The Ellis family is in Taiwan!

Hello everyone,
We wanted to let you all know that we, the Ellis family, have officially arrived in the nation of Taiwan! The trip here went well, and after 18 hours of plane rides and travel, we are safely in our new city of Dan Shui, Taiwan. Thank you all for your prayers as we definitely felt them on our way out here. My favorite quote of the trip was from our 5 year old Kai. During one trying time on the 9 hour flight, he said, "Don't Chinese people know that I am hungry and need lunch?!" Kai also noticed how many people were looking at him and smiling, as a little blond haired boy with a Diego pillow isn't the usual thing to see in Taiwan. We had no problems at immigration though, and have one year approved with the opportunity to renew every year.
Kona Teaching
The time with our Bible school in Kona was a wonderful experience, and hopefully will bring fruit for the future. The school had 30 students from all over the world including China, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Switzerland, Canada, the US, and South Korea. I taught for the week on the book of Revelation, and the students had amazing questions and were very open to what God had for them to learn in this book. Michael and Jane from China (not their real names due to safety) simply blew me away with their diligence in a second language, and with all the risks and cost they paid to be there to train for the future of China. The school also has a staff person from China, and this is the first time I can ever remember this happening. Katie and the kids enjoyed seeing their old home, and could hardly believe it had been 5 years ago that we left Kona for Montana. Many of the kids' friends have literally been around the world on missions trips since our time there, and they have all grown both physically as well as in their relationship with God. On our next to last day, they asked me to come and speak to over 250 missionaries in the Discipleship Training School, to share my love of the Bible and to encourage them to study and apply it to their lives and home nations.
Taiwan Time
Katie and I can't believe that after one year of prayer, visa applications, miracles, and guidance, that we are finally now in Taiwan. We wanted to thank you all for your kind donations, prayers, and encouragment in this whole time. Our four small pallets of our belongings leaves Montana tomorrow, and will arrive here about 4 weeks later. We were only able to ship clothes, some books, and educational supplies (English books are hard to find here for the kids), and some special things to make the children and us feel at home here (photos, a few toys, etc...). Everything else, we will have to start from scratch here. This week, we will be hunting for an apartment. Trying to find a 4 bedroom isn't easy, as most families here aren't as large as ours. After that, we have to get beds, kitchen stuff, and pretty much everything we need to set up our new home. We will also be taking the chiildren to their new school in Taipei to do interviews and get enrolled. We are staying in the apartment of the Stevens' family, who are on a trip to the Philippines and won't return until Feb. 25. That means we have about 3 weeks to get ourselves settled in the new apartment.
Prayer Requests:
1) apartment: that we could find something affordable, with 4 bedrooms, close to the train station, and that could feel like "home"
2) children: that they would begin to make the adjustments as they miss friends and Montana, and that they would enjoy thier new school
3) our old van would sell: Katie's father has graciously offered to see this for us, but in two weeks hasn't had much interest
4) finances: we are still trying to raise the funds for the following:
- van for our family here: $4,000
- childrens' school fees: $5,000 (would cover from Feb. to June this year)
- furnishings for the apartment: $2,000 (already have some)
Praise Reports:
-safe trip and arrival in Taiwan; no problems with visa and entering the country
-wonderful time in Kona with school and old friends
-tickets to Taiwan all covered
-shipping costs all covered
-visa costs and health exams all covered
-start up money and travel costs for Taiwan came in
If you would like to be a part of our financial team, or would like to make a one time donation, you can still do this through the internet or the mail. If you don't need a tax deductible receipt, and would like to give in an easy way with your credit or debit card, you can give through Paypal by clicking on the Donate button to the top right of this page.
If you would like a receipt, you can make a check out to YWAM Montana and include a slip that says it is for Sean and Katie Ellis and mail your donations to:
Accounting: Youth With a Mission Montana
501 Blacktail Road
Lakeside, MT 59922
We miss you all already, and thank you again for all your prayers, love, and support!
blessings,
Sean, Katie, Sophia, Max, Joseph, and Kai Ellis