Plum Blossom Lake

Friends,

Plum Blossom Lake is located just around the corner from the orphanage and it if definitely one of God's spectacular wonders in Taiwan. We got to see this masterpiece nearly every day in the afternoons while the children where sleeping, because we would take walks together. It is a very good example of Taiwan; you see lots of green foliage that all looks the same, but if you keep your eyes open, God has planted flowers of delight to surprise and awe you.

This is an ant-hill that has been built in a tree. God created some amazing animals didn't He?

Some of those leaves were huge! (Mr. Goerke's hand is shown for perspective)

This is the very unique bridge that leads to a small island in the middle of the lake.

We saw lots of butterflies while we were there.

Sadly, even among all these marvelous wonders that God has created, Satan has tried to establish his stronghold as well. From our walks around the lake we passed a shrine and could see the large temple that overlooks the valley.

Even as we took our walks there were moments of humor.

Like the time I saw this sign and asked why we were supposed to be cautious of muddy footprints...

...Or the day that Mr. Lane found his new suburban...

...Or our first impression of this sign as 'caution, no skiing'.

We greatly enjoyed our walks around the lake, they were times of rest and marveling at God's amazing creativity. Take time today to observe the creation around you too, God may just have some hidden beauty waiting just for you.

Thanks for reading!
~Annah

Windows and Fences

Friends,
Once we were there, the Skiles showed us several things they wanted us to fix up and wash while we were there.

First Mr. Helgesen washed the backboards of their basketball hoops. The children were often out on the court in the evenings and we were excited to be able to fix up the posts for them. In the evenings and on the weekend, the dads played basketball with some of the older boys and girls.

The Skiles also asked the dads to repair a broken fence that had gotten run into by a car. The dads got it fixed but it took some time to paint because it rained so much.

(the almost finished project)

We were also asked to clean the windows of the orphanage. Out of about 600 windows we finished roughly half. The children were very excited when we told them that we were working on cleaning the windows. Each night they would ask if we had cleaned their windows yet.



Thanks for reading!

~Annah

The Apartment

Friends,
While in Taiwan we stayed at an apartment that Mr. and Mrs. Skiles rent. It was a very nice apartment within walking distance of the orphanage. We are so very thankful that they allowed us to stay there during out visit.

 (the kitchen)

 (the living room...really liked those chairs)

 (the girls bedroom, the red mat is the Taiwan-style bed)

 (this was the dad's bathroom, Chloe has to stoop in it and the dad's are at least 6" taller)

Many times we came across signs on our walk to the orphanage, that had been translated into English, but had lost something in the translation. For example...

(see the orange sign)

More coming later!

~Annah