Thanks for praying for us this past week.

This past week we are thankful for:

• Albert and Elaine Lu finding a possible house to rent.  We still need to talk more with the landlord and need God to confirm that this is where He wants them to live for at least the next two years.  But finding a unit that appears to be suitable for their family is encouraging.
• a conversation that happened because someone said that they found the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead harder to believe.  This is encouraging because it shows that at least some people are thinking about the Bible stories on a deeper level.
• air conditioners!  The hot weather with high humidity would greatly reduce our productivity if we were not able to cool down sometimes.

We discovered more major changes happening in our town:

• A new water system is being installed so that the town can receive water from a reservoir located in the mountains near Douliu City (the county seat).  Although the excavating of the roads is a short-term nuisance, we have hope for a consistent better quality water supply.  It will also help to reduce the reliance on ground water, the pumping of which was causing the land to sink and settle.
• The large grocery store located close to our home closed.  We are most concerned for the workers and their families.  The competition from the opening of two chain store outlets is a major reason.  (One is in town and another in a nearby town.)  There are unconfirmed rumors that one of the other dry good supermarkets will be moving into the location.
• The ChaoCuo Elementary School where we teach on Friday afternoons is adding seventh grade next year.  They are running a specialized curriculum based on the Waldorf teaching methods. By adding seventh grade, the school is providing for students entering junior high school to continue a similar learning system for another year.

Summer Camp registrations for the elementary camp are currently at 42 students.  Please pray that those who are still deciding will choose to come and register before the June 15 deadline.  We have not yet heard from the junior high school about actual registrations, but are anticipating about 75 students to register for that one.

We are not sure if it is allergy related or if it is a lingering effect of the cold that Kathy-Lu appears to have recovered from, but her voice is very strained at this time.  This makes it difficult for her to talk and sing.  Please pray that it will quickly recover.  Kathy-Lu is looking forward to worshipping and having conversations with people during the field conference this week.

The Taiwan Field annual Field Forum will be held June 8-12.  Rev. Charles Smith and his wife Leslie will be providing the spiritual teaching.  Times have been allocated for recreation as well as for business.  We will hear reports on each work and pray.  The US members will also take time for discussions and decisions regarding whom will do what ministries over the next year.  Your prayers are appreciated.

We are thankful for all the things that have been accomplished in our first week back.  In addition to what we wrote about last week, Lorne has almost caught up with the financial record-keeping and we successfully applied for extensions to our residence permits.

Last week we told the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, and Lorne will tell it to third graders at the largest school on this Friday.  Please pray that the students will listen and remember the stories about Jesus.

We will be attending the annual Field Forum June 8-12.  Rev. Charles Smith and his wife Leslie will be providing the spiritual teaching.  The number of international workers attending is less this year. Times have been allocated for recreation as well as for business.  We will hear reports on each work and pray.  The US members will also take time for discussions and decisions regarding whom will do what ministries over the next year.  Your prayers are appreciated.

Preparations for the summer camps are moving ahead at full speed.  Please pray for:

• Youth Camp – July 13-17 The school is encouraging students that attended last year’s camp to attend this year.
• Elementary Children’s Camp – July 20-24   There were 38 registered by early last week.
• For the preparations being done by the two teams from Calgary
• For Students to register by June 15
• For arrangements being made for lodging and transportation while the teams are visiting.
• For God to work in people’s lives, creating new life and relationship with Him.

Thank-you for inviting us to be on mission together with you!

Praise the Lord that we have returned safely to Taiwan after our trip to Canada.  It was great to spend time with family and see many friends.  It was a busy time with lots of good memories.  And God blessed us on the return trip with an extra seat beside us on the first flight and great leg room on the second flight.  The photo shows the pile of mail that was waiting for us.

We returned to Taiwan to see the Plum Rains (Spring monsoon rains).  We are thankful that God is sending the much needed rain, giving relief to the drought conditions that resulted in water rationing in some areas.  However, it has rained so hard that there has been flooding in some places, as the drainage system was unable to handle the volume of water.  Our home is OK, but the students at Fuhsing Elementary began the day cleaning up in classrooms that had 6-12 inches of water over the weekend.

As we return to our regular routine, we are discovering that there are changes coming.  The Academic Director and the General Affairs Director at Fuhsing Elementary will be stepping down from their positions at the end of the school year and new teachers will fill the positions.  At our church, Kevin (our intern) will be serving only until the end of June.  His study plan has been adjusted and he will not be able to travel each weekend.  Please pray for us as we adjust to new ways of doing things, and pray that God will send us the right coworker to work with us in the church ministry.

This week we are looking forward to returning to the classrooms to teach the students and tell Bible stories.  We will also be looking for opportunities to be in contact with friends in the community after being away five weeks.

Thanks for praying for us throughout the past week.

• The initial arrangements were made with Fuhsing Elementary School for using their school facilities for a summer camp.
• After a flurry of emails with the short-term team coming to help with the summer children’s camp, we have the foundational ideas in place.
• Our gas range finished its days of service and made the trek to the recycling station.  This meant some days of looking at options available while we used alternate food preparation methods, and the purchase of a two-burner Taiwanese gas cooktop as our new cooking appliance.  We still need to find options for replacing the oven but that is not quite as urgent as the “no stove in the kitchen” dilemma.
• We have been working on what we will share when visiting churches in Canada–beginning later this week.
• It rained on Saturday!  We are thankful that God is sending some rain—-more is needed to alleviate the drought.
• Because of the rain on Saturday, the sports day at a local elementary school ended early allowing some students to attend our church’s afternoon program.  The Taichung Alliance Church team did a great job of helping the children make chocolates in 5 different colors.  The colors were a part of a creative method for sharing the gospel message.  Please pray that the children will continue to grow in their understanding of what it means to believe in Jesus.
• Pray for their families whose first hearing of the gospel message may be these children going home and telling them what they heard.  Pray that God will use this to build His kingdom.

We are looking forward to sharing in churches (see last week’s update for the schedule) and meeting with the leaders of other churches.  Please pray that God’s Spirit will work to help us report clearly what He is doing and share about how He is leading us as we look toward future days.

We are excited, exuberant, over-the-moon ecstatic that we will be able to see our family in Canada and take some vacation days with them later in the month.  Please pray that we will be refreshed and renewed as we take a break from our usual routines.

Happy Easter!

We are aware that it is not Wednesday, and that we did not send you our words of update on schedule last week.  You have been in our thoughts and prayers though as we approached and celebrated Easter.  May you know resurrection power in your life from God Himself on a daily basis.

Last week we enjoyed a visit from Doug and Carol Woon.  It was a treat to have some of our discussions up on the mountain in the coffee growing district.  We appreciate their words of wisdom and their encouragement.  We also were privileged to join with other C&MA church plants nearby for Good Friday and Easter Sunday services.

This year Easter weekend coincided with a long weekend when Taiwanese celebrated both Children’s Day and the Tomb-Sweeping Day.  Some Christian believers were unable to attend services due to family commitments.  Others were able to do both.  We are thankful that Jesus understands these things.  In the biblical record, the times when the believers were dispersed were also times when proclamation of the gospel happened.  Our prayer is that the testimony of the believers wherever they were will bring glory to God and direct people toward belief in Jesus.

This week’s activities also include:  English-teaching and story-telling in the elementary schools, Saturday Children’s Club and Youth activity, and Sunday Small Group Worship.  Thank-you for praying for those who will have leadership roles and for those who will attend.

This week we are also preparing for our trip to Canada—preparing what we will share in different venues, preparing materials for the church to use while we are away, and making sure the house is ready for the guests that will arrive in the next bit.  For those of you wishing to connect with us, you may be able to hear us share news from Baozhong at one of the following times:

Please join us in praying for JR as he studies in preparation for an exam on April 18.  The ranking on this exam will help determine whether he can obtain public service employment.  Pray that God will help JR’s faith to remain strong throughout the process.

The water shortage in Taiwan continues, with regular status reports regarding the diminishing water levels in the reservoirs.  A typhoon that had formed has been downgraded to be called a storm.  It also tracked south of Taiwan, resulting in no additional rainfall.  Please pray for God to send needed rain at the appropriate time.  (Our preference is to not have a typhoon on the days when we plan to travel.  However, we will need to leave that in God’s hands to arrange as He knows is best.)

We appreciate that God has arranged for Kevin (文鎊) to do an internship at our church on weekends. He rides the bus more than four hours each way to come and serve.  He is a member of one of the C&MA churches in Taipei.  Both he and his wife retired from their teaching professions and are attending seminary to become better equipped for ministry.  His involvement in Baozhong is with visitation and leadership in the children and youth activities.  Please pray for him as he sacrificially serves our church, the Taiwan C&MA, and those in our community.  Pray that God will allow him to see fruit for his labours.

Thank-you for those who joined in praying for Mrs. Lee.  She attended the church service in Yuanchang again last Sunday, although she needed to leave early.  When Lorne saw her at the side of the street yesterday, she said that the pain is gone from her foot.  She seemed quite pleased when Lorne praised Jesus for helping her.  She will still have some further doctor visits to check things out.  Please pray for God to continue to bring salvation to Mrs. Lee and her family.

Praise the Lord with us for the 8 first-time attenders at our children’s activity last Saturday.  We are excited for the chance to get to know these children and their families.  Please pray that God will use us and our church to bring blessing into their lives.

Each week Kathy-Lu meets with J.  Please pray that Kathy-Lu’s words and actions will help J as she faces life’s challenges.

As expected, not everyone could read the promotional items attached to last week’s email.  We appreciate your prayers that those colourful items, and the youth activity poster attached this week, will create interest and even attract people to come to the activities.  It is as we interact with those that become friends that we have opportunities to share about what each of us values in life.  That kind of friendship is special.

Drought!  Because of a lack of typhoons last year and limited rainfall this year, the water reservoirs are getting low.  The Water Resources Agency is encouraging people to conserve water.  Plans are being made for water rationing if rains do not come soon.  Farmers in some areas of the country are being asked to not plant rice.  Computer chip manufacturers are finding ways to re-use water so they can continue production.  Our area is not as critical as some, but we are trying to be good stewards of this important resource.  As we recently looked at the creation story and the commission that God gave to mankind we were reminded that we all have responsibility to care for the environment.  Sometimes the change in expected weather patterns draw our attention to this and remind us of God’s desire.  On a lighter note, we are prepared for when the rains do come.  Lorne was up and painted the rooftop making so it will repel water better.

We have been spending time planning, organizing, and doing the publicity for events happening at the church March through June.

• On the left is our Spring 2015 schedule.  This is a brochure that will hopefully help us to more easily invite people to join some the activities.
• On the right is the children’s ministry poster.  It has been updated to let people know that the activities the children will do includes crafts, making cookies, making chocolates, making cards, etc.  The pastors and volunteers from the churches helping with the children’s ministry have been busy getting all the details of the program in place.  Please pray that children who are ready to respond, and those that need seeds of truth planted in their lives, will attend.
• The promotional handouts for the youth ministry are still being designed. But with the help of volunteers from other churches we have been able to design activities which will interest and also help the youth. We are thankful that we are seeing this take shape.  Please pray as we will continue to promote this over the next few weeks.

Regarding family:  Our daughter Elyssa is looking for summer employment as she finishes this semester of studies.  Both our son Ethan and his fiancee Jill are looking for work too.  Jill is seeking summer employment, and Ethan is looking for a position for after graduation.  Thank-you for praying and trusting God to provide for them.

Preparations are under way just a few minutes drive from our house. Thursday, March 5, is Lantern Festival.  In addition to traditional Lantern Festival celebrations where people create artistic lanterns, our town is known for holding for a feast on that day.  What originated as an event sponsored by our local temple to encourage people to pray for blessing and peace now attracts busloads of people from other places who come to obtain some of the free sticky rice.  Each year the responsibility for preparing the food is rotated to different villages that are geographically close to that major temple.  Governments and various social agencies all contribute to this community event.  Some people will fill a bag with rice in order to carry some back to family and friends.  Many days of preparation are needed for an event that will last only a few hours.  Today as I drove past the venue, my thoughts also wandered to think about the banquets and feasts mentioned in the Bible.  A computer search revealed that there were even more references than I had remembered.  Jesus used preparations for a banquet to describe the life of faith.  In Luke 13:29 he talks of a future feast in the kingdom of God, one that will be attended by people from east, west, north, and south.  In Matthew 22 He describes a luxurious banquet that was prepared, and guests were too busy with their own lives to attend.  Seeing the preparations in our community reminded me that we need to be intentionally prepared for the return of Christ and the special banquet we will eat on that day.

Kathy-Lu has returned from the retreat with the women co-workers.  She enjoyed the fellowship and felt that God used what she shared to encourage some of the attendees.

We have been privileged to have two pastors from Canadian C&MA Chinese churches visit us in the past week.  We appreciate the interest they are showing by making the effort to travel to where we are located.  One of the churches is considering sending a short-term team to assist with a summer children’s camp.  Please pray for God to lead and work out the details regarding whom He desires to work at the camp this summer.

Last Sunday God arranged that we arrived at the Amazing Grace Alliance Church just as Mrs. Lee came out of a nearby lane.  She mentioned that her foot had a problem and she would be going for x-rays the next day.  We were encouraged that she accepted the invitation to come to the church service and was willing for us to pray about her foot after the service.  Please pray that God will continue to use physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual needs to open people’s hearts to the gospel.

This week we will be telling the story of the Good Neighbor (Luke 10) in the classroom.  Thanks for praying for us on Thursdays and Fridays as we volunteer in the elementary schools.

We are thankful that many details for our Spring trip to Canada are now in place.  We are thankful for the generosity of God’s people in helping with the practical arrangements.  There are still opportunities for us to connect with your church group, home fellowship, or just with you as our ministry partner. We encourage you to write and ask if you wish to book one of the remaining available times:  (Lower Mainland of BC) April 20, 21, May 18 or 19.  (This will be the final time that we write with this offer.)

Happy Lunar New Year!

More than two million cars travelled the freeways on Tuesday evening/night as people travel home to spend New Year’s Eve (Wednesday) and New Year’s Day with their families.  Predictions are that on Friday and Saturday the number will likely exceed three million.  (The 23.37 million people that live on this island own more than 15 million motorcycles, including scooters, and about 7.5 million cars.)   Many couples will visit first with the husband’s side of the family, and then travel to be with the wife’s parents on the day after New Year’s Day.  With all those cars on the road, and the traffic restrictions enforcing the number of passengers in a car during peak times, we are choosing to stay close to home.  We will have some friends stop in and we will see some people when we go out in the community. The Spring Holiday will last until next Monday or Tuesday, when people return to work or school.

The Chinese culture designates each year according to the Chinese Zodiac.  The new year will be the Year of the Sheep.  Because the same Chinese word is used for both sheep and goats, it is also referred to as the Year of the Goat or Ram.  Aside from loving to eat lamb, we are reminded that sheep, lambs, and goats are frequently mentioned in the Bible.  They are used for sacrifice, as a scapegoat, for the Passover meal, and even to describe Jesus as He came to earth to rescue mankind.  In written Chinese, the character used for righteousness is the character for the sheep or “lamb” above the character for “me.”  The Lamb of God covers us and makes us righteous in God’s sight.  May the mention of “Chinese New Year” or “Year of the Sheep” remind each of us that we are special to God and made perfect in Christ Jesus.

Please pray for those who are the only Christian believer in their families to be compassionately bold in their witness to family and friends during these days.

Please pray for many people worldwide to hear and understand that Jesus, the Lamb of God, loves them enough to be sacrificed for them. Pray for the seeds of the gospel to bear fruit in their lives.

Thank-you for praying for us during our team strategy discussions last week.  We ask you to join us in asking God to answer our team’s Vision Prayer:  “O LORD, for Your glory, grow reproducing communities of disciples, transformed by Christ, transforming working-class Taiwan, and the world.”

Please pray for H and J who came over today and prayed to receive Christ as their Saviour.  Please pray that these elementary aged children will grow in their new faith.