Quietly Waiting for God

I (Lorne) went to Amazing Grace Alliance Church this morning. Before the service began the above picture was on the television monitors. (They use televisions instead of screens for projecting the PowerPoint images and videos.

It said, “Quietly Waiting for God.” But as I waited, it took an effort to be quiet. If I wasn’t thinking about the content of the sermon that I would preach, I was checking my phone to make sure it was switched to silent mode. My thoughts jumped from this to that. I was aware that the 90 year-old grandma who had come for the first time with her elementary school grandson was talking. And the distractions continued to reel through my mind.

What does it take to truly be quiet so I can anticipate communicating with God?  I remember reading someone say “God can be known in the tumult, but He is more easily known in the quiet moments of life.” (My paraphrase.) So far this year, the early morning is the only time for me to experience quietness–and even then there are intrusions.

Practicing Psalm 46:10 is not easy.

What about you? Do you find it hard or easy to be quiet so that God can connect with you?
Pray for me that I can. If you write and ask, I will pray for you. Together we will walk towards “Quietly Waiting for God.”

Praise and Prayer

• Taiwan’s Presidential Election was held on Saturday, January 13. Taiwanese elect their president directly and the current Vice-President, Mr. Ching-Te Lai is now the President-Elect.  His inauguration ceremony will be on May 20. Please pray that he can lead in ways to unite differing opinions in the populace and promote peace in the region.
• Taiwan’s Legislative Election also occurred last Saturday. None of the three political parties won a majority.  This is the first time this has happened in Taiwan’s democracy that was established in 2004. President Lai will need to work with the opposition parties to advance his policies. Please pray that these newly elected leaders will lead well, do what is right, and create good laws that will benefit the Taiwanese people.
• Lorne was encouraged by his meeting with Pastor Joshua. We praise God for the ways that we are able to work together for the building of God’s kingdom.
• It will not be possible to properly fix Lorne’s computer. He will be shopping for a replacement in the near future. Ministry Partnership Funds will be used for the purchase. Thank-you to those who contributed.
• Many of the elementary students with whom we work have less than ideal home environments. Students frequently behave in ways that do not demonstrate respect for themselves, for fellow students, and for their teachers. Please pray for God to give us wisdom to know how to lead them to a healthier way of doing relationships.
• Pray for the short-term team that is travelling from Canada to Baozhong this week. Pray that God will give energy to overcome the time change and that God will use them to influence lives in our community.
• Please pray for the “I Am the Bright Morning Star Camp” January 22-26. Please pray that leaders from Canada will work well with those from our church.
• The camp will end on Friday, January 26 at noon. That evening there will be a dinner for the campers and their families at our church. Pray this can be used to have significant conversations with people of influence in each family.
• Some high school students will attend a Christian camp during their lunar new year vacation. Please pray that this will be a meaningful time, helping them to deepen their relationship with God.

Completing Some Things

Thank-you for praying for us as we have worked in the elementary school throughout this semester. The lesson last week reviewed the Christmas story. The students looked at the completed floor puzzle. or looked at a large picture book, and told us what happened in the story. They only need a little bit  of prompting to remember the details.

Our prayer is that God will help the students remember the Bible stories.  Those stories reveal the nature of the God of the Bible and explain how to have relationship with Him.

The school has not yet talked with us about teaching next semester. It begins on February 19.

Focussing on Others

As we enter this year, we are preparing for the following:

• Kathy-Lu teaches children’s Sunday School on January 14 and February 4. It takes lots of preparing to teach a large group of students with an age range of preschool to sixth grade.
• Lorne is preparing sermons. In addition to speaking once per month at Baozhong Alliance Church, he will also be preaching at nearby Alliance churches once in January and once in February. (Sermons can sometimes be repeated with some revision, but it still takes extra preparation.)
• The short-term team from Victoria arrives January 20. We will participate in the responsibility of hosting them.
• We will be helping to teach and to facilitate the  “I am the Bright and Morning Star” elementary camp January 22-26.

We are grateful for those who will be serving alongside of us.  Thanks for praying as we serve God and a variety of people.

Praise and Prayer

Happy New Year!

Wishing all of our friends and partners a Blessed New Year!

A Treasured Moment

I was standing outside, waiting for the garbage truck to arrive so I could dispose of our accumulated trash.  I looked up and saw the cross on the rooftop of the Roman Catholic Church.

It was a visual reminder that we need to be looking for glimpses of Christ in our everyday life. We cannot use our physical senses of sight, hearing and touch to verify His presence, but He is still visible if we look.

• Maybe it will be evidenced as we observe love being expressed or received.
• Maybe we will take note of it as we see creativity in the cloud formations.
• Maybe we will see changes in someone’s life because of a relationship with Christ.
• Maybe it will be in His healing touch or His hand of provision that we will sense that He is near.
• Maybe we will see that by drawing close to Him we are being changed into His likeness.

As we enter a new year, may we all be aware that He is with us in the everyday moments (like when I was throwing the garbage) and at the special times too!

Feel free to write us and tell us about a time recently when you sensed the presence of Christ.

Praise and Prayer

Merry Christmas! 

Wishing all of our friends and partners a very Blessed Christmas.

May your moments of reflection be filled with hope and peace as you remember the gift that Christ brought mankind.

This will be our last update until the new year. BUT, it is not too late for you to:

1. Pray – there are a few prayer items listed in the section below.
2. Give – thanks to those who support us in financially. Donate
3. Share – take the opportunity to tell someone else about your reflections that relate to the origin of this holiday.

Thank-you for partnering with us this past year so that this statement made by the prophet Malachi is being fulfilled:

“My name is honored by people of other nations from morning till night. All around the world they offer sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of my name. For my name is great among the nations,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. (Malachi 1:11)

Praise and Prayer

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