One Third of Us

Last Saturday. June 5, was the “Day for the Unreached.”

A group of Christian leaders and Christian organizations used this three-line graphic to draw attention to the fact that:

• One third of the world’s people do not have access to Jesus
• That is about 7,000 groups of people who have not yet heard
• Many of those people are in Asia

This need, including the millions of Taiwanese who still need to hear about Jesus, is just one of the motivations for us going to Taiwan next month.

Do you care about those who have not heard?  What will you do to show that you care?

• Will you pray?
• Will you draw three lines as a visual reminder to pray?
• Will you encourage others to do get involved with you?
• Will you give?
• Will you go?

Please join us in helping people hear how to know Jesus in a personal way.

Praise and Prayer

Things don’t always happen as we expect:

• Our travel documents were delayed in Canadian Customs, and the prediction now is that they will be delivered to us today.
• Sickness has invaded our home.  Please pray for Divine healing and daily strength.
• The car dealer who was to buy back our car is not doing business.  So we must arrange a private sale.  Please pray that God will help us do that.
• Scheduling and coordinating volunteers who will help us in the next few weeks is going well, but is not yet completed.

Orientation Difficulties

While visiting Nanaimo, we went with our host to the beach to watch the sunset.  We were on what is called the east side of Vancouver Island.

• Looking straight out on the strait, we observed an otter playing and catching a fish.  It seemed to be east of us.
• Looking along the coastline, to what seemed like it should be north, we saw the setting sun.
• Our sense of direction was definitely distorted.  What seemed like east, was actually north.  What seemed like north, was actually west.

We later consulted a map to discover the reason for the confusion in our sense of direction.  Due to irregularities of the coastline, the beach we visited was aligned east-west.  The map was our outside reference, our independent authority, to discover why our sense of direction did not line up with reality.

Psalm 19 and Psalm 119 have multiple statements that talk about the advantages of using God’s Word to be the authority that corrects us when our perspective of right and wrong is misled.

Let’s pray for each other to remember to check our lives against the words of Scripture.

Praise and Prayer

• Wow! What a week!  Our resident permits are supposed to arrive by courier today.  We have conditional medical clearance, and flight arrangements for travel to Taiwan are being made.  We gave notice to our landlord that we will be moving.  Our landlord in Taiwan agreed to continue renting to us for another two years.  It really feels like progress is being made.  Thanks for praying.
• Please pray for us to have needed energy and wisdom as we prepare to pack items for storage, for travel, or to be disposed of.  June will be a busy month as we take care of many details.

Remembering

Three score and ten years ago, that’s 70 years for those who need clarification, the Alliance sent the first international workers to Taiwan.

The foundation for gospel work had been laid many years before.

• Dutch missionaries first arrived about 400 years ago and were driven out of Taiwan by the Han Chinese in 1661,
• About 200 years later, the Presbyterians sent James Laidlaw and George McKay.
• These and other Protestant missionaries who followed them contributed to the development of education and medical treatment in Taiwan. Testimony of their sacrifice and their dedication to the Lord lives on and is recorded in Taiwanese historical records.

The Alliance trailblazers were Margaret Oppelt and Pearl Fustey. Since 1952 there have been many others whose names are seldom mentioned. Like the unnamed saints in Hebrews 11:33-39 they did not receive their full reward here on earth.  Their reward is an eternal reward received from Christ Jesus Himself.

As you pray this week, please ask God to empower and encourage unnamed global workers around the world.  Give thanks for those who were the trailblazers, and pray that those who are follow them will be found faithful when they too stand before Christ.

Praise and Prayer

• Waiting:  We are waiting for news that our resident permits have been issued.  We are waiting for medical clearance.  When those waits end, we will be able to request airline tickets and set a departure date.
• Did you know that Lorne is one of many people serving on a committee in preparation for General Assembly (July 5-8).  Pray for committee members to have wisdom as they read reports, listen to presentations, and prepare for the business sessions at GA.

Struggling with Life

You may have noticed that COVID has attempted to take over life.

• For some it was the actual fighting of the disease.
• For others it was grieving significant losses.
• We all have felt the restriction of the regulations.
• And fear has invaded and made itself known in ways not experienced previously.
• In some way or other it has become a personal fight against something we do not control.

Lives attacked by COVID related experiences are more angry, more frustrated, more discouraged, or even more bewildered. Things we formerly relied on have become dubious.

• Scientists and health officials publicly disagree.
• Rule-makers cannot keep up with the changes that they themselves are legislating.
• Media is filled with conflicting instructions of what to do.
• Education and affluence no longer protect people.

There are effects felt in all areas of life–physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual.

Our Taiwanese brothers and sisters in Christ are having similar experiences.  Like us, they are being challenged whether Christ provides the resources needed to sail through these storms.

Please pray for all believers who are searching for answers and solutions to life challenges.  May we all turn in faith towards God who has said:

Praise and Prayer

• Praise the Lord with us that the Immigration Office in Taiwan accepted our application for resident permit extension. Barring further complications, our new permits should be ready in about 10 days.
• The date for our return to Taiwan (something many people are asking about) cannot be set until some final business is accomplished.  Please pray for energy and wisdom as we work on remaining tasks.

Vision

Our vision is expressed as a prayer. We are aware that God’s vision for us to become like Jesus Christ and to be channels of blessing to others far surpasses what we ourselves imagine for ourselves.

The Alliance in Canada has designed a step-by-step journey to help us reflect on the requests in the vision prayer.  We can ask God to do these things for us personally as well as to the church as a whole.

Would you like to join others in praying this prayer over the next 1-2 months?  Pray it weekly, or pray it daily.

More information (available in multiple languages).

Praise and Prayer

• Please pray for favor with officials who will handle our case as application for an extension in absentia is made this week for our Taiwan resident permits.  We praise God that our personal documents, including the one received from the Taiwan Consulate, were safely sent to Taiwan this past week.
• Moving overseas requires that we take care of many different details, both personal and things related to our employment.  Please pray for us to complete the tasks successfully.

Chopstick Art

While walking through downtown Vancouver, we discovered this piece of art made from 100,000 recycled chopsticks. It was created to make people aware of the need to eliminate waste and protect the resources available.

May God help the members of His kingdom to find creative ways to draw attention to the gospel message. Creating attention-grabbing methods without compromising the message is something that delights God’s heart.

Praise and Prayer

• Praise the Lord for opportunity to rest and encourage family members.
• Please pray that documents being sent to Taiwan this week will arrive safely.  Pray for grace and help as our colleagues apply for an extension to our resident permits.

Increased Case Numbers

News from our county, especially the Town of Baozhong is that the number of domestically transmitted cases of COVID is rising quickly.  Here are two charts for our county from the Public Health website.  Baozhong is highlighted in the red box.  These numbers are the new cases reported each day for April 22 and 23.

There are reports similar to those above published each day.  For each town there is the total number of new cases and a listing of the report numbers for the individual case numbers beside.  It is possible to get additional information on the location of the specific cases on another site.

What doe this mean for those living in the affected area?  Schools are closed for disinfecting, and classes are once again online.  Church services, including Sunday School, are being broadcast online with no in-person services. (Church leaders decided to do this in order to keep people safe.)

• Please pray for God to have mercy on those who are affected.
• Please pray that the fear of sickness will not harden people’s hearts making them unwilling to listen to the gospel.
• Please pray that God will stop the pestilence.

Praise and Prayer

• Praise the Lord we were able to submit the request of document authentication (similar to notarization) at the Taiwan Consular Office.  We can pick up the document on May 3.  Then we can send all of our documentation to Taiwan for application to extend our resident permits.  Thanks for praying and continuing to trust God for the completion of the process.
• Pray that people will be protected during the Omicron outbreak happening in Taiwan.
• Pray that COVID can be contained so that the government feels confident to once again accept visa applications.  There are new workers waiting in Canada for Taiwan to start granting visas again..

Resurrection Life

We rejoice that a number of people declared their faith commitment to Christ Jesus by being baptized on Easter Sunday.

Let’s pray for those who made their public declaration to follow Christ.  May they personally experience the fullness of life promised by Christ, living in Christ and He living in them.

Those making such a commitment include:

• two young adults in Victoria
• a number of people in Nanaimo
• the mother of the pastor of the Sihhu Alliance Church in Taiwan

Praise and Prayer

• Please pray for grace and help as we apply for documents to be notarized at the Taiwan Visa Office in Vancouver tomorrow (April 19).  This is the initial step in renewing our Taiwanese resident permits.
• Praise the Lord that the Baozhong Alliance Church Sunday School children were excited about distributing Easter eggs in the community and telling people about Christ’s resurrection.  Community responses ranged from joyful acceptance, to being ignored, to some firmly refusing the Easter gift.  The children are discussing with church leaders how to make future church events more effective.

Annual Pilgrimage

Please pray for the people of central Taiwan, including those living in Baozhong Township.  (In the above map, Baozhong is the most northern coloured town, and the name is spelled using a different romanization system.)

The very large annual Matsu (“goddess of the sea”) pilgrimage will be held this year during April 9 – 17. An idol of Matsu will be carried in the procession in a sedan chair throughout the trip.

Typically, many thousands of pilgrims will walk from a temple in Taichung City’s Tachia District to a temple in Chiayi County’s Hsinkang Township (in the Beigang area), a round trip total of about 335 km (210 miles).

They are scheduled to get to Hsinkang on April 11. On the 12th they will have a special ceremony in Hsinkang and then start their return walk on the 13th, arriving back in Tachia on the 17th.

• Please pray that God will open the eyes of the Taiwanese to realize that “gods” made by human hands are not “gods” at all!
• Pray for the witness of the Christians of Taiwan to the truth that the only true God has sent His only Son to bear their sin on the cross that they might have eternal life.
• The pilgrimage this year overlaps with Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter. Pray for the efforts to proclaim the gospel to people in the Matsu pilgrimage.

(Thanks To George McFall for compiling this information)

Praise and Prayer

• Pray for the preparations for Good Friday and Easter services, as well as for the outreach events planned during the Easter season.  Pray for God’s Spirit to reveal Himself to people so that they can discern the truth.
• Praise the Lord!  Lorne was able to obtain an appointment at the Taiwan Visa Office on April 19.  Please pray for grace and help from the agents to process the needed notarizations.

Clear and Bright Festival

This year, Tuesday, April 5 has been designated as “Tomb-Sweeping Day,” also known as the “Clear and Bright Festival.”  It is a national holiday in Taiwan.

The whole family or designated family members will tend the family graves.  The work may be done on the day or on a day prior to the festival.  They will clear the grass and other vegetation off the graves of the ancestors. It is also an opportunity to remember and honor those who have preceded them.  Sometimes a picnic lunch is planned at the family tomb.

The traditional religions include rituals to be performed by the family at the grave.  Some of the actions prescribed are common worship practices.  These include burning of special paper money, burning of incense, and prayers to the spirits of the ancestors.

Christians are encouraged to join their family in respectfully honoring their family history and those who have gone before them.  They are encouraged to share stories about the positive example of the family members.  They usually avoid participating in the worship-like practices.  If there is opportunity, the Christian family members may request to pray prayers of blessing on their family, praying to God through Jesus Christ.

Frequently the request by Christ-followers to limit their participation in this way can lead to family conflict.  Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ as they navigate this difficult time with people who are special to them.  Pray for God to give creative verbal expression to their beliefs, helping them to witness well for Christ in these situations.

Praise and Prayer

• Pray for us as we begin preparations for our summer departure to Taiwan.  There are business matters to arrange, people to see, belongings to sort, etc.  Pray for wisdom and energy for the many tasks that need to be accomplished.
• Praise the Lord!  Lorne was able to obtain an appointment at the Taiwan Visa Office on April 19.  Please pray for grace and help from the agents to process the needed notarizations.