Category Archives: Mark

Moandays

Sitting on the Dock of the Bay

I find myself suddenly surrounded by world travelers. Sara left for Panama on Thursday. Nader is heading to London in a few weeks. Willy is visiting Peru (most likely) in a couple of months. Me? I think Des Moines is the furthest I’ve traveled this year. Wow, that suddenly seems really pathetic.

I got an e-mail from Mark on Monday. He sent me a couple of pictures from his recent trip to Vietnam.



Ha Long Bay


Mark in Vietnam

Mark was in Vietnam putting on a workshop on teaching English. He also got to see some POW camps and Ho Chi Minh’s grave. I’m trying not to be jealous of Mark, but it isn’t working out so well.

Home is not where you live, but where they understand you…

I talked to Nate last night. I had long heard rumors that he was leaving the Tuscon area. His housemate had flaked out and it was time for him to move on. The rumor mill spat out three locations where Nate might be moving. There was Phoenix, there was Minneapolis, and there was Boone. I finally got a hold of Nate last night and it turns out that he chose the most beautiful and exotic of locales and will be returning to Boone as soon as his house in Tuscon gets rented. This might very well be a brief stop as he looks for lucrative employment in his chosen profession, (kicking ass and taking names in the kitchen) but it will be good to have him back in the area for at least a little while.

This is 10% luck, 20% skill; 15% concentrated power of will…

125 145 151
127 140 183
145 139 167
160 143 183

Those numbers represent my bowling scores from the last 4 weeks. I don’t discuss my bowling league much. I don’t take pride in my bowling. I’m probably in the bottom 10 of the bowlers in the league. However, those numbers are respectable by my standards. Yet, despite putting up decent numbers, I was in a horrible slump. I had not earned a single point against human competition since before Christmas.

Then last night I had a breakthrough. I was lined up against Matt Haub. I’ve known Matt for several years. We used to work together. So I felt a little bad that my breakthrough came against him, but I still need to celebrate that I swept him and my nearly two month long streak of futility has come to an end.

I defeated him by scores of:

160-136 (231-217 with handicap)
143-114 (214-195)
183-126 (254-207)

Maybe it was more a product of Matt having a bad night, but after 2 months of wandering in the desert, I’ll take it.

Taiwan Times – December Issue

But the angel said to them: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord.”
Luke 2:10-11

Merry Christmas!

At Christmas we remember this good news of great joy. Jesus has been born, and like the angel said this news is for all people. It was not just for the shepherds, or the people in Bethlehem so long ago.It is good news for us today. This message is not just for people in Africa, Korea or Japan. It is for everyone, and it the news that we can share with others, whether we live in Taiwan or America. My prayer is that we will keep this great joy near our lips as we celebrate Christmas.

Friday Night Christmas Celebration

This past Friday was the Christmas celebration at Friday Night Bible Study. It was a great time by everyone, and over 100 people attended. Praise God for this! We started off the night by singing Christmas songs as a large group. We sang traditional favorites including Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Come All Ye Faithful, Away in a Manger, What Child is This, Joy to the World, and Silent Night. All of them are in English, and have some pretty big words, but everyone sang pretty well. For Silent Night we do sing one verse in Chinese. I know my Chinese is improving because this was the first year I was able to sing the entire song in Chinese.

After the skit we split into 3 groups to go Christmas caroling. I led one of the groups, and was assisted on guitar by Stanley. Stanley is an 8th grade student at Concordia. He has been working really hard to learn guitar, and every week before Friday Night Bible Study he comes a little early to practice. Honestly some of the songs we play might be tough for him, but he is a good sport who tries hard and just goes along with whoever is leading. Christmas caroling is always one of my favorite Christmas activities, especially here in Taiwan. This year was no exception. We stopped at several businesses, including 7-11 and a couple of tea stands. It was a beautiful night and I think everyone had a good time.

Once Christmas caroling was finished everyone came back to the church. We sang Silent Night again, this time by candlelight, and then listened as Andrew read the Christmas account from Luke 2. The evening ended with time to enjoy snacks and chat with friends. It was a wonderful evening, and a great chance for many students to hear the message of God’s love for them.

It’s Prayer Time!

As we close a calendar year, I would like to begin by sharing some praises from the past year. Thank you all for your continued prayer support.

Praise God for a third year of service in Taiwan. The work God has given me here is such a blessing. He has continued to bless my relationships with my students, co-workers, and fellow missionaries.
Praise God for my family and friends back in the U.S. This year I had the chance to meet Hannah, my niece and goddaughter, and celebrate Janelle’s wedding. Everyone is extremely supportive of me and the mission in Taiwan. I could not ask for more, and this work would not be possible without the support of everyone back in America.
Praise God for my health. It has been a really healthy year. Pray that God would continue to be with me as I take care of the body He has given me.
Praise God for my Chinese. I really feel as though I have improved a lot this past year. I have 2 wonderful ladies who teach me at school, Alice and Grace. Pray that God would continue to bless them in all things.
As I look toward the new calendar year, pray that God would bless preparations for a mission trip to Vietnam, which I will be taking in the end of January.

May you all have a Merry Christmas, filled with Christ’s love.
Mark

Taiwan Times – November Issue

Here is a copy of Mark’s latest newsletter.


The Taiwan Times
By Mark Wolfram
Reporting on God’s mission in Taiwan
November 2007

Jamming with Jenny

Hello again everyone! While in Taiwan, I have had many chances to play the guitar. On a given week, I usually play guitar for 2 or 3 Bible Studies or fellowships. In addition to playing this semester I have had the chance to help a couple of students as they learn guitar. I am very hesitant to say the words teach, because I don’t really know how to teach guitar. I just kind of learned on my own, started playing songs I was familiar with, and was never too much for the technical side of things. However, I am happy to show students chord charts and play through songs with them.

Every Monday this semester I have been jamming out with Jenny, a Junior 1 (7th grade) student here at Concordia Middle School. Jenny has been very consistent in attending both On-Campus Student Fellowship and Friday Night Bible Study. She is always there eager to participate and learn more about God’s love in Jesus. At both of these Bible Studies, we sing a lot of praise and worship songs. Her desire to learn guitar has grown as she desires to play the songs we sing at OSF and FNBS.

We started back in the first part of September with a couple of repetitive songs with basic chords like C, D, G, and A. Jenny has been a quick learner and since then she has learned about a dozen songs. This afternoon when we practiced, she was able to play a new song on the spot, with obscure chords like Em7 and Dm. She has also began playing as part of the music team for OSF. For the past 3 weeks, she has helped to lead songs for the students who live here at Concordia Middle School. She has talked about in the future helping to play at Friday Night Bible Study as well. Praise God for Jenny and her willingness to use the talents God has given her to praise and glorify Him. I am very thankful for the opportunity to work with someone so eager to learn about God’s love and sing songs of praise.

It’s Prayer Time!

Here are the prayer requests. As always we lift these up according to the will of God, praying for Him to be glorified through everything.

  1. Pray that God would continue to increase my trust in Him, in all things.
  2. Pray that God would give me energy, strength, and passion to continue to serve Him to the best of my ability in my teaching and relationships here in Taiwan.
  3. Pray for my continued learning of Chinese. Pray that God would help me to continue to improve, and that I can use my knowledge of the language to bring glory to Him.
  4. Pray for Salvation Lutheran Church, as we do not have a Pastor at this time. Pray that God would prepare the people and future Pastor for work together in the kingdom.
  5. Pray for my students that I will be teaching this year. Pray especially for my Advanced English students. I do not have Bible class with them, but pray that Christ’s love may be present in all that I do, and that I would seek opportunities to meaningfully share the Gospel with those kids.

May God’s peace, love and joy be with you all, Mark
 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2

Mark’s September Newsletter

Here is a copy of Mark’s September newsletter from Taiwan.

Start of a New School Year:

A Recap

Hi everybody!

I know it has been a while since I have written, and this newsletter comes after a much needed break in America, and then a quick start to the school year. It is hard to believe that it is already nearing the end of September.

I would like to use this newsletter with as a quick reminder of the ministry that I have going on here in Taiwan. I live on the Campus of Concordia Middle School in Min Hsiung, Taiwan. My primary ministry is to serve as an English and Bible teacher here at CMS. This year I will be teaching 2 grade levels. The first is Junior 1 (7th graders). I teach 3 classes of kids 2 times a week, once for Bible and once for English conversation. The conversation class is new this year, but has been a real blessing so far, and I will have to spend more time on that in a future newsletter.

The other grade I teach is Senior 1 (10th graders). I teach 6 Senior 1 classes, twice a week. Each class I see one time for Bible class and one time for English writing. In addition to these Senior 1 classes, I am again teaching the Senior 1 Advanced English class. I see these 33 students twice a week. In this class we read and discuss English novels. Our first one this year will be Bridge to Terabithia.

I have several other ministries that I help with on the campus of Concordia Middle School. Every Tuesday morning I lead a small group for 8th grade students. We meet from 7:30-8:15 and sing a couple of songs, talk about the Bible and share thoughts or feelings with each other. In addition to this, I help with a Thursday evening Fellowship Group for students that live at school. The English name for this group is On-Campus Student Fellowship (OSF). This fellowship time is used to play games, talk about God, sing songs, eat snacks, and grow closer as a group of students who live at the school.

Outside of school there are a several other ministries that I help with. Every Wednesday night I help with a Bible study in Chia-Yi City (which is about a 20 minute scooter drive from Concordia). This Bible Study has been a real blessing so far this semester. It started about a year and a half ago. Last March it was down to 2 members who attended, both of whom were members of that church. There were 2 other missionaries who attended that Bible Study with me, and we debated about stopping it for a while, until there was a need again to continue a study at this church. It started to pick up in attendance, but remained a small group of about 4-5 people attending for the rest of last spring. This August has brought great blessings from the Lord. The group has had 23 people attend the last 2 weeks, and every week attendance has been in the teens. Praise God for the growth of this group, and continue to pray that He will guide it and bring more students eager to here about His love.

In addition to this Bible Study, I help at Salvation Lutheran Church, which is my church home here in Taiwan. At Salvation, I help with a Friday Night Bible Study which meets every week from 7:30-9:30. We sing songs, have 4 English Bible classes, and then have snack and fellowship time. There are usually about 40-50 students who attend FNBS, and it has been one of my highlights of my time here in Taiwan.

I am also helping out this year with the Salvation Lutheran Church Youth Group. This group is comprised mostly of Jr. High and High School students from Chia-Yi City. The Youth Group is currently in a state of transition, as Salvation does not have a Pastor, and the old Pastor (Pastor Lio) was the leader of the Youth Group. Pray that God would bless this group in its transition, and that He would build it even stronger than it was before.

Well, I know this is quite a bit of information. I look forward to sharing specifics about these ministries in future newsletters. If there is something specific you would like me to share about in a future newsletter, please do not hesitate ask me.

If you want to learn more about my mission work, I would encourage you to check out my online blog. I am going to try to update this online journal 2 or 3 times a month this year. The address will appear at the bottom of this newsletter.

It’s Prayer Time!

Here are the prayer requests. As always we lift these up according to the will of God, praying for Him to be glorified through everything.

  1. Pray that God would be with all of the ministries I described above. Pray that God would give me wisdom and discernment in how to best use my time and gifts that He has given me.
  2. Pray for the new missionaries: Ray, Heidi, and Matthew. Pray that God would help them to get adjusted to the culture and that He would give them opportunities to share His love and word with the Taiwanese people.
  3. Pray for my continued learning of Chinese. Pray that God would help me to continue to improve, and that I can use my knowledge of the language to bring glory to Him.
  4. Pray for Salvation Lutheran Church, as we do not have a Pastor at this time. Pray that God would prepare the people and future Pastor for work together in the kingdom.
  5. Pray for my students that I will be teaching this year. Pray that God would bless my relationships with them, and help me to boldly share Christ’s love through my words and actions.

It is great to be back on the field. I absolutely love serving out here in Taiwan. It provides wonderful opportunities to share the love of Jesus. While I serve as an overseas missionary, I also recognize that there is much work to be done back in America. While home in August, I had a wonderful conversation with one of my teachers from high school. We talked about sharing Jesus with people throughout the world, but also talked about how many people back in America need to hear of God’s love. She commented on how difficult life must be without the support from Jesus, our foundation. These words are so true. Christ gives us strength, hope, peace, and joy in this life, and the promise of a home in heaven. This is great news that we can share with people everywhere, even in our home towns and at our jobs. May God give you all the strength to boldly proclaim His love wherever you may be, overseas or in America.

God’s peace,

Mark

Time to Come Clean

Over the last week I have had to face a couple of hard truths. The first truth is that the Pope isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Or perhaps I’m wrong and during this time of religious bickering, it was a smart thing to piss off Jews and Protestants and unify them against him and the Catholic Church.

The second truth I’ve had to face is that I’m not going to finish my 14 part blog. Or at least not any time soon. So I’m going to break the silence on the things of done since May 19th. So these are the things I’ve done since that day, in no particular order:

I’ve went to the following movies:

Pirates 3 – Very disappointing ending.
Oceans 13 – Better than Oceans 12, but what wasn’t?
Ratatouille – Easily the best movie of the year thus far.
A Mighty Heart – Not as good as I had hoped.
Waitress – Also not as good as I had hoped and the doctor gets off way too easily.
Transformers – Easily one of the worst movies I have ever seen. What passes for wit in this loserfest is the racial stereotype transformer tells Megatron “You want a piece of me?” Megatron rips the racial stereotype Autobot in half and says “No, I want two pieces.” This movie is even bad by Michael Bay standards.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – A lot more fulfilling if you have read the book, other wise many sequences are just confusing.
I talked to and shook hands with Barack Obama and told him about my job.
I helped set a sales record for Little White Lye Soap.
Walked a few laps with Willy at Relay for Life. He walked 31 miles.
Went to the 2nd oldest restaurant in Iowa (Stone’s) with Jay.

Had lunch with Faust in Mankato.
Visited the National Hobo Museum.
Took pictures of flowers.
Saw Buddy Guy in concert with Derrick and Jen.
Turned in my photo entries for the State Fair.
Attended a birthday party for Jen.
Took the Henning family picture.
Watched K-Dawg’s team get smoked by Jefferson in the Little League tournament one day and come back to do the smoking a few days later to advance to the state tournament.
Took Jesse to the emergency room.
Bought a sweet new monitor for my home computer. (I’m not normally one to brag about my consumer tendencies, but I really love this monitor.)
Watched Killdeer lay on eggs and the eggs hatch a few days later.
Went to the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Brian Beavers.
Saw the world’s largest strawberry.
Saw the world’s largest bullhead.
Saw the Jolly Green Giant.
Despite have to walk a half mile due to a guy’s gastronomical difficulties, watched Willy complete the 5K at Midnight Madness.
Had lunch with Mark before he returns to Taiwan.
Went to Backbone State Park with Shannon.
Helped Stephanie pick out a camera for work.
Went to the State Center Rose Garden with Jay.
Attempted and failed to make Mentos/Diet Coke rockets with Eric.
Took pictures of the “844”.
Enjoyed several Friday Night Supper Clubs with Jay and Willy.
Enjoyed several New Taste Tuesdays with Frank, Jesse, and Steve.
Went to the Company picnic. Seemed like people were actually excited to see me.
Drove to Minnesota to see Nate and watch Harry Potter.
Watched a slide show of pictures from Willy’s trip to Spain.
Attended a pretty sweet Memorial Day barbecue.
Set up a new squirrel feeder and two new bird feeders.
Changed the oil in my car. (personal reminder, change oil again at 161,000 miles)
Helped make soap.
It is most likely I did more than that, but that is all that comed to my head at this time, with one exception. One major exception.
I went to the Des Moines Arts Festival with Rebecca and Jay. I would have to say first and foremost, what a dog that was. What a major disappointment.

However, it did inspire me to put together the blog that I will hopefully post on the morrow. I can’t say that it is a good blog. In fact, it is probably the type of blog that makes one lose friends and gain enemies. It is the type of blog that may make people stop returning my e-mails or phone calls. The type of blog that may make people move to the other side of the street if they see me walking down the street. It frankly might be a subject that will make some people uncomfortable. Yet, that is for tomorrow.

Taiwan Times – May Issue

A copy of Mark’s Newsletter.

The Taiwan Times – May Issue

Hello my friends! I hope and pray all is well with all of you. I know everyone is very busy, but I do appreciate you taking the time to read about God’s work being done here in Taiwan. To open this month’s newsletter I have a Bible verse for us to think about.

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

As we are often busy in life with deadlines to meet or meetings to be had, we remember that God does not want us to be anxious about anything. He wants us to pray to Him and be thankful in everything. We can trust in Him and know that He gives us true peace that can only be found in Christ Jesus.

Nearing the End of the School Year

As I write this I cannot help but realize that it is already May (almost June) and this means that we are coming to a close of another school year. In fact, I only have five short weeks left before the Concordia takes summer break and I return home for a short visit. Looking back on the school year I see times of joy, trial, and growth. I would like to use this newsletter to share in depth a little more about my ministry to the students I teach, which is what I view as my most important ministry here in Taiwan.

My teaching assignment here in Taiwan is to teach Junior 1 and Senior 1 students. Junior 1 is the equivalent of 7th grade in the U.S. and Senior 1 is the equivalent of 10th grade. I see six classes of 7th graders one time a week for Bible class, and I see five classes of 10th graders twice a week (one time for writing class and one time for Bible class).

My students are an absolute joy teach, and both grade levels have very different teaching dynamics. In the 7th grade classes we started the year with a basic introduction to Jesus and God’s plan of love. After that we have been reading many Bible stories from the Old Testament, including David, Daniel, Moses, Abraham, and Joseph.

These lessons usually consist of some new vocabulary words, reading the Bible story written for students learning a second language, and then a game or activity to go along with the lesson. These students are usually quite enthusiastic and full of energy. A challenge of teaching this level has been the wide ranging levels of English. Some of my students can communicate really well and have a conversation, and others can barely read basic sentences from the Bible story. This can be frustrating and has brought challenges in engaging all of the students in the class. But all in all, teaching the 7th graders has brought some good relationships that will continue to grow into next year. It has also given me the opportunity of sharing Jesus with some of these students for the first time in their lives.

The joys and challenges of teaching 10th graders are much different from the 7th graders. I have a closer relationship with my 10th grade students because I see them twice a week. One of these classes is for writing class and one of these is for Bible class. Because of their higher English ability and more mature minds we are able to talk about deeper issues regarding faith, life, and God. This has its advantages and disadvantages. For one, these issues are very interesting to look at and learn about, and I am able to get deeper, more complex responses. At the same time many students in my classes do not believe in God and it can be frustrating having them in a mandatory Bible class in which they disagree with what is being taught or are apathetic toward the message of Christ.

While Bible class brings many highs and lows to my mission work being done here in Taiwan, today I would like to focus on the highs. It is such a great joy to know students who did not know Jesus before coming to Concordia, but now have faith in Christ. With the rest of this newsletter I would like to share something written by Bob, my tenth grade student.

He had to write an essay, about an important decision in his life. In his essay talked about his important decision to stay studying in Concordia. When he was a seventh grader, he did not like school at Concordia. He wrote, “I couldn’t understand what the English teachers said, I didn’t know how to write English homework, I didn’t want to hear the American teachers always (say) that God is love.” He was not sure he wanted to continue studying at the school.

While Bob felt this way in 7th grade, things changed for him in 8th grade. God had a plan. He described how he began to understand what the English teacher was saying, and it made him feel good. He also began to understand the Bible teacher, and began to feel that there was a God who loved him. Bob then began going to church and the weekly chapel at school. He wrote, “I felt that God is a living God, He knew what I need (ed).”
Now Bob is in one of my 10th grade classes. He knows about God and the love that He has for us in Jesus. Bob trusts that God has a plan for him. Praise God for Bob’s faith, and the opportunity to share God’s love here at Concordia Middle School.

It’s Prayer Time!

Here are the prayer requests. As always we lift these up according to the will of God, praying for Him to be glorified through everything.

1. Praise God for Bob and the faith that Bob has. Pray that God would bless him as he studies at Concordia and that God would help him to grow in faith.
2. Praise God for health. I know in an earlier newsletter I asked for prayers concerning health, and I have been really healthy this past semester, unlike the previous one. Thank God for the power of prayer.
3. Pray that God would grant me wisdom and discernment in all things, as I serve Him out here in Taiwan.
4. Pray for my continued learning of Chinese. I absolutely love learning the language. Thank God that I have been able to study and acquire parts of the language, but pray that I would be able to study more and improve even more.
5. Pray for all of my students that I teach. Pray that my actions and words would point towards the love of Jesus and that they would come to trust him. Pray especially for the following students. All of them are at different places concerning what he or she may or may not believe about Jesus but please pray for them that God would help give them faith. Henry, Sunnie, Michelle, Bryant, David, Alice, Nneia, and Lana.
6. Pray that God would continue to bring people to the mission field. Pray especially for Taiwan. We currently have two positions to teach at the Elementary level here at CMS.

Thank you all for your continued love, support, and prayers.

Mark

Taiwan Times – April Issue

Below is the text from Mark’s April Newsletter:

Greetings to all of you in the love our Christ our risen Lord. He is risen…He is risen indeed. I pray that all of you are having a blessed celebration of the resurrection of our Lord.

here’s a quick Chinese lesson to start this newsletter. In church this Sunday Pastor Lio greeted us with the Chinese equivalent of the famous Easter proclamation. (The following are the phonetic sounds for this phrase in Chinese)

Yeah Sue Sh Foo Hwoe luh…
Tah Sh Jen Duh Foo Hwoe luh

The literal translation of this is “Jesus is risen… He is really risen”

What a joy it is that Easter is celebrated all over the world, in many different languages, but all with the same message. Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. He is risen indeed. We have new life and hope in His victory over death, sin, and the devil.

Cleansed by Water and Word

Easter is such a wonderful time. Everything from time with family, Easter eggs and Easter baskets filled with candy, to wonderful Easter hymns and of course the life-changing message of Easter. All of these make it a joyful holiday. Easter here in Taiwan is not at all like Easter in America. We do not sing all of my favorite traditional Easter hymns, nor do we see a lot of Easter treats (although Salvation Lutheran does give us all a hard-boiled Easter egg), and of course I am far away from family.

There is however one difference about being in Taiwan for Easter, that is better than my traditional view of what Easter should be. This is Easter baptisms. Last year two people were baptized at our church, and this year there were four people. While I do remember baptisms in my church, I can’t recall any happening on Easter. This addition to the Easter celebration makes it even more joyous than the hymns, candy, or anything else.

Each person who was baptized this year has a wonderful story of how God is working in his or her life. One is a teacher here at Concordia Middle School. Another is a friend of mine from church who I work with at the Saturday kid’s camp. The other two are students here at Concordia Middle School. I was especially excited about the two students who were baptized because they are former students of mine from last year. Jasmine and Grace are both currently 11th grade students here at Concordia Middle School, and I taught both of them English and Bible class last year in 10th grade.

It was extremely uplifting to see students come to trust Jesus for their salvation. It is easy to get discouraged while teaching Bible class, especially when students are cynical or disinterested. Sometimes it is hard to see God working in the lives of students. Grace and Jasmine are two examples of God’s Spirit working at work. To see these two girls publicly declare their faith and receive God’s blessings from baptism brought such joy to my heart. This is why I came to Taiwan to help people know more about the love of Jesus, especially my students. I am thankful to God that He keeps His promises and has brought these all of these people to faith.

It’s Prayer Time!

Here are the prayer requests. As always we lift these up according to the will of God, praying for Him to be glorified through everything.

1. Pray that God would be with all of those who were baptized this past Sunday at Salvation Lutheran Church. Pray that God would bless them, be with them, and keep them strong in their faith.
2. Pray for all of my students that I teach. Pray that my actions and words would point towards the love of Jesus and that they would come to trust him. Pray especially for the following students. All of them are at different places concerning what he or she may or may not believe about Jesus but please pray for them that God would help give them faith. Jacky, Sunnie, Michelle, Bryant, David, Angel, Nneia, and Lana.
3. Pray that God would continue to bring people to the mission field. That God would open doors for those who have a calling for mission work.

Thank you all for your continued love, support, and prayers.

Happy Easter,

Mark

More Mark and Indonesia

I keep wanting to write an e-mail about the Oscars and my awesome weekend, but I keep putting it off. Hopefully for the sake of my sanity I will be able to do that tonight during the Iowa State victory.

I am taking a couple minutes to drop a few more pictures about Mark. This morning when I got to work there was another message from him with more pictures from his trip to Indonesia. I would just like to share some of those with you.

The above picture is to give you an idea of the height of the wave. The wave was about the height of this tree when it hit.

The above picture is to give you an idea of the power of the wave. This boat is so large that Mark couldn’t get far enough back to get the full boat in the picture. The boat is so large that it can not be moved. This boat was out at sea when the tsunami hit. It is now 3 miles inland.

The above picture is of Mark with one of the classes with which he got to interact. For those of you who don’t know Mark, he is the guy flashing the peace symbol. I believe it is one of his trademark photo poses.

Random Notes, Nothing on a Scandal

I was saddened on Wednesday by the passing of the founder of Hilton Magic. I have one quick story about Barry Stevens I wish to share.

Back when Barry Stevens used to play for the Cyclones my mom worked the training table. After wins they would prepare a victory dinner. The dining staff prepared lobster after what was a milestone win for Johnny Orr. As the players got their lobsters, Barry Stevens asked for ketchup. Johnny Orr heard him ask for ketchup to put on his lobster and raised quite the ruckus

Today is a milestone even for all old Campusites. Today is the last day for James with DM. He is working a 3-10 shift if you want to go into West and slap him on the back and congratulate him. That leaves only 6 Campusites left in the employ of DM. The cleansing has almost been completed.

Today when I got to work I got a surprise in my mailbox. Mark’s newletter from Taiwan was waiting for me. This is always good reading and I would just like to share a portion of it with you today. Mark recently spent some time working in Indonesia. I would like to share a little bit of that part of the newsletter:

With all of this damage, many organizations came to Aceh to offer assistance.

Two of these organizations are World Harvest and LCMS World Relief. It was with these two Christian organizations that I worked in Aceh.

The tsunami was a devastating event that brought more questions than answers, but it has allowed more Christian organizations to work in this strongly Islamic community.

Aceh is nearly entirely Muslim, and this can be seen in the presence of many mosques, sound of daily Arabic prayer calls, and the site of women wearing head scarves.

Christianity is not common, and while it is legal to be a Christian in Aceh, it is illegal to evangelize.

The mission work being done in Aceh then is not direct evangelizing, but rather sharing God’s love through action and building relationships with people.

While I was there I helped lead an Internet seminar to introduce teachers to email, the Internet and how to use these tools to make them more effective English teachers.

The teachers were a joy to work with, and the workshop will hopefully empower them to improve their English instruction on their own.

Another part of my service involved traveling to schools. I went to four different Junior High Schools. At these schools I helped student practice their English conversation. Many of them have never had the chance to speak with a native English speaker, so this opportunity was exciting and educational for the students. They had real and practical application of these skills they have been learning about in their textbooks.

In the end, this trip was very educational and a blessing from God. On the trip I was not speaking boldly about Jesus, but I was sharing God’s love and helping LCMS World Relief and World Harvest in their continued attempts to build relationships with the people of Aceh.

The coordinator for LCMS in Aceh, Dennis Dennow, often describes the work in Aceh as moving rocks. I think this really fits the current situation there. I like to think about it like the Parable of the Sower. Jesus talks about the Gospel being like a seed that is thrown on four different types of soil: the path, the rocks, the thorns, and the good soil. It is only on the good soil that the seed grows and produces a harvest. People are the soil, and just like the parable, there are many rocks, thorns, and birds that prevent the seed of God’s word from growing in their lives.

In the Islamic community of Aceh, the Gospel cannot be openly preached and spread. There are many preconceived notions and fears about Christians that prevent this. But love can be shown. Fears and stereotypes can be taken away. Relationships can be built, and individual conversations can take place. Rocks and thorns can be removed, and it is my prayer that one-day God’s word can be openly preached. Then those relationships that have been formed and all of the love that has been shared will be the foundation for continued preaching of Jesus as Savior. God’s Spirit is definitely at work in Aceh, Indonesia.

Mark also sent along a copy of this picture of a boat sitting on top of this house. The tsunami hit the day after Christmas in 2005 and the boat is still there. I would wonder how that could still be, then I remind myself that we haven’t done much better helping the victims of Katrina in our country.