Fellowship is More than Food

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 11    March 13/2017

Taiwan – Hidden in Plain Sight Ministry

Fellowship

We have just returned home after a weekend away and ministry at Victoria Chinese Alliance Church.  Their hospitality was wonderful.  It included some very tasty food.  But at some point in the weekend I heard someone mention that fellowship is more than eating together.

That got me thinking.  Fellowship includes sharing the “joy stories.”  One such story we heard was how God supplied the comfortable bed that we slept on.  They were prepared to purchase one, and God supplied one, delivered to where it was needed, at no cost.

Fellowship is also walking together during the difficult times.  We saw church members supporting someone whose spouse is in a coma, continuing to pray and ask God for a miracle.

And fellowship includes sharing the story of how God works in our lives.  Those things encourage the one sharing and also the one listening.

Yes, the food tasted great!  But the fellowship was sweeter.  We thank God for experiences such as this during our home assignment year.

Prayer Points

  • Praise the Lord that through reading God’s Word a Baozhong believer realized that God was displeased with some things related to worship of false gods in his house.  The items were removed and destroyed.  A cross hangs on the wall now, reminding them that they believe in Christ.
  • Please pray for comfort for the parents and siblings of the newborn, Benjamin, mentioned last week.  His heart and lungs were not strong enough, and Jesus took him to heaven.  Please pray for comfort during this time of grieving their loss.
  • Please pray for Lorne as he prepares to teach a workshop at the end of the month.
  • Please continue to pray for a spiritual breakthrough leading to the salvation of many more Taiwanese working class people.

” We are a family on mission. We believe that people need to hear about Jesus .” (Credit David Hearn)

Time Crunch

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 10    March 6/2017

Taiwan – Hidden in Plain Sight Ministry

Time Crunch

The countdown is on!  We are scheduled to return to Taiwan 11 weeks from today!

Time is moving quickly, and the schedule is filled with many things that must be done before then.  Maybe that is why a blog post by Tony Reinke caught my attention.

When the schedule gets crowded, what am I willing to give up?  As we approach Easter, it is a good reminder that Jesus kept his focus and maintained His relationship with the Father.

Please pray that we will be able to follow His example in this season of busyness.

Prayer Points

  • Please pray for some of the Baozhong church members who are facing challenges at this time.
  • Please pray for comfort for missionary colleagues from another group whose newborn had surgery ealier today and will remain in critical condition for the next week or so.  Please pray that Benjamin’s lungs will develop healthily.
  • Please pray for spiritual strength and physical endurance as we move into a time of frequent speaking accompanied by travel.  There is still more preparation to be done for the presentations.
  • Please continue to pray for a spiritual breakthrough leading to the salvation of many Taiwanese working class people.

” We are a family on mission. We believe that people need to hear about Jesus .” (Credit David Hearn)

Least Reached People Groups

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 9    February 27/2017

Taiwan – Hidden in Plain Sight Ministry

Unreached People Groups

The C&MA in Canada has a priority to share the good news about Jesus with those who have little opportunity to hear.  This is true for in Canada (Sea to Sea) and Globally (Four S Regions).  There are about 6,000 least reached people groups in the world.  About 2/3 of those are in the Asian Spice Region.

Taiwan, in the Spice Region,  has a population of 23.4 million people.  About 2/3 identify themselves as working class Taiwanese.

Taiwanese working class people are a Least Reached People Group (LRPG).  They are less than 0.5% Christian.  Less Christian believers means that people have fewer naturally occurring opportunities to hear the gospel.

That is why international workers are being sent from Canada to Taiwan to share the gospel cross-culturally.

Prayer Requests

  • Pray for more Taiwanese Christians and more missionaries to share the Good News of Jesus in this politically open land.
  •  Pray for the Gospel to infiltrate and transform the working class.
  • Pray for the chains of idol worship, superstition, and false religion to be broken by the power of Jesus.
  •  Pray for people to be drawn to belief in Jesus more than they are attracted to the keeping of long-held traditional practices.

Please join us in praying for the Taiwanese Working Class!

Doing Missions the Alliance Way

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 8    February 20/2017

Taiwan – Hidden in Plain Sight Ministry

Cravings

As my body has been recovering from jetlag, I have been very aware that the craving for sleep in the evenings has been very difficult to overcome.  It has made me think of some of the other things that I either crave or avoid.

March 1 begins the Season of Lent.  I will be thinking more this week if I will be taking a fast from something in my life so that I can prepare for Easter and so that I can follow after God more passionately.  Perhaps you would like to consider that too.  A blog entry shared by a friend explains one potential motivation.

Let’s go deeper with Jesus, further in Mission.

Featured Topic

Thank-you for all who pray that the Good News about Jesus will be taken to all nations.  And, thank-you for those who provide the resources to accomplish the task.


” We are a family on mission. We believe that people need to hear about Jesus .” (Credit David Hearn)

Warnings

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 7    February 13/2017

Taiwan – Hidden in Plain Sight Ministry

Warnings

On our recent trip to Thailand, we travelled for the first time with stops in Mainland China.  It was interesting that in addition to the expected safety demonstration at the beginning of the flight, there were also some warnings.  Passengers were warned that under China’s laws they would be prosecuted if they tampered with the emergency exit, or if they jostled to get their carry-on luggage.

It was a good reminder that sometimes we need to know about judgement or dangers in order to motivate ourselves to act as we should.

  • If we do not pray, obstacles to belief in Christ will prevent people from believing in Jesus.
  • If we do not give, lack of resources will limit who can hear the message.
  • If we do not go, people will have no means of hearing the good news about Jesus.

Highlighted Need

” We are a family on mission. We believe that people need to hear about Jesus .” (Credit David Hearn)

Encountering God

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 3    January 16/2017

Taiwan – Hidden in Plain Sight Ministry 

Happy Lunar New Year!

Are you aware that the Year of the Chicken began last Saturday?  For those who are born in 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, or 2005 this their sign in the Chinese zodiac.

It is a festive time in Taiwan when people spend time with families, travel, and eat good food.  Please pray that Jesus-followers will have a strong testimony to family and friends during this holiday season.

Encountering God

We are thankful we had the opportunity to join the attendees of the Holy Spirit Encounter.  What we were really seeking is a “God Encounter,” because the Holy Spirit is God.

We appreciated the good teaching, the times of worship, and the challenge of being aware of the Holy Spirit’s communication to us.  We also need His anointing to live life as He describes in Scripture.

We highly recommend this Seminar if you ever have an opportunity to attend.

Infusion

When many people hear the word “infusion” they think of tea.  It is a current way of describing making tea from loose tea leaves.  The purpose is to have the flavor move from the leaves into the hot water, creating a flavourful drink.

We leave this week to travel to a leadership training session called “Spice Infusion.”  Leaders from around the Spice Region (That is East Asia if you needed reminding) will be meeting together for leadership training, discussions, and mutual encouragement.  Because we know Jesus will be in our midst, there will also be times of worship and prayer.

Please pray for the presenters and people like us who will be learning at this Feb. 8-10 event.

We are a family on mission. We believe that people need to hear about Jesus .” (Credit David Hearn)

Lorne and Kathy-Lu

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Thank-you for your generous support!

  • Support of Lorne and Kathy-Lu White (or via the Global Advance Fund)
  • Hidden in Plain Sight –  to assist in the Baozhong Church plant
  • L&K White Car Fund – need to raise a total of CAD$10,000 for the purchase of a used car for our Taiwan ministry use
  • L&K White Outfit Fund – provides funds to repair and replace household appliances and other furnishings in our home-guesthouse.

Donations can be designated at your local Alliance church or online at:  C&MA Donations

Yes, We are in Canada

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 4    January 23/2017

Taiwan – Hidden in Plain Sight Ministry

Yes, We are in Canada

We have recently been told that some of our readers are confused.  They are wondering where we are.  The truth is that we are living in Canada, based out of Abbotsord BC.

We are available to meet people for meals, drink coffee, or to share at groups and churches.  We are doing this because it is our calling, our job.  But more important, we are doing it because we are sent by the Canadian churches to help us all obey Christ Jesus’ command to proclaim the good news of the gospel.  We are in this together.

We will be here until May 22.  That is our scheduled return date.  We are planning (Lord willing) to return to Baozhong.

We will celebrate the Lunar New Year in Canada with our children who live in Calgary.  We are taking advantage of the time before and after the Holy Spirit Encounter to visit Lorne’s Dad and our Alberta-based children.

Holy Spirit Encounter

As a couple, one of our desires for 2017 is to experience more in our relationship with Christ Jesus.  We want to be teachable so that we can learn to hear Him better, obey Him better, and serve Him more joyfully.

With that in mind, we will be attending the Holy Spirit Encounter.  Will you pray that as we listen to the teaching, and spend time seeking God, that we will take another step forward toward our expressed goal?

Thank-you to those who covenant to pray for us in this way on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

Who we are
” We are a family on mission. We believe that people need to hear about Jesus .” (Credit David Hearn)

Lorne and Kathy-Lu

Asking for the Impossible

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 3    January 16/2017

Taiwan – Hidden in Plain Sight Ministry 

Asking for the Impossible

Our Taiwan C&MA international worker colleagues are meeting January 17-18 for a prayer retreat.  They will be praying for the ministries in Taiwan and they will be asking God to do the “impossible.”  They will pray about “ordinary needs,” but they will also be asking God to work and do things that we know only God can do.

If you were to pray in a similar way, what would you request?  (Write us and we will pray with you.)

Some things that come to mind (not an exhaustive list) are:

  • Sufficient 2017 missionary support funds (Global Advance Fund) without needing emergency appeals, and the wisdom to manage these budgeted expenses within income levels.
  • For opportunities to share the gospel message with the result of seeing children and adults personally put their faith in Christ as Saviour and Lord.
  • Provision of a solution for temporary housing for a short term team with many members coming to Baozhong in early July.
  • Sufficient funds to purchase a car for ministry in Taiwan when we return in May.
  • For God’s peace to rule in our hearts, instead of worry.  It is easy to become focussed on frantically doing things rather than trusting God.  We need to trust that God’s grace is sufficient and that His strength will be adequate for any and all situations.

” We are a family on mission. We believe that people need to hear about Jesus .” (Credit David Hearn)

Lorne and Kathy-Lu

—————————————————————————

Thank-you for your generous support!

  • Support of Lorne and Kathy-Lu White (or via the Global Advance Fund)
  • Hidden in Plain Sight –  to assist in the Baozhong Church plant
  • L&K White Car Fund – need to raise a total of CAD$10,000 for the purchase of a used car for our Taiwan ministry use
  • L&K White Outfit Fund – provides funds to repair and replace household appliances and other furnishings in our home-guesthouse.

Donations can be designated at your local Alliance church or online at:  C&MA Donations

Looking Up

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 2    January 9/2017

Taiwan – Hidden in Plain Sight Ministry

Looking Up

It was the psalmist who talked about looking higher than the mountains to find help from God (Ps.121).  We are aware that we need to do that as well.  It is a privilege to know that God hears and answers our prayers. Please join us in praying into the following situations where we need His leading.

  • January 17-18 the Taiwan C&MA international Workers will gather for a prayer retreat.  Pray for spiritual breakthroughs in lives and ministries as they seek God.
  • Baozhong Alliance Church members are participating in a daily Bible reading challenge.  After reading each day, they report to each other using a messaging app on their phones.  Pray that the Word of God will transform lives.
  • Spiritual Opposition:  A group that does not affirm the deity of Jesus and salvation through Him alone has established a centre for proselytism in communities throughout western Yunlin where the C&MA is starting churches.  Pray that people will be drawn to Jesus and the light in His teachings.
  • We enjoyed having Elyssa with us last week.  She confirmed that she will need to take another semester of classes in Fall 2017 to complete the requirements of her degree.  Pray for her as she begins another semester this week.
  • Birthdays:  Three of our four granddaughters have birthdays this month.  Pray for them all to learn to love and follow Jesus at an early age.  We appreciate the time we have with them this year and trust God will use us to encourage them to live for Jesus.
  • Health:  We are thankful that God continues to give us health, strength, and protection for serving Him.  We do not want to take that for granted.  Lingering effects from the December colds remind us of our need to trust Him for this area of our lives on a daily basis.

” We are a family on mission. We believe that people need to hear about Jesus .” (Credit David Hearn)

Lorne and Kathy-Lu

Looking Back, Looking Forward

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 1    January 2/2017

Taiwan – Hidden in Plain Sight Ministry

Looking Back

We are thankful that you partnered with us in 2016.  Some highlights for us included:

  • Christmas Eve:  All the chairs were full, including the newly purchased ones, when about 30 people attended the event.
  • Short-term Workers:  Ministry was enhanced as teams helped with children’s camp, Mid-Autumn Festival Outreach, Prayer Events, Christmas Outreach, etc.
  • Safe travels:  God has protected us as we travelled to Canada and as we have visited different places in BC and Alberta.
  • Deepening Commitments:  Individuals made decisions to believe and go deeper in their relationships with Christ.
  • Greater Ownership:  Members of the emerging church accepted responsibility within the church.
  • New Sign:  With gifts from Canada, the typhoon-tattered sign was replaced with a new sign.  The cross and sign are lighted, making it easier for people to find the church building.  (Thanks Edna for the design help!)

Looking Forward

Some of our hopes and prayers for the new year are:

  • Priority:  Keeping Jesus and His kingdom values our focus.
  • Growth:  We are trusting God for new families and new believers becoming a part of the church this year.
  • Pastor:  We are trusting God to lead a Taiwanese pastor to come and shepherd the church, allowing us to move into more of a support role.
  • Car purchase:  Please join us in trusting God for the provision of the funds and for finding a quality used vehicle.  Almost $8,000 still needs to be raised prior to our May 23 return to Taiwan.
  • Short-term Workers:  We are thankful that Calgary Southgate Alliance has agreed to come help with the summer children’s camp.  However, we would like additional people to come for story-telling, prayer, and other special outreaches.  Are you available to come help? 

“O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!”  (Jeremiah 32:17)

” We are a family on mission. We believe that people need to hear about Jesus .” (Credit David Hearn)

Lorne and Kathy-Lu