Role Model

I have recently been introduced to the history of mission work in Taiwan. It has always been something that is hard to learn more about because Taiwan is a little island and few people have come here or really even know where it is. However, one woman, Lillian Dickson, made a huge impression on the work of Christ in Taiwan.

Lillian Dickson was the wife of a missionary who decided to didn't want to be a missionary's wife but a missionary wife. She started clinics, schools, orphanages, treatment facilities for tuberculosis, black foot, and leprosy. She took in children off the streets and helped get young people out of jails and into productive jobs and homes. Any time she saw or was told of a problem among the people, she found a way to solve it. In the sixty years that she spent here she and her friends started hundreds of churches and showed many people the joy of Christ and lead them to the Savior's waiting arms. She was truly a role model for anyone who wants to serve God overseas. All this she did with a humble heart and tireless personal effort. She also raised a family of four children and supported her husband in his own mission work.

I was lent a copy of her biography Angel At Her Shoulder to read. I read the book quickly as I loved to hear all of the amazing things that she had done for the people here. When I finished the book I wanted to learn more about her and her work in Taiwan. The book was published in the 1960s and I wanted to know what has happened with her ministry, Mustard Seed Inc., in the last thirty years. There is very little information about her. She wrote a book but it is out of print. When you look her up in Wikipedia or Google, there are no results.

Eventually, I found the website for Mustard Seed Inc., now an international mission sending group who have work in every poor part of the world. They support millions of men, woman, and children. All of this came from one woman's desire to be the kind of Christian that God wants us to be; forsaking all for the gospel.

If you ever get a chance, check out Lillian Dickson. She was an amazing woman of God who should be remembered for the work she did for the Gospel.

Temples

So, in Taiwan, temples are a common part of the landscape. The folk religion is so pervasive here that store fronts, back alleys, and even people's homes have temples and alters in them. This week, another of the missionary's parents is visiting. We love when people come to visit because it gives us an excuse to be tourists again. On Saturday, we went to Beigang, a nearby city that is well-known for its temple.

The temple in Baigang is one of the oldest in Taiwan. People from all over the country to give offerings to the gods for good grades on tests, new business ventures, and approval of marriages. Other gods from the country also come to "visit" the temple. When this happens large, long, loud parades occur. We were lucky enough to get to see one of these on our visit.

First, people dressed as "unnamed gods" come through and do a dance. These gods protect the big gods and light fireworks to ward off evil spirits. Then, the big gods come. For this particular parade there were five big gods. The big gods were terrifying. They looked just like demons. They had red, gold, green, and black faces. They wore ornate robes of gold and red. They danced in circles. They come dancing down the street and into the temple flanked by people waving incense sticks and throwing ghost money at them.

The worst part of the experience was when a woman came out of the crowd. She was screaming and chanting in Chinese and she had her hands thrown into the air. There were people all around her, listening to what she was saying with rapt attention. After she carried on for some time, she passed out into the arms of some of the temple attendants and was carried into the temple. When I asked our guide (a Taiwanese friend from the area) what was going on, she said the woman had the spirit of one of the gods in her and she was being used as a voice. Anna, a missionary, said, "so she is possessed?!" and our friend said yes!

Baigang is known by the Christian community as the dark pit of Taiwan. The people there focus thier entire lives on the temple and worshipping their gods. They rely fully on burning offerings or giving food gifts. They have no hope in life or an afterlife.

Please pray for the people who flock to these temples looking for something to hope for. They are so lost, confussed, and straning to find truth while looking for it in the wrong places. Help us to reach out to them and see the truth of God's richest salvation and grace.

Photos Online

It has recently been brought to my attention that not everyone is on facebook which means these same people do not have access to my pictures. In order to remedy this situation I have posted all of my most recent pictures of web albums using Google. If you click on the link below you can access my pictures and see what I have been up to. Enjoy!

Click HERE to see my albums!

Blessings!

A year ago, I had never been outside of North America. I had traveled a lot within the States and gone on a trip to Canada, but I had never left my cultural bubble. If you would have told me at that time that I would be living abroad and traveling all over the world I would have called you crazy. Now, having reached my six month mark in Taiwan and traveled to 5 different countries, I would tell you I am blessed.

Chinese New Year is an exciting time for the missionaries of Taiwan because it is our first (and only) big vacation of the year. We have three weeks off from teaching and we all take the chance to travel. Members of my team went to Italy, China, Cambodia, and America.

My friend, Stephanie were able to go to Thailand to visit some fellow missionaries. It was an exciting and energizing trip. We went all over Thailand. We stayed in Bangkok and traveled to Hua Hin on the coast and stayed at resort on the beach, attending a Thai wedding. We flew to Ching Mai and rode elephants through the mountains. We went to Wat Po, Wat Aron, and the Grand Palace. We even went to Thai school for a day and took a trip to a museum to learn about the history of the country. We were able to see many new and different things. I even got my first real massage. It was an amazing trip that I will never forget.

Now is the time for making the decsion to stay for another year or move on, and I have decided to stay. I feel so blessed every day by the experiences I am having , the people I am meeting, and the work we are doing. Though the work has its challenges, I feel that God is calling me to stay. I am excited to learn more and more about the language and culture so that I can better serve the people of Taiwan.


And for all of you who have been praying for my family, my mom in particular, I would like to tell you that you are all miracle workers. I truely believe in the power of prayer and just as God listened to the persistant widow, God has listened to you. My mom is now tumor free and has finished chemo treatments. She is getting stronger every day and will be returning to work March 2nd. Praise God for He has done marvelous things!

A Joyful Noise

The missionaries working at CMS all attend Salvation Lutheran Church. The church has about 15-20 members and no pastor (although we recently called a man who has agreed to come in April). We are small and we struggle. On an average Sunday, the missionaries outnumber the nationals. The service in conducted in Chinese, as is the sermon, and we listen to a translation using a headset. Julia, our translator, only translates the sermon so we rarely know what is going on the rest of the time but we manage well enough once we memorize the service order. We follow along in a whispered English during the litergy and songs.

This week, for the first time, the service was conducted completely in English. One of my fellow missionaries dad's was visiting and gave the sermon while our bossman led the service. The national members listened on headsets, getting a glimpse of our worship experience.

Because the service was in English, we were much bolder when it was our turn to talk or sing and the nationals were just as loud in Chinese. When we sang, prayed, and recited the Scripture, it was loud and in two languages.

At first, it was hard to focus but after the first song, the noise of our bilingual worship was beautiful. The Bible tells us that when Christ comes back "every tribe, tongue, and nation" will bow down to Him. Heaven, I hope, will sound like church. Every voice, language, and people singing bold praises to God, thanking Him for the gifts He gives us.

Mountaintop Experiences

After returning from a trip home for Christmas to see my family, I was not quite ready to get back into the swing of classes. Luckily, I had only three days of work to do before I had another vacation. Over the Western New Year holiday, three friends and I took a trip to paradise. We took a long train ride to the east side of the island, to Taroko Gorge. Taroko is the most beautiful place I have ever been. We went hiking and walked around this place that is as close to heaven on earth as I will ever get. The weather was perfect, the sky was a clear blue, and the mountains were picturesque to say the least.

When we were hiking, we walked about 1,000 feet above the river, along a cliff on the side of the mountain. The whole time I was seeking a way to get down to the water. I wanted to be close to it and feel it. While looking for another trail, we happened along a service path. It looked like we would be able to get closer to the water, so we started down. The path was not really meant for the average hiker. The trail was unstable and we had to do some quick thinking. At one point we had to slide down a rock and jump down hoping we didn't break our necks. After an adventourous journey, we made it down to the water. It was breathtaking. It was so tranquil that we sat at the edge of the water in silence.

I felt so close to God on this trip. Sitting on the edge of the water, with the breeze blowing and the sun shining, I kept thinking that God must love us so much to create this place for us to see; to make a world with mountains and rivers and flowers and trees. What an amazing and loving Father we have.

Seeing Taiwan

I have been here for almost four months now but I have had few opportunities to be a tourist, too see any of this new place that I live. This situation was rectified on Saturday with an amazing day of new experiences. First, one of the assistant teachers invited us to her home for a BBQ. We were able to see how a clay kiln is built in the ground and fires made to cook food after rice has been harvested. We spent time learning about our co-workers and meeting their families. We were not able to stay for the meal, but we were able to help build the kiln and hang out with the families. The kids made straw men (winter in Taiwan does not involve snow) and we watched the fires start. It was a great experience but we had to quickly move on.

One of our friends from church, Q, took us to many of the fun tourist places in the area. We went to the Tropic of Cancer, the Aerospace Center, two sugarcane plants, an old rail station, and a natural gas deposit that looks like a waterfall of fire. We spent a great day together seeing all these places.

After the business of all of our work here we forget to take time out to relax and enjoy the world God made. As I sit here typing this, the memories of this weekend fresh in my mind, I thank God for the wonderful island we live on and the people who bless us in this place.