Mission Taiwan

God has been doing many amazing things over the last couple of months!  He has drawn many new believers to him through his love…while also teaching us about his love and life!  Please join us in praying:

Prayer and Praise

About Us

I have gone from an empty house to a full house! There have been friends moving things in, going home, stopping by, leaving again, going to summer camp, having people to visit, and much more over the last couple of weeks. Really active! But it has also been great to have people around. They have brought new life into the house, all of which has been very welcomed!

It has also been challenging in many ways. It is almost like a test of how well I have learned the culture until now. Many methods of doing things are different, so it has taken an increase in patience for me to continue to learn what it will be like to live with some Taiwanese friends. I have been brought to my knees in prayer several times for my attitude and the unity of the people living together. Please join me in praying for me and these house mates. Pray that God is present in our relationships and that we continue to grow in our relationship with him…spurring one another on toward love and good deeds, while encouraging each other everyday!

Good-bye Mink!!!

Mink has been a great friend that has stuck close to all of us through these couple of years that she has studied here in Kaoshiung. Now as she has graduated and is returning to her home country, we pray that God will continue to lead her in her faith. We also ask God that she find a new group of friends and a church that are on fire for him!

Since the temperature has increased, both bugs and critters have come out of their winter hiding places, but I have not been bitten more than a couple times in my house by a mosquito. The cheapest thing that I could find to combat the aggressive mosquitoes has been a lizard. I did not have to buy it at an exotic pet store or some side street of the night market. There is no cage to keep it in or smelly crickets to store. (I remember the sixth grade science projects.) It just lets itself in, does the work, and leaves shortly after. Although, my roommate hated them! I have warmed up to the protection that they give so well. So if they will keep me safe from being bitten and work only for mosquitoes, then they can stay for now!

Spring 2008 Update

(Right click on the link, select “save link as” to download, it should take about 20 seconds with a decent connection.)

2008 Spring semester photos.

Student Life (Spring ‘08)

We had some much fun.  Over 30 students came to my house and made dumplings.  We also had some good pizza from CostCo.  This is after we finished eating, it is a short video of the students having some fun singing and dancing around!  (Be patient with the download…it will eventually finish!)
Video

This is a movie a friend made of the Mazu festivals last year. (Please be patient, it may take a while to fully load, but it is worth it to see what the festival looks like.)

Mazu Movie (on You-tube)

If that one doesn’t work, try this link.

Mazu Movie

Last night was part of the final stretch of the annual Mazu pilgrimage in Taiwan. The pilgrimage is from Taichung to Tainan and return stopping at many ancient Taoist temples. The goddess statue of Mazu is carried the entire length for about a week. It is accompanied by thousands of people (one person estimated 600,000 or more people) that walk along sometime during the journey. At some of the temple stops, several hundred thousand people can come around the temple to be part of the worship and blessings.

Last night, several thousand people lined the streets to worship, pass under, or pray to the goddess as she passed by. Fireworks were also used, often for scaring away evil spirits, but also to keep the goddess from continuing on the journey. Each time fireworks were lit and exploding, the parade would stand still until they quieted. Since there were so many people viewing from the sides of the roads, sometimes fireworks would explode continuously for over 30 minutes on one block and then it would be repeated on the next block.

This morning, many friends and church members gathered and greeted one another with glazed eyes from loss of sleep as a result of the fireworks. These church members have a great love for their fellow Taiwanese and regularly lift them up in prayer during the church services and meetings. Today they prayed specifically for some of the people involved with the worship of Mazu.

I ask God, how long will it be until you fulfill your promise? Isaiah 42:16

“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.”

I hope soon!

The Mazu worship tradition started in China where Lin Moniang, a girl part of a fishing community, was believed to have rescued some of her family during a typhoon while in a trance. During the trance she was able to hold up her two brothers with each arm and her father with her mouth. Throughout the typhoon, her mother had thought that she had lost her entire family, the men at sea and also her daughter who was unresponsive in a deep trance. The girl tried comforting her mother by giving a small cry and in doing so released her father. Her brothers returned and told the other villagers that they had been saved by a miracle somehow being held up in the water throughout the typhoon.

After she died, many families in the village started praying to her, honoring her for her bravery in saving lives. These prayers have grown in popularity and now she is revered as a goddess of the sea. She is worshiped throughout the world, but primarily in East Asian countries like Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, China, and Malaysia.  Throughout this week, many people in Taiwan have joined in worshiping Mazu.