When we got there I was able to look around the room and see the different treatments going on.  I asked her if this clinic was Eastern or Western medicine and she said, “Eastern.  Are you nervous?”  I think the look on my face gave me away.  :)  After a quick examination with the doctor, he concluded I had a herniated disc in my neck.  So we moved on to the treatment room.  The first two treatments I received were pretty run of the mill for PT, neck traction and electric stimulation.  But Traditional Chinese medicine soon entered the picture.  The doctor came out with a ceramic soup spoon and some ointment.  I had no idea what was about to happen.  

I learned later the process is called “Gua Sha” which literally means to rub the illness out of you.  He applied the ointment and began using the spoon to rub the heck out of my neck, shoulder and back.  It was so painful!  I kept telling him it hurt and he’d chuckle and say, “It will feel better later.”  So I endured the treatment.  Later I learned that Gua Sha is a traditional Chinese treatment method believed to relieve pain and fevers.  The Chinese believe that by bringing the blood to the skin, the toxins will be released and the pain will be relieved.  My skin was cherry red.  I had never seen anything like it before.  When I got home and showed Lance he told me he didn’t want me to go back there.  I didn’t want to either!  My pain was not relieved, in fact my shoulder hurt worse than before!  I’ve heard lots of good things about Chinese medicine, but Gua Sha is not something I’ll try again!  Here’s a picture of my shoulder 6 hours after the doctors visit.  

Just so you know, I have since seen a Western medicine doctor and physical therapist.  They did the same treatments without the Gua Sha.  I told the therapist about my appt with the Eastern-style therapist and he told me in his broken English, “Our treatment isn’t as excitement as that.”  Thank goodness!  

If you’re interested in seeing a video of Gua Sha check out this YouTube video.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4FFmGPPW3w

We’ll be in Beardstown from June 3rd-8th for the wedding festivities.  Then from the 8th-14th we’ll be in Terre Haute.  On the 14th, we’ll head back to Beardstown until the 17th.  Then we’re flying back to Taiwan.  It’s a short trip, but we hope we get to see you while we’re home!

This past Saturday we had a great outing with friends, Shiao Yi and Ring.  They took us to Ching Jing—a sheep farm in the mountains.  It was about a two hour drive to the mountains located in the center of the island.  They asked us to bring some cd’s to listen to on our drive so we brought Jack Johnson and Shane and Shane.  Both  were big hits! 

We walked around the mountainside and took lots of pictures with sheep.  It was a little frustrating that we couldn’t get a good look at their faces because all they did was eat.  (In Chinese we say, “Yi jir chr, yi jir chr.”  They just eat and eat and eat!)  Lance put the camera on the ground to try and get a good picture of a sheep’s face, but the picture ended up making the sheep look pretty scary!  One thing that made the trip interesting was that you had to watch where you walked.  Since the sheep roam around the farm they do their “business” anywhere they please.  It was important to keep an eye out for the little “pebbles” everywhere! 

After we finished up at Ching Jing, Shiao Yi wanted to take us further up the mountain to Taroko National Park.  Lance loved the drive up and the beautiful scenery, but I was a little nervous about the narrow roads winding up the mountain.  But the view from the top of the mountain was amazing! 

Once we had our fill of the mountains we were all feeling a bit sleepy, so as we drove down the mountain, we stopped at this hostile for coffee. The entire building (inside and out) was purple! It was a nice break, and since our driver was sleepy the caffeine was helpful!

When we returned to Taichung, we took Shiao Yi and Ring to our favorite Indian restaurant, Kebabish.  It was the perfect way to end a great day!  We look forward to more road trips with Shiao Yi and Ring in the near future!

You can look at the rest of our pictures of the day by clicking on our flickr badge to the right.

april-2009

Basically, we’re still attending language school everyday  for two hours a day.  Most of our time is spent studying for language school and doing any homework assigned to us.  It’s difficult having this be our main priority while we’re here, but we know that it will help us be more successful down the road with our ministries.  Kimberly is doing pretty well with her language acquisition.  I’m still puttering along, but hopeful that it will all start coming together soon.  

The young adult cell group that meets on Tuesday nights is doing very well.  We’ve been very excited to get to know some new friends through that group.  Recently we’ve had a few new people come who seem to really enjoy hanging out with us.  Next Tuesday we’re all going bowling, so I’ll be sure to post some pictures of what is sure to be a good time.  

Kimberly and I are looking forward to coming home in a few weeks for Kayla and Kevin’s wedding (Kimberly’s sister).  We’ll be in Beardstown throughout the 1st week of June and then we’ll be heading to Terre Haute on the 8th and we’ll be there through the 14th.  It will be a short visit, but we’re excited to be able to see our family and friends.

When we get back to Taiwan, we’ll be quickly getting things ready for Sports and English Camp which is  the 1st week in July.  Also, early in June, the Atkins (our co-workers) will be heading back to the States for a 6 month furlough.  Be in prayer for them as they are making time consuming preparations to return home.  But as they depart for a while, it will be an opportunity for the Taiwanese leadership in the church to step up and lead the congregation.  This is a pretty big dot on the church’s timeline to becoming a self sustaining church.  Kimberly and I will be able to assist in any way we can, but we are most looking forward to seeing them take the reigns and lead.  Currently, Kimberly is working with Chuck (Taiwanese associate pastor) on recruiting some help with the Children’s ministry.  This ministry is the only ministry where there hasn’t been much Taiwanese involvement.  

I think that’s about it for now.  We’ll hopefully be sending out the newsletter by the end of the week!!!

march_2009

There were several other students practicing on the course during our time there, being very careful not to touch the white lines or set off the alarms.  In various places on the course, they have sensors that when you touch them a car alarm sound goes off.  So when you’re parallel parking, there are sensors on the front, back and right side of the parking space.  Naturally, I didn’t set off any sensors during my time at the practice course, although Kimberly doesn’t believe the sensors were active on the course I was practicing on.  I like to believe that they were.  Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, after I study some material for the written part of the test, I will be able to go and take my test.  I’ll be sure to let you know how that goes….