Stories in the harvest . . .

Today was a special treat!  While shopping, we connected with the 82 year old father of a shop owner who shared his story with us.  He was excited to have someone listen.  All of Grandfather K’s life he has been searching for truth.  He shared that his journey has taken him through a number of religious experiences.  His son and daughter-in-law are Christians and prayed for him, but they also gave him freedom in his search as well. He decided to serve as a Taoist shaman, but he felt empty.  (A shaman is a person who typically enters into a trance state during a ritual, and practices divination and healing).  He left that religious experience to serve as a temple caretaker, but was very disillusioned with what he saw.  During this time he had the opportunity to talk to someone who had attained recognition in his religious circle, and he asked him if he had assurance that he would go to heaven when he died.  The man answered and told him that he never had that assurance.  He was pretty shocked.  He also knew that his family had a family worship group that met in their home every Thursday and decided that he wanted to see what they had to offer.  It was this encounter that led him to Christ.  Through the Bible studies, he was very touched and made the decision to come to Christ.  That was 13 years ago.  And now at 82, he walks to his church every morning at 7 for a morning devotion time.  He even stole one of my sayings that I often share —- when searching for the TRUTH, if what we hang onto to is not 100% true, that it isn’t TRUTH.  What a treat to meet Grandfather K.  Pray that Hokkien people will come to know that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

God’s story

Have you ever been involved in starting a new church?  It’s challenging and definitely an adventure with God.  These are the days of Ezekiel, preparing the way of the Lord.

After returning to East Asia, we thought you might like to see a glimpse of how God can use people to do some pretty amazing things.  Lots of prayer and people have been involved in ministry in this communityy and beyond.  The link below will take you to the video that shares our journey with you.

Co-workers working and praying together to connect with the community  *** The renting  of a store front to begin joint services *** The purchase and restoration of a new site in the community *** Dedication of the new building and church *** Call of a second pastor *** Transition and call of a third pastor *** The transition to a nearby location for more space *** A site in the community burns down *** This becomes the site for the current location *** Plus lots of ministry photos for you to enjoy

CLick on the link to view God’s story.

Taro pies at McDonald’s?

Today as I was out running errands, I passed by McDonald’s and realized that they had added a new item to their menu:  taro pie.  Now for some western customers that might not seem so special, but in Asia, taro is special.  In fact, I was say that it translates to apple pie in the West.  As part of the yam family, taro comes in both white and purple and is used to add to stews, fondue dishes, special delicacies, and is also to whip up some tasty desserts. McDonald’s has done their research and by creating a menu that appeals to the local palate, they have found inroads into the culture.  Now, that’s an important observation!  I think this understanding also applies to relating God’s love to the people around us.  We need to do our research first —- first listen and understand so that we know better how to relate to those around us.

So let’s keep our eyes and ears open to consider ways to love the people around us.  We might discover some special ways that relate just like McDonald’s taro pies.

Connecting in today’s world

For quite a long time I have been wondering if anyone had thoughts of redesigning airplanes with a more contemporary design for today’s world.  Well, recently, as I boarded an international flight on Cathay Pacific, I almost felt like I was in Star Wars.  What a fantastic design.  As I passed through business class I noticed individual cubicles with storage spaces for luggage and room to stretch out and rest.  Even the economy class had special features including outlets for each passenger to charge electronic devices.  As I looked around I was really pleasantly surprised to see how the design really made sense and related to current needs of passengers.

What about relating the message of God’s love to people in today’s world.  Has the message changed?  Absolutely not!  However, the way we choose to relate the message at times can be out-of-date or unclear for today’s generation.  We do want to make sure that we connect with people.  That’s something to think about. But whatever the case, however you share God’s story and live it out  —

 Nike has it right — we should just do it . . .  Pray for workers who live out God’s story among the Hokkien.