The Countdown is On!

We are counting down the days until some important happenings.!

On February 25, the Taiwan Short-term Team Adventure Begins.

• Six Canadians will arrive and visit for 4 days.
• We will introduce them to the work being done by Canadian international workers in Baozhong, Chiayi, Kaohsiung, and Taoyuan.
• They will participate in what God is doing through hearing stories, praying, rejoicing, and personal discovery.

On March 1, the Canadian international workers will join the STM participants in flying to Thailand for Global Gathering.

• Global international workers will attend, alongside church leaders and lay people from Canada.
• The focus will be on celebrating what God is doing.
• The learning will focus on new paradigms for accomplishing the task of evangelizing the nations.
• The hope is that together we can mobilize a new generation to make the commitment to obey the Great Commission.

Please pray for us and others who are involved to be filled with gratitude and praise for God.
Please pray for safety in travel, and an ability to practically use what we will learn.

Praise and Prayer

A Balloon, Not a Lantern

This balloon is tethered over a field in a nearby town. It is proudly proclaiming that on Lantern Festival they will host what they consider to be an important event. Each year the largest temple in our town hosts a feast on Lantern Festival. This year it is on Wednesday, February 12.

This feast has been held for more than 100 years, and is now described as one of the three major Lantern Festival folk temple fair activities in Taiwan. The responsibility to host the event falls on local villages, in a 10-year rotation.

This year, more than 2000 village residents have been mobilized to prepare. At 11:30 am on Wednesday, 2,300 buckets of oily, sticky rice will be served. People will travel from all over the country to come and participate. An estimated 30,000 people will come to eat or carry away food to feed relatives. People believe that by eating the rice they will obtain peace in their lives. (In the Taiwanese dialect, “Eat Rice” has a similar pronunciation to “Eat Peace.”)

Our town does not hang many lanterns, but holding this “cultural” event is considered to be of primary importance. There is a sense of prestige that comes from it being a nationally recognized event.

Once again, we are made aware of people’s need to be introduced to the Prince of Peace. Please pray that the kingdom of God will grow, bringing true peace into people’s lives.

Praise and Prayer

Farming

We live in a farming community. Tuesday, February 4 is Farmer’s Day in Taiwan. On the calendar, it is the day following 立春, the Beginning of Spring. It is not a public holiday. Many businesses will remain open. Special events will traditionally be held on Farmer’s Day, including the offering of sacrifices to the gods. People from rural communities use this opportunity to pray for a prosperous year and a bountiful harvest. (ref)

There is a list of traditional superstitions, both good and bad, associated with the day:

1. It is considered bad luck for married women to visit their mothers’ homes.
2. Unmarried women are encouraged to visit their mothers’ homes to bring good luck.
3. Bad luck will be experienced if people quarrel with each other.
4. Other activities that are avoided on this day include haircuts, seeing a doctor, lying down during the day, doing strenuous exercise, and playing games.

Let’s pray for the prosperity of the farmers. May they be released from activities rooted in fear. May they find new life through belief in Christ.

Praise and Prayer

Lunar New Year

The Lunar New Year celebration will occur this week. Tuesday is New Year’s Eve and Wednesday is Lunar New Year’s Day. It is traditional each year to have two or three days after those two days as national holidays. This year the day prior to New Year’s Eve has been designated as an additional holiday, giving the whole week off of work.

For many people,  this is the only break from work that they will take each year. However, those in the hospitality industry and the transportation industry will still be working. It will be the busiest time of the year for them.

We will spend Monday and Tuesday doing some “spring cleaning” and catching up on work that was set aside during camp. The photo is of one of the blessing posters we will post by our front door on Tuesday.

We plan to spend time Wednesday through Saturday preparing for upcoming ministry commitments.

Camp Report

The Deep Sea Camp finished last Friday. We had more than 20 campers attend each day. Everyone appeared to have fun and we hope they learned a few things. Highlights included:

• The campers learned songs with actions and performed well at the closing program.
• The games were a favorite of many of the campers.
• Daily reminding them of the “Golden Rule” and prayer support meant that there were fewer interventions (to correct behaviour) than we remember in past camps.
• We completed the camp without sickness or injury.

Thank-you for praying!

Praise and Prayer

Action!

After weeks, even months of preparation, the short-term worker team has arrived in Baozhong. They worshipped with us at church on Jan 19. They are adjusting to our time zone and we will start camp on Tuesday morning.

Please pray for:

• Camp leaders and support workers to not get sick. There is a nasty virus circulating and the weather is cold (by Taiwan standards).
• For creativity and wisdom to handle situations when things do not go as planned, or when circumstances dictate a change in plans.
• That the gospel message will be communicated clearly and that campers will have hearts ready to receive the message.
• For the 27 campers who have indicated that they will be coming. Please pray that other things will not crowd out their planned attendance.

Praise and Prayer

Preparation

It is a week of preparing:

• Preparing for our strategy meeting on Wednesday, Jan 15.
  • Pray for wisdom as progress towards goals is discussed.
  • Pray for faith as goals are set for the upcoming months.
• Preparing for the arrival of the from Victoria, BC on Saturday, Jan 18.
  • Pray for safety in travel.
  • Pray for an ability to adjust to our time zone.
  • Pray for last minute preparations for camp.
• Preparing for Deep Sea Camp (January 21-24).
  • Pray that campers will be healthy–Viruses are making many people in our community sick.
  • Pray for open hearts and a willingness to learn.
  • Pray for the final adjustments on the teaching materials.
• Preparing for Lunar New Year’s Day on Jan 29.
  • Pray that we will accomplish the necessary cleaning that must happen prior.
  • Pray that we will have good interactions with our friends and neighbours who will also be preparing for what is considered to be the most important annual holiday in Taiwan.

Praise and Prayer

Baptism

We started the year with a baptismal service.

James, a high school student who has been attending the church with his family, proclaimed his faith in Christ by being baptized.

Will you pray that God will work convincing other people of their need to believe in Christ Jesus? How many more  baptisms should we ask God to give our church in 2025?

(We also attended Peter’s baptism at the Chiayi Alliance Church on Dec. 31. It has been an exciting week!)

Happy New Year!

Thank-you for continuing to partner with us and pray for the growth of God’s kingdom in Taiwan.

2025 Building Fund Goal – $23,000

2025 is the second year of a five-year project to raise funds to help with the down-payment on a church facility owned by the church.  Over the five years, our hope is to provide the church with CAD$100,000 to help them purchase a building.

Please pray that God will add more members to the church and provide them with a suitable facility. May God answer that prayer according to His perfect timing.

The link for on-line giving is:  Baozhong Alliance Church Facility

(Note: The final figures for the donations to this fund last year are still being tabulated. We will inform you when they become available.)

Praise and Prayer

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve in Taiwan is known as “The Night of Peace.”

This year the Baozhong Alliance Church will use the evening to proclaim God’s peace by going carolling. Pastor Joshua promoted the event as “flash mob” carolling. The singers will go to homes where they have been invited. During the ten minutes at each house, two carols will be sung, Scripture verses will be read , and Pastor Joshua will pray a blessing.

Please pray that what is done at each location will be a blessing to that family and to their neighbours.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We thank you for your partnership throughout the year, and we look forward to having you join us next year.

Praise and Prayer

Merry Christmas

We want to thank you for your partnership with us throughout 2024.

• As you joined us in praying, we have seen evidence of God at work in our own lives and in the lives of those around us. May God do more than we have asked, more than we have dreamed, more than we can imagine as we reach the finishing line of this year and race into the next.
• Thank-you for your generosity in financially supporting us and the Taiwan ministry. Your financial gifts are helping people hear about Jesus. That is the first step toward belief in the Creator God Who loves and cares about them.

Christmas Day is not a public holiday here in Taiwan, so most of the church celebrations across Taiwan are happening on the weekend prior to Christmas Day. This week’s photo is the poster advertising the Saturday (Dec 21) evening Christmas event at Baozhong Alliance Church.

Please pray that the story of God reconciling humanity to Himself through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ would not get lost in the feasting and commercialization.

Our Prayer is that some people will choose to put their faith in Christ this Christmas.

Last Minute Shopping?

If you are still looking to purchase a gift, we’d like to suggest the The Alliance Canada Christmas gift catalog. You will find a variety of ideas for those people on your list who claim they don’t want anything! Perhaps they will be honored by a donation to a life-changing ministry overseas!

Praise and Prayer

Camp Registration Begins

Deep Sea Camp: Let’s Team Up for an Adventure in the Sea
January 21-24, 2025  8 AM ~ 4 PM

The Publicity Poster is shown above.

Registration has begun. Please pray for students to be attracted to the topic so that they will register to come.

The plan is that each day’s teaching time will include some information about the sea, marine conservation, or sea creatures. What is shared will have a connection to the Bible story that will be told that day.

Please pray for:

1. Students to be excited about attending and parents willing to permit them to do so.
2. Our intern pastor, Kai, as he prepares the lessons to be taught.
3. The team from Victoria Chinese Alliance Church that will come and teach most of the other parts of the program.
4. Pray that all the volunteer leaders will stay healthy as they prepare to share the love of Christ and the message of the gospel to the students.

Registration will happen in the background as we celebrate Christmas with a number of different events.

Praise and Prayer