A Granddaughter!

For those that did not see the news on social media, we are glad to announce that Amelia has arrived!  Everyone is doing well!  We praise God for blessing Philip and Bethany with another beautiful daughter, and we can hardly wait to have the opportunity to hug our newest granddaughter.

Home Assignment Plans

We will not need to wait very long before giving her that hug.  Our one-year home assignment schedule has been adjusted so that it will begin on May 24.  Our flights are still being arranged, we are looking forward to seeing Philip and Bethany’s family at that time.

The plan, Lord willing, is to live in the Abbotsford area.  We are anticipating visiting with many friends and supporting churches during the year.  Feel free to contact us to schedule a date.

We also planning to attend the C&MA General Assembly in Calgary.  Perhaps we will see you there!

Strategic Planning

Our strategic planning retreat begins tomorrow!  We are eager for the start of time we can spend praying and discussing ministry plans with our coworkers.  Please pray that God will guide our hearts to set achievable goals that He has for the Baozhong Church work.

Lunar New Year

Chinese New Year is on February 8 this year.  Taiwanese are busy preparing for the Year of the Monkey.  In addition to spring cleaning, we are preparing tracts and Lunar New Year blessings that we will be distributing later this week.  Please pray that God will use these items to help people know Jesus and build His church in Baozhong.

Thank-you for your ongoing commitment to be on mission together with God and  us through prayer.

Lorne and Kathy-Lu

Coldest weather in 10 years, or….

Potluck Blessing

Giving Update

Strategic Planning

End of Semester & Pre-Lunar New Year Events
The students completed their exams. We enjoyed the Fuhsing Elementary School  BBQ (photos above) as the school celebrated with the community.  It also was an opportunity for us to learn more about what is happening in town, including that a Buddhist organization is providing lunch Monday through Friday to senior citizens at this activity centre.  Our hope is that one day we will hear the residents talking in a similar way about the church being involved and providing for people’s needs.

Election Results
Thank-you for praying as the Taiwanese people elected a new President, Vice-President, and the members of the  113-seat Legislative Assembly.  We praise God for the peaceful process.  Legislators begin their work in February, while President Ying-wen Tsai will take the oath of office on May 20th.

Children’s Ministry
January 23  will be the final Children’s Club meeting prior to the Lunar New Year.  The children will have opportunity to exchange their club points for prizes.  Please pray that God will continue to work and strengthen the children’s belief in Jesus.

Strategic Planning
Our team of missionaries will hold a strategic planning retreat on February 2-3.  Please pray that God will guide our hearts to set achievable goals that He has for the Baozhong Church work.  Pray as planning and reflection about these matters happens even before the retreat dates.

Thank-you for your ongoing commitment to be on mission together with God and  us through prayer.

Last week was the last teaching opportunity for the first semester.  All three schools have invited us to continue in the new semester that begins after the Lunar New Year.

Because the students are preparing for final exams, most parents are pushing their children to spend extra time studying.  This is true even for elementary students.  This meant that the attendance at our Saturday children’s event was less than usual.  Please pray that the children who have been hearing about how much Jesus cares about them will think to pray and ask Him to help them with the challenge of their exams.

This is the time when attendance and giving reports for the past year are prepared and sent to the denominational office.  Not everything can be measured with numbers, but those are one indicator of the progress that is being made.  We praise God for every blessing we see.

We would like to ask for special prayer for our C&MA international workers sent by the USA to serve in Taiwan.  Three who are currently on home assignment have experienced a family member passing away.  Please pray that God will comfort their families at this time.

We would also ask for prayer for our daughter-in-law Bethany who is expecting our fourth grandchild to arrive any day.  Please pray that things will proceed in healthy safe ways according to  God’s timing.

Thank-you for your ongoing commitment to be on mission together with God and  us through prayer.

Lorne and Kathy-Lu

The new year has begun!  In the first few days we have had both warm and cool days.  We have had times of excitement and moments of frustration.  We have heard from friends with good news as well as those who are experiencing the unexpected or worse.  It did not take very long for us to begin thinking once again about the mixture of emotions that life brings.  Today I was reading a blog that talked about one little word that changed the writer’s prayer life.  In addition to rejoicing with those that have joy, and weeping with those facing sorrows, she has been learning to pray for each situation asking: “God, make it count.”  It has made me think about my life and how I want to live in the new year.  My prayer is:  “God, make my life count!”  I need God to show up with His grace when life is tough, so that my life counts for bringing glory to Him.  I need God’s strength to overwhelm my weaknesses so that my life counts in achieving something for His kingdom.  I could go on and think of other ways to express how we want to rely on God so that what we do “will count.”  Will you pray for us and for yourself that what each of us does in this new year will have eternal significance and value.

We are starting the year with grateful hearts as we have heard that there was strong giving to support global ministries in December.  We have not yet heard the final tally, but we thank each one for their generosity that resulted in much of the deficit being erased.  Thank-you God!  Thank-you to God’s people!

This week, our lives are filled with noise.  Politicians are loudly soliciting votes before the January 16 national election.  Taiwan will be electing a new President and National Assembly.  Please pray that God will give people wisdom as they cast their votes.  Pray that Taiwan would come to recognize that true peace and true blessing come from the Creator who is still sovereign in today’s world.

We are also looking forward to telling the story of Jesus’ baptism in two schools and the story of Daniel in the Lions’ Den in another. On Saturday we are hoping children will come to the Happy Camp activity.  The GuangZhao Alliance Church in Taichung is sending workers to teach the children.  Please praise God with us for this help and ask that many children will come and hear about the God Who loves them.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Praise God for answered prayer!  The weather had been cold and windy most of the week, but was warmer and very comfortable for carolling on Saturday (19th).  The nursing home welcomed us in royal fashion, and everyone seemed to enjoy the short program.  That was followed by carolling on the streets in the business district of town.  Some of the children that attend our other events joined with our church members to sing and tell the good news about Christmas.  The children especially enjoyed giving out the candy bags.  The attached collage shows photos from our various Christmas events.

The Christmas celebrating is not yet done!

• Wednesday(23): Albert and Elaine will be telling the Christmas story to about 80 students at the tutorial school next door to where they live.
• Thursday (24): Lorne and Kathy-Lu will be telling the Christmas story and having a Christmas party with the students of Fuhsing Elementary School.
• Thursday (24):  Our team will have Christmas Dinner together at our house.
• Friday (25): We will all attend the morning Christmas assembly at Baozhong Primary School. As far as we know, none of our group needs to wear the red suit this year, but we will not be sure until the day actually arrives.  There may be a last minute request.
• Friday (25):  Lorne and Kathy-Lu will continue to celebrate Christmas with the third and fourth grade students at Chaocuo Waldorf School.
• Saturday (26):  Lorne and Kathy-Lu have been invited to attend the Winter Solstace Celebration at Chaocuo Waldorf School.  So at least part of the morning will include that community event.
• Saturday (26):  The Christmas Party for the elementary students who attend our Saturday Children’s Club will happen at our house/church.  We are thankful that the Taichung Alliance Church is sending members to help with the details of that afternoon.
• Sunday (27):  Our Sunday Small Group Worship Time will be looking at the topic of how Jesus birth brings hope into our lives.

Thank-you for taking a few moments to pray for us as this is another very busy week.

We are approaching the end of the year.  We can look back and see that God has blessed us.  Some of those blessings have come through you!  It has been wonderful to know that so many of you have taken time to pray for us and to pray for the work here in Baozhong Township.  Many have also given towards our support and the needs of the work.  Please accept our heartfelt thanks.  You are a wonderful blessing, more than words on this page can express!

As we finish this year and begin a new one, we are facing many challenges.  The largest is definitely the spiritual battle, seeking to be a part of the expansion of God’s kingdom.  We are also facing financial challenges.  We appreciate those who have sacrificially given to support us financially throughout the past year.  Unfortunately the Canadian dollar is not as strong as earlier in the year, meaning it takes more dollars than previously to accomplish the same work.  We recognize that some of our supporters have had income decreases due to the shifts in the economy.  These trends mean that the financial giving to support international workers such as us is substantially behind goals.  We have been asked to only spend funds on absolute essential items as we begin the year.  Canadian C&MA national leaders are evaluating and praying about the situation.  They will need extra wisdom from above as they use common sense with an added measure of faith in determining the budget plan for 2016.  Please pray for them!  And anything you can give towards our support as we finish the year will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for taking time to pray for us during the past week.  It is appreciated.

As we move into this new week, we are preparing for Christmas carolling on Saturday (19th).  The weather has turned cooler (15-24 degrees), but is not yet considered “very cold” by Taiwan standards.  We are praying that it does not rain and that it does not get colder for Saturday.

Some of the children are unable to attend the carolling event because of scheduled tutorial school classes.  Parents pay for children to be coached in English, math, and other subjects. Please pray that the children who do not have such a time conflict will attend on Saturday, and that even their families will come as well.

We have prepared more than 500 candy bags each with a gospel tract.  Please pray for receptive hearts and a willingness to read the tracts.  Pray for God’s Spirit to work, creating blessing in those people’s lives.

The biblical Christmas story tells us about a number of people who received life-changing news.  Some happily received the good news about the Savour.  For others, the news was good but included some challenges.  Mary and Joseph accepted their roles with faith and obedience, but would have faced public shaming for having a child prior to marriage.   And there were some, like King Herod, who had a hard time with the news and resisted the change it was bringing.  Those in the story who lived life by faith in God fared better than those who did not.  May your faith in Jesus, the Saviour of the world, help you in the various joys and challenges of the season.

Thank-you to for praying for us as we are still coping with the consequences of an attack on our email account.  Someone entered our account and sent the “Secure indentures” email.  It was not sent by us.   We are actively trying to keep it safe.  If you did click on the button, it means that you also need to change passwords and make sure your computer is free of malware.

Last Saturday, twelve rocks appeared in our “Hospitality Multipurpose Room.”  It was one of the items that Lorne used to tell the story of the crossing of the Jordan River.  The Bible is right!  If you have a pile of rocks sitting somewhere, people will ask what they are there for.  The Israelites needed the rocks to remind them of God’s great works in the past.  We also need special days, photos, wall hangings, etc. to remind us to think about God and how great He is.  That is one way to keep a thankful heart.

December has arrived.  We will continue to tell stories in the schools.  We will continue to have small group worship meetings and Bible Studies.  Please pray for us as we prepare for this year’s special December events:

• Saturday, December  5  —   Children’s Christmas Tree Decorating Party
• Saturday, December 12 —   Children’s Club (The story of Jericho)
• Saturday, December 19 —   Christmas Caroling at the local nursing home followed by Caroling on the streets.
• Saturday, December 26 —   Children’s Christmas Party

We appreciate those of you who wrote and told us that you were praying about the funds needed before year-end in the Global Advance Fund.  We even had some people write and tell us of creative ways they are using to give a little bit extra.  If you don’t how the money in that fund is used or are wondering why more funds are needed, you will enjoy watching this 3-minute video explanation.  Please join us in praying about this critical need.

We appreciate your prayers and support.

We had an enjoyable and profitable time with the short-term team from North Richmond Alliance Church.  In addition to studying God’s Word with us, they joined us in praying, prayer walking, laughing, and enjoying life.  Their help during the Saturday children’s activity was significant and will be remembered.  It was a special gift from God to have them with us.  We are anticipating that God is going to continue to work and will build His kingdom in Baozhong even beyond what we dreamed and requested.

We will be joining our colleagues from the USA for a special Thanksgiving celebration.  It is good to be reminded to give thanks to God.  What are you thankful for today?

On Friday this week we will begin a series of stories that will lead up to Christmas.  Please pray that each story will build the anticipation and will help those who hear the stores learn to believe in Jesus.

In addition to regular small group meetings and weekly Bible studies, we are preparing for the following December special activities:

• Dec. 5  –  Children’s Christmas Tree Decorating Activity (Including story and other Christmas-related activities)
• Dec 12 –  Children’s Saturday Club Activity (Weekend Happy Camp) including learning a Christmas song
• Dec.19 –  Christmas carolling at the Nursing home and in downtown Baozhong
• Dec.20 –  Christmas Small Group Worship
• Dec.26 –  Children’s Christmas Party

Please pray that Jesus will be exalted and honoured in each of the above mentioned activities.

Giving during October 2015 to the Global Advance Fund was substantially less than we were trusting God for.  This fund provides for Canadian-supported international workers in C&MA ministries around the world.   We have been asked to request you to join us in praying about this need.  If you are able to give an additional gift before year-end to help in the expanding of God’s kingdom around the world, it will be greatly appreciated.