Winning

An email arrived saying that we had won sixth prize! 

Some of you are skeptical, thinking that it is a fishing email or spam mail.  But it really was legitimate.

The government in Taiwan wants people and businesses to pay taxes.  Businesses with an income below a certain amount are exempted from needing to collect the 5%VAT (Value Added Tax).  To encourage people to shop at locations that collect the VAT, the government provides unified invoicing receipts.  At the top is a unique number for that receipt.

Once every two months, there is a prize draw.  Prizes range from TWD$2 million for the Grand Prize to  TWD$200 for the sixth prize.  (At an exchange rate of about 22:1, sixth prize is about CAD$9.00.)  For January-February receipts, a special prize of TWD$10 million was added.

Winning was not a motivation when we paid the telephone bill.  Desiring the phone service was enough to get us to pay.  We wanted to continue using our phones to have the connection with other people using our phones.

It is another example of  how important relationships are!  Thank-you for staying connected, receiving our weekly emails.,

If you discover you need to adjust your contact information, or you need to adjust your subscription preferences, please use the “update your preferences” link at the bottom of the newsletter to do so.

Praise and Prayer

• Kathy-Lu was able to spend time with a friend talking about belief in Christ this past week.  The friend is facing many life challenges.  Please pray that God will use such opportunities to lead people to belief in Christ.
• The weather is getting warmer, with daytime temperatures exceeding 30 degrees some days.  Please pray for stamina on those hotter days.  We are attempting to not use the air conditioner too early in the Spring.
• A friend’s husband is recovering from surgery.  Others are facing struggles related to a relative’s alcohol addiction.   There are many different needs that we are taking to God in prayer.  Please pray that people will experience God’s loving care and give glory to Christ.

Happy Easter

Jesus is alive! He invites us to not only participate in His death but also in His resurrection.  The truth that Jesus was the first to be raised from the dead and experience everlasting life is an encouragement to us. 1 Corinthians 15 reminds us that we will experience everlasting life with Him and in Him.

On Good Friday, we joined with other nearby Alliance churches to reflect on the suffering of Christ.  Lorne was asked to read Luke 23:13-26 which describes being judged by Pilate. Thinking of Jesus as the Creator and the Lord of the Universe being willing to silently endure this humiliation is somewhat overwhelming.  He did it because of obedience to the Father and His own loving desire to redeem sinful people.

His victory over evil and death is proclaimed by His resurrection, according to the plan of redemption created by God.  Looking at it in any other way, it is an unexpected event.  Things do not usually happen that way.  But God loves to do the seemingly impossible.

May you once again be filled with the wonder of God’s love as you reflect this year.

Perhaps you will find this parable helpful in your reflections.

Praise and Prayer

• Lorne was thankful to talk with a friend last week.  He asked to hear one of the Bible stories that we had read previously.  Please pray that God will continue to work, helping him understand the gospel.
• Attempts to have a brief conversation with neighbours about Easter did not seem successful.  Please pray that God will create more opportunities.  May God help them to hear things that will convince them that they do not know all the answers about who Christ is.
• Praise the Lord that the Chiayi Alliance Church has been able to rent a meeting facility above the Farmer’s Bank. A Thanksgiving service to celebrate God’s provision is planned for June 3.

Opportunity

We are told to make the most of every opportunity.  It definitely relates to the building of God’s kingdom and telling others the good news about Jesus.  But sometimes, it also means taking advantage of an opportunity for lunch together.

Self-care is important.  We must take care of our bodies, our minds, our emotions, and our relationships.  It is a part of loving God with all our hearts, soul, and mind–not to mention loving our neighbour as our self.

This was a coffee shop we discovered prior to attending the recent strategy meetings.  We were impressed with the creative name.

Praise and Prayer

• Praise the Lord for good interactions with pastors and international workers at the recent strategy meetings.  We came home with hearts full of valuable ideas and encouragement from being with God’s people.
• April 4 is the annual Clear and Bright Festival.  It is the time when families tend the graves of their ancestors.  For many this includes the traditional practices of burning incense, burning joss money, and praying for prosperity for the family.  Please pray for Christian believers who spend time with family but choose God-honoring ways to respect ancestors and bless their families.
• Wishing you all a blessed Holy Week as you remember Christ’s suffering and prepare to celebrate His resurrection.

Kingdoms and Castles

We visited a castle (replica) on our day off last week.  It is a marketing plan by a company selling personal products.  It was interesting for both of us.

As you can see, what attracted Lorne was slightly different from what captured Kathy-Lu’s fancy.  Getting our photo beside a palace guard figure and eating afternoon tea was something that we both enjoyed.

It may be similar for people who are learning about God’s kingdom.  They may feel drawn toward certain aspects, and less so by others.  Often there is an attraction toward things that bring personal benefit.  But all those different characteristics of the kingdom become unified in Christ.

Please pray that people will be pulled toward Christ and not seek to use Him to gain personal advantage.

Praise and Prayer

• The Leadership Team of the Baozhong Alliance Church meets the first Sunday of each month.  Please ask God to give them wisdom as they manage resources and decide church priorities.
• Please continue to pray for God to add people to the Baozhong Alliance Church fellowship.
• A financial subsidy is still being provided for the Baozhong Alliance Church.  This is needed because local giving has not yet reached the level necessary to support ministries.  Gifts to the “Hidden in Plain Sight” Partner Fund provide the resources to meet this need.  Please pray for local giving to grow and for God’s provision in the meantime.

CAWF

The Taiwan Alliance sent a delegation to the Chinese Alliance World Fellowship meetings in Manchester, United Kingdom, March 14-17.  (Photo from FaceBook Feed)

Not only did they report on the Taiwan ministry, they also heard reports of what God is doing in Chinese ministries in other parts of the world.

They will report to all the Taiwan pastors and international workers (including us) at the Strategy Meetings at the end of this month.

Please pray that they will be encouraged and will carry that encouragement to those who did not attend with them.

Praise and Prayer

• Praise the Lord that seven students from the Homework Club attended Sunday School.  Participation in Homework Club requires that they attend at least twice each month.  This was the first time most of them had come.
• Praise the Lord for providing employment for our son Ethan.
• Please continue to pray for God to add people to the Baozhong Alliance Church fellowship.
• On the 4th Sunday of each month, the Family Fellowship meets.  The purpose is to support those with family members recovering from addictions.  Please pray that these people will develop a personal relationship with Christ.

Teaching Children

Each Wednesday afternoon at 2 PM we teach for one hour at the Homework Club (the after-school program run by our church for elementary school students).

We practice some English pronunciation and we tell a Bible story in Chinese.  Our goal is to plant truths from God’s Word in the lives of the students. (Yes, that is ginger in the photo on the screen.)

Our first set of stories has been from the Book of Daniel.  This week, Kathy-Lu will tell the story of Daniel being rescued by God from the lion’s den.

Please pray that God will use these stories and our interaction with the students to demonstrate His love and desire to be in close relationship with each one of them.

OH!  We should mention that there were not enough students registered to offer the ukulele classes that were planned to begin this month.  We are disappointed that we will not be seeing the music students as often, but know God has a purpose in this too.  Please pray for Pastor Joshua and his wife Ilaine as they give leadership to the children’s ministries and are trying to build relationships with the families of those who attend.

Praise and Prayer

• Please pray for Pastor Joshua and Ilaine as they invest time with children and their parents, seeking opportunity to share biblical truths when the relationships permit.
• Please continue to pray for God to add people to the Baozhong Alliance Church fellowship.
• Please pray that God would bind the unseen forces that are opposing people to hear and believe the gospel.  Pray that Jesus name will be exalted and that people will be drawn to Christ.
• Please pray for the Chinese Alliance World fellowship meetings being held in England.  We are not attending, but it is a time when Chinese ministries from around the world share about what God is doing and share resources. A number of Taiwan pastors are attending.

Foreigners 

Our main focus is to make Jesus famous among the Minnan Taiwanese. We shared about that last week.

However, there are many foreigners living in Taiwan.  Some of the Vietnamese and Indonesian workers in the chart above live in our town.  In addition to the above, there are 549,000 foreigners married to Taiwanese, and many more foreigners attending universities and colleges.

1. Taiwan Immigrant Brides and Their Families 2022 Fact Sheet
2. Taiwan World Day of Prayer Movie

Praise and Prayer

• Praise the Lord that one student from the recent camp is regularly attending Sunday School.  Another contacted Pastor Joshua to say her father changed his mind and she cannot attend.  Please pray for God to create ways for children with open hearts to hear about His love.
• Please continue to pray for God to add people to the Baozhong Alliance Church.
• Please pray that a university student or a willing volunteer can be found to help supervise the Homework Club.  The person can also assist the students when they are struggling with homework.

Prayer Reminder

When praying (earlier this month) for people groups with whom The Alliance in Canada is working, we prayed for the Minnan people. That is another name for the people to whom we are ministering.

Worldwide there is a population of 58,258,000 Minnan, with Taiwan being home to 13,497,000. The religion of the majority of Minnan is a mix of Taoism, Buddhism, folk religion, and ancestor worship.

Although it is reported that globally up to 3.7% of the population of Minnan people are Christian believers, the percentage in the community where we work is much lower. In fact, it likely is less than 1%.

The county in which we live has more than 100 temples listed, and our own town website lists 17 notable temples in our small town. These numbers do not include the many unregistered temples which will cause the above statistics to more than double.

Isaiah 42:8 was the verse chosen for the day that we prayed for the Minnan people. I wrote it on a card and carried it in my pocket last week. The card is now well crumpled, but it succeeded in reminding me to keep praying for the Minnan people among whom we live.

Could you create a reminder that will help you to pray for the Minnan people multiple times this week?

Praise and Prayer

• February 28 is Peace Memorial Day in Taiwan. It is a time to remember injustices of the past and commit ourselves to promoting peaceful existence. Please pray that there will be opportunities to talk with people about the peace offered by Christ.
• We have been praying that people will believe in Christ and that some will come to our church to worship. Yesterday, one of the students from camp came to Sunday School. Another student who has not attended for a long time requested her mother to bring her. May God prompt more children to desire to learn about Jesus, and bring their families to attend with them.
• Please pray spiritual protection over the ladies from our church who are praying and doing visitation in Baozhong.

Gestures

You may have noticed in last week’s photo of the campers that some of the students used their fingers to gesture a V.  Although this may have originated as a victory symbol, or may mean peace to others, it has become a common gesture by those being photographed in East Asia.

That gesture is gradually being replaced by the one being demonstrated by Kathy-Lu.  It is a symbol for a heart.  (Read here about the origin of this gesture.)

The heart is often associated with love.  In some stories the size of one’s heart relates to generosity and compassion toward others.  It is also a symbol of trust.

The Bible has lots to say about our hearts.
One verse is:

• Praise the Lord that we are able to join together and pray with others, both those in Taiwan and also with you!
• Praise the Lord that the women of the church are arranging times for prayer and visitation.  Please pray for them as they minister in this way.
• February 28 is Peace Memorial Day in Taiwan.  It is a time to remember injustices of the past and commit ourselves to promoting peaceful existence. Please pray that there will be opportunities to talk with people about the peace

Camp

The last week has been very busy.  Kathy-Lu and Lorne participated in the camp each day, Monday through Friday.

We thank God for visible and invisible results, including:

• Two students are excited about coming to Sunday School.  We are trusting God that they will do that.
• Students who trusted leaders enough to share about their life situations.
• The creative preparation of the short-term team.  There were games, crafts, and English learning that all related to the camp theme.
• Good weather.  Monday we were indoors, but the rest of the week we were able to play games outdoors.
• Positive interactions with the school principal and teachers that will lead to additional opportunities for cooperation in the future.

Thank-you for praying!

Praise and Prayer

• Praise the Lord that Pastor Ruth Yang was released from hospital and is continuing her recovery at an extended health facility.
• Praise the Lord for the 36 students that attended the Winter Camp.  Pray that they will remember the truths they heard and trust in Christ.
• Please pray for God to bless the camp leaders who used their own vacation time and personal finances to come and minister to the students.
• Please pray for follow-up with families with whom we have contact, for planning for youth ministries, and for planning for summer camp.
• Please pray for Lin BaBa’s family as they grieve.  The funeral will be February 18.