An update from Joe Kelley

During the first few days here we have seen torrential rain storms, a multitude of creatures from the great outdoors (bats flying into our group meetings and lizards watching from the room walls), and 90 degree temperatures. But most importantly, we have seen 75 students from Suan Tou and surrounding villages join us for the week-long VGM Bilingual language camp. The 75 students are divided into five classes according to age with each of the five BCF team members assigned to a class as the “English experts”. Chuck and I recently learned of the attraction of the English camp in the local village when a shop keeper gave us some needed hardware parts as he discovered we were teaching English in the area. Some of the children travel 30 minutes to the camp just to take advantage of this opportunity to sharpen their English skills. The teaching manual and materials provided by VGM are well designed to lead the students to consider more than just the English content and think about deeper issues of life and faith. In addition to participating in the classroom teaching, the BCF team has presented two dramas in English (with Chinese translation). One was a contemporary version of Jesus’ healing of the paralytic let down through the roof and the second was a modern-day version of Zacchaeus. Chuck, Linda, and Anna teach English songs and lyrics such as “Knees and Toes”, “Father Abraham”, and “Deep and Wide” in the large group meetings. Fourteen Taiwanese college students join us in leading the classes and programs and providing needed Mandarin translation for some of us lacking in Chinese.

Just as a farmer spends much time and energy preparing the soil to nurture the  seed, so we see many of our efforts here in the same way. The dim red lights in the windows of almost every home we drive by at night tell of family idols and idol worship that has been entrenched for centuries in villages like Suan Tou. We pray that God will allow these camps break up the hardened soil and provide inroads into the community which the local church can continue to water throughout the year. The camp works hand-in-hand with the small local church and pastor to connect with the families and children we meet in the camp. The pastor joins us each day to chat with the children and the church provides the meals and other practical needs of the camp workers. Thank you for your prayers for our teams as we labor together with you to share the good news of God’s forgiveness and grace in Taiwan.

In His love - Joe, reporting from Suan Tou Village, Chaiyi County, Taiwan, ROC