January Newsletter
Dear friends, family, and supporters,
Winter in Tamshui is about like winter in Seattle—fog, wind, drizzle, mist, and mostly just plain old rain. We were given a chance to compare the two environments this month with a short but busy trip to our old stomping grounds. Through her work with the office of Technology Cooperation, Erin was put in charge of planning a service-learning trip to Seattle. St. John’s University, in an effort to expand on their approach to holistic education wanted to give a small group of students the experience of traveling abroad, while simultaneously learning about volunteerism, non profit organizations, and an opportunity to put their English into practice. Through our friends and acquaintances in Seattle and in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia Erin was able to arrange for a great trip.
Posing for a group shot in front of the Habitat for Humanity home build.
Bishop Vincent Warner was able to meet with the group our first evening in Seattle. Bishop Warner discussed matters of faith and culture with the students and closed the time by singing some Johnny Cash and offering a prayer of blessing for the group.
Though the trip was only allotted roughly six days, Erin managed to schedule around a dozen different service-learning projects, including observing the workings of a local food shelter and a Habitat For Humanity building site, helping serve meals at a homeless shelter and packaging gifts for children and troops in Iraq, as well as experiences with a local restaurant and a local newspaper both owned and operated by area homeless men and women. In addition to the service-learning the group was able to meet with former Washington State Governor Gary Locke, the Diocesan Bishop in the Diocese of Olympia, the Rt. Rev. Vincent Warner; and through a few experiences with our home church in Renton, St. Luke’s and another in Maple Valley, St. George’s, they were able to meet many of the people responsible for sending us to Taiwan. We even managed to bump into some other random famous people like Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson at Seattle’s popular Experience the Music Project (EMP) and some Taiwanese pop star (whose name escapes me) on our flight home.
We had a chance to meet with Fr. Kevin (center) before he left on vacation. Here we pose in front of the Renton Salvation Army Food Bank.
A group photo op with former governor Gary Locke.
After filling boxes for troops and children in Iraq, our group posed for their final group shot. Most important, this picture captures Sally Cummings (second from left) who was integral in helping this trip come together. Thanks Sally!
As a surprise to both of us, I was asked about two weeks before leaving to accompany Erin as a personal escort and as an additional chaperone for the students. The chaplain with whom I do most of my daily work insisted that Erin should not be traveling alone, and offered to cover the cost of my ticket so that I might travel along in the role of defender and protector (the idea of female independence not being all that popular here in Taiwan). Not wanting to miss the opportunity to see Seattle, and of course always up for the chance to be with Erin, I accepted the incredibly generous offer (though I insisted, to much laughter, that if I went, Erin would likely spend most of her time looking out for me, and not the other way around).
This is what jet-lag looks like. Trying to act awake for our sleepy-head students.... I know, a bit of a role reversal for Jered.
As I’ve already said, the trip was a success in many different ways. Of the 7 students and 1 faculty in our group, only two claimed Christianity as their faith, and thus the trip became not only cross-cultural, but also inter-religious in nature. Through the open minds and especially open hearts of the various churches and church bodies we had experiences with in Seattle, the group was given a positive impression of Christianity, and moreover a desire to learn and dialogue further with Christians in the future. We thank God for our wonderful home church St. Luke’s, for our friends at St. George’s, our contacts within the Renton Ecumenical Association, and for the staff and leadership of the Diocese of Olympia who all testified through word and action to the reconciling love of Jesus Christ.
St. George Maple Valley arranged to do a bilingual Eucharist for the students, most of whom were not familiar with a lot of religious words in English. Here Fr. Philip Wong and Fr. Joe Mikel are celebrating the mass.
St. George recently started a sister parish relationship with Trinity Church in Keelung Taiwan. Here Fr. Joe Mikel signs the agreement along with Fr. Jerry Shigaki a representative from the Diocese of Olympia.
Of course it was a delight to reconnect with so many of our wonderful friends in Seattle. We never in a million years would have guessed that when we said we wanted to “connect our sending community with our receiving community” that we would be given such a wonderful opportunity to make it literally happen. We are truly blessed.
The icing on the cake was an opportunity for both Erin and I to see our parents on this trip. Erin’s mom and dad showed up early in the trip for a couple of days and my mom came later towards the end. It was another blessing to be able to exchange stories, hugs, and for them to be able to meet some of the students we work with on a regular basis.
Dinner our first night with Erin's folks. Not pictured is our visit with Jered's mom and Aunt Mary and Uncle Mark.
When we arrived back home, the school was closed for Chinese New Year, and so we have spent the past two weeks working on small projects, continuing to work for the various churches in the diocese through preaching, music, and teaching. It’s a Chinese New Year tradition to visit family and friends during the holiday, and so we have had the wonderful opportunity to visit several of our friends here in the diocese, and of course, have eaten way too much holiday food.
A "Year of the Dog" display in a Taipei shopping mall. The Lunar New Year is a boost to the local economy just like Christmas in the States.
Prior to our trip to Seattle, I had the opportunity to hike with a friend from the university, to the peak of Taiwan’s tallest mountain. For pictures and the full account of our heroic journey up Jade Mountain, check out our blog www.jeredanderin.blogspot.com .
Thanks again to everyone who helped make our Seattle trip a success. We wish there could have been more time. Happy Chinese New Year!!!
Blessings,
Jered and Erin Weber-Johnson
Winter in Tamshui is about like winter in Seattle—fog, wind, drizzle, mist, and mostly just plain old rain. We were given a chance to compare the two environments this month with a short but busy trip to our old stomping grounds. Through her work with the office of Technology Cooperation, Erin was put in charge of planning a service-learning trip to Seattle. St. John’s University, in an effort to expand on their approach to holistic education wanted to give a small group of students the experience of traveling abroad, while simultaneously learning about volunteerism, non profit organizations, and an opportunity to put their English into practice. Through our friends and acquaintances in Seattle and in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia Erin was able to arrange for a great trip.
Posing for a group shot in front of the Habitat for Humanity home build.
Bishop Vincent Warner was able to meet with the group our first evening in Seattle. Bishop Warner discussed matters of faith and culture with the students and closed the time by singing some Johnny Cash and offering a prayer of blessing for the group.
Though the trip was only allotted roughly six days, Erin managed to schedule around a dozen different service-learning projects, including observing the workings of a local food shelter and a Habitat For Humanity building site, helping serve meals at a homeless shelter and packaging gifts for children and troops in Iraq, as well as experiences with a local restaurant and a local newspaper both owned and operated by area homeless men and women. In addition to the service-learning the group was able to meet with former Washington State Governor Gary Locke, the Diocesan Bishop in the Diocese of Olympia, the Rt. Rev. Vincent Warner; and through a few experiences with our home church in Renton, St. Luke’s and another in Maple Valley, St. George’s, they were able to meet many of the people responsible for sending us to Taiwan. We even managed to bump into some other random famous people like Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson at Seattle’s popular Experience the Music Project (EMP) and some Taiwanese pop star (whose name escapes me) on our flight home.
We had a chance to meet with Fr. Kevin (center) before he left on vacation. Here we pose in front of the Renton Salvation Army Food Bank.
A group photo op with former governor Gary Locke.
After filling boxes for troops and children in Iraq, our group posed for their final group shot. Most important, this picture captures Sally Cummings (second from left) who was integral in helping this trip come together. Thanks Sally!
As a surprise to both of us, I was asked about two weeks before leaving to accompany Erin as a personal escort and as an additional chaperone for the students. The chaplain with whom I do most of my daily work insisted that Erin should not be traveling alone, and offered to cover the cost of my ticket so that I might travel along in the role of defender and protector (the idea of female independence not being all that popular here in Taiwan). Not wanting to miss the opportunity to see Seattle, and of course always up for the chance to be with Erin, I accepted the incredibly generous offer (though I insisted, to much laughter, that if I went, Erin would likely spend most of her time looking out for me, and not the other way around).
This is what jet-lag looks like. Trying to act awake for our sleepy-head students.... I know, a bit of a role reversal for Jered.
As I’ve already said, the trip was a success in many different ways. Of the 7 students and 1 faculty in our group, only two claimed Christianity as their faith, and thus the trip became not only cross-cultural, but also inter-religious in nature. Through the open minds and especially open hearts of the various churches and church bodies we had experiences with in Seattle, the group was given a positive impression of Christianity, and moreover a desire to learn and dialogue further with Christians in the future. We thank God for our wonderful home church St. Luke’s, for our friends at St. George’s, our contacts within the Renton Ecumenical Association, and for the staff and leadership of the Diocese of Olympia who all testified through word and action to the reconciling love of Jesus Christ.
St. George Maple Valley arranged to do a bilingual Eucharist for the students, most of whom were not familiar with a lot of religious words in English. Here Fr. Philip Wong and Fr. Joe Mikel are celebrating the mass.
St. George recently started a sister parish relationship with Trinity Church in Keelung Taiwan. Here Fr. Joe Mikel signs the agreement along with Fr. Jerry Shigaki a representative from the Diocese of Olympia.
Of course it was a delight to reconnect with so many of our wonderful friends in Seattle. We never in a million years would have guessed that when we said we wanted to “connect our sending community with our receiving community” that we would be given such a wonderful opportunity to make it literally happen. We are truly blessed.
The icing on the cake was an opportunity for both Erin and I to see our parents on this trip. Erin’s mom and dad showed up early in the trip for a couple of days and my mom came later towards the end. It was another blessing to be able to exchange stories, hugs, and for them to be able to meet some of the students we work with on a regular basis.
Dinner our first night with Erin's folks. Not pictured is our visit with Jered's mom and Aunt Mary and Uncle Mark.
When we arrived back home, the school was closed for Chinese New Year, and so we have spent the past two weeks working on small projects, continuing to work for the various churches in the diocese through preaching, music, and teaching. It’s a Chinese New Year tradition to visit family and friends during the holiday, and so we have had the wonderful opportunity to visit several of our friends here in the diocese, and of course, have eaten way too much holiday food.
A "Year of the Dog" display in a Taipei shopping mall. The Lunar New Year is a boost to the local economy just like Christmas in the States.
Prior to our trip to Seattle, I had the opportunity to hike with a friend from the university, to the peak of Taiwan’s tallest mountain. For pictures and the full account of our heroic journey up Jade Mountain, check out our blog www.jeredanderin.blogspot.com .
Thanks again to everyone who helped make our Seattle trip a success. We wish there could have been more time. Happy Chinese New Year!!!
Blessings,
Jered and Erin Weber-Johnson
posted by Jered & Erin Weber-Johnson | 9:11 PM
1 Comments:
Wow Jered you're hair is getting just as long as my husband's! Any reason for growing it long? It looks good. Erin, how do you like it? :) Jason's growing his out for the youth group and a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity. I can't wait till he cuts it! :) Enjoyed reading your newsletter, you seem to be catching on to things over there! Take care you two,
Sam
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