June Updates

Dear all,
I’ll try to give a monthly update – but if you want to be taken off this email list, it’s fine – just let me know. I’ll also be posting these updates on my blog as well =)
It’s almost two weeks since I’ve arrived in Taiwan! A lot has happened…. And everything still seems so surreal to me. To begin with, I’ve NEVER been off on my own like this before, so everything is really new to me. It’s very strange for me to be in a place where I don’t know anybody from before. I never realized how a big a blessing it is to live in Vancouver with all my friends and family…with people that I’ve grown up with for years!
So I’ve moved right into my apartment after I landed on May 25th. My roommate is Deborah and Kim, and both of them are from the States. Kim left for home a few days ago for a month… and Deborah has been gracious enough to take me around the neighbourhood. All the other Partners live around the same area in Downtown Kaohsiung… I live right across from the Cultural Centre, and it’s going to be the venue for the 2009 World’s Game this summer!
For work, I’ve decided to work for the Joy Language School. It’s really been a blessing, because I had an interview with them on the second day here. Also, there’s a lot of Partners at Joy School, so the connection between us and the school is very good. HOWEVER, it’s also been a little frustrating because they want to train me for a whole month! Normally, new teachers are only trained for two weeks. But they want to assign me to a new branch they just bought… and since it’s a small branch, I’ll be the ONLY foreign teacher there. So because of this situation, they want to train me for a month. The problem is, I only get $3000 NT (about $100 CAN) for the whole training…. And since I won’t be allowed to start working until July, I won’t get any income until August. So please pray for my work situation! I’ve talked to Leanne (she’s our Taiwanese middle-person between us and the school), and she’s trying to get the school to give me some subbing hours. Also, I’ve sent words out to the other Partners to see if they know of any tutoring jobs in the summer… that can also be a great way of ministry! But yes… financially I’m really, really tight… I’ve planned to try my best to use as little money as I can… like less than $100 NT a day. Please pray for my finances!!
In terms of Chinese Classes, I’ve began taking lessons for six hours a week. It’s one-on-one and really good for me, since my tones are really bad. However, lessons are not cheap – around $1000 CAN for three months. With my financial situation, I’m planning to just take one month, and then quit and try to find some language partners. Many of the Partners have Taiwanese language partners here…. Aside from learning the language, it’s a great way of ministry as well!
Church-wise…. I went on a retreat with the Bread of Life Church last weekend. The people are great, and I had a lot of fun! I’m still not sure which church I’ll be attending on a regular-basis. The Bread of Life Church caters to foreign, English-teachers like myself. On the contrary, the New Life Church caters to the Taiwanese locals. Please pray that God will show me which church He wants me to go… and what ministries He wants me to be involved with.
That’s for me for now! Please feel free to email me, check out my blog, and WRITE ME! I would love letters from all of you!

Love lots,
Iris

4F-2, 127-6 Guangjhou 1st Street
Lingya District
Kaohsiung City 80265
Taiwan ROC
http://taiwanese-muffin.blogspot.com/