Christmas 2009 Activities

Well, the 2009 Christmas season has come, and is almost gone. Here is a summary of what the holidays held for us as a family this year:

• No H1N1. Well, we did get it, but fortunately well before the holidays started, and we could enjoy the Christmas season knowing we were now immune to it and didn't have to live in fear of picking it up at some point during the holidays.
• Getting together with my English students for a special lunch. We went to McDonalds. Yes, McDonalds. Does that mean it wasn't so special? It was fun anyway.
• Going bowling and a trip to Costco. Bowling is always a fun thing to do as a family, and the highlight of going to Costco is getting to eat there (usually their hotdogs).
• Outreach activity with local elementary students. I helped lead singing Christmas songs, and the pastor shared the Christmas story.
• Singing Christmas carols on Christmas eve at the CCT church. Though we don't attend CCT regularly, this has been a "tradition" for our family. Props to Lillian Dwight and friends for leading a great service this year.
• Sharing with the teachers at Da Peng Elementary School. I was able to share (in Taiwanese) the background/history of the song "Silent Night", and then lead them in singing it.
• Caroling and sharing the true meaning of Christmas with Patients at China Medical Hospital. Our church, along with about 5 other church groups, met at the hospital on Christmas evening, and sang carols in the main lobby, and then near the emergency waiting room area. We also went up to the 6th floor ward and went room by room, sharing about Christmas, handing out gift bags, and praying with patients.
• Having a great Christmas meal with friends, and playing "Ticket To Ride". Sharing holiday food with friends, of course, is one of the best things in the world. We hope our friends enjoyed our company this year as much as we enjoyed theirs. Thanks, Jon & Beth, for introducing us to the "train game".
• Visiting my friend A-Hong. I met A-hong in the hospital over a year ago. He is now in a physiotherapy recovery center. My son and I went to visit him yesterday, hoping to bring some Christmas cheer into his heart. He was very glad for the visit and the Christmas cookies I brought.

There are other activities we still have planned before the end of the holidays (going to the Flying Cow Ranch, going out for a special meal at a favorite restaurant, etc.). As you can see, though, we didn't go too far afield this year. Good to just spend some time at home as a family, too.

A Jackhammer Christmas

I grew up on a farm outside of a small town on the vast expanse of the Canadian prairies. It was quiet at night (except for the occasional dog barking), but it was super quiet at night at Christmas time, especially when a fresh blanket of snow covered the ground. I will forever have memories of standing outside on the nights leading up to Christmas, being lost in the silence. I wondered if the night was as still and quiet for the shepherds just before the angels crashed on the scene.

Stillness and quiet is not part of Christmas here in Taiwan. In fact, this year seems especially full of noise pollution as the neighbors have taken to renovating their house the past few weeks. Renovating a house in Taiwan invariably means the use of a concrete drill day after day, sometimes as early as 8:00 in the morning to 9:00 in the evening. When the drill is not being used, there are still various noises of tapping, banging, hammering, grinding, tearing, crashing, and ripping. And since the houses are all basically built in the same concrete block, the noise vibrates seemingly as loud in our house as it does 2 doors down.

So, the challenge, for those that typically like to spend a quiet Christmas, is to find peace in the noise, stillness in the vibrations (which we also had from a recent 6.8 earthquake). One has to find a quiet inside oneself, because it doesn't exist in the air around a Taiwanese city.

In closing, I offer the Taiwanese version of "Joy To The World" (with apologies to Isaac Watts):

Noise to the world, the work's begun

Let men their drills employ

While hammers and saws, grind ceaselessly each day

Repeat the clanging tools

Repeat the clanging tools,

Repeat, repeat, the clanging tools

Quiet or loud, may you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

H1N1 - Seib Saga Update

Well, yesterday our son tested positive for H1N1, and this morning my wife did. So that's 3 of 5 in the family with it confirmed. I suspect I have had it, but tested negative both times I had the test this week. I do however have bronchitis now, a secondary infection from the flu, so I'm on antibiotics for that. It is surprising that our daughter with Down Syndrome, who supposedly has a weaker immune system, so far has not developed any flu symptoms. We pray for God's continued protection over her health.

How kind the Lord is! How good he is!

So merciful, this God of ours!

The Lord protects those of childlike faith;

I was facing death, and he saved me.

Let my soul be at rest again,

for the Lord has been good to me.

-Psalm 116:5-7

So, at this point, our youngest daughter can return to school on Monday, our son next Tuesday, and my wife on Wednesday. It's been a tough week, but it's encouraging to see everything progress and run its course. It'll be so nice to get back into some "healthy routine" when this is all over.

H1N1 - Our Numbers Came Up

Well, it finally happened. The H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic finally caught up with our household. Our youngest daughter was confirmed with it this past Sunday, and of course is home from school this whole week. This means that the rest of our family is technically "quarantined" as well. Our son must also stay home from school this week, even though at this point he is "healthy as a fiddle" (whatever that means). The rest of us are discouraged from going out, unless absolutely necessary.

I went for an H1N1 "rapid test" at the local health clinic, and the result was negative, even though I feel like crap and am pretty sure I have it. I learned later that these rapid tests are horribly inaccurate, though I'm glad my youngest daughter actually tested positive as it meant the doctor could give her the anti-viral medication, which seems to really be helping her. I, on the other hand, continue to suffer...... (start pity party music here).

Keeping the kids on task with their school work is proving a challenge, and we are trying not to think too far ahead should our son (whom my wife and I affectionately at times refer to as "the boy") come down with it this weekend and then have to miss a second week of school.

In any case, we will survive this. As they say in Hebrew, גם זה יעבור‎, (gam zeh yaavor), "This, too, shall pass."