Articles - Miscellaneous

TAIWAN 2005 23rd June - 28th July

I went to Taiwan on an OMF short term mission trip with three others from my church at university, before stopping in Hong Kong for four days on our way back to the UK. In Taiwan we were working alongside Andy Wilson (a missionary who moved over there 20 years ago), where we were focusing particularly on supporting the church in their English ministry.

The programme:

* Arrive in Kaohsiung: Orientation, preparation for English camp, meeting students
* English camp (That we ran for the Taiwanese students)
* Follow up from the camp in Kaohsiung by meeting up with students.
* Joint mission trip with the Taiwanese church to Hengchwun.
* Debrief & Holiday (which didn't quite go to plan!)
* Crossroads in Hong Kong

Travelling to Taiwan got off to an interesting start - 2 people were delayed while myself & the other member of the team overshot Birmingham Airport train station and got off at Coventry! However after this everything went smoothly, all in all it took us 27 hours to get from home to our new Taiwanese apartment. Our first meal was a breakfast of noodles or a fish, sadly the girl who had the latter forgot to eat the eyes that are somewhat of a delicacy, so much so Andy's kids argue over them!

Our major event was a weekend English Camp; this was attended by 15 students (aged 19+). It was advertised through the church as a Christian camp, so although all the lessons were in English our subject matter was the basics of Christianity. Mornings began with an interesting cross cultural experience…our Taiwanese camp mates rose at 5:30am for a hike in the mountains - unfortunately none of the English team made it! The day typically continued with breakfast, the first teaching session, break, second teaching & lunch. The teaching programme for the camp was based on the gospel outline two ways to live, (for an explanation see www.twowaystolive.com). During the afternoons we took advantage of the gorgeous surroundings and went for walks/paddles in the lush mountains and streams.

In the evenings we ran some entertainment- the first was the British night and was a roaring success. The dining hall was transformed, decked in bunting, union jack flags and appropriately coloured balloons. After some rounds of egg and spoon, 3 legged races & British themed Pictionary, we introduced our Taiwanese friends to the British scone. It was a fascinating role reversal to see them view these supposed delicacies with such suspicion! However, to everyone's relief they went down a storm. The evening was great - it was so good to see the group bonding so well.

We spent the next couple of weeks following up with our friends from camp, meeting up with them as much as possible. This was with the aim of good conversations to talk more about what we shared at camp, answering question and encouraging them. Our activities included going to a huge Karaoke complex for about 4 hours- it is very popular there, visiting islands & night markets. My favourite day was probably when we visited Monkey Mountain, a large hill overlooking Kaohsiung that is inhabited by many friendly monkeys. Once again, we were all extremely encouraged by the number of students from camp who enthusiastically joined the expedition.

We said our goodbyes to most of the students and headed off to Hengchwun in the rural south of the island. This was to take part in a short mission with students from the church we were based with in Kaohsiung. The aim of the trip was to share a chronological bible story (based on Genesis), which introduces the 'creator' God. Then if people were interested in hearing more the local church could follow them up. Also the trip was to encourage a broader mission perspective amongst the students at the church. Sharing chronological bible stories is a technique that is appropriate in rural Taiwan's storytelling culture and in some parts illiterate population. It was a challenging experience but five contacts were made to follow up.

Monday morning arrived and we planned to hit the beach for debrief (reflection of our trip with Andy Wilson). However, the torrential winds and rain of the typhoon prevented our beach visit....for four days! It would be fair to say we were frustrated by the lack of running water during this time! Finally showering was a highlight though this wasn't quite conventional! We washed from a hose powered by an underwater spring on the roadside. We definitely entertained the locals as we 'showered' in our swimming costumes. A lot of fun.

So when the typhoon passed us by we headed back to Kaohsiung to catch our flight to Hong Kong. In Hong Kong we were staying at Crossroads. They take people's unwanted quality goods (which is very high quality there as there is no second hand market & hotels tend to refurbish every 2 years), and redistribute them to charities in need using 40 foot shipping containers. For examples chairs for schools, crockery for orphanages etc - they had so many amazing stories of needed items turning up in exact numbers just at the right time. They were incredibly welcoming and it was fascinating to hear about the big picture of the work they do as well as being able to help out, even if it was only for a couple of days.

The whole trip was amazing, I had a fantastic time & learnt so much. It was an experience I will never forgot.

Joanna Hinchcliffe
www.omf.org.uk/journal2003/j_home.asp?ID=43225&

30 August, 2005