Dealing with the Unseen

Walking through the market to buy fruit and other items we need, I can see that  something is different.

Last Wednesday was the beginning of the seventh month (July) on the lunar calendar.  According to Taiwanese tradition, each year the ghosts of those who have passed on freely roam among the living during this month.  Such beliefs have led to a long list of taboos, and the traditional religion adherents have special ceremonies to placate any spirits that might want to create trouble for the living. They believe it is the responsibility of the living to provide for those in the next life.  (Note the paper mansions designed to provide for the spirits in the next life.  People transfer these to the unseen world through burning.)

There is a fear, a worry about the unseen world and how it might affect the overall well-being of individuals and their families.  There is an innate sense that this must be dealt with.

How different for the Christ-followers!  The One Who died and rose again provides grace and mercy for those who are living this mortal life.  Knowing the One Who is sovereign, our lives are not controlled by fear of the unseen. We are able to have a “Peaceful July.”

Please pray that we will have opportunities to help more people discover the extraordinary peace provided by Christ.

Praise and Prayer

• Please pray for JR who is recovering from surgery performed today.  He was willing to have the surgery at this time because Christ is his Lord and keeps him safe.  Please pray for his recovery.
• Praise the Lord that the discussions with elementary school administrators went well.  We will begin teaching English and telling Bible stories on September 10.  Pray for us as we plan and develop teaching modules.
• Lorne is finalizing the budget projections for next year. Please pray for wisdom as he sets the anticipated exchange rate and includes the different anticipated needs.

Erosion

The wind, rain, sun, and other environmental agents, combine to create some wonderful natural beauty.  On one of the walks we did this past week we were able to reach the lookout to see the two chimneys.

Erosion creates as well as destroys things.  That is true in our lives as well.  Our experiences and our environment combine to shape our lives.  God’s power is great enough to create beauty.  His power is greater than any destructive forces we encounter.  His goal is to conform us to the holiness, perfection, and beauty found in Christ Jesus.

“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”  (Eccl 3:11)

Praise and Prayer

• Masks, temperature checks, and hand sanitizing are back in effect in Taiwan.  This includes all public venues and all church meetings.  Even when it is 34-38 degrees, God’s grace is sufficient!
• Please pray for a number of church members with physical needs.
• Praise the Lord that Henry Chuang arrived in Taiwan safely and has started his home quarantine.
• Pray for meetings with school administrators to arrange telling Bible stories and teaching English starting in the Fall.

Opportunity Knocks

The July 27 headline screamed at me!  The Taiwan Ministry of Education is planning to recruit foreign English teachers.

The plan is to hire 300 English teachers per year.  Previously they hired 80 teachers per year.

This is an opportunity for qualified Christian believers to come live and work in Taiwan.  It is an opportunity to talk with teachers and youth about what you value in life and why you do so.

Please pray that God will use this opportunity to advance the proclamation of the gospel of Christ Jesus.

Praise and Prayer

• Efforts are being made to recruit more students for children’s Sunday School.  Please pray for wisdom for those overseeing this initiative.
• Please pray for Charlie to experience God’s peace as he has another operation on his foot this week.
• Praise the Lord that a suitable house has been found for the Chuang family.  God has answered last week’s prayer request.
• Praise the Lord for the care shown by the movers last Thursday when they moved Chinh and Lieu Truong’s belongings to their new ministry location.

Mixed Emotions

This week as we communicate we have mixed emotions.  There are both highs and lows as we think about the past week.

A highlight was the baby dedication.  We have seen quite a few, but it was the first that Lorne officiated at in 30 years of ministry in Taiwan.

Charlie was at church service on Sunday.  He has agreed to share a testimony next Sunday.  He told me he wants to make sure that Jesus is honored.

But there has also been sad news.  A Christian friend from the community has gone to be with the Lord.  He leaves a wife and two sons, as well as a large extended family.  Pray for Lorne as he seeks to be a pastor to many people who do not yet believe in Jesus.

We are trying to bring that all to Jesus.  He has offered to take our cares and give us divine TLC (1 Peter 5:7).

Praise and Prayer

• Praise the Lord that Charlie recovered enough to attend church.  He was sharing with me the divinely arranged coincidences that permitted him to get treatment just when needed.  He will give testimony in church next Sunday.
• Please pray that suitable housing can be found for the Chuang family.
• Pray for wisdom as we try to manage financial resources well.  The process of planning and determining the budget needed for 2021 is just beginning.  It is hard to make projections in uncertain times.  Pray that we will know God’s will as we tackle this challenge.

Another First

In the timeline of starting a church there are many “first experiences.”  This last Sunday saw the first meeting of the Church Board.

We are thankful that God is working and these members are willing to take on this commitment.

First decisions include:

• Celebrating Taiwanese Father’s Day in August
• Mid-Autumn Festival initial planning for an outreach event
• Desiring a Fifth Anniversary Celebration to praise God for five years of Sunday Services

Please pray for these leaders as they exercise faith and prayerfully oversee the church ministries.

Praise and Prayer

• Please pray for Charlie who was readmitted to hospital to deal with infection.
• Praise the Lord for the safe arrival in Taiwan of Wendy, Timothy, and Theodore Chuang.  Please pray for an uneventful quarantine.  Their relatives have graciously provided an apartment in Taipei for their Q time.
• Pray that our Taiwan Team will be able to help the Chuangs find suitable housing in Chiayi by middle of August at the latest.

God Sends Help

This week we have exciting News!  We have been asking God to send more teammates to minster to the Taiwan working class.

God has answered!

Henry and Wendy Chuang will be joining the team in Taiwan, and will work with Albert and Elaine Lu at the new church start in Chiayi.
Please pray:

• Wendy and their two sons want to arrive this week so that they can complete 2 weeks quarantine and one week self-monitoring prior to school beginning on August 10.  They would like to be able to move into the dorms on August 9.  Please pray that suitable airline tickets can be purchased.
• God has done miracles over the past few weeks to help the Chuangs be ready to come to Taiwan.  We are asking God to do another miracle.  We are asking Him to provide a house that is the right size and in the right location.  Please pray with us about this need.

Praise and Prayer

• Praise the Lord that Charlie is being released from hospital today!  Please pray for his continued recovery.  We look forward to seeing him and worshipping God with him.
• Praise the Lord for supplying an airline ticket so that the Truong’s daughter can travel back to Canada.  Please pray for her as she adjusts to living away from her parents for the first time.
• Praise the Lord that Lorne and Kathy-Lu will be able to take a couple of days this week to relax at a hot springs.  Please pray that we will be refreshed after a very busy few weeks.

Empowering Leaders and Churches

Sunday afternoon, July 5, Lorne attended the Thanksgiving service celebrating that Pastor Wen-Yuan Ho (何文源傳道 also known as Pastor Nguyen in Vietnamese) was installed as the lead pastor of the Agape Alliance Church.

Pastor Ho has been serving at the church for one year, under the mentoring of an advisory pastor. Having completed that process, the church requested the denomination to recognize him as the lead pastor.

The C&MA in Canada has a special connection with this church.  It was started by Rev. Thu and Hanh Nguyen (now retired).  It is exciting to see God at work helping pastors who work with other church leaders to evangelize and disciple others.

The photos above is when all the pastors present gathered around Pastor and Mrs. Ho to pray for them.

Exciting News at Other C&MA Churches

Sunday July 5 was a fresh start of ministry for Taichung Alliance Church under the leadership of their new pastor, Rev. Zi-Wei Zhong (鍾子葳牧師) .

Pastor and Mrs. Hao-Ran Chen (陳豪然傳道) also officially started their ministry at Amazing Grace Alliance Church in Yuanchang (about a 10-minute drive from our church).

The first service at the Chiayi Alliance Gospel Center (being started by Albert and Elaine Lu) had 20 adults and 6 children attend.  The group included some from the community as well as believers who were present to support the start of the new work.

We rejoice about God working and establishing a strong witness for Christ in all parts of Taiwan.  It is always happening, but at times like these we take special notice of God’s workings.

Praise and Prayer

• Praise the Lord for a day of fellowship and fun on July 1 as we were together with Canadian C&MA friends for a Canada Day outing.
• Praise the Lord that a lease has been signed for the Truong family to live near Agape Alliance Church. Please pray for wisdom as moving arrangements are made.
• Pray for the Baozhong Alliance Church members and Pastor Joshua. Sunday attendance numbers have dipped recently. Pray that they will be encouraged from God’s Word. Pray that God will send new people. Pray that as they testify for Christ the Holy Spirit will work and produce fruit.  (You can pray this way for us too!)

Introducing Anna

We want to introduce you to Anna (李映安).  Pastor Joshua and Ilaine are happy parents, and everyone is healthy and doing well.

Ilaine will “sit the month” (坐月子) in the usual Taiwanese tradition.  She will rest for 30 days after the birth, receiving help to care for the infant.  When the time is complete mother and baby will return home to Baozhong.

Steps Forward in Uncertain Times

In these post-Covid days, there are many things we do not know.  It is uncertain what long-term “normal life” will be like.  The temptation is to wait and see how things develop and then decide how to press into the future.  But, we are seeking to be faith-filled, asking God what we should be doing.  Here are some of the answers so far:

• Fellowship Lunches after service begin next Sunday (7/5)
• Although our congregation is small, an Advisory Board is being formed to provide a team of leaders for the church
• Lorne is prayerfully looking for a new opportunity to be involved in the Baozhong community.  He is asking God to help him build new relationships.
• Albert and Elaine Lu have been commissioned to leave the Baozhong church work to focus on work in Minxiong Township, Chiayi County
• New initiatives for Vietnamese Diaspora ministry are being developed.  Chinh and Lieu Truong will move in late July and work with Agape Alliance Church to expand this work.
• Efforts are being made to plan activities so that Canadian international workers can better support each other through prayer and encouragement

We are certain that this list is not complete!  We believe that God has more He wants to do in our lives and the life of His church.  Please pray with us as we seek to be “kingdom-centered” as we press into the summer and fall seasons.

Praise and Prayer

• Speaking of babies…We are excited that our oldest son Ethan and his wife Jill are expecting their first child in December.  Please pray for them as they prepare for this big event.  Please pray that God will meet their needs, including the need for employment after Covid-related layoffs.  (Hopefully we can keep our feet on the ground as we excitedly wait.)
• Pray for Pastor Joshua and Ilaine as they celebrate being parents.  Please ask God to help them witness to their extended family, the majority of whom do not yet believe in Christ.  Please ask God to help them to be people of influence as they interact with neighbors near their home.

Celebrating

It was great to get together as a Taiwan C&MA Mission Family last Monday.  Although still missing a few people, the group included International workers, Global Alliance Professionals, USA Envision Workers, and all their family members.

It was an opportunity to celebrate students who were graduating from high school and Junior High School (Middle School).  We affirmed and prayed for those who are travelling to the USA for home assignment after a term of ministry.  We anticipated the arrival of a coworker returning from Home Assignment.  (She made it back today!)  It was an opportunity to eat together, play together, laugh together, and pray together.

This year many of you have had to sacrifice being together for valued occasions.  Many have had to be creative using drive-through events, and “spaced out” parking lot visits, and online adventures.  We feel very blessed to be in Taiwan where we recently are permitted to once again have such group gatherings.  We wanted to do it so badly, we gathered at personal expense (saving missions dollars for where they are needed).

We are hoping and praying that your days of enforced separation will soon come to an end.

Praise and Prayer

• We are excitedly waiting the arrival of Pastor Joshua and Ilaine’s baby on June 23.  Please pray for health and safety for them all.
• Chinh and Lieu Truong are in their final month of full-time Mandarin language study.  Please pray for Chinh as he prepares his first sermon in Chinese.  He will speak at our church on June 28.
• Summer transitions:  Airline tickets are needed for a graduating high school student.  An apartment must be rented for a couple shifting to a different ministry.  Time is needed to reflect on the past year and dream about the next year.  And we crave the opportunity to rest and be refreshed.  Please pray that God will help us arrange for all those things.

Schedule Highlights

June 24:  Elementary School Graduations – We will attend to congratulate the students whom we have been teaching.

June 25-28: Dragonboat Long Weekend

June 28:  Rev. Chinh Truong will speak at Baozhong Alliance Church.

The 3½ Hour Trip Abroad

It sounds like something off the TV show “Gilligan’s Island.”  People are being invited to “go abroad for 3.5 hours.”  The newly renovated Songshan Airport in Taipei City has sat relatively unused since February.  With travel restrictions in place, the airport has been mostly deserted.

To bring more patrons to the airport, they are offering one of the best staycations available.  Their slogan reads: “Come to the airport for a fake trip.”  Participants will complete all boarding procedures, have opportunity to shop at Duty Free, check out the newly renovated restaurant, and sit on an aircraft for 15 minutes. There will be a special presentation while on board explaining health safety precautions being taken in a virus-filled world.

The organizers are even offering a special draw so that up to six friends can accompany the winner on the fake trip.

I think that what Jesus offers is much better.  We are given the opportunity along with other believers to experience the abundant life.  It is a staycation in which we are able to experience the Kingdom of God while here on earth.

There is nothing fake about Jesus’ offer.  Why not tell someone about this Taiwanese staycation offer, and also mention what it is like for you to be on a staycation with Jesus.  It might lead to an interesting conversation.

Praise and Prayer

• We are excitedly waiting the arrival of Pastor Joshua and Ilaine’s baby on June 23.  Please pray for health and safety for their whole family.
• Chinh and Lieu Truong are in their final month of full-time Mandarin language study.  Please pray for Chinh as he prepares his first sermon in Chinese.  He will speak at our church on June 28.
• Please pray for creative ways to minister to our friend Sean’s father.  His health difficulties make it hard to sit through a church service.  Pray that the gospel can be shared verbally with him.
• Thank-you to those who have been able to continue giving toward our support and the support of other international workers around the world.  Giving ito Global Advance Fund is currently about 26% behind budget.  Expenses are being reduced to compensate for the decrease in income.  We are thankful for how God is supplying when so many people have experienced employment instability.  Thank-you for praying with us as we make faith-filled decisions to manage resources.