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.

“Missed” Events

A few days ago, a very good friend in Taiwan got married.  It was an event I would have attended had I been on that side of the ocean.  Without the opportunity to encourage him through with my presence, I had to be content with sending greetings.

When we are in Taiwan, it is often the opposite.  We miss important family events because we are living and working on the other side of the world.  It is one of the sacrifices that is made in order to give people access to Jesus. We are thankful for family members who “understand” and accept this unusual and uncomfortable reality.

We know that many of you will understand some of the feelings that international workers like us have at those times.  Some of you have “missed” important events because of Covid restrictions, adverse weather,  or other circumstances.  Due to our similar circumstances, we can sympathize with each other.  We can comfort each other.

And, when there is an opportunity to attend an event we will make the effort to be there.  Right?

Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. (1 Pet 3:8)

Praise and Prayer

1. Strategy Meetings for all Taiwanese C&MA pastors and C&MA missionaries serving in Taiwan are being planned for March 28-30. Please pray for those who will lead sessions to have Holy Spirit empowerment as they prepare.
2. Please pray that we will get an appointment at the Taiwan visa office in Vancouver to authenticate documents.  There is high demand for available appointments.

A Partnership First

Yesterday, Mar 20, was a special day.  The Victoria Chinese Alliance Church invited Pastor Joshua Lee of the Baozhong Alliance Church to be the guest speaker. The photo is what we saw when we connected online.

It marks the first time in our international worker career that a church in Canada has heard directly from our coworker about what God is doing in Taiwan.  Pastor Joshua also shared from God’s Word.

Kudos to VicCAC who worked hard to make it happen.  Their work included translating the sharing for the English and Cantonese services. (English service begins about 23:00 and Pastor Joshua’s sharing starts at about 39:00.)

We appreciate those who are partnering with us to share the gospel with the Taiwanese Working Class.  Thank-you for your contribution to the team.

Praise and Prayer

• Strategy Meetings for all Taiwanese C&MA pastors and C&MA missionaries serving in Taiwan are being planned for March 28-30. Please pray for those who will lead sessions to have Holy Spirit empowerment as they prepare.
• Please pray for Rev. Damien Lee as he steps into his new role as Vice President of International Ministries.  Pray for Holy Spirit enabling and good teamwork with other leaders.

Island Life

We are visiting Vancouver Island.  It is a different “island life” than what we experience on the other side of the ocean.  But in both places we appreciate the partnerships that we have.

The past few days we have shared about using teamwork to accomplish the Great Commission work.  Although living on an island, we were never created to be an island.  We were created to be in relationship and to work in harmony with others.

Maybe that is something that we all have sensed during the pandemic protocols.

Maybe that is one reason we are all grateful for the easing of some of the restrictions.

Praise and Prayer

• Taiwanese pastors and leaders have been taking an ‘Alliance History and Thought’ class.  Please pray that as they learn about our international church family God will create a greater passion for cooperation in gospel endeavors.
• Strategy Meetings for all Taiwanese C&MA pastors and C&MA missionaries serving in Taiwan are being planned for March 28-30. Please pray for those who will lead sessions to have Holy Spirit empowerment as they prepare.

Uncertainty

Reasons that people are uncertain include:

• being unsure
• a vague situation
• having doubts
• fear of the future
• a sense of hesitancy
• indecisiveness
• unresolvable stress
• not knowing how ___ will react

James 4:15 instructs us how to live in uncertain times:
“Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”

Trusting God to direct our steps, we have agreed that ministry in Baozhong Township will be our core assignment as we return to Taiwan this summer.  We have been asked to help the church develop an outreach into the community.

As the Lord desires and directs, we are making plans during uncertain times.  Thank-you for your partnership and prayers as we walk into this adventure.

Praise and Prayer

• Praise the Lord!  Rev. Silas Yang, President of the C&MA in Taiwan, has been released from hospital.  He is rejoicing that God has seen him through this trial.
• Strategy Meetings for all Taiwanese C&MA pastors and C&MA missionaries serving in Taiwan are being planned for March 28-30. Please pray for those who will lead sessions to have Holy Spirit empowerment as they prepare.
• Please pray for the registration process for the ukulele class at Baozhong Alliance Church.  The first lesson is on Saturday, March 12.  Early registrations are all returning students.