Summer 2006

Well the summer is over and we survived the schedule, barely! I’ll do a run down of the time we had in the US and in another newsletter I’ll write about our move to Taipei.

We left Wuhan with many tears and love on a Sunday morning and flew to Shenzhen to make our way to Hong Kong. We left mainland China with a heavy heart and excitement for the unknown. Hong Kong was filled with many surprises. We stayed at the Bethany Ministries and just had a good time there as always. We worked on getting our work visas that Monday for Taiwan, but of course, that wasn’t as smooth as we’d planned. Everything was fine except for my medical checkup. I had gone to HK the week before and had a checkup done, but one section wasn’t filled out and the result was an incomplete application for my visa. They wouldn’t accept mine. This one error would turn out to be a huge headache the entire summer, but one that God used to grow character and faith in me. So, Uwe and the kids all got their work visas and I enters Taiwan as a tourist.

We spent 5 very fast days in Taipei. Uwe and the kids got all their paperwork done and were official alien residents. We looked at our new apartment and dropped off some of the bags there. We walked around the area to help me get familiar with it; visited friends; and checked out the nearby park.

Then it was a long flight to the US, with no problems. We stayed in one of my parent’s rental houses for the summer. My niece was gracious to leave her TVs, treadmill, computer, phone, plus everything else there for us to use. The first two weeks were getting the girls over jet-lag. That was rough. We saw the doctor and began working on my work visa. Of course, this Taiwan office required more documentation, so we had to round up all that was needed for that and wait.

We had two week in NY, for PFO (Pre-Field Orientation). That turned out to be wonderful. We met some of the neatest people and learned some very valuable lessons for the field. It was a time of transition for us as well; letting go of the old and embracing the new. It was just a time of healing as well, a refreshing wind in the midst of chaos.

The last few weeks were spent in MO with my family, with Uwe traveling to England one week for his class. The kids had a great time with the cousins, aunts and uncles. They rode horses; fished; played with puppies; and went swimming. It was just fun to be able to see everyone and hang out.

Back to my visa problem. Literally, the afternoon before we were to fly out the next morning I was able to drive to Kansas City to pick up my passport. Two days before this, they were not sure it would be ready in time. Uwe and I almost bought new tickets, but just didn’t feel like that was the answer at the time. It was an interesting time of testing. You see, I felt like my blessing bucket was empty…that there could not possibly be anything left in it. But, I kept holding onto the fact that there was no set amount you could receive from God. He just keeps giving and giving. So, every time I’d get a bit panicky I’d remind myself that God could do it. But, if he so chose not to, that he would then give us an alternate plan and that I just needed to trust in him. Wow, what a lesson…too bad that I forget so easily and go back to the worrier that I am. Well, I know that he has more lessons for me to learn about in Taipei. I’m thankful that he is patient with me and that he loves me enough to take time and to teach me, even though those times of teaching are never painless.

May God bless each of you love and grace this day!

Love, md for the maurers