Mark has returned to Taipei and I stayed in Dallas for the duration. (At least until after Sarah's wedding) I guess we both have too much work to do. Already I am longing for the ordered peacefulness that living half way around the world while being functionally illiterate can bring. It is nice to not listen to the constant chatter around you. Since there is only one English radio station in Taipei, it doesn't try very hard to be appealing so I don't listen. Yesterday in the car I looked for a radio station to listen to and after about 5 minutes, gave up in frustration. Yes, they all spoke English but I wanted music, not talk. Commercials in a foreign language are really much easier to ignore.

So I am on a healthy living kick while I am here. Okay, so I walk 5 to 8 miles each day when in Taipei and bike and hike in the mountains all the time. This isn't about exercise, it is about avoiding all the American foods that I miss, not to mention the relatively inexpensive domestic wines. I hired a personal trainer to help me with getting the exercise done and also to help me design an exercise routine that I can do in Taipei with a minimum of equipment. I made it through day 1 with only a few glitches but honestly those Sweettart candies did have my name on them.

This weekend Kathleen and I are back in the USA for our daughter's college graduation. It is really wonderful to see everyone. We are really blessed to have so many friends and family who live lives of grace filled giving to others. It is our youngest daughter (the afore mentioned Magna Cum Laude Graduate) who provided this quote to me:

"The sage does not hoard,The more he uses on behalf of others,The more he has himself.And the more he gives to others,The more comes back to him."--Confucius

This is so true for Kathleen and I as we see the love and giving we bestow on our children come back to us and others many times over.

Today I got yet another reminder of why I love Kathleen so much. When getting down suitcases to pack for a trip I got a surprise when one suitcase weighed more than I expected. I unzipped the case and delicately asked the love of my live "what the xxxx is all this stuff?". She stared into my eyes with a truly bewildered look. Bravely I grabbed the smallest of the paper wrapped bundles and unwrapped it... it was a wooden carved sheep. At that moment the look of bewilderment on Kathleen's face turned to embarrassed joy.

Me I was still bewildered.

Kathleen then yelled out "it is your birthday present I bought it so long ago I forgot!". What a sweetheart she bought me a hand made nativity set I had admired in a store in Tienmu. I am very fond of nativity sets and have started a modest collection. She craftily snuck back to the store where we saw it and hid it from me since January.

What a wonderful birthday.... I had a great time on my birthday and today I had a fresh reminder of why I enjoy my life journey with Kathleen as we both laughed until we cried.

What an adventure.

Two posts in one day -
I am SOOO! excited for my trip back to Texas next week. While there, I will attend 3 weddings in 3 states, 2 bridal showers in 2 states and 1 college graduation. If that were not enough, I will celebrate Mother's Day with my mother, my father-in-laws birthday and I also will turn 50. I think that that may be enough excitement for me!

We get many opportunuties to see mission work in action as Asia is a popular place for mission work. Last Sunday afternoon we went to see the Doulos. It is the oldest ship currently on the seas, only built two years after the Titanic. It is also a mission ship, one of two that travel around the world spreading the Word and literature. It is also one of the largest bookstores in the world, floating or not. In each port they visit, the bookstore is opened to all visitors. There are plenty of Christian books for sale; it is the largest Christian bookstore. There are also many book that are classics for children and adults, Mostly in English but other languages are represented as well. The men and women who serve on this ship sign on for a two year stint, without pay. They work six days each week, spreading the Good News of Christianity, in what ever form it is allowed. Even in predominantly Islamic countries, the Doulos is allowed to dock and open the bookstores. Their cultural presentation contains no direct references to Christ in these countries, but the message of Christian love is there.

Is this ship a popular draw? Well the day we went there had to have been between 12,000 and 15,000 people through the ship. A quality and inexpensive bookstore is a good draw.

We were fortunate enough to receive an extensive tour of the ship, from the engine rooms to the living quarters for the missionaries and Tuesday, one of the women came to lunch with a group of friends.

If you are interested in learning more, the web address is www.mvdoulos.org.