HOMELESS

The HOMELESS scenario is very complicated. Who are the HOMELESS? According to the dictionary a HOMELESS person is a person without a home, and therefore typically living on the streets. Why? Now that’s where it gets really complicated. We can talk about drugs, mental illness, PTSD, trauma, but we also have to add to that list situations such as job loss, divorce, dysfunctional family . . . you get the idea.

As we have traveled around the world, we have seen HOMELESS people everywhere. So this is not just an American phenomena. In southern Taiwan at times I would jog downtown and make my way to the Love River. As I passed store front after store front I noticed that some of the stores had already gone out of business. The economy was hit hard, and “for rent” signs were all around. However, in front of one particular store that was closed up, I noticed that an older woman had taken cardboard boxes and constructed a little shelter for herself. Whether it was morning or afternoon I would see her sleeping . . . dirty, with ragged clothes and her personal belongings in a pile nearby. I never saw her awake.

The same was true for local parks. If I jogged in the afternoon, I noticed that people were rushing to claim a bench before 4 pm so that they would have a place to sleep that night. Whether in the USA or overseas, the looks are always the same. People carrying their belongings around with them, dirty and searching for a place to land.

There are people and ministries who are reaching out to these people in need. Some are giving food. Others distribute blankets and other needed items. And still others are seeking to find ways to get to the bottom of their needs that will help them return to a safer life. Worldwide we need to pray for this issue. Governments, Churches, local organizations . . . ALL OF US . . . need to seek ways that we can address this problem. Families are in need and many people are desperate. Pray for missionaries, partners, local churches and government agencies to take the opportunity to work together and reach out to these people. Pray for our local churches in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, China, Indonesia and the Philippines as they address this very real need in our communities today. The word on the street is that there are people in need.

 

Rising To Challenging Times

Challenging times are definitely part of our journey in life. However, sometimes it is difficult for people from the West to understand challenges in other cultures. For some, the “worship” experience in life is not just about religions, but more about family tradition, honor and respect. So when family members choose to follow Christ, it is often difficult for some family members to accept this decision. There may be challenges along the way; however, funerals may be the most challenging for believers in a non-Christian family in East and SE Asia.

Many of you have prayed for our former language teacher and her family — dear friends, as LSK’s father recently passed away in Taiwan. Covid-19 has definitely made this situation even more challenging, as our friends have had to quarantine in Taiwan for 2 weeks and unable to go to the hospital before her father’s death. We don’t know about funeral plans but we are keenly aware of traditional funeral practices from the local religions. There are many variations throughout the island. Pray for LSK and her family as they seek to honor her father and reflect God’s love and grace during this time. The majority of the family is not Christian.

You are probably aware of the Bible story about the leper, Naaman. God used Elisha to direct him to wash in the river 7 times and he would be healed. Naaman was not a believer, but the Bible records this passage following his healing: (2 Kings 5)

¹⁵ Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.” 

¹⁶ The prophet answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.

¹⁷ “If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord. ¹⁸ But may the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I have to bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.”

¹⁹ “Go in peace,” Elisha said.

Please pray with us:

God is a good and gracious God, full of wisdom and love. As LSK and her family journey through the days ahead, pray that God will not only give them wisdom and strengthen their faith, but also be a light to their family and friends during this time. LSK and her husband TCK are dear friends who accepted Christ during our language school days, and later partnered with us to plant our first church in Taiwan. Thanks so much for your prayers and encouragement.

 

 

 

Light In A Dark Place

For many men who are retired from the military in Taiwan find themselves working as a security guard in apartment buildings or companies. It’s a great fit for them. Since we have lived in a number of apartment buildings, we have had the opportunity to mingle with a lot of guards. Some of our friends introduced us to Mr. Lim who at the time was also working as a security guard. We didn’t know all the details, but his family was very splintered. He had no communication with his former wife or children. Of course that is not unusual in today’s world; however, Mr. Lim began to have health issues and discovered that he had cancer. At first, like many people, he just wanted to ignore it and hope it would go away, but of course that didn’t happen.

One of his friends owned a small restaurant and had many opportunities to share when he came to eat. He invited him to come to our weekly group meeting which met at the restaurant on Friday evening. Mr. Lim did join us, accepted Christ and became part of the group. As his cancer advanced, he was weak and had a lot of challenges. It was our privilege to be “family” and even help with some of the medical bills as well as personal needs. We even tried to reunite the family before his death, but they only committed to receiving the body after his death.  At the end of his life, as he lay in bed Mr. Lim was in hospice and spent a lot of time listening to Taiwanese stories and choruses that we recorded for him. If it weren’t for our church group and those in our church family, Mr. Lim would have died alone with no one around him. After accepting Christ, we saw Mr. Lim change in so many ways. God truly transforms us and takes us from a DARK PLACE to a place of peace and serenity. We saw that in Mr. Lim.

There are many people just like Mr. Lim who are hungry for love. Pray for our Hokkien workers across East and SE Asia as they reach out to this segment of the population. Pray that guards would have opportunities to hear about the love of Jesus. Pray for open hearts to receive God’s precious gift of love and salvation. Pray too for Mr. Lim’s family to hear of God’s love and come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord. Pray that WE as believers can be Light in these Dark Places.

Invisible?

Quite a long time ago we had the opportunity to meet a family in Taiwan who were extremely poor. The father had mental challenges and was legally blind. He also had difficulty talking and functioning. They had 3 children, a seemingly normal boy and girl, but the oldest son was even worse than his father. They pushed around a cart all day with the older son inside, tied with a rope, collecting items to sell to the recycle center. They were all very dirty, but hard working. When we first met them we offered our hand in friendship, and they jumped back and said that they were not clean and didn’t want us to get dirty. We just shook that off and shook hands anyway. They were so hungry for someone to love them. I will never forget the looks on their faces. Little by little as they came down our street we would spend time with them. Since they were not really educated, they did not speak Mandarin, but Taiwanese. Mr. and Mrs. O were outcasts in the community and in their family. We shared with them and even attempted singing a few Taiwanese choruses. They loved it and were so receptive.

I remember when the Taiwan economy was somewhat tough, not terrible, but challenging for some. Some people started collecting recycled bottles, etc. and it really cut into the money for these poor people. I went to the trash dump and several shared with me how hurt they were that these people would do that to them. I had no idea. What a different world.

At one point we realized we hadn’t seen the O family, so we went to check on them. The mother was very ill and soon died. The extended family did not want us to see with them. I know they were embarrassed. We noticed that the oldest boy was tied up and hidden back out of sight. That was the last time that we were able to have contact with the family. For so many, these kind of people are invisible, the untouchables of life. However, in God’s eyes they are precious and loved dearly just as we are.

Climbing out of poverty is possible, but not easy. Just add on to that complications such as mental challenges, physical illness, financial hurdles and addictions, and that is definitely a recipe for disaster. Pray for one of our partners in southern Taiwan that lives right in the middle of grassroots people. Challenging? Oh yes. Working with these sector of society is so different than traveling through communities where money flows freely and people are educated. Oh don’t get me wrong. We have problems EVERYWHERE, but in this segment we are especially challenged to minister to them, and help them rise above these barriers. Challenges such as alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution, pornography, codependency , etc. enslave these people in ways that we cannot imagine.

Pray with us for the HT church. Pray too for all of our partners to see people through God’s eyes so that we don’t miss anyone. Thanks so much for partnering with us in prayer. May God use you in marvelous ways where you live and beyond. We serve a loving God and are so thankful.