Dearest Friends,
Mahoy Su! In the language of the Tayal, this is "Thank you". Thank you for sending us to Taiwan! Thank you for praying for us.
True Joy
Our greatest joy this side of heaven is hearing children calling on Jesus, asking Him to forgive them and save them. By God’s grace, we have heard hundreds of children praying out loud. Never before in Taiwan have we had this experience! In all of the places where we have worked in the past, this was not allowed, but the mountain people are more open to the Gospel.
One hundred and fifty years ago, Canadian and English Presbyterians came to these mountains. As a result of their obedience, many of the mountain tribes welcome Bible stories. At one remote school, the children were so enthusiastic in their prayers, they shouted their prayers.
Mountains Homes
We are in the mountains of Taiwan sharing with tribal children. It is very cold, about 35 F at night. None of us were prepared for these temperatures, as we expected temperatures of 50F to 70F. However, our friends have taken wonderful care of us. Since we are not accustomed to this lifestyle, we are almost always cold.
The home that we are staying in is full of love, spotlessly clean, and a wonderful place to come home to at night. None of these mountain homes are heated, but our hosts do enjoy the luxury of a small space heater in the den area. Like many remote areas where we have worked, there is no tub or shower. Every other day, you take a bath in a large dish pan.
Things we won’t forget…
1. Being showered with kindnesses from our Taiwanese brothers and sisters.
2. The gifts of the mountain schools. We were honored to recieve tribal hats, school flags, and pictures of the children.
3. The Pastor’s mother giving me her hat because I was cold. Her husband has been dead 20 years, but before he died, he planted 2 strong mountain churches that we worked with.
4. Strange food like pork fluff, baked pigs feet, and discovering that mouse is a mountain delicacy.
5. The young man who translated for us whose English was awesome, but had no belief of any kind. God used David to call many to faith. Please pray for him to believe that God is real and to put his trust in Jesus. I gave him my Bible and he promised to read it.
6. The little child that thanked Mykayla for telling her about Jesus.
7. The understanding that a cup of hot water is a real gift and the knowledge that you don’t need tea or anything else in the cup for it to be a real blessing.
8. They joy on the children’s faces as they delighted in Sams juggling.
9. The sweet spirits of the entire team as they never complained about the cold, the food, or the inevitable confusion that happens when working in 3 languages.
10 Driving 2 hours through some of the most amazing mountain roads to reach Peach mountain school and then recieving the tribal symbol as a gift.
11. Scenery that words cannot describe… waterfalls, deep mountain gorges, and rope bridges stretched across deep river beds. We walked on one!
12. Seeing firsthand the devastation of a Typhoon, seeing the pain in the principal’s eyes as he described the death of a student, and hearing how the entire tribe left the village for 3 months.
13. Worshipping in one mountain church and then travelling deep into a mountain valley to visit with the people of a small village. Later we returned to their church and did a puppet show. Children and adults prayed!
14. Sharing with the adults of a mountain church about Mikes death and telling them that even in the greatest sadness and loss, there is great joy because of Jesus Christ.
15. New friends, Adienne, Atu, Mankay, Lesa, and Pastor Antok-Lai that teach us to love Jesus more!
16. A teacher who prayed to recieve Christ at a puppet show. She said, "When I prayed , my spirit changed. Everything is different".
17. A little girl who said, "Thank you Grandmother for being kind to us".
Prayer Requests
Please pray for me as I miss Mike every moment of every day. I loved him so much. I love him so much. I struggle to believe that he is not waiting for me at home. In truth, he waits for me at our true home with our Lord. Praise God for His comfort!
Please pray for us as we have returned to the city and it is a spiritually very dark place!
Love in Jesus,
Linda for
Sam Shaw Assistant director
Mykayla Kelley – USA team
Heather Kelley – USA team
Hannah Sager
Jon Bova