Hello everyone,
Ni hao ma? That means "howdy" in Chinese. We pray that our Ellis family missions update finds you all doing well.
Recently, we have had the blessing of a visit from Aunt Chelsea from California, one of Katie's sisters. All of us had a wonderful time introducing Chelsea to our new home, Taiwan. From the distinct smell of the chodofu (a local tofu), to the bright lights and people of the night market street, it gave us an opportunity to think through what we love about Taiwan and how it is truly becoming a place we call "home". One of the sights of Taipei that we visited was Taipei 101, the tallest skyscraper in Taiwan, and the tallest in the world from 2004 until 2010. I have attached some pictures of that, as well as some interesting information about the skyscraper itself.
Taipei 101 is a landmark skyscraper located in Taipei, Taiwan. Taipei 101 received the 2004 Emporis Skyscraper Award and was hailed as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World (Newsweek magazine, 2006) and Seven Wonders of Engineering (Discovery Channel, 2005). The tower has served as an icon of modern Taiwan ever since its opening. Taipei 101 comprises 101 floors above ground and 5 floors underground. The name of the tower reflects its floor count. The tower is designed to withstand typhoons and earthquakes. Taipei 101 is designed to withstand the typhoon winds and earthquake tremors common in its area of the Asia-Pacific. Planners aimed for a structure that could withstand gale winds of 60 m/s (197 ft/s, 216 km/h, 134 mph) and the strongest earthquakes likely to occur in a 2,500 year cycle. Skyscrapers must be flexible in strong winds yet remain rigid enough to prevent large sideways movement (lateral drift). These features combine with the solidity of its foundation to make Taipei 101 one of the most stable buildings ever constructed. The foundation is reinforced by 380 piles driven 80 m (262 ft) into the ground, extending as far as 30 m (98 ft) into the bedrock. Each pile is 1.5 m (5 ft) in diameter and can bear a load of 1,000 metric tons (1,100 short tons) - 1,320 metric tons (1,460 short tons). The stability of the design became evident during construction when, on March 31, 2002, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Taipei. The tremor was strong enough to topple two construction cranes from the 56th floor, then the highest. Five people died in the accident, but an inspection showed no structural damage to the building, and construction soon resumed. Thornton-Tomasetti Engineers along with Evergreen Consulting Engineering designed a 660 metric tons (728 short tons) steel pendulum that serves as a tuned mass damper, at a cost of NT$132 million (US$4 million). Suspended from the 92nd to the 88th floor, the pendulum sways to offset movements in the building caused by strong gusts. Its sphere, the largest damper sphere in the world, consists of 41 circular steel plates, each with a height of 125 mm (4.92 in) being welded together to form a 5.5 m (18 ft) diameter sphere. Another two tuned mass dampers, each weighing 6 metric tons (7 short tons) sit at the tip of the spire. These prevent damage to the structure due to strong wind loads
Taipei 101 was the first building in the world to break the half-kilometer mark in height and the first record-setting skyscraper constructed in the new millennium. The record it claimed for greatest height from ground to pinnacle now rests with the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (UAE): 828 m (2,717 ft). Taipei 101's records for roof height and highest occupied floor briefly passed to the Shanghai World Financial Center in 2009, which in turn yielded these records as well to the Burj. Taipei 101 displaced the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as the tallest building in the world by 57.2 m (188 ft).
(me again) You can't help but think about the story in Genesis 11 when you are standing next to this building. " Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." You have to wonder if you aren't looking up at a modern day tower of Babel. Are we still that consumed with "making a name for ourselves"? The irony struck me that the builders of Taipei 101 worked so hard to grab the title of "world's tallest building". For 6 glorious years, they could boast that Taiwan had the undisputed title. Then Dubai decided to enter into the competition, and just like that, the world's tallest building was the Burj Khalifa, not Taipei 101. How much longer until Taipei 101 becomes the 3rd or 4th tallest building? who really knows what the 5th tallest building in the world is? God challenged me to think about what I am trying to build in this life. What do I spend my time, money, and dreams on? Am I building my own Taipei 101 or am I part of building something more lasting? Being a part of building God's kingdom is something that will last. Helping others in this world, serving the poor and needy, and sharing the life changing story of Jesus will build a structure that will be taller than anything ever built (Revelation says the "new city" is into the stratosphere!) Paul talks about this spiritual building in 1 Corinthians 3:14 when he says, "If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward."
Taipei 101 is a great place to visit and marvel at what man can accomplish. Nothing, however, will ever compare to what God is building in our lives.
Praise Reports
* All of the $8,000 tuition we needed for the first semester of the kids' Christian school came in! In just under 2 1/2 weeks!
* We had a great visit with Aunt Chelsea from California.
* Sophia and Max will start their Chinese tutoring next week.
Prayer Requests
* We would love to have a van so that we could get around to places that the bus or metro don't go.
* We need some extra tuition money to pay for the Chinese lessons this summer for Katie and the kids.
* Wisdom on planning out an outreach this fall for our family.
* Super language learning abilities for all of us with Chinese.
* Wisdom for Sean; he has been meeting for over one month with 3 college guys who are interested in Christianity.
Thank you all again for your prayers and support. We miss you all greatly, and want you to know that you are in our prayers and hearts.
blessings,
Sean, Katie, Sophia, Max, Joseph, and Kai Ellis
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