Greetings from Taiwan

Greetings! Or perhaps I should say (with apologies for my appalling transliteration) Ni Hao!
I am here in at the Presbyterian church of Khau-pi, a small rural village outside of Tainan City in South Western Taiwan. I am staying here for 2 weeks with the Siraya people. The Siraya are an aboriginal tribal people (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siraya_people) but they do not have protected status which means that their right to land language and culture are not recognised by the Taiwanese government. The church here is working to promote Sirayan culture and fighting for their recognition and protection. It is a stark reminder for me of the Bible's constant injunction for us to speak out for the poor and the marginalised. The Siraya are both, but they are a warm and generous people who have bent over backwards to welcome me into their community.

Most people speak no English here although many can understand a few common English words. And so far I can speak about 5 words of Taiwanese (which is distinct from the Mandarin Chinese spoken in Taipei where I was last week. They include "Yes", "thank you" "ok" and the all important "I'm full!" which has proved essential the opening question in any conversation seems not to be "How are you?" but "Have you eaten?" and a no is usually ignored!
I am amazed at how far you can get in a conversation with "hello" "Thank you", an apologetic smile and a lot of sign language!

I am fortunate to be staying with Rev Dr Li Hua-tiong and his wife Su-fen. Hau-tiong is the local minister here in Khau-pi and also a lecturer at the theological college in Tainan. As he speaks very good English we have been able to have some interesting conversations about Mission and Ministry here in Taiwan. As this was the theme of his Doctorate, and he has given me a copy of his book to read, This is a great head start for my assignment!

I hope to be able to post up some photos for you later