“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.

Taiwan’s Peace Memorial Day

February 28 is a national holiday in Taiwan.  The day is referred to as Peace Memorial Day.  It is an annual reminder of one of Taiwan’s worst tragedies.

Two years after the end of World War II which ended Japanese rule of the island, there was a protest movement against societal injustices.  The movement was viewed as an uprising and harshly suppressed.  The result was the death of thousands of people.  For many years there was no official recognition that this occurred.

In 1997, the 28th of February was set aside to mark the 228 Incident.  A Peace Park was created in Taipei City and the pictured monument was placed in the park to commemorate the 1947 tragedy.

Each year on Peace Memorial Day the President of Taiwan rings a commemorative bell.  This is followed by the President bowing to family members (descendants) of those who were killed on February 28, 1947. Families also receive certificates exonerating those who until 1995 continued to be black-listed as enemies of the state because of their involvement in the protest.

We all know the importance of acknowledging offences of the past and receiving forgiveness.  This resolution brings a sense of peace and brings healing to the pain and loss that is experienced.

Please pray for continued healing in the hearts of Taiwanese people for pain caused by this and other historical offences.

“O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed;
    if you save me, I will be truly saved.
    My praises are for you alone!”
Jeremiah 17:14 (NLT)

Praise and Prayer

• Thank-you for continued prayers for Rev. Silas Yang, President of the C&MA in Taiwan.  The doctors plan to operate on Wednesday as a final step in his treatment.
• Thank-you for praying for us last week as we took vacation time and visited extended family.  It was very beneficial.
• Please pray for three families being cared for by the Baozhong Alliance Church.  Pray for their loved ones who are struggling for freedom from addictions.  Pray for the family support group that is being established.
• Praise the Lord that a teacher has been found for the Elementary Student Ukulele Class.  The church plans to start new lessons in mid-March. Class.  The church plans to start new lessons in mid-March.

Placeholders

In a local store recently, and saw this aisle.  The bins have been set on the shelves as placeholders.  At some future time, maybe today or another day, the bins will be removed and replaced with items available for purchase.

It is not just stores that use placeholders.  We use them in our lives too.  We don’t like the feeling of emptiness, so we fill in the emptiness with a substitute.

2 Chronicles 12 tells the story of brass shields being substituted for gold ones.  The king did not want the reminder of what was lacking–the close relationship with God and a prosperity that could be his.

In other places in Scripture people substituted rules, or treaties and relationships to fill a sense of lack in their lives.  It may even be a human trend to do so. We substitute other things for what God wants to give us.

Please pray for the Christians in Canada, Taiwan, and worldwide, that we will allow God by the work of the Holy Spirit give us His genuine blessings that are ours in Christ.  May we not be willing to settle for placeholders.

Praise and Prayer

• Please pray that “Gene” will follow through on his decision to receive counselling and help for dealing with his addictions. He has said he is willing to go to the treatment center on Tuesday.
• Pray for Gene’s family to have open hearts to hear and understand the gospel as it is shared with them.
• Please pray Rev. Silas Yang, President of the Taiwan C&MA, as he is in hospital  recovering from emergency medical treatment.  Pray for God’s healing touch.  Pray for his family and his church family to be filled with faith and trust in God during this time.

Happy Lunar New Year

Many countries in East Asia celebrate the Lunar New Year.  Many in North America refer to it as Chinese New Year.  This is probably because it is the most populous country in East Asia, and the Chinese helped those in the West learn about the custom.

There are many resources to help us learn more about the origin and customs of the holiday.  You might want to look at this one.

New Year’s Eve is January 31.
New Year’s Day is February 1.
Lantern Festival is February 15.

We wish each one a Happy Lunar New Year.

We encourage you take the opportunity to wish friends with family origins in East Asia a Happy Lunar New Year.

Praise and Prayer

• Lunar New Year’s Day is February 1 this year.  Most Taiwanese families will hold reunions and have a few days off for recreation and relaxation.  Please pray that believers will have opportunities to share with others about the hope they have in Christ Jesus.
• Please pray for those who have heard about Jesus and His salvation to remember what they have heard.  Pray that God will prompt them to consider making the choice to be a Christ-follower.

Discerning our Assignment

The conversation with leadership will begin this week.

The topic is our work assignment when we return to Taiwan.

When Joshua was receiving his work assignment from Moses, the words of Deuteronomy 31:8 were given to Him.  We believe they are also true for us as we think about where we will locate and what our ministry focus will be.

Thank-you for praying for us as we prayerfully listen to field leadership and together discern God’s direction in this matter.

Praise and Prayer

• Taiwan C&MA pastors and missionaries along with their families will gather January 24-26 for the Lunar New Year Banquet and a retreat.  This is a much anticipated event. Last year’s was cancelled.  Please pray for encouraging fellowship for those able to attend.
• Tensions between Taiwan and Mainland China have resulted in ongoing “grey warfare.”  In addition to the conflict of words, there are frequent military incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.  Please pray for God to intervene and bring peace to the region.

Taiwan Population

The Taiwan government statistics tell us that at the end of last month there were 23,375,314 people on an island the size of Vancouver Island.  There are more women than men, with 50.5% of the population being female.  On average there are 646 people per square kilometer in Taiwan.

Taiwan is a constitutional democracy that guarantees freedom of religion.  As a result, there are 26 recognized religious groups, Buddhism being the largest (35.1%).  Taoism, is the second largest at 33%.  This is followed by Christianity (both Roman Catholic and Protestant) at 3.9% and YiGuanDao (The Way Of Unity) at 3.5%.  Similar to North America, the number of people declaring to be non-religious is increasing and is reported to be 18.7%.

There are many people with whom we want to share the good news about Christ.  They cannot decide to accept or reject peace with God if they have not heard.

Thank-you for supporting the efforts to share Christ with Taiwanese people who have not yet heard.

Praise and Prayer

People in Taiwan are preparing for the Lunar New Year celebrations.  Chinese New Years Day is on February 1 this year.  Please pray for brothers and sisters in Christ as they prepare to spend extended time with relatives, many who do not have a similar relationship with God.  May God give courage to believers to testify about their hope in Christ. May God prepare the hearts of family members to be willing to hear about Jesus.

Taiwan COVID Update

We recognize that most of you, like us, do not want to read more information about COVID-19 and the resulting regulations.  However, we are frequently asked about the situation in Taiwan, so we will briefly mention it this week.

Level 2 epidemic prevention measures have been extended for another two weeks.  This means wearing masks and limiting of numbers of people for indoor and outdoor activities.  More details are below.

We’d like to suggest that as you experience restrictions and inconvenience in your life due to the most recent regulations, why not use it as a prayer reminder.  Some suggestions of how to pray are that:

• God will protect people living in situations where hygiene is not a priority and where infection transmissions are occurring.
• God will provide wisdom and creativity so that the good news about Jesus can continue to be communicated during the time of epidemic protocols.
• God will help believers to be compassionate and to have hope when those around them may be struggling.

Details (Summarized for those who are interested)

The Level 2 Restrictions have been extended until January 24.  That means:

• Facemasks must be worn when outside one’s own home.  Exceptions will be made for exercising, singing, taking photos, livestreaming, filming, moderating an event, reporting news, delivering remarks, giving a speech, lecturing, or during activities or events involving conversations with others.
• Commercial business venues and public venue (including transportation) must collect contact information of attendees, temperature measurement, enhanced disinfection of environments, health management among staff members, and timely responses to the occurrence of confirmed cases.
• Stores, supermarkets, and markets must limit numbers so that a distance of at least 1.5 meters per person (2.25 square meters per person) is maintained indoors and a distance of at least 1 meter per person (1 square meter per person) is required outdoors; food sampling is not allowed.
• Dining venues should collect contact information of staff and customers, take temperatures, provide hand washing and disinfection equipment; toasting each table is not allowed at banquets.
• People are not be required to wear a mask, but should carry a mask when
  • working outdoors in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and animal husbandry sectors.
  • hiking or on a beach and social distancing can be maintained.
  • doing activities at hot/cold springs, water recreation, spas, steam rooms, etc. where masks can easily get wet.
  • consuming food and beverages
• Masks can be temporarily removed while performing in a show, participating in athletic events, news broadcasters being filmed, etc. if all other relevant epidemic prevention measures are being followed.

Praise and Prayer

• Baozhong Alliance Church is planning for Ukulele Classes for elementary students to begin after the Lunar New Year.  They are looking for an instructor for the class.  Please pray that God will provide.