Signs of Lostness

We are one week into the 30-day "ghost" month. It is believed that gates of hell are opened and all spirits are turned loose to roam the world. If they have not been treated well during the previous year (lots of sacrifices) they may choose to wreck havoc. It is a time of fear. Many sacrifices will be offered, especially on the 1st, 15th, and 30th days. People may be more involved this year because of the recent typhoon destruction. Please pray for Christians in non-Christian families who will be pressured to participate in these events. Pray that God's peace will begin to overcome the lack of peace throughout this land. Pray that the fear that binds people to continued appeasement of the spirits will be cast out by God's love and presence. Pray that Christians in Taiwan will demonstrate God's peace and hope during these days. The pictures below show people offering sacrifices to the spirits that are roaming the earth.

Camp results

Thank you all for praying for the Jr. high camp. We had a total of 55 students and 8 practice teachers. Each day the students learned how to play the harmonica and sing English songs. They played games and learned how to juggle. But most of all they learned about God and how He created the world and wants them to have a relationship with Him. The character trait for the last day was forgiveness. Teacher Jessica presented the gospel to them in Chinese and many indicated that they wanted to receive God's blessing. One student that we know of did pray to receive Christ as her savior. There may be others. During the closing activity all the students played and sang "Jesus Loves Me". What a blessing that was!! A video is posted for you to hear. All the students received a DVD of the Jesus story and a Chinese Bible. As a follow up activity we invited them to McDonald's for ice cream the day after the camp. This was a chance for them to hear The Long Run Players play again and it was a time for us to interact with the students. At least 30 students attended that event. After the time at McDonald's there were two teams that went to the homes of 4 of the students for a home visit. Those visits opened up more opportunities for sharing the gospel.
Pray: 1. Pray for these students. The seed has been planted. Pray that there will be a harvest among these students. 2. Pray that God would give us wisdom to know how to get a group started. 3. Pray that God would provide a co-worker that can lead these students in Bible study and worship.

Music
Recreation

Character and Bible

Jr. High Camp

Monday through Thursday of this week we have the opportunity to have an "English" camp at the Jr. high school. There will be 55 students and 8 practice teachers participating. The camp includes recreation, music and character/Bible. The Long Run Players are doing most of the leading. David and I will be there to assist as needed. Tonight we went to the school to decorate. Everyone was getting excited after wards. We are using 4 character traits. Orderly, attentiveness, obedience and forgiveness. A story from the Bible will be told to go along with each character trait. The gospel will be shared in some way each day. Please pray for this camp. 1. Pray for the ones that will be leading and teaching the students. 2. Pray that God will work in the hearts of each one of the students. That they will understand that Jesus is real and He loves them. 3. Communication...all this is done in English. Some of the students will understand without any problems, but there are others that will struggle. Thank you for your prayers.

Typhoon Marakot

A week ago, Taiwan was in a drought condition, with several areas facing critical water rationing in the near future. Typhoon Marakot, 1,600km (@1,000miles) in diameter changed that. By landfall (Friday midnight), the drought was over and most of the water reservoirs were full. Although it is now in China, and no longer a typhoon, it is still dropping huge amounts of rain in central and southern Taiwan, due to its enormous size. In the south there was a 1-day record rainfall of 1.4 m (@56in). At this point (Mon AM), we have experienced about 3 m (@119in) of rainfall in some central-southern counties, and the rain keeps coming. The least amt of rainfall, in the north is almost 1.5m (@60in). 58 bridges are closed due to damage, partial collapse, one bridge in the south collapsed in the middle of the bridge. Rail transportation and high speed rail is still blocked south of Taichung (central TW); 519 potential landslide locations; 91 roads damaged/cut-off; 10,000 people cut off from assistance; over 10,000 evacuated, but many cannot be evacuated; an entire hotel collapsed into a river on the SE coast; military assistance has continued 24hrs/day, non-stop for almost 3 days; utilities in the south may take up to 7 days to be working. Amazingly, only 31 people are missing and only 3 confirmed deaths. All this occurred on 8/8 (Father’s Day in TW). It is now being called the 8-8 evil rain day. Undoubtedly, this will be attributed to angry gods, not just bad weather. Temple parades are likely to begin springing up throughout the especially the hardest hit areas. There is a lot of work to do here….. Please pray for churches and the Taiwan Christian Relief org which will be trying to give assistance to those in need. Pray for the families of the missing or dead; for those who have lost everything; for those still needing to be evacuated. Pray that through this extraordinary weekend, people will come to know Jesus in the midst of destruction. Pray that God’s mercies and love will overcome the fears and anguish; that His Truth will become known in areas that have not heard of Jesus.

On the Plaza

Thank you all for praying for our outreach on the plaza. The rain stopped long enough for The Long Run Players to play several songs. There were several people that stopped to hear them play. David and I handed out DVDs to people who were watching. The team made contact with a Christian family and a young couple that studies at the University of Michigan. Then it started to rain, so they packed up their instruments and went to MOS Burger. Our plans were to eat there, but God apparently wanted us at McDonald's because there was no place to sit at MOS Burger. My friend, June came to McDonald's just to meet the team and hear them play. Playing at McDonald's was not exactly on the agenda, but God opened up the opportunity. Tomorrow (Sunday afternoon) they will be playing in front of the Far Eastern Department Store from 3:00-4:00 pm. We will also be passing out tracts and DVDs. Pray for this outreach event that God will give us opportunities to share the gospel and make new friends.

The Long Run Players

Here is a video of The Long Run Players. They have done a great job and have already had a few opportunities to sing. They have even learned a simple song in Chinese. Continue to pray for them as they study Chinese and also pray that they will have many opportunities to meet non-Christians and share the gospel with them. This coming Saturday they are suppose to be playing at an outside plaza. There is also a typhoon on the way. We need good weather, but we also need the rain. Pray that God will give us a plan B in case it is still raining.