Breaking Down the Walls

BDTW - Day 8 - Dashe

2010-02-20T22:39:00.000-08:00

Everyone went home the night before. Today, about half of the team went to Dashe to have a night with the youth. We worked with their praise team and with our reduced team, we performed our skits and music as well. We also had a couple of testimonies shared (one from a foreigner and one from Taiwan). It was a little sad to this group of youth in need of direction and a leader to help feed them the Word.

We met a man from the New Zealand army as well who recently came to Taiwan. He's not a believer but we hope to be able to reach out to him in future Bible studies. Please pray for him that God will open his heart to be receptive to the Gospel.

The youth does not have many opportunities to pray with each other and think about their faith so we used the night to create groups to talk freely about where they stand with God. We challenged them with the question, "Who are you and what's your identity?" We hope that everyone re-thinks who they think they are and find themselves secure in knowing that they are created by God to be sons and daughters of God.

Afterward, we had dinner with the college praise team from the church. Please pray for leaders to rise up within Jhiacheng Church to lead the youth. This concludes the 8 day trip around Taiwan and everyone's sad to part and we've had many experiences. In only a short-time, we've learned so much and got to see how much God loves the country of Taiwan. We hope that this trip will continue on next year! Our members will be posting reflections and thoughts throughout the week so please check back this blog to hear their points of views about Taiwan.

A group of 14 Christian brothers and sisters from various churches, various countries, various backgrounds with a common vision to share the Gospel... Breaking Down the Walls 2010.

BDTW - Day 7 - Tainan

2010-02-20T10:07:00.000-08:00

We arrived in the morning to find a group of young, passion-filled, energetic college students waiting for us. They were praying for us until we got there. As soon as we got there, all the team members and their students clicked instantly and everyone had a great time just talking with each other, sharing stories, and sharing similar visions for ministry. Someone mentioned that these guys and our team have the same "spiritual DNA." It was funny how he put it like that.

We worked with the college ministry leaders Josh and Jenny and it helped very much that they (and even all of the students) were bilingual. We all ate lunch together and then practiced skits and music together. We taught the college students our skits and we went outreaching at a nearby department store.

At the department store, the same scenario happened where the security guard told us we could not be there. We were all about to lose hope but we sent Anderson and Josh to talk with the administration and fill out a form/talk with them and we were able to set-up. Not to mention, the rain stopped just in time as well.

We drew many crowds and shared our skits numerous of times. Our team performed the skits, the college team performed the skits, everyone was singing and helping with the music, and everyone was talking with people and handing out fliers and material. It was an amazing sight. We even had one of the college students dress up as a clown and distribute balloons to kids! Everyone was very pumped.

We prayed walked back to the church and then had a night of praise, testimonies, skits, and games again. It was great for the team to fellowship with this group of students. We learned a lot and caught their passion for Christ. We hope that we were to show them how to mobilize a vision and put it in action. Their pastor really takes to heart the saying where 100 youth can shake the world. It was sad to go but after the night, we headed back to Kaohsiung.

BDTW - Day 5 & 6 - Taizhong

2010-02-20T09:49:00.001-08:00

On Wednesday night, we made a long journey from Taipei to Taizhong. We met a missionary family (Woody & Martha) who hosted our stay there. Along with Tony, a short-term intern in Taizhong, we went to a nearby night market where we scoped the area, prayed for the place, and did a mini-outreach event as well. We sang songs, gave out material, and invited people to come out to our event the following day.

On Thursday, our team slept in until 9 AM, which was very much needed from the early mornings that we've been used to. We had briefing and devotionals which Carmen and Alan led. Afterwards, we split into groups and prayer-walked around the city, including the Confucius Temple, stadium, and a couple of high schools. We met at the Yizhong Market where we planned to have an afternoon of outreach. We set up our sound and as we started, the security guard came to us and told us that we were not allowed to set up. It was one of those, "What do we do and what's going to happen?" moments. We learned a very big lesson - not to start up too big with loud music because the authorities will then feel intimidated and not be willing for us to stay. We asked the guard and he allowed us to have our performance for 30 minutes (this eventually lasted for much longer)! Additionally, we prayed for the rain to stop and it stopped during our outreach. God is good.

We stirred up quite a crowd and talked to many of the people. We also got a few contacts for Woody to follow up with for his Bible study and church. At night we performed skits, played games, had praise and prayer as well. We learned so much from Woody and how to engage people during outreach events. Much of this was very helpful for our ministry in Tainan. At the end of the night, it was great to spend time with Woody's family and talk with each other.

Anderson, one of our Taiwanese friends translated the Gospel message during the night. He was originally an ORTV Bible Study member at Woody's Bible study in Kaohsiung. And now, he's translating the Gospel at Woody's Bible study. Funny how God works.

latest prayer requests

2010-02-17T09:28:00.000-08:00

people we've met, including the man from the breakfast shop and our contacts from the Taichung outreach so far, including a young social worker named Miriam (she is from Tainan and won't be here tomorrow, but hopes to come to our event in Tainan on Friday)

weather – it's been cold, windy, and wet these few days, and we'd love some warmth and sunshine, especially since it'll encourage visitors to stay longer to listen and chat

health – some team members not operating at 100%; may God be their strength and sustenance (Grace, Alan)

two more Kaohsiung-ers are joining us tomorrow, Jenny and Anderson, Taiwanese believers who will be a great help due to their language fluency!

tomorrow evening, we are doing a more formal outreach event from 7 to 9pm. Pray for God to bring specific souls through the door to learn more about Him and the truth, and for our team to be the best messengers that we can.

We just got confirmation that a church in Tainan will be able to work with us to hold an outreach evening on Friday! We'll be working with Living Waters church, and apparently there will be a group of college students able & willing to help us out on Friday as well.

THANKS!!!

BDTW - Day 5

2010-02-17T09:23:00.000-08:00

In the morning, we went to the Taipei 101 area and sang some songs out on the walkway before heading inside to the bookstore. We thought we might be able to share some of our giveaway materials with passersby, but as it turned out, not many people were walking around. It was quite cold, windy, and rainy, so that may have contributed! In the end, we handed out some Bible storybooks to a few kids and spent the rest of our time on prayer walks.

After lunch, we headed to Taichung where we are currently staying with two missionaries in this area, Woody and Tony. They have been super helpful with providing us a venue to do an outreach event tomorrow (Thursday) night and showing us the best area to do some outreach beforehand. In fact, they run an ORTV (English Bible study) evening every Thursday, but they have a “break” this week for Chinese New Year. So us Kaohsiung-ers will use that time to do our song/skit/testimony outreach.

We spent our evening checking out an area of the nearby Yi-jong night market where Woody advised us to set up camp for outreach. Luke played a few songs on his guitar and the rest of us walked around talking with the onlookers, getting to know them and inviting them to return the next day for our more formal event. Many were just travelling through like us and therefore will not be around tomorrow, but we will keep getting the word out tomorrow and see who God brings.

Singing in the morning

Singing in the evening

BDTW - Day 4

2010-02-17T09:19:00.000-08:00

We packed up early in the morning with plans for spending some more time hiking some trails on our way to Taipei. Upon returning to our vans after a breakfast stop, however, we discovered that the keys to one of the vans had been locked inside the car! We weren't sure who to call for help since all the shops in the area were closed for the New Year break. Minor calamity! Major delay!

Our prayer for this latest dilemma was simply to recognize God's sovereignty in the situation. Just this morning, we read from Isaiah 45:5-6

“I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things.”

How was this “calamity” to be used for his glory??

As some of the guys tried their hand at jimmying the lock, others went back to the breakfast shop to ask for their advice. The shop owner was very kind to call some locksmiths in the area and find one whose shop was still open. However, he was in the middle of grocery shopping, so we had to wait for him to return! So a few of us talked more with the shop workers, and eventually asked if they would like to listen to some songs and see a skit, since we had a bunch prepared. It was basically a family-run business, along with one university student who was helping out. After the locksmith arrived (and opened the door in about 5 seconds with his special tools, hehe!), we all gathered in the breakfast shop and shared a song and a skit with them.

As it turned out (!), the father of this family attends a nearby Christian church, although, from what we could understand, the rest of his family does not go with him. He was very excited once he found out we were Christians going around with these songs and skits. We had a short but sweet time chatting with them, then departed soon after.

It seems a small thing, but what a great encounter God set up for us! We pray (and ask that you would pray along with us) that the Lord would open the eyes of this man's family members to see & know Christ as their saviour.

The rest of the day was spent travelling to Taipei, and we slept almost immediately upon arriving!

Pictures:

Iris giving some evangelical CDs/DVDs to the father of the family after our song/skit sharing.

Group shot!

BDTW - Day 3

2010-02-17T09:04:00.000-08:00

The majority of today was spent wandering through the natural splendors of Taroko Gorge. Misty mountains, soaring cliffs, rushing rivers... breath-taking stuff.

"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God." Psalm 90:2

We continue to reflect on God's HUGEness and IN-CONTROLness. We serve a sovereign Lord!

Today afforded us a longer chance to rest & refresh, and spend more time getting to know each other better as brothers & sisters. Tomorrow we head up to northern Taiwan!

Pictures:

journeying through Taroko Gorge (the hats are for possible falling rocks; we are not mining anything!)

Team decisions 1

Team decisions 2

Team decisions 3

Team decisions 4

No wonder it takes us so long to get things done...

BDTW - Day 2

2010-02-14T09:23:00.000-08:00

team photo at lunch today

After breakfast, we ran into a family that was staying at our hostel as well. They had 5 kids with them, all dressed up in red for Chinese New Year! We talked to them for a while and gave away some of our coloring books and kids' packs. Do pray for this family to take a look at these materials and have their eyes opened to the truths within! We then continued our travels towards Hualien and spent the afternoon at Liyu Lake, where we rested a bit and practiced some more.

Chatting with new friends

group photo with some new friends!

Please pray....

For unity and clear communication within our team (quite a bit of navigation confusion these past two days), for the same focus and direction, that we listen to and are led by the Spirit

For our communication to be clear with those we meet, especially with the language differences

For Ricci, a member of our team who shoulders a lot of responsibility right now in various situations since she's the only one completely fluent in Chinese

For spiritual and phyiscal refreshment

For plans to be set in motion with a church in Tainan, with whom we might be working on Friday

BDTW - Day 1 (part 2)

2010-02-14T08:50:00.000-08:00

God has been so good to us. Yesterday evening found us climbing around Sansiantai (“Platform of the 3 immortals”), a small island off the east coast. We clamoured all the way up to the top of the highest “platform” (a huge mound of rocks) and rested there in awe of the natural wonders surrounding us. Never mind that other people have considered these formations to be the resting places of other “gods.” We rejoiced in knowing that the one true Creator God formed all this with little more than a flick of his pinky. Plus, He never needs rest like created things do. So magnificent!

As the last group of us headed back to the vans, we learned that one of vans' batteries had been drained, and we didn't have a jumper cable! It was completely dark out at this time, and we were the only vehicles left in the area. Tse me ban?? (What to do??). Some of us kept searching the vans in hopes of finding a cable hidden somewhere. Others lifted up a prayer together asking God to guide & provide. A few minutes later, we were thinking of just calling the police for help, when a couple drove into the lot. And they had a jumper cable with them! The husband generously hooked everything up for us and the van got started again. We were so excited and super grateful.

In the evening, we had time to finally practice our skits and get some stuff organized for the next few days.

BDTW - Day 1

2010-02-14T08:18:00.000-08:00

God has been awesome in preparing everything for us. 2 vans were loaned to us by other brothers & sisters here, as well as a GPS device, and sleeping bags. One of our churches loaded us up with lots of kids' ministry materials (coloring booklets, facepainting stuff, full-body clown suit!), gospel tracts, testimonies on CDs, multilingual DVDs, and portable sound equipment. We have 4 (truly licensed!) drivers, an amazing team handbook designer, a gifted accounting/administrations coordinator, a brother who has been to many of these places before, and a good balance of Chinese-speaking/musical/leadership/photography abilities. Lots of valuable resources... may we be good stewards and invest wisely.

The title of this webpage reflects the theme of our trip, breaking down walls – walls between ourselves and God, walls between each of us on the team, walls between us and those we meet, walls in the hearts of those who don't yet know Christ.

As the Lord promised Joshua that Jericho would be given into the Israelites' hands (Joshua 6:2-5), so He has promised that one day, “before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear” (Isaiah 45:23). As the Israelites marched around Jericho, trusting God to break down the walls and cleanse the city from the evil within, so we hope to do our small part in meeting, praying over, and reaching out to various people around this island, trusting God to break through the spiritual darkness and cleanse hearts.

We started this morning with some reflection on Isaiah 44:21-23 :

Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant;

I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.

I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your rains like a mist;

return to me, for I have redeemed you.

Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it; shout, O depths of the earth;

break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it!

For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel.

God is holy, and out of His great love, He has redeemed us!

Let's not forget what we have been saved from, and live our lives to respond accordingly.

We are now on our way up the east coast, with Josh and Luke navigating some twisty mountain roads and the rest of us trying not to get too carsick :) On one side stretches the vast ocean, and on the other, soaring carpets of greenery. That such a Creator would redeem us...!

a team of 12 Christians

2010-02-12T10:29:00.001-08:00

Most of us met for the first time and it reminded me of a global mission, a global church, and a global God.

Please pray for our contact in Tainan for Friday. We've still yet to hear back from them and fill that night with a place for our outreaching.
Please pray for Grace - she's getting over her sickness from this week.
Please pray for Luke/Josh - as we'll be driving tomorrow.
Please pray for preparations - we did not get to practice our presentations tonight due to time issues. we hope to have opportunities to practice tomorrow.
Pray for the people that we'll meet. We can give you names throughout the week.
Pray for spiritual protection - some of us have undergone some spiritual attack this week

- Luke

final preparations

2010-02-12T05:28:00.000-08:00

Logistically:

Spiritually:

2 Corinthians 9:12 (NIV)

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's
people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

(thanks for sharing, Katie!)

gearing up to head out

2010-02-07T19:30:00.000-08:00

Hello readers & pray-ers!
Thank you for stopping by. As I'm sure you've figured out by now, this webpage is a place for us to keep you guys updated on how God is working (& will work) throughout our week-long round-island journey.

"Us" -- We are a group of Christian brothers & sisters currently living in and around Kaohsiung (+ 2 outside visitors!). Somehow or other, God has connected us and given us this opportunity to travel around Taiwan a little bit during our Chinese New Year break. We hope, however, that this time is not merely used for sight-seeing or relaxation/refreshment. God has given each of us strong abilities in different areas that, if used together effectively, can spread the fame of His name in many more ways than each of us could alone. He has further given us a common desire to invest our resources in this brief venture, while we have this valuable concentration of gifts and passions at hand.

As we go northwards along the east coast then down through the middle of Taiwan back to the south, it is our desire to share God's message of salvation & freedom with as many souls as possible. Whether we are just stopping for a meal somewhere or hanging around a public park or holding a more formal event in a local church... whatever situation we find ourselves in, we ask that the Lord will provide many chances for us to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16).

I know a lot of you are already regular prayer supporters for one or more of us, and for that we are so thankful! During these next few weeks, we would really appreciate additional prayers for this specific journey, as we are in war mode and fighting a spiritual battle.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith." - 1 Thessalonians 3:1-2

In this week leading up to our departure (Saturday February 13th), please pray for:

final logistic preparations (accommodation, obtaining drivers' licenses, communicating with various churches around Taiwan)
us to depend on the Lord for strength & joy to carry us through this very busy week, and to keep our eyes on Him
the Spirit to prepare the hearts of those whom we will encounter ... a weakening of the walls around unbelieving hearts so that the Gospel can penetrate and transform lives

Check back here for further updates, prayer points, and (soon) photos! We expect to have internet connections throughout our travels, although that is not guaranteed.

Feel free to leave comments or email any of us individually. We'd love to hear from you!
Thank you for your partnership :)