Cherry Blossom in every shade of pink is out in Taiwan ~ Spring is here! Sanzhi 三芝 is looking so beautiful at this time of year ~ there’s pink trees everywhere! Continue reading And the Cherry Blossom 櫻花 goes on and on!
After 2 long, wet, damp, horrible weeks of seemingly non-stop rain since Chinese New Year, the sun is finally out in Sanzhi ~ and so is the cherry blossom! Yippee! Continue reading Cherry Blossom Season @ Taiwan!
Last week’s gloriously sunny weather for Chinese New Year meant that everything looked so beautiful! I’ve found 5 small churches in Sanzhi Town, and the biggest is the Sanzhi Presbyterian Church 台灣基督長老教會三芝教會 ~ they’re busy constructing a new church building, along by the river, and it’s looking good so far! Their old building, which is still being used, also looked really good in the sun ~ and so did the view of the Yang-Ming Shan Mountains just along from the church! Praying for this building project to bring glory to God and renewal of faith for the people! Continue reading The Old and the New: Sanzhi Presbyterian Church 台灣基督長老教會三芝教會
Day 22: #look #注視 Sunday December 20, Fourth Sunday of Advent ‘Every moment is teeming with God’s presence. We can know the real presence of Jesus by being really present to life – to live our lives with a kind of attentiveness like when someone grabs your arm and then, pointing at something says, “Look!” And you’re all eyes to take it all in. That’s real living: being really present to Jesus’ real presence, now’. 每一分每一秒都有上帝同在。如果分秒都認真生活，我們就可明白耶穌的真實臨在。讓我們過一種專注的生活，好比有人一手抓住你的手臂，一手指向某物，對你說「你看！」—這時，我們必會定睛注視、全神關注。這就是真正的生活：與耶穌真實同在，把握當下！ Dawn is breaking over Sanzhi 三芝 ~ look! Continue reading Advent Word, Day 22 ‘look’
And quite an amazing event it turned out to be! Every year the Lions Club of Sanzhi 三芝 runs a ‘health walk’ through the countryside for anybody and everybody, ending with a huge gathering for a lucky draw. And so it was that by 6:45 am this morning, huge crowds had gathered at Sanzhi Junior High School for the start. Me too! Met some people I knew, and a group of children who I didn’t, but they were so lovely, and we spent half the walk going through all the English vocabulary they knew ha ha! And so off we set. A … Continue reading Sanzhi 三芝 Lions Health Walk
Yep, finally it’s harvest season for all the zillions of water bamboo (or water oats 茭白筍) growing all over Sanzhi 三芝 area. The plants are now huge – up to people height, but are being cut and bagged up ~ the actual vegetable is a bit like a leek. All along the roadsides are people selling bags of the stuff…. It’s also known locally as ‘Beauty Legs’ 美人腿 after their shape… well, enough said! And next weekend Sanzhi District Council is holding a Water Bamboo Festival ~ and excitement is mounting! Continue reading Water Bamboo Time!
Within walking distance of Sanzhi 三芝 is a beautiful area, Hengshan Terraced Fields ~ and now is the time of the year to go, when the water bamboo (water oats) are almost at their full height, almost ready for harvest. This evening as the sun was going down, they were at their best! Y’know, Sanzhi is quite an amazing place! Continue reading Hengshan Terraced Fields 橫山梯田 @ Sanzhi 三芝
中元普渡 (Jung Yuan Pu Du) is the climax of Ghost Month… The actual day was last Friday, but many have been busy all weekend making offerings of food and drink and burning ghost money. That includes my neighbours in Sanzhi 三芝. Taken from an article in the China Post of this subject: Jung Yuan Pu Du – The China Post Pu Du (universal salvation) are sacrificial rites with the intention of appeasing ghosts with no heirs to care for them. Jung Yuan Pu Du falls on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. Similar to lunar fifteenth … Continue reading 中元普渡 Climax of Ghost Month
Sunday afternoon – after our confirmation service at Advent Church at 10:00am and then our usual lunch at church – was a great opportunity to invite Bishop and Mrs. Lily Lai to come to visit my new house in Sanzhi 三芝, and what a great opportunity also to invite the older people in our congregation who normally meet on Sunday afternoon for 2 hours of Bible Study and fellowship ~ YES! Plus anyone else who wanted to come along – with an offer of huge amounts of ice-cream and Bishop Lai’s Chinese Tea! So neighbours and friends and a student … Continue reading Welcoming Bishop and Mrs. Lily Lai and so many lovely people!
Catherine Lee 