Tag: Advent

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My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 17 ๐Ÿ””โ„๏ธ๐ŸŽ„

Catherine Lee

#MyAdventCalendar2021 #Day17: This is Ming-Chuan ้Š˜ๅ‚ณ, senior warden of Advent Church, and his lovely wife, Meng-Zhen ๅญŸ่“. This evening they welcomed 30 of us from Advent Church, including 12 from the St. John’s University Student Fellowship, to their home for an Advent Service followed by a delicious meal. The cold wind was howling outside, but inside it was so warm and cosy. They are just so hospitable and kind! Ming-Chuan is a former police officer, and Meng-Zhen recently retired from her work in a busy hospital, and despite some serious ongoing health challenges these past 2 years, they both continue … Continue reading My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 17 ๐Ÿ””โ„๏ธ๐ŸŽ„

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My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 16 โ›„โ›ช๐Ÿ””

Catherine Lee

#MyAdventCalendar2021 #Day16: This is Jasmine Yu ๆธธ็ฎ็ชไธปไปป, our good friend in charge of the local junior high school, Xian-Xiao (branch of Zheng-De Junior High School ๆญฃๅพทๅœ‹ไธญ่ณขๅญๆ กๅ€). Xian-Xiao is so close that their pupils walk through the St. John’s University campus each day to get there, so we see them all often. There’s 85 children in the school, aged 12-15. Small is beautiful ~ they are so well cared for! The school specializes in giving the children all sorts of opportunities to discover what kind of career they might like in the future, with chances to learn everything from cooking to … Continue reading My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 16 โ›„โ›ช๐Ÿ””

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My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 15 ๐Ÿ‘ผ๐ŸŒŸโ›„

Catherine Lee

#MyAdventCalendar2021 #Day15: This is Dr. Huang Hung-Pin ้ปƒๅฎๆ–Œๆ ก้•ท, President of St. John’s University (SJU), Taipei since August 1, 2020. Previous to this position, he served as professor in the National Taiwan University (NTU) Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, Taipei. President Huang was here at SJU today to open the SJU Christmas Charity Bazaar, run by the SJU Chaplaincy, helped by members of Advent Church and SJU ~ and it went really well! There are many challenges facing SJU; the priorities are to stabilize the financial situation, increase student enrollment and improve academic standards, so President Huang really has his work … Continue reading My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 15 ๐Ÿ‘ผ๐ŸŒŸโ›„

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My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 14 ๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ‘ผ

Catherine Lee

#MyAdventCalendar2021 #Day14: This is Jing-Huei ้œๆ…ง (left) and Jin-Luan ้‡‘้‘พ (right), who keep Advent Church running smoothly from morning to night! Both have their birthdays this week, and we celebrated today ~ thanks to Jin-Luan for sharing her yummy chocolate birthday cake with us all. Happy Birthday to these 2 Lovely Ladies! ๐Ÿฅณ๐ŸŽ‚๐ŸŽˆ Jing-Huei works for Advent Church in charge of the office, while Jin-Luan works for St. John’s University (SJU) in charge of Advent Church cleaning, which is mostly done very early in the morning before 8:00am. She’s always leaving just as we’re arriving, off to clean other parts … Continue reading My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 14 ๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ‘ผ

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My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 13 ๐Ÿ•ฏ๏ธ๐ŸŽ…๐Ÿฝ๐ŸŽ„

Catherine Lee

#MyAdventCalendar2021 #Day13: This is Min-Wen ๆ•ๆ–‡ from Malaysia, 4th (and final) year student at St. John’s University (SJU), who’s about to graduate next summer in Industrial Engineering (IE). We’re going to miss her so much! She admits that originally she had no interest in IE, but a scholarship was on offer, and she took it – and has really made the most of it since then. She also applied for the SJU Chaplaincy’s meal coupon scheme for students facing financial hardship. Through her dedication and hard work, she has since received a number of awards and scholarships, and consistently scores … Continue reading My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 13 ๐Ÿ•ฏ๏ธ๐ŸŽ…๐Ÿฝ๐ŸŽ„

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My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 12 โ„๏ธ๐ŸŽ„๐Ÿ•ฏ๏ธ

Catherine Lee

#MyAdventCalendar2021 #Day12: This is Huei-Ling ๆƒ ่‹“ (left) and Shu-Jing ๆท‘้– (right) who are the best of friends and for the first time ever, they were both serving together at this morning’s Advent Church service. They both work for the Bishop of Taiwan, Lennon Yuan-Rung Chang, Huei-Ling in the diocesan office in Taipei, Shu-Jing in St. John’s University (SJU), where Bishop Chang is the chair of the board. Until this year, Shu-Jing was on the staff of the SJU Chaplaincy, she’s also a qualified Japanese teacher, skills put to good use in our companion diocesan partnership with Osaka. And they both … Continue reading My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 12 โ„๏ธ๐ŸŽ„๐Ÿ•ฏ๏ธ

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My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 11 ๐ŸŒŸ๐Ÿ•ฏ๏ธโ„๏ธ

Catherine Lee

#MyAdventCalendar2021 #Day11: This is Hong-Chi ้ดป็ฆ and his wife, Jin-Zhu ้Œฆ็ , much-loved members of Advent Church who run a Japanese Ramen Noodle Restaurant ๅ‘ณๆปฟ้ฃŸๅ ‚ in the Carrefour Supermarket Complex in Tamsui. Their faith is very much part of their lives – see the cross on the back wall of the restaurant? And of course, the food is delicious and the service always first-class! Like many restaurant owners locally, they’ve been badly hit this year by the pandemic, forced to close completely during Taiwan’s Level 3 Restrictions from May to August, then open for takeaway only, then fully open, but then … Continue reading My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 11 ๐ŸŒŸ๐Ÿ•ฏ๏ธโ„๏ธ

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My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 10 ๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ๐ŸŒŸ

Catherine Lee

#MyAdventCalendar2021 #Day10: This is Bishop Lennon Yuan-Rung Chang ๅผตๅ“กๆฆฎไธปๆ•™ who became Bishop of Taiwan in February 2020, just as the pandemic was starting. Taiwan’s strict border controls mean that he hasn’t left Taiwan since then, but instead has been able to concentrate his time and energy into leading the diocese, and serving as chair of St. John’s University (SJU) Board of Trustees. If he has any free time, he spends it with his wife and family, his 3 very lively grandsons ensure that life is never boring! Please pray for him, his family and all in SJU & the Taiwan … Continue reading My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 10 ๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ๐ŸŒŸ

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My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 9 โ›„๐ŸŽ…๐ŸŽ„

Catherine Lee

#MyAdventCalendar2021 #Day9: This is Shiao-Chien ๆพคๅ€ฉ with the regular members of our Advent Church Community English Class, meeting today for our ‘Happy Ending’ Christmas Gathering, along with their families and friends. ๐Ÿฅณ Although I plan the classes, Shiao-Chien is our real leader ~ she’s also the one who gave me this Advent Calendar, it’s a rare find in Taiwan! ๐Ÿฅณ Spot the 3 members of the Tan family standing at the back, they kindly hosted the party, and we also visited their 7 beautiful mini horses ๐Ÿด who live together with a flock of very noisy geese! Our classes last … Continue reading My Advent Calendar 2021: Day 9 โ›„๐ŸŽ…๐ŸŽ„