By Justin Tsuei
Justin Tsuei (FPC STM) feedback for VGM in Guogou and Dongshih 8/21/08
This summer, I was given the wonderful opportunity to go to Taiwan in order to spread the word and love of God to people that would otherwise not have the chance to be able to know his kindness and mercy. Although at times it was very physically and mentally demanding, it was very spiritually rewarding to see the impact that we were having on the children of Taiwan.
At the first camp that we attended, I was able to help my two Taiwan co-workers, Harvest and Karen, teach fifth and sixth graders. Although my job was to basically keep the kids attentive and focused on the lesson, it was not an easy task. In our class were two especially hyper and playful children, Jack and Ben. From the time I arrived to the camp they were constantly at each other throats hitting and kicking each other. They would not participate with the class and would constantly interrupt the teacher; thus, I spent most of my time the first week watching over these two kids and making sure that they did not get hurt. I prayed that they would behave and stay attentive in class with their peers, not only because it would be good for them but because it was extremely tiring to have to chase them and keep them from throwing rocks at each other. To my amazement, I saw that as the camp progressed, they gradually became less and less violent. I later realized that the reason for these two children's bad behavior was the fact that they received little to no attention from the other students in the class. The other children saw Jack and Ben as basically social pariahs that did not belong in their class, a fact that was obvious when both the boys and girls in the class would constantly either ignore or tease them. When teaching the children the lesson of the tax collector, I noticed that both Ben and Jack asked more questions and participated more in the general discussion. By giving them extra attention and playing with them they fought less. Although they were still a little mischievous when our team left for the next camp, they were much better behaved than when I got there. I felt that God called me to Taiwan to show these two children love and kindness, two spiritual fruits that are hard to come by in such a harsh social environment. Besides these two children, the rest of the class was pretty well behaved. They were a little hesitant in participating, but that is to be expected seeing as how they are at the age where not doing anything is considered "cool". I was extremely surprised to see that most of the girls in our class cried when we said our good-byes, which led my Taiwan co-worker, Karen, to cry as well. I would say that my time in Guogou was a gift from God, a wonderful summer memory that I will never forget.
In the second camp, I helped teach first and second graders with my Taiwan co-workers. After seeing the difficulties my church friend, Wilson, experienced while teaching his first grade class in Guogou, I feared for the worst and expected to have a loud and badly behaved class. However, when I met my class, I found that each and every one of them was well-behaved. During class, students would listen to the teacher and follow instructions. During arts and crafts, the students were a little more playful, but were still generally very well behaved. During Sing and Play, the students would sing and dance along with us. I felt truly blessed and thanked God for giving me such a kind and attentive class that paid attention and participated. Even when the typhoon came, I was surprised to see how many of my students came to class even though they were not required to do so. I was also extremely pleased to see that many of my students came on the last day to the church to say good-bye.
Overall, the trip to Taiwan was a great experience in which I was able to not only grow closer to God, but see how Taiwanese children who lived in villages went about their daily lives. It also showed me that people in America take too many things for granted, such as air conditioning. There is not anything in my mind that sticks out when I think about things that could be improved because it feels like such a perfect experience now that I think of the mission trip. The only thing that I think could be improved would be to give the STM a little more to do during class time, but that is pretty much it. I just thank God for giving me such a wonderful opportunity and hope that I will be able to attend VGM next year.
