The team with a puppet version of Satan
Anthony on his first scooter ride....in Chiayi
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Couple of nights in Chiayi...
Prayer (walking) in the morning, and Ministry (talking) by night... that's pretty much characterised most of our days here in Chiayi...
We started the day with team devotion... and this morning (A.D. 12th December 2007), we meditated upon 1 Thessalonian... 3 weeks was Paul in Thessalonica (Acts 17)... and that's also the time we shared together in Taiwan... it feels like we've been here for years! (in a good way)... well, that's how close we've become... like a real family, one shared for his testimony... different team members taking different roles for the common good...
Today each one of us has the privilege of sharing our time with a missionary... i mean the missionaries sharing their lives with us... and that's uninterrupted time of question and answer, one on one! some of us went prawn fishing: using stick and bait to hook prawns, like that catching normal fish (as opposed to prawning: scooping prawns)... some went to the temple (to chat with the guard), some went to get hair washed and shoulder message at local barber... and oh, the scooter rides... :)
Tomorrow, before our prayer walk, we spent some time with an idol maker...
In the evening (today and tomorrow), we spent our time with the university students: 'English Coffee Bar'... it's been a good experience for me (victor), who come from University (student) church, back in Sydney... even though language has been a problem for me relating, it doesn't stop us establishing relationships... (we took photos, we exchanged email addresses, etc)... during our shared time, we filled in the time doing our skits ('Chronological Bible Story' and 'Christmas Gift')... Betty shared testimony on the first night, while Natalie and me shared on the second... oh, we bush danced together too!... as for informal activities, we played Jengga, Uno-stacko, talked, shared photo album, shared tract, shared everything that could show who we are and tried to share the gospel... oh, uncle Rocky's passion to share the gospel here (and everywhere else) has been a good encouragement for me...
One of the things that i noticed is that the Uni students kept on asking "what do you think of Taiwan?" together with "why do you come to Taiwan?"... if you're us, how would you answer?
Also, unlike the rest of the team, i've been privileged to view the other clubs on campus... the question that kept on bombarding me as i faced them is "what does the Christian club have to offer, especially in terms of skills or creative arts?
On the second night, the guys had an interesting experience participating in Bible study with the working class men... "Men's tea night" is what we call it...
We started the day with team devotion... and this morning (A.D. 12th December 2007), we meditated upon 1 Thessalonian... 3 weeks was Paul in Thessalonica (Acts 17)... and that's also the time we shared together in Taiwan... it feels like we've been here for years! (in a good way)... well, that's how close we've become... like a real family, one shared for his testimony... different team members taking different roles for the common good...
Today each one of us has the privilege of sharing our time with a missionary... i mean the missionaries sharing their lives with us... and that's uninterrupted time of question and answer, one on one! some of us went prawn fishing: using stick and bait to hook prawns, like that catching normal fish (as opposed to prawning: scooping prawns)... some went to the temple (to chat with the guard), some went to get hair washed and shoulder message at local barber... and oh, the scooter rides... :)
Tomorrow, before our prayer walk, we spent some time with an idol maker...
In the evening (today and tomorrow), we spent our time with the university students: 'English Coffee Bar'... it's been a good experience for me (victor), who come from University (student) church, back in Sydney... even though language has been a problem for me relating, it doesn't stop us establishing relationships... (we took photos, we exchanged email addresses, etc)... during our shared time, we filled in the time doing our skits ('Chronological Bible Story' and 'Christmas Gift')... Betty shared testimony on the first night, while Natalie and me shared on the second... oh, we bush danced together too!... as for informal activities, we played Jengga, Uno-stacko, talked, shared photo album, shared tract, shared everything that could show who we are and tried to share the gospel... oh, uncle Rocky's passion to share the gospel here (and everywhere else) has been a good encouragement for me...
One of the things that i noticed is that the Uni students kept on asking "what do you think of Taiwan?" together with "why do you come to Taiwan?"... if you're us, how would you answer?
Also, unlike the rest of the team, i've been privileged to view the other clubs on campus... the question that kept on bombarding me as i faced them is "what does the Christian club have to offer, especially in terms of skills or creative arts?
On the second night, the guys had an interesting experience participating in Bible study with the working class men... "Men's tea night" is what we call it...
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Last days in Taipei.... Arrival in Chiayi
The last few days in Taipei have been a bit more relaxing. We continued helping out with the Kid's ministry on Saturday (8th December) by taking the Wanhua kids to the park. It went well and we had 18 kids, our team and 7 helpers at the Park outing. We played various games like Stuck in the Mud, Egg and Spoon Race, M&M game and Pass-the-parcel. We also performed our Xmas skit which asked the kids what Christmas meant to them, how Australians celebrated Xmas and explained that Xmas is so special because God gave us the best gift by sending His only son to save us.
The last two days in Taipei we had some free time and so we spent some time with the Nicholsons and other missionaries before heading down to Chiayi.
In Chiayi…..
Day 1:
On the first day at Chiayi we were given an introduction at the OMF office, an orientation of the area that we will be working in, met up with some Christian students at Chiayi University and then had a prayer meeting. At the prayer meeting we had the opportunity to meet all the missionaries that are working in Chiayi. It was great to hear about all the different ministries that were happening in Chiayi, and hear about how the missionaries decided to serve in Taiwan and their backgrounds.
The next few days we will be busy with preparing for Saturday’s Christmas Community outreach event/Park carnival with activities like bicycle decoration, face painting, balloon animals, taking blood pressure, games and photo taking. The team has been split up and allocated to different missionaries based on the activity we will be helping out with on Saturday’s Christmas Community outreach event at the park. We are also preparing for the English Coffee Bar at Chiayi University in the next few days. We will be performing our Xmas skit that we mentioned earlier, giving our testimonies and our Chorological Bible story about Creation.
Some prayer points:
*The team will have a good rest
*Lots of students will be attending the English Coffee Bar on Wednesday and Thursday night
*That we will have good weather on Saturday for the Park Carnival
*People who we have invited to the Park carnival will come to the event
*Good preparation for upcoming events.
The last two days in Taipei we had some free time and so we spent some time with the Nicholsons and other missionaries before heading down to Chiayi.
In Chiayi…..
Day 1:
On the first day at Chiayi we were given an introduction at the OMF office, an orientation of the area that we will be working in, met up with some Christian students at Chiayi University and then had a prayer meeting. At the prayer meeting we had the opportunity to meet all the missionaries that are working in Chiayi. It was great to hear about all the different ministries that were happening in Chiayi, and hear about how the missionaries decided to serve in Taiwan and their backgrounds.
The next few days we will be busy with preparing for Saturday’s Christmas Community outreach event/Park carnival with activities like bicycle decoration, face painting, balloon animals, taking blood pressure, games and photo taking. The team has been split up and allocated to different missionaries based on the activity we will be helping out with on Saturday’s Christmas Community outreach event at the park. We are also preparing for the English Coffee Bar at Chiayi University in the next few days. We will be performing our Xmas skit that we mentioned earlier, giving our testimonies and our Chorological Bible story about Creation.
Some prayer points:
*The team will have a good rest
*Lots of students will be attending the English Coffee Bar on Wednesday and Thursday night
*That we will have good weather on Saturday for the Park Carnival
*People who we have invited to the Park carnival will come to the event
*Good preparation for upcoming events.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Thursday, December 6, 2007
A few days in Taipei ~*
These last few days have been quite tiring for the team .
We visited several different ministries around Taipei that the OMF missionaries are in charge of..just a few interesting and amazing things we have come across and have been challenged by are:
- Restaurant Ministries: The team got to help out with handing out flyers around noodle food stalls and small restaurants etc to invite the locals to one of the small churches. Although lanuage was an initial problem and also many of them were too busy to chat with us, God was gracious and we did manage to have a few good chats with a few people. Pray that those who said they will go to the christmas gathering at that local church will find time and turn up to the event.
- Prayer Walking in Wanhua : This area is famous for the temples and spiritual worship. The team worked in pairs and prayed as we walked around the streets and looked at the stall workers and also the brothels. There are a few ministries there reaching out to the working class as well as "downcasts" ie. prostitutes or homeless in the society. pray that these ministries will be fruiful and that these people will find Hope in their life.
- Kids ministry: Today we got to help out with a fair and interacted with around 20 kids from "at-risk" background families . Most of these kids come from broken families and none of them actually know how it feels to be loved and care for. Especially for me, ( betty) i was striked by how all these kids are so young and they need to be cared for but their parents are too complicated or busy for them..Lets pray that God's love may be made known to these kids who have hardly experienced love in their lives.
Lastly, please continue to pray for us as a team..to be united by our focus on Christ alone and to serve each other and those we meet with Love and humility.
IC,
Betty ( on behalf of the team)
We visited several different ministries around Taipei that the OMF missionaries are in charge of..just a few interesting and amazing things we have come across and have been challenged by are:
- Restaurant Ministries: The team got to help out with handing out flyers around noodle food stalls and small restaurants etc to invite the locals to one of the small churches. Although lanuage was an initial problem and also many of them were too busy to chat with us, God was gracious and we did manage to have a few good chats with a few people. Pray that those who said they will go to the christmas gathering at that local church will find time and turn up to the event.
- Prayer Walking in Wanhua : This area is famous for the temples and spiritual worship. The team worked in pairs and prayed as we walked around the streets and looked at the stall workers and also the brothels. There are a few ministries there reaching out to the working class as well as "downcasts" ie. prostitutes or homeless in the society. pray that these ministries will be fruiful and that these people will find Hope in their life.
- Kids ministry: Today we got to help out with a fair and interacted with around 20 kids from "at-risk" background families . Most of these kids come from broken families and none of them actually know how it feels to be loved and care for. Especially for me, ( betty) i was striked by how all these kids are so young and they need to be cared for but their parents are too complicated or busy for them..Lets pray that God's love may be made known to these kids who have hardly experienced love in their lives.
Lastly, please continue to pray for us as a team..to be united by our focus on Christ alone and to serve each other and those we meet with Love and humility.
IC,
Betty ( on behalf of the team)
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
a teaser of taiwan =)
Group Picture at the Nicholsons
Margaret + kids at Wanhua ministry
Us in Wanhua park ministry
Common street Processions - Temple God's birthdays
Common Temple God heads + ppl holding them
Activities Today
Today, we start really working.
Half the team will get to do some shopping at the wet market and prepare lunch for the team. This is so that they can experience what they will have to cope with in living in Taiwan.
The other half of the team gets an extra hour to do what they want to today and will return the cooking favour in a couple of days time.
We will also be visiting the shop workers in the department stores today with Elisabeth from Germany. Elisabeth has been working here for over 20years and it's a real joy to meet her.
Anthony (for the team)
Half the team will get to do some shopping at the wet market and prepare lunch for the team. This is so that they can experience what they will have to cope with in living in Taiwan.
The other half of the team gets an extra hour to do what they want to today and will return the cooking favour in a couple of days time.
We will also be visiting the shop workers in the department stores today with Elisabeth from Germany. Elisabeth has been working here for over 20years and it's a real joy to meet her.
Anthony (for the team)
Update on our adventures in Taipei
Hey all,
We're finally updating the blog! I'm sure you've all been waiting with eager anticipation to hear about our adventures over here. =P
After around 10 hours in airports and planes, we arrived safely in Taipei with no real hassles so praise God for that. The first thing you notice when you arrive is how cramped everything is. Every space available is used for shops, buildings, offices etc. Then the roads are filled with taxis, buses and SO MANY scooters. Everywhere you look there are people on scooters or scooters parked all along the pathways or scooters trying to run you down. No one pays attention to road rules here - it's every man for himself!
Another thing is the food! *drools* The smell of food surrounds you as soon as you enter Taipei as well. Every corner, every few metres, there are food stalls selling everything from xiao long bao to pearl milk tea. And it's all so cheap - the average amount we spend on a meal is around $60 NT which is about $3.
The funniest thing are the garbage trucks which come every night except Wednesday and play tinkly ice cream truck music to alert the people to bring out their rubbish. It makes me want ice cream everytime I hear it hehe.
We've also been eating ALOT of food so expect us all to be looking more on the heavier side when we come back =P.
The past few days we've mostly been doing orientation things with Irene (Nicholson) - talking about the culture, sharing with each other expectations and things like that. We've also had opportunities to meet up with Wayne, walk around to see the lifestyles of the Taiwanese people and got to attend a night church yesterday (which was all in Mandarin!).
Quick summary of our adventures thus far:
* Park ministry at Wanhwa playing with kids
* Had a prayer walk around Wanhwa
* Orientation
* Morning prayer meeting at a school
* Restaurant workers ministry - handing out flyers for evangelistic events and free christmas cds
* Lots of eating!!
The prayer walk and restaurant workers ministry was especially encouraging as we were able to interact with the Taiwanese people and pray for them. It's amazing to see God still at work in a place where the chinese culture of idols and ancestor worship is so entrenched. Although some of us aren't so fluent in Mandarin, it was still so uplifting to be able to talk to the Taiwanese people and invite them along to an evangelistic event. Some were positive, some were not but the general feeling from the team was that it was a great experience to be doing God's work amongst people who do need God's love.
Thanks for all your support and prayers so far. Please continue to pray for us and these things:
* We will be helping run a county fair for the kids from the park at Wanhwa. Pray that we'll be good witnesses and that the kids will have a fun time.
* Energy - we do have full on days and need as much rest as we can so we can do God's work effectively
* Taiwanese people - we have met a lot of people who need God in their lives
* Christmas outing with kids
* The team - for continued unity in Christ
* The restaurant ministry - their christmas evangelistic event
In Christ,
Tiff (on behalf of the Taiwan team)
We're finally updating the blog! I'm sure you've all been waiting with eager anticipation to hear about our adventures over here. =P
After around 10 hours in airports and planes, we arrived safely in Taipei with no real hassles so praise God for that. The first thing you notice when you arrive is how cramped everything is. Every space available is used for shops, buildings, offices etc. Then the roads are filled with taxis, buses and SO MANY scooters. Everywhere you look there are people on scooters or scooters parked all along the pathways or scooters trying to run you down. No one pays attention to road rules here - it's every man for himself!
Another thing is the food! *drools* The smell of food surrounds you as soon as you enter Taipei as well. Every corner, every few metres, there are food stalls selling everything from xiao long bao to pearl milk tea. And it's all so cheap - the average amount we spend on a meal is around $60 NT which is about $3.
The funniest thing are the garbage trucks which come every night except Wednesday and play tinkly ice cream truck music to alert the people to bring out their rubbish. It makes me want ice cream everytime I hear it hehe.
We've also been eating ALOT of food so expect us all to be looking more on the heavier side when we come back =P.
The past few days we've mostly been doing orientation things with Irene (Nicholson) - talking about the culture, sharing with each other expectations and things like that. We've also had opportunities to meet up with Wayne, walk around to see the lifestyles of the Taiwanese people and got to attend a night church yesterday (which was all in Mandarin!).
Quick summary of our adventures thus far:
* Park ministry at Wanhwa playing with kids
* Had a prayer walk around Wanhwa
* Orientation
* Morning prayer meeting at a school
* Restaurant workers ministry - handing out flyers for evangelistic events and free christmas cds
* Lots of eating!!
The prayer walk and restaurant workers ministry was especially encouraging as we were able to interact with the Taiwanese people and pray for them. It's amazing to see God still at work in a place where the chinese culture of idols and ancestor worship is so entrenched. Although some of us aren't so fluent in Mandarin, it was still so uplifting to be able to talk to the Taiwanese people and invite them along to an evangelistic event. Some were positive, some were not but the general feeling from the team was that it was a great experience to be doing God's work amongst people who do need God's love.
Thanks for all your support and prayers so far. Please continue to pray for us and these things:
* We will be helping run a county fair for the kids from the park at Wanhwa. Pray that we'll be good witnesses and that the kids will have a fun time.
* Energy - we do have full on days and need as much rest as we can so we can do God's work effectively
* Taiwanese people - we have met a lot of people who need God in their lives
* Christmas outing with kids
* The team - for continued unity in Christ
* The restaurant ministry - their christmas evangelistic event
In Christ,
Tiff (on behalf of the Taiwan team)
Friday, October 19, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Meet the Taiwan Short-term mission Team
Anthony Choong (Leader)
I'm married to Ruth, father to Laura (8), Tim(5) and James(2). I've beenworking in the IT industry for 16years. I've been worhsipping at WSCCC for the last 15 years. This is a great opportunity to see first hand what the missionaries fromour church are doing in Taiwan. My goal is to go with a open mind and aopen heart to see how God is reaching out to the peoples of Taiwan andlearn more from the missionaries working there. My hope in leading the teamthere is that the short term trip will lead to a long term vision ofmissions.
Rocky Foo
I have been a Christian attending WSCCC for 16 years. I am married and have a wife, Vicky, a 23 year old son, Paul and a 16 year old daughter, Edwina. I run a motor mechanic workshop, I meet many clients who are non-Christians and I see this as an opportunity to tell them about God's grace. My favourite hobbies on the weekend is fishing, cooking curries and spending time with my family. I have been attending Incarnational Evangelism Training course for the past 7 years to prepare myself for gospel training.
I want to go to Taiwan becuase it is a country where idols are dominant and there is a great need for God's love to spread to the Taiwanese people, including Taipei and Chiayi. God's grace has been prevalent throughout my life and I want others to experience God's great love.
Victor Yaputra
I go to FOCUS, Fellowship of Overseas Christian University Students, http://focus-unsw.org/While FOCUS is the 'church', I'm part of the Indonesian Fellowship, called "Pelita" (means light/lamp)"I want to grow in affection of the Lord Jesus and whom He love, so be challenged to put myself out more in dependence on God for His promised sustenance."
Natalie Dang
I am from WSCCC 9am service. I'd like to go to Taiwan to learn and experience another culture, people andenvironment people live in. I'd like to gain an understanding of howmissionaries live each day, people they work with and the types of work theyare involved in.
Janice Tong
I am currently studying my Masters in International Business and working as an accountant. I look forward to seeing how God will use me to serve others and assist our WSCCC missionaries in reaching out to the people in Taiwan. It will be great to see how God’s work continues to grow in another country.
Tiffany Lim
So why do I want to go to Taiwan? Well I recently finished a university degree - a Bachelor of Teaching - so I have a lot of free time at the moment. Seriously though, I think going to Taiwan will be a great opportunity to get out of my comfort zone - being in a new culture, meeting new people and serving with Christians from another part of the world. I'm looking forward to serving and working with the Taiwanese, seeing how God is working amongst them as well as seeing how God will grow and change me through this experience.
Betty Cheung
I am a uni student studying Psychology and Japanese .
Taiwan is a spiritually hungry country with people thirsting to know the Real God. Being Chinese, I think this would be a great opportunity to see use the cultural similarity to reach out to the people of Taiwan and let God use me to serve His people in other parts of the world
I'm married to Ruth, father to Laura (8), Tim(5) and James(2). I've beenworking in the IT industry for 16years. I've been worhsipping at WSCCC for the last 15 years. This is a great opportunity to see first hand what the missionaries fromour church are doing in Taiwan. My goal is to go with a open mind and aopen heart to see how God is reaching out to the peoples of Taiwan andlearn more from the missionaries working there. My hope in leading the teamthere is that the short term trip will lead to a long term vision ofmissions.
Rocky Foo
I have been a Christian attending WSCCC for 16 years. I am married and have a wife, Vicky, a 23 year old son, Paul and a 16 year old daughter, Edwina. I run a motor mechanic workshop, I meet many clients who are non-Christians and I see this as an opportunity to tell them about God's grace. My favourite hobbies on the weekend is fishing, cooking curries and spending time with my family. I have been attending Incarnational Evangelism Training course for the past 7 years to prepare myself for gospel training.
I want to go to Taiwan becuase it is a country where idols are dominant and there is a great need for God's love to spread to the Taiwanese people, including Taipei and Chiayi. God's grace has been prevalent throughout my life and I want others to experience God's great love.
Victor Yaputra
I go to FOCUS, Fellowship of Overseas Christian University Students, http://focus-unsw.org/While FOCUS is the 'church', I'm part of the Indonesian Fellowship, called "Pelita" (means light/lamp)"I want to grow in affection of the Lord Jesus and whom He love, so be challenged to put myself out more in dependence on God for His promised sustenance."
Natalie Dang
I am from WSCCC 9am service. I'd like to go to Taiwan to learn and experience another culture, people andenvironment people live in. I'd like to gain an understanding of howmissionaries live each day, people they work with and the types of work theyare involved in.
Janice Tong
I am currently studying my Masters in International Business and working as an accountant. I look forward to seeing how God will use me to serve others and assist our WSCCC missionaries in reaching out to the people in Taiwan. It will be great to see how God’s work continues to grow in another country.
Tiffany Lim
So why do I want to go to Taiwan? Well I recently finished a university degree - a Bachelor of Teaching - so I have a lot of free time at the moment. Seriously though, I think going to Taiwan will be a great opportunity to get out of my comfort zone - being in a new culture, meeting new people and serving with Christians from another part of the world. I'm looking forward to serving and working with the Taiwanese, seeing how God is working amongst them as well as seeing how God will grow and change me through this experience.
Betty Cheung
I am a uni student studying Psychology and Japanese .
Taiwan is a spiritually hungry country with people thirsting to know the Real God. Being Chinese, I think this would be a great opportunity to see use the cultural similarity to reach out to the people of Taiwan and let God use me to serve His people in other parts of the world
Friday, September 7, 2007
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