I'm back!!

Well, to the faithful readers of this blog, here is another update (finally!!)

IO!! I'm so sorry that I have't gotten on sooner, but life has gone bye soo fast these last 3 months... thanks for your patience! =)

Ok, here's the scope, in case you haven't heard yet....

I'M HOME!!!

yeah, as of June 26th, 2008, I've been back in the States.

So, I get to the airport in CA and am SHOCKED to see and hear everything in ENGLISH!!!

Omword! Y'all can't realize how much of a shocker it is to go away for that long and come back and...WOW!!

Here are some of the "First impression of Minnesota" pictures

Mom's first reaction: *HUG* ....then make sure that it was me. ;-)

The boys (along with some great friends) made signs - just in case I couldn't find them =)

I Love this picture!! My girlz knew were to take me right away - man, I missed them sooo much!! <3

Oh, and this is our "Big, Blue whale" ....at least, I think it was...

It was soo nice to see my family again! I've missed them so much!

Please pray for me as I continue to re-adjusting to life back in the States.

It's been hard - I'm use to living around ppls who don't speak English, "little" kids, and I know that I've changed a little bit (as did my family) since I left!

Please pray that the Lord will continue to give me the grace to endure these "little" things, Love (and a servants heart) toward my family, and a mind set only on Him!!

I love you all and I hope to see you soon!! <3

not a blondie anymore....

just thought that I'd let y'all in on the secret...
this girl ain't a blondie anymore!! =)

Ping Dong

Heya Peoples,

here are some pictures from a trip that I went on recently. Wes and Junes went down to Ping Dong to see the new English Village that they were/are setting up. I decided to tag along...

Junes and I had a blast keeping each other entertained on the way down...we played "whose camera is cooler." ;-)

This is the view that I had on the way down there. Ok, maybe we did have more scenery, but this seemed to be a majority of it.

The school was amazing. It wasn't the "biggest" school that I've seen, but it seemed much bigger with over 2,000 students attending it! I think that what I found even more fascinating was that the principle of this school knows each of those students by name! Yeah, talk about amazing...

The principle is a Christian and warmly invited us into her house overnight. It was so nice. SHE was wonderful! Very hospitable and Christ's light was totally flowing through her!!

The E.V. itself was quite cool too. They did a good job of putting this together quite fast.

I met a lot of new friends while I was there. I have some email addresses and I am really hoping that I can get (and stay) in touch with them.

It was so nice to get a "new change of faces" for two days.
Much as I LOVE (LOVE!!!) Elementary school children, it was a nice change to see some middle school children and almost get into conversation. =)

And, if nothing else, it was nice just to hang with Wes and Junes. They are so inspirational and their love for Taiwan is super contagious! I love you guys!! <3 <3

1 year ago...

Believe it or not,

it was exactly one year ago today that i first heard about this whole "TAIWAN" thing.

Interesting, isn't it?

i just happened to be looking throw past journal entries that i had done and i stumbled upon the first one that mentioned Taiwan...it was June 3rd, 2007! It seems so weird to think about it.

i was so naive to everything that i would be doing here -

it was totally a LEAP OF FAITH for me.

Here's what my entry said:

"I might be going to Taiwan! The day after I got back from the journey, mom told be about this trip that Gina S. was going on in July. I said that I was interested, but that was all I needed to say in order to get the ball rolling. Mom told Dad, got more info. from Mrs. Sirpless, and had me call to get an application. Well, I now have both parents full blessing and we are all totally at peace about this whole thing - thatz weird!! Well, here's more info: The trip starts in July (07) and is a year (and a month?) long. IBLP is starting an "Americanized City" in Taiwan so that people can send their "foreign exchange students" to that city instead of sending them all the way to America."

Wow. Little did i know that i would, in fact, be here that year. i thought that i was just playing around, not really getting myself into anything.

i was a little off.

however, i love my job here. i do so much more than just teaching -it's totally all about the relationships here. the children CRAVE relationships, friendships, touch, LOVE!

God has done such a wonderful work here in Taiwan

...and in me!

"Be still and KNOW that I AM God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!"
~Ps. 46:10

I really want to ...AHHHHH!!!!

OK, this is too random, but those two blogs below were posted after I had deleted them ON ACCIDENT 2 times....and that was in one day!! BLOGGER NEEDS AN UNDO BUTTON!!!
needless to say, I almost threw my computer (along with blogger) out the window!!
However, since you are reading this, that means that I didn't and by God's grace, I will continue to blog....
that's all for now =D

Memories...#2

!!HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2008

yeah, so I know that this is a little late, but hey,

"better late than never!" ;-)

So, we celebrated this past New Years right outside Taipei 101, currently (correct me if I am wrong) THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD!! =D

It was so much fun to go hang out with "my" girlz!

(Rachel, Nichole, Me, Ruthie, Ede)

We had some good time; Visiting memorials at 10pm, seeing sights, hugging random objects... yeah, it was a good night!

Above is the "little girls" after their coffee...
Below is the "little girls" after their coffee wore off...

*Kisses*
That's to all of our family back in the States...who we were missing sooo much!

At this point we were getting really tired...and I almost fell asleep...
1 hr can go by really slowly if you are cold, tired, and sitting on wet grass... ;-)

However, after all that waiting and "patience workout," we finally got to see what we came for...

THE FIREWORKS!!!

I love fireworks - they are so amazing and "booming"-full (ok, that was a lame word, but I don't know how to describe them...)

So, the evening was quite enjoyable....

but not half as cool as the "fun" we had waiting in line for a train ticket for 5+hrs... in the middle of 10,000+ ppls!!! IO!!! =D


(try finding me in this crowd!! lol)

Memories... #1

OK, I FINALLY got the pic's from my friend, edited them, and am now able to show you what I did in...

HONG KONG

We had some wonderful memories in Hong Kong, although I was sick, so I mostly stayed in the Hotel. However, we did get to go to this amazing church where we all agreed God's presence was in abundance...

We got to go out to lunch afterwards with a bunch of fun people, whom we got to talk to about all their ministries that they were involved in.

It was a very inspiring lunch time.

Oh, and some of us also found a Starbucks - go fig. =D

Check out the pic's

Hey, just as an FYI for you folks who don't know...

I HAVE A PICASA!!

yeppers, so check it out and leave a comment!

You'll find me at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/walkingbyfaith09

Soooooo......

Take a look!

Love ya all lots!!

God's Love ...and little pink hearts <3 <3

God.

His Love is sooo big that I don't ever think that I will even be able to comprehend it.

He shows me his love for me in new ways every day, but so often I find myself missing it.

Lately He has been opening my eyes to it though.
Let me tell you what I saw...

After a long and exhausting day of teaching, I went to the office to find a box with my name on it. It was from all of my Bible Quizzing friends back in the States. It was perfect. It was Pink!! =) no, seriously, everything in the box was completely pink. It was amazing. My Bible Quizzing friends have been a huge support while I've been over here. I cannot wait to see them all again!!

Another day we had a filming crew out here at the E.V. to tape some of us teaching several classes. I volunteered for Dance class. I was terribly nervous because I hate standing in front of cameras and saying stuff over and over again...not to mention I didn't know what kids I would be teaching it to (and I did not want an all boys group!!). However, God gave me a wonderful bunch of girls who had already come to the E.V. and knew me. Thus, the filming was a blast and dancing with those girls made it all the more fun! Nonetheless...I don't think that I will ever do THE HOKEY POKEY again. =P

I went to a delightful concert with my great friend back in the States. I LOVE Triple Espresso!! They are so funny!

(OK, so maybe I wasn't there totally...but my body was!) ;-)

My Outside school is stealing my heart!

All of my children are so precious.

I LOVE:

-the way my kindergartners try to talk to me...even though I don't understand half of what they are saying =)

-The way my first graders love to "touch teacher" and how their smiles couldn't get any bigger

-All of my precious 2nd graders and how they crave my attention

-How my little Nate, a 3rd grader, has finally stopped jumping on the tables and is now sitting up straight and is my best student <3

-How my sweet 4th graders all have to talk at once and "Teacher MUST" touch every little pet they bring to school... ;-P

-My competitive Alan's in 5th Grade and their enthusiasm for learning English!

-ALL OF MY 6th GRADERS!! They are the most amazing Darlings and I have never seen more eager students! =D

Yeah, so I am sitting here wondering how I am going to be able to pull myself away from here, but I know that we are all going to keep in touch! (Did I mention how much I love email??)

Well, God is totally, amazingly, wonderfully, too good for me and I have no idea how, but I am totally and completely at peace in His arms!

Some prayer requests that I have:

-Those who I come into contact with frequently and want to share more about Christ with (specifically the "Plaid drink stand" man, Popo, and Janice)

-Upcoming Graduation (there is still quite a bit of stuff that needs to get done and I want to do my best at all of it!!)

-Homecomings and Goodbyes...those are self explanatory. =)

Until later....

L.I.F.E. (Living In Favor of Eternity)

2 months left!

I cannot believe that this time over here in Taiwan is almost over - it seems like I just got here!
I have met so many new people, friends, children, teachers...it is going to be impossible to part with any of them.

Anywho, I know have an "official" plan ticket to come back to the States on June 26th! It is going to be a really hard plane ride - sad to leave, anxious to see family and friends again!

I think that my family is already planning a "surprise" party for me the day I return (not really a surprise because I know about it already). =) I think that I get home about 8am, my family will pick me up and we will drive home and ppls will arrive. It's gunna be a "Welcome back to home, Camille" - all in one day. However, I did try to remind my family that I will have this little thing called jet lag too...

However, I'm not put on this earth to talk about all the stuff that involves me, myself, and I. I would really like to share with you all that Christ has been doing in my life.

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I have done for God while I have been here. I feel like I have done very little. Hardly any opportunities have presented themselves, and I have been too scared to jump out there and see what there is.
I've been asking God to show me how I can make a difference. I want to impact people here for him. And these last 2 weeks he has shown me how/what to do.

I have a friend who works at my school, Popo, and she loves to chat with me in English and show me all around Taiwan. A while ago while we were going somewhere together and I started getting irritated at her talking "a little too much" and wishing that I had not gone. Then, out of nowhere, she stopped and said that she had a present for me. She took out a little cross necklace and gave it to me, saying that she had seen it in a store and she knew I was a Christian, so she got it for me. I was so touched, not because I got a gift (Taiwanese people love giving), but because she had known I was a Christian and she was seeing God's love in and through me. I then decided that I would totally put away my own desires and feelings and totally live like everyone around me was watching - which, is actually what everyone around me does. =)

OK, and here is my next story...and a very interesting one....
I am now a tutor/language exchange person. My friend, who I learned about through the government friends I know, met me a few Sunday nights back and we went out for dinner and "improvement of each others languages." It was very interesting. I found out right away that she was a Christian. I was thrilled! We had some great talks about what she wanted to do with her life, how she wanted to travel, and how she was having "problems" with her family at home. I told her that I would be praying for her.

Then she went on to tell me that she is a lesbian.

Yes, I was shocked. The first thing that flew through my mind was, "You are NOT a Christian!" (though I didn't say it out loud) I talked to her about it, as much as I could with our language barrier and all, but I was so confused that I really didn't know what to say. I told her once more that I would be praying for her and that we would keep in touch, but at that point I was really thinking that I would never see her again. After I talked to Wes (our leader here and a guy who has a lot of wisdom) about it, he told me that it would be a great opportunity. I was, like, "WHAT?!?!" I couldn't believe that he would want me to go back into that predicament! I didn't know how to help her and I've never actually known a lesbian/gay person before. I really didn't want anything to do with it! However, Wes talked to me again later, after him and I putting much thought into it, and he asked me 2 very interesting questions,

"Do you think that Lot went to heaven? What about Judas Iscariot?"

I had to think about it for a while, as I want you, my reader, to do as well. I came up with my answers, but now I want to hear yours, so post them in the comments section of this blog post - I think it will be very interesting to hear every ones responses.

BTW, I am going to continue to visit with my foreign exchange lady because I know that God has brought her to me so that I could be that pure light in her life. =)

What's next?

Less than 100 days 'till I am home.

92, to be exact

Life here has gone by all too fast...and I don't want to think about leaving. Yes, I miss my Family and friends back in the States like crazy, but a large piece of my heart is going to stay here in Taiwan. The people I have met here and the Children who I get to see everyday have become so much a part of my life that I can't imagine life without them...

However, I am coming back.

To stay.

I was not OK with this decision.

I came to Taiwan. I fell in love with everything right away. My parents and I talked about coming back next year and everything seemed so perfect. I felt at so much peace about this whole thing and was looking forward to another year of teaching.

As of 5 weeks ago, this all changed.

I told the Lord to tell me for sure what to do next year through my parents - I did not want to be the one who decided whether I stayed home or came back.

He did.

My parents told me that they wanted me back home. They wanted (want) me to start on some college courses and spend time with the family while we are all together still.

I put my heel in the dirt and would not have my mind changed that easily!

I talked with several people here. Had someone call my mom and try to persuade her.

It didn't work. =(

Then came the TESOL retreat (a gathering of all the English teachers in Taiwan - from IBLP), at which God showed me some stuff that didn't make totally sense until a week later when our girls Bible study group was talking about TRUSTING God.

I know honestly admit that I was wrong in not trusting my parents, but now, not only do I trust that they are listening to God - I AM LISTENING TO GOD TOO!

Some verses that have meant a lot to me are Daniel 3:13-30, Psalms 143:8, 37:4 and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Oh, For The Love of Horses!!

Yeppers,
a wonderful Sunday turned into a perfectly wonderful Sunday.



Junes called me on Wed. and asked me to meet her on Sunday...she wouldn't say why.

I was totally delighted and surprised! =)

The horses were so cute!

We (Ede, Junes, and I) met up with Yvonne, a friend of Junes, who takes lessons at this Stable upon occasion. Yvonne called up Junes and wanted her to go ridding with her and Junes, knowing how much Ede and I love horses, invited us to tag along.

Yvonne and her family were so sweet and gracious to all three of us. Not only was it awesome to get back on a horse again, but it was also wonderful to get together with some other Christians who love the Lord with ALL their hearts!