Oh, that's right, I Have a blog

Well, hello everyone who still has mild interest. I'm back. It really has been more than a year since my last post. Up till now I have lived in Taipei, Taiwan for one year and almost 5 months. I am very aware that I totally looks like I completely abandoned my blog but the truth is that I just got busy and forgot. Honest. You have to realize that I worked for over two years really,  really hard just to make it over here. And once I made it I kind of got absorbed in my new reality. But more than getting absorbed into this new life of living on my own in a foreign country that doesn't speak English as a first language, the hard part was realizing that this isn't a dream. Not a fantasy either. In fact, it's just life but in a new location. The location is very new and exotic but after a year those special things that made it new and exotic just faded. After that happened what I was left with was just my life just the same as I had it before. And to be honest, it's taken me sometime to come to terms with that. Now I'm not saying I'm disappointed. In fact I'm far from being disappointed. But what I'm trying to say and in turn blog about this time is just the truth of moving permanently to serve where the need is greater. Now there is a lot to talk about so let's start in an easy place, what I was expecting. Warning ahead: I will be very honest both with myself and with my experiences.

When I first made my way to Taiwan it was late 2013 and I was 23. I was a very different person and Iwas really craving a clear direction in my life. So when I got to Taipei and met all those people my age from different places and different backgrounds having fun learning Chinese and preaching I felt like I had discovered my calling. Of course, the trip only lasted for three months and I had to return home, but I had that taste in my mouth and I wanted it back. It took a lot of work for two and a half years, and I got really low more than a few times, but that thought of getting back what I had at first was strong enough to keep me going. Another factor was that I had never experienced anything like a large group of friends always doing things together and having fun, so it was a new enjoyable experience. However, when I finally did get back I discovered a few things had changed that I hadnt ever focused on. One was that the majority of the friends I made had all moved on to new things leaving only one or two people that I really knew behind. Another was that when I came back I did find another group of early twenty somethings always hanging out and having fun, but by then I was 26 and a very different person. And lastly I found that Taiwan had stopped being a magical place were everyday was an adventure and had become a place where I had to work and struggle to get by in. So, being honest, I felt quite a bit of disappointment when I finally came back. It really wasn't that bad in hind sight. Really, it was still a huge improvement from my previous situation. It really was a silly thing to be disappointed in change, really. But I still remember going back to a place called Danshui in the north, the place where I first fell in love with Taiwan and felling the wait of that massive change and it felt like I had been working hard all day on an empty stomach and expecting to come home to a hearty meal only to realize that I had to go back out, buy my own groceries, then make my own meal from scratch. I really wanted to make a very delicious and satisfying meal for my self but I just couldn't do it, I didn't know what to do. But really that feeling really helped me understand a very important lesson.

When the time had come when I had lived in Taipei for almost a year I had a very serious reflection. I really didn't not like the person I was. My Chinese had improved but it really was not very good. I found myself working more than I was preaching. My preaching work hadn't really yielded anything, in my opinion, really great. And I was so disappointed in myself because I was really unhappy living in the place I had worked so hard to get to. At that time I really was fortunate because I could turn to my father for good advice. I told him everything I was feeling and going through. After hearing everything he simply asked me, "What are you still holding on to?" That question really got me thinking. At the end I came to a very elementary but none the less serious idea: I really am the first and last person that can make myself happy. Now I won't get to far into the main reason I was unhappy,it really is a personal matter, but I will tell you that when I finally discovered it I realized that I had to fix that problem in me. What I discovered I think applies to most people as well. I do think that most people have one or a few main problems that are the root of all the other problems in their life. In my case it was one thing and I had to face that one big one before I could start to get better. I am a very blessed man because as soon as I prayed for help I got the perfect circumstances to fix and bury my problem. And you know what once I put that behind me things did get a lot better. So if I am trying to say anything it's this: most of the time when you are unhappy the best thing you can do is not change your environment but change your viewpoint, or outlook. If you are humble enough and have a positive enough mindset you can be happy anywhere. So I changed my mindset. I was one hundred percent ready to be happy in a foreign field right? Nope, I still had a few things to adjust.

When I ca,e back here to live I had in mind great things for myself. Nothing gaudy, just a ripe preaching field where I could get dozens of bible studies, find a nice sister, a comfortable environment and settle in one place for the rest of my life. Not much to ask for, right? Easily obtainable for someone in my situation. After all, I'm single, I have the world open to me, the right circumstances, so it will be as inch to get these things right? Well,not exactly. When you move to a foreign land to serve you feel that you are on the top of the spiritual food chain but in reality you just nobody and knowone is going to treat you extra special just because you moved locations. And really,  that's good. That keeps you honest. So then, how do you react when you find out you are not ready to get what you want? You viewpoint on life might be good but you still need one more thing. Patience. You need patience with your situation and patience with yourself. So what exactly have I learned and how do I feel about my new way of life?

I true.y, one hundred and ten percent think that choosing to move where the need is great has been the best idea I've ever had in my whole life. I don't I could have ever grown so much, learned so much, and experienced as much just living in my home town for one year. I truly feel Jehovah with me even day and I can se the results of his training and I am amazed. But this whole thing hasn't all been a big party. It has also been a lot of work and more than a few tears to get to this point. But let me tell you, "All of it is totally worth it!"  Don't be afraid of the unknown because Jehovah is with you. He will watch you, maybe even more than before because you are in a peculiar situation. And you will grow and be happier. This I can promise you. Well, that is a very short summary of what has been going on but I still need to post pictures and tell stories. That will have to wait till next time. Till then know that I love you all and I wish you all the best. Till next time.

Here I Go Again On my Own (Dahnana Nanana Nananuh)

Well, hello there! It sure has been awhile since I’ve done this sort of thing. I will be honest with you, I kind of missed this. This will be the kickstarter to my ‘New and Improved mmmtaiwanblog.’ Lets see, how should I start this thing…

Well, to start I will say that this blog marks the start of my return journey back to Taipei, Taiwan. Back in November of 2013 I was blessed enough to be able to go and visit for a stay of about 3 months. I had every intention of staying for 6 months when I started the trip. Then I had every intention of staying forever when I arrived. Then I was forced to return home after just 3 months (sad face). But the trip gave me some great insight. I learned a lot from going there and then I learned even more from coming back home and working to get back. This is where you readers might be interested. You see I am writing this blog for the sole purpose to encourage brothers and sisters who are interested in doing something more. If you are doing everything that your circumstances allow you to right now but still have a little emptiness in your heart, then this blog is dedicated to you. If you have had a nagging feeling in the back of your mind since you saw some sort of experience at the last convention about serving where the need is greater, or saw something similar on jw.org, then this blog is dedicated to you. Or if you have had every intention in the past to go and serve in some greater capacity but since then you just haven’t seemed to find the right circumstances, then this blog is for you. Basically, plan on enticing all of you dear brothers and sisters to leave your current life behind and make a mad dash for that celestial chariot #dashlikeJehu.

Now this is not my first blog post on mmmtaiwan. I had made some other posts back when

I had lived over in Taiwan before. If you all have the courage to read any of them then good for you. But I will say this about my mindset back then. I was writing as a 23 year old kid with no real idea of what he was doing. I was just kind of going over to escape the boredom of living in a small town with not a lot of friends in it (as a side note to the friends I do have back home, I love you :)). So when, sorry if, you read them you will be reading a dairy of the fun stuff I did. Things have changed now though. Right around January 2014 a childhood friend of mine died and it really got me thinking. Sure I was pioneering, and was a servant, and was in a foreign language group, but was I really doing what I could? I was in a foreign country, but was I making the most of it? I was 23 almost 24 and I really had serious thoughts about what I was doing with my life. My friend was making good progress too but then she just died out of nowhere. Her story in this world just ended. What if something like that happened to me? If I had the ability to read my life like it was a book would I be happy with the story? I realized I wouldn’t. I wanted to do more. It’s always a very tragic thing when death makes you see life more clearly, but that is what happened. My friend will come back one day, that I know. But would I if the same thing happened to me? I don’t want to chance that.

So now I will be going back improve my story. It really wasn’t easy. I want to be upfront about that. When each of you attempt to improve your own stories it won’t be easy either. In my own case I had to go back home with 3,000 dollar of debt, no car, no job. I also had to get an Associate's Degree from my local Community College. I then had to save the money I needed to live over there. The whole process took me about 1 year and 6 months. During that time I was forced to stop pioneering due to nagging personal circumstances, I lost quite a few friends (they moved away, nothing tragic), and I had to work a lot. When I say work a lot I mean like 54 hours a week while trying to balance pioneering or school. So this wasn’t a very fun year and a half. But it was totally worth it. “Keep on seeking first the Kingdom and these other things will be added to you…” I have definite proof that this is 100% true. Because I enrolled in a 1 year accelerated degree program in Electrical Technology I am a certified Electrician now. It just so happens that Bethal really needs Electricians right now. Without ever planning to go to Bethal or even turning in an application I got asked to go to Bethal to help construction at Warwick, twice. The first time I just didn’t think it would work out. Then they emailed me again and asked for my help. Well you can’t say no to that. I also needed to buy a ticket to Taiwan. Those tickets are not very cheap, let me tell you. My return flight ticket alone cost me 2,000 dollars, and most other one way flights out of where I live are anywhere from 900 (cheapest) to 1500 (about normal). I also needed to buy a ticket to New York, but I thought, “Come on Mason, it’s Bethal, it’s totally worth it.” So I said, “You know what self, your right. This is a once in a lifetime chance. The friends in other countries don’t have this kind of opportunity. I need to take advantage of it.” So here is where things got interesting. My ticket to New York and then to Taiwan, one way, only cost me 650 dollars! That is insane! And I looked at tickets for the weeks surrounding the week I had to go to Bethal going out of my home town instead of New York. They were all so much more expensive! I am blessed man, I really am.

So I will be at New York for a week first, then I am off to Taiwan. The grand adventure has almost started. I am excited, I am really, really excited. I hope that some of you can feel what I am feeling right now sometime in the future. When you try to move somewhere permanently to serve were the need is greater there will always be difficulties. But after every difficulty there is a blessing that makes you forget all about it. So keep on fighting my friends. I will catch you all later. Same Bat-time same Bat-place.

Sorry I'm Late, Or am I... (Duh, Duh, Duhhh)

Well, here's the thing... I went to Taiwan, oh, about a month ago (maybe more...) and after I finished and came back home I promised myself I would write a new post describing the trip. You know, this blog is supposed to be about my time in Taiwan. So, here it is... I'm sorry, I am a scatterbrain, a magpie mind, head-in-clouds, day dreamer, where was I... Oh, yeah! I have ADHD. I should try to stay on subject.

Anyway, it was a really fun trip, extremely refreshing. I really didn't have a whole lot planed, just a few things: Go out in service a lot, plan ahead for when I move back, re-unite with all the people I knew last time but couldn't communicate with, spend a lot of time with the congregation, meet as many new people as possible. I did all of these things very easily. At first it was a little difficult. You see when I was looking for a place to stay before I went to Taiwan I was asking around for a place to stay. I did find a place, but it was a little out of the way. The longest it took me to get down to my friend's house was 1 hour unfortunately. I did borrow a bike to make the trip shorter I was going to borrow a bike, but I biked to service one day and it took 30 minutes and I lost my deluxe bible, plus I almost got hit three times in 5 minutes. But about a week into the trip something unexpected happened. You see, the brothers who helped me set this trip up rercommended this place to me because they said one of the brothers at this appartment was going to be gone for a while and his space would be free. But after a week of me being there he moved back in. It was a little awekward and no one wanted to tell me it wasn't going to work out but I just decided to find a new place. I slept on Dylan's(remember him from tangdetaiwan.blogspot.com?) floor in my old place for a few nights then moved into a little hostile run buy a sister. Those places were much closer to the territory and made spending time with the friends much easier.

Anyway I think it's time to show off some pictures. I was going to do this in two parts, but honestly if I don't finish this here it will never get done.

As I said before one of my only plans was to go out in service a bunch, and a bunch I did...

An old but favorite spot

Me lost. They really shouldn't leave me with a minor

Where's Waldo: British and American Extension pack

The joke about British Waldo above is for the benefit of the brother on my left(picture wise). He is Dylan's new roommate from Britain. He is a really nice guy and probably the tallest man in Taiwan.

It wasn't just door to door I got to do though, the friends from Taipei south, my old hall, recently have had a huge success doing table witnessing at a famous tourist spot called the Chang Kai Shak Memorial Hall (I probably won't spell check that either). They have a very hard time keeping their books stocked up. If I counted right one day the friends at the table placed a combined total of over 40 books! There were a lot of really cool experiences there too. A Taiwanese lady from Georgia came up to us looking to expose how hypocritical Christians were. She at first was argumentative but as time went on and we showed her more and more real bible teachings from the scriptures she seemed to calm down. But when we showed her the "Why Study the Bible" video her attitude did a complete change and she ended up taking some books home with her. I even saw people practically get handed bible studies. I was working with two sisters from South Korea and two American sisters basically walked up to us and said, "Hey, this is our old Bible study, she is moving back here. Do you want to study with her?" After that we all talked, I translated, into Chinese not Korean;), the two sisters asked her what she wanted to learn about and got the girls contact info and just like that a new study. As a side note which ever one of them who counts the study could at that point have seven or eight bible studies. 

Then there was this...

I HAVE... A PIGEON!!!

One day while a group of Chinese tourists where coming through an old Chinese man taught me how to catch pigeons. I called this one Dylan:). Still, what I did paled in comparison to this...

This is Paul. British master of all things avian.

Although I really did not plan this, the Friday I arrived I was told we were going to have the one day Assembly that upcoming Sunday. This was obviously great new to me.

This was a really fun day. I understood quite a bit of the program, which is encouraging for me, but it was also quite nostalgic. About one full year before that picture was taken this picture was also taken.

This was the two day Assembly from the previous year. At that time I had also just got into town and was told I would get to go to the Assembly. Just about one full year ago. Perhaps you all also have pictures like this. The ones where you look into them and see so much different and so much the same. Take the assembly hall for example, some of the people in it are the same people you know and love but quite a few are missing. And then you look at yourself. You look very similar but you know you are not the same person in both pictures. It is eerie but beautiful at the same time. It makes me think of just how long it has been since I took a step into Macedonia, maybe not in time, but in growth.

This was a very typical feeling through the trip but there wasn't a whole lot of time to be nostalgic. Two sisters who have since had to move, Aika and Chihiro, had two friends from an English congregation in Okinawa visiting Taiwan. Dylan was free so he took me along with him to help them out for an afternoon.

What better way to help out than with shaved ice?

They were pretty fun. They were both studying English so even though they didn't speak Chinese the conversation kept going. We went to eat and told all of our weirdest stories since we joined a foreign language. I even learned some Japanese. We at some shaved ice afterwards and gave them directions to where they wanted to go next.

They also thought it was funny how easily I sunburn.

There was a bit of tragedy as well. A sister who had been battling cancer for a number of years passed away while I was there. Although she was very young she was very encouraging to her family the whole time. She, her mom, and her sister were at meeting whenever they could be. The real encouraging part though was her father. He always thought that it was strange for his family to what to go and study the bible and never went to the hall once. Her funeral was the first time he went to the hall. I could tell the shock on his face and her other relatives when they saw just how many people showed up for the funeral. The hall she went to had a base of 145 publishers but it wasn't just them who came. It was all of the people she met through the truth. In a hall that fit over 150 people in it rows of people lined the walls and empty spaces in the hall. I never got a figure on how many were there, but the support was enough to bring the father to tears. It truly was a great witness.

I had met two friends the last time I was in Taiwan named Cameron and Michelle. The had come in around the same time I did. They are from Reno, Nevada and we share a common friend that works at Wallkill, Bethal. I had just found out that they were going to move to Myanmar of all places. Since I realized I came just in time to say goodbye to them I spent some time hanging out with them. We made a trip to Costco, played board games a couple of nights and I invited them to a party I through together(but more on that later...).

Lots of Catan that night.

Aren't they just the cutest?

I think what they are doing is really cool. The group they are supporting in Chinese now has only three people who can speak Chinese(this includes them) and they have to leave quite a lot behind to go there. But it is so cool to have friends like this that just go into new assignments full force. I will miss them but I am very proud of them at the same time.

I was very happy to reconnect with all of my old friends, but being as how Taipei South Congregation always has multiple people coming in and out I got to meet some new friends. And yes, we did goof off a bit.

Dylan's Mandolin serenade.

I think this happened sometime after midnight.

Beware the Creepers...

The less than Adequate Spider-Man? 

Forced Selfy also known as Selfy-Assault 

There were so many new people to meet. Brothers and Sisters from all over: Swedish, Korean, Japanese, Canadian(too much Canadian;)), tons of Brits, new Americans you name them we got them. I had so much fun seeing all them. Some have already left as I write this but I know I will see probably see them all again one way or the other. Just about every night we all did something fun. But, in my opinion, the most fun I had was the Running Man night!

Ok, here is the background. In Taiwan there is a very famous variety show from South Korea called "Running Man". It is a kind of urban variety show were the contestants run around town to try and find puzzles to solve, games to win, or other teams to mess up. It is really fun to watch and I always thought, "Wow, that would make a great party." There aren't a whole lot of good places to do it here in Nebraska but I could think of a couple in Taiwan. I pitched the idea to a bunch of friends to see what they thought and all of them wanted to do it. All in all 14 people showed up.

...In none other than Da'an Park!

The games worked like this; For the first game I would randomly divide everyone into two teams and we would play Treasure Hunt Charades. I had written out a bunch of Bible based charades and hid them around the park. The first team to find ten and bring them back to me and act out there charade won and got to add me to there team. So after the first game the teams looked like this.

Team Black from left to right:
Michelle, Mason, Hanjik, Clara, Anica, Brandy, and Joe

Team White from left to right:
Angelica, Dylan, Cameron, Carry, Jenice, Chloe, and Ayaha

Team Black's backsides.

Team White's backsides.

But before we started the second game we had two sisters, Clara and Chloe Im, bring us some chocolate cake to eat. Isn't that sweet?

Awe...

Since there were 14 of us slicing the cake up seemed difficult. I used a cool method I learned a while back. If your interested here it is http://youtu.be/wBU9N35ZHIw. I got some grief for it, but by the time I was done there was so much left over we could even finish it. Mathematical!

So our second game we played was Jingle Bell Hide and Seek. This variation was that all of the Seekers had to wear bells around there ankles. This way as a Hider was slinking around in the dark they could hear the terrifying sound of ding ding ding ding as their Seeker foe was about to get them. Everyone had name tags on their backs and in order to get someone out you had to tear it off their backs. After the Seeker gave it back to you the Hiders had to go sit in Jail. 

Poor Angelica and Jenice were the first ones out...

The goal for the Seekers was to get 5 out 7 Hiders to Jail and the goal of the Hiders was to get 5 out of 7 back to base (which was jail but with their name tags still on their backs). Black Team got to go first. I thought that 30 minutes was a good amount of time to play the first game so I told everyone to keep track and go back to base after 30 minutes. Dylan did not have his phone on him so I said to use your best judgement in keeping track of time.

After the fist game was over Black had won. We waited around for everyone to get back and play again. Dylan was late so we sent some people out to look for him and played a quick game of NINJA! Still no one could find him. We ended up deciding to play again by switching spots from Seekers to Hiders and hopefully Dylan would either be found or would come back. 

The second game was pretty epic. I got chased by Cameron who is pretty stinking fast. I barely made it to base and almost had a heart attack. The sound of bells jingling towards you in the dark is absolutely terrifying. We ended up winning that game too but still no Dylan.

It was getting pretty late and he still hadn't come back so we were pretty worried(what if he tried to climb a tree and fell and hit his head? What if someone shanked him in the park?) So I had all 13 of us spread out into a thin line and do a full comb of the park while shouting for him. Whoever found him was to call everyone else and meet up somewhere else. This park was huge by the way. If you run along the outside of it in one lap you can cover a mile and a half. Finally I got a call from someone who had found him. He had been hiding in a tree for 2 hours. To hear his side of the story read his blog post Too Much Fun on tangdetaiwan.blogspot.com. 

Afterwards some of us were tired and wanted to go home and some of us were hungry and wanted to go eat. Carry recommend an awesome Taiwanese family style restaurant to us. It was quite tasty. A great way to end the night.

Carry took the picture. You I don't really have any good pictures of him.
He is like some sort of face-less hero.

The next day I spent with some friend in a park. Then I returned everything I had borrowed and got ready to leave the next morning. 

I sent this picture out to everyone before I left.

It really was a great trip. Very fulfilling and very refreshing. As I said I did everything I wanted to do. I found out some potential places to stay when I move back. I know Taiwan will change some more when I return but that is just half of the fun. If anyone from I know over there is reading this thanks for all the memories and I hope to see you again soon.

It's a Bird, it's a Plane, it's a new Post! (Happy days)

So hello everyone. It has been a very long time. About nine months actually. About one year ago I came to Taiwan to live here. I was able to live here for three months and then I had to leave. Along the way I met a bunch of new friends, got a taste of preaching were the need is greater, and sometimes posted blogs about my adventures (sorry about the sometimes part). If you followed along with my poorly narrated tale, you will remember that due to improper planing on my part and u for scene circumstances I had to return home with the goal of one day returning here to live and preach in Chinese. Well, I have returned! But not to stay. I am currently back in Taiwan for vacation. I will be here for two weeks. To catch everyone up on what I have been doing in the nine months I have been gone let me get into my brief summary.

So you may remember that one of the reasons I could not stay here was because I don't have a college degree. Taiwan is a little different than China so you can have an associates degree and a TESOL certificate and get a work visa. The first thing I did when I got back home was sign up for classes at the local community college. Now, in Nebraska we get financial aid in the form of what's called a PELL grant. It is a pretty good sum of money and if you go to a cheaper school and buy everything the right way you can get free schooling. And if you really do it the right way you can even get paid to go to school! Sometimes as much as a thousand dollars per semester. So I signed up for an accelerated course in Electrical Science and Technology and started to get my degree. I will be done in May. But getting back here was a bit rough. Due to problems getting a return ticket and having a pretty huge tax payment to make I had to pay off well over 3,000 dollars of debt. That was not easy but I was able to pay that off in about 6 months. Then I just started saving money. I did, however, have to stop pioneering to get it all paid off. But I will start again in April in time for the Memorial Campaign.

So that is basically is all I have been doing. Many friends of mine have moved away from Nebrsaka which does make it a little lonely here. Time has been going by really slowly compared to life in Taipei. But I am here now and I really am greatfull for that. I had recently read all of my and Dylan's old blog posts just rehash the old times. I realized that I really have recently had to grow up quite a bit. In fact, it seems so weird to think that only a year ago I was the kid writing those blog posts. I kind of had a very loose attitude about the whole thing and kind was only doing the trip for the adventure of it all. After about two months though my attitude completely changed. I had never experienced the feeling of having such a multi-cultural group of fiends all having the same goal of preaching in this need-greater territory. Most people I have met have had a few experiences in their lives that really make them grow up, and the change when looking back almost seems to happen over night. Well, for me it wasn't over night that I grew up, I am after all, well, me. But being here really changed my resolve and gave me a real purpose. I am the kind of person who really needs to always have a goal to work towards. My goal after being here for two months was to be a pioneer in Taiwan. Of course I have to still do some work before I can accomplish that. I won't lie, it was pretty rough at first having to live clear on the other side of the world from were my heart was. But in the end I had to let reason win out over emotion. Reason told me that even though I have a really good goal, when I had originally come over I just wasn't ready to do such a thing. I didn't have the means, the training, or the mind set. So I view the time I have spent back home so far as a blessing in disguise. It was hard, but everyday I spent by myself was a day I learned something new and valuable. I have learned I am not the kind of guy who does well without a big group of friends. I have learned also though that sometimes due to circumstances you can't help but be in an environment where you are completely out of your comfort zone. And when you find yourself in such a situation the only way to improve it is by fixing it yourself. I want to serve in areas were the need is greater, so I will in future find my self in places were I am a stranger. I like to be around people so what would I do? Well, I would have to be very proactive to endear myself to the congregation, schedule time myself to spend time with the friends, take the initiative to work in service with new people. Could I really do that before, honestly, no. Can I do that now, I have improve yes, but I can get better at it.

The other thing I have learned is that anyone who wants to do something that important for Jehovah need to be a very organized, self-sufficient person. Before you wonder if I was a year ago I will save you the trouble, no I wasn't. I may very well be the poster child for the wild haired ADHD kid. But nothing is really impossible. For me, I just learned that I can be very organized if I just compartmentalize everything in my daily life. I have a list every week I always keep on me, everything that can be a direct deposit from my checking account is a direct deposit. Alerts are on my phone for things as little as calling a bible study. I have a very silly amount of constant reminders and habits but honestly, it works for me.

So I am a little older (but not really) and a little wiser (but again, not really) and I do feel like a very different person. I have only really spent one day here in Taiwan but I will end the post with a nice few pictures and some nice encouragement. The best kind of goals are the ones that are hard to obtain, because when you finally obtain what you desire you get not just your goal, but everything else you acquired to help you reach it. I'm not really sure were I got that from. I probably didn't make it up though. I hope everyone reading this gets to accomplish their goals too. 加油你們!

The real group photo is always the one were no one is looking.

And Then There Were None...

Well hello there. I haven't seen you in a while. For all of you people who wanted one last blog post here it is for you and I hope you enjoy it. If you are thinking to yourself, "Geeze!! Write much? It has only been like 2 months since you posted last!" I apologize. I have an excuse but it is a really long one. But hey, lets face it, you are reading a blog post right now you totally have the time.

The last post I made was my summing up my first month in Taiwan. I intended for it to be a really up-building post designed to draw your interest in serving in either Taiwan or another foreign country (but you know I really am pushing Taiwan). I was riding an amazing mental, emotional, and spiritual high and I really hadn't been so happy in my life. I was planning on trying to make my trip last for as long as I could. I was buying cheaper meals, going to places that costed less money, and walking everywhere I could. I was also seeing if I could do some small teaching jobs on the side. The goal was to get a full six months out of my stay. I had plans to write another blog post the week after my last one and it was bound to be interesting. It was new years after all. But it was that week that I got a feeling that my trip could end prematurely. To give you more insight on my meaning I have to digress from my narrative a little bit (because I never do that (sarcasm)).

My original plan for Taiwan was to stay for six months. I had enough money to stretch out four or five months but I wouldn't have been able to be that adventurous. I realistically could do three months and spend liberally. A lot of friends with experience and knowledge involving Taiwan reassured me that I could always get little teaching jobs on the side to stay a float. I would always ask if that would be legal (you need a Bachelors degree to get a work visa, I don't have one). Every single person I asked said it would be no problem. It's illegal like jay walking in New York is illegal, no one will care. So I said to myself, "Grain of salt, grain of salt. Lets just see what happens." Because if all else would fail I had an ace in the hole, I had quite a bit of money coming in from school (long story on that one, lets just say Nebraska schooling is generous).

I found out pretty late in the game that even though what people told me about the working thing was true in most of Taiwan it wasn't the case in Taipei. Taipei is the big city of Taiwan were everything is much more official. People will hire you illegally but you risk being deported. You also kind of can't have any congregation privileges either. To me it wasn't worth it. But I still had money coming in from school right? I was really hoping so at that point. I had meticulously planned my budget for Taiwan down to just about every daily cost. If you are interested I will tell you? Oh you are, great. 10 USD a day for food, 220 USD split three ways for rent a month, 20 USD a month for public transportation, 10 USD a month for toiletries if you want to be extravagant, and an extra hundred for all purposes (fun). All in all it was a rough 700 USD a month budget. But I knew I would cut it down eventually once I got to know the area. I did eventually cut it down to 500 USD a month. And if I found myself in a pinch I could even do 300 USD a month. But 500 USD a month was good. I came to Taiwan with close to 3000 USD and I though I would get an extra 800-1000 later. But I had to pay a 1000 USD down payment on the apartment I was staying in right off the bat and then another 200 for the utilities we all together bought. It then took me a month to realize I had to seriously shorten my budget to stay longer. But the time was coming around for me in January to start getting nervous about my money. I knew that my only hope for a full stay would be that extra money from school and maybe a small batch of tutoring jobs. Because strictly speaking you can substitute teach and private tutor and still be legal in Taipei. It's a government legal thingy or something, I really don't get it. But around the time I was thinking about my next blog post those things were occupying my thoughts.

But then a truly horrible tragedy also took place that really distracted me. A friend of mine from back home who I have know since we where children very tragically passed away. Her name was Gracie Ehlers and she was only 20. That was a huge shock that distracted me even more. But by no means feel bad for me. If you want to pray for someone please pray for her family. Because few things can compare to the grief you can feel when a family member dies. And the grief and sorrow of witnessing your child die is so great that I can't even comprehend it. But I definitely encourage you reader to pray for her surviving parents Jared and Nicki and two brothers Aden and Liam.

After you get distracted for a couple weeks it just gets harder and harder get the enthusiasm to write again. But my good friend Dylan Byrd has recently told me that I have been requested to write on final entry. But I will do even better than that. I will write another besides this one. This blog will be my final thoughts on Taiwan and my other will be another Greatest Hits complete with story and picture. So enough of the intro let us get into the meat of the blog.

Since New Years Eve I have really come to see the real Taiwan. This is both good and bad. But it is really good for all of you. What I mean is this, if you are thinking to yourself, "Should I go to Taiwan or not?" This will really be the perfect unbiased review on Taiwan. I mean all of this from the perspective of a Jehovah's Witness. I figure that not everyone that reads this blog is a Jehovah's Witness, so if you are not a Witness reader I hope not to confuse you too much. When it comes down to it Taiwan is the ideal place for someone who is learning Chinese to be. There are about 14 Chinese congregations located in Taiwan with the majority of them being located up North in the Taipei area. The congregation I am in right now is the Da'an South Congregation. They regularly have a large group of foreigners come in and out of town with the soul purpose of learning Chinese and preaching. Some of them move on to other places to preach and some go back home to help out locally. The majority of all the people that come in and out are Japanese or Koreans. This is really just because a plane ride to Japan or Korea is only about an hour or so away from Taiwan. But, in our congregation in particular there are a good number of Westerners from the States or parts of Europe. If you do decide to come to Taiwan you will find that both a good and bad thing. As I am sure for the Japanese and Korean friends as well; sometimes you just need to hang out with your own culture and speak your own language. This makes the initial adjustment period a bit easier but it can be a snare. What I found out myself was that I would go to some meetings and talk mostly in English to everyone afterwards. Now I came here to lean Chinese so that hurt when I realized that I was doing that. However, that can easily be avoided by just finding more friends that don't speak English. I picked out a few people who had moved here and were about the same level as I am and just started to speak to them in Chinese, very broken Chinese.

The need for preaching here is huge as well. The ratio of Witnesses to locals here in Taiwan is somewhere between 1 and 2,500/3,000. Just to give you an idea of what that actually means our Watchtower study editions for a while had special articles about serving in foreign lands with a focus on South America. In a lot of those areas the ratio is 1 to 500 to 1 to 700. I believe I saw a 1 to 900 in there as well but I could be mistaken. Still that ratio is dwarfed by Taiwan. A large reason for this is because only since the 1980's has the preaching work been really getting off the ground. And with most of the help coming from smaller countries such as Korean or Japan the man power is just lacking. Also, there are other areas of the world very close to Taiwan that need help to a much larger degree and Taiwan kind of gets lost in the shuffle. When I came here at first I was a little afraid of preaching because of my very poor Chinese. But people are more than helpful taking you on there Bible Studies and teaching you presentations. Most people feel comfortable getting a Bible Study after being here for about 4 or 6 months. This really just depends on you though. If you want a Bible Study you can get one. Eastern Asian cultures are very polite and they really like Westerners.

There is a down side to the preaching work here though. Mind you it is not a very big down side, but it should at least be mentioned. The people here are not as desperate to find the truth as some other cultures are. Some have very happy lives and take a Bible Study just out of curiosity. What I find is the case with the progressive ones is they really don't realize how much they have been missing until they really get into the study. That being said Taiwan has had a 15 to 20 percent increase in growth in recent years. The preaching work is just exploding. Also worth mentioning is that here in Taipei most of the preaching is done in the city. So if you come over expect lots of preaching in apartments, preaching over an intercom, and preaching in places of business. All of it is done on foot, but they take lots of short breaks. I personally love the breaks because it is a really easy opportunity to get to know everyone. Plus it just feels like you are having fun.

The friends you meet in the ministry and at the hall will definitely be unforgettable. In my personal opinion this is my favorite part of Taiwan. Meeting all the new friends that I did is something that is truly unforgettable. While you do meet a lot of people that speak English the real fun is becoming friends with someone who doesn't. Mind you though that now a days in Taiwan most everyone that is under 40 will be able to speak some English no matter what race they are. But the whole process of talking with someone who has a completely different background than you do is enthralling. To talk with some of the Korean brothers who have had to spend time in prison due to conscientious objection in joining the military really gives you a whole new out look on what the  preaching work is like. Getting to know the Japanese brothers and their work ethic as well helps you get a much more full picture of the world wide brotherhood. It is also quite funny seeing how the local Taiwanese friends handle all these people constantly moving in and out. I dare to think what their phone books look like.

As I finish up this post I am sitting in LAX airport reminiscing about the last couple days I spent in Taipei. My leave was a bit too sudden for my comfort but I still had wanted to have a bunch of people over to my house. My last official night was what truly sold me on coming back. People I hardly had come to know for 3 months flooded my small two bed room apartment while we all ate a very unhealthy amount of junk food and played "Mafia." I tried (also failed) to narrate the game in Chinese. All the while brothers and sisters who literally had come from all over the world talked and laughed in my house. I really don't think that what I saw that night can really be seen in to many other places. It is really the ultimate testimony that Jehovah's Witnesses have the true religion. How else can people with completely different background and relatively nothing in common on the surface get along so flawlessly. Even the language barrier (4 different languages being spoken at any given time) was no problem. That was always the sort of thing I wanted to experience and now I can say that I have. After the party we all went to play soccer and met up with even more people. We stayed at the field well past midnight laughing and taking pictures. My next and final post will show all that madness.

In all seriousness I really can't recommend Taiwan enough as a place to serve where the need is greater. Yes, there may be places that need more help. But all in all there really aren't a whole lot of places that need as much help as is needed there. The very so imposing challenge of learning Chinese is felled quite a bit. This is especially true if you are taking Chinese classes but it isn't really necessary. When you first start preaching you may feel scared but trust me, you will place so much literature. Placing 30 magazines in one day is not unheard of; actually it happens quite often. You may think it hard to make friends with everyone that doesn't speak your language but again, it is totally easy. If you totally want to make lifelong friends just learn to say a simple phrase in Japanese or Korean and say it to the proper person. It is especially entertaining to watch the Koreans basically do cart wheels around you when they find out you know something in Korean (they are just so darn enthusiastic).

I have personally made it up in my mind to come back soon. But if you are reading this and find yourself on the fence, just go for it. This is one of those things that you really can't go wrong with. A common trait of faithful men depicted in the Bible is always being taken care of materially. I know that is what most of you are thinking. "Can I afford it?" is probably the common train of thought. I already said that a rough ballpark estimate if you share a room in Taipei is about 700 USD a month and that can be shortened to 500 USD when you figure the place out. But outside of Taipei it does get significantly cheaper. In fact I kind of just happened to live in one of the most expensive areas. I really got the money for my three month stay quite fast while only working part time. Obviously people financial situations always will differ, but you shouldn't let it stop you. If you have ever done the trust building exercise of falling backwards into a person's arms you know that the first time is the hardest. But one that first time is out of the way it really isn't that hard to do it over again and again. I am definitely not saying take a blind leap of faith and just move. You always want to be shrewd and count the cost before you do something like this. But at the same time, do you really think Jehovah would just abandon you once you moved to serve were the needs greater? Obviously not.

So there it is reader. In three months everything has changed for me. I changed into yet another new person, and I kind of like this new version of me. Man is really a product of his environment. And what better environment could there be than among fellow brothers and sisters advancing the kingdom interest in need greater areas? There really isn't any. Sorry Bethal, I mean no offence, but this is more my style. If you are thinking maybe this is your style, or this sounds appealing, or you have had a nagging thought in the back of your head saying, "Should I? Should I?" Yes, reader, you should.

Mason's Taiwan's Greatest Hits Vol.1 (And No, We Will Not Be Playing Free Bird)

Since this is my one month (ish) anniversary of being hear in Taiwan I though I would give you a little top ten list. These are my top ten favorite stories from the past month. As a side note, you should know that besides the top 3 I have put little or no thought into the creation of this list. Just consider it a top 3 with a bunch of miscellaneous stories thrown into it. So here we go!

#10 Getting Lost With Dylan Out In Service

Seeing as how this moment was filled with both anger, frustration, and heavy laughter this earns itself a place on my list. The basic overview of the story is that me and Dylan planed on meeting the group at a Starbucks in the evening. Well, I got totally lost and Dylan got the wrong address. So an hour and a half later we found each other and walked clear across town to find our service group. Once the funny Americans who know nothing of Taiwan gave the rest of the group something to laugh about.

# 9 First Day in Taiwan

Even though I was extremely tired from my day and a half of flying time I still had a pretty fun time in Taiwan. What I don't remember because of fatigue I have in pictures. Enjoy a few.

Well I guess I only really have this one.
But just look at me I was clearly delusional.

#8 First Meeting and Santiago

The first congregation meeting I went to was actually after the first week I spent in Taiwan. The first week was out 2 day assembly. So by the time I went to meeting I had already met some friends. And one of the friends I met was a brother name David (Spanish) and his wife Sarah (Australian/Netherlands). They were just visiting because they had to miss their meeting that week because they had a friend from China visit them. So it was a pleasant surprise to see each other. We decided that we would go out to eat after the meeting. There friend Santiago was also from Spain and he was incredibly Spanish. From making jokes with hollow bravado to making small talk with an embarrassed Taiwanese waitress to getting chastised by Sarah for flirting in public he was a trip. The best part was that David's reaction was, "You have got to see what a married Spanish guys is like. Now you get to see what a single Spanish guy is like."

On the left the world famous Santiago.

#8 First Pioneer Meeting

This is a fairly new story. Last Saturday I got to go to my first all Chinese pioneer meeting. It was a really cool event because it was the first time I got to see how many pioneers we have all together (80). Afterwards we had a little party in the missionary home. The reason why this is fairly low on the list is because I was tricked into playing guitar impromptu. I usually don't mind playing music, but I kind of felt like I was being setup. No pictures, sorry.

#7 Bowling Taiwanese style

A few weeks after I got here I was invited by a younger sister to go bowling with a large group of brothers and sisters. The ticket was pretty cheap and we got to bowl as much as we wanted. Bowling is fun enough but arcade games are super fun. And when you buy a bowling ticket you get unlimited play time in the arcade for free. We played Mario Kart (Wii), darts, pool, Dance Dance, and air hockey. Dylan had to leave early for school, but I got to play an extra couple of hours and got to meet some of the friends.

Me third from right with my posse. 

Air Hockey battle!

#6 Ping Pong at the Missionary House

During a Sunday meeting a missionary sister named Huey invited Dylan and I to the missionary home to play ping pong and have dinner. At the house I discovered that the Taiwanese have a long standing tradition of making foreigners get up in front of a group of people and, in Chinese, tell them a little about themselves. You have to do this whether you know Chinese or not. We (me and Dylan) knew that we were going to get owned at ping pong and it turned out to be and accurate prophesy. A team of Japanese brothers killed us and then a team of Taiwanese sisters killed us even worse. The Huey came upstairs to help me, and her husband came to destroy me too. Then Huey quit and the whole thing descended into anarchy. By the end of the night we were hitting the ball off of the walls and back on to the table while getting schooled in Chinese by Huey. If that's not a perfect way to spend an evening I don't know what is.

#5 Karaoke Attack!

Ok, so when someone in America asks you if you want to go Karaoke what you usually think is, "Well this guy is a nerd," or "A bar with a stage and a DJ with a lot of white people singing." I thought the later when a brother named Xie invited me and Dylan to go one day. As we are mentally preparing ourselves up for this night we get there to find Xie, his friend, a couch, a computer, two microphones. That's it. But the night had so many funny moments in it that it more than deserves to be here on my list. If you were there to hear Xie sing his little heart into that mic, you would understand.

The man, the myth, the legend.

It was that kind of a night.

#4 The Two Day 

One of the unexpected bonuses I found out about was that the first week of my being here was the week of the two day assembly. This was the first time I had ever gone to an Assembly in Chinese. It was here that I met David and Sarah, Nikolai and Joseph, all of the elders from my congregation, and a hand full of all the witnesses my age. I found out later that the Two Day marked the day that our congregation was splitting off into two more manageable congregations. Needless to say there where a few loose emotions hanging off of every one's sleeves. I really can't think of a more perfect weekend than that one. It is really a testament to the inter-connection that every witness feels in Jehovah's organization. The good majority of everyone there didn't speak my native language but it really didn't matter, I felt that I was among family members.

The Rat Pack. From left to right; Nikolai, Joseph, myself, and Harry.

The inside of the assembly hall

A picture of a bunch of sisters that me, Joseph, Nikolai, Dylan,
and some older brother just kind of happened to stumble into.

People deal with moves in kind of a weird way here.

So for my top three I didn't think up events so much as I did benefits. One of the reasons I make this blog is to encourage other brothers and sisters who have been thinking about doing something like this to just do it. Everyone will have there own stories to talk about if they move to a country where the need is greater, but if you decide to move to Taiwan here are some of the things you can definitely look forward to. My top 3...

#3 Amazing Food. Glorious, Glorious Food.

In America in recent times a lot of people have voiced their opinions about who we prepare our food. And a lot of people (myself included) have recently developed various kinds of food allergies. I personally had a hard time eating oats and grains largely because of how we process them. If you believe in that sort of thing or not one thing is for sure; the food in Taiwan is a better quality on the whole. Grains and oats really don't bother that much here. But besides the semantics the food here tastes amazing. Because there are a lot of Japanese and Korean students, workers, witnesses living in Taiwan there is an interesting mixture of those kinds of food along with the traditional Chinese style food the Taiwanese make. In the states what passes for Chinese food is usually white rice with a stir fry type of mixture with lots of sauce. The food in Taiwan is very different. Fundamentally it is similar because most of their meals have a meat and vegetable dish served with rice or noodles but the sauce (if there is any) is very light and seasoning is usually more pronounced. The meals are usually pretty light as well. Beside the basic kind of meal you would think of they eat a lot of dumplings (my personal favorite kind is called Xiao Long Bao), noodle soup, hot pots, and for the adventurous eater a never ending supply of amazing food vendor delights. I also mentioned that there is a lot of Japanese and Korean style food here as well. But there are also a lot of Japaneses and Korean friends along with Taiwanese friends. That means that you will regularly get treated to some amazing home-cooked meals because you are a funny foreigner. To complete the picture let me show you some pictures of my favorite meals since I've been here.

At an amazing Sushi restaurant I got this bowl
of amazing sashimi. It made my mouth feel all
happy inside.

A nice Korean couple had me and my roommates over
for a traditional Korean dinner. So good.

At the famous Taipei 101 building in the famous
Din Tai Feng (probably didn't spell that right)
the Xiao Long Bao here are world renowned. And
for good reason. Little pieces of soupy heaven.

#2 The Ministry

I consider #1 and #2 to be interchangeable but I will start with the ministry. In countries like the US a lot of witnesses find themselves in a position where they can not seem to find interest in their native language. So many people tend to turn to a foreign language group or congregation as a means to find more interest. The thing I have always been fascinated about with Chinese is that there are so many people that speak it. You really can go anywhere in the world and find a Chinese group or congregation that could use some help. Many people find that a place like Taiwan is a sort of perfect little gateway to the world of Chinese. The preaching work is not under ban here, there are a lot of other witnesses from all over trying to learn the language with you, and the interest is just as high as it would be in a country in South America. Another reason why it is a good idea to give some thought into coming here to serve is that every congregation has a need for help from experienced brothers. A lot of the Taiwanese elders here have never been to an elders school. Or they have had no real training on the procedures and working of a congregation. So when I say experience I mean that a brother who has been a ministerial servant for a year or two. There are a lot of people that have made themselves free to pioneer down here (the majority are sisters obviously because sisters rule). In my congregation alone there is an upwards of 80 pioneers. And just to give you an idea of how much work there is here every pioneer who has been here for 6 months has a couple of studies. Also, every pioneer who has been here for a few years usually has to turn down bible studies. And if you can't/don't want to learn Chinese there is a pretty big need for help in the English congregations over here. That's right, English is a pretty big foreign language in Taiwan with an ever growing field. The more help the better. Aside from all the spiritual blessing you receive from being down here you will always have something fun to talk about after a day in service. Here are some pictures from some of my favorite moments in service.

After a couple of hours evening witnessing in the rain
we all went our separate ways. Nikolai offered to buy
ice cream for me and another sister. When we go to get
the ice cream low and behold the rest of the group had the
same idea. So we had ice cream and debated if Korean TV shows
or Japanese Anime shows were better. Then I took this awkward
picture. Cheese!

One rainy morning we decide to go to local farmers
market to preach. The morning was very successful
as I placed tons of magazines. I actually think I have more magazine
placements than hours right now. Then I took this awkward picture.

And of course how could I forget my first day in service...
Umm, what happened again? Oh yeah, jet lag happened.
But I can assure you it was a great day. Because they all
are.

#1 The Friends

If I can be completely honest this was what I was anticipating more than anything else. I had always read the experiences of those who serve in need greater countries and though, "I wonder what kind of a person that guy is? I kind of what to meet him." I grew up in a fairly small place and if you were as eccentric as me chances are most everyone had at least herd of you. One of the things I enjoyed most about being a witness for the first few years after I had been baptized was how many friends you can make from all over the world. When I got to Bethal I was even more amazed at how much the world seems to shrink when you know a few people who live internationally. Now I am here in Taiwan and I feel like I can fit the world in my pocket so to speak. You just meet so many interesting people all the time and everyone has an interesting back story. Take Ren Dixiong for example. He had me over to his house recently for Korean food. I actually mentioned him in my last post. He had learned the truth after his mandatory military service was finished. The problem he faced was that, due South Korean law, he was on the ready reserve for and extra seven years. Five times he was put on trail for his religious beliefs and after the fifth trail he had to go to prison for 6 months because of his stand for the truth. When he got out he got involved in an English congregation preaching to people in Nepal. Him and his wife really got involved in it. He at one point went to Nepal and became friends with a Japanese missionary. He described the service as just heading out the door with some snack food and being gone for days at times. Every house they would go to would have them inside, feed them, give them tea, and if need be have them stay in a guest room for the night. He had every intention to move to Nepal and preach but his mother recently has had bad health. So meet her halfway he and his wife decided to move to Taiwan because it needs help to and it is only and hour flight away from Seoul, South Korea which is his home. There also is Terry. Terry is a brother who has really been helping me and my roommates out a lot since we have been here. Terry went to MTS when he was in his twenties. He got assigned to Germany for a number of years were he served in a local congregation for a number of years. Eventually he was then asked to move to Taiwan. He was asked to help the local congregation and was appointed to the COBE as a young man. After he served the congregation and helped them get there affairs in order for a number of years he met his wife who had been serving in Guam where the need was greater. Marrying her and adopting her daughter (because he is a bit of a romantic it seems) he lives in Taiwan and acts as a sort of an ambassador to all the WaiGuo Ren (that is foreigners) here in Taiwan. Then there's Nikolai who is a scientist from the Netherlands taking advantage of his traveling scholar feature so he can live in Taiwan. Then there is David and Sarah. David is from Spain and met Sarah in Australia were they served for a number of years. Just as they were getting ready to leave for Taiwan David, a talented artist, was asked to help out the Australian Bethal's art department. He had to painfully turn it down so he and his wife could serve over here. Then there's me, the boring one, who came to Taiwan just because. But I write about it and that is what is important.

As far as life experiences go this is coming dangerously close to surpassing Bethal and pioneer school as the coolest thing that has ever happened to me. So if you are thinking of making a move to expand your ministry (or just your life) somewhere, I can't recommend Taiwan enough. I barely have enough time to write my blog I'm having so much fun. It takes me being sick to keep me inside anymore. If you are intrigued then my job is done. I will catch up with you later. Same Bat-Time, same Bat-Place