Day 1 at Aroma Coffeehouse!
Today was our first day out on the ‘mission field’ at Aroma Coffeehouse ministry. The happiest part of the morning was when our dear friend Jamie arrived in Taipei after missing his flight from the U.S. We were so happy that he arrived happy and excited to join us. Thankfully he had no issues on his flight– on the contrary, he loved it!
We had our first orientation training today where we initiated our multi-step multi-language interpreting experience. English to ASL to Tactile ASL and back in a variety of situations– during lecture, walking around town, and in a social dinner situation. It went ‘pretty’ seamless as we all learned to work together and jump in as needed. Thankfully we have two certified interpreters on the team who take the content-heavy interpreting and 3-4 of us willing hearts to help as needed with the lighter interpreting situations.
While our whole schedule was delayed quite a bit by the size/needs of our group, we did have some incredible experiences that set the tone for our trip! During a scavenger hunt in the Ximen area of Taipei (near the Aroma coffeehouse) we met a woman named Penny who was so kind to chat with us! She is Taiwanese, teaches English, and also attends a local church on the weekends. We sparked conversation with her during our hunt and chatted with her for about 10 minutes– such a kind soul. She ended up coming to Aroma approximately 1 hour later and we saw here there! We were so excited to get a picture with her and connect her with the English and Spiritual resources that Aroma has to offer. It was so encouraging to meet someone local who was genuinely interested in our group and came to visit us already. On our first day– wow!
Later in the evening we were invited to a home-made dinner at one of the missionary family’s home. We got to interact with another missionary team that is serving at Aroma and get to know the interns better. During this time we were all extremely blessed and encouraged to witness our DeafBlind (DB) team member, Jamie, interact with a local Taiwanese man named Howard or “Howie”). Howie took it upon himself to approach Jamie on his own and develop a ‘form’ of tactile signing that they could both understand. They were able to communicate slowly but surely for maybe two hours! We observed them laughing and even praying for each other! We were blown away but this huge answer to our hopes and prayers for our team– specifically for Jamie. Thank God for the unique relationship between Jamie and Howie and how language and culture is not a barrier for those who want to connect with another human. Thank God for Howie’s bold and caring spirit.