Update from Lee

Da Tsun Junior High School, Da Tsun Township, Changhua County, Taiwan, ROC

Last week was amazing. Andrew, Allison, Dorcas, Carlie, Cody and I were truly blessed to get to serve with the people that we did (they were from Dong Hai University). We didn’t get to worship, pray, and actually live much with the [awesome] camp counselors from the previous week, but this week we did, and aah, all I can say is that God is dwelling richly in hearts here. They were so amazingly loving, and welcoming… and have a deep love for the Lord. We lived in the church, and for the whole week it was truly a house of prayer. We had an awesome leader, Eric - he, and the others, were committed to seeking and praising the Lord in prayer throughout the week. And hallelujah.. God worked mightily in the children’s hearts, and in our hearts…

The kids in our classes were precious. Many were quite quiet for the first two days, but opened up with time. They had so much fun with all the games we played, skits performed, and songs sung. Through the skits, one about Zacchaeus, and one about a paralytic whom Jesus healed – the children got to learn about who Jesus is.

We showed them how we give thanks for our meals, and taught them how to sing a thank you song before eating. On the last day one of the students in my class wrote a note to me and my coworker, saying thank you for teaching him the song, and now that he knows he will do it! ; ) … Regina shared her story on Tuesday, and I did on Thursday.

On Wednesday we gave the kids little paper hearts to write anything they would say to Jesus if they could talk to Him. When we reviewed our cards, with the help of our coworkers of course, we found many I love you’s, and I want to be your friend sort of responses. One student even asked Jesus how many languages he could speak … ! J

On Wednesday and Thursday some of us got to visit the homes of our students, including me, Carlie, and Dorcas.

The following is an account of one of the visits I got to make. It was very eye opening, and made real to me the fact that the Taiwanese countryside is very much in the dark.

Myself, and two of my Taiwanese coworkers visited our student Sophie. She lives with her mother, grandfather, and father, but her father is gone a lot, because he must work out of town. This is quite common for families in the country. Her mother was extremely kind, and offered us much fruit and peanuts.

We were told that Sophie has a sister, who is severely mentally disabled. We said we would like to see her J and did. It was quite sad though … she cannot control herself, and moves around wildly, almost animal like... In the back of the home is a large store house, which held a massive amount of ghost money, which is fake money that gets burned to one’s ancestors, ghosts, or deities, as an act of reverence. There was an altar, statues of gods … and that sort of thing in the room we were in … though in all the clutter I noticed a picture set above the door. It really stood out … it was a Thomas Kincaid-esque painting. It was a very serene, and warmly lit image of a little cottage in the middle of a grassy field, complete with flowers, mountains and wispy trees.

The mother let us pray for her, Sophie, and her little sister … and for a few minutes she was somewhat calm. This family, like many.. need our prayers, and love. They need God’s love… I have hope that God will bring His love and light into the family. For a second I was surprised to see the painting amongst everything else in the room, as it didn’t fit … it just illustrates though, the yearning for a something more, a peace, a something beloved and beautiful..

The gospel was shared on Saturday, and many students came, including Sophie. It was awesome.

Thank you all so much for praying for us.