Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Every single person we have met and encountered has been so kind. Americans should take notes from others around the world. People bend over backwards here and are so generous.
As with many people groups I have met from around the world, food is a huge part of their culture. Juyi’s son calls it the 5-6 meal culture. No joke! We eat all day long!!! And when you are trying to be the light of Jesus to others, you do not want to offend…so you eat until you feel sick (even just a few bites of snacks).
To give you an example: Today started with a special sticky rice and meat breakfast ball. Then we were fed a snack, followed by lunch. Thankfully, we ate a veggie lunch, which wasn’t as heavy. In the afternoon, we headed to a neighbor’s tea shop where they gave us tea and a lot of snacks. After that, we headed to the beach to see the “Oceanside”. They grabbed us drinks and more snacks for at the beach…it was a huge picnic snack! Then we had a seafood dinner followed by more fruit. You might as well book us an ocean liner to “roll us” home in. You know it’s a lot of meals when Shan even says he can’t eat anymore. 🤣
We learned all the official rules this morning to mahjong. In Asia, this is a betting game…much like poker is in America. We just enjoy the game. We were pretty excited that we had figured out most of the rules on our own in America.
We visited a neighboring tea shop. The “boss”, as they called him, was the nicest guy. He runs his family’s tea farm up in the mountains where we were yesterday. It is past tea picking season, but we got to enjoy the fresh tea that has been made this year. We learned all about the difference between green, oolong, and black tea. This tea has such a rich flavor! I know why it is famous around d the world. Mr. Chang added me in wechat so I could watch his videos of them making tea. He is not above working. A lot of the videos show him picking tea, driving the tea, and working to make the tea. A lot of work goes into this process to make the best tea. And no activity goes without food!
Guava, tea, plums, and nuts.
My friend Tina is on the right in the white shirt. We met in 2019 at UK. She was visiting her son and Juyi. She orchestrated us meeting Mr. Chang today and our trip to the beach. She is a sweet lady!
Mr. Chang’s photos from early May picking tea.
On our way to the beach! We passed more and more temples.
Beach!
Feet in the Pacific Ocean! Complete opposite of the Pacific Coast where I grew up. This water was warm vs ice cold!
More food anyone? Snack picnic on the beach. Tina even brought special glads cups for our alcohol free champagne. Fresh watermelon from a local farmer.
We got to enjoy a beautiful sunset.
These two cute kids were at the beach with their parents. Tina invited them over for watermelon. I just had to snag a picture with them. They practiced some English with us and were the cutest kids!
Friends for life! Tina, me and Juyi. 🩷
Micaela and “Jackie Chan” as we have nicknamed him.
Tina, Shan and Jackie
Micaela caught a crab!
Meal #600 for the day (at least it felt like it). The food just kept coming!! I’m thankful for Tina’s kindness, we just were full going into this meal. Even if you are full, you cannot skip out or else you might offend your host. So, I tried my best to at a little of everything they offered me. The kids did great trying new foods and being brave!
In Taiwan, if you cross your fingers this way, it means love. We officially have family in Taiwan. Juyi teases the girls that she now has daughters, since she only had 2 boys.
Tomorrow we will go to church in Taiwan. I am praying that God uses it to reach our friends for Jesus. We’ve had some great conversations. Even tonight, the lady who took the picture above started asking questions about us and Shan. It gave me a chance to share with her that Jesus is the one who gives me a big heart to love others. Pray with me that others continue to see something different in us and that we can share Jesus even more.
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