Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 21    June 5, 2017   

The men of our church have been praying that God would bring more people into our church.  And God has been answering those prayers, although maybe not in the way we thought He would.

An Indonesian Christian has started attending.  (She also speaks English and a small amount of Chinese.)  Yesterday a Vietnamese care worker was brought to our church.  (She has very limited Chinese.)  Jordan is from Ghana, speaking English and some Chinese.  So adding these to the Canadians and the Taiwanese, we were a very international fellowship.

We have Bibles and a limited amount of other literature in the other languages.  Please pray that God will give wisdom to be able to communicate well across linguistic barriers.

Taiwan is a country of small businesses. Because they are family-run and open 7-days a week, it is difficult for people to have access to the Gospel.  Many smaller rural communities do not have a church.  So we are going to where they live.

Please pray that God will prepare peoples’ hearts to receive the good news about Jesus’ love and grace.

Thank-you for partnering with us through prayer, finances, and short-term teams to accomplish this task.  Your gifts to Global Advance Fund make efforts like these possible.

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 20    May 29, 2017   

We praise God for a safe arrival and a good start to our sixth term of ministry in Taiwan.  Some highlights of our first few days include:

Albert and Elaine were at the church (our house) to welcome us when we arrived.  We anticipate that in the next two months we will be looking for a new place to rent and moving so that Pastor Lee can live at the church.  Thanks for praying for God to guide our search!

It was exciting that PeiJiao has recently deepened her faith commitment and declared it by being baptized.  Her husband Jordan not only had some words of encouragement for her, but also sang a song about never turning back on her commitment.  This couple and their two daughters will be moving to Taipei in mid-June.  We will miss them but are honoured that God chose our church to have been a part of her becoming a child of God.  Please pray that God will help them to grow in faith as they establish a Christian home in Taipei.

The church building was almost full as we gathered for worship and to witness Peijiao’s baptism.  Many of the people have started attending in the past year.  Some are exploring the Christian faith and others seem to have made the first steps of commitment.  Please pray that God will continue to grow their faith and add more people to the church He is starting in Baozhong.

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 17    April 24, 2017   

Trust is important to daily life.  We trust vehicles to take us, sometimes at high speed, to a desired destination.  We trust the city infrastructure to provide water and electrical power.  We trust the force of gravity to continue as always, keeping us on the earth and causing things to interact as expected.

In relationships trust is also important.  It requires integrity, steadfastness, sincerity, and compassionate kindness.  We determine a person’s trustworthiness as we interact with them and as we observe them relating to others.  One of our co-workers would frequently state: “Trust is slowly built and quickly broken.”

People watch our lives and determine from what they see whether they can trust us.  Please pray that we will live lives that build trust, enabling us to talk with people about God’s love.

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 16    April 17, 2017   

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 15    April 11/2017   

It is exciting to feel some additional warmth from the sunshine and see other evidence of the Arrival of Spring.

This is Easter week. For many of us it is also a time of soul searching.  Do we have the resurrection life within us?  Is there evidence of the new life that God creates? Are we inviting others to experience that relationship with the Resurrected Jesus?

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 14    April 4/2017   

We made it home today after a number of days on the road.  The lack of our regular routine means that one needs to think before stating what day it is.

We delayed sending this to you until we made it home, because it is safer to not type while driving.  We drove 3,100 km  in just under two weeks.  Some moments on our trip where we sensed God’s presence at work include:

• opportunity to connect with a number of family members, some whom we have not been able to see in a long time.
• celebrating birthdays with two special people.
• sharing at two churches who have a keen interest in missions.
• still having a voice after sharing, teaching, and preaching in a busy ministry weekend.
• having great road conditions as we enjoyed the beauty of mountains, farmland, and spectacular cloud formations.
• a sense that the Holy Spirit was at work, teaching and speaking to people.

• Please continue to pray for a spiritual breakthrough leading to the salvation of many more Taiwanese working class people.
• Please pray that a suitable storage location can be found to store Albert and Elaine’s household belongings while they are on home assignment.
• Praise the Lord for His provision of lodging for the short-term team coming in early July.  Please pray for team members as they prepare the lessons that will be taught each day.
• Please pray for us as we try to complete some important tasks prior to our scheduled May 22 departure.

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

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 13    March 27/2017

Praise the Lord with us that we are getting close to our fund-raising goal of $10,000.00 for the purchase of a car.  The car will be used for ministry in Baozhong Township.

We only need an additional $821.72 in order to reach our goal!

You were not worried about this, were you?  We admit to being concerned, but thanks to some recent generous donations we are now very close to seeing this need met.

Praise the Lord!  And Thank-you to God’s generous people!  Let’s keep trusting God for the last amount needed.

You can also check out our web-page to  find out about giving toward financial needs.

We appreciate those who faithfully give toward our support.  Through gifts designated for our support or gifts to the Global Advance Fund, we are able to travel to our ministry location and live in that community.  Thank-you for your generosity.

Reading in Exodus this week, I noted that people were so excited about giving, that they had to send out word that no more was needed.  They had to ask the people to stop giving.

We sometimes dream that God would so move all our hearts that we would see a similar level of giving toward missions.  At the moment, more is needed to maintain our current level of activity.  And there are many more Least Reached People Groups.  There are more people willing to be sent.

Thank-you for being a part of what is being done to obey Christ’s Great Commission.  Thank-you for your financial partnership, your prayers, your encouragement, and your short-term teams.

• Please pray as we try to connect with family, seeing some for the last time before our return to Taiwan.
• Please pray that God will fill us with His power and enabling as we have a very busy ministry weekend at South Gate Alliance Church.
• 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)

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 12    March 20/2017

Do you know which is the world’s third largest pilgrimage?  It is the pilgrimage for Matsu’s birthday.

People will walk, drive, cycle with the image of Matsu for nine days starting at midnight on March 24. The parade route will cover about 330 km, from the main temple in DaJia to a temple just a short distance south of where we live.

Although the parade route is not though our town, it does affect the spiritual atmosphere.  Temples in our town will send troupes to set off fire crackers and participate in the event.  Matsu is one of the main deities worshipped in rural Taiwan.  She is relied on for physical protection.  Hundreds of thousands of people will participate in the long march.  (More information is included in the article from which we borrowed the above photo.)

There are usually Christian believers who seek to talk with people along the route, discussing devotion to Matsu in comparison to a relationship with Jesus. Please pray for boldness in their testimony for Christ.

Please pray for people’s hearts to sense the darkness in this event and be drawn to faith in Jesus Christ.

• Praise the Lord that God is using his Word and relationships with other believers to draw people into a deeper relationship with Jesus.  Pray for those considering taking the step of being baptized as a declaration of their faith in Christ.
• Please pray for Lorne as he does final preparation for a a workshop that will happen April 1.
• Pray for safety in travel and that the mountain passes will be open (no storms or closures because of avalanche management) as we travel for ministry in Invermere and Calgary.
• 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)

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 11    March 13/2017

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.

• 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)

Mondays with the Whites 
Volume 10    March 6/2017

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.

• 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)