Kaohsiung weekend- into the wild

This past weekend Mel and I decided to get out of the big city for a change and visit our friends in the southern part of the country, Kaohsiung. So we took a bus Friday night from Taipei to Kaohsiung following the yellow trail pictured below. It was about a 5 hour bus ride and we didn't arrive until about 2:30 am Saturday morning.

We stayed with our friend Bara (from Czech Republic) and her two roommates Rhonia (from Germany) and Fjorn (from Australia). They have a fantastic great big apartment outside the city which felt like a palace in comparison to our little concrete asylum back in Taipei. It was nice and hot down there, as it typically is in the south, so we were enjoying it immensely after the endless rain in Taipei. However, my pale city skin hasn't seen sunlight in so long I immediately burned. I was just glad to be some other color than fish belly white. Kaohsiung is much less crowded and laid back than Taipei, even in the main part of the city. So it was a nice change. And people seem to be more relaxed and friendly. The only downside would be the lack of public transportation options. At one point we piled onto the "city bus" (which was about the size of a large VW vanagon) with about 20 people inside. It was like a human jenga puzzle, my face was smashed between some old Taiwanese man's armpit and some pimpley kid's shoulder for the whole ride. And when it's 85 degrees and about 95% humidity, it makes for a rather unpleasant journey. 

The first place Bara took us to was a famous lake called 'Lotus Pond' where there are giant colorful Hindu/Buddhist statues and pagodas of Disneylandish proportions surrounding, and in, the lake. Along with thousands of turtles and lily pads with giant colorful lotus flowers. 

Here are some pictures. (click to enlarge)

Some of the statues in the distance are as big as the skyscrapers.

Turtles holding hands

Later in the evening we met up with a group from the congregation and did some witnessing at the ports. The English Congregation in Kaohsiung has had enormous success preaching here. This port harbors more big fishing boats than the one we preach at in Taipei area. So, they usually are docked for a month or so and then out to sea for upwards of 9 months, sometimes never to return. So they preach here every week to make sure they can pack in as much spiritual food for these sailors while they are in. The past few weeks a large group of men from Eritrea, Africa were docked and took full advantage of their time here to get a spiritual feast. They've been able to study with about 9 or 10 of them several times, and most of them took the opportunity to come to a meeting as well. But they will have to go back out to sea soon, and likely will never be back. So we're all hoping the seeds the brothers and sisters have planted will continue to grow back in their home lands.  

Witnessing to Indonesian sailors by street light

L to R: John Gedge (from Hawaii), Tabetha (from Australia), and Mel.  Port witnessing.

After our nice evening of witnessing, we all decided to go out for dinner. And I got to go on my first scooter ride in Taiwan. (not pictured)

Sunday morning we attended the meeting and then had lunch with some of the sisters and one of Bara's bible studies at a really good Thai restaurant. Afterward the girls dropped Mel and I off at Monkey Mountain. (There are many small mountains in the Kaohsiung area, this one happens to be teeming with wild monkeys... thus the name) We were warned ahead of time that the monkeys were not shy and that we shouldn't bring food with us, or even plastic bags because they have a reputation of jumping on hikers and tearing through their things. One of their most successful methods being to drop out of a tree unannounced in front of a hiker in order to scare them into dropping their food. So naturally, I brought a banana with me in hopes of increasing my chances of such an encounter. 

The mountain is quite jungley, lots of amazing trees and big broad leafy plants. And every so often if you walk off the main path you find stone ruins and underground man made tunnels that go through the mountain side. It's very reminiscent of being in the Jungle Book. And sure enough, there are lots of monkeys.

lost in the jungle

After our hike through the mountain we packed Bara, Mel and I all onto her tiny 50 CC scooter and barreled down the mountain. All three of us cracking up the whole way. We even got a thumbs up from some of the locals driving by. 

Mel and I got back on a bus and spent another five hours getting home.  

We're hoping to be able to spend at least another week down there sometime soon. We didn't have time to make it to the beach or catch any surf, so maybe next time.

I heart Kaohsiung.

A memorial to remember...

There have now been two memorials in my life that have been most memorable. The first was when I was a teenager and my sister and I accidentally dropped the plate of bread. (I'm sure Grandma remembers that one) That one goes on the top of the 'mortified' memorials list.

Today's experience tops a different list, let me tell you what happened...

About a week ago, I got very sick. Unfortunately the morning I woke up feeling the worst was the last Saturday of March, the day I had planned on finishing my time for auxiliary pioneering. I woke up and attempted to cook breakfast and get dressed for service, but quickly realized I was in absolutely no condition to leave the house. This was a very depressing day. I laid in bed all day and watched the hours, and my chance to make my time, slip away. Wishing I could have gotten sick tomorrow instead so I could finish my time. Needless to say, I was feeling like a bit of a failure... and with the memorial only a few days away I knew that if I didn't get better I would have no time to engage in the invitation work.

Well, days went by and it got worse. I went from feeling bad to feeling like death warmed over. I wasn't able to breath properly because of all the fluid in my lungs, in addition to a soar throat, fever, and constant headache. Finally my boss demanded I see a doctor. She made her husband walk me to the nearest clinic and have me examined. The doctor told me I had a bronchial infection, and prescribed me lots of colorful pills to take. So I complied. That night I came home hoping this would help the situation when suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my back, and my right leg seized up. Next morning I awoke in agony. My lower back had gone out so badly that I could hardy stand up or sit, even laying down was uncomfortable. The worst part was that all the mucous was breaking loose because of the medicine the doctor had given me, so I was constantly coughing very violently as my lungs attempted to eject anything in them. But each time I coughed it felt like whip-lash to my back. If I didn't cough, I couldn't breath. So I was sort of stuck in a catch-22.

Needless to say, my situation was getting worse. I called in sick to my jobs. And feeling desperate on Wednesday night, I emailed a friend who I thought might know of a chiropractor in the city. (As it turns out, the Taiwanese have no concept of chiropractic care, they assume you mean massage therapist or doctor)

This morning: Very kindly, my friend recommended a lady she had been to that helped her before and booked me an appointment. However the lady had moved to a different city since then. So I decided to give it a try in hopes I could make it to the memorial tonight. Problem was, I could hardly walk and sitting was excruciating. So getting to the city (which is an hour bus ride away) would be troublesome. So I hailed a cab and toughed it out. When I arrived at the address given to me, there was nothing there but some little back-alley tire shop and an old poster on a rather unkempt doorway that said 'Swedish Spa'. I rang the doorbell a number of times, but no one came. After calling my friend, and about a half hour of waiting in the rain, I was informed they had moved their office. I was in so much pain I was about to hail the nearest taxi and leave. But then a minivan pulled up near me. The door opened and two women waved me over. They had come to collect me and take me to the new spa. As it turns out, there was no chiropractor there at all. The woman is a massage therapist and no one there spoke English. But I figured, I came all this way and it might help, I was desperate at this point. I will say this... it was the most torturous, painful, and long massage I've ever had. I left, and took a train back home. But, I still felt horrible. In fact, now I felt pain everywhere from the beating I received. I hobbled home in the pouring rain as fast as my twisted tortured body would let me. But by the time I got there it was 5:50 pm... and memorial started at 6:00 pm... and the Kingdom Hall is 45 minutes away. I prayed to Jehovah to help me just make it there, and tried to put a skirt on. I walked about 3 blocks in the pouring rain and realized that by the time I would get there it would be over. Not to mention I was in so much pain I was nearly in tears, and my shoes were full of water already. So I turned back and hobbled home defeated. I felt so depressed and lame. I just laid in bed and cried myself to sleep. I couldn't believe all my efforts were in vain, and that I'd miss the most important day of the year.

Then about an hour later my phone rang. It was an elder from my congregation calling to make sure I was okay. I explained what happened, and he was very understanding. He contacted a brother who had planned on giving the memorial talk out at the east coast tonight. He wasn't able to make it out there for some extenuating circumstances, so he and another brother arranged to come to our apartment and give the talk here for me.

By the time they were able to arrive it was about 11:00 pm. Equipped with bibles, wine, and unleavened bread they prepared a humble presentation on my plastic dishes. We sat in my living room and the brother gave a nice memorial talk, and prayer, and even got to pass the emblems... to an audience of one.

I can't express how thankful I am to them for making a special trip here to allow me to participate in the memorial. I really see how Jehovah took care of me in my time of need. I know first hand that not one of Jehovah's sheep goes overlooked. All the grief of the past week sort of melts away after receiving such a blessing.

And although I am still laid up in bed, and in pain... I am truly happy.

The two brothers who conducted the memorial at my apartment.

The emblems (fine dining wear courtesy of the Barksdales)