Date:  Wednesday, August 26,  2012

Day 77 of 180

Sorry for missing the last post date.  Lets see, what's new?  Joseph, Hannah, and I have made it a tradition to do something exciting on our Mondays off.  Two weeks ago we biked the length of the riverside trail.  Last weeks ago we went hill climbing around the mountains at Taipei Zoo.  This week we took two other friends of Hannah's with us as we biked to a waterfall in Wulai. That was quite exciting.  Well truthfully we've all enjoyed the things we do on Adventure Mondays.  Here are some stories.

Before I begin I think you all should know that the area around Wulai is one if the most mountainous.  It is a dangerous trek to make in a car let alone in fixed gear bikes.  Now that you know...        We were coming down a particularly steep section and when we  realized that there was an odd sound coming from my front tire.  It sounded like an air compressor: puncture.  We all then started to brainstorm possible solutions.  We also waved down a passing mopest (people who ride mopeds, we all hate them), and I asked him where the nearest bike shop was.  Surprisingly he replied in perfect English, shocker.  During this time, I noticed that there was a stray dog hanging out with us.  As it would turn out this dog would follow us to the waterfall; we thought about adopting it.

Anyways, we spent the next hour or so asking a local if she knew of a repair shop or if not then did she have anything that we could use to temporarily patch it ourselves.  Turns out her neighbor does.  Another 30 minutes finds my bike, Lucy, "patched" with a sketchy looking hasty homemade Bandaid, which would only serve to make it so we couldn't hear the leak not actually fix it, in fact during the next hour the front tire would go completely flat.  During that time we found the waterfall and began swimming in it.   It was great.  The water was so nice.

When we decided to head back, WOAH flat tire.  Now primary agenda is finding a tire repair shop.  Everyone we asked directed us towards Wulai, great I'll have to risk mountain roads to get this tire fixed...definitely not ideal.  Well, we got to Wulai in pretty good time, and the repair shop was pretty easy to find.  100NT later and with a tire fixed, we were able start looking for the next mist important objective on our list:  food.  Turns out there's a night market in Wulai, who knew?  Anyway found some good food, but by the time we set out for home it was already starting to get dark-and not all of us have lights.   Having made sure that Hannah brought up the rear because she has a rear light and Joe lead because he has a head light, we started off making pretty good time until we hit the hills....  Lets just say making cars, trucks, semis, and buses drive around you during the most inopportune times, like at a downhill blind corner, is very sobering.  At one point, a pair of road warriors (a couple guys on road bikes) caught up to us. And when one of them was passing me I'm pretty sure that he looked at me, shook his head, downshifted twice, and just monstered the hill which we were struggling to conquer in our steel framed, fixed gear, city bikes.

Long story short, we made it back safe and sound, though whether or not the two new recruits return next week remains to be seen.  I think we may have scared them off.  We're too hardcore.  When we connected up with the riverside trail, the three of us found ourself sans new guys.  We soon realized that if we wanted the to return next week we better slow up our pace.

Let me conclude that owning a bike in Taipei, though dangerous, might be the single best way to see the city.  The intimacy you gain through feeling every bump and smooth section, enjoying the occasional downhill or flat section, aims to draw you closer and closer to the city.  We're so isolated from the environment today.  Insulation, AC,  and soft suspension buffer and cuddle you.  But ride a bike or motorbike, and your open to nature's sensual onslaught.  You hear, smell, and feel every little bump, every minute odor, and every wisp of temp change when a bus is breathing down your back, you come to know a different Taipei, a more alive more physical Taipei, for better or worse.

Looking forward to the next adventure,

                                                                                                                

 David Leong

P.S.  we made it safely home.

Date:  Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Day 63 of 180

Thank you so much for your prayers as it seems that we have come to an agreed upon approach to what my role might be in the church, namely as an assistant to the youth ministries at TLC.  Because of my obvious language difficulties it became clear that a normal intern position at TLC would force me into an awkward situation where I would be unable to carry out certain capacities required of my intern role.  Therefore, my role has thus been modified into a form of volunteer position where I would be allowed to participate in as much or as little based on my personal preference.  In addition, I would continue to receive support from TLC to cover for the shortage in the financial support I received while still in the States.  Furthermore, the welcomed my desire to find counseling experience outside TLC.  As a result, my week would look like this.  On Tuesday and Wednesday, I would be allowed to work at the counseling clinic that I found.  Then from Thursday to Sunday, I would work at TLC helping out in a combination of Youth Ministry and Foreigner Zone activities, with Monday remaining my day off.

The area of concern from the start was whether or not TLC would allow me to continue to receive monetary support from them because of my reduced capacity to serve them.  However, because they had previously promised that I would receive support and this promise affected how I conducted my fund raising activities back in the States prior to coming to Taiwan, they concluded that it would be unfair to me if they broke their promise and retracted their financial support.  Thank God for this unbelievable accommodation.  Continually, God has been merciful in revealing His presence and steadfast faithfulness towards me every step in my Taiwan adventure.  This time in Taiwan continues to be a testimony of God’s perfect plan and perfect timing in providing for every one of my needs.  Just when I think that I’ve come to the end of my ropes in terms of ability and grace, God extends and provides even more grace and ability.  Though life has been hectic but exciting, the amazing constant amidst the chaos is my God.  I look forward for more opportunities to see my God act.  And this is why life is so exciting:  you never know how God will meet your need, you only know with absolute certainty that you will be amazed and astounded when He shows up.

                                                                                  Anxiously awaiting the blessings of my LORD,

                                                                                                                                        David Leong

Date:  Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Day 56 of 180

Things have been slowing down lately, since school has started.  So I now have a lot of free time to travel around and see what Taipei is all about.  The best way that I can describe Taipei is that it's a marriage between western courtesy, Chinese chaotic traffic network, and Japanese neatness.  So it's quite an offspring, then.  That's not to say that living in Taipei is bad, far from it; however, I would venture to say that life here is interesting, in the best sense of the phrase.

In addition to this, one of the most reoccurring themes that I have been noticing during my time in Taiwan is the way in which western and eastern cultural traditions collide here with astonishing implications.  For example, last night I had an interesting conversation with a good friend of mine from my dorm.  He is studying to become a nutritionist and has an internship at a hospital in downtown Taipei.  One of the issues he has been dealing with is how do you distinguish between imbalances of the human body that cause mental disorders and the reality of spiritual warfare, with respect to the topic of the cause of hallucinations.  Namely, hallucinations can have any number of natural and hereditary causes; however, as Christians how do we incorporate our knowledge of the spiritual world, i.e. demon possession can also explain why such a person may be hallucinating.

The main problem with modern psychology is that it is too scientific.  Yes, there are aspects of the human mind that can be analyzed using the scientific method, but at the same time there are so many more aspects of the human mind that cannot be experimented on and reproduced in a test tube, dreams for example.  Despite all the advances in the ways in which we can map brain activity during sleep, we still don't know how and why we dream with any certainty.  That is not to say that there aren't theories available but none are conclusive nor are any of the reliable.  Furthermore, the areas of the brain and their respective jobs are also an area of question.  Why do we have so many lobes?  What are their jobs?  Why are they located where they are in the brain?  Many if these questions can be very basically answered by recent experiments that have mapped brain activity with bodily actions, but mysteries still exist.  And we are far from being competent I understanding the inner workings of the human mind.  Issues such as spatial recognition, involuntary actions (reflexes, breathing, etc.), and information processing are actions of the brain that still remain a mystery.

This said popular science quickly rejects the existence of a spiritual influence simply for the reason that such talk is too childish.  God, angels, and demons are not subjects that should concern modern science nor the western intellect, we are more evolved. Or something like that.  But if we remember modern science as we know it found its origins in the Christian Church.  Founding father such as, Galileo, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Newton,da Vinci, and Einstein all came from a Christian background.  In fact the great scientific minds of the 18th to 20th century all find their motivation for scientific advance from their faith, only within the last 2 decades has science been dominated by a strictly atheistic perspective.  I don't want to get into too much detail but perhaps science, and psychology in particular, has suffered from such a limited perspective.  Many could argue that scientific tradition finds its origins in social/cultural tradition.  What does this say about western sculpture in general?  Could our willingness to discard any discussion of spirituality as matters of immaturity and not respectable topics of discussion for adults a sign of cultural decline?

As Christians we must come to terms with this issue:  integration.  I know this a well worn Wheaton theme, but how well a Christian answers the "so what" questions of life determines how real his faith is.  If we are unwilling to struggle through and answer the tough questions of life, how, then, are we different?  As, Christians, we have a social and eternal responsibility to answer the "so what" questions of life with respect to other chosen professions.  Israel failed to do this and that's what led to their exile.  The warning is clear.  Where do you stand?  Is integration of faith and profession important to you?  Or is discussing matters of spirituality too awkward for you so you avoid it?  Interesting questions to consider.