“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights,
with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)
As the news continues to report of how dark this world is, our great God continues to shine His light for all to see. Our wonderful, loving Father has blessed us beyond measure this year! He provided for us and allowed us to return to our field of service this year! He provided a smooth transition and allowed all of our belongings to arrive without incident. He provided us with a beautiful apartment and a nice car! We are blessed to be working with M___ T___ Baptist Church and to be able to join in their activities while we focus on learning Chinese more fluently. God is not dead, nor doth He sleep!
We are enjoying being in touch via social media with our friends on the mainland. Our hearts are burdened for them as we try to help from a distance. When we talk to them, I am reminded of Matthew 9:36, “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” As we have been counseling with one particular couple, it became apparent to us that the wife might not be saved. Upon further inquiry, we found she truly did not understand salvation. My wife led her through the Bible and helped her understand more clearly. Once she saw the light, she happily prayed and accepted Christ.
Our team took a missions trip to another area of Taiwan that seemed to have no Gospel-preaching churches. Yilan County has about 450,000 people. While in Yilan City, we found one struggling Baptist church. We were able to pass out a couple hundred tracts while there and made many good connections. Often while there, we ran into problems that the Holy Spirit used to lead us to someone who needed to hear the Gospel. It was not unusual, after having a long conversation about the Gospel, to hear one of us say, “I guess now I know why we had that problem.” While winding through some countryside roads on a motor scooter, I stopped under a shade tree to reconsider where I was going. As I pulled up, there sat a man named Z___. He was on lunch break from his job and happened to be taking a break there. Z___ spoke English, so I was able to take him through the entire Gospel. Though he was interested, he was unsure about making a decision at that time. Before Z___ went back to work, we prayed with him and asked God to guide him. Pray that the seeds that were planted will grow.
Our team also began going to the Linyuan Night Market to pass out tracts on Friday nights. Linyuan is a small area near the F___s’ home. The town is full of idolatry and temples. We have made several contacts with whom we hope to establish a relationship in order to give them a clear presentation of the Gospel. We have found that it takes more than the average Romans Road verses to help these people understand that they need to turn from idolatry to the true and living God. We are eager to see what kind of results the Lord will bring from this Gospel-spreading time.
I was also able to share a simple Gospel message with a teenage guy while passing out tracts at the Linyuan Park. The young man was very happy to meet and talk and readily accepted an invitation to the church’s teen activity. However, as time drew closer, he had to cancel due to some upcoming school tests.
Please pray for us as we seek opportunities to share the good news during the Christmas season. The Taiwanese seem excited about the Christmas season. We are planning to take advantage of this time by inviting families to our home for a meal on several nights, as we did before on the mainland. There we hope to share the Light of the World with them.
Praises
• Our mainland friend’s salvation
• 1,650 tracts passed out since arriving in Taiwan
• Our family sharing the Gospel as we meet people
• Our car
Prayer Requests
• Language studies
• A___ and Y___’s spiritual growth
• Opportunities to share the good news, especially at Christmas
• Holy Spirit to work on the people we witness to
• Our kids in college (E___ and T___)
Bound to His service,
Missionary #6004