Prayer and Praise

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Since we have been in the states God has provided a house for us to live in, a car for us to drive, good times with family, great doctors and nurses and many Christian friends who are praying for us. God has given us constant reminders through His word and encouraging words from others that He cares for us and will be with us always. His peace has been with us from the beginning of this journey. And for all this we give Him the praise.

Janice has seen the surgeon and his conclusion is that she needs to have a mastectomy. Surgery is scheduled for Sept. 24th (Friday) at 8:00 am. As you pray....pray for Janice for His care and protection during surgery, pray for Dr. Hird that God will guide his hands as he does the surgery, and pray for a quick recovery. An update will be coming soon. Thank you for praying.

Calming the Storm

We often use the expression "when it rains it pours" to refer to bad news. The week of August 8, 2010 was one of those weeks. On Monday I got the news that my nephew had committed suicide, and on Wednesday I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Two major storms in my life.
Now let's back up about a week. I have been teaching an English Bible class at a Giraffe School. I always prayed and asked God what He wanted me to teach the next week. I was looking at the story of the Good Samaritan, but God redirected me to the story of Jesus calming the storm. This was before I knew anything about my nephew or the breast cancer. But it was no surprise to God. He knows all things even before they happen. So that week I taught this story to the students. I told the students that we sometimes have storms (or bad things) happen in our lives, but Jesus is more powerful than those storms and He can calm them just like he did the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus has calmed my heart and given me peace and strength during this time. I taught the students a Bible verse from Isaiah 43:5. "Do not be afraid, for I am with you." God used this lesson to remind me that He is in control, He is always with me, and He is more powerful than any storm we may have in our lives.
Please pray for my sister and her family and pray for me as we return to the states for surgery and treatment.

English Camps

July is almost gone and so are the English camps for this summer. We want to say thank you to California Baptist University for their participation in three camps that took place July 5-8. The camps were held at the Ta Guan Giraffe School, the Ta Guan Jr. High School and the Joy English School. There were about 100 students that heard the gospel during these camps. There were no decisions made, but a lot of seeds were sown. Here are some pictures from those camps.

Ta Guan Giraffe School Camp
Joy English School Camp
Ta Kuan Jr. High Camp

The next camp was our trip to Bird Island with Fu Zhou Baptist Church. It was great working together with our local co-workers. We held an English camp for three days. There were about 30 students that participated. In addition to the camp, we made home visits and prayer walked around the island. Each evening the pastor led in a Bible study. The last night of our study a young man named Louis came and joined us. After the study, the pastor took Louis aside and led him to Christ. Praise God for this new believer. Pray for Louis, that he will grow in Christ and pray that God will put a Christian in his life to encourage him. Here is a picture of Louis and others from the camp. Louis is in the blue shirt.

Recreation
Telling the Bible Story
Last good-byes
The last camp was on July 19-23 at the Ju Guan Giraffe School. We had a great time telling the kids about Jesus. We taught them the song "My God is so Great" and they sang it with enthusiasm. The students especially enjoyed making little tambourines and playing them as we sang. There were about 25 students that attended this camp. Pray that the seed that was sown will grow in their hearts. Here are some pictures from this camp.

Camps

The month of July is going to be a busy time with English camps. We are preparing now for those camps. Three of these camps will be led by a group of university students from California Baptist University. They arrive Tuesday night. There will be three camps going on at the same time on July 5-8. One of the camps will be at the Ta Kuan Jr. High School, another camp will be at a Giraffe School that is just down the street from the Jr. High School (both in Banqiao) , and the third camp will be in another area of Taipei County called San Chong. A local church will also be involved in these camps, translating, sharing the gospel, and anything else that needs to be done. As we make final preparations for these camps, pray that we will follow God's leadership as we prepare; pray for unity, that we will all work together to accomplish the work that He has for us to do; pray for the university students that God will lead them since they will be doing most of the teaching; pray for safety, strength and endurance for everyone involved in the camps because it is going to be very hot.

The next week (July 12-16) David and Janice will be helping the Fu Zhou Baptist Church with a camp on Bird Island. Pray that God will go before us and prepare the hearts of the people and pray that we will see fruit. It's also going to be very hot, so pray for strength and endurance to withstand the hot weather.

The week July 19-23) four university students will come to Banqiao to lead two camps. These camps will be for students in two Giraffe Schools. Pray for these four students that God will give them the strength and energy to lead these students. They will be coming from Kinmen Island and will have already been involved in camps and other activities. Pray also that they will get some rest while they are here. Pray for the students and teachers at these Giraffe schools, that God will work in their hearts as they hear God's word.

All of these camps will give opportunities for people to hear the gospel. Pray for opportunities inside and outside of the camps to share the gospel. As God gives the opportunities, pray that He would also help us be bold in our witness. Pray that God will be glorified!!

Mother's Day - in a Jr. High

In Taiwan, Mother's Day is celebrated on the same day and in much the same way as in the USA. Like Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc., Mother's Day provides us an opportunity conduct activities in local schools. On May 17, 18 and 19 the story of Mother's Day was shared with about 600 students at Jiangcuei Jr. High School in Banqiao, Taiwan.

For English practice the students did a matching game based on activities mothers do for their children. The phrase "she gives her children hugs and kisses" provided an opportunity in ask "do you hug your mother?" Most students responded with a "no" (and no one is surprised). Recent newspaper articles and editorials have noted the fact that family members in Taiwan rarely display affection to one another.

A Bible story was also shared with the students. Hannah (mother of Samuel) was featured in the story. Most students in Taiwan never see a mother praying to God. What they experience is mothers (and grandmothers) taking them to idol temples where they learn to bow to idols and light joss sticks (representing praying to idols).

Please join us in praying for families in Taiwan. Mothers, fathers, and children need to see and experience God's plan for families.

A few pictures from Mother's Day at the Jr. High School.

One teacher came with her students.


Typical faces.

Holiday Classes

There are several months out of the year that we go into a local Jr. high school and do holiday classes. This month we are teaching the students about Mother's Day. We will talk about Mother's Day and do some fun activities, but we will also tell a Bible story. We have chosen to tell the story of Hannah because of her love for God and her faithfulness to Him. These classes will take place on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week and we will share with more than 600 students. Prayer requests: 1. David and I have both been sick, so pray that God will touch our voices and give us strength. 2. Pray also for Melva, Hannah, and Linda who will also be teaching one of the days. 3. Pray for the students, for understanding and an open heart. 4. There needs to be some kind of follow-up activity, so pray for God's wisdom to know what to do next.

David and I are also trying to increase our prayer supporters. We would like to have the names and email addresses of any people you know that would be willing to be added to our prayer network. Prayer is a very important part of our ministry and we thank you for praying.

Amy

Amy is an English teacher at Jiangcui Jr. High School. She has been attending my English Bible class for two semesters. Today she shared about her family background. Unfortunately it is not a very pretty picture. She has a very controlling sister and parents that don't work and have to live off of their children's income. Amy has much anger and resentment inside. I shared some of my own experiences and read some verses from the Bible, and another teacher shared her experiences, but what Amy needed today was for someone to listen to her. Our God is an amazing God. He knew exactly what was going to happen today. I had prepared a lesson on anger and I had printed someone's story that was dealing with anger from a difficult childhood. I gave that story for Amy to take home and read. I also brought two Bibles with me that had a list of topics in the front and Bible verses to go with those topics. In the back was also a section on how to become a Christian that I pointed out to Amy. Pray that God will draw Amy to Himself. Pray that His Spirit will touch her heart as she reads the testimony. Pray that she will read the section on how to become a Christian and be willing to open her heart and give her life to Jesus.

Nathan, Shannon and Josiah Clifton




It has been a long time since our last post, so decided it was
time for some updates. The last post was concerning our daughter, Shannon. She had broken her leg in three places and had surgery. We are happy to report that she is doing well. The cast is off and she is well on the way to full recovery. The Cliftons recently made a move to Portage, Michigan. While there Nathan will be working at Calvary Bible Church and Shannon will enjoy many activities at home with Josiah. God has really blessed them and provided for them during this time. They will be there for about nine months while they continue to raise support and prepare themselves for the mission field. If you would like to learn more about the Cliftons and their work, go to their blog at www.nsclifton.blogspot.com .
Our youngest daughter, Kara and her husband, Carey are in Pineville, Louisiana. They are both doing well. Carey works as assistant manager at Capitol One Bank and Kara is substitute teacher for an ESL pre-k class until the end of the school year.
In the past we have also asked for prayer for Janice's sister, Sandra. She is doing much better, but there is still some adjustment that needs to be made with one of her medications. Pray that the Drs. will soon find the right medication for her. Pray also for her protection, because there is potential danger if she drives. She recently took some tests and has been cleared to go back to work. Pray that God will provide just the right job for her and that He will give her the strength to do it.
We also had the opportunity to take a three week vacation to the states to see family and friends. It was wonderful to be able to see our daughters and other family and of course our grandson, Josiah. Pictures are posted at the end.
The Chinese New Year has come and gone. School started back today and many businesses opened back up after a nine day holiday. Firecrackers could be heard everywhere and people were out burning paper money to their dead ancestors. A big reminder of the lostness that is here. Pray for strongholds to be broken and that God's spirit would rain down on this place. Pray for boldness as we share the love of Jesus with those we meet. May His name be glorified.

David, Janice and Josiah















Josiah Clifton














Carey and Kara Westbrook