How has the job been?

I’m going to try to update you about my job in as short of a time period as possible. So brace yourself for spelling mistakes, misplaced punctuation marks, and just unbelievably horrible prose overall. Ready? Good. I want to begin by thanking you for all your prayers concerning my job and my growth here in Taiwan. God is real.

The thing about trials is that you’re never really prepared for them. I think that’s how they’re designed. No job after 2 months of looking and interviewing? Trial-shmial. Having your Asian face continually rejected? Not that big of a deal. Now that I think about it, my calm attitude while looking for a job wasn’t so much a result of trusting in the Lord as it was trusting in what my parents would most likely provide in times of desperate need.

Well, I was rebuked. Somewhere between the first and second day’s work, after sitting in front of the computer and random teaching materials brainstorming for the whole day, I came to the conclusion that I just couldn’t do it. I denied my inability and helplessness for a full 48 hours before I gave in.

To kind of qualify my predicament, let me explain to you what it’s like teaching beginning EFL kids at a popular cram school in Taiwan. You’re not allowed to speak anything except English. Your kids don’t know anything except Chinese. See the problem? “This is the letter A” doesn’t work because they don’t understand the words “this is the letter.” Of course, failing at this in the short term isn’t that big of a deal. What about classroom rules? Those are important because kids love to play. In fact, they make it a priority in their lives. Rain or shine. It’s kind of like trying to tell to a herd of goats not to eat the grass that they’re standing on even though they are really hungry – in English. No, I thought of a better example. Goats are too quiet and they don’t make the extra effort to rip paper into as small pieces as they can. Teaching EFL is like trying to instruct 15 bag-less lawn mowers that have gone berserk mowing down a sugar cane field to stop – in English. And then making it fun for them to follow your instructions.

In any case, I think I learned a little about what trusting in God and depending on His grace is like. I don’t recall ever been as distraught and sad as that Tuesday night when I felt like I had nothing left to depend on. More lives were at stake than when I was a student and it seemed like there were no definite answers to the problems I was facing. The personal claim of wanting to support my future family no matter how hard I would have to work was failing its first test. With my roommates sleeping (one in Hong Kong), weariness settling in and nothing but the eerie nighttime silence to accompany me, I picked up a guitar 8 hours and 25% into preparation sometime past midnight and played the only song I knew how to at that point: amazing grace. The song reminded me of God’s grace in saving me and then God’s future grace: “When we’ve been here ten thousand years…” Glory.

For those of you that are experiencing discouragement, pay attention to a bit of Spurgeon:

“…let your doubts and fears say what they will, if God has not cut you off from mercy, there is no room for despair: even the voice of conscience is of little weight if it be not seconded by the voice of God. What God has said, tremble at! But suffer not your vain imaginings to overwhelm you with despondency and sinful despair.”


So there. Teaching is still hard, but by God’s grace, there is much to look forward to!

Please pray for me to:
1. continue depending on God’s grace even if teaching becomes easier.
2. be efficient and hard-working to free-up time for other things.
3. be able to gather practical Biblical wisdom on how to interact with the children and co-workers in a God glorifying manner.
4. learn how to joyfully, responsibly, and generously give! (time and finances)

Grace and peace,