Passions Change

Yeah…. it's been a long time since I've written anything on my blog (...my apologies). My mom probably checks occasionally, and those of you who were following have probably stopped waisting your time to look, but there is good reason why I've disappeared. Time is passing by! I only have 4 months left to impact the hearts of the ones I've come to love here in Taiwan. That thought changes my attitude and daily actions. It makes me stop and think, "Have I shown God in the fullness of my passion for him?"

I will be honest and say that the life of a student missionary isn't all roses, and we go through some really difficult times. Other SMs might be able to better put to words the experiences and struggles we face, but no matter how they are presented we all go through something that changes us. Before leaving Walla Walla I thought of the potential difficulties but it was more a thought than realizing it would become reality. With that said, I don't think it is worth my time to write down these struggles because they won't be what I remember when I leave. My memories will be filled by the people God blessed me to come to know, experiences I've been able to have, adventures, kids who yell out "Miss Joanna!" at the top of their lungs, blessed conversations, and crazy foods that I've eaten.

All-in-all the time spent here has been a blessing. My heart is being renewed in many ways I didn't know it was lacking. Even though life seems to be sucked out every time I step outside and get forced to realize I am still in the city, my heart for Taiwan people overtakes my longing for the NW. I am here. Not living for myself, but for these people. For these relationships. For God. They exceed my passions and desires for wilderness living. Don't get me wrong, I will never stop desiring to be out in nature. Listen here: Passions change when God takes those passions over. Yeah, interesting thought huh? God changes the heart. With him there is joy in everything. Because I know and live this, my time here has been abundant in positive experiences. So, I face each day with my hand in His and there is nothing better than that!

On my return I hope to connect with most of you (if not all) and personally share my experience in depth. God is good!

Marking Our Territory

 Christmas break had arrived, and with it came Sarah. The first week of break I decided staying in Taipei would be best for Sarah recovering jet lag. She and I spent time visiting ceramic towns, museums, bouldering gyms, and drinking a lot of coffee.
The real adventure began on the 24th. Lesley, Wawa (they are sisters), Sarah and I made a plan to travel the east side of Taiwan in 5 days. It was going to be epic! I had arranged to borrow a friends car a week before. The night before our early morning start we went down to pick the car up. On arrival we found the car completely dead! Not even a jump could start it. Crap. What were we to do now? It was 11:30pm by the time we got back home. All of us were tired and decided to go to bed and figure it out in the morning. Before the sun peaked over the hills, I was up making phone calls. No one answered! All my plans had failed. To make it a short story; we ended up renting a car that the website advertised as a van. If it was a van it was the smallest van I've ever seen haha. Never the less, we were stoked to get on the road.
I was the designated driver for the whole trip. Eventually my nickname was created, "Killer driver". God blessed us with perfect weather as we drove down the east side and we missed the landslides along the small, windy road as well.

Taroko Gorge blows my mind! The night we drove in, the moon was out shining on the cliffs and eliminating the deep depths of the gorge. That night was the first night we all became one with the wilderness on this trip haha. The bathrooms were closed and I thought nothing of it, but there were a few individuals who had never gone to the bathroom outside. Christmas morning inside the tent I sat itching to get out and hike even though the sound of rain created a melody on our tent. It had been months sense my feet left the city. My excitement level was at an all-time high! For Christmas lunch we drove to the beach and had a picnic. All the girls fell asleep as I read from "Not a Fan". The wind blew through my hair and I knew it was a day I'd never forget.

We were on the road again that night. Headed to a small lake that started with an L and ended with U. My navigator got us lost a few times, but finally arriving late at night we learned all the camp sites were closed. Side note: Who would close a camp site? Anyways, by this time I had had enough and took maters into my own hands. I pulled the car into a parking lot and found a small patch of grass. "Boom" I said. Marking our territory again we then began to get ready for bed. We set up the tent and in the morning (once again) rain was pounding. I was the first to brave the elements. To my surprise and laughter I explained to the girls that we set up our tent right by one of those popup sprinklers! lol We all got a kick out of that. After getting some coffee we headed off to conquer the mountain pass. Now, I had never seen a road like this before. It was insane! One lane most of the time and it was so curvy the township should have complimentary barf bags at the beginning.
We ended up in a small town called Nantou. I am decorating for a wedding there at the end of January so we had to stop and look over the location. Sun Moon Lake is not far away so we went on a walk down by the lake. The next morning was early cause we had to get the rental car back to Taipei.
There are many many more details to this trip and a number of stories left to share. I guess you'll just have to ask me about them when I get back!

Cheers!