June/July 2023
…NEWS FROM BECKY BARTELT
…Serving the Lord in Taiwan/Asia
A New Neighbor!
I have a new neighbor and friend. Mindy Thews has been teaching English and Bible classes at Concordia Middle School, about 30 minutes from where I live, for seven years. This summer/fall she is transitioning to a different role as Lutheran Education Coordinator for Asia. She has moved into the apartment next to mine. We are looking forward to working together to coordinate and collaborate with Asian Lutherans to educate youth in the faith through music and Sunday school programs. Mindy is also very close friends with my sister’s sister-in-law, which is how we first became acquainted. Please pray for Mindy as she adjusts to her new role.
Conversation Partners
In the last month I have started meeting with two friends to converse. We speak English for half the time and Chinese for half the time. I am hoping this will help me to make new connections with people, improve my speaking and listening skills and help someone else with their English skills. Last Saturday Feiyuan, one of my new conversation partners, our teacher Kelly and I met to practice speaking and so I could teach them how to bake cookies. Many families in Taiwan do not have kitchens, let alone a toaster oven, as I have. If people don’t have kitchens, they make do with rice cookers and hot plates or they eat out, which is actually quite reasonable in Taiwan. Feijuan is actually from Macau and is studying Chinese and English in Taiwan. She was excited to learn how to follow a recipe in English and bake cookies.
Prayer Request
Last month I requested prayers for my sister, Sarah Lindau, as she was facing a surgery to remove part of her colon with a large polyp in it and a hysterectomy. The surgery was successful, but they did find cancer in the polyp and in the lymph nodes around the colon. She is currently recovering from surgery and will begin chemotherapy for colorectal cancer in the next few weeks. The plan is to go in for chemotherapy every two weeks for six months. Because of this I requested and received permission to take my 2023 vacation time in Nebraska, so I can spend some time with her while she goes through chemotherapy. I will be in Nebraska with her for part of September. Please pray for Sarah as she faces this tough schedule of chemotherapy and for safe travel for me.
Mendelssohn’s Elijah
Last week I took the train to Kaohsiung (about 1 1/2 hours) to audition for an international choral festival the beginning of August in Taipei. We will spend a week rehearsing sections of this oratorio, going to break-out sessions and going to concerts in the evening. I am excited to learn more about how music is taught and learned in Taiwan and to hopefully make some music connections with musicians from Taiwan.
PLEASE GIVE THANKS FOR…
