Apple Pie and Other Fall Fun

Last week, the Wizards (my class) learned about Fall. Most of them had no clue what Fall was/is or even what a season is so I thought I needed to break them in right ;)

September 22nd was the first official day of Fall. We briefly talked about the four seasons and the holidays celebrated during fall. We talked about harvesting crops including pumpkins and apples. We also watched videos of the leaves changing in North America (I haven't seen as much color variety here).

But what could say "Fall" better than APPLE PIE! So I decided that as a class, we should make our very own apple pies.

One of my co-teachers helped me film a video of making the pie filling. This video served the triple purpose of being educational, saving time, and allowing my students to have something to occupy them while I cleaned the classroom and the pies baked. If your interested in watching the video, you can do so below. Otherwise just skip right along to the pictures!



So I made the pie crust and the pie filling at home, but my students really did assemble the hand pies by themselves (ok they had some minor help but mostly by themselves). Then we baked the pies right in the classroom! I hope you enjoy all of our pictures.

The other teachers kept saying how good the classroom and hallway smelled while we were baking :)

This is the pie I made earlier in the day so they could see what a full size apple pie looks like.

I made paper with circles printed on them and covered them with plastic wrap so the students could use them as a guide for shaping their pie crust.

Demonstrating how much filling to put into the pie and how to fold it over.

I helped the students seal the pies--mostly because I didn't have enough forks at home for everyone to use one.

This is the finished pie. My kids love taking their treats home and sharing with their families.

Here are the recipes for the pie crust and pie filling if you are interested in trying them:

• Pie Filling - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/apple-pie-filling/detail.aspx
• Pie Crust - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/ruths-grandmas-pie-crust/detail.aspx
• Pie Assembly* - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/apple-hand-pies/detail.aspx

*I only used this recipe for temperature and time information.

Paid (by the hour) in full!

I have a new perspective on work life. Where to start? Last week I had a bad Sinus infection. One of those knock you down fever, sinuses, cough, sore throat, tired, achy basically everything from the Nyquil commercial. But unlike any previous time in the past 15 yrs I didn't have the option of a "sick day" Having a job that pays hourly is a new thing to me. Therefore I have such a new found respect for the hourly worker. It hit me on Wednesday: We are having a baby, we have to pay for visa papers, if I don't work I don't get paid.

So i get up. Fever is 101. Ok, Ok! I get it. Don't go to a school with a bunch of little children when you have a fever. But that is not very Taiwanese of me now is it? Besides those little carrier monkeys are the reason for the sickness anyway! So like I said, 101 fever. I walk to the bus in a daze. I ride the bus in a daze. I ride the train in a daze. I teach my classes (Wednesday of all days is my longest and hardest days), I go home in a daze. Go to sleep. It was not exactly fun.

So I learned this. Man, how I have taken my nice little salary jobs for granted. I haven't had an hourly wage job since Johnston's Paint Store in Boonville, MO the summer of '94. Always had the luxury off sick days, vacation days, etc. If anyone who is reading this knows me very well they will know how much of a baby I am when I am sick. I did enjoy it. But it granted me a new respect and perspective on the working life of many people. I also realize now why so many Taiwanese people fall asleep on public transportation. If I was so afraid of missing my stop I would have joined them in dreamland on the way there and home.

FOCUS #1: Getting settled and finding work

As I type focus number 1 is going good. Christiana and I have both found jobs that fit our schedule and its going good.  I know that a lot of people were nervous because we came over with no jobs.  Just to stress again. All the people that we talked about this venture stated that is way better and easier to find job (at a good school) once you are here.  The alternative is signing a contract with a big school and being stuck in a bad situation. It was a leap of faith. God provided.  It is still an adjustment to be a english teacher but the kids are great.

Getting settled? I pose the question: What does settled mean?  We have a place to live, to work, made some friends, have cell phones.  So if that is the case then yes, we are settled.  If settled is feeling comfortable, relaxed, knowledgable, and routine? Then No way are we "settled".  When you rely on taxis, walking and buses to go everywhere you never really know how you got there. Right now i am typing this in one of our favorite new places, L.A.X Burger, and i couldnt even tell you how to get here or get back to our house. LOL.  But we like it here. We are friends with the owners and we feel comfortable here. Oh and the burgers are flippin awesome.

So as far as FOCUS 1 goes. We have jobs. We are on the way to being settled.  This is one of the main reasons we committed to staying 2 yrs.  I feel we wont even really feel settled until the first year is done! So continue to pray for us.  We are trying hard to adjust (i am having trouble with the local food, surprise i know) and trying to find our place in this lovely, hot, crazy, busy, noisy, fun, interesting, place.  For someone who has never been out of the country its like jumping into the deep end of the pool having just learn to swim.  But its a great adventure!

Hitting the Ground Running

We've been in Taichung (our new city) since Friday. This vlog is a general update of what we have been doing the past few days.

Time with Tate #3: Where Will You Be Teaching and What About the Communication Barrier?

Today Tate and Jimmy talk about where we will be teaching and how we will overcome the communication barrier.

Grace and Peace,

Christiana


For information about the kind of schools we plan to teach in visit www.movetotaiwan.com.

We Did It!!!

Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” Luke 18:27

It seems impossible but WE ARE FULLY FUNDED! YES!!! We just have to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has become part of our team through financial support and/or prayer. You have made the difference. Thank you for helping us to be ready for Taiwan. We really couldn't have done this without you.

I can't tell you how good it feels to be able to focus the next two weeks on getting rid of the rest of our stuff, cleaning the house, studying language and culture, and packing to leave instead of stressing about whether we will have enough money to live on until are fully established in Taiwan.

Please continue to pray for us as we seek God's leading in finding jobs and a place to live. Things are coming together nicely so far but we still have so many details to hammer out. This is really hard for my "ducks in a row" personality. Jimmy is struggling with the unknown of foreign travel as this is his first time outside the United States. We appreciate your prayers and thoughts more than you know!

Grace and Peace,

Christiana

Skype Interview with Giraffe

Waiting for our interview with Giraffe to start.

This past weekend Jimmy and I went to Fulton to visit my family and to celebrate my sister Mary's birthday. We knew it was going to be a fun weekend anyway, but then we got an email saying that Giraffe English School would like to have a Skype interview with us on Friday night! Well, no problem. We cancelled some of our plans and re-arranged others so that we could be sitting on my parents' couch at 8 P.M. on Friday night to Skype with the school's recruiter.

Although we were told that it was only going to be a voice interview we decided that we would still dress up--just in case. You want to make a good impression and since Skype does have video options it's way better to be safe than sorry. In the end, we ended up being on video while our interviewer was voice only (I don't blame her since it was 9 A.M. Saturday morning her time!).

The interview lasted approximately one hour and fifteen minutes (according to the call timer). It seemed to go well, and this week we hope to hear whether or not we will officially be offered the two positions in Taichung. Until then I guess we will just have to continue to wait and pray.

Grace and Peace,

Jimmy & Christiana

Why Taiwan?

Ok, so you have heard our big news (or if you haven't you can learn about it here). If you are like most of the other people we have talked to the first question which might pop into your mind is "Why Taiwan?" Let's talk about it.

There are 3 basic reasons why we are moving to Taiwan:

#1 It's what God is calling us to do right now.
Since our time at McCarthy has closed we have been praying and seeking advice of our Christian mentors and other Godly people in our lives we trust. It has been clearly confirmed that even though we don't have a place to live or a place to work (yet), we are supposed to move to Taiwan at the end of July. As my (Christiana's) mother has told me numerous times in my life--including when I called to talk to her about this, "If that's what God is telling you to do then you better do it!"

#2 It's an opportunity to do ministry differently.
Christiana has a real heart for students and for missions, and I have been working with students for more than 15 years but I have always been on staff at a church. This is a chance not only to get out of our comfort zones and explore a new culture, but it is also a chance to be able to focus on ministry without the pressure of being "on staff". Not being on staff will also allow us the opportunity to parent with multiple local churches and ministries. Also, teaching English will allow us to stay in Taiwan and to meet a multitude of students, parents, and others who will want to talk to us and build relationships with us (allowing us to share Jesus) just because we are native English speakers. It is a WIDE open opportunity.

#3 It will be good for us.
Moving to Taiwan will be good for us. It will broaden our world view and help us to see outside of our Western mindset. In addition, when we talked to Jimmy's surgeon (Find out more about Jimmy's surgery) he brought up a valid point...it will be easier to eat healthier, be more active, and lose additional weight anywhere that's not America. If for no other reason but the increased amount of walking we will be doing to transport ourselves from one place to another it will be good for us.

As I am sure you have figured out, there are many reasons why we decided to move to Taiwan. However, these are the big 3. So please pray for us. This is going to be a challenge even though it's what we believe God is calling us to do. If you want to find out how you can help, please visit our FOR SALE page or our GoFundMe page.

Grace and Peace,

Jimmy & Christiana

Hello, everyone! Jimmy recorded a special vlog for you so you can hear our BIG announcement from our own lips. So here it is...

Our Big Announcement

View Items FOR SALE

Thanks for stopping by to hear our big announcement. You can follow our Journey here on our blog or keep up with us on Facebook or both! If you have any questions, feel free to email us, Facebook us, or comment below.