The Vancouver Youth Team Visits St. James'

#2011-0731

It is the seventh Sunday after Pentecost today. The Vancouver Youth Team led by Rev. Roberta Fraser (from Canada) is visiting St. James'.

Rev. Roberta Fraser celebrated the Holy Eucharist with us at the English service this morning. Meanwhile, she gave an impressive sermon, focusing mostly on the story depicted in Genesis 32:22-31. She said, "In those times when we feel as if we are wrestling with God, and especially when we feel we have been wounded by our struggles, we should remember this story. This text reminds us that not only are we wrestling with God but God is also wrestling with us, and we will grow and change and become better people in that process." In the final part of her sermon, she concluded, "As we wrestle and as we struggle with our doubts and our fears, we discover that not only is God with us, but God will always help us and bless us. Even when we, like Jacob, don't deserve it! . . . Our future may not turn out to be the one we want or desire -- but we are promised that God's blessing will be the last word for us."

Little Bee Is Curious About the Mouth

#2011-0728B

Little Bee is now nine months and ten days old. He has got two little teeth, which are very interesting to us. And he himself is very interested in sitting HIGH on the shoulders of his father. (See the previous page for the relevant photos.) Besides, it is obvious that he is very interested in . . . my mouth!

With my mouth, I sing "freely and creatively" to him; I speak to him not only "bilingually" but sometimes in my third or fourth languges -- by which I mean Taiwanese and Hakka dialects (in addition to Mandarin and English). And yet Little Bee doesn't seem so interested in what I say, than what I sing to him. To my surprise, he was so very interested in my mouth when I did "vocal imitations" to him this evening. He really wanted to study the mouth with which I produced lots of strange sounds!

小蜜蜂特技表演

#2011-0728

小蜜蜂多大了？算一算，到今天，他剛好是九個月又十天 --- Little Bee is now nine months and ten days old! 年紀雖小，卻有幾項「驚人的表現」：

一、他長牙了：兩顆小小門牙真的好可愛！
二、他已經「爬到父親的頭上」了：當他高高地坐在爸爸的肩膀上時，笑得好開心、好得意呢！
三、他開始.......（下回分解）

南國風光（續）More Pictures of the Southern Taiwan

#2011-0723B

Continued from the previous page: The Scenery in Southern Taiwan.

布蘭卡民宿

國立海洋生物博物館

關山夕照（攝於 2011.7.22 向晚時分）

南國風光 (The Scenery in Southern Taiwan)

#2011-0723

Day Five: Returning home from Kending, in the south of Taiwan.

In Chinese, we hear and say "見景生情" (Memories revive at the sight of familiar places; to be touched by the scene). I would like to keep in my blog the following photos, which I think will also remind us of the sweet memories of our five-day trip to the southern part of Taiwan from July 19 through July 23, 2011.

I thought of my grandson Little Bee as soon as I saw this little boy playing by himself here!

For more pictures, click here.

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