After the long, long time driving, we finally arrived at the Northwoods. In the morning, we still had to take lessons as we did in Oklahoma. After that, we visited many places in the Northwoods. That was amazing!

And then we went boating! I’ve never done this before so I was very excited. Our speed was faster than others in the beginning, yet we were kind of tired and we wanted to take a rest, but we didn’t notice that there was only our boat still in the middle of the lake. We were the last to get back and we were pushed into the water by Elmer and Jasper. So we were wet but happy. 🙂

Then we played the game “Capture the Flag” and that was so exciting. I was very glad to get one of the best presents by Jenny in the White Elephant game. I can imagine there will be even more interesting activities in Northwoods.

The adrenaline from the amazing musical was wearing off as we cleaned up and packed our bags. It was a very late night, but an even earlier morning. Aside from a few who accidentally overslept (oops…me included), everyone had their luggage down in the lobby at 3:00 a.m. We were on three separate flights to Chicago. We were thoroughly exhausted, and one of our students almost missed his flight because he was asleep at the gate. Another one came off the plane looking for his backpack, forgetting that he had carried it on and put it in the overhead compartment! That’s what only an hour of sleep will do to you. I was on a later flight, so I was happy to get my last Sonic drink before leaving the good state of Oklahoma.

Jimmy Brown and Ruth Strickler, who were joining us for the Northwoods part of VOICE, met up with us in the baggage claim of O’Hare. The drivers picked up our rental vans, and we soon started our trek to the upper peninsula of Michigan. Wes said it’d take 6-7 hours, but I think it took more like 10. At times my van was buzzing with excitement as we talked and ate Sour Patch kids, granola bars, and chips, but there were definitely extended periods of silence when people were sound asleep. Rest areas, gas stations, and fast food joints broke up the monotony of the van ride. Perhaps the most exciting part of the trip was when a monarch butterfly committed suicide by flying into our windshield wiper. It was distressing and I had to block it from sight to prevent my driver from going ballistic. We were all amazed that it was still alive when we freed it at the next stop.

Our drivers showed great endurance, and by God’s grace we arrived safely in the Northwoods around 8:30 p.m. Boy, were we ready to be out of those vans! Dan and Coralie Davis and the Gillson family gave us a warm welcome to the Northwoods Conference Center. After a brief tour of the lodge we had team prayer and then met in the dining room to sing “Happy Birthday” to Henry and eat some ice-cold watermelon. It was a long day, but we are glad to be here, and our staff team is eagerly anticipating what God has in store for this week. Wish you all could see the Northwoods for yourself—it’s incredibly beautiful, and the star-lit sky is breathtaking!

Photo Credits: The Line & Airport Nap & Fast-food fun & Northwoods Sunset by Karen Chen

Today we had a Chinese New Year day! We invited our host families to come. And I loved dinner very much; there were many traditional Chinese dishes. I hadn’t eaten Chinese food for a long time! We taught our host families how to use chopsticks and they thought it was fun! Although we still had forks, spoons, and knives, we used chopsticks until dinner was finished. After dinner, we had TESOL graduation! But I needed to prepare for drama so I didn’t see the graduation. Grace and Rebecca spent lots of time and finally finished my hairstyle. It looked good, but it was hard to keep it neat!

I felt so nervous when I saw so many people in the audience in front of the stage! During the drama, I didn’t forget my lines. Everybody did their best and spoke loudly on the stage. But I forgot to appear during a scene! The scene was after the family runs and hides, we sisters and brothers needed to appear and feel happy that we are safe. But I forgot I needed to appear so I changed into my costume for the next scene! When I discovered that, it was too late. Everything was good except this mistake. When we finished the drama and curtain call, I felt so relaxed! It was fun to play in a drama. I liked my theatrical costume and my role. I hope that I can play in a drama next time!

Today is Sunday. We went to Mr. Foster’s home after church. Their house is located in the countryside with a very big backyard and swimming pool. Just as many American families do, they have a pet dog, Bony. She is a collie. She cooperated with us to take a lot of pictures. Aside from that we spent almost all our time swimming in the pool. There was also a diving board placed at the poolside. Therefore we tried any pose we could think of to dive, like flipping, throwing the football and catching it right after turning around and so on. Additionally, we recorded it by digital camera. We had great fun with these.

Saturday night, we did something VOICE has never done before… we walked out on a show. We thought Shakespeare in the Park would be a good taste of culture. It was a taste of culture all right. We walked into the play blind, but when the stage dimmed for intermission, we had to make a choice. So we decided to walk out– all 55 of us.

One might say we wasted our money that night. I don’t see it that way. What started off as an awkward evening turned into an opportunity to live out our faith in a very real and inconvenient way.

We talked through it with everyone afterwards, and then God blessed us with an amazing time of prayer. Staff and students poured out their hearts in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese…

And the tide began to turn.

That night, our first student gave her life to the Lord.

This drama is a famous literature by Shakespeare and almost everyone knows the story, but today’s show was in a different form that I’ve never seen before. However, I couldn’t understand all of the words and sentences that the actors said, and it was a little difficult for me to figure out the play. Unfortunately, there were some bad actions that made us feel uncomfortable. To avoid going through the test of corruption, we left in advance. I think that was a good and wise decision though it was a pity that we couldn’t finish all the play. To see an outdoor stage play—watching and sweating, listening and dozing—was a really special experience to us!

This week I learned some English about orderliness. And I learned how to order something at Sonic. Yesterday we went to Oklahoma National Museum. We learned about the Oklahoma City bombing. It was terrible.

In the park we played games and played basketball. I learned how to play the game. Today we went ice skating. I think it is so slippery and a little different from roller skating. Today we also had a Christmas festival. I learned that what they do at Christmas in the U.S. is not the same as Taiwan. On Valentine’s Day we served our dinner partner.

There are some things I learned this week.

We went to a very beautiful place in Oklahoma. That is the Oklahoma City National Memorial. I was so excited to visit there. I like the grass and the reflecting pool there. We took a lot of picture outside and we have a lot of fun there, although many people told us to be serious. When we enter to the museum, I became serious. Just like I was in April 19, 1995. I just can’t understand why the guy do such a terrible thing. Families were, and lots of people lost the person they loved.

When we came out from the museum, I just don’t know how to use word to describe my feeling. Life is weak, and we don’t know what will happen the next moment. As soon as we arrived at training center, we discussed a display of the items used to represent the lives of the people who were killed in the bombing. We shared with our class what item we would choose to represent our life. At first, I wanted my voice, because I want to use my voice to praise God and to cheer people up. But since I couldn’t put my neck there, I then decided I would put a statue of my hands. I want to use my hands to help other people.