Christmas Magic

A friend of Pastor Joshua came and used “magic tricks” as he explained the gospel message. (Yes, they were all slight of hand tricks that he had learned.) The event attracted 6 adults and 19 children. (Number does not include the five of us who were working to host the event.

That is something to praise God for! Thank-you for praying.

Some of those who attended indicated that they wanted the eternal life that Jesus offers.  Pray that they will be permitted to attend church and Sunday School to learn more about living for Christ.

Praise and Prayer

Alternate Routes

FuHsing Elementary School, where we volunteer, informed us that we must enter from the rear entrance because the front gate will be inaccessible.

Due to construction in the front courtyard, installing better drainage and new landscaping, the front entrance is closed for safety reasons. The sign explains the closure will be December 1-20. To gain access to the rear entrance by the playing fields, one must navigate a small, narrow, winding lane.

Life is like that sometimes. We must use a different route or a different approach to accomplish desired goals. But like God made a path through the wilderness for the Israelites, He can create ways to accomplish His purposes in our lives.

This is true in relationships too. Sometimes we need to select a different time or location to be able to spend time with people. We are thankful that God helps us do that. For instance, after many weeks of trying to meet on Wednesday mornings at the coffee shop, we have now discovered that Wednesday lunchtime will be more suitable. (Praise the Lord for a good start to reading and discussing the Bible last week._

Our Canadian international worker team will meet on Wednesday to discuss how we will ensure that being a Christ-follower who disciples others will remain a priority in our lives. We may need to be creative to make that happen. Sometimes it may require a God-sized miracle. Believing that God wants us to do this, we will plan, pray for each other as we pursue this goal, and be able to ask each other about progress. (That last part is an accountability relationship.)

Please pray that God will help us to be flexible when needed.

Praise and Prayer

Thankfulness

We are thankful for our vacation and thankful to have returned to Taiwan.

Here’s what is happening:

• The After-School Program (Homework Club) at the church has had some students leave and others join. Each day they read a Bible portion and talk about it.  Please pray that God’s Word will work in the students’ lives to produce faith in Christ.
• Starting November 29, Lorne will meet with Meng-Ru for a lunchtime Bible study on Wednesdays.  They will be reading and discussing the Gospel of Luke.  Please pray that God will protect the timeslot from interruptions.
• The Baozhong Alliance Church Christmas schedule includes a December 9 Magic Show and a December 23 Gingerbread Party.  There will be a Christmas Program on the evening of the 23rd. The congregation stayed and decorated the church building after the worship service yesterday.

Thank-you for praying for God to work and draw people to belief in Christ.

Praise and Prayer

Honoring Old Age

President Ronald Reagan declared August 21 to celebrate “World Senior Citizen Day.” The purpose was to honor the achievements and contributions these people have made to society.

In Taiwan, the ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar includes the opportunity to honor the older generation. This year it is on October 23. That is the reason that one of today’s news headlines included the reference to more than five thousand centenarians living in Taiwan.

In addition to the opportunity to show respect to those who have reached an advanced age, there are religious aspects to the story. Yesterday, a friend stopped by to visit. He had returned to Baozhong to offer prayers to his parents on behalf of the family. His parents have passed on, but the traditional religion and culture promotes the concept that those “departed ones” have the ability to provide protection and influence life’s happenings.

As disciples of Christ, we believe that we look to the Sovereign Creator-Sustainer God to protect and provide help. Please pray for our Taiwanese brothers and sisters in the faith as they live out transformed lives amid such traditions.

May they be reconciled by Christ’s physical body through death to present them holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation–may they continue in their faith, established and firm, and not move from the hope held out in the gospel. (Colossians 1:22-23)

Praise and Prayer

A Work of Art

The photo may not seem beautiful to you, but it is to us. The reason is that the pipes are no longer leaking.

The vibration from the pump caused leakage. The plumber came and used his expertise to fix the problem, adding an extra loop of pipe to help absorb the vibrations. As a result, we no longer have a wet floor, and neither does our neighbour on the other side of the wall.

This got me thinking today. Sometimes we need God, the Master Craftsman, to come and fix the problems that are beyond our ability to handle. And there are quite a few! The work He does is beautiful.  As Ecclesiastes 3:11 says,
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

Do you or I need to request Him to come and create a work of His art in our lives?

Our GM Taiwan Team

We appreciated the opportunity to gather and celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving Day with our Canadian coworkers. The group includes our international worker families and the Global Alliance Professional families. Unfortunately, there were a few family members who were unable to be with us.

Praise and Prayer

Being God’s Messenger

We all like clean delegations. We like the tasks we are assigned to be clearly defined. We probably want to know:

• WHY? (What is the purpose? What is the goal?)
• WHO? (Is there anyone else? Will I have help?)
• WHAT? (What tasks are assigned? Are there unknowns?)
• WHEN? (How long? Is there mid-task evaluation?)
• WHERE? (Is remote work a possibility? What are the living conditions?)
• HOW? (Is the methodology assigned? Or do we have to figure it out?)

In Isaiah 6 we read about when the prophet Isaiah received his work assignment:

• WHY? (God wants a spokesperson.)
• WHO? (God was looking. Available people were hard to find. Isaiah is willing.)
• WHAT? (Be a spokesperson. Say what is needed, when it is needed.)
• WHEN? (The start seems immanent. There is no completion date mentioned.)
• WHERE? (The audience to whom Isaiah will speak is defined: “this people” = “God’s chosen people.” But later we see that it included surrounding nations.)
• HOW? (Isaiah is not told what to say, only to listen and to look expectantly toward God.)

The Taiwan Canadian international workers are asking those same questions as we meet together for a strategy retreat October 10-12. There are more than 23 million people living on the island where we are living. Together with Canadian Global Missions leaders, we will be asking God to define what our focus should be.

• WHY? (There is still a need for people to hear about God’s salvation.)
• WHO? (The current team? Do we need others? Is God redirecting anyone? How do we partner with the Taiwanese C&MA?)
• WHAT? (Through intentional presence, do the work of evangelism and starting churches. Do we need to do more? Do we need to stop doing anything?)
• WHEN? (Over the next five years, what should our focus be?)
• WHERE? (We currently work with the Minnan People (Taiwanese working class) and Vietnamese Diaspora. Are there others God wants us to include?)
• HOW? (Some principles may be mentioned during our strategy times, but this will likely be addressed later.)

Please pray for us as we prepare ourselves for these important days of listening to God and others. Pray for consensus, burden, and enthusiasm for what God wants the Canadian team to do.

Praise and Prayer

Remembering

Last Thursday was an important day in Taiwan.  It was the 921 Remembrance Day.

We were at the elementary school at 9:21 AM. That was the time set for an earthquake drill. Teachers donned hard hats. The principal and the directors wore vests that identified them as leaders. (They carried communication devices.) The students put on their head protectors and everyone moved to the designated meeting place.

The principal read some statements remembering the major earthquake that happened 24 years ago on September 21. He talked with the students, reviewing what to do in the event of a major earthquake.

The 921 Remembrance Day was used to remember the past and also as an educational opportunity to help people be safe as we live our lives today.

Praise and Prayer

Youth

Our church has a youth group!

It meets once or twice each month on Saturdays. The first meeting was on September 9. Those attending are all junior and senior high school students.

Pastor Joshua’s wife, Ilaine, leads with help from our intern pastor.

The youth attend different schools, with many living at school. Most of the schools plan compulsory activities on Sundays. This means they are unable to attend church services. The youth group is one way to have opportunity to interact with the students about spiritual matters.

Please pray for our youth. There is tremendous academic pressure. They have limited time to spend with family and to attend church activities. Pray that God will help them to have strong faith in Him.

Praise and Prayer

Children

It seems that there are more and more children in our lives recently.  This is a good thing, right?

Wednesday afternoon, we were at the church (not pictured) to tell a Bible story and practice English.  The final registration for the After-School Program is four students. One has tutorial class on Wednesday afternoons, so that meant we were with three students. The response is pretty good. We will need to think about whether we will continue to have both of us participate each week or adjust to only one of us.

Thursday mornings, we are at Fuhsing Elementary school.  We received a warm welcome for our first classes of the new semester.  The students were engaged as we told the creation story. We are both looking forward to continuing this teaching opportunity together.

Sunday mornings, we have a whole crowd of children who come from the community.  Our worship service numbers are about half children.  Kathy-Lu is one of the teachers who rotates teaching responsibility during the Sunday School class time. The students are full of energy and are gradually adjusting their expectations so that they participate more.

Working with children is one focus of our church ministry this Fall.  Please pray that we will represent our Saviour well and that the students will desire to know Christ as their personal Lord.

Praise and Prayer

Good News

Hector dropped by for a visit while back in Yunlin. He is entering his third year of university studies. He participates in the leadership of the Christian fellowship on campus. It is always encouraging to receive news of people continuing to live for Christ.

Colossians 1:10 refers to the hope we have as we teach and pray for people.

“Then the  way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.”

May God help Hector to continue to live for Christ as he continues his college studies.

Praise and Prayer