Established in 2005 and formally named Advent in 2008, the Advent missions organization seeks to share the good news of the Gospel with students of English around the world. Our strategy involves integrating a conversation-based English curriculum with Gospel themes, which together not only encourages living according to Biblical principles, but also introduces students to the person of Jesus Christ.
A Letter from the President of ADVENT Taiwan
It was about forty years ago, many young and talented students of Taiwan came abroad to do their graduate study. Most of them landed in United States. Their study in various fields has led them to work in many disciplines and eventually settled down in United States. Even though most of these students are now citizens of this new world, their hearts are still leaning toward their mother country Taiwan. They wanted to do something for the land where they grew up.
四十年前, 許多年輕學子到海外留學, 其中大部分留在美國成家立業. 雖然他們已經是這新世界的公民, 但是他們的心還是在祖國台灣. 也盼望能夠為他們所成長的台灣盡些心力.
The second generation of these settlers has grown up. Most of these young people are born in the United States, and now students or students-to-be of Universities. Starting in 2002, Taiwan has prepared to join the WTO and hence listed English as the semi-official language. We look at this as an opportunity for us to contribute to the progress of Taiwan, and also the opportunity for the second generation to know where their parents are coming from.
今天, 當初留學生的第二代多已長成, 而且多是許多有名大學的學生, 或是高中即將畢業, 將進入大學的學生. 從2002年起, 台灣為了加入WTO, 把英文列為半官方語言. 我們把這樣一個機會看成是我們報效家鄉的機會, 也讓我們的第二代可以認識父母所成長的環境.
This is why for more than four years, we have organized the English camp for the schools of Taiwan. Each year, we have about sixty some young college or high school students prepared themselves with lesson plans, dramas, and games to teach the young Taiwanese students learning English.
這也就是為什麼四年來, 我們組織了許多英文營來服事台灣的中小學生. 這些美國長大的年輕學生預備了英文教課計畫, 話劇, 遊戲, 歌唱來教導台灣的學生學英文.
We call this program ADVENT. VENT stands for Volunteer ENglish Teachers, and it takes place in the years of A.D. The teaching coordinator for the young people is Daniel Chang, who is a pre-med student recently graduated from Berkeley. Many of other students are also from excellent UC universities with wonderful characters. They spend their summer in Taiwan as a wonderful cultural exchange program.
我們把這個計畫叫做ADVENT, VENT 代表英文志願老師 (Volunteer ENglish Teachers). 這個教導是在紀元後 (AD). 所以叫做 ADVENT. 此次的青年領隊是Daniel Chang, 他是加州柏克萊大學醫科預科的學生. 其他的老師也都是從很優秀的大學來的, 而且有很好的品行. 他們花這三個禮拜在台灣來做美好的文化交流.
I myself was a graduate from National Taiwan University in 1974, and since then have acquired three master degrees in structural engineering and theology, and one PhD degree in theology, and am responsible for the organization of this trip.
我自己本身則是國立台灣大學1974年土木系的畢業生. 來美後得到了三個碩士學位 (在結構工程和神學上面), 一個哲學博士的學位 (在神學上面). 我是負責這整個團隊的策劃工作.
I hope that this information provides sufficient background for your consideration.
盼望這消息能夠對你有所幫助.
Respectfully yours,
Dr. Yue-Ming Joseph Chang
張玉明牧師敬上
(This article was first published at http://advent4tw.wordpress.com/about/, 2008)
Advent Taiwan is an annual event sponsored by Nehemiah Ministry International (NMI).