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.

Please pray for JR.  His grandmother passed away and the family will be going through the traditional period of grieving.  Since JR is the oldest grandchild, the family expects him to do certain ceremonial things to honor his grandmother.  Please pray for him to have wisdom to discern which requests he should honour as culturally appropriate ways to show respect, and which requests he needs to tactfully decline because they relate to ancestor worship and traditional religious practices.  We are also praying that he will be able to demonstrate the difference that Christ makes when He is Lord of one’s life.  Although his grandmother has lived a long life, the family needs God’s provision of comfort at this time.

Please pray for RX as she talks to her parents (who live in Baozhong) about the details of her Christian wedding.  She is the only Christian in her family. RX lives and works in Oregon where she met her fiance.  They will be coming to Baozhong for the July wedding.  Lorne has been asked to officiate at the ceremony, speaking in both Chinese and English insuring that both RX’s family and the groom understand what is happening.  Please pray that this event will be used of God to bring salvation to other members of her family.

The weather is warmer, but still cools down at night.  It is easy to get sick at this time of year.  Please pray for Lorne as he is fighting the start of a cough.

C&MA Missionaries and their families at the New Year Banquet

C&MA Pastors and their families at the New Year Banquet

Looking back at the past week:

• We enjoyed a festive meal with many C&MA pastors and their families. The photos are of the pastors who attended and of the missionaries who attended.
• We were encouraged by the time spent with regional Mission leaders as we showed them our town and discussed ministry plans.
• Four boys came for the Kids Story Time and had fun using playdough to make various things including 3D portraits of Lorne’s head.
• The testimonies shared during the Sunday morning small group worship time were exciting and challenging.  Hearing about how God has worked in the past gives us hope to trust Him in the present and future.
• We corresponded with people about coming on short-term missions trips in July (youth ministry) and August (children’s ministry) but do not yet have confirmed participants.  Believing God is going to provide, we continue to pray about this matter.

The local junior high school has asked that we have a youth camp in early July rather than August.  That means we will postpone the elementary activities until
August.  We have some potential teams interested in coming in August, but still need a team for early July.  Do you know of a church that might be willing to send a team?  Let us know.  We will be glad to write them an invitation to come and help us.