This is my first time to Oklahoma, surely I have lots of fresh tastes here. Besides learning knowledge at Training Center. We went outside for many interesting activities. We had a cool dinner last Friday. We went to Rebecca’s sisters home having Romanian food. It’s a special food that I first time to eat, and we had a good time there. It’s a highlight that we went shopping on the weekend. Besides Target, we went to Penn Square Mall where I bought what I love – what a wonderful time! Of course, on Sunday morning we went to church. This was my first experience in an American church. I felt so curious and fresh that I took several pictures about the locals church. There is one more thing worth saying – we went to Pops! Wow, there are so many kinds of flavors that we can choose. Its cool, I love it!! By the way, I chose the banana flavor! Cool!

This is my trip to Oklahoma again. Somethings is the same, but some are not. The staff, classmate, roommate, room number, and even me are different from those when I came to here three years ago. The first time when I came here, I was just a little boy needing others help in most everything, but I can help others when they need some help. This makes me fell that I am growing and I am going to be a useful person in the future. That is why I come here again. I want to use what I learn here to help my family and friends to live a correct life when I back in Taiwan.

P.S. I know I should write bigger and more clear. I am working on that and I will try my best.

We’ll be posting videos from the conference in our sidebar, but here’s the debut video clip of Luke Kallberg and Timothy Chen recreating their introductory performance of “Gonna Be Great” for this year’s musical “The Inheritance.” Stay tuned for more!

“Breakfast is at 8am tomorrow morning,” were the only instructions given to me after arriving at the Oklahoma Training Center late last night. So after getting acquainted with my roommate, sleeping a little, waking up & spending time in the Word, what did I do? I went to breakfast! There I met my team mates and enjoyed a tasty meal. After breakfast, our TESOL class began! We were introduced to the TESOL/VOICE leaders and directors, as well as our instructor, Audra King. She taught us teaching basics, and shared some of her personal experiences from teaching in Taiwan.

After lunch, we had auditions for a musical put together by Timothy Chen. Despite the fact that several students claimed musical handicaps, Tim has a great way of bringing out each individuals talent. I am really looking forward to presenting the musical on the last night of this course. I’m also excited about learning new things from our teachers, and continuing to develop friendships with other TESOL/VOICE students and Staff.

All day we have been awaiting the arrival of the VOICE students, and at 8:30 this evening they began to flood the lobby of the training center! It was so exciting to be able to see them and meet with them. I was able to speak with two young ladies for a short amount of time before all of the students went to their room to get settled in. I am very excited that I have the opportunity to meet these wonderful young men & women, and look forward to getting to know more about these students and their culture.

At Voice, I learned the means of being patient when I encounter something that easily angers me or when I am under pressure. Furthermore, due to our daily memorization of Colossians 3:1-17, I learned that I should be careful of what I say, for words are powerful and can hurt and damage other’s heart and spirit and also my own. I do not want to sin and be a follower of Satan, but a follower of God.

LOVE

Love is the building block of Christianity and is the motive that allowed Jesus to sacrifice himself for mankind. Throughout the past few days, our morning classes have stressed the importance of love. The means of being married, how to behave in a relationship, and what exactly true love is. In Corinthians 13:4, love is defined as the following, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. And above all else, love never fails.”

Nowadays, it’s easy to say “I love you.” But is that true love? Most people know love’s meaning in the Bible -I Corinthians 13:4-8. But they need to know the most important part. God is love! If you want to have true love, you need God! Jesus loves us and even died for us. That’s true love. True love is important to me. I want to love God more and have his true love in my heart.

Mary Chen
Team 4

I learned much in VOICE. First, I learned how to pray and keep praying every day. Reading the Bible is another one. In the Bible, God told us many truths and how to get along with others. Faith is the journey building in my mind. Concerning my process of learning, vocabulary is the part that I have progressed most.

We came to Northwoods on August 3rd. There are many lakes here, and there is a big lake we can go kayaking, canoeing and tubing in.

In Northwoods, we didn’t have any internet and I can’t call Taiwan, either. But I thought it is good for me, because I can be closer with God. I can rest my life in here. It is relaxing.

The thing I love the most here is the view. It is beautiful and the other one is the tubing. It is so fun. Andy and I just make a “fall in the water.” It is so fun. And that is my life in Northwoods.

Christopher Lu

I am the Team 1. My team has Tim, Andy, Jason, Aron, Rex and me. Our team is very wild because our team leaders are very open persons. We often exchange the interest of each other. Each time we have a team prayer, we have very much fun because all of us are very willing to express one’s own argument. So I like this team very much.

Jonathan Fu
Team 1

Team two is a funny team which never is sad or in a bad mood. We laugh whenever we are together. Our big brother, Jerry, led us in a fantastic, interesting, surprising, and crazy way, which opened our mouths to laugh loudly. Being in this kind of crazy team was an amazing grace.

Beside the fun things we had, we were also a team that thought a lot. Not only can we be in a light-hearted mood, but also we can discuss issues seriously and deeply. I learned a great amount of lessons from all the members in my team and found that every person could be my teacher. Most important of all, our relationships became better and better day by day. I could feel that there was a strong brotherhood among us, which led us to cherish each other and think of everyone as a treasure from God.

Jerry is a good leader on our team. I hope that I can learn more from him about leadership so that I can apply it to youth group in Taiwan.

Adam Liao
Team 2