known to be more friendly, more helpful, and more easygoing.  Now that I've lived here for 9 months I've really started to notice that in general it's true.  Perhaps it has something to do with the weather, since for most days of the year you can find sunshine and blue skies in Tainan compared to the constant cloudy and rainy days of Taipei.

Tainan is one of the oldest cities in Taiwan and so the city is a mix of old, historic buildings as well as the new.  It also boasts having over 500 temples within it's city limits, some of which are Buddhist but most are for the traditional Taiwanese religion.

Anping tree house
Formerly an abandoned warehouse,  banyan tree roots started grow within and overtop of the building,
creating a unique effect

Hanging out in Anping with my classmates and teachers from the Chinese Language Center

Former British Tait and Co. Trading Post
Established in 1867

The gate of just one of the many temples in Taiwan

Lukang ancient artifacts museum

Trying out the traditional game of walking on stilts

Outside an traditional-style house in Lukang

Walking the narrow streets in Lukang,
wide enough only for one person to pass through

Chikan Lou aka Fort Provintia
Formerly an old Dutch fort, where Taiwan's hero Koxinga defeated the Dutch

Carp pond inside Chikan Lou

Penghu

Penghu is an island off the west coast of Taiwan.  It's small enough that you can rent a scooter and drive around the island in a day, stopping off at all the scenic spots for pictures.  It's a quaint place to visit and perfect for a weekend getaway.

Riding a scooter is one of the easiest and funnest ways to tour around the island

Yuwengdao Lighthouse

The beach where we went snorkelling for the day
Saw all sorts of neat colourful coral, electric blue fish, and jellyfish

Appropriately named the "Whale Cave"

Watching the sunset over the Xiying Rainbow Bridge at Penghu Bay

Attending the church service and visiting the pastors at Jiangju Island
The church is over 50 years old

A beautiful, remote spot overlooking the ocean

Finishing our trip with a cuppa jo

My God, my Provider

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

Last February, after obeying the leading of the Lord to resign from my job as a physiotherapist and to take a step out into missions work, I had no idea how I was going to support myself financially.  If I looked at the circumstances, it would have seemed like such a foolish decision at the time.  However, I've experienced God's faithfulness many times before and I knew that He would work things out in a way that only God can.  God is Jehovah Jireh, He is my Provider.  I know that as I follow His calling for my life He will always provide for my every need.

Looking back over the past year and a half, I continue to be amazed at just how awesome God is.  He has, indeed, provided for me this whole entire journey.  Even before I left Canada, God already had all of my financial support lined up for my time in Taiwan.  As a brand new missionary, it was confirmation that I was doing the right thing and that this was His will for my life.  It was also confirmation that He would always provide for whatever asked me to do and that all I needed to do was to step out and obey His calling.  

Not only has the Lord provided all of the finances I need but He has also provided many other important things.  He has grounded me in a great organization at Ray of Hope, and at Dayspring Church, which have both become my family in Taiwan.  He has brought friends into my life whom I can share and confide in.  He has brought people to help me when I have practical needs such as how to get a cell phone, how to get scooter insurance, where to get my computer fixed, or how to make an appointment to see a doctor.  He has brought people in my life to take me places to have fun - out for dinner or ice cream, to watch a movie, to the beach, to play soccer, to go camping, hiking, on a bike ride, or even to travel to other places in Taiwan.  

Beyond relationships, God has also provided answers to my prayers, no matter how small or big.  He has provided comfort when I've been homesick or discouraged and peace amidst the storms.  Through His wisdom He has provided me with answers to solutions that seemed too big for me to solve.  And because He's God, He continues to provide me with many opportunities in Taiwan to grow as person and to be more like Christ - whether it's learning Chinese, learning from my mistakes, or learning to love.  Jesus truly has been my Rock and my Refuge, my very present help in time of need.

Recently, I was blessed again by God's continual provision, through an unexpected way...

Every year, my school awards five scholarships to students learning Chinese, one scholarship for every two levels (there are 10 levels altogether).  The scholarships are given based on teacher recommendations as well as the student's performance on a written and oral test.  This semester I studied really hard and managed to complete level B and most of level C instead of only level B like all of my other classmates.  So I thought that I would stand a good chance at winning the level A/B scholarship.  However, when I submitted my application the office informed me that I was not allowed to write the level A/B test but I had to write the level C/D test.  

At first I was a little upset because I didn't think it was very fair.  Even though I had only studied for 6 months I had to compete with students who had already studied for 9 or 12 months and were 1 or 2 books ahead of me.  It felt like I was being penalized for studying hard!  After I thought about it, I figured there would be no way that I could study enough to compete with the higher level students and so I was going to retract my application.  I thought I might as well enjoy my vacation days instead of spending them studying for a scholarship that I had no chance of winning. 

As I prayed about the scholarship though, God spoke to me.  He told me that I should go through with the application, to study what I know, and to do the test for fun.  Oh, and He also told me to have a good attitude about it too.  God is so funny, only He can get away with thinking that cramming for an exam for 3 days would be fun :)  

So I did what He asked, I worked hard and studied everything that I possibly could.  During that time I really felt the peace of God.  However, I spent all that effort only to find out that the test was quite hard.  But instead of getting frustrated or discouraged I remembered what God told me and answered every question the best that I could and tried to have fun.  After I finished the test I really thought that I wasn't going to win the scholarship and that through this experience God was just showing me how to go through difficult situations with a positive attitude.  

By the time the results were announced I had already put the test behind me and had long forgotten about it so I didn't even check to see who had won.  To my surprise my teacher came up to me and told me that I won the level C/D scholarship!  I almost couldn't believe it but then I realized that's just how God works!  You see, initially I figured I could win the scholarship just by relying on my own natural abilities and hard work and could have been prideful about it.  But when the circumstances changed and I was suddenly faced with a seemingly impossible situation, I no longer could rely solely on my own abilities.  Instead I could only lean on, trust in, and have confidence in God to work out the situation for the best.  And He never disappoints - time and time again He always shows His goodness and faithfulness to us!

So be encouraged - this is what our life with God is all about.  Even though sometimes things don't make sense or you don't always understand, put your faith in the Lord.  He has ways of providing for our every need in ways that we never could think up ourselves.  God's way is always the best way and in His way all of the honor, glory, and praise goes to Him!

Ray of Hope Staff Retreat

After pulling off a powerful Stand for Life in Taipei last October as well as a successful fundraising banquet this March, Juanita felt all of the Ray of Hope staff were well-deserving of a get-away retreat.  Not only was this an opportunity to organize this year's events but she also purposed for the team to spend more time together outside of work and to a have a relaxing and spiritually refreshing time away from the city.  And what a great time it was!  Shi-Mu, our Social Worker had a connection through her in-laws with a retreat center in Nantou County, which is in the mountainous region of Taiwan.  Being a nature girl at heart I was so happy to be spend time in the great outdoors again - surrounded by a wide variety of flowers, trees, plants, clear starry nights and mountain fresh air! 

Our rustic cabins at the retreat center in Nantou county

The kitchen and meeting room

Can't beat this kind of scenery!!!

Our "backyard" for a week

Colourful flowers line our front yard

The first two days of our retreat were packed full with planning and organizing Ray of Hope's schedule for the year as well as our annual Walk for Life event, which will be taking place in October this year.  Even though I've only been helping the organization for a short time the one thing about ROH that really stands out is just how much it functions as a family, where everyone cares about each other and helps each other out.  What strikes me even more is how much they've embraced me into their "family" as one of their own.  I don't think they'll ever really know how grateful I truly am for this because without them I wouldn't have adjusted so easily to Taiwan.

Work aside, Juanita ensured that we also fit in a lot of play time.  Our evenings were filled with fun things like making 水餃 "shui jiao" (Chinese dumplings) together, playing Dutch Blitz, watching The Hobbit, giving manicures (somehow Samuel and Tim weren't so keen on getting one lol), team building activities, and just hanging out (which, in Taiwan, always involves eating snacks!).  

A favourite Taiwanese past-time 
Samuel, Joanne and Jocelyn having fun bagging dumplings

Juanita and Leah love See's lollipops and Sudoku

It's amazing the things you learn about other people after you spend extended periods of time with them.  Some are interesting things, such as what they like and dislike.  Some are funny things, like discovering their bad habits, their quirks, whether they're a morning person or if they snore.  But my favourite are those ever so precious moments when a person opens up and shares a piece of themselves, maybe painful or regretful events from their past, or maybe the hopes and dreams that they cherish in their heart.  This is what strong relationships are all about and it was so wonderful to have these kind of moments with all of the ROH staff.

For me, the most special time at the retreat was Friday night because God did some amazing things!  It was a night where we all took communion together and then had a wonderful time of worship, where His presence was so tangible.  Afterwards, I had the honour of sharing about one of my favourite topics - the Holy Spirit.  I shared a little bit about my testimony and how Jesus radically changed my life and then I talked how Holy Spirit has taught, guided and comforted me throughout my Christian journey.   We then had a time of ministry where we saw the Holy Spirit at work - it was so touching to see people experience God and to have their hearts healed and lives changed in such a powerful way.  God is so good!

We spent the last couple of days sight-seeing around the local area.  A group of us wanted to hike up part of Yushan mountain which, at 3952 meters, is the highest mountain in Taiwan.  Unfortunately, the road to the trail head was closed so we were unable to go so we opted for another hike nearby which supposedly had amazing scenery and waterfalls at the end of the trail.  However once we started our hike the fog was so thick that there wasn't much scenery to see.  And if there were waterfalls at the end of the trail, we sure couldn't see them!  It was still a fun hike though and we found an 愛玉 “ai yu" (a popular kind of fig jelly that is served chilled, often with a lemon flavour) along the way, which was refreshing treat!

Just a little foggy

The team on our hiking adventure
This is definitely my kind of trip!

We also did a day-trip to Sun Moon Lake, a beautiful scenic spot in the middle of Taiwan.  Since it's so beautiful it also happens to be a popular tourist destination which in Taiwan means that loads of buses fill the streets, loud crowds pack into small spaces and line ups get ridiculously long.  That being said, it was still a fun day of learning a bit about the Bunun Tribe culture, eating the local black sugar ice cream, riding on the ferry, and walking around the town.  I did spot bikes for rent as well as some bike trails off the main road so I think if I get another opportunity to come back, I definitely want to try the quieter, scenic tour around the lake.

Taiwan's famous Sun Moon Lake
Many, many, many tourists but beautiful nonetheless

Taiwanese-style bannock
Sweet, salty, and on a stick - what's not to love?

For our last night in Nantou, we were invited to a lovely BBQ at our Shi-Mu's husband's family's house.   The Taiwanese love to BBQ and the Aboriginal Taiwanese even moreso.  So a Taiwanese BBQ is basically an extended edition of a western BBQ.  What I mean by that is they start by BBQ-ing beef and chicken.  Nothing too different about that.  But then they add in BBQ pork.  Then BBQ fish.  And then shrimp.  And then squid.  And then other seafood.  And then bread.  And just about anything else they can think of.  Basically it's one delicious BBQ buffet so you better come hungry and you better be ready to eat!  The Taiwanese are always wonderful hosts and one thing they will always make sure of is that you leave their home with a satisfied stomach.  In Chinese culture, feeding people really is a love language.  Since I love to eat, I have absolutely no problem with that :)

Shi-Mu's family at her mother-in-law's house
Aboriginal hospitality always involves a good BBQ!

Our last stop was the Sunday morning service at the Nantou Aboriginal Bunun Tribe church.  Years ago both foreign and aboriginal missionaries spent their lives preaching the gospel in the small tribal villages throughout Taiwan and translating the Bible into their native language.  As a result, most of these villages continue to build their community in and through the local church.  It was so cool to see the majority of the village walking down the street with us in the morning to attend church.  We also happened to attend a special service where they planned for all of the children to minister for most of the service.  Children of all ages, from the toddlers up to the teenagers, lead worship, performed songs and dances for us, read Scripture, and prayed over the congregation.  It blessed me so much to have these little ones engaged in their faith - what an awesome way to end our retreat.

Nantou Aboriginal Bunun Tribe Church

This little Aboriginal girl was pretty excited to have new visitors

It might have had something to do with the candy we gave her :)

It was Children's Day so the kids from Sunday School 

lead worship, performed a song and dance, and read Scriptures 

 Ray of Hope Staff