Nehemiah Update 3

First, I apologize for the delay in hearing from me. Our host country has been very effective at shutting down most forms communication that they can’t monitor. Any Google related app won’t work, along with most other browsers or apps. That means that I’ve been locked out of the Nehemiah Google Drive folder, and which is why you haven’t seen many new pics or heard from me. However, I think we’ve got that solved.

The team is doing…GREAT! I mean that seriously. In fact, it’s a little freaky that they are doing so well together, and their morale is through the roof. I’ve led a lot of teams, and I keep waiting for issues to start popping up. Mind you, I’m not complaining! They simply have fun together. I came into the meeting room last night and they were doing a human knot all on their own, just for the fun of it. I got it on video, but video isn’t uploading and I’ll have to wait until we get back to Taiwan before I can get any videos I shoot here on the drive.  

Today was the second day of our program. There are about 50-60 participants, many of them young. I was told they were 8-12, but there are 6 year olds and some seem even younger. We also have a small group who are 18. All the 13-17 year-old’s are still in school. It runs from 8:30-11:30. It’s set up just like a VBS, with skits, songs, crafts and sharing time. It’s pretty high-energy. We end each day with the Cha Cha Slide and they love it.

The team is divided into six groups. Every other afternoon the Chinese take out their group to eat, tour the city, or simply hang out. From our perspective it gives the Nehemiah students lots of opportunities to build relationships and hopefully present an opportunity to talk about things that relate to the Father and His Son (please note that I will not be using words that may cause my email to be flagged).

It’s good to be here, but we almost didn’t make it. We were checking in for our flight from Taipei to Hong Kong when I was told we didn’t qualify for visa-free travel to China. I had researched it all and was certain everything was in order…except for one of those fine-print technicalities that the authorities love to surprise you with.

It seems because we are departing Fuzhou to Hong Kong, changing planes to Taipei that is the issue. Technically, we are not directly departing the country even though we are carrying straight through to Taipei. We have to fly from a city directly to Taipei to qualify. Even the airline representative was arguing our case, but to no avail.

That meant even though we had our boarding passes in our hands they wouldn’t let us on the flight because we didn’t have a visa to enter…and hour and a half before departure. It was Sunday night in the USA and our travel agent didn’t answer his phone. It felt like we were at the edge of the Red Sea and the Egyptians were awfully close….too close for comfort.

Ever try getting 15 international tickets at the last minute? I don’t recommend it. I tried booking new tickets online, but everything was in Chinese and none of the websites were responding. Not many airlines fly from Fuzhou to Taipei.

In desperation I dashed off to try and find an airline that could help. There were only one possibility, Eva Air. I’d used them last year, so off I sprinted through the airport, only to be told that they couldn’t book at that terminal (terminal 1) but that I’d have to go their desk in terminal 2. But there was literally not enough time to do that, I now needed tickets within the next 20 minutes! No amount of pleading, whining, crying, or fainting on my part would change their minds. OK, maybe I didn’t cry or faint…I didn’t have the time for that.

The Eva agent said I could try China Airlines, so off I ran! I explained my problem to the China Air rep, but no, he didn’t have anything from Fuzhou to Taipei…but…….they did have something from Shanghai. Now, Shanghai is a 21 hour drive from Fuzhou, which is not the most convenient commute. But from my position, it was close enough and I’d figure how to get there later!

He is good and He is always faithful! In my career I’ve been in a number of tight spots, but the Father has never failed to provide. But this one was one of the most tense situations I’ve been in, and we were out of options. I was seriously contemplating touching base with the people in southern Taiwan that we worked with last year, but thankfully it didn’t come to that.

So here we are! And all is well. We are in college dorm rooms. They aren’t fancy, but we have A/C (temps are 96+degrees with high humidity) showers AND a washing machine in each room. The toilet is a squatty (no porcelain seat), but that’s a small issue. We eat out once each day, the other two meals (breakfast, and either lunch/dinner) is sandwiches or ramen in the main room. Again, not fancy, but a lot more that we’re going to find on Palawan.

I’m going to end this novel, but I’l not let so much time pass before you hear from me again unless there’s an issue with my acct being locked up.

Things you can bring to the Father for us:

* Energy and strength. Last night the team asked to go to bed at 8:15. It’s hot and the pace is catching up with them.

*Continued unity. They are really doing well, and I’d like to see us continue to maintain and deepen our sense of community. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty sweet.

*Growing thirst. We are having really good discussion times based on the devotion assignments. Usually an hour or more filled with their thoughts and questions. But as they get tired, they may lag in their reading of the Word and replace it with sleeping. I’d like to see each team member stay hungry and thirsty for His Word

That’s it for now. I’ll keep tossing pictures on the Drive folder, but won’t be able to post videos until we leave the country.

For the Nehemiah Team,

Tom

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