Taiwan Trip 2012

This. Is. Taiwan.

I went to Taiwan last summer in 2012 on a three week trip. My trip consisted of some vacationing and sightseeing with friends and mission work with my church. The first place we went to outside of Taipei area was Hualien.

Hualien was absolutely beautiful. We were there for about a week, and every morning, the scenery outside did not disappoint. It was a photographer's dream to be able to wake up to breathtaking views of mountains, sunlight, and fluffy clouds. Of course I documented it as often as I could!

The interesting thing that you probably can't see in the pictures is that we were in a place that used to be a hospital. We slept in rooms that patients would have stayed in! But truly, even though it was a hospital, it felt like a magical wonderland full of beauty. This goes to show that beauty can be found in the most unexpected of places, if only we look for it.

Here are some more photos of my experiences in Taiwan (in no particular order):

Taipei zoo!

Beautiful:

Real boba! :)

Shopping center:

 OMG. Y'all need to try these!

Taiwan looks so cool at night! Something I don't see living in Gilbert, Arizona, very much. Feel free to save as your screensaver ;)

We passed by National Taiwan University:

Taipei Main Station:

On the train:

Beef noodle soup:

Look closely:

Cutest bunch of monkeys ever! :)

So, that's the extent of the photos! I hope they showed you a glimpse of how cool Taiwan was.

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It has been over six months since I returned from Taiwan, so sadly some of the better memories are now a little rusty in my cauldron of recollections. When people ask me how my first time in Taiwan was though, I usually respond with something along the lines of "awesome" or "amazing". Every time.

Maybe it was because of the pretty sights or speedy fast metro. Or maybe because of the people I got to explore Taiwan with. Or the awesome people I met along the way. Hmmm.. I told you  my memory was rusty! 

Actually, the reason why Taiwan was not only a gorgeous and a fun place to be, but amazing, too, is because I really felt God's love and presence there. For the first time in my life, I prayed fervently about the things that I encountered, and God answered me. He came through. I was challenged in many different ways, being halfway across the world from my family. The culture... the language dialect... the weather....

I had to trust God--and that's what truly made it so amazing.  

Faith only grows when we're in situations where we have to stop relying on our feeble human strength, and trust instead in God's supernatural strength. When I was afraid whether or not I would find my next flight, or couldn't find the right words to speak in Chinese, that was when my faith in the Lord could really grow. It's not about having it easy all the time. It's about being in a situation where we can't control what happens next, and we can only look to God. 

This quote explains my feelings exactly:

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

 

I came back from Taiwan renewed and in a better state of mind that I had been all that year. And when I say better, I mean that I was living like I was a child of the King once again. I trusted in God and allowed him to take control over my life. You can read the blog post I wrote immediately after returning here.

 

They say that traveling matures you crazy fast. I completely agree with that statement. But not only did I mature, I was amazed by how faithful and real God is with every sight I saw, person I met, and prayer that was answered.