On 6th September 2001, I arrived in Taiwan for the very first time, knowing next to nothing about the place or how fundamentally it would shape my life. My intention back then was to spend a year teaching English / buying time while I worked out what to do with my life, then return to the UK. Well, I'm writing this in Taipei 8 years later, and my first few blogs are going to paint a picture of how I got here. I find it pretty hard to believe myself - I have gone from spiritually-confused 'singledom' to a being a married father of one, strengthened and inspired by my faith in Jesus.
As I blogged previously, the May retreat was the first time I chatted to Joelle. I knew her by sight, and that she was involved in the church's children's ministry on Sundays, taught kindergarten, and helped with the Powerpoint presentations during our Sunday evening meetings. Following on from the retreat, we had various other opportunities to chat, and also began to talk on MSN Messenger from time to time. I had also provisionally agreed to be a foreign teacher at her kindergarten a few days a week. By the time July came along, I was starting to really like her. Nothing much happened, though - I was terrified of saying anything at that point. I did, however, treat her to a meal on 25th July, her birthday. At the time, I thought I was being subtle; seen from her eyes, it probably looked like a pretty serious statement... She was real fun to be with - bright, optimistic, liked to laugh... and I really enjoyed her company. It was obvious how much she enjoyed working with child
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