Thank-you for praying for us this past weekend as we traveled to Taipei to share with the  Deep Grace Alliance Church and discuss partnering together in planting a church in Baozhong Township.  They were wonderful hosts, and we felt well cared for.  There is a continuing desire to partner, and the two couples at the top of the photo (Mr. and Mrs. Yeh, Pastor and Mrs. Chi) will visit us April 29-May 1 to better understand what is being done.  They will then return to the church and help various members understand some of the
ways that the partnering together will happen.  We are excited that God is answering our prayer to send more workers into the harvest fields.  Please pray that God will give us wisdom and guidance as we continue to work out some of the practical aspects of working together.

Praise the Lord that Ethan arrived in Abbotsford, and did not need to drive in the snowstorm that hit after he drove through the mountains.  We are also thankful that Elyssa’s airline travel is all arranged, and to the C&MA for providing her this opportunity to return to the place where she grew up.  We are counting down the moments until we get to see her and give her hugs.

Sherry Huang arrives in less than one month to begin working as an English Teacher.  We have already been thinking, praying, and beginning to discuss some ways to begin a youth ministry.  We are thankful that Gary and Sue are committed to come from Nanaimo Alliance Church to help with a Youth Camp August 12-16.  Please pray for the planning for this event.  We are also praying that God will create a desire in the hearts of the youth to not only attend the youth events but to know Him in a personal way.

Lastly, please pray for Kathy-Lu as she prepares to share on Mothers’ Day at the SongShan Alliance Church in Taipei.  Please pray for Holy Spirit’s anointing, a clear sense of what to say, and an ability to express it well in Mandarin Chinese.

Thank-you for praying for the items mentioned last week!  We are happy to report that God heard and answered the prayers for summer employment for our college-aged children in the following ways:

• Our son Ethan will be returning to work for the Best Western Hotel and Conference Centre in Abbotsford.  
• Elyssa will be returning to Taiwan for the summer and will spend a couple months of her time in Taiwan doing a summer internship with Overseas Radio and Television.

This week’s activities will include:

• Tuesday:  Kathy-Lu travelling to Taipei to attend the C&MA international worker prayer time.  Lorne will stay close to home so that he can tell a Bible story to a 6th grade class in the afternoon.
• Thursday:  teaching English at Fuhsing elementary.
• Friday:  Lorne will tell the Bible story to some more 6th graders.  We will teach English at Chaurtsuo Elementary in the afternoon.
• Saturday:  Attend a wedding feast and then travel to Taipei to meet with church leaders from the Deep Grace Alliance Church.
• Sunday:  Share about working among rural working class people in the morning service. Return home.

Last Friday, Lorne took the puppets to the school and let the students play with them.  One student went into the refrigerator box puppet theatre and with very little prompting retold the Easter story that she had heard two weeks previous.  Our prayer is that the content of the stories will be something the students remember for a long time.

Thank-you for praying for us and the ministry here in rural Taiwan.  As we pray this week, the following items are things that are on our hearts:

• Praising God for another slight improvement in Lorne’s foot.  Praying for continued healing.
• Praying that JR (a Baozhong resident who believed in Jesus while in university) will be encouraged in his faith.  Asking God to give him a thirst for God’s Word and an increased desire to communicate with God through prayer.  May God also give Lorne wisdom as he visits and encourages him.  We are grateful that he has some interest in helping Lorne to use Bible-story telling to share about Jesus with other Baozhong residents.
• Praying about summer ministry planning.
  •  At this moment, there have not been enough short-term team volunteers from Canada to be able  to make the decision to proceed with the hoped-for children/family ministry events.  If God does not supply workers in the next couple of weeks, those plans will need to be set aside for this year.
  •  There have been Canadian volunteers for the week of youth ministry.  We will begin in the next few weeks to recruit some Taiwanese volunteers who are needed to help in this event.
• Praying that God will help us to be the aroma of Christ as we teach and tell Bible stories in the elementary schools this week.

Praying for provision for our children, Ethan and Elyssa.  They need employment and places to live this summer.  We praise God for how well Philip, Bethany and our three granddaughters are doing.

Thank you for praying for Easter events this past week.  We are thankful that 195 of the 200 eggs purchased were usable after boiling and decorating.  We met with mostly positive responses as we gave them away and looked for opportunities to explain the origin and meaning of the celebration.  The fact that the Chinese title for this day is literally “Resurrection Day” is a good starting point for sharing some of the truth about Jesus.  Please continue to pray that seeds planted will grow and bear fruit.

Today (Apr. 1) Lorne saw the specialist about the continuing numbness and loss of movement in his left ankle/foot.  The doctor is encouraging him to continue therapy once or twice a week to keep the muscles strong while we will wait for the nerves in his leg to regenerate. Please join us in continuing to pray about this.

Thursday, April 4 is the Clear and Bright Festival, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day.  Taiwanese will have an extra-long weekend (Thursday through Sunday).  It is an important part of Taiwanese culture to express respect for elders including those who have passed away.  Traditional religious practices have become entwined in the expressions of honoring these important people.  This sometimes makes it a difficult time for Christ-followers.  Please pray for wisdom and sensitivity as Christians seek to express respect in God-honoring ways.

In just over 2 weeks, Ethan and Elyssa will be completing this school year at Ambrose University College.  They need to arrange for summer jobs and for housing.  They have made some inquiries, but there are no firm plans yet.  We are praying that God will direct them through this time of transition.  If you know of possibilities, please feel free to let us know.

HAPPY EASTER!

The churches that you are a part of are busy this week, with many special Easter events.  We want you to know that we are praying for you, and those who will join you for those activities.  We are trusting God to make the familiar Easter story touch hearts in a special way, bringing excitement and freshness.

This week we will be distributing decorated eggs and telling the Easter story.  Please pray for that we will use age-appropriate language and details as we tell the story to a variety of age groups.  The egg-wrappers include a Bible verse in Chinese.  The photo above is from two years ago.  This year we are anticipating preparing about 300 eggs.  That means there is some work to do to make that happen.

Thank-you for praying about the items mentioned last week.

• God helped Kathy-Lu teach.  She mentioned some aspects of the lesson that the children seemed to enjoy.
• Lorne was encouraged by the time spent with pastors at the strategy meetings last week.  Although leaders can do many good things, the seminar leader reminded us that a healthy church has evidence of the Holy Spirit at work.
• The discussion with the pastor of Deep Grace Alliance Church was very positive.  Lorne and Kathy-Lu are planning to join them for the morning service April 21.  The partnership in the church planting work will be shared with the congregation that day.

We would like to ask you to pray with us for Albert and Elaine Lu, along with their three children Elise, Liana, and Nathaniel.  Albert and Elaine are working through the process of becoming C&MA Canada international workers appointed to Taiwan.  Albert is currently on staff at First Alliance Church in Toronto.  Over the next few months they will be working through the process to get medical clearance, get final approval from the C&MA leadership, final orientation sessions, applying for visas, preparing their children for transition, etc.  If appointed, they could possibly arrive in Taiwan to begin language study as early as this summer.  Please pray for them and their extended families as they go through this process of confirming God’s leading.

Please pray for healing for Lorne.  He has injured the nerve in his leg, resulting in a loss of the ability to lift the toe of his left foot.  The doctor is hopeful that the nerve will grow and heal over time, but says it could be a slow process.  The loss of movement influences his walking.

On Thursday evening and all day Friday, Lorne will attend the Taiwan Alliance Church Union Strategy Meetings for pastors.  The presentations this year will be on healthy church growth.  Lorne will also be discussing with Pastor Andy Chi about how the Deep Grace Alliance Church is willing to partner with our church planting ministry.  Please pray for a sense of unity and mutual encouragement as the pastors meet together.

Because Lorne will be away, Kathy-Lu will be by herself to teach the English class at Chaurtsuo Elementary School.  Please pray for extra enabling for her, and that the students will be cooperative, wanting to learn.

At an area pastor’s prayer meeting last week, Lorne heard that a new church is being started by a large Presbyterian church in Chiayi City in the outlying community of TaXi Township.  On Saturday we were told by SEND International missionaries about a new work that is beginning in TaLin Township.  It is encouraging to hear about new efforts to bring the gospel message to the residents of south central Taiwan.   Please pray that as we share creative ideas that God gives us, and as pray for each other, that God will protect His workers and allow them to be light in the darkness.  May God fulfill His promise to “build His church.”

Kathy-Lu is thankful for safe travel to and from the C&MA Pastor Wives and Female Pastors Retreat.  She appreciated the opportunity to deepen relationships.  They spent time reading Colossians and listening to what God was saying to them.  Please pray that God will continue to speak to and work in the lives of those who attended.

Lorne is enjoying telling Bible stories about Jesus to the sixth grade English classes. We would like to have opportunities to talk with adults about similar stories.  Please pray as we explore ways to have such opportunities.  One possibility is a tea time at our house on Wednesday evenings (maybe starting March 20).  Please pray for God to guide as to the best way to do this.

Kathy-Lu is attending a C&MA Pastor Wives and Female Pastors Retreat on March 4-6.  Please pray for God’s Spirit to minister to the attendees, helping them to be the leaders that God wants them to be.  (She will be glad it is being held at a hot springs resort, because the nighttime temperatures are supposed to be about 10 degrees Celsius.)

Lorne went to a Bible Storytelling Workshop last Saturday to get more ideas of how to use storytelling as a one of the ways he can interact with people.  Please pray that he would be discerning to find ways to use some of what he learned.

Kathy-Lu recently received a very encouraging report from her cardiologist.  Tests show that the valve that was repaired is working exactly as they hoped.  Her heart has continued to adjust to the “new normal” and apart from some occasional irregular beats is doing well.  We have so much for which to be thankful.

There are opportunities for both English-speaking and Chinese-speaking (Mandarin or Hokkien) team members to help us in ministry this summer.  Is there a team from your church willing to come?  Are you willing to join others from different churches and come and help?  Please pray about this and let us know.  The dates we are thinking might work best are in the weeks listed below:

• Children’s Day Camp             July 1-6
• Junior High Day Camp           August 5-9
• Children’s Day Camp             August 12-16  OR  July 8-12
• Vision Prayer Trip                   October 6-13

We are thankful to report that Tim and Penny Iverson have returned from the USA.  We are enjoying their fellowship and glad that they are once again available for the ministry at Amazing Grace Alliance Church.

Thursday, February 28 is a National Holiday in Taiwan.  It is sometimes known as “Peace Day” and sometimes known as “Peace Memorial Day”.  Often it is referred to as “228” because it commemorates an incident that happened on the 28^th day of February in 1947 when the government suppressed an uprising.  Many people were killed at the time and in the events that followed.  Having the holiday and celebrations in recent years (such as the 2004 Hand-in-Hand Rally that stretched 310 km. from north to south Taiwan) has helped to bring healing.  Please pray for those that need a special touch from the Prince of Peace to allow them to have peace in their hearts, especially when they are reminded about what happened to those with whom they have heart connections.

Kathy-Lu will attend a C&MA Pastor Wives and Female Pastors Retreat on March 4-6.  Please pray for God’s Spirit to minister to the attendees, helping them to be the leaders that God wants them to be.

Philip and Bethany will be “on their own” parenting their children as Bethany’s Mom leaves Thursday to return to Taiwan.  Juliet will sure miss her.  Please pray for them as they figure out how to care for each child and still take care of themselves.  We are thankful that both Cheyenne and Savannah are doing well, and for all the loving support that the family is receiving.

We have been thankful for the Lunar New Year season which has allowed us to focus our time and efforts in some different directions.  This week we begin to return to our regular schedule of volunteering in the elementary schools.  We start classes at two schools this week, and add the third school the following week.

We are currently in discussions with church leaders from an Alliance church in Taipei about how they will partner with us.  Decisions will probably not be made until early March, but we would appreciate your prayers that we would find God’s will in this relationship.

We are still asking God for a Taiwanese-speaking coworker, and for wisdom to find ways to discuss Bible stories with our acquaintances.  Please pray for God to open the doors of heaven and provide for these areas of need.

Short-term workers are still needed for summer ministries.  Please contact us if you might be interested.