I came to Taiwan not knowing what to expect, but I knew there were others just like me coming too! This is the team of IBLP TESOL Volunteer Teachers. We have all committed to one year to teach in Taiwan. We are spread throughout the whole country. As you pray, most of these are new, first time teachers.
We spent the first weekend in Taiwan together in Taipei. We did some sightseeing, orientation to the work here and just spent time bonding! They are some pretty amazing people I have the privilege to serve with!
I am in Douliou, Yunlin, at a Character English Institute. This is different than what I thought I would be doing! I thought that I was coming to teach in the public schools, but the Lord had other plans. He placed me with the HTC foundation instead. HTC is the Smart phone company and Mr. HT, who happens to be in the above picture in a suit on the front row, he has a passion for bringing Character (by using Character First! material) into the lives of the Taiwanese people. So, the HTC foundation has set up these Institutes camp style. A 4th grade class comes from a local county school. They spend the whole week here with us. So it is a full on teaching schedule!
The Lord has blessed me with amazing teammates. We instantly felt the Lord’s unity in heart, soul and spirit when meeting for the first time. Since we know that we are in one accord, we will face our share of challenges and oppositions throughout this year. Bring it on! This means God is at work! We have already experienced some of this. Yeah! Please pray for our continued focus and clarity in our mission!
Barbara Sutton, Jo Armentrout, and Susanna Hicks
These are our amazing Taiwanese teachers. They run the camp, take care of the children each night and teach the character classes. They welcomed us with such open arms and love that we already feel like a family. It is a great honor to work with these ladies!
From right to left, they are Yellow, Jenny, Lydia, Joyce, Mandy, Patty, and the two in the back are Penny and Lisa.
There is a new Character English Institute opening in another county near us, so for this first month of camps we have this team living, training and teaching with us. Then they will move over to their camp and try to establish it. Please pray for them as they are learning and preparing for the new camp.
The names of the English teachers in the back row are Fae, Christiana, Rebekah, and Liesl.
The Taiwanese teachers are Helen, Mindy, Vivian, Landy, and Rachel.
The Children that come to these two camps are from the poorest counties in all of Taiwan. They really need your prayers as they come here and learn. Lots of the children come from divorce situations, or the parents just do not have time to take care of the children. They have their basic needs taken care of, but no love displayed or demonstrated. So, by coming here it may be the first time they see loving, caring people. Some have never had a hug or been told I love you. Please pray as we prepare our hearts for these children and the Lord will be glorified and His love given freely.
This blog is for updates and fun, but if you would like the prayer letter please email me or comment with your email.
This blog is for updates and fun, but if you would like the prayer letter please email me or comment with your email.
