GOD’S WORD . . .

GOD’S WORD IS POWERFUL. In Isaiah 55:8-11 God tells us (in the Donna translation) that HIS words that come out of HIS mouth will not come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work HE sent them to do,   they’ll complete the assignment HE gave them.

Life is full of relationships, and the older we get the more people we have the opportunity to touch. HOWEVER, I believe GOD is the game changer. He is THE networker and miraculously changes lives.

Following our first term (language learning) and brief home assignment, we returned to Taiwan to HOPEFULLY start a new church in a suburb of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. AND as always God had gone before us. During our language learning in Taiwan, one of our teachers and her husband accepted Christ, a second also believed, and a third was a believer but had never been baptized. Those language learning days had fruit that we never expected. It was through these new believers that God orchestrated so many things to begin this new church.

Recently, one of our long time Taiwan friends, Teacher T, connected with us on Facebook.  Memories just flooded through my heart. She is the teacher who was a new believer but had never been baptized. Her husband was in the judicial system and a loving and caring guy, and they were also blessed with two children. There are a lot of memories I could share, but this one is so very special.

At the beginning of this ministry, Teacher T had such a desire to partner with us in this new work area. However, her husband and his family were devout Buddhist and she was pretty sure that they would not agree with her desires to publicly announce her Christian faith. Since she had married into this family, the expectation would be to follow the Buddhist traditions. She discussed this with us, and we talked about possible options. However, the greatest desire was to see the entire family come to Christ and so none of us wanted to be secretive or deceitful in the decision. SO WE PRAYED ABOUT IT! THEN Teacher T approached her husband and asked for his blessing.  AND HE GAVE HIS BLESSING! We will never forget her joy (and ours too) over that answer to prayer. Her husband also befriended us on occasions and we were blessed to have these friendships. There’s so much more to share, but we’ll save that for another day . . .

NOW, what is my point? We have so many friends just like this —- SOOOO MANY —- whom we continue to include in our prayers. God promised that HIS WORD won’t come back empty. As a side note, God did establish a church in that ministry thanks to HIS POWER and so many Taiwanese friends and their partnership. Teacher T is currently a public Teacher in Taiwan . . . what a wonderful opportunity to impact lives. PRAY FOR HER, her family and her students. Join us also and pray for the many people God has led into our lives over these last 46 years in ministry throughout the US and Asia. We claim this promise that GOD’S WORD will accomplish what HE desires. Let us pray together that God’s LOVE will move through these hearts and lives and draw people to HIMSELF.

WE CAN GROW ANYWHERE!

Matthew 28:19-20 tells us to GO . . .  Well, I know you’ve heard the saying, “Grow where you are planted.”, and that is definitely a deep truth.  We all make our plans, but as we know, LIFE is what happens WHILE we make our plans.

For Robert and me, with CANCER issues and the IMB retirement initiative, lots of changes have flooded our lives.  Although we are still in “flux” and trying to figure things out, we are also looking for opportunities to HELP and MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Justin, Texas is fortunate to have a group of people who are trying to do just that . . . MAKE A DIFFERENCE.  Some time ago, they began a ministry called THE COMMUNITY CLOTHES CLOSET.  This is a place where all of us can donate used clothing and then allow ANYONE to come and (with limits) to take what they need — no charge. REUSE and RECYCLE are just a few of the words that are tossed around today.  This is a great reminder that all of us have been blessed in all kinds of different ways. Soooooo, we have the opportunity to pass those blessings along to others.  It may be a little thing to us, BUT a BIG thing to many others.

So I, Donna, have offered to help on a weekly basis if at all possible to join with these other volunteers to keep this ministry moving forward.  You wouldn’t believe the number of clothes donated to the CCC — mountains of them.  Consequently, that means
we need more volunteers to keep things running.  This is also a reminder that we, WHEREVER WE ARE, can use our creativity to think of ways we can make a difference.

TODAY, pray for the CCC to have their needs met.  They need a larger space, more volunteers and a keen sense of how to minister in this community.

HOWEVER, don’t forget to pray for you . . . for each of us . . . to hear God’s voice and respond as HE leads. God is CREATIVE, POWERFUL and READY TO MOVE in the lives of people.  We know that God will continue to open HOKKIEN HARVEST ministries and for ROBERT.  He will have his 6th chemo treatment on February 5th.  This is the last scheduled treatment and then in March he will have another CAT scan and a consultation with the attending physician. THEN, we might have some idea where we are headed.  Maybe?!  The most reassuring TRUTH is that GOD knows HE is trustworthy.  Thank each of you so much for your prayers and the ways that you have cheered for us.  We are so blessed to be supported in such special ways by our family and friends.

We pray that none of us would give up as we live out our lives . . . that we would not just survive, but THRIVE. After all, God promises an ABUNDANT LIFE. Stay tuned . . . there’s always more to come.

A NEW GENERATION

What are the dreams of missionaries? What do they wish for more than anything else? Well I’m sure there could possibly be a lot of different responses, but surely at the very top is the desire to see mature local Christians mobilizing and leading their people to fulfill the Great Commission.

Many years ago Taiwan was an undeveloped country with many needs and few Christians. However, that is not true today. New churches are popping up among various denominations and church groups and it is an exciting day.

This week Baptists are meeting to develop strategy on starting new churches in Taiwan. This is a new generation of Christians who are serious about discipleship and following the teachings of our Lord. Pray for these Baptist leaders who have come together.
Pray for unity, workers, a spirit of determination and courage and servant and sacrificial hearts. Pray also for other Christian churches in Taiwan. We pray that there will be a spiritual movement that will sweep across the island of Taiwan, though the hearts of people and share God’s love with the people there. Whether the language is Taiwanese, Mandarin, Hakka, an Aboriginal language or one from another country outside of Taiwan, we pray all people will have an opportunity to hear the Gospel in their mother tongue.

Especially pray for Baptist workers as they seek to find ways to establish new work in this new generation. It’s exciting in this new year of 2016 to see how God will move in Taiwan and beyond. Thanks so much for praying with us.

GOD’S PEACE

GYROSCOPES are really fascinating.  If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check it out for yourself.  Now, there is a point to my story . . .

Recently the news reported the collapse of stocks in China and the financial ripples that echoed around the world. That is big news, but the truth is that our world is so volatile that every day there are crazy and challenging things happening. HOWEVER, in this new year of 2016, it is wonderful to remember that OUR GOD NEVER CHANGES. HE is trustworthy and NEVER leaves us or forsakes us. So how does the gyroscope fit into all of this?

Years ago Robert shared with Chinese friends in Taiwan about the PEACE, stability and strength that God brings into our hearts.  He used a gyroscope to illustrate his point. He pulled the string on the gyroscope and as it began to spin he sat it on a table. Now no matter what the gyroscope encountered, it maintained it’s balance and was never bothered by the environment around it. It spun around with precision . . . and nothing disturbed it. That’s the best illustration of God’s PEACE and POWER that I have seen. Our lives change from day to day — Our world changes from day to day, but the PEACE OF GOD never changes and continues to bring abundant life to us. He offers his salvation and peace without regard to the circumstances, environment or challenges in our lives.  Whether we experience celebrations or life’s challenges, God is ALWAYS there directing, consoling, encouraging and empowering us.

This is a new year . . . 2016. We can all be thankful that just like the gyroscope, we can hang in there steady and know that God is ALIVE and WELL. He is working in ways that we can’t even imagine. So please pray with us in the Hokkien Harvest ministry that in 2016 we can continue to follow Christ through thick and thin, through celebrations and challenges, see more Hokkien people come to Christ, and partner to start more new churches. Thanks for partnering with us through the journey. HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016, and may the PEACE of God reign in your hearts.