L.I.F.E.

This week has been very full for us. Our son-in-law, Rhett King, is currently in the hospital undergoing a stem cell transplant. AND we have the privilege of hosting two of our grandchildren, Sophie and Noah. Our hearts are really torn as we cheer and pray for Rhett, but also filled with lots of joy as we listen and observe the precious things about small children.

LIFE is a gift for all of us, whether we are children or adults. My mind has wandered this week to not only think about our own family happenings, but also about friends and ministry happenings around the world.

L.I.F.E.   Live It Fully Embraced! What is LIFE? It is like a roller coaster, a fire drill that can ring at any unknown moment, a basket full of rainbows, and challenges that we often never imagine coming. But in CHRIST we never make this journey alone. He is our HOPE. I want to SAVOR each moment, each day and hope that I grab hold and squeeze out every bit of life that I can  . . . FULLY EMBRACED in the life that God has given me. That is also my desire for my family as well.

I have learned a lot from our children and their spouses — as well as our grandchildren. Our daughter, Lisa, has said it well in so many ways during this cancer journey. Here are a few excerpts from updates.

One of the biggest misconceptions that people are walking around thinking, these days, is that if you are doing all the right things, making the right choices, etc., then life should be bliss. The reality is, life is full of struggle. Life is full of pain. No amount of positive thinking, no amount of prayer, no amount of time you spend serving at your local church will change any of that. But…there is ALWAYS hope. Even in the most difficult seasons of our life, if we are willing, if we keep looking, we can find hope. 

Elisabeth Elliot once said, “The life of faith is lived one day at a time and it has to be lived – not always looked forward to as though the “real” living were around the next corner.  God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”  – 2 Timothy 1:7

What we think every moment of every day, becomes our reality.  Our thoughts form our attitude and it is our attitude, not our DNA, not our illnesses, not our situations, that determine much of the quality of our life. It is today for which we are responsible.  God still owns tomorrow.”

Breathe in and breathe out.  Focus on your breath.  Feel your heartbeat.  Do you feel your breath?  Do you feel your heart pumping?  You are alive and you are alive for a reason, for a purpose. Knowing that we are alive for a purpose has given us great strength these last days.  So many changes, so many difficulties, but we are alive and we are alive for a purpose.

I remember Lisa saying something like “I was born for this”. God knows what’s ahead. This is our life . . . may we embrace it and allow HIM to fill us with HIS SPIRIT.

As I thought of Rhett, I was reminded of many of our friends, in the USA and overseas, who are also struggling with serious issues. Some people are ministry leaders, and others are friends or members of local church families. Some struggle with physical illnesses, while others are challenged with mental issues or addictions that also eat away at the very souls of these people. Needs are real, and we turn to God because we cannot fix things. We are not all powerful, but we worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. and nothing is too difficult for HIM.

I also look at these 2 precious grandchildren, and am immediately reminded of Hokkien children who have been abused and some abandoned. These needs are also ministry needs we cannot ignore. I, personally, cannot save the world. However, we, the church, can join hands and hearts together and can make a powerful difference in our communities and our world.

Thank you for your prayers for our family. And also we ask you to join with us in praying for a host of Hokkien friends who are struggling with illnesses. We also include the many CHILDREN who are in difficult and unhealthy circumstances. May God have mercy and give us wisdom.

Pray for people in southern Taiwan as well as SE Asia who fit in these categories. There are so many, that in this small space I don’t have enough room to list names. Thanks again for joining us on this journey.

WHAT DO I DO?

Christ commands us as believers to GO, TEACH, BAPTIZE —- to share and disciple, right?!  However, I have often heard people express that they feel very unprepared, unworthy, uneducated, etc. to do these things.

Following a severe earthquake that destroyed about 70% of the homes in a 7 village area in Central Taiwan, we were asked to go and help. As we drove through the narrow, torn up roads, we saw coffins on the side of the road, piles of rubbish, and the most difficult of all we saw people who looked absolutely hopeless and scared.

Not long after we arrived, I had the privilege of meeting one of the older women in one of these villages. I introduced myself and told her that we came to help in whatever way that we could. She immediately began to pour out her heart to me. She and her husband retired in this area. Their children lived far way. Their house was completely destroyed and they were living in a small shed next to a banana grove. They had nothing! They even had to run into the inner parts of the banana grove to use the bathroom. Hopeless and helpless, she cried as she shared. My heart was broken.

Maybe for the first time in my life I knew that words were not appropriate. How was I to respond. I took her hand, continued to walk through the village and cried with her. We became friends, and we had many opportunities to share needed items with them — but most of all we shared God’s precious love for her and her family. After a lot of paper work, government red-tape and time, they were able to rebuild in the village.

So what was my take away? LOVE! Even Jesus cried when told of his friend, Lazarus’ death —- then he responded. Without LOVE we have nothing. It seems like the Bible had something to say about that . . .

Pray for these rural areas throughout Central Taiwan. Pray for open hearts and a hunger to hear the TRUTH of God’s love. Much work has been done to rebuild this 7 village area, much like rising from ashes to beauty. However, reconstructing buildings and putting lives back together are not the same. Pray for Christian workers who continue to minister throughout Central Taiwan. Once again, thanks so much for your prayers and words of encouragement.

A picture IS indeed worth a thousand words. These are just a few of the photos from this tragic earthquake.

Below are a few photos to reflect the beauty and the rebuilding efforts in Taiwan.

NANTOU, TAIWAN – MARCH 28 :Street market on the island at the Sun Moon Lake at Taiwan on March 28, 2017 in Nantou county, Taiwan, Asia.

NANTOU, TAIWAN – MARCH 28 :Street market on the island at the Sun Moon Lake at Taiwan on March 28, 2017 in Nantou county, Taiwan, Asia.

Waiting To Die

One day in Taiwan I was walking through a neighborhood in our city for my first time. The homes were row houses and were basically filled with people who were lower income. However, one thing I have always admired about Taiwan is that no matter what a person’s station in life, they pretty much tidy things up around their house and put things in order both inside and out.

Since it was daytime, there weren’t many people to be seen. Children were at school, adults at work and mothers busy taking care of family needs. As is typical, homes and businesses were interspersed throughout this neighborhood. Sometimes people have their shop on the first floor and live upstairs or they may rent the bottom floor out for extra income.

That day as I walked through this crowded lane with houses on both sides, I noticed an elderly woman sitting on a bench in front of her house. I stopped to say hello. Since I greeted her in Taiwanese Hokkien, she was curious about “this foreigner” and answered me with a slight smile. Our exchange led into a very special conversation. She invited me to sit down with her. It wasn’t long before she told me that she sat there every day just waiting to die. Boy, did that catch my attention. She was so honest and transparent, and indeed hopeless.

This precious lady shared with me her life story – the history of her family. She, her husband and two small children lived in a very modest home during the Japanese occupation in Taiwan. (Japan occupied the island of Taiwan from 1895-1945.) One day, Japanese soldiers came and led her husband away to serve in the military. She never heard from or saw him again. She had no means of support, and in order to survive, she and the children collected wood and burned it to sell for charcoal. Life was really tough, but they survived. She worked hard and made it possible for her son and daughter to get an education. AND as is traditional in Taiwan, she knew that she could count on her son to some day be her provider. Both of her children married, but her daughter married OUT of the family into her new family. The daughter’s family did not see it as their responsibility to care for this mother. That was the son’s responsibility and Taiwan tradition as well.

Suddenly, in his late 50’s, her son had a heart attack and died. To her surprise, her daughter-in-law wanted nothing to do with her. She was quite cruel and pushed her away. Consequently, this elderly woman rented out the bottom floor to be used as a dry cleaner to bring in a little income. The owner of the shop told me that at times she even provided some food for this elderly woman. As she continued to share her story, tears came to my eyes. I felt her hurt and hopelessness. She could not read or write, and could not speak Mandarin, the current national language of Taiwan. I am grateful that I did have the opportunity on more than one occasion to share stories about Jesus with her and how much he loved her. She never made a decision to accept Christ. One day when I returned to reconnect, she was gone. A lady in the neighborhood told me that the woman’s daughter had come and taken her away. I had no details of anything after that.

I will never forget the time I spent with her. Sadly there are many people in Asia and America who also are just waiting to die. Photos below give you a little understanding of making charcoal and prior days during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan.

I have no idea where this family lives today, but God does. Please not only pray for them, but also for the many people like this . . . who are just waiting to die with no hope. Pray for our partners to have insight and SEE these hidden people who are lost in our communities.

Thanks for sticking with us. We send our love.

ONE CREATIVE GOD!

Hey, today is the DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL across Asia. It’s a fun time to get out and enjoy the summer weather, but it can also be a time for Christians through our churches to connect with their community. For more info about the Dragon Boat Festival, click HERE. We are not trying to minimize the Dragon Boat races, but we do want to capture the idea that almost anything and everything can be used as a way to LOVE on the people around us. What fun! What a great God we serve!

We all know that we serve a LIVING Savior right?! And one thing that I have observed is that God’s ideas on how to reach people is unlimited — really way out there.

So today we just want to CELEBRATE the CREATIVITY of our partners and churches as they reach into their communities and go beyond. We are overwhelmed and thrilled to see all the ways that churches gather people to reach others.

Pray for our Hokkien churches as they seek to follow God’s call in their lives.

Here are just a few of the ways that we have experienced God at work. May God continue to bless in thousands of creative ways.