The Taiwan Times

By Mark Wolfram

Reporting on God’s mission in Taiwan

August 2010

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household,”

Ephesians 2:19

Back on the island

Hello everyone. I am back in Taiwan, after a busy, but refreshing trip to the United States.  It’s always nice to be back home with family, friends, American food (especially BBQ), and so many other parts of my native culture.  Being here in Taiwan, it is easy to feel like a foreigner or alien.  The culture, language, educational system, and so many other things provide stark contrast from American life.  However, the above Bible verse reminds me that our true citizenship is neither in Taiwan nor America.  Rather, our citizenship is in heaven with God.  It does not come through a test or application process, but through God’s love as completed in Jesus’ death and resurrection.  We were outsiders to God, but have been made members of God’s family, no matter if we live in America or Taiwan.

The new year

Today we had our annual faculty meeting, to start the new semester, and tomorrow will be the first day of school.  This year I will be teaching 7^th, 10^th, and 11^th grade students.  Of my 10 classes, 9 of them will be English classes, and one of my 7^th grade classes will be Bible class.  In addition to the teaching I have begun some new administrative work as Concordia Middle School Liaison between the missionaries, the school, and LCMS World Mission.  This past month I have helped to organize and implement orientation of our 2 new teachers:  Graham Guenther and Rachel Sekki.  Praise God that they were able to make it over safely and have already begun adjusting to life in Taiwan.  In addition to orientation, I have also been working on organizing paperwork for work permits and green cards for the American teachers.

Fundraising

The trip back to America this summer was wonderful.  Praise God that I was able to meet up with so many friends and family members, in addition to travel to several churches.  I am elated to report that, God has provided the funds needed for this year’s service.  In fact, I am already 1/3 of the amount over what I needed, so this will be applied to future years of service.  Praise God for your prayers and financial support which have helped to make this possible.

I do want to let you know about one change for mailing in of donations.  From now on (for those of you who pledged support), please send any checks to the address below.

Baptisms

My first Sunday back in Taiwan was truly a blessed one, as we had three people baptized.  One of them was a CMS student named Jeff, who I have known both from classes and from Salvation Lutheran Church Youth Group.  Along with Jeff, his mother and his brother were also baptized.  It was such a joy to welcome new brothers and sisters in Christ, the very first Sunday I was back in Taiwan.

Teachers needed

I know I have written it in the past, and talked about it this summer, but CMS is still looking for 4 teachers for this school year.  The positions are all for elementary level English and Bible teaching.  Even though the semester starts on Tuesday, we have had teachers join mid-year in the past.  If you or anyone you know are interested, please contact me and I would love to give you more information.  Even if you don’t know of anyone, please pray that God will provide the even more teachers to help share the love of Jesus with the students here in Taiwan.

Prayer Time:

1.     Please pray for the start of the new school year for me and all of the teachers as we start back into the teaching routine.  Please pray especially for Graham and Rachel as they adjust to a new culture and new responsibilities.

2.    Praise God for my fundraising goal being met and exceeded.

3.    Pray for my Chinese language acquisition.  I will be using it more and would like to be more intentional and focused with lessons.

4.    Pray for more teachers to come and serve here Taiwan.

May God’s love and peace be ever present in your daily life!

Mark

The latest from Mark’s mission work in Taiwan.  On a personal note, Mark is back in the United States for a few weeks and we will be having our annual meal in the next couple of weeks.  There will hopefully be a in focus picture of us on that night surfacing here in the near future!

LCMS World Mission

1-800-433-3954

www.lcmsworldmission.org mission.info@lcms.org

The Taiwan Times

By Mark Wolfram

Reporting on God’s mission in Taiwan

June 2010

Power of God’s Word

⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ¹⁰ As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, ¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.   Isaiah 55:9-10

God’s word works and does what God wants it to do.  We don’t always know when or how, but the Bible tells us that we can trust that God’s word will do what it sets out to do.  This newsletter today focuses on how God’s word is working in the lives of people here in Taiwan.  First and foremost by bring them to the waters of holy baptism.

God continues to be working in the lives of the people here in Taiwan, through many and various ways.  Right now, the most exciting aspect is how God is using baptism to bring Taiwanese people into his kingdom.  In previous newsletters, I had written about a Kevin (7^th grade student) and Jack (an 8^th grader) who are taking baptism classes and will continue over the summer.   The last time I talked to Jack, he said that he should be baptized sometime in July.

Additionally, in the end of June I had the chance to talk to Pastor Alex of Salvation Lutheran Church about baptism classes at our church.  He passed on some great news, that I would like to share with you all.  Currently there are 4 people taking classes, who will then be baptized in the middle of August.  They are as follows:

1.     Jeff, and his brother and mother.  Jeff just finished his 7^th grade year at Concordia Middle School.  He attends youth group at Salvation Lutheran Church, and his mother and brother come to the Saturday Kids Camp at Salvation Lutheran Church.

2.    Jessica.  She is a Taiwanese woman, who has come to our Friday Night Bible Study this year.

In addition to these four people,   Pastor Alex also said that this summer there are several new people that will begin baptism classes sometime in July.  They are:

3.    Jonathan and Rachel.  Jonathan is an English man, and Rachel is a Taiwanese woman.  They started attending church this past spring, and are both newer Christians.

4.    Lenzy, who just graduated from middle school and will start 10^th grade at a new high school this fall.  She has attended our Friday Night Bible Study and Youth Group.

5.    Jackson, who finished mandatory military service this past year, and is now working and studying English.  He is coming to the class to learn more, but Pastor is not certain if he will finish the program.  Please pray for God to continue to work in Jackson’s heart.

Short Term Missions:  Advocate 341

During the first two weeks of June, we had special visitors Doug Larson, Jacob Larson, and Garrett Wolle.  Doug and Jacob had come out last year to do music ministry to the students at Chia-Yi Girls School, and this year they returned with a new friend, Garrett.  Together the trio formed the group Advocate 341.  Their name shows the purpose of the group, to advocate, or speak out as 3 guys 4 one purpose.  Their purpose is to speak the message of the Gospel of Jesus.   While in Taiwan, they performed a free concert at a local shopping center called Nice Plaza.  Over 300 people attended the concert, and Salvation Lutheran Church helped to pass out information about Bible Studies and fellowships for those that attended.

In addition to the concert, the three guys did ministry to students at Chia-Yi Girls School and Chia-Yi Boys school.  Here they went to music classes to sing songs, and share about the love of Jesus through their music.  They helped to build relationships with the students and invite them to on-going ministries at Salvation Lutheran Church.  Nearly 50 girls from the schools or concert came to at least one of these activities at our church.  Praise God for the relationships that were built and the opportunity that Doug and the boys had to share the Gospel with the people here in Taiwan.

Pray that God would continue to keep the students connected to him and the church.  Pray that the Holy Spirit would work faith into the hearts of those who heard the message.

Financial Support

Want to support the ministry here in Taiwan?  I am still working on fundraising for the coming year.  Currently I need to raise $5,000 for my next year of service.   I am elated to announce that the first goal of 25% has been met, and thus I am officially extended for next year.  My next goal is to meet the 70% I need to return to the field at the end of the summer.  To meet this goal, I need to raise $1,700 by the beginning of August.  If you would like to contribute financially to the ministry in Taiwan, please send a check to:

Missionary Support

LCMS World Mission

1333 S. Kirkwood Rd.

St. Louis, MO  63122

On the memo line for the check please write “Mark Wolfram account #50152”.

Or go online to my prayer card and make a donation over the Internet.  http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=8521

In addition, I hope to see some of you this summer as I speak at several churches in Iowa.  I will be speaking at the following churches this summer, so if you are in the area, please stop by.

1.    July 11 Trinity Lutheran Church in Mallard

2.    July 25 First English Lutheran Church in Spencer

3.    August 1 St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Sioux City

Praise God

God always hears our prayers and answers them in his time and in his way.  This month I am especially excited to relay that God answered prayers regarding new teachers.  We have two new teachers who have signed up for service in Taiwan next year, their names are Graham Guenther and Rachel Sekki.  Both of them will come teach at the Middle School.  Please pray for Graham and Rachel as they prepare to come to Taiwan and serve.

It’s Prayer Time

1. Pray for all of those who are taking baptism classes or will start them shortly.  Specifically pray for Jack, Kevin, Jeff’s family, Jessica, Jonathan and Rachel, Jackson and Lenzy.

2. Praise God for Graham and Rachel who will come out to teach in Taiwan next year.  Pray for him to guide, protect and prepare them for service in Taiwan.

3. Pray for all of the students who heard the Gospel from Advocate 341.  Pray that God would continue to work in their lives and help them to be connected to his word.

Hot off the presses! The latest issue of The Taiwan Times.

The Taiwan Times

By Mark Wolfram

Reporting on God’s Mission in Taiwan

May 2010

²⁰Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.  Ephesians 3:20-21

Baptism Classes

Greetings everyone!  I have a couple of updates to start this newsletter.  First, I had written earlier about my 8^th grade student Jack, who started taking baptism classes.  This month I found out that he is continuing to take them, and is set to be baptized in July.  Since I will be in the US, he told me that he could take some pictures for me to see.  I was really excited to hear this.  Also, during our conversations, Jack told me of another student who is in 7^th grade, who is also in his baptism classes.  That student’s name is Kevin.  I teach Kevin for a small group conversation class, which rotates throughout the year.  As a result I have taught him for 3 months worth of classes this year.  Praise God that Kevin will also join Jack in the waters of holy baptism, and receive God’s free gift of the Holy Spirit.  Please pray for both of these students as they get ready to be baptized this summer.

Liaison and Short Term Mission Team

Second, I had written earlier about a change in my job requirements for the coming year.  Beginning in the fall I will be a part time teacher and have part time administrative responsibilities as the CMS Liaison, becoming a communicator between the missionaries and the school and LCMS World Mission staff.   Beginning in the middle of May, I had the opportunity to start to fulfill some of those duties as CMS Liaison, and it has been great starting to get a feel for what my job will be like in the fall.

One part of the new job will be to coordinate short term mission teams who come to Taiwan.  Tomorrow, I am really excited to be able to help with the short term mission service of my good friend Doug Larson, and his son Jacob, and his son’s friend Garrett.  Doug and the boys will come to do outreach at local publics schools, namely Chia-Yi Girls Senior High and Chia-Yi Boys Senior High.  In addition, they will assist the American missionaries with our On-Campus Student Fellowship, Friday Night Bible Study, and Youth Group.  One highlight of their mission work will be when they play an outdoor concert at the local shopping center and department store.  This free concert will be a great chance to reach out to people in Chia-Yi and invite them to activities at our church.  Please pray for Doug, Jacob, and Garrett as they travel to Taiwan and serve in ministry here.

New Teachers Needed

We are currently looking for new teachers to serve next year in Taiwan.  As of right now, we are losing five people from our current staff, and have yet to replace any of them.  Please pray that God would raise up people to serve in the mission field here in Taiwan.  Furthermore, if you know anyone who would be interested in serving as a missionary as an overseas teacher, please contact LCMS World Mission, or me.  God has really blessed my time out here in Taiwan, and I would love to share information about the job if anyone is interested.

Fundraising Update

I am also continuing to work on fundraising for next year.  Praise God for the contributions that so many people and churches have made.  God continues to work in this process, and I know that he will be faithful to provide the funds that are still needed.  I currently need to raise $5,848 for next year.  I am elated to announce that the first goal of 25% has been met, and thus I am officially extended for next year.  My next goal is to meet the 70% I need to return to the field at the end of the summer.  To meet this goal, I need to raise $2,575 by the beginning of August.  If you would like to contribute financially to the ministry in Taiwan, please send a check to:

Missionary Support

LCMS World Mission

1333 S. Kirkwood Rd.

St. Louis, MO  63122

On the memo line for the check please write “Mark Wolfram account #50152”.

Or go online to my prayer card and make a donation over the Internet.  http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=8521

Thank you for your prayers and your consideration of financial support of the mission work here in Taiwan.

In addition, I will be back in America from July 3 until August 7^th.  I would love to come speak at any church or group that is interested and fits the schedule.  I currently have two Sundays that are not booked, July 4^th and July 11^th.  Please let me know if you are interested.  Even if I can’t make it, I would love to send you a DVD and some information about the mission work here in Taiwan.

Prayer Time

1.    Please pray for Jack and Kevin, who continue to take baptism classes.

2.    Please pray for my transition to the new job of CMS Liaison.  Pray that God would give me guidance, wisdom, and strength to best serve him.

3.    Pray for Doug, Jacob, and Garrett who will be arriving to share the Gospel here in Taiwan.  Pray that God would bless their efforts and that they would be able to help plug students into the church and activities that are on-going throughout the year.

4.    Pray for more teachers to come and serve as missionaries in Taiwan.  Pray for God’s will to be done.

5.    Pray for my fundraising and for all of the missionaries here in Taiwan who are needing to fundraise for next year.  May God provide the support that is needed.

God’s peace,

Mark

The Taiwan Times

by Mark Wolfram

Reporting on God’s Mission in Taiwan

February 2010

Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year to all of you!  The month of February provided a time for travel and relaxation, as Taiwan celebrated its biggest holiday, Chinese New Year.  I was blessed with the opportunity to go to India on a short term mission trip, with a little extra time spent in the country for vacation.  It was an amazing experience that I am excited to tell you all about, however I think I am going to save it until next month. In this newsletter, I would like to share with you a few shorter stories that have taken place in the last month or so.

Barber Shop Ministry

While doing presentations this summer, I know that one person I specifically mentioned was my barber:  Sue Hway.  She often asks questions about church and talks about how she would like to be a Christian someday.  Her husband and relatives all practice the traditional Taiwanese folk religion.  I know that many of you have been praying for her, so I wanted to give you an update on the situation, and show the power of prayer as God continues to work in her life.

First, praise God that he puts many people in her life to witness His love to her.  About 7 or 8 weeks ago, I was in getting my hair cut, and Sue Hway commented that she has many customers who are Christians.  Two specific people she mentioned were Pastor Alex from Salvation Lutheran Church and another woman who attends Bread of Life Church in Chia-Yi.  My conversations with Sue Hway are all in Chinese, so this presents a little bit of a problem.  While I am able to use my Chinese on a functional level, I lack precision and command of the language to always be able to communicate with her in a clear way.  But praise God that he has put other Taiwanese people in her life who come as customers but also testimonies to God’s goodness.

While we were talking, she mentioned that she had began to pray.  I was very excited to hear this and inquired more about the situation.  The lady who attends the Bread of Life Church in the city talks with her about faith, and prayer while getting her hair cut.  This lady had given Sue Hwaye a prayer book, and began talking to her about prayer, and how Christians pray.  Sue Hwaye said that she had begun praying since early December.

I was very excited to hear this and asked her if she wanted to attended church.  She said that she was too busy, and that she had to have her shop open on Sunday mornings.  I then asked her if she had a Bible, which she said she did not.  As I left, I remembered that I had a Chinese-English New Testament in the trunk of my scooter.  I gave it her and suggested the Gospel of Mark as a good place to start reading about the life and work of Jesus Christ.  It was an amazing opportunity that God gave me to share God’s word with her.  I told her if she had questions about what she was reading that she could ask me, or Pastor Alex if she needs a better explanation in Chinese.

Two days ago I went back get my hair cut and asked her about how she was doing.  She said that she still prays every day, but has not had time to read the Bible.  Please continue to pray for her.  God is definitely working in her life, but pray that she will be connected with His word and will come to faith.  Your prayers have made a difference over the course of this year, so keep it up prayer warriors.

8th Grade Baptism

In early February, our 8^th Grade Bible Class curriculum began studying the life of Jesus.  The students study more Old Testament stories in 7^th grade and the first semester of 8^th grade.  However, beginning 8^th grade through 10^th grade, the focus shifts to the New Testament.  Our first lesson of the new semester was Jesus’ baptism and temptation.

After completing the lesson, one of my students, Jack, came up to me and told me that he wanted to be baptized.  I was really excited and surprised by this, as I had never had a student say this after a lesson before.  I asked him some more questions, and found out that he attends the Lan Tan Lutheran Church here in the city.  I told him about the great gift that baptism is, and encouraged him to talk to his family and pastor.

After class today, Jack came up to me again, and said that he would start school on Sundays.  I was confused by this and asked him to clarify a little bit.  Eventually, I figured out that he will start classes on Sunday in preparation for his baptism.  Praise God.  Jack didn’t know how many weeks the classes would take, but he was starting them next week.  Please praise God for Jack’s faith and pray for him as he prepares to be baptized later this year.

It’s Prayer Time!

1.     Pray for Sue Hway.  Pray that God would continue to connect her to His word and work faith in her.

2.    Praise God for Jack’s faith.  Pray for him as he takes baptism classes.

3.    Praise God for His guidance and safety on the excellent trip to India.

4.    Pray for me and the other missionaries as we start the new semester.  May God give us renewed strength and energy, and bless all of us as we work together and share the Gospel.

5.    Pray for me as I consider where God would want me to be next year.  I am prayerfully considering a return to Taiwan, or pursuing a teaching job in the States.

Happy Chinese New Year, and may God bless you all,

Mark

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.

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!!!!

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.

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.