A Full Sunday at St. James'

#2026-0802

Today, I attended the English service at St. James' at 9:30 a.m. and served as Lay Eucharistic Minister (LEM). This was my first time serving in that role since I left for Hualien in July last year for a one-year extended stay. It was a real joy to return to where I truly feel I belong.

Ms. Kseniia Dubinina led the Children's Service this morning. As far as I can remember, this was her first time doing so, and she did an outstanding job.

After the English service, I ran into a group of young people who had been camping at St. James' over the weekend, including my grandson James. To my surprise and delight, he had volunteered to serve as an assistant teacher (xiao laoshi) at the Exploring Camp for Sunday School students. The group was about to attend the Chinese service, which marked the conclusion of the camp.

During the coffee hour after the English service, Lillian, her husband, and I had a long and meaningful conversation in one of the classrooms downstairs. She teaches at Lizen High School, where my grandson will be studying for the next three years. We talked at length about language teaching and the current educational environment in Taiwan.

Later, I drove to Dajia to bring Jean home after she had once again spent some time with her elderly mother. Finally, we picked up our grandson from St. James' at about 8:10 p.m. It was truly a full and wonderful Sunday.

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相關文章 (See also)：

1)  A Quiet Day to Myself     (2026)

2)  A Cute Pet: 大甲的歐巴     (2026)

3)  Mandarin for Faith and Life     (2026)

4)  生活點滴：A Joyful Return to St. James'     (2026)

A Quiet Day to Myself

#2026-0801

Jean is in Dajia once again, accompanying her elderly mother.

James, my grandson, is at St. James' Church, where he has been taking part in a summer camp specially organized for Sunday School students. He is serving there as a xiao laoshi (小老師), one of the teachers' assistants.

As for me, I have the house all to myself. Somehow, being alone seems to give me more free time than usual. In fact, I have been completely free all day to do whatever I wanted.

For lunch, I walked to the nearby restaurant, 牛家莊, and once again enjoyed a delicious bowl of beef noodles. Instead of taking my usual afternoon nap, I spent some time practicing my favorite songs on my viola.

Later, I read through my Mandarin Conversation textbook (用拼音學說華語). Earlier this morning, Daphne had asked for a copy for Lillian Yen, who, she said, will be teaching Basic Mandarin to international students in the coming semester. She also requested another copy for her daughter, the Rev. Claire. I wanted to look through my published book once more to make sure it would be both suitable and helpful for their classes.

At around 5:40 p.m., I left home for my usual walk along the familiar trails nearby (see the map below). As I made my way up the hillside, I was treated once again to a beautiful sunset. The view was simply breathtaking. I couldn't resist taking a few more photographs, which you can see below.

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相關文章 (See also)：

1)  夕陽紅 (The Red Sunset)     (2023)

2)  乘風而行，又見彩雲飛     (2024)

3)  Night Walk on the Mountain Path     (2024)

4)  "Welcome Home" (霧峰行腳～圖解篇)     (2026)

5)  Photos by Shine, My Grandchild     (2025)

Beautiful Chickens @ 省議會紀念園區

#2026-0729

This afternoon, I took a walk through the Taiwan Provincial Consultative Council Memorial Park and came across several beautiful chickens. They were not very large, but their colorful feathers were striking and made them a real pleasure to watch.

After taking a few photos of them (see the pictures below), a gentleman about my age walked over carrying a bag of chicken feed. He scattered some of it along the stone-paved path, and the charming birds immediately gathered around, happily pecking at the food. It was a simple yet delightful scene that made my afternoon walk even more enjoyable.

下午散步到省議會紀念園區，看見幾隻好漂亮的雞。體型不大，羽毛顏色卻很迷人。我拍了機張照片（如下圖）之後，來了一位年紀與我差不多的男士，帶了些雞食來，撒在石板路上，那幾隻可愛的鳥類便爭相啄食啦！

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相關文章 (See also)：

1)  《優游水鴨情》   (2023)

2)  流蘇花園 (相簿２)     (2023)

3)  Do You Speak Mandarin and English?     (2016)

4)  日月潭的孔雀園 (The Peacock Garden)     (2013)

A Cute Pet: 大甲的歐巴

#2026-0728

Jean and I returned to Dajia once again. As we stepped into the living room, the house was quiet. We soon learned that the family had gone to worship at the Temple of the Mysterious Lady of the Ninth Heaven (九天玄女). The only one at home was their adorable little dog, who welcomed us as warmly as if we were old friends.

His Name Is Oo-Baa

牠的名字叫「歐巴」，不是「歐巴馬」。

牠很可愛，

真的很討人喜歡。

沒想到，我們才剛見面⸺　

　也許以前見過，但那是很久

　很久以前吧！⸺

牠對我，就像熟悉的家人。

（或許在牠眼中，人類都是友善、可信賴的）

完全不陌生，

倒反~~~~~

親切得很。短影片，可以為證！

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相關文章 (See also)：

1)  The Faith of the Canaanite Woman     (2020)

2)  Regarding "Puppy" (颱風的名字)     (2023)

3)  也為狗狗祈禱！     (2023)

4)  Puppy Love     (2010; originally, 2003)

5)  愛    (2010; originally, 1989)

生活點滴：A Joyful Return to St. James'

#2026-0727

Jean and I finished our ten-day stay in Dajia and returned to Wufeng on Thursday, July 23. I spent the following two days resting and doing some chores. Then, yesterday, we were delighted to attend the Sunday service at St. James' Episcopal Church in Taichung once again.

During our year-long stay in Hualien, it was impossible for us to attend Sunday worship at St. James'. Instead, we attended services at St. Luke's whenever possible. (See #2026-0628 for our final worship there.) It was especially convenient because we only had to walk downstairs from our room on the fourth floor to the chapel on the first floor.

Yesterday, however, we had to leave home much earlier because the English service at St. James' begins at 9:30 a.m., and it takes us about twenty-five minutes to drive there.

How glad and excited we were to be back at St. James' and to see so many familiar friends again after a whole year!

Just as we had expected, our rector, Rev. Lily Chang, together with many brothers and sisters in Christ, welcomed us warmly.

"Welcome back, Jerry and Jean!" they said.

Some of them also asked about our grandson, James.

"Is your grandson coming too?"

"No," I replied. "James met a former classmate and the boy's parents in Houli (后里), where the boy's maternal grandmother lives. They planned to visit her together before taking James back to Taipei for a short vacation of three or four days. In a few weeks, James' former classmate will be leaving for the United States, either on a study tour or for a longer period of study abroad."

After lunch, Jean and I stayed in the Coffee Hour room on the first floor, chatting with several of our close friends. We stayed there for quite some time, enjoying what turned out to be one of the longest and happiest conversations we have ever had after a Sunday service.

By the way, today I gave Rev. Ben Simmons two copies of my Mandarin conversation textbook, Yong Pinyin Xue Shuo Huayu (用拼音學說華語), which I published in Hualien last February. I wanted to encourage him, knowing that he plans to devote more time to learning Mandarin this year and next. I also presented a copy to Rev. Lily Chang as a souvenir because one of her photographs appears as an illustration in the book.

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相關文章 (See also)：

1)  Palm Sunday, 2023     (2023)

2)  I Love My Church     (2025)

3)  Mandarin for Faith and Life     (2026)

4)  十個職場人的故事 (A Personal Note)     (2026)

5)  Our Final Sunday Worship at St. Luke's     (2026)