[TEAMspinella] Dithering away the hours to good health in Taiwan

Actually, the recovery seems well under way as reflected by my ability to joke about it! In fact, we're enjoying Taiwan so much we're going to stay another three weeks ;-). At this point we probably ought to say out loud that we're not just doing medical tourism but actually spending a lot of time meeting with friends, fellow international servants, and so forth, with a goal of doing global care right here in Taiwan. 

Given our history of living here almost 15 years (until last December,) you might imagine that we still have pretty good connections and what's more, we actually know our way around pretty well. In fact, we just got asked to meet the arriving participants for an international TEAM conference at the airport--that conference is the endpoint of our planned stay here and we're delighted to be able to stay longer and join our TEAM ministry staff who will gather here in Taiwan that last weekend.

For me, highlights of our visits have included...

-spending time with my sister and her family--in fact, we like it so much we never moved into the guest apartment we rented to use this last month. One day just led to another. Did you know that the year and a half Carolyn and I both lived in Taiwan was the first time we've lived in the same city since I was a first year teacher and she was in boarding school for 11th grade in 1978-79 (in Rubio, Venezuela!)

-saving all that money on a hernia operation, done by a doctor 2 miles from where we used to live in Taichung who claims he could be in the Guinness Book of World Records for most hernia surgeries.

-getting caught up, praying for, and celebrating with people whose lives we have shared in the past that we "left behind" when we left Taiwan last year.

-doing guest supervision and consulting, hearing stories of God at work, and encouraging the counselors at the two Center for Counseling & Growth offices in Taichung and Taipei. Today we also get to participate in and share with a gathering of people with a passion to care for m's from Taiwan serving internationally.

-standing alongside both experienced and more newly arrived m's who are ministering in Taiwan, hearing stories and sharing stories of the international ministry journey.

-watching Laura's face light up the first time we rode bikes up into the mountains of Taiwan. That was the morning of my surgery. She has gone many times alone since, but I have actually gotten on a bike now too, only riding in "flat places."

Yours from the far side once again, in the one who keeps us, Steve and Laura

PS Please remember us as we also plan a trip to Turkey in November. As you can imagine, it's much harder to plan and do travel to someplace we've never been than to someplace where we still have rapid transit cards and get asked how long we've lived here. Our time between trips will be cut short by this extended stay in Taiwan. And can you believe those airline change fees? It cost $550 to change our return date even though the ticket price was the same!

BTW, if you are in Taiwan, we'll be in Taichung this next week, then transitioning down to Heng Chun in the south around 10/4 where we'll guest host at the Oasis retreat center, through about 10/13, before heading all the way north for the TEAM conference. And we'd love to see you wherever we are, or come your way if we can fit it in.

Through 10/18: Steve +886970615824, Laura +886970614978

Steve and Laura Spinella

street: 1930 Springcrest Rd, CO Springs 80920

mail: 9685 Otero Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80920

Steve cell 719.355.4809, Laura cell 832.755.4261
TEAM, PO Box 969, Wheaton, IL 60187, 800 343-3144
<spinella@alumni.rice.edu> <lauraspinella@alumni.rice.edu>

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