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Dan and Carole McClelland
As I shared in the last post, Jereme and Rebecca Doole, have a huge heart for relationship. A heart for knowing God more on a personal level as well as a heart to build relationship with others and see relationship built between people and God. It was amazing to be with them and just see how every interaction with a person was so intentional and relational. Below are a few pictures and testimonies of our time in Taipei and the Deaf community there.
So Rebecca prayed that as we were out for the day in Taipei that we would see and meet many Deaf people. And we did. :) We met up with two American Deaf sisters with a amazing hearts for Jesus and sharing Him in the Deaf community around the word.
We were on the train to the Daan Park for the Jade Art Market, when we recognized Huang Hui Ying, a Taiwanese Deaf woman who attended the conference sleeping on the train.
We gently tapped her and she was soooo excited to see us! We learned she was also going to the Art Market, where half of the market there are Deaf artist selling their artwork such as paintings and the other half where artist with disabilities, to visit friends so she led the way proudly! Below are some pictures of the people we met and their work.
Chen Xiao Zhong in the middle with the stripped shirt
was one of that artists we met and talked to while we were there.
We walked around and Jereme and Rebecca introduced us to many Deaf artists they have been building relationships with over time. The artists faces lit up when they saw this couple and met people from the United States.
We had lunch and then continued on our way to a lottery ticket kiosk, where Deaf individuals handmade purses and handbags and jewelry. On the way, Jereme and Rebecca shared with us about ancestral worship that happens regularly in Taiwan. The picture above is a store burning paper called "hell money". Rebecca shared "they burn this so that their ancestors can live happily in the after life. If they do not do this it is believed that their ancestors will get angry and haunt them." Below, the store has set up a table with a food offering to their ancestors.
We arrived at the purse and handbag store and I got a fish coin purse for baby girl, well when baby girl grows to be a little older. :) The pictures above are pictures of the Deaf workers to help sell their friends handmade pieces. They were so hospitable and bought us drinks as we were looking at the items for sale. Huo Feng Huang, the woman in the black and white stripped shirt was one of the first deaf woman that Rebecca met when she started attended Deaf events in Taiwan. It was fun to see them catch up after many years of not seeing each other.
Street performers which are very common in Taipei
Unique Art in Asia using colored wire to make things
Night market in Taipei
As I was looking for a purse for myself, we bumped into the Singapore group from the conference. Rebecca's prayer was being answered over and over.
Another day, they took me out to just walk around the area and give me a taste of the culture.
We went to a Vietnam restaurant that I loved!
I got lettuce wraps and big bowl of rice noodles and beef! It was delicious!
They also took me to get bubble tea, which was originated in Taiwan thus very popular!
Motos. Motos. Motos.
Another Deaf friend, named Simon, that sells lottery tickets on the street near the Dooles home.
They also took me out for some FUN! A typical Taiwan dessert, shaved ice! It was so strange for me. For dessert, we had choices of red beans and sweet potatoes. And I shared that with Jereme and Rebecca. The woman who worked at the store spoke English and had visited America shared that it is strange for Americans to come and experience red beans as a sweet in Taiwan but it is just as strange for her as a Taiwanese woman to have gone to American and experience red beans as a salty food. We had a good laugh. I love experiences other cultures.
And a massage! All the workers were visually impaired. It was nice to get a massage after all the walking. Because I was pregnant they could only massage my calves, but it still felt good.
So this is probably one of my favorite stories! Jereme, Rebecca and I took the bus and train everywhere and in Taiwan, they have priority seating, which includes woman who are pregnant. The whole trip everyone said "Carole you can have a priority seat." I felt strange taking a priority seat esp. because I was not obviously showing at the start of the trip and I wanted to give other people the opportunity to sit.
Well, honestly baby girl popped out in Taiwan! Toward the end of the trip, I was on a packed bus and a Taiwanese woman recognized my belly and made sure I had two hands holding on to the railing and my feet firmly planted. She looked for a priority seat however they were all full. But the moment a person got off the bus she pushed her way through waving me along and saved a seat for me. I took the amazing gesture and sat in the seat. When the bus got less crowded I asked to take a picture with her (below). And before she left, she made sure we came by and say good-bye to me. I though it was a perfect testimony of the amazing hospitality of the Dooles, the Taiwanese people, and the Asian Deaf people at the conference that I experienced during my time in Taiwan!
Father went with me and our daughter, took very good care of us the whole time and showed so much hospitality through so many people! Thank you for your prayers, support and praising God with us with what He did in Taiwan!
