by Moses Wang
During the days that I spent in Dong Shi, I was surprised by a few things. One of those things were that I always had a lot of energy when with the kids because in the morning I was exhausted and brain dead, and in the afternoon I was hot, sweaty, and sticky. However, being with the kids gave me energy like God was pouring energy into me no matter how exhausted I was and so I was able to survive throughout the day.
In the morning, I would just sit there for about 5-10 minutes just me and my thoughts, then I would get changed and go downstairs to worship, most of the time, I was brain dead but then seeing the kids rejuvenated me with energy, I would be able to play with them and just have a good time. During dinner I met a lot of cool people since there were also people from other groups. One of them being Ethan. He was a guy that was around 20 years old and had short blond hair he was really fun to be around and talk to, while talking with him I found out that he has been to 2 years’ worth of missions’ trips and 8 camps in the 2 years. I also found out that he lives in Virginia which is on the other side of the continent. I also had a lot of time to meet the Taiwan coworkers. I really liked Robin because he was very spirited. The Taiwan coworkers were also very talented, some of them could sing very well whereas some others could dance really smoothly. However, in all the good stuff I have said, there are also the bad. The kids were much more defiant and rowdy because they were older and had more independent thought. We had a rough time with many kids who were disrespectful or wouldn’t participate. To join the Taiwan STM is to give your all in a week because that one week, is physically exhausting as well as mentally. I also really liked the group we had that week. Last year, everything was more set in stone and heavily ruled but this time, it was more laid back and we had so much more fun. We even had a lot more free time that was used to get to know each other and just hang out.
Never Feel Unloved Because God Has Love
Another thing that surprised me was a little boy named Peter, he was really cute and I loved how he wanted to become like us, Christians. He came to church with us for 2-3 days and it was pleasant to have him there. Someone told me he enjoyed the attention and love he got and I thought to myself, once he recognizes who God is, he will never feel unloved because God has love greater than the highest mountain and deeper than the deepest seas. I hope that one day, I can go back to Dong Shi to help more kids see the light of God and to see how they have been doing. After the camp, it felt very awkward because we left early, so the goodbyes were not said properly and it left a weird feeling in my heart that stayed with while I was leaving. I did not feel content leaving like that but, all in all, it was a fun week.
Lastly, I wanted to mention Jenelle Picchi. I wanted to thank her for her accompanying me on the trips. Like when we went to go see the homes of students, I was complaining about being really thirsty so then she lent me a dollar to buy a drink and that drink was the most delicious drink I have ever had because it was from a friend. We also were able to talk a lot and I got to know her more and it was just really fun all in all.