We ask that you join us in remembering the following things when you talk to our Heavenly Father:

• We are looking forward to meeting with believers from the other C&MA church plants in our area for a Good Friday Service.
• Please pray for new believers who will be baptized on Easter Sunday morning in many churches across Taiwan.  Pray for them to have good communication with their families and friends about their new faith.  Pray for those of us who have believed for a longer time to be refilled with the excitement and mystery of Jesus’ Resurrection.
• Albert and Elaine will be meeting on Monday April 21 with a mediator and the other people involved in the car accident.  Please pray for people to have grace and mercy as they meet and seek to come to agreement of how to divide the limited insurance funds for repairing the damaged vehicles.
• Pray for Lorne and Kathy-Lu as they tell the Easter story to children this week.  Pray for boldness and for hearts that are prepared to listen.
• We have received an application from a Taiwanese couple who are exploring whether God is leading them to come and be our our coworkers.  Please pray for good communication and a clear sense of God’s will.  They will visit Baozhong Alliance Church on the weekend after Easter.
• Ann, a friend from Canada, will be coming to visit and participate in ministry this next week.  Pray that God will use her presence to build His kingdom.
• Kathy-Lu’s health is improving.  We are trusting God to complete what He has begun and eradicate the rest of the cold virus.

This week we will be going back to Yunlin–working in the schools, preparing for Easter, and seeking to use this important holiday season to talk with people about Jesus.  We are also hoping to be in touch with teams that are coming this summer, deciding together about some of the things that will happen while the teams are in Taiwan.

We praise the Lord that  Elyssa now has a part-time job.  Please pray for God’s provision for both Ethan and Elyssa (our children living in Calgary) who need to find full-time work in Calgary.

Thank-you for praying for the meetings with the pastors this week.  There were opportunities to share together, pray together, discuss policy matters, and to learn about some of the ways that God is leading others in their church ministries.  There are a number of pastors who have been with the C&MA Taiwan for many years, and there are some that have begun more recently.  Please pray that God will give them fruit for their labours and will protect them from discouragement.

On Saturday, the representatives from the C&MA churches conducted denominational business, including the election of the new Executive Committee.  Pastor Peter Kao was re-elected as C&MA President and Rev. Andy Chi was elected as vice-president.  The president and his committee officially begin to serve in January 2015, but will use the interim time to pray and plan.

Albert and Elaine’s injuries are healing.  We are still waiting to hear from the insurance companies regarding the decision of whether their car will be repaired to written off.  The matter is quite complicated because of the number of vehicles and people involved.  Please pray that God will help this matter to be resolved soon.  Pray that seeing God work things out will strengthen the new faith of Mr. and Mrs. Shih (see last week’s update).

We recently were reminded that there are some answers to prayer that we have not reported back to you.  They include:

• Lorne’s foot and leg has healed well.  It does not bother him when walking.  Praise God for his healing touch!
•  Last year we had asked you to pray for Pastor Jordan Yang who had health problems.  He resigned from his denominational leadership responsibilities but continues to pastor the church.  His health is slightly better than it was, but he continues to have ongoing health difficulties.  Please pray for him and his family.
• The Amazing Grace Church in Yuanchang invited Pastor Hsiao to come serve at their church and he accepted.  Because his children need to finish the school semester prior to moving, his official start date will be the beginning of July.

Throughout the Spring months there are many idol parades and many temple festivals.  This year we have a sense of strong spiritual activity in our area. Please pray

• For God to push back the darkness and allow the light of the gospel to shine forth.
• For spiritual protection for the members of our team and their families.  Pray we will be filled with the Holy Spirit on a daily basis and will not succumb to discouragement.
• For people to be free from fear, allowing them to learn about Jesus and how to have a relationship with him.

Thank-you for praying for Albert and Elaine’s recovery after their car accident.  They are doing well.  Please continue to pray for the bruises and pain to heal.  The driver of the vehicle that caused the accident came with his wife to visit Albert and Elaine.  Elaine wrote:  “They were very sorry for what happened and he was afraid that they would put him in jail (for not being able to pay his debts).  His family is poor and would have no way to survive if he were out of work.  We had a good talk and we were able to share the gospel with them.  He wanted to pray and receive Jesus as his Lord and so we prayed the prayer of acceptance as well as had the opportunity to pray for them.  As they are from another city, please pray that they would get good follow-up (we can connect him to a church there).  Pray for their financial situation as well, as they do not have a steady income.”

This week, Lorne will travel with Albert to meetings with Taiwanese C&MA pastors.  Please pray that these strategy meetings will help the Taiwan C&MA Family of Churches to have greater unity and a greater sense of the mandate that God is giving them.

On Saturday evening the streets of our town were crowded with people who were on a pilgrimage from a temple in Miaoli to the large temple in Beigang (a town about 30 minutes’ drive south of us).  There were a reported 30,000 people participating in the event.  The route of the annual trek is changed every year.  This year they came to Baozhong and many of the people slept for a few hours.  That is the reason for the tents and people sleeping in front of the Farmer’s Coop Bank across the street from our house.  The pilgrimage started again at about 4 AM on Sunday morning.  It did remind us of the reason we are here.  People need to learn about Jesus.

On their way home after the Monday, March 17 Mission Prayer Meeting, Albert and Elaine Lu were involved in a multi-car accident.  Both sustained injuries, Albert’s being much more serious.  Albert and Elaine spent several hours at the hospital.  Thankfully, their children were well-cared for by their amah.  By suppertime, Albert had regained the feeling and use of his limbs, but continued to be in pain.  In the evening, their pastor was able to drive them to their own home for the night.  Thank-you for praying for their continued physical and emotional recovery.  Please also ask God for wisdom as they deal with the other party involved, the insurance companies, etc.

Thank-you for praying for Kathy-Lu and Sherry as they travelled to Taipei to see the Aroma Alliance Church.  They met some wonderful people and got a small glimpse of some of the good things that God is doing.

Praise the Lord with us for answering prayer!  The Sihu Alliance Church is welcoming Pastor Tung as he begins his ministry on Wednesday of this week.  There are also pastoral candidates available for the Amazing Grace Alliance Church in Yuanchang.  We praise God for giving these pastors a burden for the residents of rural Taiwan.  Please pray for God to match the right pastoral leaders with the church plants in Yuanchang and here in Baozhong.

On Saturday, March 22 we will have the Baozhong Alliance Church monthly children’s storytime in the afternoon and the youth group meeting in the evening.  Please pray for us as we host both of these events.  Sherry Huang, our intern, is leading this month’s youth meeting.

Our season of Easter reflections will begin this week.  Lorne will begin telling the story of Jesus’ resurrection in the classes on Friday.  Sunday’s service will also include a focus of preparing our hearts for Easter.

Thank-you for praying for us this past week.

• It was wonderful to have the ladies with us to better understand what we are doing and to pray for us.  They will continue to pray and may even help us find some workers for the summer camp ministries.
• In addition to telling a Bible story about Jesus, Lorne was able to share with two classes about when Jesus healed Lorne during his elementary school days.  The students listened attentively.
• Our Friday afternoon class was better behaved.  Thank-you for your prayers and please continue to pray about this matter.

Kathy-Lu and Sherry are going on Tuesday and Wednesday this week to visit the Aroma Coffee Shop and Aroma Church plant in Taipei City.  It is an opportunity for them to see what God is doing in a C&MA church plant that is reaching out to young adults in a trendy district of the city.  Please pray for their safety and that God will help them to see what He wants them to take note of on this trip.

Please join us in continuing to ask God to guide Ethan and Elyssa (two of our children currently in university) to suitable employment.

Lorne was encouraged as he went visiting last week, taking a retired Christian couple with him.  Please pray for Lorne as he continues to try to do visitation each week.

• Please pray for a neighbour who heard the gospel when he was younger but the planted seeds have not yet brought forth fruit.
• Please pray for the relative of a friend who is struggling with some habits that are affecting his quality of life.
• Please pray for a young lady who is struggling with self-identity issues at this time.

Planning for the July 7-11 Youth Camp and the August 4-8 Children’s Camp is in progress.

• Please pray for good communication with the volunteers coming from Canada.
• Please pray that God will supply more Taiwanese believers to be a part of our camp ministry teams.
• Please pray for wisdom as we set the activities and plan the teaching segments of the camps.

On Sunday, March 2, 2014 Taoist and folk religion followers will celebrate the birthday of the “Taiwanese Earth God” or “Tu-Di-Gong.”  This is perhaps the most widely worshipped deity in Taiwan with shrines or temples in almost every neighbourhood. (Photo is of one of the temples located in Baozhong.)  It is believed that this god has the closest relationship to people and becomes a part of their lives.  Many will frequently pray to this god for wealth and well being or will pray to him about family happenings.  Often depicted as an old man, this god is also known as the “God of Fortunes and Virtues.”  He is not all-powerful, but rather is deemed to be a bureaucrat responsible for the affairs of a village or neighbourhood, influencing weather, harvests, and the general well-being of the community.  Our prayer is that the Taiwanese will come to know and worship the true Lord of the land as mentioned in these and many more verses:

•     Psalm 47:7  For God is the King over all the earth. Praise him with a psalm.

•     Psalm 97:9  For you, O Lord, are supreme over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.

•     Zechariah 14:9  And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord—his name alone will be worshiped.

•     Acts 4:24  When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them…

•     Acts 17:26 From one man [God] created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.

The C&MA Women Coworkers Retreat will begin on Monday.  This is attended by women pastors, pastor’s wives, and our women international workers.  They will visit Baozhong Alliance Church on Monday afternoon enroute to the retreat, taking time to pray with us.  Please pray that God will encourage the women leaders in the C&MA churches, helping them to use His power for life and service.

Please pray that God will give us wisdom as we plan and teach lessons in the elementary schools.  We want to teach through words and example that God cares about each individual and wants each student to be respected for his uniqueness.  Pray that we will know how to deal with situations when individual students add energetic disruptive elements to the class session.

Friday, February 28 is a national holiday in Taiwan.  It is Peace Day.  It is a time when Taiwanese remember some difficult times in their history and vow that it will never happen again.  We realize that true peace does not come from within, but from the Prince of Peace.  Please pray that Taiwanese would find the peace that exceeds all understanding.

We returned to continue our volunteer work in the schools this past Thursday and Friday.  We find that the students respond well when we have put additional time into preparing the lessons.

• Pictured is the Friday afternoon class, 11 boys and 5 girls.  They are an active group.  Their new English teacher, Katy, is our helper this semester. Please pray for wisdom to know how to build relationship with students and teachers.
• Each Friday morning Lorne tells a Bible story to four different classes.  This month he is telling the story of Jesus healing the paralytic who was lowered through the roof.  In addition to this and the Easter story, he will tell an additional two stories.  If you had to select two more stories from the gospels, which would you choose?
• On Thursdays we use stories, games, and music to help the students of the Fuhsing Elementary School learn to use English.  The students are divided into three different classes.  It makes a full afternoon.

This week will also include the following activities:

• Meet Albert Lu’s mother who is visiting from Canada.
• Host the Children’s Story-time on Saturday afternoon.  The Deep Grace Alliance Church pastor and his wife will be coming to help us.  Please pray that we will be able to reconnect with children who have attended in the past, encouraging them to come again.
• Host the Youth Games Night.  In addition to hoping for lots of laughter playing games, Sherry is planning on sharing her story of how Jesus makes a difference in her life.  This will be the first time she has shared this publicly using Chinese, so please pray for her as she prepares.

Lorne and Kathy-Lu will be attending a 3-day training session this week.  It will be held at a Christian campground.  The weather is supposed to be cold (by Taiwan standards) while we are there.  Please pray that the course and the interaction with the other participants will be profitable.

Our hearts are with Heritage Alliance Church (Abbotsford, BC) as they celebrate the church’s 25th anniversary this weekend.  Although we are content to be where God wants us to be at this moment, part of us wishes we could be with them..  We are privileged to have them partnering with us.  Lord willing they will send a team to help with youth events in July.

If you are thinking of a Fall trip abroad, maybe you could consider coming to Taiwan.  We would love to host you October 5-12.  Come visit us, see our work, and be a part of the “Vision Prayer Trip.” Registration is now open for this event. The cost is only CAD$400.00 plus airfare (includes transportation, lodging and meals while in Taiwan).  Will you be one of those who joins us on site to pray for what is happening and for what God wants to do?

Thank-you for giving to the Global Advance Fund of the Christian and Missionary Alliance.  From this fund the international workers receive their rent, travel, and living allowance.  You can also give to support the church planting activities by designating your gift “Hidden in Plain Sight – Taiwan.”   Gifts to the White Work – Taiwan permit us to support additional ministry ventures that are not included in the budget.