On Saturday and Sunday we took off with Allen and Cherry for some sight seeing around Taiwan. With our mission complete for this trip we were able to let our hair down (insert laugh track) and see some sights. Believe me when I tell you that people STARE when a bunch of whitey Americans walk around anywhere especially in a pack like us, but we didn't care.
In the day and a half we poked around Taipei and were able to see:
- Taipei 101 - was the worlds tallest building from 2004-2010 until the Burj Khalifa was built in Dubaji. It has the worlds fastest elevator that travels 89 floors in 37 seconds! It contains a damper within the spire, which is the world's largest, at the top of the building used to offset wind gusts, typhoon winds, and even earthquake movements. It weighs 660 metric tons and is awesome to see. Here is an earthquake video to see it in action during a earthquake on May 12, 2008. Keep in mind how heavy I said it was to give you an idea of how strong the earthquake must have been. Trust me, it was amazing to see the city from that high up.
- National Palace Museum - this is one of the world's top museums. Amazingly it contains Chinese artifacts representing over 8,000 years of history. It is housed within the Forbidden City and with nearly 680,000 pieces to see it takes 10 years to display them all. We were only able to see one building of the 3 that are there and it took us nearly 3 hours. Here is the National Palace Museum Website if you want to see more!
- Night Market - this is kind of like a Taste of Chicago or a Farmer's Market on steroids. This is where we really got into some authentic Taiwanese food to be sure. We had squid on a stick, shaved ice with fruit (this is punch yo momma good!), and some amazing orange-lime drink. We also did stumble across a Buddhist Temple,but that is still something I'm processing and will need another whole blog devoted to this to be sure.
- Taiwan Christian Church (TCC) - this was the highlight of the weekend though. We were able to see the church plant that we support in Taiwan in action and help them celebrate 16 years of ministry! 16 years!!! It was amazing to be a part of it and I found out at 12:30 the night before that I'd be speaking at it. I was very humbled to be asked to be a part of this service and this time I did better with the translator (thanks Chad!). There are so many stories of lives given to Jesus at this church I don't have room to type them all. Good thing this blogging site has an unlimited number of blog posts on it though so stay tuned! :)
It was a great couple of days and we all had a blast. If I'm honest, I was absolutely spent by 9:00 pm every night, but it was all because of the week of camp. We gave everything we had to those kids and it was a tremendous growth opportunity for not only the campers but for us as well.
On Monday we leave for the United States and I can't wait to hold my girls in my arms again. 12 days is a long time for a new daddy not to see his baby girl. But I also will be holding in my heart my experiences here in Taiwan, the friends I've met, and the lives I've seen changed by Jesus.
If I don't get bored in LA this will be the last Taiwan Trip blog. So if it is, thanks for tuning in and listening, but more importantly thanks for your prayers and support!
This was NO vacation, but it was also not all work. I never feel like being a part of what God has called you to do is work. It is an honor.
We will see you State-side soon!!!
Brian, it has been wonderful to be able to follow the trip to Taiwan through your blog. It is amazing to see how y'all showed God (actually how God showed Himself through each of you) to those kids. I know each child was blessed by the camp and I will continue to pray for God to be an active part of their lives. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Pat | July 18, 2010 at 06:08 PM