Personal Photo Project of the Week No. 6

Hearts Beat High with Joy


When I took this picture I went down quite the long journey of family history in family Bibles. One of the most important things I discovered was that I was born special.





The Bible in the picture belonged to my Grandma Bennett. My birth announcement was taped or glued to the front of her Bible. I wasn't the first grandchild born. I wasn't even close to being the first grandchild born. However, I am the only grandchild that had a birth considered worthy of having the birth announcement glued into the front of the Bible.








The Bible used for Hearts Beat High with Joy was my Grandma Bennett's Bible. The smaller Bible pictured in the last picture was my Dad's Bible. The Bible in the middle of the stack was my Grandpa Bennett's Bible.

December

Pardon and Sanctify Me


This cross stands on top of my church. It no longer looks like this because the it was painted during the tuckpointing process last year. The name comes from a classic hymn:

1. On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame;
and I love that old cross where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain.
Refrain:
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown.

2. O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
has a wondrous attraction for me;
for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary.
(Refrain)

3. In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
a wondrous beauty I see,
for 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
to pardon and sanctify me.
(Refrain)

4. To that old rugged cross I will ever be true,
its shame and reproach gladly bear;
then he'll call me some day to my home far away,
where his glory forever I'll share.
(Refrain)

The "story" of this picture and its original color incarnation can be seen by clicking on the link below:

Suffrage March

12 Days of Christmas - Happy Epiphany

The conclusion of Mark's 12 Days of Christmas.

Day 10

The tenth Christmas blessing that my Lord gave to me:

10 Small Group Students

I know I have written in a previous newsletter about my small group students. They are a group of 10 eighth graders, who meet with me most Tuesdays at lunch time. We always have time to sing songs, read a little from the Bible and pray. Honestly, it’s pretty simple, yet I think they enjoy the time, and it is a chance for them to learn more about God.

On December 18th, we had a small group party to celebrate Christmas. At the party we ate pizza, sang Christmas Carols, watched Charlie Brown Christmas, and read the Christmas story. It was a nice atmosphere to relax, have fun, and remember why we celebrate Christmas.


Prayer requests:
1. Praise God for these students and their eagerness to continue to learn about God outside of the classroom.
2. Pray that God would keep working in their lives, helping the students to know who he is. Also, pray that God would use me as his instrument to help the students know more about him.

Day 11

The eleventh Christmas blessing that my Lord gave to me:

Church Kid’s Camp Party

Every Saturday at Salvation Lutheran Church, children from around Chia-Yi City come to the church’s Saturday Kids’ Camp. Here they sing songs, read Bible stories, and have specialized club activities. Also, every year the students of the kids camp have a Christmas celebration, where they perform songs or skits and get gifts from the church.

Usually the Christmas bash is done at church, however, this year the format changed. The kids went to an orphanage in the city, where they played games, sang songs and performed for and with the orphans. Also, when they received their Christmas stocking from church, children gave stockings to orphans as well.

For the party, the American teachers performed our Lost Son drama. I also, played guitar to help the Kids’ Camp English Club sing Peace Like a River. In addition I played guitar and sang with the youth group as we performed Angels We Have Heard on High using English, Chinese, piano, violin, recorders, and tambourine.

All in all it was a great celebration for the kids who attend the kids’ camp, and a good way to share the message of Christmas with the orphans.

Prayer requests:

1. Pray for Salvation Saturday Kids’ Camp, that God would bless all the preparations and hard work of the teachers who lead activities.
2. Pray for the children who attend the kids camp, that they would keep coming back and God would continue to work in their lives.
3. Pray for the students at the orphanage. Pray that they understand Jesus’ love and that they would have more chances to hear about what he has done for them.

Day 12

The twelfth Christmas blessing that my Lord gave to me:

Christmas Caroling

I know I have written about it in previous Christmas newsletters, but a highlight at Christmas time is always grabbing the guitar, and leading a group of students and teachers in Christmas caroling. This year I had the opportunity to go Christmas caroling twice, once for the Friday Night Bible Study Christmas Party, and again with students who live at school.

For the Friday Night Bible Study Christmas party, the large group of us went to a local department store and sang outside the front doors. Many people who were walking by stopped and listened or watched as they passed. After singing 3 songs there, we split into 3 groups of approximately 30 people a piece. Each group took a different path, stopping at various shops and businesses along the way. Songs that we sing for caroling include Angels We Have Heard on High, Joy to the World, Away in a Manger, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Silent Night (with a Chinese verse), and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. When I am leading groups, we usually sing two songs and then close with a verse of We Wish You A Merry Christmas. This year, caroling destinations for my group included Starbucks, 7-11, two different tea stands, and my barber’s house. My barber later commented that she loved the sound of us singing and was very glad we stopped at her house.

The second chance I had for Christmas caroling was with the students who live at school, many of whom attend OSF. We went caroling on the night of Wednesday December 23rd from 8:30-10:00pm. (This was the same day as the students’ song competition and tree decorating). For OSF Christmas Caroling, we split into two groups and went first to the business outside of our campus. Then we came back and sang to the other students and teachers who live at school. The evening always closes with us singing at the married teachers housing, where many of the families give candy and treats for the students who come out caroling.

I don’t know what it is, but I just love being able to grab my guitar and walk with students up and down the streets, singing praises to God. It is really neat for both the singers and the listeners. It helps us build ties to the local community and provides an opportunity to share the message of Christmas with those who work and live near us. We always handout a card or paper with a Bible verse explaining why we celebrate Christmas. In addition, the people in the community near school enjoy and anticipate our visit every year. I know of three different businesses that began asking a couple of weeks before Christmas, when we would be arriving to sing. Also, one of the local tea stands recorded the caroling group with a digital camera, and they occasionally use this recording as a screensaver on their computer. Praise God for this opportunity he has given us to celebrate Christmas and share the good news.

Prayer requests:
1. Thanksgiving for the chance to sing Christmas songs in the local communities.
2. Pray that the people who heard the songs would be curious to learn more about Jesus and his love for them.
3. Thanksgiving for a wonderful Christmas season, filled with the love, peace, and hope that only comes from Jesus.

The 12 Christmas blessings that my Lord gave to me
-Christmas Caroling
-Church Kid’s Camp Party
-10 Small Group Students
-Pirates of Sin skit
- Christmas Celebrations
-7th Grade Bible Class
-6 former students
-Bright, glowing trees
-Song Competition
-Lost Son Skit
-Water and Word
…and Messiah on Christmas Eve

P.S.....And...if I had to do a 13th day of Christmas I feel very blessed to have both Cyclone and Hawkeye victories in their bowl games. Hooray for the state of Iowa!!!!

12 Days of Christmas - Part 3

Day 7

The seventh Christmas blessing that my Lord gave to me:

Seventh Grade Bible Class

For our 7th grade (Junior 1) Bible class this month, we taught the students about the first Christmas. We had 3 lessons to help the students understand the first Christmas and why it is important.

The first lesson looked at Mary and Joseph’s reaction to the angel’s news about Mary having God’s son. In the second lesson, the students learned about the first Christmas, with the stable, manger, shepherds, and angels. Finally the third lesson looked at the three wise men and their journey to Bethlehem. Of course we also discussed how Jesus came to save people from their sins.

In these lessons students read a story, learned some new vocabulary, and listened to some Christmas songs. Songs they listened to include Away in a Manger, What Child Is This, The First Noel, and We Three Kings. The students really enjoy listening to the music and learning about the first Christmas. While the students might not understand all of the vocabulary in the songs, they still can get the basic Christmas story through music.

For some of these students, this was the first time they learned the details about what happened at Christmas and why we celebrate it. Many of them have heard of Santa or stockings or Christmas trees, but Bible class provides an opportunity to teach them what really happened at Christmas.

Prayer Requests:
1. Please pray that God would help the students understand the true meaning of Christmas and his love for them.

Day 8

The eighth Christmas blessing that my Lord gave to me:

Christmas Celebrations

Christmas is a time to have many celebrations or parties for the various youth ministries that I am involved with. This year is no exception and I would like to briefly talk about three Christmas parties directly connected to youth ministry here in Taiwan.

OSF Christmas Celebration:

The On-Campus Student Fellowship group meets most Thursday evenings throughout the semester and it is an outreach group for students who live at Concordia Middle School. The OSF Christmas party was held on Thursday December 17th this year, and it featured a performance of the Lost Son Skit (see Day #3), 2 rounds of Family Feud (featuring Christmas questions), singing of Christmas carols, and plenty of delicious snacks.

Friday Night Bible Study Christmas Celebration:

The FNBS Christmas party was on Friday December 18th. Friday Night Bible Study is held in Chia-Yi City and is a weekly English Bible study for Junior High students through adults. While some of the people who attend also go to Concordia, many do not. This makes it a great outreach to students who are not hearing the Gospel on a regular basis. Our FNBS party also featured Christmas songs and a performance of the Lost Son Skit. In addition we all went out to the streets near church to go Christmas caroling. We returned from caroling to read the Christmas story from Luke 2, and sing Silent Night. The evening ended with many delicious snacks being devoured by hungry youth and adults.

Salvation Lutheran Church Youth Group Christmas Celebration:

Youth Group had a Christmas Party on Sunday December 27th. For this celebration we sang Christmas songs and played a gift opening/exchanging game…(similar to White Elephant Gift Games). After playing the game we ate pizza and decorated Christmas cookies.

All of these activities were such a blessing because more people attended the event than normally do the weekly gathering. Christmas activities are a great outreach tool because new students come as they are curious to learn about how people celebrate Christmas. Also, many regular attendees will invite more friends to accompany them to the Christmas parties. This provides a great opportunity to witness the love of Jesus to many new people.

Prayer Requests:
1. Please pray for all of the students who attended these youth events. May they understand the true meaning of Christmas and their need for a savior.
2. Pray that God would lead the new visitors to return and continuing learning about him.


Day 9

The ninth Christmas blessing that my Lord gave to me:

Pirates of Sin Skit

Every year the students at Concordia Middle School have Christmas worship to kick off the school’s Christmas activities. The 7th graders have worship in the Luther Chapel, and the 8-12th graders meet in the gym. As part of this worship service, the school invites the American teachers who teach at the middle school to perform a skit. We perform it for the 7th graders at 8:00am and then immediately go over to the gym and perform for the rest of the school at 8:40. For worship, we create a different skit than what is used for the other Christmas activities, and this year we performed a drama called The Pirates of Sin.

The skit focused on two pirates who were slaves to Captain Sin, and worked with him to lie, cheat, and steal. Meanwhile, they continue to hear news of the legendary Treasure of Heaven. While selling stolen goods at a village, the pirates run into Jesus who decides to come aboard their ship to work.

On the boat, Jesus tells the pirates details about the Treasure of Heaven. Captain Sin overhears this and tries to end the discussion, but ultimately ends up killing Jesus with the Sword of Death. The pirates are depressed and feel the Treasure of Heaven will be gone forever. However, Jesus comes alive again and can no longer be hurt by the sword of death. He easily defeats Captain Sin and leads the pirates to the Treasure of Heaven.

In addition to the pirates, we had a parrot, a fisherman, and two wise merchants. All in all it was a very light-hearted skit, and definitely something different from our traditional Christmas dramas. Yet, the message was the same. Jesus came to free us from sin and lead us to heaven. I pray the students got the message and had a good laugh. Yargggh!!!

Prayer request:
1. Please pray the students and teachers at Christmas worship were able to understand the Gospel both through the skit and through the service.

The 12 Christmas blessings that my Lord gave to me
-Pirates of Sin skit
-8 Christmas Celebrations
-7th Grade Bible Class
-6 former students
-Bright, glowing trees
-Song Competition
-Lost Son Skit
-Water and Word
…and Messiah on Christmas Eve

12 Days of Christmas - Part 2

Day 4

The fourth Christmas blessing that my Lord gave to me:

Song Competition

At Concordia Middle School, 7th grade (also known as Junior 1) through 11th grade (also known as Senior 2), have a couple of intra-grade competitions. One of these is the Christmas song contest. For this competition each classes needs to select a conductor, a pianist, and two songs to sing for the judges. One of the songs needs to be a Christmas song, and other needs to be a religious song. Everyone in the class participates, and they spend over a month preparing to sing.

This year on Wednesday December 23rd, Concordia Middle School had Christmas Worship in the morning from 8:00-9:30. Then from 10:00-12:00, the 7th grade and 9th grade students had their competitions, in the Luther Chapel and Auditorium respectively. After a break for lunch the 10th and 11th graders had their performances in the auditorium, while the 8th graders sang in the chapel.

I absolutely love to listen to their songs. While 80% of the songs are sung in Chinese, there are some English ones and even a Taiwanese song or two. Over the years I have developed several personal favorites of mine, and have even learned the words to a handful of them. It brings such joy to my heart, hearing the students sing praises to God. In addition, it is something they will always remember, and I pray God will use the words of those songs to impact their lives and help them know more about who he is.

Prayer requests:

1. Pray that God would use these songs as means to help the students of Concordia Middle School know about him.


Want to listen? Check out a video from Youtube.





Of course if you subscribe to this blog via email or RSS feed, you will have to go to the website to see the video.

Day 5

The fifth Christmas blessing that my Lord gave to me:

Bright, Glowing Trees

The second intra-grade level Christmas competition that the students have at CMS is the Christmas tree contest. This time, 7th-11th graders are each given a tree or shrub on the main part of campus. They then need to decorate their tree to show a Bible story or Biblical theme. Some of the stories created this year include Jonah, the parable of the Lost Sheep, the Prodigal Son, Noah’s Ark, Jesus Turns Water into Wine, and Revelation. The students are required to make the tree and decorations using recycled products like boxes, paper, and drink boxes or bottles. Students are judged on their creativity, content, appearance, and use of recycled goods. Like their Christmas songs, they spend weeks preparing for the contest.

On the day of the Christmas song competition the students go outside and decorate in the morning or afternoon, depending when their grade is singing. At night all of the trees are lit, and students are able to stay at school until evening to finish decorating, eat dinner as a class, and see the trees at night. The school leaves the trees decorated on campus for a couple of days and lights them for a few hours every evening. Each Christmas I take a little time to walk around the trees at night. I take in the beautiful scenery, appreciate my students’ hard work and pray for them.

Prayer requests:

1. Please pray that the students understand the message in their Bible stories, and that God would use these stories and trees to help the students know more about him.

Day 6

The sixth Christmas blessing that my Lord gave to me:

6 Former Students

In the previous two updates, I shared the joy of students decorating trees and singing songs. I know I touched on it a little bit, but it is something the students really cherish and enjoy. Over the years teaching, I have had many students write about how Christmas is their favorite time of year here at CMS.

This even carries over past their graduation, into their college years. This year, I was blessed to see 6 of my former students at CMS during the Christmas celebration. Two of them attended the Senior High Song Competition, and the other four I saw while I was watching students setting up their Christmas trees.

For all of the students I was able to quickly catch-up with them about how their college experiences are going. We also talked about Christmas here at CMS, and they all reflected how important it was for them and how they wanted to return to see trees or listen to songs.

One of the students, Jason, even came all the way from Taipei just for the afternoon. He had one class on that Wednesday, and decided to skip it at travel down to Chia-Yi. The trip is 3 hours by bus or 1 hour by bullet train. He arrived in the afternoon then had to get up the next morning to return for his Thursday classes, but he talked about how this was the way he wanted to celebrate Christmas.

This really touched me, and helped reinforce the impact of Christmas celebration here in Taiwan. What a blessing it is that Jason wanted to continue celebrating Christmas into college, and that he wanted to do so with the Christmas Trees that show Bible stories, and songs that praise Jesus.

Prayer requests:

1. Pray that God will continue to work in the lives of all of these students: Jenny, Sam, Terry, Jackal, Peter, and Jason. That the message of Christmas will sink into their hearts and create faith in the Savior.
2. Praise God that they were able to make it back to CMS and that I was able to see them, if even for a brief amount of time.

The 12 Christmas blessings that my Lord gave to me
-6 former students
-Bright, glowing trees
-Song Competition
-Lost Son Skit
-Water and Word
and
-Messiah on Christmas Eve

12 Days of Christmas - Part 1

I'm trying to figure out a good way to post Mark's most recent newsletter. He has what I think is a most ingenious idea. He is posting a new thing that he is thankful for on the 12 days of Christmas.

It has come to my attention that most people seem to think the 12 days of Christmas starts 12 days before Christmas and ends on Christmas Day. When in actuality, Christmas is the first day of Christmas and it lasts until Epiphany. Epiphany celebrates the coming of the Magi: Balthasar, Melchior and Gaspar.

Rather than publishing them 1 at a time, or all together, I've decided to publish 3 at a time.

Enjoy Mark's first 3 days of Christmas:

Day 1

1st Day of Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!

When I was in my teacher education courses at Iowa State I remember getting many pieces of advice, but one particular piece sticks out that I learned in many courses. The advice was that a teacher needs to be a thief. It is absolutely important, to borrow, steal, use and modify ideas from other teachers. I should never think I have all the ideas I need, but should rather be continually learning from others. Well I am glad I listened because as it turns out this piece of advice is definitely true. And for my upcoming newsletters, I am borrowing an idea from Ben and Amy Riley, who are missionaries with me here in Taiwan.

The Christmas season is such a busy and joyful time, with a plethora of activities. Honestly, it is very difficult to put all of these into a newsletter (or two), so instead I am going to give you the 12 Days of Christmas as a substitute for December and January Newsletters. For the next 12 days, I will give you a short update, highlighting an aspect of the ministry here in Taiwan, most of which will focus on the Christmas season.

Let me know if you like this or regular newsletters, but I thought it would be fun to try something new. So without further delay…

The Twelve Christmas Blessings that My Lord Gave to Me:

1. Messiah in Church on Christmas Eve

The most important blessing is the gift of Jesus, our savior and king. On Christmas night, Salvation Lutheran Church had a Christmas service, featuring selection’s from Handel’s Messiah. These selections were performed by many of our very talented members at church. With the church was filled with both members and non-members alike, all of whom were able to hear about God sending a savior to the world.

Praise God for his love and pray for those who came to church but do not yet know him.

Day 2

The Second Christmas blessing that my Lord gave to Me:

Water and Word

Baptism is a wonderful gift that God has given us. This past December we had our Fall Missionary Retreat in Sun Moon Lake. The focus of this retreat was our baptism and the faith and confidence that we have because of God’s work in this way. The retreat was a relaxing time to get away for a weekend, build-up our team, and refocus on God’s word.

Baptism was also part of our worship service this morning. This morning at Salvation Lutheran Church, God brought Erin Shu into his family through water and the word. Erin is a Senior in High School at Chia-Yi Girls school, and has been attending Youth Group and Friday Night Bible Study over the last few years.

Prayer requests
1. Praise God for a great retreat in early December.
2. Praise God for his work in Erin’s life, and for her baptism this morning.
3. Pray that Erin will grow in faith and that God will use the members of Salvation Lutheran church to encourage and support her in Christian love.

The 12 Christmas blessings that my Lord gave to me:

-Water and Word
and
-Messiah on Christmas Eve

Day 3

The third Christmas blessing that my Lord gave to me:

Lost Son Skit

Every Christmas season is busy with practices and preparations for our annual Christmas dramas. One of the dramas that I helped to write this year was a drama about the Prodigal Son. This drama was a modern re-telling of the parable, and was a wordless production with the action driven by a musical soundtrack.

16 people participated in the skit, and it featured roles such as the father, sons, servants, wild livers (that is people who live wildly), gangsters, and a pig farmer with pigs. My role was to be one of the gangsters who stole from and beat up the wasteful son. The soundtrack included songs such as Whistle While You Work, My Heart Will Go On (from Titanic), ABAA’s “Money, Money, Money”, and a song from the West Side Story.

The skit was really funny and overly dramatic, but afterwards we connected the skit to Christmas. We are all like that son who leaves the father and wants to live for himself. But God loves us, and accepts us even though we sin and fall short of his law of love. He forgives us through his son Jesus Christ, who was born as a baby on the first Christmas.

We performed the Lost Son drama four times. The performances were for the On-Campus Student Fellowship Christmas party, the Friday Night Bible Study Christmas party, the Saturday School Orphanage Christmas Celebration (I’ll write more about this at another time), and on Sunday morning worship. Praise God for the chance to share the message of his love through this entertaining method.

Prayer requests:

1. Pray for those who watched the drama, that they may understand and believe in God’s love for them.
2. Pray for this Thursday morning when we will perform the skit one last time for the 7th grade students at the weekly chapel service. Pray that God would help them to understand the message and pray for us teachers as we prepare to do the skit and lead songs.

The 12 Christmas blessings that my Lord gave to me:

-Lost Son Skit
-Water and Word
and
-Messiah on Christmas Eve

Happy Christmas Eve

Hope, Peace, Joy and Love are promises offered to us by God, and all of them manifest in this one we light tonight: the Christ Candle. In Christ we find the hope of transformation, the peace that follows justice, the joy of self-fulfillment in community, and the love that encompasses us in all our diversity, empowering us to make our own unique contribution to this world. In Christ we find light and life, and the courage to be like him, answering his call, following in his footsteps.

Taiwan Times - November 2009

Mark's monthly newsletter from Taiwan.

Hey everyone. This is more of a November email, than newsletter. My apologies for not getting a full blown newsletter, and for not sending this in a more timely manner.

I wanted to give you a quick update on how things are going in Taiwan. November was another great month of teaching English and Bible classes. My 7th graders wrapped up a unit on Abraham and began to look at three lessons about the first Christmas. My 8th graders completed their unit on Moses, watched the Prince of Egypt and learned about the 10 commandments. My 10th graders completed a video news project, and my 11th graders wrote compositions focusing on the city of Chia Yi.

Right now, I am fully immersed in Christmas preparations. In fact I will be participating in activities to celebrate Christmas tonight. Christmas is a busy time of year, however the preparations and the activities are a great opportunity that God has given us. Christmas time opens many doors to share the Gospel with those who have not heard it.

Prayer requests:

-Praise God for the opportunities he has given for us to share about Christ at Christmas.
-Pray for energy, patience, and guidance as the other American teachers and I prepare and hold our Christmas activities.
-Pray also for the message that God would use the activities at church and school to bring faith and new life to those that hear it.

God’s peace,
Mark

The Taiwan Times - October 2009

Mark's monthly newsletter from Taiwan.

The Taiwan Times
By Mark Wolfram
Reporting on God's Mission in Taiwan
October 2009

“Rags! Rags! Rags for sale! Give me your old ones, I will give you new ones.” Have you ever felt like you had struggles, difficulties, or shortcomings that you continually deal with? Would you like to trade all of those “dirty rags” for a fresh clean one? This is the main focus regarding one of the skits we performed recently out here in Taiwan. It is titled, simply, “The Rag Man.”

The Rag Man is a nonverbal skit, with guitar played in the background. In the drama a strong, energetic man walks around and takes the dirty rags of people with problems, and replaces them with a new, clean rag. In our version of the skit, there was a person with headaches, a person out in the cold, a person crying, and a person with a broken leg. For each person, the Rag Man took away their problem. In the process, they received healing, and the Rag Man in turn began to experience their pain. The drama ends as they Rag Man, having taken all of the pain, stumbles around and finally falls dead. However, a little later is back to life, good as new, showing that he is stronger than death.

The symbolism, should be obvious. The Rag Man is Jesus, taking our sins and shortcoming on himself, and while he died, he rose again in victory. We have new life, “new rags” because of him. This fall, some Americans teachers and I performed this skit on two different occasions, and I would like to use this newsletter to share with you the ministry opportunities God gave us in those settings.

The first one was on the Saturday evening of Moon Festival. Moon Festival is the traditional fall holiday in which families get together, eat a big meal and celebrate the autumn. I liken it most to our celebration of Thanksgiving, however this is a bit of a stretch because it is not specifically set aside as a time of thankfulness. But nonetheless, I hope this gives a little perspective.

This year on Moon Festival, Glory Lutheran Church (our principal’s church) organized an evening program and meal for people living in a community near Concordia Middle School. The event was being put together for people who lost their homes or had severe damage from the typhoon that hit this past August. It is part of an on-going outreach by Glory Church to the people in this community. As part of the program, Principal Lin asked if any American teachers would be willing to perform a drama for the people. We did, and we used the Rag Man skit to help share the message of Jesus in a visual way. After the skit, Christy Lu (one of our Taiwanese friends) explained the idea behind the skit in Chinese to help non-Christians connect the action with the Gospel.

The second place we performed the skit was at the Senior High Chapel Service. Every Friday at CMS, students from 8-12th grade can voluntarily attend chapel from 7:30-8:15. (The school also has mandatory chapel for the 7th graders every Thursday morning at the same time.) Usually 3-4 times a semester, the Religion Department will ask the American teachers to take a chapel service. Last week, we lead the High Schoolers in songs, Bible reading, and performed the Rag Man skit. While the students are often quieter for songs at that time of the morning, all of them seemed to be paying attention to the skit, and all of them had the chance to read Bible verses both in English and in Chinese. It was a wonderful opportunity to share the message with the students here at school.

It's Prayer Time!

1. Praise God for these chances to share the Good News through skit, and pray for those who were at both performances.

2. Pray that God would work in their lives, and also pray for the Religion Department and Glory Church in their continuing ministry in those areas.

3. Pray for my teaching, that I would also be ready to share the love of Jesus with my students, in what ever capacity God presents it.

4. Pray for Andrew, Ben and I as we plan the upcoming missionary retreat which will take place the first weekend in December.

Thanks for your continued prayer and support. May the love of Christ and his true peace be upon you all!

Mark

Methodist Men Steak Fry - Preview

Here is a preview of what you will see if you come to the Methodist Men Steak Fry on Sunday night.

Below is the video that Jesse will use to close his presentation.

The video was put together by Mike Vest. The song is "Hey World (Don't Give Up on Me Version)"



Of course, if you subscribe to this blog via RSS Feed or Email, you will have to go to the website to view the video. You can do so by clicking on the link below:

An Artist's Notebook

Methodist Men Steak Fry

This Sunday is the Methodist Men Steak Fry. What makes this year special is that the entertainment will be Jesse speaking about his trip to Uganda.

The Methodist Men Steak Fry is open to men, women, Methodists and non-Methodists.





What: Methodist Men Steak Fry
Where: Boone First United Methodist Church
What: Edible Food and Jesse Howard Level Entertainment
Date: Sunday, October 11, 2009
Time: 6 PM
Cost: $6.00

You can pay at the door. But let me know if you are coming, so I can get your name on the list.

Taiwan Times - September 2009

Mark's latest missive from Taiwan.

The Taiwan Times
By Mark Wolfram
Reporting on God’s mission in Taiwan
September 2009

Hi everyone. Well September has come and gone, but it was a great month to get back adjusted to teaching, and all of the other activities here in Taiwan. In this month’s newsletter, I would like to share about my 8th grade small group.

Here at Concordia Middle School, the religion department organizes small group for students in 8th and 9th grade. I decided to help with it this year, and have a group of nine 8th graders. Some of these are my current students who I have English Bible class with, and others I do not teach in class. We meet every Tuesday for 45 minutes, during the students’ nap time.

I am especially excited about this group because these students love to sing. I take in the guitar and they sing English songs, and I have been working on a couple of Chinese songs to sing with them. Last week we sang "All in All", "Be Glorified", and a Chinese song called “Let Praise Arise.” I am most impressed with their confidence in singing loud, something that is not too common for 8th graders. In addition to singing songs, we read a couple of Bible verses and pray.

I am really looking forward to getting to know these students over the course of this year. Please pray that God would bless the group and help the students to put their trust in him above all things.

Another blessing that came from my small group experience, was at the small group teachers’ meeting. To kick off the small group year, all of the teachers met to discuss materials and the schedule for semester. At this meeting I ran into Bill, one of my former students.

Bill was one of my 10th grade students my first year in Taiwan. He was always interested in Bible class, and even came to our On-Campus Student Fellowship when he had time. As he completed 11th and 12th grade, he had not yet become a Christian. He is now a sophomore at a Jhong Jheng University, which is located 15 minutes from CMS. At the small group meeting, I was excited to find out that he is now a Christian, and had signed up to help with small groups at Concordia this semester. He told me that he attends church near his college and that he has a physics professor who is also a Christian and is someone he can talk about his faith with.

Praise God for Bill’s story. As a teacher here at CMS, it can be difficult to have many students who do not come to faith while attending high school. At the same time, God is still working on them and loves them. He works things out in his time, not my time.

It’s Prayer Time!

1. Please pray for my small group, that God would bless our time and help the students to grow in faith and love toward God.
2. Rejoice with Bill and his faith in Jesus.
3. Pray for my classes, that God would help me to share the love of Jesus both through action and word.
4. Pray for Ben, Andrew, and I as we plan the missionary retreat for this fall.
5. Pray for my Chinese language study. I need some motivation to continue learning and studying.
   

May God’s peace and love be with you all!

The Taiwan Times - August 2009

The Taiwan Times
by Mark Wolfram
Reporting on God's mission in Taiwan

Quick Update

Hello everyone from Taiwan. Just wanted to write and let you know that I made it back over here safely, after a wonderful time in the United States. I spent 7 weeks in America this summer, which is the longest I had stayed since coming overseas as a missionary. I really enjoyed the chance to meet many of you and come speak at several churches.

One prayer for the summer, was for the necessary funds to be raised for the coming year. Praise God that He always provides. I am elated to say that I am fully funded for the coming year. I thank so many of you who provided financial support for the mission work that is happening here in Taiwan.

As I write this, Concordia Middle School has just begun a new semester. After a month of optional summer classes, the students are now beginning their mandatory school. I am excited for another opportunity to teach Bible and English classes here at CMS. My schedule this year will include 7th,8th, 10th, and 11th graders. The 11th grade will be a new class for me, although I am blessed to be able continue teaching an amazing group of the students I had last year as 10th graders.

In addition this month will start up our Thursday evening On-Campus Student Fellowship, and Friday Night Bible English Bible Study. The Salvation Youth Group has continued through-out the summer, and I have been able to attend the last two Saturdays.

That’s right boys and girls, it’s the start of a new year, and it brings excitement, energy, and many chances to share the love of Christ through words and actions.

It's Prayer Time!

1. Pray for me as I start a new school year. Pray that I may get all of my classes organized and off to a good start. Pray that I may love my students and share Jesus with them in all things.

2. Pray for Friday Night Bible Study, On-campus Student Fellowship, and Salvation Youth Group. Pray for God’s blessings as these start and that many kids may come eager to hear about the love of Jesus.

3. Pray for all of the missionaries here on Team Taiwan. May God bless all of us as we work together and share the Gospel.

4. Pray for my barber (whose name is Sue Hway…some had asked). Pray that she may come to faith in Christ.

5. Pray that God would help me continue to improve my Chinese.

May God bless you all,

Mark

Jesse Goes to Africa - Collection 9

More pictures from Uganda.
































More to come...

Jesse Goes to Africa - Collection 8

More from Uganda.















It is my sincerest hope that they did not subject the good people of Uganda to the La Macarena. Haven't they suffered enough?

















More to come...

Jesse Goes to Africa - Collection 7

This might be my favorite set of pictures yet.












Where I come from, they have a word for this kind of sign.




















More to come...

Jesse Goes to Africa - Collection 6

More from Uganda.









I would be pretty upset to go all the way to Uganda and find out that they have a white trash problem too! I can only imagine that this picture was taken near the Gulu Speedway.























More to come...

Jesse Goes to Africa - Collection 5

More from Uganda.


















I included this picture because it reminded me of a bathroom I once used in Mexico. There was a monkey on a chain behind that bathroom.














More to come...