On Saturday, we celebrated a festival Chinese people do. It is Chinese New Year! Yearly, this celebration usually takes place at the beginning of the year but since we’re not staying at VOICE this long, it took place in August.

Chinese New Year usually is a time where families gather and celebrate. So this time it’s different for me!

The day before, I helped Mrs. Chen with a few delicacies. It was such a fun time for me! Yet I was lucky too as it was the first time I cooked. No one got sick and people seemed okay with the food. I hope that this experience could motivate me to learn more cooking at home!

Alex Luk
Team 2

In Oklahoma I learned a lot. I try to speak with other people. I also try to learn another ball game. I meet foreigners. I try to act in a musical. It’s very funny. I learn some history about Oklahoma. I make a lot of friends. They are very kind! It’s very fun in Oklahoma.

Aron Fu
Team 1

My favorite evening activity we have yet had was Memorial Day. Having the privilege of making so many seasonal visits to the States, I did not ever recognize how Memorial Day is a holiday. So when this evening celebration arrived, I was confused and wondered why my family never celebrated this day the way we’d celebrate the holiday because it was a new idea to me. In fact, the beginning of this celebration was very close to breaking the record of my “worst holiday list.” It wasn’t until later that night which turned my perspective on this holiday.

When I heard a TESOL student explaining to a Taiwanese student what “memorial” means, I gasped at the very thought of people dressed like Native Americans, holding torches and dancing around a bonfire of dead people, burning to ashes. The very image sent shivers up my back. Obviously, I was being silly, and I was proved wrong for my preconception of this holiday during the dinner. Afterwards, we were brought to a cemetery and back to the Memorial Museum’s Reflecting Pool to reflect upon the holiday. On the car-ride back to the training center, my heart felt so heavy. My thoughts were unstable, and I was beginning to feel agitated with the idea of VOICE bringing us to such disturbing places. I did not want to go to sleep that night with the thought and images of a bunch of dead people. So I began singing gospel songs to myself to callous myself.

Arriving back at the training center, we were told to go back in the dining room for Prayer Meeting. I walked in grumpily, with a horrible attitude of whining to go back to my room as soon as possible.

But after sitting there, listening to Joel’s explanation of this holiday, my heart felt heavier and heavier, my breathing started turning into panting. This time, the stress is not out of disgust… it is out of guilt. The words “It was my sin that held Him there…those nail pierced hands…” from the song “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us,” won’t come out of my lips. I thought of how I was the soldier who used that hammer and banged the nail into Jesus Christ’s hands, I placed those thorns onto his head, I caused those scars and marks all over his forehead. I murdered Jesus, I murdered my friend, the Son of God, my teacher, my coach, my guide, my groom!

That night, it was very hard to fall asleep.

Tiffany Lam
Team 4

In this weekend we learned the football game. That is a very exciting sport. People who must touch them together are powerful. But I’m not interested a lot in football. We are not good at that, so sometimes we just stay and watch other people catch the ball and run. I prefer basketball over football.

Andy Liu
Team 1

“Queen of the Dark Chamber” is the first musical I have ever been in. I was really nervous when it was time for casting, but in the end my nerves calmed down and I was able to recite my part. I was cast as Sister 3, a member of the Tsai Family that lived in the Qing Dynasty. The musical is focused on the seventh daughter of the Tsai Family called Christiana Tsai, played by Tiffany Lam. Back then, many members of the Tsai family were very much into opium and gambling, and as a result they lost a huge amount of money.

As the musical goes on, the peaceful setting of China changes as the warlords come about rampaging the villages in search of valuables and the head of each family. Most of the Tsai family was Buddhist, and they were all in shock when their seventh daughter changed religions and believed in Jesus Christ. Through the different scenes, you are able to see how God protected them from many dangers.

This is a true story, and it is an honor to be able to perform it.

Jessica Loo
Team 5

In the VOICE camp, we stayed at the Training Center, which is situated in Oklahoma City. The decorations of the Training Center makes it feel like home. There are several facilities in it; such as the basketball court, auditorium, dining room, etc.

Every morning, we have team devotions at ‘Team Space,’ then breakfast at the dining room. We spend most of the time in the auditorium, listening to the Basic Seminar and electives.

In the evening, we will have team prayer at the place where we have team devotions. I have stayed at this Training Center for a week, and I have already gotten used to the life here.

I think the surroundings here are very peaceful and calm. It is not like those fascinating cities, such as Hong Kong or New York. Instead, this is a really suitable place for people to study.

Dawn Yung
Team 5
Photo by Nichole Simpson

We went ice-skating last Saturday. It was quite interesting even though I have gone ice-skating many times in Taiwan. After ice-skating, we celebrated Christmas and had a big meal.

Sunday, after church, the host family took us to their house. It’s twenty minutes between church and the house. The children in their family are homeschooled. They have three daughters and one son. We really had fun there. We played basketball, volleyball and went swimming.

His son is a big fan of John Wayne and he gave the DVD of John Wayne as a gift while I was leaving. I hope that they can come this Saturday.

Last Sunday, we went to church with our host family. The host family that entertained us is the Greg family. Mr. Greg took me to the church early. When we arrived at their church, we saw a very beautiful building. Before worship service, we had an hour for small group. A woman taught us about David in the Holy Bible. The topic in worship service was “Dealing With Defeat.” I liked the pastor because he spoke slowly, and I could understand what he said.

After church, we had the lunch with the Greg family in a Chinese restaurant. I was so happy that I could eat some food that was like the food in Taiwan. After having the lunch, we went to the house of the Greg family. It’s very beautiful and clean. They have two pets. One is a small dog and the other is a big dog. I liked the room of their daughter because most of the color in her room is pink. Oh! Pink is my favorite color.

After taking a break for a while, Mr. Greg took us to a terrible place. There was a small plane crash yesterday. After we saw the terrible view, Mr. Greg took us to a personal airport. He showed us his own small plane. We were surprised. He wanted us to fly and he let us experience the feeling of taking off by ourselves. It is misfortuned that there was some problem with plan. Mr. Greg was depressed because he disappointed us.

He took us to taste many foods and shared his experiences about teaching flying. Eventually, he took us to the shopping mall. We were very happy and bought many things.

After shopping, we went to church again for the second worship service. After church, we had the dinner at the pizza inn with Greg family. We gave our gift to Mr. Greg and Mrs. Greg and i prepared some cute doll for theirchildren.

After dinner, it’s time to say bye bye. their children hugged us and all of us felt very sad because they are so beautiful and cute. I was very appreciative. I am thankful for the Greg family. I had a good day. See you in Taiwan.

Jason Tseng
Team 1