2024 #01 January 1

Happy New Year!

Wishing all of our friends and partners a Blessed New Year!

A Treasured Moment

I was standing outside, waiting for the garbage truck to arrive so I could dispose of our accumulated trash.  I looked up and saw the cross on the rooftop of the Roman Catholic Church.

It was a visual reminder that we need to be looking for glimpses of Christ in our everyday life. We cannot use our physical senses of sight, hearing and touch to verify His presence, but He is still visible if we look.

  • Maybe it will be evidenced as we observe love being expressed or received.
  • Maybe we will take note of it as we see creativity in the cloud formations.
  • Maybe we will see changes in someone’s life because of a relationship with Christ.
  • Maybe it will be in His healing touch or His hand of provision that we will sense that He is near.
  • Maybe we will see that by drawing close to Him we are being changed into His likeness.

As we enter a new year, may we all be aware that He is with us in the everyday moments (like when I was throwing the garbage) and at the special times too!

Feel free to write us and tell us about a time recently when you sensed the presence of Christ.

Praise and Prayer

  • Praise the Lord that the Christmas weekend events at Baozhong Alliance Church were well attended.
  • Please pray for preparations for the “I Am the Bright Morning Star Camp” January 22-26
  • Praise the Lord that the part for Lorne’s computer is ordered and will be installed soon.
  • Pastor Joshua is asking the church to pray for God to guide us in 2024 to have a special focus on reaching out to adults. This will include a visitation ministry. We don’t have details of what he is thinking, but we can join together and pray that God will add people to the church in the new year.
  • Pastor Joshua will have his ordination oral examination (interview) on January 29. Please pray for him as he prepares. He has already completed his thesis and the other requirements.

2023 #50 December 18

Merry Christmas! 

Wishing all of our friends and partners a very Blessed Christmas.

May your moments of reflection be filled with hope and peace as you remember the gift that Christ brought mankind.

This will be our last update until the new year. BUT, it is not too late for you to:

  1. Pray – there are a few prayer items listed in the section below.
  2. Give – thanks to those who support us in financially. Donate
  3. Share – take the opportunity to tell someone else about your reflections that relate to the origin of this holiday.

Thank-you for partnering with us this past year so that this statement made by the prophet Malachi is being fulfilled:

“My name is honored by people of other nations from morning till night. All around the world they offer sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of my name. For my name is great among the nations,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. (Malachi 1:11)

Praise and Prayer

  • Please pray for Christ to be exalted and proclaimed at weekend Christmas activities at our church and others around the world.
  • Please pray for preparations for the “I Am the Bright Morning Star Camp” January 22-26
  • Praise the Lord that Kathy-Lu’s computer is fixed and back in her possession.
  • Please pray for people who are feeling overwhelmed with their life situation. Please pray that God will guide them to a life of peace, hope, and love that is not only dependent on experiencing better circumstances.
  • Please pray for people to find peace with God and others during the Christmas season and in the new year.

2023 #49 December 11

Christmas Magic

A friend of Pastor Joshua came and used “magic tricks” as he explained the gospel message. (Yes, they were all slight of hand tricks that he had learned.) The event attracted 6 adults and 19 children. (Number does not include the five of us who were working to host the event.

That is something to praise God for! Thank-you for praying.

Some of those who attended indicated that they wanted the eternal life that Jesus offers.  Pray that they will be permitted to attend church and Sunday School to learn more about living for Christ.

Praise and Prayer

  • Please pray for Victoria Chinese Alliance and Baozhong Alliance as we plan for the January 22-26 Elementary Student Camp.  The camp theme will be “I Am the Bright Morning Star.”
  • Please pray for those who have registered and those still considering coming to this year’s special Christmas activities. Pray that God will help them to have receptive hearts to receive his love, peace, and joy. The next event is the Gingerbread House Party and Christmas Program on December 23.
  • Please pray that we are able to get Kathy-Lu’s computer back from the repair shop this week. Also, please pray they can locate the part needed for repairing Lorne’s. These are important devices for us to do our work.

2023 #48 December 4

Alternate Routes

FuHsing Elementary School, where we volunteer, informed us that we must enter from the rear entrance because the front gate will be inaccessible.

Due to construction in the front courtyard, installing better drainage and new landscaping, the front entrance is closed for safety reasons. The sign explains the closure will be December 1-20. To gain access to the rear entrance by the playing fields, one must navigate a small, narrow, winding lane.

Life is like that sometimes. We must use a different route or a different approach to accomplish desired goals. But like God made a path through the wilderness for the Israelites, He can create ways to accomplish His purposes in our lives.

This is true in relationships too. Sometimes we need to select a different time or location to be able to spend time with people. We are thankful that God helps us do that. For instance, after many weeks of trying to meet on Wednesday mornings at the coffee shop, we have now discovered that Wednesday lunchtime will be more suitable. (Praise the Lord for a good start to reading and discussing the Bible last week._

Our Canadian international worker team will meet on Wednesday to discuss how we will ensure that being a Christ-follower who disciples others will remain a priority in our lives. We may need to be creative to make that happen. Sometimes it may require a God-sized miracle. Believing that God wants us to do this, we will plan, pray for each other as we pursue this goal, and be able to ask each other about progress. (That last part is an accountability relationship.)

Please pray that God will help us to be flexible when needed.

Praise and Prayer

  • Please pray for Victoria Chinese Alliance and Baozhong Alliance as we plan for the January 22-26 Elementary Student Camp.  The camp theme will be “I Am the Bright Morning Star.”
  • Please pray for those who have registered and those still considering coming to this year’s special Christmas activities. Pray that God will help them to have receptive hearts to receive his love, peace, and joy. The first event is on Saturday, Dec 9.
  • Life sometimes feels like a series of interruptions. Please pray for us to have sufficient time for study and lesson preparations. We want to honor God in the way that we share truth with others.
  • Kathy-Lu desires to connect with some long-term Taiwanese friends. Please pray for wisdom in selecting the time to do this and the right words to say when the opportunities come.

2023 #47 November 27

Thankfulness

We are thankful for our vacation and thankful to have returned to Taiwan.

Here’s what is happening:

  • The After-School Program (Homework Club) at the church has had some students leave and others join. Each day they read a Bible portion and talk about it.  Please pray that God’s Word will work in the students’ lives to produce faith in Christ.
  • Starting November 29, Lorne will meet with Meng-Ru for a lunchtime Bible study on Wednesdays.  They will be reading and discussing the Gospel of Luke.  Please pray that God will protect the timeslot from interruptions.
  • The Baozhong Alliance Church Christmas schedule includes a December 9 Magic Show and a December 23 Gingerbread Party.  There will be a Christmas Program on the evening of the 23rd. The congregation stayed and decorated the church building after the worship service yesterday.

Thank-you for praying for God to work and draw people to belief in Christ.

Praise and Prayer

  • We are thankful for opportunities to enjoy nature during our recent vacation.  God has created such a wonderful variety of plants and animals. There were also times of worship and opportunities to fellowship with other Christ-followers during our time away.
  • Taiwan feels a long distance away from Canada right now.  Please pray for some loved family members who are struggling with health-related challenges. We realize we could not change the situations by being there, but wish we were closer so that we could give people hugs.
  • Peter was a Bible School intern who worked with us in Baozhong more than ten years ago. We just learned that he finished his earthly journey and is now with His Saviour.  Please pray for God to comfort his family.
  • Please pray for divinely orchestrated opportunities to talk with people as we walk though our neighbourhood and the nearby areas of our town.

2023 #43 October 23

Honoring Old Age

President Ronald Reagan declared August 21 to celebrate “World Senior Citizen Day.” The purpose was to honor the achievements and contributions these people have made to society.

In Taiwan, the ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar includes the opportunity to honor the older generation. This year it is on October 23. That is the reason that one of today’s news headlines included the reference to more than five thousand centenarians living in Taiwan.

In addition to the opportunity to show respect to those who have reached an advanced age, there are religious aspects to the story. Yesterday, a friend stopped by to visit. He had returned to Baozhong to offer prayers to his parents on behalf of the family. His parents have passed on, but the traditional religion and culture promotes the concept that those “departed ones” have the ability to provide protection and influence life’s happenings.

As disciples of Christ, we believe that we look to the Sovereign Creator-Sustainer God to protect and provide help. Please pray for our Taiwanese brothers and sisters in the faith as they live out transformed lives amid such traditions.

May they be reconciled by Christ’s physical body through death to present them holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation–may they continue in their faith, established and firm, and not move from the hope held out in the gospel. (Colossians 1:22-23)

Praise and Prayer

  • The Taiwan Alliance Church Union will hold its annual business meeting on October 28 (Friday evening in Canada). They will elect denominational leaders to serve for a three-year term. They will review reports from last year and approve the plans for 2024. Please pray for a spirit of mutual love and unity to prevail as they meet.
  • Disciples who are making disciples is a core concept of what it means to be a Christ-follower. Please pray for pastors and church leaders who must wrestle on a regular basis of how to do that in their ministry setting. We as international workers are also thinking of how to do this well. We are talking together about ways to encourage each other to keep this as a priority. Please pray that we will honour Christ as we do this.

 

2023 #42 October 16

A Work of Art

The photo may not seem beautiful to you, but it is to us. The reason is that the pipes are no longer leaking.

The vibration from the pump caused leakage. The plumber came and used his expertise to fix the problem, adding an extra loop of pipe to help absorb the vibrations. As a result, we no longer have a wet floor, and neither does our neighbour on the other side of the wall.

This got me thinking today. Sometimes we need God, the Master Craftsman, to come and fix the problems that are beyond our ability to handle. And there are quite a few! The work He does is beautiful.  As Ecclesiastes 3:11 says,
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

Do you or I need to request Him to come and create a work of His art in our lives?

Our GM Taiwan Team

We appreciated the opportunity to gather and celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving Day with our Canadian coworkers. The group includes our international worker families and the Global Alliance Professional families. Unfortunately, there were a few family members who were unable to be with us.

Praise and Prayer

  • Thank-you for praying for us as we attended the strategy retreat.  Over the next few months, the team will work to set desired objectives and key results that will guide each area of ministry for the next five years or more. (We will be continuing to serve in Baozhong, praying that God will help the church start to grow so that it becomes a member church of the Taiwan Alliance Church Union.)
  • We will be following our usual ministry schedule this week. Of course, there will be divinely arranged interruptions.  Please pray that God will boldly share His truth to help His kingdom grow.  Pray that we will represent our Saviour well in all we say and do.

2023 #40 October 2

Being God’s Messenger

We all like clean delegations. We like the tasks we are assigned to be clearly defined. We probably want to know:

  • WHY? (What is the purpose? What is the goal?)
  • WHO? (Is there anyone else? Will I have help?)
  • WHAT? (What tasks are assigned? Are there unknowns?)
  • WHEN? (How long? Is there mid-task evaluation?)
  • WHERE? (Is remote work a possibility? What are the living conditions?)
  • HOW? (Is the methodology assigned? Or do we have to figure it out?)

In Isaiah 6 we read about when the prophet Isaiah received his work assignment:

  • WHY? (God wants a spokesperson.)
  • WHO? (God was looking. Available people were hard to find. Isaiah is willing.)
  • WHAT? (Be a spokesperson. Say what is needed, when it is needed.)
  • WHEN? (The start seems immanent. There is no completion date mentioned.)
  • WHERE? (The audience to whom Isaiah will speak is defined: “this people” = “God’s chosen people.” But later we see that it included surrounding nations.)
  • HOW? (Isaiah is not told what to say, only to listen and to look expectantly toward God.)

The Taiwan Canadian international workers are asking those same questions as we meet together for a strategy retreat October 10-12. There are more than 23 million people living on the island where we are living. Together with Canadian Global Missions leaders, we will be asking God to define what our focus should be.

  • WHY? (There is still a need for people to hear about God’s salvation.)
  • WHO? (The current team? Do we need others? Is God redirecting anyone? How do we partner with the Taiwanese C&MA?)
  • WHAT? (Through intentional presence, do the work of evangelism and starting churches. Do we need to do more? Do we need to stop doing anything?)
  • WHEN? (Over the next five years, what should our focus be?)
  • WHERE? (We currently work with the Minnan People (Taiwanese working class) and Vietnamese Diaspora. Are there others God wants us to include?)
  • HOW? (Some principles may be mentioned during our strategy times, but this will likely be addressed later.)

Please pray for us as we prepare ourselves for these important days of listening to God and others. Pray for consensus, burden, and enthusiasm for what God wants the Canadian team to do.

Praise and Prayer

  • Kathy-Lu stepped up big time this past week. Lorne was ill with a serious cold (No man-cold jokes please!) and one of the Sunday School teachers contracted Covid. Praise God for helping Kathy-Lu to carry the heavier teaching load in addition to her regular assignments.
  • The church had a congregational meeting on Sept. 30 to approve the budget and plans for next year. Please pray that God will use those plans and others that God will reveal to add people to the Christ-following community.

2023 #39 September 25

Remembering

Last Thursday was an important day in Taiwan.  It was the 921 Remembrance Day.

We were at the elementary school at 9:21 AM. That was the time set for an earthquake drill. Teachers donned hard hats. The principal and the directors wore vests that identified them as leaders. (They carried communication devices.) The students put on their head protectors and everyone moved to the designated meeting place.

The principal read some statements remembering the major earthquake that happened 24 years ago on September 21. He talked with the students, reviewing what to do in the event of a major earthquake.

The 921 Remembrance Day was used to remember the past and also as an educational opportunity to help people be safe as we live our lives today.

Praise and Prayer

  • You could have heard a pin drop as Lorne talked to the 5th and 6th graders on Thursday. The topic was about how we view others and how others view us. Prejudices affect how we relate to each other.  Please pray for us as we talk with the students each week about healthy relationship principles. This is part of our Thursday class time in the elementary school.
  • Kathy-Lu is using music and a caring heart as she teaches elementary students. She teaches at Sunday School, at  Wednesday afternoon Homework Club, and Thursday morning English Time at the elementary school.  Please pray for her as she prepares lessons and teaches the truths the students need to learn.  Her goal is to use the teaching time to help the students feel loved.

2023 #38 September 18

Youth

Our church has a youth group!

It meets once or twice each month on Saturdays. The first meeting was on September 9. Those attending are all junior and senior high school students.

Pastor Joshua’s wife, Ilaine, leads with help from our intern pastor.

The youth attend different schools, with many living at school. Most of the schools plan compulsory activities on Sundays. This means they are unable to attend church services. The youth group is one way to have opportunity to interact with the students about spiritual matters.

Please pray for our youth. There is tremendous academic pressure. They have limited time to spend with family and to attend church activities. Pray that God will help them to have strong faith in Him.

Praise and Prayer

  • We were surprised when a realtor appeared at our door. After talking with our landlord, they have decided to wait until the end of our term in 2026 to sell the house where we are living. Praise the Lord with us for this provision.
  • A number of pastors are working toward being ordained. Completing a required reading list and writing a thesis on an assigned topic are two of the requirements.  Please pray for Pastor Joshua and others as they work toward this important goal.
  • Walking through our community enables us to have conversations with different people. Please pray for opportunities to share with them about doing life with Christ.