May 2020

Remember the story in the book of Matthew while Jesus was out among the people, a mother cried out for Jesus to heal her demonized daughter? What did Jesus do? Of course, he reached out to this family and healed the child.

One day as we were out in the community reaching out to people, we met a young lady with a tough home situation. She quickly became tightly knitted into our group. She was with us all the time, and was hungry to know about this God who has unconditional love. She made a decision to follow Jesus, and grew like crazy. She also quickly began sharing her faith. We really hadn’t seen anything like this.

Even though she desired this changed life, she also struggled with her past, her culture and her family. Life can be very complicated. She met a nice looking young man who was kind to her and quickly fell in love. He is not from her country and is a devout believer from a local religion. She gradually withdrew from our group, and ultimately married the young man.

A few years later, miraculously we connected. Because of challenges in her life and family, she was really struggling with her belief in God. Throughout Asia many believe that illness or problems in life are a result of sin we have committed — a curse, a shame to the family. How do you put all of these puzzle pieces together? The past, desire for love, a husband from another faith, life challenges. As we look at the life of Jesus on this earth, he surrounded himself with people in need. What an example for us.

During this re-connection my friend truly realized how much God loves her. Oh, don’t get me wrong, there are many challenges connected with this story, but my take away is that we must continue to pray for and encourage people just like this young lady. There are a lot of them As long as there is breath in this life, there is hope. We cannot FIX people, but we follow a MIGHTY God who works miracles.

♥ Pray for this young lady to have the courage to continue to grow and mature in Christ.

♥ Pray for her husband and family on both sides to come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord.

♥ Pray for their child to also know God’s love and grace and strength as well as he faces special challenges.

♥ Pray for many families in East and SE Asia who also deal with special needs in their family. The N family, GD family, HT family, 2 brothers in a single parent family, a single adult lady in southern Taiwan, and grandparents who are raising their two grandchildren — one with special needs.

Nobody has to tell us that the Bible and Jesus’ life are all about UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. However, living out this life at times is not so easy to navigate. I grew up in an

environment with a lot of criticism and judging. As a girl, I often felt belittled by my culture and family. It seemed as though the “guys” were the preferred gender. At times I felt like people were throwing rocks at the proverbial glass house in which I lived. It was so easy to dwell on the negative experiences and just roll them over and over in my mind. I am still on a journey of loving ME like God loves me, and will continue that journey for the rest of my life. I love the fact that God made me and loves me not because of anything I have done —- it’s unconditional. He just loves me and wants the best for me now and in the days ahead. He cares.

When our family first arrived in Taiwan om 1984, we were in full time language school and the children were in Morrison Academy in Kaohsiung. We needed someone to help us with the house and children on a part-time basis, and friends recommended an experienced worker who had worked for foreigners for many years. Before she came to work for us, one of our friends told us that we needed to remember one very important thing. If “A” loves you, she will give her life for you, However, if you get on her bad side, she will never forgive you. Whether that is true or not, I can’t say; however, “A” is a dear friend to our family, and someone whom we love very much.

You know, when we think about it, it is easy for any one of us when we are hurt, offended or wronged to react in anger or hate and just hang on to it. Just look around us. It is everywhere — politics, business, family . . . you name it.

However, I know that this is not God’s way. I can think about numerous current situations where hate and anger rule the day destroying families and friendships. God loves me NO MATTER WHAT and I really do desire to reflect that same unconditional love in relating to others. That’s my personal prayers, but also please pray for our Hokkien churches also grow in this area and reflect God’s love in their families and communities.

FAMILIES IN CRISIS

A single parent family in SE Asia is struggling to survive. We are so thankful that they are now believers and their church family has really stepped up to the plate. Pray for a relative who is destructive in the family. She is a fervent worker in another religion and greatly opposes Christianity.
Pray for a family in East Asia. They are all believers, but struggle with a lot of dysfunction. Anger often rules the day. Pray for restored relationships in this family.
Pray for a young family in East Asia torn apart by financial disaster and moral decadence. They are now divorced, but two small children are in the middle. Pray for a miracle.
Pray for a single parent family in East Asia in which the mother has made terrible choices and the teenage daughter reflects that. Pray for the mother to open her heart and come to Christ.
Pray for another single parent family in East Asia that is in crisis. The mother is basically absent, and the teenage daughter is in real trouble. The church has reached out, but she has made some very dangerous decisions.
Pray for a family also in East Asia that also have trouble relating. Their son has rebelled and gone his own way. The parents do not have a good relationship. The mother is in very poor health. Please pray for healing and restored relationships.
Pray for an East Asian family to also grow in their relationships. The mother and father are definitely not on the same page, and there are issues. Pray too for their adult son to be able to discern truth.
Pray for a young man in East Asia who was abandoned by his family in early childhood, raised by relatives but not loved. He had a nervous breakdown and has never been the same. He is in a very dangerous lifestyle.
Pray for two young guys in East Asia who were abandoned by their mother and raised by an alcoholic father. They are into pornography and have made many bad choices. Pray for spiritual awakening.
Pray TOO for our dear friend, “A”, who knows the gospel, but has never come to Christ. She has a tough life with a very broken family. Pray for grace and open hearts for this family. None of them are Christians.