Mission Taiwan » Taiwan

Sitou Forest in Nantou, Taiwan

Eric — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 03:00:18 +0000

NCUE day trip to Sitou Forest. Actually, it was a Plan B trip to Sitou Forest. Originally, we wanted to go on over-night hiking trip to Hehwan Mountain, but because of all the rain from the Plum Rain Season we ended up doing a day hike. Sitou is only about an hour drive south on the Number 3 highway from Taichung City. So a day break start wasn’t necessary to still have enough time in the park, which is always a huge plus with college students.

While in the park, we hiked around the endless trails and wound our way up to the ancient tree. It is know as a god tree because it is estimated to be around 3000 years old. Unlike other ancient trees in Taiwan, this tree did not have a nearby temple or shrine to worship in. Probably, mostly because it was located with the park. Other ancient trees or living objects hold a special place of worship in many Taiwanese religious beliefs and will have daily tending and offerings placed around the tree.

A short distance away from the ancient tree is a small shelter offering souvenirs, ice cream snacks, and lunch. Our group hid there for about an hour eating lunch and chatting while waiting for the heavy rain to subside.

From the ancient tree down, there are many small paths that weave through the mixtures of forests of soft-wood, evergreens, and bamboo. It is truly a unique region in sub-tropical Taiwan partly due to the mountain evaluation and fluctuation in temperatures allowing such a great variety of vegetation.

I believe the best part of the trip was being able to be out in God’s creation with other friends and be able to marvel together about how wonderful a Creator God we know. It brings to life verses like Romans 1:20… “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” and gives us all new insights into the characteristics of the God we worship! I am also appreciative he is still creating new life everyday in each one of my friends who went with me.

In the end, Sitou Forest turned out to be great. It rained hard and we all got wet, but the rain drove away many of the visitors who would normally be roaming the forest trails on a Saturday. But it was a special close to the end of the semester, and what a day to enjoy God’s beautiful creation in Nantou, Taiwan together!

Here is the link to the Taiwan website (English) describing the Sitou Nature Education Area.

Village Gospel Mission

Eric — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 09:28:49 +0000

The students are about finished with the 2010 Spring Semester at NCUE and instead of being just the end of another term in school, it is a spring board for many of the them to practice what they have learned throughout the year. This year we spent much of our fellowship time learning about the Gospel and its work in our lives, as well as spending time with God in prayer. So once the final bell rings announcing the end of finals, the summer will open with a bang as the students are planning to partner with the the Village Gospel Mission to reach out to children in the rural areas around Taiwan. Our group will focus in Chaiyi County and will meet the other half of the team coming from the US there. Once in Chaiyi, the combined team will host a summer camp at a local grassroots church in the area. The church also has the responsibility of following up with children and parents who respond to the Gospel. The Village Gospel Mission is well known around Taiwan for bringing the Gospel into some of the most rural areas throughout the island by living amongst the peoples in the local community. They also bring the Gospel to life as they serve and help those communities by attending to the needs of school children and families. Many times in Taiwan, the children that grow up in rural or mountain areas do not have an equal opportunity to succeed through their circumstances.

Changhua to Chaiyi is less than an hour on the train.

There are so many things to prepare and plan before the US group comes or even arriving at the camp. Please pray for our NCUE student leaders and group as they finish off the semester well and seek God’s leading for sharing Jesus’ Good News this summer.

China Post article — Mazu

Eric — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 03:26:32 +0000

This is an article that appeared in The China Post, an English newspaper in Taiwan, on April 15, 2010. Currently, the Mazu (Matsu) pilgrimage is taking place from Taichung to Tainan and back, passing twice through Changhua City visiting different temples. I find it most interesting the journalist choice of the word ‘binds.’ It is certainly true, the Mazu belief and all other beliefs bind. Thankfully, belief in Jesus is completely the opposite; it frees and releases people from their bondage! Please pray more Taiwanese will see clearly the hopelessness in worshipping Mazu and will come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

Mazu worship binds Taiwanese people

Thursday, April 15, 2010 By Alan Fong, The China Post

As an island and an oceanic country, Taiwan has long loved and revered the sea. Since its earlier days as a fishing-based economy, the people in this nation have honored the Chinese sea goddess Mazu, also spelled Matsu, as its patron deity. The Mazu religion serves as the glue the bind the people of various ethnicities in Taiwan and as the base of Taiwan’s rich and evolving culture.

“Taiwan is one of the world’s biggest centers of Mazu belief. Mazu worship has long been the religious belief generating the highest amount of energy in Taiwanese society, it presides over the biggest group of believers, the richest resources and largest number of temples,” said Yen Ching-piao, president of the Jenn Lann Temple also known as the Chen Nan Palace, the heart of Mazu worship in Taiwan.

“The believers always commissioned the best craftsman to build temples in Mazu’s honor, thereby erecting one quintessential Taiwanese architecture another another,” he went on, “To the Taiwanese people, Mazu worship is not superstition but a deeply ingrained belief. Taiwanese people love Mazu regardless of their ethnicity and age. You can say that the development of Mazu culture is the miniature of Taiwan’s history.”

Built in 1770, Jenn Lann Temple is known as one of the most important centers of Mazu culture in Taiwan for its status as the organizer and starting point of the 330-kilometer Mazu procession in the third lunar month that attracts over a million pilgrims island-wide. The trademark event, which is believed to be as old as the temple itself, has long been one of the biggest events in the Taiwan calendar.

Thanks to the assistance of the government, the procession has gained international followings in recent years. The Discovery Channel ranked by the million-member strong match one of the three religious festivals in the world, Yen explained. The celebrations also help push Mazu culture beyond the confines of religion and establish it as the core of Taiwan’s national psyche.

This year, Jenn Lann Temple will hold the procession from April 17 to April 25. The organizers have expanded the celebrations to a nine-day trip throughout southern Taiwan that will pass by over 80 temples in over 20 townships of the four sea-bordering counties of Taichung, Changhua, Yunlin and Chiayi. The trip typically begins at midnight. The pilgrimage reaches the Mazu Temple in Changhua City on the first night and then moves to Fuhsing Temple in Hsiluo, Yunlin, on the next day.

Then the pilgrims usually stay at Fengtian Temple in Hsingang and return to Fuhsing Temple on the fifth day. After that, Mazu stays at Tianan Temple and then goes to Mazu Temple in Changhua City before returning to Jenn Lann Temple.

For people unavailable to join the whole nine-day event, the organizer provides one-day free-of-charge “experience” visit of the procession.

In this year the temple will also hold the Cross Strait Mazu Belief and Culture Forum before the celebrations from April 15 to 16.

“In 2008 the Jenn Lann Temple held the Mazu International Forum in which we teamed up with believers in China to propose the listing Mazu culture as an UNESCO intangible cultural heritage,” Yen said.

“In 2009 our effort paid off. The listing of Mazu culture as an intangible heritage marked the globalization of the belief. Since then, the dialogue between the global and the local became the basis of research for scholars in Mazu culture. To enhance the academic research and dialogue in the area, we organize the 2010 Cross Strait Mazu Belief and Culture Forum to enrich the public and the academic knowledge on the goddess,” he added.

The forum will be based on five themes: Mazu belief and cultural heritage, Mazu temple and rituals, the cultural transmission of Mazu belief, regional research on Mazu belief and the cultural phenomenon related to Mazu belief. Scholars from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences will engage in academic discourse with Mazu experts from Taiwan in the two-day Web-cast forum.

An important figure in the Taichung area, the former president of Taichung county legislative body and a former legislator, Yen has been one of the most recognizable person in Taiwan. However, his role as the president of Jenn Lann Temple confers to Yen something more profound then mere fame and influence.

“I spent my childhood on the seashore in central Taiwan. You can say that I grew up alongside Mazu temples. Mazu has been the one I turn to for answers since I was a kid. She is the teacher of my life,” he explained, “a while back ago, I had been not only discouraged but even dispirited when I was at the low point of my life. However, Mazu belief helped me rebuild my life and told me to take positive actions. It also guided me through my anger and remade me a more tolerant person.”

“Until this day, whenever I am unhappy I go to the Mazu temple. I like looking at Mazu’s face. It permeates a force of peace and tranquility that can dispense all my troubles,” he concluded.

Taiwan Earthquake

Eric — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:28:31 +0000

The earthquakes that occurred yesterday were larger than the common weekly tremors. Taiwan usually has several smaller earthquakes each week mostly isolated to the east near Hualien County. Yesterday’s earthquakes were on the west side of the island which immediately draws attention due to the majority of the population resides on this western strip of land. Thankfully there has been no deaths from the quake, but as always many people are anxious there may be another larger quake looming on the horizon.

Yahoo news report

Youtube news videos of some of the damage.

Taiwan New Year 2010

Eric — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:33:56 +0000

Taipei brought in the 2010 new year by lighting the 101 building off like a roman candle. The 101 building already dominates the city’s other major high-rises, so adding the fireworks to the building makes for a spectacular show. The theme this year was “Taiwan Up.” In Changhua, it was a much different story… I am pretty sure there are no buildings much larger than twenty stories, although there were a lot of private fireworks being ignited around the streets and on Bagua Mountain, nothing accumulating to the millions of people around the 101. None the less, the new year has come! There are many things to praise God for in 2009, even through the end of the year as he provided a new location for our church to rent (even closer to the university than our current location) and life of many newborns and new believers! As a church, we brought in the new year together with friends and in prayer for what God will bring in the coming year. This year, we want to live “Seeking the Face of God” together in Changhua and learning to daily walk like Jesus so many more will look “Up” to the face of God and praise his name throughout Taiwan!