Macau

We recently visited Macau for the first time. The purpose of our trip was attending the Chinese Congress on World Evangelization (CCOWE) with members of ORTV. It was a good time of sharing and learning with Chinese Christians from around the world. We also presented some workshops on English Teaching and Evangelism.

Ironically, we were staying in the city's casino district. Fortunately, we managed to stay away from temptation and "Lost Wages". Instead, during our free time we made several trips down to the historical center of Macau. There we were treated to the legacy of Macau's Portuguese/European and Christian settlement. This can be seen in many of the old buildings and churches. Macau as a whole is place where East and West have come together.


Liz in front of the Ruins of St. Paul's. This is the facade of the Church of Mater Dei built in 1602-1640, and destroyed by fire in 1835. It is now a landmark and symbol of Macau.


In Senado Square, the urban center of Macau. The square is surrounded by pastel-colored, neo-classical buildings giving it a Mediterranean feel.


In Senado Square at night with Esther K. This picture was taken in front of the Santa Casa Da Misericordia (Holy House of Mercy). It was established by the first Bishop of Macau in 1569, and modelled after one of the most prominent charitable organizations in Portugal. This Holy House of Mercy was responsible for founding in Macau the first western-style medical clinic and other social welfare programs that still function today.


Next to the fountain in the Cathedral Square. The Cathedral was built around 1622 and restored in 1780. It has two matching belfries.


On the street next to St. Augustine's Church. It was first established by Spanish Augustinians in 1591. Today it still maintains the tradition of organizing the city's Easter Procession which comes right through here.


In the Protestant Cemetery behind Morrison Chapel is the grave of Robert Morrison (1782-1834) for whom the chapel is named. He was the first Protestant missionary to China in 1807. During his lifetime, he compiled a dictionary of Chinese and helped to translate the Bible into Chinese. Morrison helped bring the Gospel to China and literally paved the way for many missionaries who would follow in his steps.


Esther K. unknowingly walks into the picture at St. Dominic's Church but Liz doesn't seem to mind (ha, ha). This church was founded in 1587 by three Spanish Dominican priests who originally came from Acapulco, Mexico. Also, it was here that the first Portuguese newspaper was published in China.


No, we're not in Europe or the Mediterranean. We're in Asia. Liz takes a small detour on this side street, and it looks like someone needs to come and check their mail.


Outside the Casa Garden built in 1770. It was originally the home of a wealthy Portuguese merchant and later rented out to the East India Company. Today it is the headquarters of the Orient Foundation.

Hitler's Tea Shop

You have to leave the Western world to see something like this. Believe it or not, the tea shop's logo is a smiling cartoon version of the madman himself. The Chinese characters on the sign are a transliteration of "Hitler" in Chinese.

Steve's Waterfall

Steve and I went up the mountain looking for an easier way into his favorite waterfall and hangout spot. We ended up bushwacking down the hill, so it turned out not to be the best way after all. But we did have some good views on the way up.

We finally were rewarded with some cool refreshment. Sure, we broke a sweat going up the mountain and sliding through bushes on the way back down. But that just made the water feel even better once we dove in.

Good Food in Chiayi

Liz checks out fresh mangoes on the roadside with Shirley and members of our Chiayi staff.

Enjoying some of Chiayi's specialty dishes in a local restaurant. There's Shirley on the left with Hazel and Stephen (both surprised by the camera) on the right. Linda Ludwig tries to peek around Shirley.

Liz and more of her Vietnamese style

This picture was taken at Grace Liao's wedding banquet. Grace has been a long-time helper with our Friday Night Live Bible studies. Liz looks great here in another one of her Vietnamese ao dais. My matching tie is courtesy of the National Defense Management College (NDMC). You never know when one of those school gifts may come in handy.

Views of Taipei

View of Taipei from Jinmianshan. This picture was taken on a hike after work around 6:15 pm.


Looking south across Neihu and the Jilong River at Taipei 101.


View west looking back toward Miramar shopping center, ferris wheel and Dazhi. The Grand Hotel is visible in the upper right near the end of the ridge.

Martyr's Shrine

On the last day of my family's visit to Taiwan, I took my brother, Jeff over to the Martyr's Shrine in Taipei. It's located a short distance from Dazhi on the way over to the Grand Hotel.


The view looking out the door of the Military Shrine located off to the side of the central building. On the opposite side of the stone courtyard is the Civilian Shrine. In each building plaques, tablets and pictures remember people who who died in support of the Republic of China. Many of them lost their lives during the war against the Japanese and later against the Communists in China.


Here's Jeff near the front steps of the central building as the guards are moving into place.


And at the side of the building looking down through the front row of columns with the fine woodwork visible on the ceiling.


The guards can't move once they're in place. So what happens when you're standing there in uniform and helmet on a very hot day? Fortunately, there's a nice guy standing around who can come along and wipe off your sweat. Thanks dude!


Nice view from the small garden just outside Martyr's Shrine with Taipei 101 visible in the distance.

Yangming Mountain National Park

Dad, Faith and Jeff at Qingtiangang in Yangming Mountain National Park. It's a beautiful view up there. It seems so far away from the city and yet it's very close to Taipei. On this day we took a nice walk across the mountain grassland and up the hill.


Faith and Jeff appear to be racing to the top and it looks like Faith's winning.


Hey! We finally made it to the top. The grass seems to grow in big clumps up here. Let's not get lost in the bushes.


Here's a closeup of the happy hikers with a view off the side of the mountain. Now it's time to head back down to the parking lot (off to the right) and catch a small bus back to Taipei. It's so nice up here, do we have to go back?

Family Visit in Taiwan

Phil's family came to Taiwan for a one week visit 6/10- 6/17. This time it was Dad, older brother Jeff, and his daughter, Faith. One of the sites they visited early in the trip was the world's tallest building, the Taipei 101.

Here's Dad and the view looking up from the bottom.


And here's Faith (our niece) with some of the view from the top.

In Taipei, they got a glimpse of the modern, especially at places like Taipei 101. But they also wanted to see some of the old. For a view of "old Taiwan", we went to Jiufen.

Some of the many steps through Jiufen, a town built on a steep hillside.


One of the many teahouses with a great view. However, it seems Faith is looking the wrong way.

Faith got two scrolls with her name. One in Chinese and one in English. This man does the writing of the big letters with the sides of his hand (no brush or pen).


Coming down the steps. There they are. Dad shows up nicely in his blue shirt.

Next to one of the nice cafe/restaurants.

Student Birthday Party

With Friday night Bible study student, Harry (left) and friends at his birthday dinner. We ate at a local Pakistani/Indian restaurant. Mmm, good! And Harry paid for the meal. I guess I didn't know that's the way Chinese often do it. In contrast, when we take a Western friend out for birthday dinner, everyone chips in to help pay for that person's meal as well as their own.

Want to see more of Vietnam?

We invite you to visit our Yahoo Photos page at this address:

http://photos.yahoo.com/philandlizarcher

There are two albums here of our trips to Hanoi and Sapa (in northern Vietnam). If you are interested in scenery and local culture (of which Vietnam has much to offer), but not in difficult history (specifically the war in Vietnam) then just skip over the last section of each.

Living Dangerously?

Don't try this at home.

Liz does appear to tempt fate on this crosswalk in Hanoi. However, fortunately motor-bike drivers there seem to be pretty good at swerving and avoiding pedestrians. This then makes it possible to "part the waters" as Liz does here.

Another good thing is that these motor-bike drivers don't drive as fast as people in Taipei. Perhaps that's one reason why nobody wears a helmet in Hanoi. However, we did witness a few minor accidents.


Here's the scene of one accident where two motor-bikes collided because their view was blocked by a taxi. Fortunately, no one was badly hurt. The riders (3 or 4 of them) all got up pretty quickly and later drove away. We witnessed this scene from the second floor balcony of a nearby restaurant while having dinner.

Taiwanese Aboriginal Students

With aboriginal students at a school in Taitung (Tai-dong). Most of the kids here in this picture are from the Paiwan group. You can see that they look very different from the average Chinese (or Han people).


Jason and some more students at the same school in Taitung. Jason is part Ami (pronounced Ah-May). The Ami are the largest aboriginal group in Taiwan. They are centered in eastern Taiwan, especially around Hualien. The girl on Jason's right is also Ami. Further to the south here in Taitung, there are more people from the Paiwan group. They have darker skin color and are more Polynesian in appearance.


See what I mean by darker skin color? Check out the girl in the lower right corner. Yes, she speaks Chinese. No, this is not some Pacific island like Fiji or Samoa. It is Taiwan. I love seeing this kind of ethnic diversity here. It makes me feel that Taiwan's not such a mono-cultural society after all.

Vietnam

Fruit or drinks anyone? Curbside service in Hanoi: Phil plays the part of a banana vendor while Liz orders a drink at the window.


Liz shows off one of the reasons why she wanted to come back to Hanoi - to shop for more traditional Vietnamese ao dais. And if she dresses like this, it's no wonder some people mistake her for a local. In fact, some do try to speak to her in Vietnamese. I(Phil), of course, don't have that problem. People there (especially cyclo and motor-bike drivers) have no trouble spotting me as a tourist. In the Old Quarter of Hanoi, it seemed I had to say "No thank you" to ride offers several times every minute.


Liz also enjoys the good food and balcony seating available in many of the local restaurants.


The French colonial charm of Hanoi is nice too. This can be seen in the architecture of many buildings. Here Liz poses on the front steps of the Opera House.


With a group of young school girls next to the "McCain memorial". It marks the spot where Senator John McCain was shot down and captured at Hanoi's Truc Bach Lake in 1967. He parachuted into the water and was plucked out by a group of fishermen.

Liz and Liz

Hey, who's the beautiful lady on TV? If I didn't know any better, I'd think they were having a tele-conference with each other here. It does look like they're making eye contact with each other.

Liz is happy that she finally gets to see one of her "Usage Tips" on the Studio Classroom TV program.

Do I really look like that? Yeah, with lots of make-up, I do.

Zhong-li H.S. Students Visit ORTV

Rachael Sawatzky and I with some of the students that visited ORTV recently. After they took a tour of our office and studios, we did some English activities with them in the chapel.

Evangelical Free Church in Nei-Hu

Lisa Holl and I goofing off with some of the students in the English Fellowship at EFC Nei-Hu. We visited their Thursday night group, did an English activity, taught a Studio Classroom lesson, and shared our testimonies. By this time, you can see we'd gotten pretty comfortable (or crazy) with each other.