October 28th Sun's out again

We've had a beautiful day. Enjoyed the colors on the Ozark Trail - old Highway Route 66.

Jenks Cousin

Sue, Larry and Sally - three Mayo cousins.
Sue's house is ready for Halloween.

Greetings from Oklahoma!

We arrived in Sapulpa, Oklahoma on Thursday and are visiting Mayo relatives. Here's a picture from our family reunion today. Notice the Mayo Campout shirts. Three of the four 'Mayo' sisters were here and we will see number 4 in a couple of days. We had lucious eats and lots of fun visiting at Cousin Sue's house.

Fall Leaves

I couldn't resist taking pictures of the beautiful leaves as we drove through the sunny day. Here are some of the results. Hope you enjoy this part of God's creation!
Marlys

Genevieve at almost 5 months old

She's a pretty solemn one with a hint of smile.

Minnesota State Fair

It is 7 p.m. on Thursday. We've had a busy day. This was the first day of the state fair. Square Dancers are scheduled to dance each day of the fair and our club signed up for this first day. It was cloudy all day and misted and then rained a little as we took to the dance floor at 10:30 to 1:30. We danced in three hour-long sets rotating squares so we didn't get too tired. We got a little wet, but continued dancing anyway. We spent a few more hours looking at exhibits and eating our way around the fair grounds. We met back at the car at 4 p.m. and headed home. It took an hour and twenty minutes for the 45 minute drive home. However, we made it home before the rain hit for real. It came down in sheets with big winds just a few minutes after we got home. We turned on the TV to listen to the news and found that there have been tornados and huge hail in southern Minnesota since 9 a.m. this morning. We feel really blessed to have been spared the heavy rain this noon. This later afternoon they got more rain at the fair but we were safe at home by then.
We actually enjoyed the cloudy day so that it wasn't so hot for dancing and walking around the fair.

Mayo Camp at Gull River Lot

The weather cooperated with beautiful clear skies and dry warm weather both on Saturday and Sunday. The Mayo cousins gathered at Manny's River Lot where Shawn and Mary, Eli and Kaleb live now. Some of us camped but most came Saturday and/or Sunday to share food and fun. Sunday featured Family Fear Factor. Teams dunked for apples in minnow infested water. They slurped gooey stuff with eyeballs and maggots rolling in it. Then they had a challenge on the rope swing and swimming raft. Leslie and Skyler were the winners. All the teams did a great job. What will they come up with next year?
Fishing and swimming kept the young children happy. They also rode on the hot dog pulled behind a boat. We hope to have even more families join us next year.

NEWEST PICTURE OF GEN

Anne's sister took this beautiful shot of Pete and Gen (3 months). Gen's eyelashes are really long and curly and she has big blue eyes like her mom.

We are enjoying being home. Larry was not feeling well for a couple of days but both of us are fine now. We have been getting the camper ready for the family reunion this weekend in Brainerd. The sale at Wayzata was yesterday and today. We came home with many bags of bargains. It is such fun to think of ways to use all this stuff.

We also have our slides pretty well organized so we are ready to show them to anyone who is interested in our trip. You'll have to give us a timeline so we don't over stay our welcome.

Love, Larry & Marlys

Home in Minnesota, Safe and Sound

We are home safely. Today, Friday, we slept in and have been doing wash and reading emails and cleaning up the computer mailings.
We were unaware of all the problems in London until we reached Paul's house. When we arrived in Detroit, they announced that there was an orange alert and all liquid and gels would not be allowed on the plane. If we had them we had to put them in the checked luggage when we went through customs. We did that and then our carry on luggage was scanned as usual. There were no more problems for us but the Japanese girls ahead of us had a bag of cosmetics as carry on and these were dumped out. Anything with liquid or gel was tossed into a dumpster.
There were lots of inspector people in the customs area. Our plane had about 400 people and they ran us through the hoops as fast as possible. Still, we would have missed our connecting flight if it had been on schedule. We ran through the airport and arrived 5 minutes before it was scheduled to leave. But, no problem, the plane had not yet arrived from Indianapolis! It was rescheduled for one hour later. So we relaxed and called Paul with the news so that they would check at the airport before driving out there. As it turned out, Paul was able to get us instead of Leslie and the children. Paul had been in a meeting downtown in Minneapolis so just came to the airport after that. He was waiting at the baggage area. We were soo glad to see him!
It was a long day. Up at 7 a.m. in Japan. To the airport before 11. On the plane at 1 p.m. Plane ride was 12 hours. 2 1/2 hours in Detroit. 1 1/2 hour flight to Minneapolis. 5 hours later hit the bed. Total: 27 hours - all on August 10th! We slept a little on the planes but not much. We slept a good 11 hours last night. Now we feel fine but we are supposed to go square dancing tonight and I doubt that we will make that. I bet we will get to bed early again.
We are enjoying the cooler weather at home. It is about 72 degrees. The humidity is high but the coolness feels so wonderful! I've washed two loads of clothes and have the backpacks unloaded. I have read the first batch of mail. More will be delivered today. We've had a bit of breakfast but need to go to the store later to fill up the refrigerator. Tomorrow Pete and Pat's families will be here for lunch. Today we will stop at church to see the end of the Sport's Camp. Sunday is the church picnic and square dancing at the Fiddler's Contest in a nearby town. We thought the Mayo Reunion was this weekend and were so happy it is next weekend. (I had forgotten the dates.) We are going to camp in our camper at Manny's River Lot where Shawn Sundquist has built a house.
Thanks so much for praying for us. We felt very supported by prayer. We were not sick at all and managed well in the heat and humidity. Our assignment was different than what we had envisioned but we sensed God's presence and know that our being there was what was needed, not what we actually did.

Praising God for a wonderful trip,
Larry & Marlys

Ready to Fly Home Tomorrow

Hi from Osaka, Japan
We are at our hotel in Osaka with free internet so thought I would give one last report before we head home. Our time with Rachel was really great. We went to Hakata on Monday and found the showroom and shop of Hakata dolls. I have a small bell to show off their work as well as the pieces I collected in the 60s when we lived here. We also found a folk museum which had several different crafts displayed and a video showing how things were made. We enjoyed both places. The heat and humidity were very oppressive especially on Monday but we walked through it. Rachel cooked some great meals for us and we had a good time sharing pictures too.

We left Rachels Tuesday morning and took a slow train up the west coast to Matsue. The views of the ocean and the rocky coast were very beautiful as well as the mountain terrain we drove through. These mountains aren't very high but are covered with forests. The trees are different from those in Minnesota. We took a bus and hiked 10 minutes to the youth hostel in Matsue for the evening. We ate at the bus station while waiting for the bus. We were glad we did because we didn't see any stores when we got off the bus. The driver just motioned for us to keep walking. We found the hostel and had a wonderful welcome by a woman and child. Later we met her husband. He was fun to talk with and encouraged us to take a walk in the morning. Larry did hike up to some of the park he described at 5:30 a.m. Marlys slept in - of course! We did leave early for the bus stop. But before we left, the manager and his wife sang to us - a country western song, Shenandoah Road.

Today we continued by train to Osaka. We arrived by 2 p.m. at the hotel and then left again to ride the train on our rail pass one last time. We just chose to go toward Nara on a local train. We got off in Oji - it was the end of that train trip. Instead of continuing on to Nara, we went out to the street and found a big department store to explore. We also saw some other shops along the road and went back to the super market to get supplies for breakfast and lunch.

We will leave here about 9:30 a.m. and take the train to the airport. Our flight leaves at 1 p.m. Continue praying for journey mercies. We look forward to seeing many of you soon. However, we will be in Brainerd for the weekend so will miss the church picnic and square dance on Sunday.

See you soon. Larry & Marlys

Sunday in Japan

We wanted to share a picture of us in Nagasaki and then to tell about church in Shimonoseki with Rachel. We were welcomed to the service with three other American guests. Rachel played keyboard for the music which were familiar hymns and choruses. The text was shown in English as well as Japanese. It really helped to include us in the worship. The scripture was also in both languages and in Chinese too. The sermon had been translated into English and written so we could follow along. It was communion Sunday so we felt a bond with other Christians at home also celebrating Jesus' death for us. After the service we prayed in small groups and then had lunch. It was a good time of sharing with the other Americans and Japanese too.

Larry took off on his own for the afternoon but didn't go far. Marlys and Rachel took the bus to antoher part of town and saw an old temple on the national register of historic places, a beautiful Japanese guarden and the old part of the city.

Nagasaki

Saturday night and we are back in Shimonoseki after an overnight trip to Nagasaki. Rachel did a great job as a tour guide. We had reserved seats on the two hour ride from Hakata (45 minutes from her house). We walked all over the city and rode the trolleys to see the sights. The peace park and museum show the power of the atomic blast of Aug. 9, 1945 and the strong message of peace which resulted from this tragedy. The paper cranes symbolize peace.

Nagasaki is also known as the first place that Christianity entered Japan. Christianity spread at first but was outlawed for over 200 years and many, many Christians were martyred during that time. We visited the early Portugese and Dutch trading sites and the memorials to 26 martyrs from 1598. We enjoyed the beautiful city, interesting food and very comfortable accomodations.

We are looking forward to going to church tomorrow with Rachel. Another American teacher has three guests from home so there will be 5 extra Americans tomorrow. We are also praying for the congregational meeting held Sunday night in Buffalo.

Love to all,
Larry, Marlys and Hi from Rachel

Konnichi wa

We arrived safely in Osaka on the 2nd and found our hotel. It had free internet so we updated our blog and added some more pictures. Japan has a different look and feel than Taiwan did. We saw individual houses along with apartment buildings. Bicycle riders instead of motor scooter riders.

Now we are in Shimonoseki with Rachel Starr. She also has internet connections so we are updating again. We have seen this area today and are leaving tomorrow for Nagasaki. Rachel made reservations at a hotel for tomorrow night. Today we rode the train and a ferry and then went under the sea in a tunnel when coming back to Honshu island from Kyushu island. The harbor area is very busy with ocean going vessels steaming to and fro all the time. The ferry had to time its crossing to miss the larger boat traffic.

It is just as hot and humid here as it was in Taiwan. The sunset was beautiful and we hope the good weather holds. The laundry is done and we are packed for a two day trip. Thank you for your prayers.

Larry & Marlys

Reunited in DanShui

The Taiwan Covenant church provided the Taiwan 2006 a great get-away at the end of our three weeks of teaching. We stayed at the Green Bay resort in the northern part of Taiwan. Then we ended the time in DanShui at the Fisherman s Wharf.

Larry and I were able to meet four students from the Peitou church we served last year at the Wharf. What a grand reunion we had. It was difficult for a couple of them to switch back to English, but we still communicated. We enjoyed the lovely sunset on Friendship Bridge and then strolled through the streets to get some food and share with one another again. They accompanied us to our hostel and left us with bittersweet memories. It really was time to leave.

We are now in Japan. Tomorrow we will meet Rachel and begin a new chapter of travels in western Japan.

Thank you for your prayers.
Marlys and Larry

Farewells

We have been having lots of 'last' days. Thursday night the junior high performed skits, dances, a style show and games for parents at the Science Museum square. It sprinkled just a little, but didn't dampen the spirits. We Americans were actually late because of a dinner engagement. We went to a huge hotel vegetarian restaurant. I definitely have not lost weight on this trip! Taiwanese food is starting to taste good! If you know me well, you know that is from God.

Friday morning was our final day to teach the Bible class. We wound up with 14 students most of the time. We shared our home videos the last three days. I taught a lesson on the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit and then the last day shared a visual called "One Cut" which was given to me by the Sunday school teachers here. Then we did the "Roman Road" to give them tools for evangelism. One of the students had never read the Bible before. They have asked her to join in a small group so we hope this will be the start of her adventure with Christ!

Friday night the junior high students had a game night. We joined them part way through again because of a dinner date. A young adult group took us to an authentic Taiwanese restaurant near the train station. We had a real variety of foods. It was very good. When we got back to the church we led two games and served pop and chips and Jolly Ranchers to all the students and leaders. It was a fun closing time. They asked each child to select an interest group for follow up each Saturday in a small cell group. It is free and they will do fun things and get to know the people and learn more about Jesus. It is a great plan for follow up.

After all that, we went home to a surprise 16th birthday party at our apartment for one of the trio of girls who have been living with us. It was quite a fun time as we waited in the dark for her to come into the apartment and then all shouted and let off poppers. The pastor and her husband were with us and joined right in with the students. We sang "Happy Birthday" and prayed for her. It will be a special memory for all of us.

Today the girls cleaned the apartment. We packed our things. Caleb left by train for Kee Lung to visit the church he was at last year. We were invited to another group for lunch as usual. What a surprise! It was the family of Kelly. We stayed at Kelly's inlaws house with her in Dunggong our first week here. Kelly's parents hosted the party. Their other daughter, Jenny, is expecting her first baby this week. We knew most of the people from church so it was like being among friends, including the pastor and her husband.

We are waiting now to go back to Dunggang for the night. We will share our testimony tomorrow with that church. Then they will whisk us back to the bus in Kaihsuing. We'll be on our way to Taipei! About 90 people from the church here are leaving tomorrow morning for a prayer conference in Seoul, Korea. There will be 4-5,000 Christians from several Asian countries at the conference. Many of the youth leaders and people we've worked with will be leaving including both pastors. So we are saying farewell to everyone today.

We have a peace and joy in leaving here. We feel that God really blessed us. We continue to use flexibility as we wait to see how and when we will leave for Dunggang.

In His service,
Larry & Marlys

Grandchild Gen July Sparkler

We are thrilled to see a new picture of beautiful Genevieve!
Larry & Marlys, proud grandparents from afar

Wednesday, More Rain

Yesterday all the activities were canceled, except our lunch and dinner dates. However, the weather wasn't bad here in Kaohsiung. It rained off and on but not very hard.
Today, it is raining much more. Right now it is pouring out but not very windy. The forecast is for heavy rain and winds today. But life goes on. Everyone is up and at church ready for the day. Nothing is canceled as far as I know now. For us it is a blessing because the temperature is down 10 degrees or so. It is still humid, but easier on us.
As I said, we still had our meals out with two groups yesterday. It seems like we eat non-stop. The first group was the group, Doctor Joy. They are single, medical professionals. The four who came to lunch were: ER doctor, two dentists and a medical student who is free right now having just finished her entrance test for study in Australia for her master's degree. We had a choice - Chinese or American food and Marlys chose American. We ate at KFC and really got full. We had a great time with Larry's games and talking about the difference in cultures. Two of the women had lived in the States so gave a good comparison. Our education system is different, but good, in her opinion. We left the restaurant and got back to church at 3.
Supper was at 5:30! We arrived at church and were led upstairs to the Sunday school/classroom area. They also have a kitchen up there. The group who hosted us were families from a certain area of the county. There were several children there with their parents. Many of these people were also Sunday school teachers and had been in Dunggang with us for the Sunday service there. One of the boys was in the English program there too. They had what I call a pot luck supper. Each one had brought part of the meal. What a variety! It was hard to leave anything out but we were really not hungry and we went away just stuffed! Again, the fellowship was so good. Each of the adults talked to us individually if they knew English and helped translate for those who didn't speak English. It was a lively, animated informal time. We could ask questions about life in Taiwan and they could ask us questions too.
It is so exciting to see God moving in the church here and to know that he is moving at home in Buffalo too. Multiply that by all the evangelical churches in every part of the world and the picture is awesome - just like God is awesome.
Well, I must get to English class. So God's best to you from Taiwan.
Larry & Marlys

Singing in the Rain

It is Tuesday noon. The typhoon is crossing Taiwan. We are getting breezes and rain but nothing severe so far. We are far to the south of the island and the typhoon is crossing the center of the land. They canceled schools and many offices today because of the storm. Our Bible study was canceled but people are still bringing us out to eat (very soon). They will decide by 2 p.m. whether to cancel the youth meeting tonight or not. Our apartment mates, three teenage girls, were up with Caleb until 1 or 2 in the morning. They were eating noodles at 1 A.M. Larry and I were in bed much earlier. They knew they could sleep in this morning.
Our report from the weekend is wonderful. Pastor Sophia was able to take our message and apply it to Moses, Saul, and David. She encouraged her congregations to persevere with a good attitude. They announced that five children in Dunggang (where we were last week) accepted the Lord during the meetings they have had there this week. What joy we all experienced! Our translator was very good. She had studied for eight years at the university in Urbana, IL. We added a short slide show to the Sunday services. That was fun too. So many people come up to us to shake our hands and say, "Nice to meet you" or some other phrase. Parents bring their children to say, "Hello, my name is ___." We popped into the Sunday school for a few minutes at the end of the service. Saturday night school is evanelistic. They have many students who are not Christians.
Sorry, I will add more later. The lunch bunch is here.
Marlys

Photos from Taiwan

Headline - American Missionary Safe after Harrowing Cycle Ride

Thursday in Kaohsiung - Bible study

It is prayer meeting night. I am taking the time to catch up on email and blog. Then I will go to our apartment and work on Bible study for tomorrow. Larry and Caleb went with the youth as they are doing a photo scavenger hunt at the local stores. The church is in use so they don't have a place to meet. Tomorrow the group will go to a camp until Sunday at 5 p.m. Caleb will go with them.

I hope you will continue to pray for us this weekend and through next week. We have been leading a Bible study in English each morning. The students range from junior high to college and beyond. Several of them are cram school English teachers. The Taiwanese English teachers take every opportunity to improve their English. We are using the curriculum from Bible school. One of the pastor's sons (college age) mentioned that it was very easy so I have tried to make the study more challenging. Larry and Caleb are with me so we break into three smaller groups for discussion.

The first half hour has been small group time as we each have introduced ourselves and then had the group introduce themselves too. I will be finished with the Bible school material on Monday, so pray that I will have direction for the studies the rest of the week.

The second prayer request is for clarity and boldness as Larry and I will be sharing in four services this weekend. We are the 'speakers'. We met with the pastor today and she will wrap up the speaking time and pray. I am hoping that they will sing
Awesome God and I will sign it in American sign language with them. As I am writing this message, I just met the woman who will translate for us at the services. This is an especially big challenge for Larry who doesn't consider himself a preacher at all. He would rather meet tons of new people than speak at church. But God has given him a message and I know God will supply all our needs.

We have had some wonderful eating experiences here in Kaohsiung. Different people and cell groups have taken us out each day at noon and at dinner. We took motor scooters with the college age group and the young adult group. I prayed harder while on the motor scooter than I have for my upcoming speaking assignment. We walked today with the junior high leaders and students. We have been to the top Japanese restaurant in town and to a very fancy hotel for Cantonese food. Tonight no one was assigned to feed us because they fast before prayer meeting. So we hiked up to McDonald's and indulged in American food - including a hot fudge sundae! It is really tough being on this mission trip, but someone has to do it. :)

Thanks for reading our blog. Your prayers are making a difference. We have photos but do not have the right computer to download them to the internet. Will try to do that tomorrow.

Larry and Marlys - Ambassadors for Christ