Freda Sue

I was born and raised in Taiwan. My grandpa was a Buddhist priest. Therefore, I was exposed to the concept of the spiritual realm. I looked up to grandpa being the intercessor and interpreter between various gods and me, but I always feel so far away from them, there was no assurance. I came here right after graduating from high school to chase the so-called American Dream while my family stayed in Taiwan. With the screw-up transcript that I had in high school, I am not going to be able to get into the good schools that I wanted, might just try to start over in a new place. Plus, if I could earn a degree from the university in America, I could probably even get much better pay when I return home. Little that I knew, God had a different plan for my life from that point on. I went to a summer camp for the purpose of practicing my broken English, and it "happened" to be on a Christian university campus. I was nervous. A new country, a new language, and SO many unfamiliar faces. My confidence and pride were shredded. Among the whole group, my counselor, now who became one of my closest friends, showed Christ's love through action beyond everything else. Whenever we had a big gathering in an auditorium, she would smile and wait for me arrive to sit by me. Might sound a small gesture, that meant the WORLD to me. I did wonder; there is something she has that I didn't. I thought about the other grandpa that I just lost, and I thought of the God that heard for the first time during the week. The second week was an art camp, although I didn't want to be there. I asked another assigned counselor if I can work through some questions out of my head with her about Christianity. Due to my struggles in English speaking, she used several tools to explain the Gospel to me. It all makes sense to me at the beginning: There is nothing we can do to get close to God, nothing. As the Gospel unfolds, to the point where Jesus died and raised from the dead for my brokenness... "Wait! For me? Personally? Personally... You mean I could understand His love for me through the Bible, personally?" Right there, God opened my eyes to see the True Him and experience His love and plan for me long before I knew it. When an art professor at the camp heard that I became a Christ follower, he encouraged me to stay and study art with their department. I never had an official art lesson before, but for some reasons, I wasn't afraid of taking on this new challenge. Fast forward, I take the opportunity to share my passion with my students seriously. God gave me the gift of Fine Art and passion in education, and He asked me to use both gifts for His glory. While I go through the ups and downs of life, tears, and laughter as my students are, I hope to be a cheerleader for them at the time as they are to me. How about the American Dream with money and fulfillment? When I have a personal relationship with my Creator, working alongside Him, I have all I need and all is well.

My Life

Favorite Quote

My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness." II Corinthians 12:9

My hobbies

Carving/ Printmaking

My worst subject in school

Math

In college I drove

Nothing---I walked

If I weren't a professor, I would

be a full-time artist or a dog trainer

Favorite movies

Taare Zameen Par (Like stars on Earth)

Favorite city

Hualien (Taiwan)