OMF Taiwan Blog

H1N1 used by God

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:51 GMT

The hallway lights were covered with black and purple cellophane. Fake bloody limbs and skeleton faces adorned every door. Classes had spent the last few days learning this week’s “special” English vocabulary: ghost, witch, devil, haunted, vampire. Everyone was preparing costumes, game stations, and movies for the stay-overnight celebration today of All Hallows’ eve (2 days early to accommodate the school week).

And at 2:00pm, the announcement came: a student had gone home with a fever earlier this morning, and it was confirmed as the first case of H1N1 at our school. The party is cancelled!

As I heard the news, I rejoiced. Not that I’m glad the student contracted the virus (and she should be fine, it is a mild case). Not that I’m a grumpy bum who hates smiling kids (though when they are hyped up with sugar, I do get a little grumpy). But the way we were set up to commemorate this special “Western holiday” was almost exclusively focused on the supernaturally demonic – a world that is all too real for many of our students’ and Taiwanese staffs’ families. (Unfortunately, most overseas teachers brush it off as superstition and insist that it is merely all in good fun). Praise God for moving His hand to halt such macabre festivities. May this new development serve as a sobering reflection on the real nature of evil in our world.

Sample of our hallway décor. Isn’t it lovely? Floating masks with Chinese spells & incantations stuck in their mouths.

Carmen Yan

Refusing to Bow

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:11:26 GMT

About 2 years ago, a new believer was slapped in the face by her mother for refusing to bow and worship her father-in-law at his funeral.

Recently this young woman's mother went with a friend who wanted to have her palm read. Though the mother did not go to get her fortune read, the fortune teller looked at her and told her that something bad was going to happen to her and her family this month. The fortune teller then proceeded to tell her that she could escape the danger by paying him NT$10,000 (US$300) to have her luck changed.

In the midst of this unsettling encounter, she suddenly began to think of her Christian daughter. The thought came that maybe she could help. She went home and told her daughter that she wanted to go to church to have the church pray for her and for the family's protection. She went to church this past week and one of the leaders was able to talk to her and encouraged her to believe in Christ and be baptized.

The mother now wants to be baptized! She also says she wants to stop idol and ancestor worship.

What an amazing turnaround. God has used this young woman’s faith and courage to bring fruit in her mother’s life. Praise Him!

Randy Adams

Indonesians in Taiwan

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:10:45 GMT

Today we took a friend to eat at a newly opened Indonesian restaurant/grocery shop. We asked the owner why there were so many Indonesains around that area. He told us because of the mosque in the little lane behind his shop.

We were surprised to hear this as we have lived in the area for a long time and passed the lane many times. But as it is a dead-end we had never been down it or seen the mosque. It's quite a big building, green tiles, 4 stories high and apparently has been there for more than 20 years.

The shop owner is a Taiwanese man in his 50s married, but has married a young Indonesian woman. He didn't speak Indonesian and his wife had limited Chinese. However, they spoke a common language of service as they got our meals ready and served us tea. It was good food too!

The shop is obviously filling a need as many women poppped in to get a meal or buy a box of instant Indonesian "mee goreng" noodles. ($230NT for 40 as a Ramadan special!) Most people were buying food boxes rather than eating there, possibly as it is the fasting month of Ramadan when Muslims fast from sunrise to sundown.

The owner told us of the many Muslim female students studying at the local universities or working as maids with Taiwanese families. Men were not as common there, possibly as they are usually in Taiwan as foreign labourers and this was in the middle of a work day. Apparently there are over 135,000 Indonesians working in Taiwan - the largest group of foreign workers.

People in the shop were friendly and willing to chat with our friend with us who had spent years in Indonesia and spoke the language fluently. What a great outreach opportunity. Unfortunately my Indonesian is really only good for buying groceries and does not stretch to even basic conversation. Wouldn't it be great to have someone with Indonesian who could come and just sit and chat with these women and tell them the stories of Isa?

Irene Nicholson

Online idol worship

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:12:21 GMT

Folk religion is going high tech in Taiwan. One example is the "Oh, Good God" website (sorry Chinese only), where you can choose from a great range of gods to choose to bai-bai (worship).

There are detailed instructions about the right attitude, how to make offerings and say prayers and instructions for different types of requests (e.g. marriage, health, wealth).

Of course there is an online store as well where you can purchase worship offerings, knick-knacks, etc

The purpose of the site is to make folk worship accessible to all different ages and education levels. Prosperity, education and technology are certainly not seeing the fading away of traditional beliefs in Taiwan.

(Thanks to Kat Tang for discovering this site.)

Church planting and fear

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 08:51:08 GMT

Just Imagine…

Imagine that I told you, this evening we will go out to a bar and find some people and share Jesus with them. I would also imagine all day you might have butterflies, and try to think of as many excuses as possible to get out of going. You might even begin to feel tired, or feel like you were coming down with a cold….or suddenly remember all the things you did wrong this past week…you hypocrite, you…

Well… no need to imagine anymore….We feel like that most every morning.

We felt like that especially this morning. But we obeyed and went out, not having a clue who we would see and what we would say.

We wound up meeting on the street corner with about 7 people, with several others coming in and out and some standing around, singing, sharing the Story of Abraham and Isaac and praying.

In one of the songs we sang “…I do not know where the wind comes from and we cannot know the heart of man, but one thing we do know is that Jesus loves us.” Another song says, “My singing voice is not so good, I can’t read or write well, but God knows my name.”

We do not feel very adequate…we do not have a full grasp of the language or culture…But one thing we are very certain of is that God loves the Taiwanese and He loves us.

Randy and Janet Adams

Church planting in WanHua

Typhoon update and how to help

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:43:04 GMT

Impact on Taiwan

On August 7, 2009 Typhoon Morakot struck Taiwan bringing extremely heavy rain to the southern part of the island. Over 3 meters of rain fell over several days resulting in the worst flooding in Taiwan for 50 years and severe mudslides in mountain areas. Entire villages were wiped away and roads leading to the most devastated areas were destroyed. The worst hit areas were the south-west hills of Kaohsiung County and the east cost near Taitung. The communities affected are some of the poorest in Taiwan and include many aboriginal villages.

Even now rescue efforts continue and the full extent of the damage and death toll is not known. Over 130 have been confirmed dead but many are missing and estimates of the final death toll range from 500 up to 1000 people. About 25,000 people in total have been affected.

The flooding destroyed a large number of bridges, roads, and houses in the lowlands and washed away crops across a wide area which will cause significant financial hardship to farmers. The estimated cost of the damage to crops, homes and infrastructure is over US$3 billion and it is thought that it will take at least 6 months just to rebuild roads.

The disaster has had political ramifications. Many accusations have been made that the government were unprepared and failed to respond promptly and effectively to the crisis. Already a number of high level officials have resigned. Questions are also being asked about the impact of de-forestation, water diversion and other projects which have affected the environment and possibly worsened the effects of landslides and flooding.

Church Response

The local Taiwanese churches are well resourced and have have responded promptly with large numbers of volunteers travelling to the disaster areas to help relief efforts. Churches and Christian organisations are making plans for both medium and long-term relief in the affected areas.

OMF Taiwan does not have any workers based in the worst affected areas and none of our missionaries were injured. A few suffered minor flooding and water and electricity cuts in the week following the typhoon. A number of OMF missionaries based in southern Taiwan have travelled to the disaster area along with local volunteers to help dig mud, clean houses and distribute relief supplies. OMF Taiwan does not have any plans for an independent response but will continue to work with and support local church efforts where-ever possible.

Mud left by Typhoon Morakot

Helping clean up after Typhoon Morakot

Donations

If you wish to make a donation to support the relief efforts we recommend giving to one of the following organizations.

World Vision: World Vision has already been working in the affected areas for a number of years and is positioned to respond quickly to provide relief. An English description of their relief work and details of how to give (including online donations) can be found at www.worldvision.org.tw/en/news-090814.htm

Chinese Christian Relief Association (CCRA): CCRA works with local churches to provide relief work throughout Taiwan. They have been active mobilising volunteers and providing relief in affected areas. A description of their immediate and long-term relief efforts, along with details about how to donate can be found at www.1919.org.tw/2009/typhoon08/english/ . They also have facility for online donations at www.ccra.org.tw (Chinese only site).

For prayer

* Pray for the ongoing rescue and emergency relief efforts. There may still be people trapped in the hills who have not yet been found.

* Pray for adequate shelter for those who have been displaced and for protection against the spread of disease amongst those who are living in temporary shelters.

* Pray for political co-operation amongst different parties to work for the effective rebuilding of infrastructure and communities.

* Pray for the task of individuals and families rebuilding emotionally. Pray that the church may be able to address these needs, help those traumatised, provide effective counsel and offer hope.

* Pray that this disaster will be a wake-up call to those Christians who have become complacent and move the church to more effectively serve the people of Taiwan.

* Pray that God would use this tragedy to challenge to the people of Taiwan to turn from idols to serve the living and true God.

Typhoon Morakot

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:18:53 GMT

Major rescue and clean up operations continue in southern Taiwan in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot. Very good summaries of the current situation can be found on the BBC website here and here .

The areas worst hit are mountain communities in the south and east and it appears the final death toll will be in the 100s. Others will suffer great financial loss due to flooding and destruction of houses and crops. Those suffering most are already some of the poorest and most disadvantaged communities in Taiwan.

No OMFers are based in the areas worst hit. Some OMFers, including our Oasis Retreat Center, suffered minor flooding, water and electricity cuts. But no-one was injured or experienced significant damage.

Typhoons are a regular summer occurence and in most cases are not much more than an inconvenience, so the scale of the damage and loss of life due to Morakot is a shock to us all. Although not rated as a particularly large typhoon, it brought massive rainfall and most of the damage has been caused by the subsequent flooding and landslides.

Please pray with us as rescue efforts continue and in the coming weeks as people begin rebuilding shattered infrustructure, communities and lives. May the local church be at the forefront of efforts to bring relief and care to these people.

Temples, Temples Everywhere

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:27:55 GMT

According to a recent report Taiwan has 14,993 temples, an increase of over 3,000 in the last year! That is one temple for every 1,500 people in Taiwan.

This is not news to us as we constantly see new temples being built. But the official statistics help confirm our gut feeling that folk religion here is alive and flourishing.

Most of these temples are Taoist (rather than Buddhist), but temples here are eclectic and offer a whole range of gods to worship. The largest number of temples are found in the southern counties, the areas that we want to target for church planting.

Keep praying for the Lord of the harvest to send more workers into the large and needy harvest field.

Pearl Garden

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 07:46:58 GMT

Pearl Garden

Women of shame
Drawn into a life of pain
Covered with a blanket of lust
No hope, no escape
A life of addiction, of hurt
Slowly devouring their souls.
A string of priceless pearls
Do they realize there is ONE
Who can redeem their shame
Heal their pain
Cover them with a blanket of peace
ONE who is hope
ONE who is their escape
Their addiction He wants to be
Their souls He desires.

Alesa Gage, 2009 Serve Asia Worker

To baptize or not to baptize

Mon, 18 May 2009 04:27:06 GMT

The lives of many of those we work amongst are "complicated" to say the least: addictions, emotional instability, entangled relationships, economic slavery, bondage to idols, various forms of immorality. But God is working amongst them and we see people coming to faith in Jesus.

But what do we do when they believe? Do we baptize them? When? Is it:

* When they have clearly repented of all obvious sins and showed this by their behaviour. (But who of us ever reaches this standard?)

* When there are clear signs of repentance in some areas, even if not all unacceptable behaviour has been dealt with. (e.g. they put away their idols but are still trapped in an addiction, or an immoral relationship.)

* There is faith in Christ, a recognition of sin and the need to repent but not yet significant change.

What is the biblical pattern? How do we guard against salvation by works on the one hand and compromising biblical standards of holiness on the other?

We have little doubt that the Holy Spirit has brought these people to new life and they have a real faith in the gospel. We are thankful that He is sovereign in salvation. I am reminded of how the Spirit fell on Cornelius even as Peter spoke. It was God's initiative that "forced" Peter to offer them baptism. Should we do the same?

We feel like we are playing catch-up with God and have been having some lively discussions as we face these decisions. Thank God though that it drives us back to His word for answers and to prayer for wisdom.

Lonely in the Midst of the Crowd

Tue, 05 May 2009 10:43:45 GMT

We live in an incredibly dense area population wise. In an area where 4 people would live in the USA (in a home, for example), that same area in Wanhua would have 2800 people!

A patient, we were concerned about one night told us he had no family, and no friends. Another lady called us and thanked us for being friends with her...as she presently had no friends. We see people every day in the park, in the midst of a crowd, yet lonely, with no friends...bound in the darkness.

" Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life... I cry to you, O Lord, I say, 'You are my refuge...Set me free from my prison that I may praise your name'...." Ps 142:4, 5a, 7

Randy and Janet Adams
church planting in Wanhua

Understanding cross-cultural ministry

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 05:53:26 GMT

Recently I have discovered a number of books about cross-cultural ministry that I wish were available 20 years ago. I would make all of these required reading for anyone intending to be involved in cross-cultural or multi-cultural ministry.

Duane Elmer has written Cross-cultural Conflict, Cross-cultural Connections , and Cross-Cultural Servanthood . I found the first book especially helpful offering practical ideas in how to deal with the inevitable conflicts that take place in ministry.

At the moment I am reading Leading Cross-Culturally by Sherwood Lingenfelter. It is also very practical - and challenging. Missionaries talk a lot about partnership with local believers. But we often come into a situation with our own vision, mission and strategy (read "agenda"). Lingenfelter points out that the end result is we fail to build relationships of trust and try to control people rather than serving them.

These books all provide much needed warnings, raise relevant issues, and provide biblical and practical advice towards serving the gospel in another culture.

Phil Nicholson

The outrage of idolatry

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 08:02:04 GMT

Have we forgotten to be offended by idolatry?

In the West we have little experience of people bowing down before physical idols of wood and stone, and we struggle to apply the Bible's teaching about idolatry. So we think of idolatry in terms of false ideas, values and desires. We define idols as the family, job, sport, entertainment, etc. This is legitimate. The Bible itself does this in calling greed idolatry.

But I wonder if in doing this, have we watered down the Bible's attitude to idols? Have we overlooked the fact that there is something particularly offensive about "real" idol worship.

The Israelites, the prophets, the apostle Paul, all reserve a special horror towards the actual worship of false gods and idols. It seems, in comparison with many other sins, there is something about idol worship that is especially defiling, dehumanising and enslaving. "They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves." (Jer. 2:5) It is not that idol worshippers are more wicked than other people. However, we all recognise that some sins are more despicable, enslaving and destructive than others. And idol worship is ranked in the scriptures as among the worst of all evils.

As I share with people back home the fact that Taiwan is soaked in the making and worship of idols, they often want to insist that it is no worse that the idolatries back home. That it is just as dark spiritually in the secular West. But, on reflection I want to say, no!

When we see people bowing and praying to physical idols, we should be distressed and recognise that Satan has an extra strong hold on the lives of these people. It is not the same as making an "idol" of football, or TV, or career.

I think that in places like Taiwan, where idol worship is enthusiastically practised, there is an extra dimension of darkness. And along with it an even greater need to prayer and to proclaim the gospel of Christ's victory over darkness.

Phil Nicholson

A week of idolatry

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 02:56:26 GMT

The annual Matsu procession is taking place across central Taiwan this week. From March 22-29, up to 1 million people will participate in a 300 km procession through central Taiwan, carrying and worshiping the goddess Matsu. This whole month is a period of intense idol worship.

Matsu is the most popular deity in Taiwan and has been called Taiwan's patron goddess. The procession itself was described by the Discovery Channel as one of the three "biggest religious festivals in the world, along with the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and Catholics visiting the Vatican."

Pray for God's protection over His people in this time of heightened idol worship and that even those who take part who see the emptiness of worshiping an empty and false idol.

Be scaffolding

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:53:16 GMT

"I look upon foreign missionaries as the scaffolding around a rising building. The sooner it can be dispensed with, the better; or rather, the sooner it can be transferred to other places, to serve the same temporary use, the better." Hudson Taylor

Randy and Janet Adams, church planting in Wanhua

(Taiwan picture a day: http://www.pbase.com/adamstw/pad )

God and the weak

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 05:01:25 GMT

We had “church” this morning with Mr Don. As the world would see him, he is not a very strategic person to be investing much time with. He has a speech problem, is poor, has a temper, etc . It is amazing though, how through the years, we have seen God change and use the weakest people.

I could share a number of stories…incredible stories. But there are also many in scripture: Moses the stutterer, Gideon the wimp, Peter the coward, and others. Seems like daily, the Lord is telling us, “…The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Sam 16:7 )

Randy and Janet Adams

(Taiwan picture a day: http://www.pbase.com/adamstw/pad )

Cosplay Evangelism

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:07:47 GMT

No-one is actually doing this yet. But cosplay could be a great method of getting to know Taiwanese young people who are unlikely to ever venture into a church.

Taiwanese youth love dressing up as their favourite anime and manga characters in eleborate costumes. Every year there are large conventions with 1000s of people getted dressed up, entering competitions and parading for the cameras.

Classic anime warriors

Cosumes range from cute to classic to bizarre.

Taiwanese do "cute" well.

Photographers' paradise

Weird eye colors and shapes are a standard part of the the costumes.

Pretty nurses

Lord of the Rings meets anime?

I am not sure what drives the great fascination that so many people have for this slightly bizarre hobby. Maybe it is the escapism, a chance to be someone else for a few hours, maybe it is just the fun of dressing up and parading around.

East Asia has its unique youth culture including J-pop, Mando-pop, Korean soapies, Japanese fashions and cosplay. It would be great to have some young Christians willing to get involved in youth cultural activities with a view to sharing the gospel of God's love.

Phil Nicholson

Investing in Taiwanese seminary students

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 13:44:02 GMT

Most Taiwanese seminary students are required to intern on weekends at a local church or ministry situation. In recent years we have had a few students work in our OMF related ministries. This has been an excellent experience. We not only have enthusiastic Taiwanese believers assisting in our ministries. It is also an opportunity to share our vision as we mentor, train and mobilise them to reach out to working class people. In the future some of these interns may become long-term colleagues and even take over from us, while others may commit to other working class ministries.

We would love to see more young Taiwanese Christians in working class ministries and we have made a decision to set up a new project to pay for more seminary students to work alongside us. Our goal is that we will have sufficient money to fund about 6 interns each year.

Phil Nicholson

A new gospel center in Taichung

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:05:59 GMT

Last Saturday night we opened our new gospel center in Taichung County, Taiping. Around 50 people came out for this celebration. Praise God for the 10 couples that came out along with about an additional 15/20 foreign brides without their husbands. We moved from our old center two doors down. This place is a lot cleaner and more usable. The local church we are working with is providing the funding for rent. Please pray for the following ministries that occur at the center during the week:

Wednesday nights we provide a tea night/Bible discussion for Taiwanese men led by our Tim McCracken.
Friday and Saturday nights we provide classes, taught by a local Taiwanese believer, Mia, for foreign spouses learning Chinese (most of the spouses are from Vietnam). This ministry is the door into the community.
On Sundays Holly and I along with Tim & Jennifer McCracken lead a couples group made up of Taiwanese working class men and foreign spouses.

Please pray that God will use these facilities to bring glory to His name along with providing a place to bring peace and salvation to the people of Taiping.

Robb & Holly Branch